photo diary: visiting kate in tucson

It had been far too long since I had the chance to see my gorgeous best friend Kate, so Erin and I took a mini road trip down to Tucson last week to stay with her, her sister, and their roommate.  I am so glad we did!  It was lovely to just be in Kate's company--best friends should never go this long without seeing one another...

Kate was a great host, showing us around her neck of the woods and introducing us to her friends.  It was nice to see her and her new life there.  It was so comforting to just hang out, look at shops (she got that awesome maxi dress while we were shopping the first day--Erin calls it her "adobe goddess dress"), watch the first season of Girls, eat vegan ice cream and otter pops (that's all we Arizonans eat obviously), and get crafty.  We ate lots of great food during our stay and even caught a show at The Loft, which was very cozy.  We even got some rain!

I am so incredibly lucky to have such wonderful best friends as Kate and Erin.  I love all my friends so much and already know it will be tough going back to school in less than two months.  Now if I could only get Dahlya to come home to me...

just my type: an epic wedding invite

As a lover of design and typography, I thought it would be fun to start a feature called "Just My Type" to showcase some awesome online finds.  You know, just because I'm nerdy like that.

Since I am using my friend's recent engagement as an excuse to indulge in my love of weddings (it's a big, embarrassing love), I found this awesome interactive wedding invitation while looking at one of my favorite blogs, Green Wedding Shoes.

If you have the time (let's be honest, you probably do if you are reading my lil' ol' blog), scroll through it.  Not only is it a beautiful work of design, it's also freaking precious.

(Also, totally drooling over the woman's work.  Check it out here.)

riikka sormunen

I love how the internet makes it so easy to discover new artists...  My latest discovery (about ten minutes ago) is Riikka Sormunen.  Originally from Helsinki, Sormunen has studied fashion design, illustration, and painting.  She started her illustration career when she was only 19!  I'm loving all the warm colors, textures, and attention to detail in clothing.

photo diary: mesa, gilbert, & phoenix - ted's visit, day four

Monday was a very happy, but sad day.  Ted and I packed in a lot!  First we went to Downtown Mesa to browse the shops and eat cookies at Sweet Cakes (plus save an indulgent brownie for later).  Next we drove to Gilbert to stop at the Riparian Preserve and stop at my dad's fire station where he's captain.  By this time we were pretty hungry, so we went to the always intriguing Chino Bandido to split a late lunch.  

All the beautiful pictures of cacti were taken at the lovely Desert Botanical Garden.  Since we didn't have the time or heat resilience (115 degrees, you guys) to walk around the whole garden, we convinced the nice ticket lady to let us in for ten minutes to take pictures in the entrance area.  Okay, so maybe Ted did the convincing...  

Finally, we had some dinner at Pizzeria Bianco, which is usually packed, but somehow we walked right in without a reservation.  The airport wasn't too far away from us at this point in our trek.  It was very hard to say goodbye to Ted after a few short days.  Now I have seven weeks ahead of me until I see him next (and go back to Portland).  I'm very thankful he was able to visit though!  

Mesa on Dwellable

photo diary: tonto natural bridge, gilbert, & mesa - ted's visit, day three

On Sunday we woke up early to take a short hike at Tonto Natural Bridge before driving home.  It was beautiful!  Ted loved taking pictures there.  When we got back in town, Ted and I drove to Postino for my mom's birthday lunch with family.  Later we had cupcakes with my grandparents to celebrate some more!  At this point we were exhausted and ended up just hanging around the house until spontaneously deciding to pick up dinner at Vito's to eat at the movie theatre.  Ted really wanted me to see Safety Not Guaranteed, so it worked out well.  Dining at the movie theatre--we're a classy couple. 

Gilbert on Dwellable