The Big Dance!

It's the week! It's the Tourney! It's March Madness! The Big Dance!

I'm super psyched to finish up my bracket in the next couple days.

Went around looking for a nice printable bracket--no such luck. They are all just so...not pretty.

So, of course, I created my own:

I contemplated posting my entire bracket today, but since I am the bracket-filler-outer in the entire world, I didn't want to give anyone an unfair advantage.

Leave a comment or send me an email if you want your very own hi-res printable version (without the background)!

Julie/Julia: The Final Design!

Hey All!
First off, thank you all so much for the birthday love yesterday, I had a great day, so blessed to have all of you in my life.

I spend a huge amount of today [5 hours] preparing today's project. This truly was a labor of love/hate.

Remember a couple weeks ago, when I started sketching out ideas for my favorite cooking quote? If not, check it out here.

So...here it is!

I am really proud of it! I think it will look awesome in my kitchen. I'll post the final print of it after I get it in the mail.

Also--today is one of the best days of the year: WE FINALLY GET TO FILL OUT OUR BRACKETS!

Tomorrow's project involves my bracket, so if you want some expert insider information, look for my bracket tomorrow...

25 things that I love

Today is my birthday. I love all birthdays, and I especially love my birthday.

Spending the day today with my close friends and family here in Portland--so happy!

I thought I would spend today's post on some of my 25 favorite things (in no particular order...and I probably forgot things so don't feel bad if I didn't list you, you're on my list too.):

25. Portland when it is sunny. There is seriously no better place in the whole world.

Put a bird on it.
Source: google.com via Ann on Pinterest

24. Wine tasting. I love wine tasting because 1) it's cheap, 2) it's super fun to throw off the wino's by disagreeing with what they are tasting in their glass of Pinot Gris. Example: Oh, you're tasting peachy cherries? I'm tasting chocolate smoke.

23. Beer tasting. See No. 24 reason 1. But also, beer tasting leads to a more fun crowd. I really miss living close to the Redhook Brewery... Best $1 you'll ever spend.

22. Blogs. I used to think blogs were stupid, until I became a 'blogger.' Now, I love blogs. I especially love the ones I have listed on the right-hand-side of this blog. Check them out if you have time.

21. Environmental Conflict Resolution. It's funny where the recession will make you land. Being a planner, I was so sure I would see myself in the marketing/graphic design field. Been there, done that, wasn't that awesome. I love the field that I am in now, and I'm really looking forward to developing my skills and hopefully become more established in this field.

20. My hair straightener. I srrsly love my straightener. It's about 9 years old. Lime green. Heats up to about a billion degrees. It's gotten to the point that I can't borrow another person's straightener, it's just not as awesome. Also--you should love my straightener too because it's the only thing that stops me from looking like Cathy.

Ack!

19. My job. So, this is pretty related to No. 21, but I really do love my job. It's awesome to be able to work with my Mom, on important projects, and have the freedom to develop into what I want to. Not very many people get this amazing opportunity, and I'm thankful for it everyday.

18. Super talented people. Dear Super Smart Super Talented Super Amazing People of the World: you rock. Thanks for inspiring me.

17. My amazing/talented/brilliant friends. As I've moved to Portland, I've gotten the chance to reconnect with old friends, while keeping up with all my friend friends in the Seattle area. It's awesome to have such deep roots in two cities. It's even more awesome that these people are the most brilliant/fun people I know.

16. The Real Housewives. So smutty. So terrible. Everything that's wrong with 21st Century America. So awesome.

15. Coupons. I wouldn't call myself a 'couponer' but I freakin' love coupons. Especially for things that aren't groceries. However, I do not like Groupons. 

14. My beautiful/smart/hilarious sisters. Megan and Boo Boo are awesome. We laugh just as hard as we fight, and we have fun together. This is the longest distance the three of us have ever had between us (Megan is in Israel and Boo Boo is in California) and I can't wait for us to get back together this summer.

13. My supportive/fun/talented parents. I really lucked out with the most amazing family. They're supportive, while still being able to keep me steadily grounded. They're fun. And they're amazing at what they do. Pretty lucky.

12. My entire amazing/loud/quiet/fun family. My family, including my wonderful in-laws, is amazing. They are also extremely diverse. Some of us our loud. Some of us are quiet. Some of us are hilarious. Some of us are dirty. Seriously, so blessed in this department.

COOL KIDS FOR LIFE! 

11. Apple products. What did we do before the iPhone? Make phone calls?

10. Hunger Games.

9. Tina Fey. Even though I may be the only person in the universe that watches 30 Rock, I love Tina Fey. I love Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. I love Tina Fey as Liz Lemon. I love Tina Fey as Tina Fey. Srrsly.

Blarg. 

8. Projects. If you haven't noticed, my love of projects is the premise of this blog. I love projects. Of all sorts. I bet you could even trick me into eating an entire olive if you called it a project. Blech. Maybe not olives. Correction: I may eat a beet if you call it a project.

7. Cooking. This is seriously therapy for me. I love throwing a couple things together and seeing if it tastes good--most times things I make are at least edible--and sometimes they're even delicious!

6. March Madness. MAKE SURE TO FILL YOUR BRACKET OUT ON SUNDAY! I haven't decided if I am going to post my bracket on here...I wouldn't want anyone to have an unfair advantage in their pools...

5. Stuff You Should Know Podcasts. Today, I learned about how flooding works. As I'm writing this blog, I'm listening to how the Autobahn works. SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE!

