A while back I took some product photos for Go Be Happy bars for for my dear friend Wendi. Since then, the bars have been rebranded, repackaged and now have a new life as Hoola. She needed updated photos for the website and some that she could use on her social media. I gladly pulled out the dates from the cupboard and took up the challenge. These bars are DELICIOUS! They’re all practically gone now because everyone in my house has been eating them up. You can buy your own here.  Here are my favorites from the shoot.

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It gets hot in Phoenix in the summer. Duh.

We’re right at the beginning stages of heat. The I haven’t yet burned myself on my seatbelt, but I’m starting to use the sun shade kind of phase. We’re getting ready for the wave of triple digits and like many prepare for the long winter in the midwest, we have our own preparations to make. We stock up on sunscreen, bust out the beach towels, have the ac unit serviced, make sure the water cooler in filled up, and buy this year’s kiddie pool. Of course, many people have their own real pools and we have access at both of our parents’ houses, but in our own backyard, we have the blow up shark. I think I love this more than having a real pool on most days. There’s no deep end, Harvey can get in and out on his own, there’s no chemicals to buy, it inadvertently waters our grass, it doesn’t take up our whole yard and did I mention there’s no deep end? The possibilities of him getting hurt are far less and he just loves the freedom to splash around and climb in and out on his own.

Our BBQ was cooking up some dinner and we found the perfect shady spot in the backyard to set up. I sat close enough to get splashed a few times while Harvey joyfully reminded me to soak in the sun and the memories.

The June issue of Stellar Day Magazine is out today and I’ve contributed words before, but this time I stepped out on a ledge and offered to photograph for the magazine as well. I was welcomed with open arms. I tied up my tennis shoes and hiked up a mountain with my brand new camera strapped to my back in an effort to prove that I was worthy of my efforts.

The theme is adventure and it’s actually quite fitting. Adventure can mean so many different things, but it has close ties with fear; at least for me it does and based on the issue, I’m not the only one. Fear is what often keeps us from pursuing great adventures.

Capturing pictures is something I’ve loved for many many years. I can remember the excitement of stopping by the drugstore to pick up my film. The anticipation of opening that envelope was a thrill. Pulling the 4×6 prints out and shifting through them as quickly as possible was like Christmas morning. All you needed was one, just one really great picture to send you beaming out to the parking lot. That love and constant pursuit of the one great image has never left me and I’m thankful. However, adulthood has a way of squashing your innocent and completely valid love for something. I’ve allowed my internal dialogue tell me that I’m not good enough amidst so many fantastic photographers, and I do know many. I tell myself that the professionals I know will mock me or vilify my efforts.

But those are lies and I’m done cheating myself out of practice, feedback, and quality adventures because of fear. The truth is that they’re all really supportive and we have a common love for something. They’re all excited to share their knowledge and include me where I have the courage to be included. I might not be the best, but I’m putting myself out there. I don’t need to be great, I just need to try. I feel like I’m in a new season of creativity and a new season of confidence in what I can do. I’m excited to see where this takes me and I’m excited to kick fear to the curb.

Here are some of my favorites from my shoot with Jessica of Stellar Day Magazine.

This is the second edition of my new series where I share my review of a book I just read along with a painting I did inspired by the cover. This one is for The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer.

I was originally drawn to the idea of this book based on the premise alone. The idea of following a group of creative teenagers as they grow up and try and reconcile their longing for art with the rest of their life. This theme seemed familiar to me and was something that I could find myself in.

The Interestings follows a group of teens who meet at an arts summer camp. It shows us their lives as they grow up, go to college, choose professions, start families, and make second starts later in life. We’re made privy to the big defining moments of their lives and get long peeks into the mundane.

This isn’t a novel with a page-turning plot. In fact, it took me a bit longer to read it than how I typically consume pages one over the other. I don’t think it was because I didn’t like it or that I couldn’t get into it as much as it was just written with a slow pace. It seemed to stylistically match the pace of life. Sometimes it was a rush of big moments, but mostly it was day-to-day, year-to-year.

