Jennifer Andrew

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My Favorite Instagrammers

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I’m all about Instagram. When I got an account a few years ago, it was kind of like an “okay finnneee, I’ll see what it’s all about” thing. I became an overinstagrammer almost immediately and I apologized for it a lot. But I just had to document every significant moment (plus a trillion grainy, faded filters). I guess I still post a lot on Instagram depending on what the day looks like, but I like to think I take it easy on the filters now. :)

These are some of my most favorite people to follow on Instagram. They each have very different creative lifestyles and they inspire me daily.

(top left, clockwise)

1. @designlovefest – Bri Emery has one of the most colorful (and pretty) Instagram accounts out there. She inspires me every day to put myself out there and fill my life with more color and more flowers.

2. @annariflebond –  If you love Rifle Paper Co. and you’re not following Anna Bond yet, go make that happen! Anna posts so many Rifle Paper behind the scenes deets, including lots of videos of her painting. It’s mesmerizing.

3. @kristinrogers – Kristin Rogers has the sweetest and most creative family! I love following along on their adventures of homeschooling, outdoor exploring, art projects, and pet-sitting.

4. @benjaminhole – Benjamin Hole’s Instagram features the most stunning photos of his life on a farm in England. My favorite posts are the ones featuring leaping puppies or herds of sheep in the foggy morning light. They are guaranteed to give you pure joy and an ache for farm life.

5. @mindykaling – Mindy Kaling is one of my favorites because…she is Mindy Kaling.

6. @humansofny – It’s amazing to think about the thousands and thousands of people we see every day that we don’t interact with. Scrolling through Brandon Stanton’s posts reminds me that in every human being are unique stories of encouragement, inspiration, heartache, humor, or all of the above. Also, Stanton released a book that you can find here!

7. @sfgirlbybay – I feel like I owe my passion for blogging to Victoria Smith aka sfgirlbybay. She inspired me to start blogging in the first place! I love seeing the city of San Francisco through her eyes, and I’m always adding more city gems to my list of places to visit.

8. @thiswildidea Lastly… MADDIE! I hope you guys have all been introduced to Theron Humphrey’s coonhound Maddie, via Instagram or the book Maddie on Things. She is a brilliant dog who can stand on anything and she goes on tour. Major cool points.

I hope that if you’re not already following these peeps, you will check them out! Who are your favorite Instagrammers?

Playing Favorites

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A common theme in life is that you have to get to a low point in order to rise to the top. It’s along the same lines as having to experience negative things in order to appreciate positive once. There is so much balance to this life! Cue Drake’s “Started From the Bottom” please… :)

Whenever I experience a lull in my motivation or creativity, I get really down on myself. It happens often but the turnaround time is quick. It helps to look through old notebooks or blog posts and remember what I’m passionate about. I recently bought Creative Block by Danielle Krysa, The Jealous Curator. The book explores different ways to get out of your creative slump and features advice from 50 talented and respected designers. Can’t wait to see what tips I can gather from them!
Onto the faves:
Alexa Chung is my hair role model. Straight up. I don’t know why I didn’t include her in my post about bangs, but I ended up showing her picture to my hair stylist.
Such a pretty green print by sugartowne on Etsy.
I’ve been doing a lot of planning and thinking about where I’ll live next. I know for a fact it will be a tiny place, so I’m loving multipurpose storage/decorating ideas like this one. I was just thinking last night about whether or not I should keep all my magazines.
I have been dreaming about patterns all the time lately, and this is fantastic.
And look at this beautiful restaurant makeover! You can find the before picture here. I love that just a new paint color, some plants, outdoor seating, and new curtains gave it a way different feel.
Well, I’m off to go work on a delish new recipe post! See ya tomorrow. :)

Darling Magazine

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Recently, I purchased an old issue of Darling Magazine for the first time and it completely resonated with me. I have written about this many times, but I’ve always been a little defensive about being too cutesy or dainty. I am a cheery, optimistic person on most days and I really enjoy things like flowers and tea in spite of being a feminist.

