February 21, 2018

Out & About: Wilbur Hot Springs

When was the last time you spent a whole weekend not using your phone (other than using it as a tool to listen to music or take pictures with?).

Imagine a weekend with:

No internet
No plug outlets
No cell phone service

When was the last time you put yourself in a self-imposed Digital Detox?

My friend Nicole had a birthday. My friend Nicole is a Capricorn, just like my Mom. She was the first person in my life that made me realize that I would have been good friends with my mom if she and I were the same age.

Nicole wanted to celebrate her birthday by going to Wilbur Hot Springs with friends. I said yes to the adventure. Yes to getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people and getting away. YES TO GETTING OFF MY PHONE and LIVING MY LIFE.

I almost talked myself out of it twice.

But then I changed my thinking.

I said YES to myself.

Because all I’ve wanted since my mom died is SPACE.

Space for my brain to grieve without having to take care of anyone but myself for a weekend.

I wanted to be alone with my thoughts and feelings and the 2 1/2 hour drive up to the hot springs helped.

I caught up on the Talking in Circles podcast. My brain really needed that. It helped get me in the zone to do some deeeeeeeeeeep thinking of what has happened in the past few years.

Three of us stayed in the solar lodge. I got the top loft. It was just the right amount of space.

Communal bathrooms are just fine. It feels like camp life!

LISTS

February 19, 2018

Intentions for the Week

Hello! Happy Monday, friends! Cooper has Monday and Tuesday off of school so we’re enjoying some family time this week. Hopefully we will get to do a little family adventure. Over the weekend we went to a crab dinner with my dad & friends and I painted the main wall in my office green.

I LOVE A FRESH COAT OF PAINT!

I’ve been in a cooking rut for the past few months.

I’m hoping to turn it around with some playtime in the kitchen.

Anything you’d like to see? How can I help? Wanna point me in a direction? HELP.

Here are my Intentions for the Week!

Intentions for the Week:

laundry
art time with Cooper
catch up on social media stuff
call bank
eye exam
get moving- yoga/dance class
work on new recipes
back up photos on iPhone
accounting work
take pictures of the office
take pictures around the house for blog
make coconut carrot soup
make Thai Basil Beef
ship out packages for The Handwriting Club (thank you for your orders!!)
Add more items to The Handwriting Club
carve out some time to read Modern Loss
send clothes to ThredUp
post new items in my Poshmark store
change light bulb in closet
drink water
carve out some time to read Modern Loss

Last Week’s Intentions:

~~make valentines/finish chocolate lollipops~~
~~deliver valentines~~
~~laundry~~
call the bank (oops)
~~make banana bread~~
make coconut carrot soup
~~return~~ at ~~Target~~
~~catch up on social media stuff~~
~~plow through emails~~
~~continue working on office space/TACKLE PAPER PILE~~
~~ship out packages for The Handwriting Club (thank you for your orders!!)~~
backup photos on phone
~~celebrate Valentine’s Day~~
take photos of what we did last week/work on AROUND THE HOME post
get caught up on accounting
~~start packing up clothes to send to ThredUp~~
~~clean out the fridge/~~do meal prep
~~research new Vans~~
~~find the charger for my iPad pen~~
~~carve out some time to read Modern Loss~~
~~make a list of things to be done around the house~~
~~visit the library~~
~~keep the house tidy!~~

Mantra for the Week:

What about you? What are you up to this week?

MAKE IT A GREAT WEEK!

my everyday life, Photography

February 18, 2018

My Everyday Life: Week 7

Heres what this past week looked like: My Everyday Life Week 7

Finding light. Trying to hold onto it.

Window shopping…but in a mirror.

A magic moment in Oakland.

Visiting my friend Lisa at her studio.

Type harder.

GOOD GRIEF.

So much inspiration.

Her glass collection is beautiful.

Lisa made me a painting of me and my mom!

From NYE many years ago!

Thank you, LISA.

1980 Dad handwriting.

These are all of the letters I have to catch up on.

Valentine’s Day card from my husband.

Came with a handwriting sample!

Lisa’s collection.

Outdoor dining in Oakland at Sideshow. NOM.

Potential.

Childhood icons.

So much character.

Dancer garage door.

Last Brush Painting class!

Thrift score of the century! I got this whole set for my lady deck.

The best part? I think I had this fabric or something like it in my room growing up.

Turmeric latte + a peanut butter sandwich

I’m in love with a Uni-Ball Signo Broad pen.

That ray of light. Can you see it?

Kinda looks like I’m flipping off the camera but I’m not. Just pointing!

Making eye contact with a baby. Talking to a poet.

Your letters turn into my bookmarks and I find them when I need to.

My Valentine’s Day card for Casey.

Valentine’s Day made me miss my mom a lot.

This balloon made me happy.

My friend Jerry made flowers for his boo. Aren’t they pretty?

Playing around with chocolate & trail mix.

Roasted potatoes with kale pesto & roasted sausage.

A vignette in my house.

It’s the season here!

On the way to school.

Sending maj pictures in the morning.

Yes.

Our valentines.

Made chocolate lollipops!

We had a good cloud day.

Hummingbird food.

Thank you for the postcard, Maureen.

