Cat in a Bicycle Basket

What’s on the love list this Thursday?

• A custom notebook giveaway! Oh my!
• Introducing Whiskey Friday to my new company. A tradition passed on from The Onion…may it live on in my heart and my glass. Just a little sip to celebrate the end of a successful week. Comrades, raise your glasses!
• Dennis arrives tomorrow! He is one of the three roommates Scott and I had when I first moved into their mega-apartment in Buena Park, Chicago. He is one of our closest friends, pretty much family. I am ecstatic for this visit. He doesn’t leave til next Wednesday! Yay Dennis!
• Some good bicycle rides. I will readily admit that bicycle commuting in Southern California leaves things to be desired (such as the fellowship of other bicycle commuters) but I have had a couple really fantastic spirit-lifting rides lately. Keep it up and make me love you, Orange County. It’s not your fault that you’re not Chicago.
• Cats in baskets.
• Baking in my apartment for the very first time. It’s been far too long, my sweets.

What’s perking you up this week?

Stuff No One Told Me by Alex Noriega

What do I love this Thursday?

• Alex Noriega’s Stuff No One Told Me (#10 above). Awesome and true. All of them. Seriously. My brother sent me the one above because he said it reminded him of me. Awww…thanks, Dan! <3
• Dolores! My new bicycle—she’s a beautiful and classy lady. I’ll be introducing her properly soon. Just you wait.
• The notebooks I’ve added to my etsy shop. I came into 40 little cardboard notepad/sticky note combis and I’m illustrating them one by one and putting them up for sale. I’ll be giving away a custom one next week! I’ll post the giveaway information on Monday!
• Speaking of custom & the shop, the pre-season, pre-sale kicked off on Tuesday! One down, nine to go! Here’s hopin’!
• OCFamily.com (the magazine where I work!) calling me out and giving me some support in their awesome Storytime video segment. Kristin wears a different hat for each storytime and has been wearing rottencupcakes all week! Thanks to OC Family & Kristin! If you’ve got some kidlets, they might enjoy Storytime too!

So, what’s fueling your love machine this week?

i <3 ampersands

What do I love this Thursday?

• Ampersands!! All the time, I love them. The tiny start to my collection, above.
• Texting with my sister late at night. It’s much later for her but she always seems to be awake and it makes me a little less homesick. Thank you, Emmie.
• Yarn binges. I may have been online shopping two nights ago. I thought about buying a purse that I’ve been eyeing for 2.5 years because it was finally 50% off; but it’s quite large and I recently came to the revelation that I should carry smaller purses. So instead of a purse, I bought a bunch of yarn :X OOPS. Oh but goodness gracious, it’s some beautiful yarn.
• Some fancypants felt that I acquired that’s just itching (except not actually itchy—it’s super soft) to be turned into something darling.

What’s rocking your boat this week?

What do I love this Thursday?

• Illustrating! So much illustrating! So many animals, so little time! Hopefully, I will be able to offer some prints in the shop soon (as I find my printer’s power brick!). Anyone got anything they might want to see?
• The upcoming pre-sale! There will be 10 listings; each one for it’s very own custom hat on June 15th in my etsy store. You will be able to pick type of yarn, the color and the style of hat for $35 for delivery in September. A savings of $15 off the upcoming Fall 2010 pricing.
• My desk area at home, slowly coming together. I still don’t have an actual desk yet and am still working from a folding table but I have a bookshelf! Excitement!
• Spending the whole long weekend for Memorial day with my dear husband and watching quite a bit of Band of Brothers in memory of those who have served. It’s our Memorial Day tradition.
• Some totally drool-inducing yarn that is a total dream to work with. Once I get through this hat, I will be able to estimate how much yarn it requires and be able to offer some totally delectable hats this fall.

Sketch for my sister: Moose and Squirrel

• My sister and mom were visiting and my sister introduced us to sporcle.com. We were playing the Hero by Villain quiz and my sister got to Boris and Natasha and started screaming MOOSE and SQUIRREL, over and over again because she just simply could not remember Rocky and Bullwinkle. It inspired a drawing.
• Daytum! I’ve had one for ages but used it infrequently for other random things. I started it up again to track my cycling activity!
• My new giant platform shoes! Love!
• Incredibox.fr: awesometown!

What’s fueling your love machine this week?

So You Need a Typeface by Julian Hansen

What do I love this week?

• This awesome infographic! At a loss for which typeface to use? Let this chart be your guide! From Julian Hansen. You can buy it in poster form!
• Cubeecraft: How freaking adorable is this stuff!? I discovered this site because my boss has a papercraft ceiling cat above his desk! Ha!
• Our first midwestern visitors! My mom and sister have some to visit—they just flew in last night and in turn, I drove to LA for the first time. Whoa. I am so happy they’re here.
• We are officially in our new apartment! Hooray! Granted we have a few things left in corporate still that we need to pick up but we spent our first night in our new place last night. It’s still full of boxes but that’s part of the reason my mom came to visit. She is awesome and wants to help unpack while my husband and I are at work. Thanks, Mom! <3

Tell me something good! What’s on your love list this week?

