Spring Break in Maine

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On April 25, 2024

In kids stuff, personal, travel

For our spring family vacation, we headed up to Maine for some off-season beach bumming and enjoying the city of Portland.

Wells Beach

Wells Beach was cold, but not so cold that we couldn’t enjoy some time on the sand. Our Airbnb was right across the street from the beach – we were so close that we could see the high tide waves from our window. It was super relaxing and just what we all needed.

Maine Classic Car Museum

We got here early and so we had the whole place to ourselves plus some extra soecial perks for the kiddo. He got to sit in a couple cars like this one that inspired Doc Hudson from Pixar’s Cars. All the cars were so perfectly taken car of – so shiny!
I loved the color of this car – it was a purple gradient.
This old Sinclair Dino gasoline pump was cute.

Downtown Portland

We enjoyed the food and all the shops – especially the bookstores and comic book shop.

Being by the water is our thing. Our homebase was just a few steps away from Casco Bay.
We thought this was fake but an actual piece of the Berlin Wall does exist in Portland. Who knew we’d be seeing a piece of history up close?
This.
We explored bookstores because I love going to bookstores even though I rarely buy anything. To me, they’re like art museums – I just like being in the space, discovering new titles to add to my Libby and looking at all the pretty covers.
We hit up the Main Mall because there was an arcade there. Called Round1 Bowing and Arcade, it had everything – even Samezu, my favorite shark character.

Cate Meow Lounge

The husband found a cat cafe / foster home called the Cat Meow Lounge and it was fantastic. The only other cat cafe I’d ever been to was in Japan. This one was more pleasant because the cats all seemed to be healthy.
At the cat gift shop, Marcel hung out in this case because she needed her alone time. The items were so well curated.

Children’s Museum & Theatre

Would it be a trip if we didn’t visit a children’s museum? No. This was a pretty fun spot – not giant but every exhibit was solid. We even caught a showing of The Neverending Story.

These are so perfectly designed.
There were a few tanks with some sea creatures.

The Center for Wild Life

This was such a treat. We were able to catch one of the caretakers feeding and training a peregrine falcon as it munched on a couple mice – it was blind in one eye and could no longer fly. Why? Cars. They are the enemy.

They’re not open every day so definitely check their hours. It’s worth it.
Meet George. He’s got a cracked shell and both his feet are gone. All injuries due to cars. Luckily, he gets to live out the rest of his days at the center.

Our Portland Airbnb

We absolutely loved the apartment we stayed in. It was super cute and cozy. Plus, there were board games!

We got hooked on Reversi. I’d never played before. This particular set was so pretty. It’s from Anthropologie but it’s sold out. We are currently on the lookout for a nice set to add to our board game collection. And by collection, I mean we just have Trouble and Monopoly.
We also played a mean game of Farkel Party after we kinda figured out how to play it. The kiddo really enjoyed it and it definitely got him math-ing.
We didn’t want to leave. We’ll definitely be back. And now, I leave you with one of our favorite things about the apartment – this mouse statue, which hung in front of the stove.

I am an Ali Hazelwood Fangirl

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On April 4, 2024

In books

Her latest book, Bride, about vampires and werewolves, is a departure from her usual science-themed work but also not because her signature skill in character development runs throughout and that’s what I love about her books.

After reading it on the Libby app/Kindle, I ordered a hardcover copy for my collection. I missed out on the limited edition custom edges which was a bummer but I made sure to pre-order her upcoming book Not In Love, an Afterlight exclusive with alternate dust cover jacket. And, while I was at it, I also pre-ordered exclusive editions of The Love Hypothesis, Love on the Brain and Love, Theoretically. Was it a lot? Yes. But, they’re early birthday presents to myself.

There’s also an exclusive Not In Love pre-order edition with indie book shops. It comes with an overlay which is available only in paperback? I’m not too sure but it’s so tempting!

Anyhow, all this is to say I am an Ali Hazelwood fangirl.

March TBR List

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On March 4, 2024

In books

March TBR List: Color Charts: A History by Anne Varichon, Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers, This Is NPR: The First Forty Years, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Film, Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

Did I read everything from my Jan/Feb TBR list? Of course not, but that didn’t stop me from adding a few more creative books and graphic novels / comic books to my collection.