Week 7 in 2017

Week 7 in 2016

Week 7 in 2015

Week 7 of 2014

Week 7 of 2013

Week 7 of 2012

Week 7 of 2011

LISTS

February 16, 2018

I LOVE LISTS

Welcome to I LOVE LISTS! It’s Friday and here’s a LIST FOR YOU!

Librarians are funny
This is exactly how I feel right now. Travel should be part of your self care routine.
Goals.
Any dessert with banana and I’m yours.
It’s not a college degree or nothing.
I want to make this soon.
The hard act of balancing writing & social media.
The most liked Instagram photo. This is 2018.
This makes me want to take up needlepoint.
The songs that bind. I think of this all the time since my Mom died.
Snuggle up with this recipe & your boo.
I dream of a Palm Springs getaway.
What do people eat after getting dumped?
See also: the best way to dine alone
Google thinks the future is email.
How to get over the anxiety of public speaking.
The world’s blackest black looks like this. I wonder how you photograph it properly…
Our lives are going to be run by cardboard boxes.
For my mother-in-law:
I also want to go back to Vancouver.
This is a scary world we live in.
Kristen Bell handwriting sample.
Baristas who need to get their hearing checked. Or people need to enuciate or both.
Everyone asks me what my favorite pens are. Check out: Part One and Part Two
Weekend Reading: The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook / I am Here Now

Thanks for reading Shutterbean! If you’d like to check out more of my everyday life, follow me on Instagram and be sure keep in touch via Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin, Pinterest, or subscribe via email to get new posts delivered to your inbox.

My brush lettering teacher sent us this video this week and it made me happy. So sweet!

around the home, Inspiration

February 14, 2018

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cooper and I continued our Valentines making tradition with these beauties.

We did something new this year and added Chocolate Lollipops to our repertoire!

I’m hoping to carry on my mom’s candy lady tradition.

We repurposed art scraps from the art scrap bin and made something new with them.

It pays to save some of your work, doesn’t it?

What we produced was a combo of two projects I’ve shared on this blog before.

Melted Crayon Art

and

My Mom’s Chocolate Lollipops

If you’re curious how we made them,

I printed labels with my Dymo Printer. We used address labels to for his name.

Font is called Impact Label.

The cards are large index cards which already had melted crayon on them.

We punched holes in the cards with a small hole puncher.

Tied the lollipops to the card with twine!

It’s fun to make things from scratch!

For more ideas, check out:

Valentine’s Day Dinner Menus (with gifs!)

Simple Valentine’s Day Ideas

Ladies Craft Night: Valentine’s Day!

Enjoy the day, you lovebirds!

LISTS

February 12, 2018

Intentions for the Week

Happy Monday, friends!

Did you have a good weekend?

I hosted breakfast with friends on Saturday after a long week of working through my clutter at home with my stylist friend Jessica. It was quite an exhausting process but we DID IT! And my house has clear surfaces and hardly any piles! Putting energy into one place means that energy is taken out of other places. This means I have so much laundry to catch up on, but it’s cool. I’ll put on a podcast and work through the pile. I also have one last paper pile to tackle. I’ve been putting it off for far too long. Maybe we can all agree to clear out something this week.

What’s causing you the most stress in your house right now and what can you do about it???

Now that I have an intentional space to write/art/play, I feel ready and prepared to get some work done this week. What about you?

Intentions for the Week:

make valentines/finish chocolate lollipops
deliver valentines
laundry
call the bank
make banana bread
make coconut carrot soup
return at Target
catch up on social media stuff
plow through emails
continue working on office space/TACKLE PAPER PILE
ship out packages for The Handwriting Club (thank you for your orders!!)
backup photos on phone
celebrate Valentine’s Day
take photos of what we did last week/work on AROUND THE HOME post
get caught up on accounting
start packing up clothes to send to ThredUp
clean out fridge/do meal prep
research new Vans
find the charger for my iPad pen
carve out some time to read Modern Loss
make a list of things to be done around the house
visit the library
keep the house tidy!

Last Week’s Intentions:

make valentines/send out (doing today!)
~~get some exercise going on~~
~~clean out studio space! streamline closets~~
~~brush lettering class~~
~~finish laundry~~
take photos for handwriting club (didn’t get a chance)
clean out fridge (didn’t get a chance)
write thank you notes (can get started now that I have a space to do it!)
trip to Salvation Army (have stuff to go, still compiling)
post a new recipe on the blog (I have an easy curry situation I’ll have to post)
post wilbur hot springs photos on the blog (coming soon!)
~~drink more water (this is helping)~~
~~send out orders for The Handwriting Club~~

Mantra for the Week:

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

my everyday life, Photography

February 11, 2018

My Everyday Life: Week 6

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 6

This week my Jessica flew down from Oregon to help me put my much-neglected office space back together.

I needed help finding balance in my life and she was willing to do the work. Good things happen when you ask for help!

I now have a space I love to work in.

We worked super hard this week getting rid of ANYTHING that does not serve a purpose and finding a good home for things we need to keep after sorting through it all. It was a long process and exhausting but we made it through the end and I am so THANKFUL for friendship and organization!

The best part is that I don’t feel paralyzed in my workspace anymore. Having surfaces to work on that don’t have piles is GIVING ME LIFE.

I’ll share more about it soon!