Spring Cleaning {Phase 2}

We've moved!  We're still unpacking, but we are definitely finished moving.  The move actually only took a day BUT the packing and unpacking is never ending.  Back to back deadlines at work have made unpacking the last thing on my mind (along with writing on my blog) for the last few weeks.  Now that deadlines are over (for now), I have some time to relax.  While there are still boxes piled up in the spare bedroom/storage room, I have started to think about painting and decorating and finally making this new apartment feel like home. 

Last night I perused the internet looking at the idea of using wall decals or painting murals instead of (or maybe in addition to) hanging pictures.  This quickly got vetoed my cohabitator/'better half' when he said "I don't want our place to look like a dorm room" ...whatever that means.  Personally, I never had wall decals in my dorm room, but I'm working on an alternative solution that we can both agree on.  I plan on painting something super awesome on canvas and hanging it on the wall instead. Yes, I realize that is pretty much the same thing as hanging the frames I already have, but I am sure some original artwork will be so much cooler.  Plus, if I really like it, I can take the 'masterpiece' with me when we inevitably move again.

Here are some of the cool things I found and if you aren't married to someone who hates these, give it a shot and make me jealous...

cherry blossom tree

leaves on the wall

and a decal that wraps the ceiling (I really like the ones that wrap around walls/ceilings...aren't they cool? yes. they are.)

plum flowers

and panel wall decals...which is sort of like what I might do on canvas with an image of my own. Although, I do want it to wrap around the ceiling...

Thanks for reading!

Spring Cleaning {Phase 1}

I'm going to skip over the fact that I haven't written in...well, you can see the dates.  Let me just fast forward to the latest news...

We're moving...again.  We've lived in our current apartment for almost 2 years now which is our standing record.  I have changed apartments (or dorms) every year since moving away to college.  If I'm lucky or somewhat happy where I am, I'll end up staying in the same place for a whole 2 years!  I have no idea where nomadic desires come from.  I only moved once growing up and I remember it sucking for multiple reasons, but mainly b/c I had to pack a lifetime (I was in 6th grade) of memories into a box.

The thing is, I hate, hate, hate....packing.  If someone would invent a way to just pick up all of my belongings (and I have a lot of useless stuff, unfortunately), and plop them into my new place, that would be fantastic.  I could just hop in a car/bus/train and open the door to my new place where the pictures would already be hung, dishes would be unwrapped and organized, the tv and stereo system would be set up, the computer with internet would be working, and dinner would be on the table (or at least pizza ordered).  Yeah, I would pay a lot of money for that.

Truth be told, I am a packrat. I try really hard not to be, but I think it's genetic. My husband just finished packing his belongings in a few hours. I have been packing off and on for a week. The good thing about moving is that I clean out things as I pack. I've thrown away as much as I've packed a lot.

Even with all the packing, cleaning, and unpacking I'm super excited to get to our new place.  I love change!  We aren't moving as far away as I'd like, but it will certainly do for now. 

Here's a few moving tips I picked up while searching for movers:

and my favorite...

Thanks for reading!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

... make Lemonade.

"What do people who were once paid to be creative for a living do when they’re laid off? They get creative with their own lives. Lemonade is an inspirational film about 16 advertising professionals who lost their jobs and found their calling, encouraging people to listen to that little voice inside their head that asks, 'What if?'"

Ok, so I wish I had found this video about a year ago when the shit hit the fan. Although I think I did alright with my time off, watching Lemonade definitely would have motivated me to stop sulking a bit sooner. It is ironic that I experimented with the idea of changing into the advertising/graphic design field (the video is about people who get 'let go' from gd/ad jobs and don't ever want to go back). When I got let go from my job as an architect, I was working about 50+ hours a week, really stressed out, and had already gone through one round of pay cuts and layoffs (which means I wasn't getting paid very well for all those hours). I was ready for a break. I needed a break.  I just didn't expect it to be someone else's decision.

Even though I stressed out about money practically every day, I also had an opportunity to get back to some of the artistic things that I loved doing. I was able to just be creative for a while and forget about the technical side of design that architects are forced to think about. Unlike in Lemonade though, I missed the working world. I needed more structure to my day, needed the camaraderie and collaboration of a studio of designers, and the never-ending coffee pot! I also discovered how much I truly love architecture and that I don't think I could ever give it up as a career.

For me, being 'let go' was indeed a good thing (if I looked past the money issues). I hope I never get so bogged down with work again that I forget all of the other things that I love to do.

Thanks for reading!

Nine to Five

image: banana republic 'architect' ad

Are you sitting down? I've got some good news...I'm employed!  For those that know me, this is a HUGE relief as I have been one of many unemployed architects for almost a year.  I have been going through the exhausting and often depressing cycle of searching for job opportunities, competing with so many other qualified applicants, and ending up disappointed.  However, I caught a lucky break last week and now have a contract position with an architecture firm in Chicago doing one of the things I love to do...and getting paid.  I am very grateful to be working again, even if it's just for a little while.

Unemployment is stressful for many reasons, but I must admit, there are a few things I'll miss:

1. hooded sweatshirts and pajama pants as 'work' attire
2. mac'n'cheese lunch, fresh from the stove
3. watching America's Next Top Model marathons on Bravo (it's only on for background noise...really)
4. slippers vs. heels
5. taking my dog Riley to the 'puppy park' in the middle of the afternoon when all the dog walkers come with his puppy friends

Even though there are some benefits to being between jobs, I think all can agree that it's also good to get paid.  For anyone concerned about Second Wind Studios, rest assured I will still try to keep posting blogs every 10 days (my typical posting at such low frequencies should be easy to keep up with), continue creating new designs for my Etsy Studio, and keep studying diligently for the Architecture Registration Exams (2of7, so far!).   My new job is only for an 8 month contract so who knows, I may be back to full time unemployment again in no time.  For now though, I'm more than happy to have found a job to pay the bills.

