Jennifer

Hawthorne Walks & Design Talks

09/11/2014 by Jennifer 4 Comments

This past weekend, my friend Katie traveled up here and we spent a couple sunny days catching up and exploring Portland! Katie and I have been good friends since high school. She has a big entrepreneur spirit and is one of the most talented artists I know. Whenever we get together, we dream up so many creative ideas.

On Monday, we did some thrifting on SE Hawthorne and stopped into my favorite vintage shop, Vintage Pink.

I am trying to make it a habit to take my DSLR with me whenever I go on adventures these days. Or, I guess, whenever I go anywhere. You never know when something exciting might happen!

Speaking of something exciting, there’s a food truck here called Fried Egg I’m in Love! They were closed when we went by the other day, but it’s the next brunch spot on my list of places to try. With puns that brilliant, I’m confident their food will be very yum-worthy.

Have a happy day! If you want to feel some extra joy, take a moment to watch this micro pig getting tickled with a feather duster.

Handwoven Wall Hangings

09/09/2014 by Jennifer 11 Comments

My grandma weaves breathtaking wall hangings (and blankets and sweaters) on a giant loom that just looks so crazy and complicated to me. It’s a beast. I always used to say, “someday I’ll learn to weave…” in a wistful way like it would take me years and years. It wasn’t until I started seeing small-scale weaving tutorials (see list at the bottom) that I realized I could actually do this at any time, with a random old cardboard box. I am much less intimidated by weaving now, but even more in awe of it.

1. Wild Columbine Textile
2. Ran Ran Design
3. Oh Albatross
4. Hiedra
5. Toni Penrose for Moorea Seal
6. Straw & Gold
7. Liz Toohey-Wiese
8. Combed Thunder
9. Heddle & Needle

Here is one of my very favorite weavings made by my grandma. For a long time she lived in Gualala, a tiny town along the Northern California coast. Gualala is all redwood trees, oceans, and artists. It’s my favorite place in the entire world and my heart aches a little every time I visit because it is so full of wonderful memories. Anyway, this weaving is inspired by Gualala. Amazing, huh? I’ll share more of her work in the future.

Is weaving something you have tried or would like to get into? Also, does anybody else have a favorite place like Gualala, that is filled to the brim with sweet childhood memories?

ps. Here are a few weaving tutorials that I think are quite excellent:

Weaving 101 | Playful Learning
DIY Woven Wall Hanging | Honestly WTF
Weaving Class: The Basics | A Beautiful Mess
Learn to Weave | Clare McGibbon on The Etsy Blog

Papercraft Superstar

09/08/2014 by Jennifer 1 Comment

Hi friends! This week, I’m on Cut Out + Keep as their “Papercraft Superstar“. I have an interview over there and will be sharing recaps of my favorite DIYs every day this week. Follow along if you’re the crafting type!

Hope you all have a happy Monday. My friend Katie is visiting from California so we are off to do some vintage window shopping in Southeast (the weather is finally cooling off a bit – yay!). I’ll be sure to share any sweet finds through Instagram.

What are you up to this fine day?

Playing Favorites

09/05/2014 by Jennifer 4 Comments

Since moving up here, I’ve become a bit of a workaholic. Last night, however, I participated in my first girls night since moving here! A few coworkers and I had dinner at a cute pub, took silly pictures outside, sang and danced to Taylor Swift, and enjoyed one too many glasses of champagne. Considering the amount of time I sit alone in my apartment working on my computer, this was so refreshing and good for my soul. :)

And now a little color inspiration for the weekend…

Can you believe how perfect this color palette is? I might steal it for an upcoming project. Too pretty for words.

These DIY hand-painted pillowcases are so, so bright and happy. I might even consider dusting off my sewing machine for this project. Imagine all of the color combination possibilities!

The focal point in this apartment is obviously the rug, but I think I’m in love with everything else in the room as well! The chairs. The couch. The bar cart. Those windows. That lamp. Swoon…

And how beautiful is this geometric crochet scarf? Follow the link to purchase the pattern! I can’t wait to try this out sometime soon.

