Cute. Part Deux.

Remember my friend Shayla and her adorable kiddos? We decided that it was time for a reunion and another round of Dress-up mural photo shoot. We spent an hour planning out outfits and a location and got everything prepared except we forgot one thing: the weather. When you’re either in air conditioning or inside a pool, you forget how unforgivable the heat can be. So our shoot ended up turning into 15 mins of full concentration, then the sun fried our brains apathetic and we left for air-conditioned smoothies.

Everything Wooden

I like wooden things. Alot.

Walnut cutting board by grayworksdesign. Above: Letterpress print by In Haus Press.

Funky bed frame by Knack Studio.

Wooden glasses necklace by Homako

Lady Paintings

I’ve been too distracted by summer to sit inside and paint. I also had to give away all of my canvases, paints, and my eisel when I left Amsterdam . I’m sure I’ll eventually get back into it but for now, I’m getting inspired by Oriana Lewton-Leopold. I love these abstract-realist paintings of women. Throughout history women have been the main subject in art. Mysterious, complicated, and beautiful. With so many interpretations, lady paintings never get old.

Summer Daze

Back in the day, when I used to live in Austin, my friend Jessica and I used to always plan themes for the upcoming summer. There was the “Summer of Whiskey”, where we (surprise!) drank whiskey all summer, or the “Summer of Ghetto Pool Lounging”, where we woke up everyday and made cocktails and brought a book out to our awesome but ghetto apartment complex pool. Somewhere in between was the “Summer of 12″, where we decided we needed to be in the sixth grade again and do fun kid things like play video games, or bike to snow cone stands, or play putt putt golf. Every summer was a good summer.

Now, after three years of bundling up in Amsterdam, I seemed to have walked back into “Summer of 12″ land. I guess when it’s this hot in Texas, the only thing you can do is go out and PLAY!

Slip ‘n Slide relays.

The beautiful green belt.

Swim Swim Swim

How does one acclimate back to hot summers after experiencing three years of fall- winter-back to- fall again? SWIMMING! I’ve gone back to my Okinawan swim team roots and have been swimming up a storm in the last two weeks. I get my exercise, vitamin D, and heat relief all in one dip. I tell you, its a miracle drug y’all! No but seriously, it’s super nice to be outdoors again. These illustrations by Gigi Rose Gray perfectly depict the way I feel in the water. Beautiful.

P.S. If you’re visiting Austin and want to cool off, check out this nice post by Feliz on all the natural swimming holes in the city.

Bombay Beach

Wow, Bombay Beach is one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen in a long time. When it comes to documentaries, I love the cinema verite style the most and Israeli director Alma Har’el perfectly documented the characters in this film in such a discreet and elegant manner. Set in one of the poorest desert towns in California, what was once a beautiful vacation destination for the upperclass is now a barren wasteland with a sad body of toxic water. The documentary follows the lives of a few charismatic souls who call Bombay Beach their home. Har’el is predominately known for her chaotic music videos for Beirut. Elements of her past work are also beautifully showcased in this film where there are often long silent scenes of characters dancing in the desert. If you love experimental documentaries or just want to learn about this crazy little town, watch this film.

A Good Quote

Do you ever underline a good line from a book? I do it often but then I never go back to it and immediately forget about it. So I’m really fond of this new illustration series by Evan Robertson. Get your own prints at his etsy shop.

European Cities Postcards

I’ve gotten a little bit obsessed with matching beautiful typography with the aesthetic of different European cities. My postcard designs just keep growing so I thought I’d make the entire collection available at my shop. Check out all my European postcards here.

Final Day in Amsterdam

Amsterdam of course needed to flaunt it’s beauty to me on my last day in the city. The weather was absolutely perfect and I spent the day doing one last victory lap on my bike and thanked this ol’ beaut for three eventful years.

Here and There

You know you’re in Holland when you sit down at a cafe for lunch and the three grown-up guests next to you order Karne Melk (buttermilk) to pair with their cheese sandwiches. And you know you’re in Texas when you go out to greet your new neighbors and they are gigantic longhorns. Ahh this world is always entertaining. Last week I was biking through Amsterdam and feeding baby swans. This week I’m driving on highways and staring at all the crazy creatures that come out in the heat of summer. I’m listening to Mississippi John Hurt and brewing peach ice tea. You can’t stop me, I’ve gone country.