Originally I bought the magazine just for design inspiration but after reading it, I felt content and validated in all sorts of ways. It reminded me of this quote by Zooey Deschanel, which emphasizes that being aware of (and celebrating) beautiful things isn’t weak – it’s bold and it is part of being a human being. One might say that covering it all up with apathy would be the weaker choice.

Regardless of gender, I think it all comes down to the idea that we should just embrace who we are and what we love. Thanks for inspiring me, Darling Mag! (ps, their blog is amazing.)

Playing Favorites

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Well, it’s the end of another week month. Holy moly. For the most part, I have loved February. I worked a lot, dove into this whole WordPress.org dealio, signed up for a few Skillshare classes (more deets soon!), and made a big decision that I can’t wait to share with you guys. Oh and I got bangs yesterday! I’ll post some pictures soon and write about that whole keratin smoothing treatment that changed my life.

Onto my favorites…these things brought me all kinds of joy this week:

I loved Emma’s post On Changing Dreams over at A Beautiful Mess. It was kind of exactly what I needed to hear. Sometimes our dreams change and that is okay. Recently, I have forgotten that we don’t always get to choose our dream-job-career-path, etc. It might choose us. :) Okay, having a cheesy moment over here.
Fresh Grapefruit Margaritas! It’s a good thing these months are passing so quickly because I’m having ridiculous summer withdrawals.
This is not true for me. I definitely care about more than just pasta and like, three people. If it said “All I care about is pizza and like 3 people,” that would be a different story. ;)
And geez! This PUPPY!!I hope these made you as happy inside as they made me. :)

This morning, I’m going to read to my sister’s third grade class for Dr. Seuss Day! And then to my mom’s first grade class. I love any opportunity to hang out with my sister and it will be nice to finally meet my mom’s kiddos. After that, I have the day off (woohoo!) so I will be running errands and WordPressing it up.

Oh also, have any of you been watching Late Night with Seth Meyers this week?! He is so endearing! And I love that Fred Armisen is in every episode too. Gah.

Happy weekend to you! What do you all have planned?

Playing Favorites

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Happy Friday! Today is a really rainy day where I am. I have the day off, so it’s actually kinda cozy and pleasant. :)

A few random notes:

Today I took a huge bag of Valentine’s Day DIY supplies into the living room only to realize that it was too dark to photograph them. So I’ll have to wait for a sunnier day. Heart-shaped DIYs are coming soonish. :)

I am in the process of slowly switching over to a self-hosted WordPress.org page. I thought I’d be a Blogger girl for life, but I’m completely sold on having a self-hosted blog. Do anyone of you use WordPress.org (not .com)? Any tips of customizing it? It’s a whole new world for me. I feel like I’m going to have to tune out the world for an entire day and just fill my mind with CSS, HTML, widgets, and more CSS.

Also! I’m working on a Shop My Closet site. I have so many clothes, both vintage and modern, that never ended up working out. I tend to be impulsive when it comes to shopping and I’ll think something is perfect only to realize (too late) that it wasn’t for me. The other day, I sold 50ish items to a clothing exchange store which was wonderful, but for the rest of the items, I think an online secondhand shop would be so much more fun. Has anyone had good experiences with these shops? Let me know!

Now onto some more important things. First up: look at this dog house!!! Omg.






one, two, three, four, five

Playing Favorites

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This week has been solely devoted to my shop. It’s tiny and I neglect it. But I want my blog and shop to be friends. Best friends! Who make a great team and help each other out. Gosh. Can you tell that I haven’t been around many people this week? I’m losing my mind and talking to the cat a bit too much. And now I’m giving thoughts and emotions to my blog and shop.

Anyway, onto my faves of the week! I have been thinking so much about home renovations and redecorating. It isn’t something I can do right now because I’m renting, but it is inspiring to have so many pretty ideas stored up for the future. :)

I had to add this lavender chocolate ice cream to the list because…ohmygosh! I can’t wait to make this once it’s ice cream weather once again.
Back to product making and Desperate Housewives-watching! Have a great weekend. :)ps. if you want to see what else has been inspiring my lately, visit me on Pinterest!

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