Are you working on any colorful projects these days? Hope you all enjoy this weekend!

Resources for Bloggers

09/03/2014 by Jennifer 7 Comments

It’s been a few weeks since my last official “resources for bloggers” post, but I’ve been gathering these gems up just as well! I have been learning that experiencing growth in the blog world is part technical and part personal. As with any hobby or career, being confident in your work or interests makes a big difference to how your work is perceived. More importantly, making sure you truly love what you are doing (I wrote about that here) will allow you to grow in so many significant ways.

A few weeks ago, I read Emma’s 5 Secrets to Success on A Beautiful Mess and I should probably read it once a month for the rest of my life. This post is filled with genuine encouragement and non-fluffy truth. I’m all about the non-fluffy stuff if you know what I mean.

I have read many posts on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but this article by Taylor at The Fresh Exchange is my very favorite! She shares a lot of excellent tips as well as extra resources for bloggers who want to better utilize SEO.

Jess at June Letters has an amazing series called “Freelance Wisdom“. Although I am not an established freelancer, I’m definitely taking in all of this advice as it relates to creatives in general. I love the snippet of wisdom below from Julia Kostreva.

Finally, I’m so appreciative of this post by Meredith C. Bullock on being too busy to blog. She shares that it’s okay to take a break from blogging if you need to tackle larger projects (or rest!). There are still alternative ways to connect with your readers and potential clients.

I hope these four blog posts help you as much as they’ve helped me!

24 Earl Grey Tea Recipes

09/02/2014 by Jennifer 6 Comments

When I gather items for roundups, I like to keep things short and sweet. Ten of my favorite things here and there. But today we’re talking about Earl Grey and that’s a different story! You might have guessed that Earl Grey is my favorite tea, but I also love it in the form of ice cream, cocktails, and probably everything else on this list.

from the top, left to right:

1. Earl Grey Ice Cream | Earl Grey Blog
2. Earl Grey & Poppyseed Muffins | Raspberri Cupcakes
3. Earl Grey Tea Cocktail | Sugar and Charm
4. Vegan Earl Grey + Chocolate Shakes | The First Mess
5. Earl Grey Infused Chocolate Pots de Creme | Hint of Vanilla
6. Charred Lemon Mousse with Earl Grey and Lemon Sable | Hint of Vanilla
7. Earl Grey Infused Gin Cocktail | The Framed Table
8. Rich Chocolate Lavender Cake with German Earl Grey Buttercream | Local Milk Blog
9. Peach Earl Grey Jam | Gimme Some Oven
10. Earl Grey Tea Latte | Cookie Monster Cooking
11. Dark Chocolate and Earl Grey Tea Cookies | Hummingbird High
12. Earl Grey Shortbread Squares | Honestly Yum
13. Earl Grey Lavender Iced Tea | Food & Wine
14. Earl Grey Creme Brûlée | The Wanderlust Kitchen
15. Earl Grey Lemonade | Semisweetie
16. Vegan Earl Grey Chocolate Pots de Creme | Gourmande in the Kitchen
17. Earl Grey Panna Cotta | Hummingbird High
18. Earl Grey Macarons | Fig & Farrow
19. Earl Grey Honey Whiskey Cake | The Baking Bird
20. Earl Grey Infused Hot Chocolate | ChinDeep
21. Earl Grey and Lemon Cake | Crunchy Bottoms
22. Earl Grey Berry Tart | Chasing Delicious
23. Earl Grey Vanilla Tea Pancakes with Honey Tea Syrup | Once Upon a Cutting Board
24. Earl Grey Hot Chocolate | Our Kitchen

This is too much to handle. Creme Brûlée? Honey Whiskey Cake? This list of recipes alone might be enough to make me enjoy baking more.

Do you like tea-infused everything, too? What’s your favorite kind of tea? Have the nicest Tuesday, friends!