Marvel Daredevil & Echo comic books (1-4)
I am obsessed with Phil Noto cover artwork.

My Jan/Feb Design TBR List

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On January 30, 2024

In books, work life

The theme is color.

I recently added three color books after seeing one of them pop up in my Threads feed. It’ll be fun and interesting to learn about the histories and stories behind color, how it’s applied in different ways and the psychology of it in terms of user experience. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get through them by February because….

I’m only halfway thru the Rubin book which I got last summer. Yeah, it’s been awhile. I have been finding it to be helpful. It’s in the same vein as Big Magic by Elizabeth Glibert – both say the obvious about fighting through the doubts you experience as a creative but I’m the kind of person that needs to hear it from someone else…or read it on the page for it to sink in. So, if you’re like me then you’re going to really appreciate it.

Anyhow, are there any design / art / creative books you’d highly recommend? I’m always on the lookout to add to my library.

My Pokemon Fanart Workspace

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On January 25, 2024

In personal, work life

This is where all the Pokemon fanart is created. The table is the Ikea Jokkmokk kitchen table which I’ve had forever – it comes with 4 chairs! Anyhow, there’s a pile of Crayola construction paper within easy reach and the kiddo divided the Crayola crayons into two containers when one is sufficient, but toddler minds work in mysterious ways.

There’s also some Pokemon encyclopedias + cards, action figures, a Gundam, dinosaur, a fan he traded arcade tickets for, a jar of beach rocks, and a Squishmallow McDonald’s toy (which isn’t very squishy).

So, yeah, I do my best work with chicken nugget crumbs and chaos.

Drawing Pokemon Fanart a Day

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On January 20, 2024

In things i made

It all started out as a fun activity to do with my Pokemon-obsessed kiddo. But then, it quickly morphed into a creative project to work on. My only criteria is that I work only with crayons and to fit in one drawing a day.

I’m 19 days in and it’s been a blast. I’ve fallen in love with crayons…and I’m starting to finally appreciate Pokemon. The fact that I am playing Pokemon Go with the family is unbelievable, but it’s honestly been great bonding time.

Follow me on IG or Threads.

Happy 2024

By

On January 17, 2024

In personal, work life

It’s a new year and here are a few updates…

  • I’m working with a new team now and I’m excited to play a role in bigger scope projects.
  • I managed to successfully get my company Google Drive account down to under 15GB (from 117GB!!!). This was achieved only because I moved everything over to my OneDrive which has unlimited storage.
  • I’ve started an art project where I draw a Pokemon character a day using only crayon. Follow along on Threads or my IG account if you’re interested.
  • Launched this new minimalist blog format.

So, January is off to a pretty good start…other than this flu I caught on Christmas which still has not released me from its clutches.

André 3000 on new creative pursuits

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On November 16, 2023

In personal, quotes

“Even now people think, Oh, man, he’s just sitting on raps, or he’s just holding these raps hostage. I ain’t got no raps like that. It actually feels…sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about in that way. I’m 48 years old. And not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, but in a way it does. And things that happen in my life, like, what are you talking about? ‘I got to go get a colonoscopy.’ What are you rapping about? ‘My eyesight is going bad.’ You can find cool ways to say it, but….”

André 3000 for GQ

truly inspiring to see how creativity evolves and changes because that’s ok and it’s a part of life which leads me to…

I just ordered a set of Crayola crayons to draw with and, most importantly, to play again.

Afternoon Drawing Session

By

On November 10, 2023

In personal, things i made

This is supposed to be a bok choy. i like how the colors turned out. All of this is courtesy of making art with the kiddo this afternoon which was really nice…and, much needed. However, for two seconds I was paralyzed — I couldn’t put the crayon to paper because I didn’t know what to draw. But then, I looked over at the kiddo going hog wild and he inspired me to just have fun.

I’m forgetting to have fun and I think that’s been the crux of my creative block. There’s so much pressure to make it “something.” So, I need to play more and maybe it’s with crayons.

“Macaroni Cheese” by Young Posse

By

On October 23, 2023

In fandom, listen, videos

This song has me in a chokehold.

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