Lavender Kay

I know it has been a million years since I have blogged, and I am so sorry.   Life got a little crazy for awhile, and I just couldn’t find the time!  But, recently I have made of few changes in my life and I am hoping to get back to a routine around here soon!

Today I don’t actually have anything too exciting to report other than it has been insanely cold in Milwaukee!  I mean don’t-leave-your-house-for-days cold!  That pesky “polar vortex” has been hitting us pretty hard!  Today the high is negative two and the low is negative seventeen!  And, this isn’t even the coldest day!  I used to think Spokane had cold winters, but now they seem like nothing compared to this!  Although, I have heard that this is the coldest winter Milwaukee has had in a really long time and that does make me feel better.  But still, I am really hoping it starts to warm up soon because this weather is really starting to get to me.  I am ready for some sunshine, and vitamin D!

Have a wonderful day friends!  Stay warm!

Hello!  And, happy Saturday!  This Saturday is especially wonderful because it is the first Saturday that I don’t have to work in a really long time.  I plan to relax, do a little shopping, and work on a fun DIY project I have been wanting to do for awhile.

Also, I wanted to share a couple pictures with you from last weekend.  The above picture is a photo I took while we where in Crystal Lake, Illinois.  We drove there to visit Jonathan’s great Aunt and Uncle, and we had so much fun!  They cooked us so much yummy food, and we played games and talked late into the night.  It was wonderful!  I cherish the time we had there, and really appreciated them inviting us to visit!

Here is the other picture I wanted to share with you.  Last Friday night Jonathan surprised me with tickets to see David Sedaris at the Pabst Theater!  And, to be honest, it was the funniest live performance I have ever been too!  Seriously so good!  On top of David Sedaris being amazing, the Pabst Theater is stunning as well.  I highly recommend going to a show there if you ever get the chance.  I mean look at that chandelier!  We had a really good time, and I hope to see many more shows there!

Happy weekend!

Happy November friends!  How is Fall treating you?   We are loving Fall here in Wisconsin.  The leaves have changed into the most beautiful colors, and it has been surprisingly warm!

I have another desktop calendar for you today!  I am sorry I wasn’t able to design an October calendar last month.  This month I wanted to make it up to you by getting this post up right on time!  I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Again, if you have trouble setting this to your desktop, try saving the file and then opening system preferences > desktop settings > and then drag the file right into the image box.

I thought I would post a few pictures from our backyard dinner parties as a tribute to summer.  It is definitely Fall here in Milwaukee, and we are loving the crisp air and beautiful fall foliage.  As we gear up for the colder months, I thought I would show you a small snippet of our first summer in Milwaukee.  We found this awesome wooden picnic table in our backyard behind our garage, and that is where we got the idea to start throwing backyard dinner parties.

When Holly came to town we threw her a small birthday party in the backyard, and invited our friends from next door.  It was such a memorable night filled with twinkle lights, glasses of champagne, and a big chocolate cake.  We also threw a few parties with friends as well as had dinner out there just the two of us, and each one of those nights was uniquely special.

I think this summer has been so important to me because it is so drastically different from last year.  Last year had it’s own special set of memories for us, but it was also a challenging year.  For one, we lived in a much different space without backyard, and our neighbors weren’t interested in getting to know us.  This new season has a been a breath of fresh air, and one I am so thankful for.  Here are a few pictures of our summer nights spent in our backyard.

Well hello!  It’s been awhile!  I feel like a lot of my posts start like this lately.  It would be an understatement to say we have been busy lately, but I truly miss posting regularly here so I am hoping to get back to a normal schedule soon.

Although we have been super busy lately, we have been having a lot of fun too!  We had so much going to a Brewers game the other weekend, and the Miller Stadium was stunning!  Before the game we were invited to a tailgate party, and boy does Wisconsin know how to through a tailgate party!  It was a blast!