I think the main reason for hiring me over some other guy was primarily because of my new glasses.  They look a little something like this: 

Thanks for reading!

Citrus Recipe Cards

I decided today that recipe boxes suck.  Well, at least mine does.  First of all, I can only fit 3x5 cards into the box.  I don't know if anyone else has problems writing an entire recipe + ingredients on a 3x5 card, but I always run out of room and have to squish the last few lines or just start over hoping that my space planning will improve.  Today, as I was digging through the 'P' tab looking for my pizza crust recipe, I thought to myself how easy it would be to make my own binder for some new cards.  Now, I know this is not a new idea, but like so many other mass produced items, I always think I should just make my own.  My husband is always making fun of me when I say "I can make that" every time we go into Pier1 or go to a craft fair. Usually, I don't ever "make that" because it's faster just to buy it, but I do like to brainstorm ideas about what I would do if I had the time. Now I have more time. So tomorrow I am going to buy myself a photo album and make it into the most fabulous recipe book I've ever seen...or at least it will be better than my box.

If you've read my previous post, you saw that I had designed a grapefruit recipe card.  Actually, this design was part of a set that I had done a few weeks ago....my Citrus Recipe Card Set.  Guess what? They are bigger than 3x5 cards!  I had anticipated being annoyed again at my small recipe cards (it happens every time I write down a new recipe), so went up a size to 4x6...a standard photo size that will (surprise, surprise) fit into my new recipe book.  These citrus recipe cards are now listed on my Etsy website for sale.  So take a look, and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!

Extra Vitamin C for Me

I love all four seasons...really, even winter as long as there is snow.  However, with winter comes cold and flu season.  For some reason, I thought I might miss out on getting sick this year.  I have been 'working' from home avoiding the general public, so I thought I was also avoiding the germs.  I was wrong.  So very wrong.  Apparently when the temperatures drop, cold season will find me.  It's inevitable.

When it came time to decide on the secret ingredient for this month's Iron Chef-potluck/battle, I was debating between a few ingredients.  You see, the rule is that the past winner (me...yeah, I know, shocking!) gets to pick the next 'secret' theme ingredient.  December was a bit hectic for everyone with the holidays so we had to wait until last weekend for the battle to begin.  I had about two months to pick the ingredient!  It changed a few times, but when the cold symptoms began, I knew what had to be done.  I went back to one of my first choices...Grapefruit.

As my mom said, "grapefruit? hmmm...that's interesting".  Not only is it interesting, but it has the extra Vitamin C that I so desperately needed.  As I had hoped, when people started showing up, there were some amazing dishes unveiled.  While I don't think that there was a single dish that I didn't like, there were some definite winners:

• First Place:  Hope’s ‘Dark Chocolate Grapefruit Cake’
• Second Place (tie): Christina's 'Grapefruit and Pork Lettuce Wraps and James’ ‘Grapefruit and Ginger Cheesecake’
• Third Place:  Heather's 'Grapefruit Marshmellows'

Some of the other dishes included tasty grapefruit cocktails, bbq grapefruit shrimp with avacado (my dish which I somehow missed in my photos), scallops with grapefruit, grapefruit pasta, pizza with grapefruit and avacado, and many more...

Another tradition that has started is to give the winner a little prize (as if the title of reigning Iron Chef isn't enough?).  So, keeping in tradition (and to tie back to my cards), I made recipe cards for the winner.

I'm looking forward to the next Iron Chef battle, especially now that the stress of picking the ingredient is behind me!

Thanks for reading!

New Year, New Resolutions

Happy New Year's Eve!

Typically, I am not one to make resolutions on new year's eve, but this year, I think I'll make an exception.  Overall, 2009 was a pretty crappy year for me, so I think I might change things up a bit and try to commit to a few 'life changing' goals.  I am hopeful that 2010 will be a good year. So here it is,

My List of Resolutions/Accomplishments for 2010:

1.  get an awesome new regularly paying architecture or design job that doesn't require a uniform, taking drink orders, or bleaching toilets

2.  travel to Peru and hike Machu Picchu (dependant on resolution #1)

3.  start running again to lose the weight of all of those Christmas cookies I ate and possibly sign up for another marathon...Susanna, NYC?

4.  move back to the east coast...maybe to Maine, or somewhere else that is cheaper than Chicago, closer to family, and has lobster boats.

5.  continue to list more items on my Etsy website and potentially make more sales (maybe that will satisfy resolution no.1 also).

I think that should do it for now.  I don't want to get carried away with a long 'to-do' list for 2010.  I'm feeling pretty good about these goals.  I think that at least 2 or 3 can be accomplished by December 31, 2010.  As for the last resolution, I am already a step ahead.  I created a bunch of new designs over the holidays and have started to update my listings on Etsy.  Take a look!  Here is a peak at what you'll find.

I will wait to upload the rest after midnight so I can at least cross that off of my resolutions list...or do I have to keep going throughout the entire year?  Oh, this is exhausting already...

Have a happy New Year, and thanks for reading!