born free

Thanks to the Arbor Wiki I spent my birthday getting free things all over my hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan. My two favorites, above, were 6 bagels from the world famous Zingerman's and a MIMOSA flavored cupcake from Cake Noveau.

home advantage

I take a long awaited trip to Michigan on Thursday, and I can't wait! I love my house - I love the strange colors (green! red!) and the one little bathroom, and my blue carpeted bedroom - those three windows in the front are MINE. Even my tattoo came out of my love for my house. It has been my house ever since I was born, and I will always love it.

waiting line

I want to do the portrait in photos that alli did, but I need time to plug in my hard drive and really sift through my old stuff. So until then, a few things. (p.s. this is hello emma's 200th post, i think?)



I am 100% obsessed with Rifle Paper Co, a fab stationary & print company run by wife Anna Bond and husband Nathan Bond. Anna designs, Nathan manages, I drool. The colors used really make me want to stop writing this blog post and draw more, but alas - I will not. I do plan on buying things from them and adding Anna to my list of most favorite artists.



My other most recent favorite artist is Sofia Arnold, a fellow midwestern (holla atcha, wisconsin!) artist whose sketches and silkscreens make me die on the inside, they're so lovely! As a person who loves making tiny little marks on paper, I find her mark-making enviable.



I'm also going to TRY to start putting more things into my shop. It's more of a "here is a goal, now make the art." rather than a "i will make so much money from this endeavor."

i want my mtv

I am not a person who buys cds all the time and goes to concerts a lot - but I do still like music. It's mostly been what's on my ipod, though, so new musical discoveries are scarce. But recently I've been liking a few new things, would you like to hear them?

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.

Mayer Hawthorne - Just Ain't Gonna Work Out from Stones Throw on Vimeo.

God Help The Girl / God Help The Girl from God Help The Girl on Vimeo.

label maker

I am researching wine labels for a birthday wine, and it is FUN. That is all. (click pictures for the source)

color by number

I don't use colored pencils in my usual work, but if I had 500 GORGEOUS colored pencils like these ones from Social Designer, I might have to. Like it's (just a little) less cool "of the month club" brothers, with 500 Pencils you get a set of 25 colored pencils once a month for 20 months, leaving you with the most complete spectrum of pencils I've ever seen.

There are also FOUR DIFFERENT display cases that make the pencils lust-worthy decorations, too. I'd go for the "Aurora" myself, but they all look good. Also, they have some real sweet names like Tragedy, Rhett Butler, and Golden Festival Screen.

Okay, I'll stop salivating now.

julep, plum pudding, and toucan

christmas-time is here

Yesterday it snowed even more, too. Tonight we will watch White Christmas... and I'm thinkin' it'll be cookie baking time soon.

banner print

If I had a yacht, that is what I would name it.