It has been so fun exploring this new city.  We have met so many people, and experienced so many new things.  I am constantly surprised this is our home.  It still seems crazy that we live in Milwaukee and are so far from home.  It has been quite the adventure the last couple years, but an adventure I am so grateful for!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Ps.  The above photo is of the Milwaukee River, and the bridge I walk over everyday on my way to work.

Here is your September desktop wallpaper!  You guys! I am really sorry that this is so late!  Between working tons and some technical difficulties, it has taken me forever to post the new desktop wallpaper!  But, I did have some fun making this wallpaper for you!  For this desktop image I wanted to do something clean and fresh with a nice hint of Fall.

Also, happy Friday!  It feels like my weeks are just flying by these days!  What are your plans for the weekend?  This will probably be one of my craziest weekends to date, but hopefully it will be fun too!  We plan to go to a Brewers game tonight with some friends (first time in Miller Stadium!), and I am pretty excited!  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Ps.  As I said above, I had some technical difficulties with my desktop images so I wanted to let you know that if you have a Mac computer and have trouble setting this to your desktop, try saving the file and then opening system preferences > desktop settings > and then drag the file right into the image box.  Hope it works!

Good morning!  How is your week going?  Is it Fall yet in your city?  Milwaukee has fully embraced Fall, and it feels so good!  I love all the beautiful, crisp mornings, bright colored leaves, and of course, a yummy Pumpkin Spice Latte!  Speaking of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, is anyone else interested in the shift from calling the Pumpkin Spice Latte a PSL?  The power of marketing!  But I have to say, although I don’t get coffee from Starbucks very often, I do love a good Pumpkin Spice Latte from there!

Anyway, today I wanted to post a cute outfit from the new Looks We Love over on the J.Crew website.  Isn’t this outfit wonderful?!  A fun layered stripe shirt and sweater with a whimsical skirt and loafers…very Fall!  If you want to see more from the Fall Looks We Love, click here.  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

(image, via)

Ok, now for the second piece of exciting news — I accepted a position as the in-house graphic designer for a stationery and paper company this last week!

Life has been quite a whirlwind the past couple weeks, as everything has happened really fast!  I accepted the job one day, and my first day was the next!

The company is called Broadway Paper, and they are located in downtown Milwaukee in the Third Ward.  Broadway Paper is a locally owned paper store that sells beautiful paper products and custom wedding invitations.  I am honored that I get to be a part of this fabulous company!

(image, via)

Hello!  And, happy Monday!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Jonathan and I went for a really long walk on this beautiful trail near downtown Milwaukee on Saturday evening.  Then we ended the night at this small, candlelit restaurant where we ordered tasty drinks and played chess.  It was a magical night.

As I said last week, I have a lot of exciting news to share with you!  Today I decided I would start by sharing with you my new online portfolio!  Last year in school I was required to design a hard copy of my portfolio but not a version that would be put online.  So, I decided to take on the task of putting together my online version so that it would be more accessible.  You can view my new portfolio by clicking the new portfolio tab at the top right of my blog or you can click here.

I also wanted to highlight the above image.  This is a fun project I worked on last year that I never got the chance to show you.  The project was to design an illustration that corresponded with a specific piece of text.  I decided to illustrate a map of Paris.  To view the illustration larger you can click on the image.  You can also find this project in my portfolio.

Hi!  Oh my goodness it’s been awhile!  A lot of exciting things have been happening since I last posted!  As I said last time, my sister came to visit us in Milwaukee, and we had a blast!  It was so wonderful having her here.  We showed her the town, and shared some really memorable experiences.

The winds of change are blowing over here in Milwaukee, and I’m not just talking about the turn of the season!  (Although, Fall is definitely upon us!)  I have some really exciting news to share with you regarding my creative pursuit, but I can’t tell you quite yet.  I know, so anticlimactic! I can’t wait to update you guys on what has been going on, and I just need to wait a few more days.  In the mean time, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

(image, via)