Even if you’re not an artist, if you’ve never felt the longing and the constant urge to be creative and to be recognized for that creativity, there is still truth in this novel for you. The novel is more about growing up than it is about art. It’s more about holding on to the idealistic views of your youth. It’s more about looking back on being young with an unhealthy lens. When we first meet our friends, when we first make affirmations about our identity and the place we want to take up in the world, when we aren’t influenced by realism. If we’re not careful, we can spend our whole lives trying to recreate what we once had only to realize that we’re missing what is in front of us. It’s trying to honor the memory of your youth and recognize that it will never be the same; it will never feel as it felt then. It can’t be forced and it can’t be fabricated. Youth is a fleeting gift, but to chase after it is to abandon the rest of your life.

My biggest criticisms are of the characters themselves, but I really believe that characters should be flawed and dynamic. I don’t feel like I have to like them to like the point that the author is trying to make.

Wolitzer’s most profound observations about her own characters were made mostly in the last part of the novel.

“All Right,” Dennis said. “So it did. It made you feel special. What so I know-maybe it actually made you special. And specialness- everyone wants it. But Jesus, is it the most essential thing there is? Most people aren’t talented. So what are they supposed to do- kill themselves? Is that what I should do?…”

However, some of them surprised me and gave me depth when they did something unexpected or when the author let us see past the same collection of adjectives she’d been using to describe them.

Unfortunately, the one who lacked depth for me was the main POV character Jules, which ideally would have been the one who I’d like to have the most depth. Jules was described at witty, loyal and funny, but I never saw these characteristics come to life in her.

The only people she was loyal to was her friends and there were times when it felt she was forcing herself to choose unnecessarily. I think it’s perfectly possible to have valuable adult friendships while still being loyal and present to your husband and family. Jules obsession and jealousy with Ash and Ethan was distracting at times and made me really dislike her. At 15 her characteristics were annoying, but plausible, at 30 they were inexcusable and at 50, they were damaging and troublesome.

Overall the book was worth the read and it made valuable points about growing up and reconciling the dreams of your youth with the reality of adulthood.

Did you read it? What did you think? If you’re on Goodreads, connect with me here.

I’ve been waiting what feels like forever to share this project with you. I had the pleasure of working with Laura and Hannah (or Ham as we know her) over the past few months to bring their vision to life and I couldn’t have asked for more kind, trusting, engaged, and inspiring girls to work with. They’re two sisters who are out to revolutionize the wellness industry through their new community Sisterhood Strong.

Sisterhood Strong is a wellness community like you’ve never seen. They’re out to make all women, and I do mean all women, feel empowered, encouraged, and loved both inside and out. They’re combining science and soul to help you live bold and be free. They’re using their experience and education to help women break free from body hate, social insecurities, and food obsession.

I was able to engage many of my skill sets for this project including: branding, copywriting, editing, graphic design, web design, formatting, email marketing, blogging, and consulting. They came to me with a logo, brand colors, and the heart behind their idea, but the rest was up to me to figure out. Although they came with the basics in branding, no true brand identity had been established. We looked at tons of other websites for things they liked and didn’t like. We spent time talking through style, mood, and user experience.

We successfully used several Pinterest boards (including a fashion one) to give insight into their style along with a series of questions that would steer me in the right direction. They really engaged in this process which made landing on a brand they loved all that much easier.

We landed on bohemian and classic with a nod towards geometrical; natural, but not too hippy. Modern, but not overly young. We were really intentional about the brand representing all kinds of women. We didn’t want anyone to feel excluded based on age, race, body type or any other identifying factor. We wanted women to really connect with the content.

I’m so very proud of this project as well as the amount of time, intentionality, and heart that went into making it come to life. I hope that you’ll check out the site and send Laura and Ham some love. You can connect with them here:

Website

Instagram

You can check out more of my freelance work on my portfolio page and feel free to email me at [email protected] if you’re interested in working with me.

