two things i don't live without.

my smartwater bottle.  i don't actually care about the brand.  i just love this tall, skinny, 34 oz bottle.  i use it for probably a month, and then get a new one.  it is actually probably more like every two months, but that sounds a little gross. 

i find that i drink so much more water when i have a bottle.  also, 

my husband kept stealing my water bottle.  so i got him his own.

now we have his & hers smartwater bottles.

and most importantly, my chapice chapstick.  it is this obscure little chapstick that i find exclusively (not really. it is an oral labs product. but it is not prevalent, i'd know). at my neighborhood kohler's grocery store.  

my husband hates it. but it's one thing i won't budge on.  it is the smoothest, soothing-est feel for me.

i feel calm when i just put it on.  i love these little tiny chapsticks.  i think i am going to have to buy one of those whole plastic fishbowl-looking bowls at the grocery store checkout full of the light blue chapice chapsticks before i move to texas.  

don't mess around with the fruit flavored other colors.  it's only light blue for me.



side note. i just realized this pictured is not actually the 34 oz bottle, but the smaller model.  currently i'm using the 34, which i prefer.

the secret's out

sometimes i wonder if i'm not a better curator than creator.  

but i definitely enjoy creating things, so that is what i mostly do.  

in this case, the design for mine and my husband's 

double graduation announcement was heavily influenced by 3 sources.  

here is the finished product:

i couldn't decide if i wanted the photo in color or b+w. so i did half and half.

a close up of the text:

first of all, and most obviously, i totally copied this layout 

from seesaw's studio opening invite. 

seesaw is a really great "creative studio" complete with 

blog, letterpress, graphic design, vintage etsy shop...

you probably already know about them but if not, go check them out. now. 

 i cropped the corners of my photos with a rounded "corner chomper". 

i got the idea from this christmas card:

source unknown

and then i added a little "class of 2011" card, which was inspired by this:

source unknown

so now you can see what i mean about the curator thing.  i just pulled ideas from other people's creations....and made my own product.  (of course, this was just for personal use). 

but, i am happy with how it turned out.

in other news, i helped my friend design her wedding announcements 

recently as well.  i can't take any credit for the 

photo or the printing that make my work look nicer...

but i did do the announcement design:

(which was inspired by this)

507 renfro street

we are moving to dallas in the summer, after we graduate, to start my husband's job in august.  i am excited to start our real adult life.  it is also a little surreal.  but one of the best parts about moving...means a new place to live!  in reality we are looking to rent an apartment downtown for a little while. i am excited about renting an apartment... we are looking at lofts in old converted industrial buildings and factories, the kinds of places with exposed bricks and ductwork, concrete floors, etc. all of this is very exciting to me, and i know that this is the only time of our lives when living downtown in a big city and living in a small apartment will be realistic AND practical.

but.  there's another part of me that wants to skip the downtown experience all together, and get into a house. i understand the practicalities of living downtown, and it makes sense, and i'm happy to. but i can't help but look at the real estate available in our potential price range.  i drive my husband crazy doing this...but i can't help it. every few months (this has gone on for over a year) i find a great little house, the kind that i-want-right-now-and-i-can't-live-without-it-and-it's-perfect-for-a-million-different-reasons. of course, we can't do anything about it right now.  but now that the move is actually in this calendar year, it's tempting.

so anyway, the point of all this yada yada, is that i found a new favorite house this past week.  meet my friend on 507 renfro street. (all pictures from realtor.com)

doesn't it just look like home? 

so picturesque

and i love the trees

the pros:

-half an acre lot

-price is very reasonable, would cost us less than renting

-new siding

-4 bed

-2 1/2 bath

-1856 sq. ft -- fine for a starter home

-features a "workshop" (unsure of what this is but it sounds like a pro)

-original wood floors

-it is not the typical blah house that you see so many of around this part of dallas in our price range

-under 30 min. commute for the mister (based on google map search)

the cons: (this is a good exercise for me since my house love is blind)

-priced low enough that i'm a little worried about the neighborhood. and even if there are nice people there, would there be any families under 65 yr. old?

-there are no interior photos. that leaves me to wonder a lot.  

-no clue if there are any structural/major issues with the house

-i do not think this house has a front door. ha ha, all i can make out from the photos is a little red side door. kinda weird i must admit. [see photo 2]

so.

as you can see,

there are not many cons. i am in loooovveee with this little old place.

i hope that no one notices this little place for the next 5 months....that we automatically are approved for a home loan, that the whole process goes flawlessly, and that we have our first christmas in dallas in this little place.  oh yeah, and somewhere in there, i have to convince my husband of all of this.

i have my work cut out for me.