Teaser: new colors and styles!

What things are on my love list this week?

• New hat designs! I have been working my little brain and busying my fingers, coming up with some new patterns for the shop. I am hoping to introduce 3 new types of hats to the shop this year. I have 2 new ones pretty much drafted and in the final testing stages but have yet to envision the third. I am also hoping to have 2 more knitting patterns for purchase this fall as well. Plotting!
• All the new colors and yarns that I’m using this coming fall season. I know it’s WAY TOO EARLY to even think of fall but I’m in the midst of my design spell before I hit heavy-production so I’m up to my ears with inspiration and new ideas.
• Focusing on the good things!  Like we move into our actual apartment this coming weekend and will no longer be in corporate housing. Huzzah!
• Using my cute red moleskine planner again! Filling it with to-do’s and ideas and quotes, working some creative muscles rather than just my strategy brain as I have been for the last several weeks.

A late-breaking edition of Things I Love Thursday!

Snooki & Sarah: as they are meant to be.

• Amazing Ampersands that were gifted to me as a going-away present! Not only is the typography astounding, their little back story is pretty dang cute too.
• Chipotle’s Accidental Lorem Slipsum Hee!
• Going big or going home! Also known as: Terrifying Leaps into the Unknown!
• Seeing the light at the end of the Stress Tunnel. It’s been a very busy month for me personally and I can’t wait to get back into something resembling a groove. June can’t come quick enough for me!
• Finding an apartment! We move in next week and get out of corporate housing—which is nice but I am eager to get into our own place and settle in.
• My new job! I had a phone interview the Saturday before we left Chicago—I was actually at my family going-away party! While we were making our way across the country—the very first day in the middle of Iowa—I received a phone call with the job offer! I’m very excited about my position as an Art Director for a local Orange County magazine. I started Monday and already feel pretty comfortable though I am still looking forward to being more settled into a groove. Can y’all tell what I’m dying for lately? Groove!
• The overuse of exclamation points. I have a lot of exclaimin’ to do!
• Starting up with Wardrobe Remix on Flickr again. Here’s hopin’ I can keep my momentum up.

Marc Johns: watercolors=swoon.

This week’s lovelist:

• Marc Johns.Swoongasm & giggleworthy watercolors. Love!
• So many ideas that are swirling around in my head just waiting for a chance to be deployed. Yargh!
• Frank Chimero’s blog. I’ve long loved this man’s illustrations—such style, such technique! But goodness gracious, I love a man with a mouth and opinions that come out of it. Passion! Intelligence! And he’s right: it’s all good & well to show the work you do but it’s important to talk about it. One of my favorite things about school was critique. Granted, I was totally that annoying girl in class that had something to say about everything but discourse is a good thing! I’m not saying to rip everything to shreds but actual CRITIQUE (constructive) is such an important tool as a designer. Almost anyone can design something pleasing to the eye but why? What for? & how!? I am going to try to write more along with the imagery I post; why I’ve drawn/designed/photographed/made something. Everything has a reason and I should share those reasons and force those thoughts. Casual design and plopping of elements is all good and well but dangit: it’s the heart of design that makes it beat. I started the rottencupcakes blog in an effort to connect with my personal creative force despite working as a designer from 9-5 and no longer being a student where I can follow my whims with a trail of bullshit. I suppose this is the next step in the evolution. I’ve got consistent content but it’s pretty surface. Now’s the time to add the next layer of the (cup)cake. Cheers, darlin’.
• Unintended rants!
• Being brave.
• Our One Year Anniversary is Sunday. Holy moly! I can’t believe 365 days have passed already!

What’s on your love list this week?

The Heads of State Chicago poster

What’s on my love list this week?

• This gorgeous poster from The Heads of State. They have a bunch of limited edition city posters. If I wasn’t saving every penny for the impending move, I would be all up on this. LOVE.
• Cuban food. Om nom nom nom: 90 Miles Cuban Café; we discovered them because they started delivering through grubhub and now have gone to the actual restaurant a few times. Such deliciousness I cannot even begin to express and it’s BYOB! Awesometown.
• The amazing desk and chair I found on craigslist in Orange County that the seller is actually willing to hold for me until we get there! I was totally amazed but extremely glad that my friend Sooz encouraged me to email because really: it never hurts to ask.
• The first bicycle commute of the season! I am trying to get as much cycling in the city in Chicago before we leave in a month! HOLY CRAP. It’s all so soon! ::frets::
• My friends. They are so fabulous and make me laugh so damn hard. SO HARD.
• The iPhone! HOORAY! Scott & I finally got them and I cannot be more thrilled with my constant connection to the internets. I lurve the internets. What are your favorite apps?
• A cheeky new dating blog: Brazen Hussies. Two anonymous ladies share their dating horrors! Fun times.

What’s on the love list this week for you?