I love to do lots of creative things, but it feels like the only thing that I’m really really good at is writing. It’s the only thing that flows naturally and mostly comes easy. Words are so important. They can make or break someone’s day. They seem simple, but nothing is so powerful as a carefully articulated group of heartfelt thoughts translated into prose. That’s one of the reasons that I love More Love Letters.

Hannah found herself in a new city she thought would unlock her dreams. When it didn’t happen, she found herself in the darkness of depression. She turned to writing. I know that truth oh so well. Writing has given me solace and peace in times of trial and turbulence.  Hannah soon found comfort in ripping out the pages of her journal to leave for others, all while imagining that her words, her love letters would help someone in their journey. Thus began the More Love Letters movement.

Hannah and her team now collect nominations for love letter bundles, encourage people to write words of encouragement through a physical love letter, and mail it. Her team receives, vets, and passes these bundles of letters on to the recipient. It’s beautiful and I’m thrilled to participate.

I just mailed off my latest bundle of letters just before the deadline might I add. I wanted to share this with you so you might be encouraged to write some love letters of your own. By all means, I hope that you’ll join me in Hannah’s movement, but if nothing else, I hope you’ll be encouraged to just write one for someone you know. I’m sure there are many people in your life who could use your beautiful words of affirmation in the form of a hand-written letter. It’s such an amazing way to show love in a tangible and thoughtful way.

Everyday this baby boy is less of a baby and showing me more of his big kid self. It excites me and kills me all the same.

This age and phase is such a bizarre mix of sweet moments and new revelations balanced out with temper tantrums and melt downs over the color cup I gave him. Some days he’s full of kisses and snuggles and other days he’d rather growl. Some days he sits and eats dinner at the dining room table and happily brings me his plate when he’s finished. Other days, he refuses to eat anything and throws it on the floor. He’s moody. He’s two.

He’s discovering his voice and most of the time it’s loud, but once in a while it’s soft and sweet.

One time while he was taking a bath, I took one of the bath toy foam letters, put it on my head, and dramatically sneezed it off. He giggled in that way that makes my heart melt. I did it again and again. Now, he does it every single bath. He stacks the foam letters on his head and then… ahh choo. He shakes his head and sometimes the letters don’t move at all. He puts them on my head too and soaks my face in the meantime. It’s hilarious.

We have a little bedtime routine and after bath time comes story time. He likes to read. I love that. I dream about all the books we’ll read together. I fanaticize about reading chapter books to him out loud as we both lie together before bed. For now, he has his favorites, so I’m excited for the time when he doesn’t want to read the same ones over and over again.

I love that we’re here crafting this tiny human and he’s a part of our family, a part of what we do, a part of who we are. He adds immeasurably to our dynamic and has more than claimed his own space here. He belongs.

It’s no secret that I’m not really a sports fan. I think I tried to be one for a while. I loved going to baseball games with my dad when I was a kid and I played volleyball and softball in high school. I was kinda into following basketball for a while in college and I can get into the World Series, but I’ve never in any way liked to watch football. Just not that interesting to me and I can’t get behind the over sexualization of women in the associated advertising along with the hyper masculine sport of bashing into one another to the point of major injury, but that rant is for another day.

My husband loves football.

We have tons of things in common, this is just one that we don’t. He hates theatre and I hate football. We’re even.

However, most of the country gathers around and watches this big game every year and I’m usually hanging out at the snack table if I even go. This year we were invited to a party with some close friends and I wanted to see them and enjoy some social time, so I decided to tag along. I needed something to wear that showed my support and team spirit… of snacks.

So, I whipped up this little t-shirt for the occasion.

I used my Cricut machine to cut out my stencil and then I used double-sided tape to adhere the stencil to the shirt.

Next, I used black fabric paint to fill in the stencil with a small paint brush dabbing at the edges so they wouldn’t bleed. Be sure to let the paint dry all the way before you try and remove the stencil. There are so many ways to do a stencil, but I was able to do this one with stuff I already had.

I’m not really ahead of the curve on this one. I’m owning it. The really good DIY bloggers make, photograph, edit, and post their projects in plenty of time for their readers to find their post, read it, and craft the project themselves all before certain universally celebrated days. Well, enter my Super Bowl post one month post said Super Bowl.