4. Pinterest. I know there are some potential legal issues with Pinterest, and there are some controversies with it...but Pinterest is amazing and has endless possibilities. So much collabo possibilities. So much organization. So much awesome.

Check out my Pinterest

3. Jeggings + Ballet flats. The most comfortable outfit ever. (Besides jammies.)

2. Turning 25. I feel super fortunate to be where I am, with the people that surround me at 25. While I have some large improvements to make, I am genuinely happy with me. I'm not sure I was there at early 24. I definitely wasn't there at 23. I have arrived.

1. Being married. Not much has changed between Ben and I since our wedding day. This May will start our 10th year of being a couple--so there weren't many secrets that were unveiled in the past 5 months. But, I can say, without a doubt, I am the luckiest lady in the world. Seriously. Look at this stud:

He has a 50" vertical.

If you've made it through the list of 25, thank you. Again, these weren't in any particular order. I caused myself a mini-panic attack when I tried to put this in order...thus, let's say everything is just on 'Level Awesome' and don't need to be ordered.

This was a good excercise--what are your top 5 favorite things? (They don't need to be in order.)

Drink DuJour

Today was an absolutely beautiful day in Portland. We've actually had two beautiful days in a row--a total treat for early March.  So, today I dreamt up a yummy almost-summer-feeling cocktail. 

I had some frozen blueberries left over from last summer...

So I muddled them with one part Gin (I used Bombay Sapphire)
and half part Elderflower/lemon syrup. 

This is what the syrup looks like. We got it from Williams and Sonoma.
It's absolutely delicious. 

Then, I poured it in a glass over ice, added some sparkling water,
and topped it off with a couple lime wedges. 

It was so good. Happy almost-spring/summer!

Cat & Bird No. 2 (bonus knowledge!)

So, I finally finished illustrating Annie and Casey's wine label!

I haven't run this by them, so colors, etc. may change for their final version, but here is what I have:

Hey little bird!

I really like it--and I can't wait to hear what they think of it.

Since this is a pretty short post, I thought I would talk to you about one of my most favorite things: Stuff You Should Know Podcasts.

This is Josh and Chuck. They are too smart. 

Have you ever decided you want to listen to 45 minutes of "How the Secret Service Works?" Or, had an inkling to know "How Cheese Works?" Or, a family favorite, "How Ponzi Schemes Work?" (issa ponzi schemm!) These are your guys.

These are especially wonderful to listen to while running, because they are incredibly interesting and will make you forget that you are running. (I am NOT at the point that I love to run. Thus, I welcome distraction.)

Because of these guys, I can talk to you - in detail - about the ins and outs of the FBI, Terror Theory, Casinos, Autopsies, Mexican Wrestling (this was especially interesting), and the Peace Corps. Now, if that isn't a cool party trick, I don't know what is.

All the podcasts are free from iTunes.

Cat + Bird

Two great friends of mine, Annie and Casey, made their own wine.

Yes. Their own WINE. They are so cool. 

This included stomping 100 lbs of grapes. Ugh. So cool. 

I was at their home the other day, and I got to see the wine as it was aging in the bottle (they even sealed it with wax. They are too cool. Seriously!)

To ensure that I someday would get to try the wine they made, I offered to design a label for them (nice strategy, huh?)

Here's what Casey gave me to start with:

So. Cool. 

The wine is called: Cat and Bird, 2011 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris.  

Today, I decided to start by just working with the type. I started illustrating the cat and the bird, but I'm not quite ready to show them to the world (or Annie and Casey.) But, here's my starting point:

 

Who's That Girl?

See this girl?

Hey, Emilie!

That's my best friend Emilie and I on my wedding day.

Guess what? Today's her BIRTHDAY!

She's pretty great, so today, I'm celebrating everything Emilie.

Emilie is your epic wing-lady. Not in the way that she helps people pick up dudes/chicks. She is the best person to have around with the going gets tough, and you need to get going.

See? The epic 'hanger ribbon debacle' of October 15, 2011. Emilie was
able to cut the ribbons off with wimpy sewing kit scissors. Go Emilie!
The best photos I have are from my wedding, so deal with it.

Emilie is so much fun. She's pretty much down for everything. She even let me tag around with her for two weeks last year in London and Ireland. True Story: In a bar in Dublin, Emilie and I met two very jolly [read: drunk] men from Australia. They were having a great time, and after we told them that we would NOT go home with them, Aussie No. 1 threw a full pint [glass included] of beer at Emilie's head. She ducked at just the right time, and we got sprayed [read: drenched] with beer. Why is Emilie awesome? We kept partying--and have an awesome story. (I left out about 99% of this story for the benefit of our mothers/grandmothers and you.)

Emilie, probably giggling at me stressing out.

Also, Emilie has the honor to have been born four days before I was. Meaning, we are forever intwined by having the same birthday week, and millions of opportunities for JOINT BIRTHDAY PARTIES!

Here she is, catching some major air. 

Finally, she is absolutely brilliant. How many people do you know that had an EMMY before they turned 25? Now you know one: Emilie! She is an absolutely insanely talented documentary filmmaker, and I can't wait to be her date to the Oscars in a couple years (HINT HINT!) OK--maybe I'll be at home watching her accept her Academy Award...but still... She will definitely get there.

So, Happy Birthday Emilie! I miss you, and *hopefully* we'll make it to Oktoberfest this year :)

Picture is not mine, it can be found and praised here.

Here's to your best year yet!