Ha.

Well, it’s a good thing that this shirt can be applicable in all kinds of circumstances AND there will be another Super Bowl next year, so you have plenty of time to make your own in time for the big game of 2017.

I feel so lucky in this phase of life. I have the freedom to take on freelance projects as I see fit and don’t feel any pressure to take on ones that don’t inspire me or don’t offer me any reasonable compensation. I’m free to offer up services for reasonable rates, trade, or pro bono if I’m passionate about the organization. It was something that I deeply struggled with while I was considering diving into working for myself full time. I feel like I made the right choice for me more and more each day.

I’ve known Angela for years and have been lucky enough to get tons of great massages from her. When we reconnected I learned that she recently went into business for herself and was struggling to reclaim clients after her employer closed up shop. We talked through her branding and marketing needs and dove right in.

It was really important to me that Angela stand out among the crowd. I’ve been able to experience her handy work (see what I did there?) and I wanted to be sure that she was well represented. There are certain industries that tend to use the same sort of imagery over and over. Massage and spas tend to be that way with an over emphasis on lime green and stacked hot rock stones. They always tend to be overly literal as

well. If there isn’t a hand or a stone, or a leaf, then how on earth will people know it’s a massage therapist brand?

ahhhh.

Well… in an effort to combat all of this, I dove in to who Angela is and focused on her. We talked about things like her favorite colors and how she wanted people to feel when they came to her website or interacted with her brand. We created mood boards and communicated often. I’m so proud of where we landed.

When creating her logo, I wanted it to be special and she responded positively to geometric designs, so I created a shape that, in a very subtle way, included the initials of her company. Can you spot the ‘A’ in maroon, the ‘M’ in orange, and the ‘B’ in teal? I’m so happy with how this turned out and it gave us the right tone to move forward with her other pieces.

Here’s her brand/mood board:

She needed a website and bad. She was just using her company Facebook page and it didn’t have the ability for her to have clients book appointments. This site was such a challenge for me, but I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out. It has elements like video, a single scroll home page, and an online booking widget. I love how the elements don’t scream massage, but rather help you identify a mood and a tone. It’s beautiful and relaxing.

In her print pieces, I wanted to be able to carry the same mood as her website, so I used some watercolor effects, which has a natural feel to it like wind, water, or sand. Here’s her new business cards:

If you’re in the Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler area, do yourself a favor and visit Angela for a little massage and bodywork. You won’t regret it. Promise.

I’d like to think of myself as an avid reader. I’ve always been that way and like most things, there are times where I do a ton of it and times I don’t. When I was working with authors on a regular basis, I was mostly dedicated to reading their books and it didn’t leave much time for me to read anything else. Although, I really enjoyed many of my clients’ books, it was really hard to give an objective opinion and review. I was by no means a part of the early stages of development. By the time it made it into my hands, it was to be published as is.

In thinking about how I’d like to share my book reviews, I also thought it would be a fun challenge to my creativity to create paintings inspired by the book covers. I’m by no means a talented painter, but I like the idea of just practicing the art form for my own benefit. This is also my chance to combine some things I want to do more of, read, share, and paint. So, my first book is Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff.

I heard tons of hype around this book and I hate to say that’s why I put it on my to-read list, but if I’m being honest… Also, I joined a local book club and this was the monthly pick, so I went for it.

The book follows the 20 ish year marriage of Lotto and Mathilde Satterwhite. The first half of the book comes from the perspective of Lotto and the second from Mathilde. Lotto is an actor turned successful playwright disillusioned by his whiny need for genius and attention. Mathilde is a shell of a person until the second half when we discover all her background, undertones and true self. Trouble is now that we know her, we wish we didn’t. This novel is complicated both in style and timeline. Nothing is as it seems, especially the characters.

Groff’s style is something that takes some getting used to. Her sentence structure can be choppy and cluttered which left me re-reading passages over just to make sure that I understood the over-written and over-complicated prose. Maybe I’m just not that sophisticated of a writer, or reader for that matter, but the pretentious nature of the novel turned me off at times. The explicit use of the metaphor just came on too strong many times leaving me trying to decipher the code instead of connecting to the story. For example, their pet dog’s name is God. I couldn’t figure out why Groff would choose such a name. It felt as if she was trying to communicate some deeper level of meaning, but I found it distracting and I couldn’t really determine what she was trying to say with her choices. It just cluttered the text for me.

Also, the choppy sequence and bouncing around in a timeline can be a great literary tactic, but in this case it seemed overused, unexpected and sometimes left me more focused on trying to figure out where we were in the timeline rather than focusing on the story.

I also had a really hard time connecting to the characters. I think it might be something to do with the fact that I simply didn’t like them or that they just didn’t seem like real people in real situations to me. There were many times and circumstances where things seemed so unrealistic, that it took me out of the story. This seemed as if the characters were living in some distorted version of reality. Something that lives along side our world and mirrors it, but with strange differences that you can’t quite put your finger on.

Lotto was more of a caricature to me. His innocence and artist nature seemed grotesquely exaggerated and the first half of the book from his perspective had me bored to tears. Especially the sections where we were given the actual script to his plays. In all honesty, I mostly skimmed over those parts. I love Shakespeare and have spent a great deal of time around the theatre and I wasn’t prepared or motivated to pull apart the symbolism and undertones of Greek tragedy that sat in these lines. Maybe they added a layer of understanding for others, but they didn’t do anything for me.

Mathilde was far more interesting and the second half from her perspective developed the story and filled so many holes that the first half left behind. She was plain cruel and many of her character traits and actions were contradictory, which seemed less of an effort to develop a dynamic character and more of a gross inconsistency. However, she made me curious, got my attention and kept me reading.

It was hard to believe that these two were happily married for so long and none of their secrets, flaws, and past came up. Their story felt more like blind infatuation rather than love. There was no intimacy between them, just devastating secrets. It was also hard to believe that after we’re introduced to Mathilde’s utter cruelty and hardness, she would give Lotto years of adoration and self-sacrifice while also intentionally hurting him in the meantime. It seems as Groff was trying to paint a love story so strong that we accept you could and possibly should become someone else only in the presence of our spouse. We don’t lie, we just omit the truth which in the end is meant to protect them.  This is such a Hollywood, washed up version of marriage and I can’t begin to share my distaste for this version of love. Also, there is SO MUCH SEX. Not that that’s a problem in and of itself, but the gross depictions of sexuality and lust left me with all the eye rolls.

Some of my favorite parts of this novel was the backstory of Lotto and Mathilde. I appreciated knowing where they came from as it helped to develop them much farther than the plot alone. I just wonder where the plot would have stood without these sections. I think it would have fallen flat to me. There was nothing to carry it throughout the entire novel and the best parts were when secrets were reveled in the last pages. Makes me wonder why I bothered to read all that prose only to be left with the final explanations which felt rushed and only provided in a need to tie the whole thing up in a nice bow.

The first half felt so dull at times that I was actually paying more attention to the page number rather than what I was reading. I wasn’t sure if I was going to finish it or if I could hold my interest from one page to the next, but I kept going. I’m happy I did though as the second half turned out to be much more of a page-turner and I was surprised at how quickly I moved through it without page counting and making internal reading goals for myself. Overall, I’m glad that I did in fact finish the book. If it wasn’t for the book club, I’m not sure I would have made it.

This book isn’t for everyone, that’s for sure. It certainly isn’t a commercial hit and it took me some time to get into it. We get it, Groff is a remarkable writer, but I’m not really into books that beat you over the head stylistically. However, there were parts of the novel I enjoyed and it certainly made me think about some of the major themes such as love, lust, and infatuation; a parent’s role in the life of their child; life-altering secrets; and of course marriage.

Did you read it? What did you think? Id love to know what you thought and if you think I should give Groff’s other works a try.

You can also connect with me on Goodreads here.