BRUNCH DIARIES: TILIA

Many of you over here may know that I love brunch. It's my favorite meal of the week. Brunch has my favorite foods with a relaxed place, a combination that is quintessentially 'weekend'. Over the weekend Christopher and I brunched at Tilia, a place I heard great things about. It's a beautiful place in the Linden Hills neighborhood that manages to be both small and open.

The food on their brunch menu was something special too. I had the Mortadella Monte Cristo which featured a poblano jam and gruyere cheese.

Below are more photos that I took during brunch and I did a full review on the North Nabe's website if you want to know more about my experience. Tilia had so many great touches!

FEBRUARY UNIFORM

I was delusional to think that February would mean I could take it easy on the heavy clothes and layers.

I had it in my head that February would mean I could wear lighter blouses without freezing. That seems so dumb now, of course. It's not like I haven't lived through many winters already, but I think it could have been a bout of wishful thinking?

At this point, I'm sick of wearing sweaters, though I do still love what I have. So yeah, more of the same, sweaters, boots, scarves, But I'm trying to spice it up with more interesting textures and some color.

All fall and winter I had been drawn to neutral colors in my wardrobe, but for spring I am feeling a big change. All of the pieces I have my eyes on are colorful and vibrant with colors like kelly green and coral orange. I don't know when I'll do my spring/summer shopping, but I am excited to make some plans.

With that, welcome to how I kept the style magic alive in February!

JACKET
I've loved wearing my black pea coat style jacket with a mandarin collar. It's lined, long and whenever I wear it, it looks like I tried much harder than I actually did.

ACCESSORIES
A colorful blanket scarf. Like I said earlier, I've been dying for more color and this scarf has some of my favorites!

TOP
A sweater with the fringe on top! You can't see it in the photo BUT I have more posted on the North Nabe's website so check it out!

BOTTOM
Skinny black pants. Pretty standard stuff!

HAIR
Messy and sliiiiightly unwashed…

MAKE-UP
My skin is looking translucent (not a good look) so I've been reaching for the bronzer constantly. The rest has been minimal.

SCENT
Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamon. I am obsessed with that scent. I got a small bottle for myself at the Jo Malone counter in Nordstrom's as a birthday gift to me. It's the best. Everything from Jo Malone is the best, really.

FEET
Fun fact, I have worn my tall riding boots zero times this winter. I still love them, but I have much preferred the look of biker style boots, like the ones in the photo above. Casual shoes have been my number 1 jam.

BAG
My large and in charge tote bag has been a great companion for taking my work supplies on the road in a little bit of a more stylish way.

TODAY IS YOUR TEACHER

This post-it! This lesson!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I wrote this in the wee hours of the morning. I had a big day ahead of me and this phrase leapt into my half awake mind.

I wrote it down right away and I thought, 'I'll write it prettier later…'

I've been reading Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now and he talks a lot about living for the present moment, not living in the past or worrying or obsessing over the future. I love this concept but at times it's hard to practice.

Like today.

I had two contract job interviews lined up.

Two in the space of 4 hours… 

on the opposite sides of town.

I wanted to remind myself that today, right now, is my guide and don't let past interviews haunt me or what these jobs could be or not be color my mood or perception.

I rode off in my car, Shelly, to the first appointment of the day.

Near the end of my drive…CRASH.

I hit someone while driving on the highway.

It was my first ever car accident and it was my fault. I felt so many things.

I'm fine. My car is fine (sorta) and so was the poor person that I hit. I got goofed up with the directions and tried to make a quick lane change because I didn't want to be late, and that impulsive emotionally charged decision is what set it off course.

I called my contact for the company and they had to tell my interviewer that I couldn't come in. We then rescheduled for tomorrow. I felt embarrassed and silly. I went home, changed into my favorite comfy pants, made tea and just sat. I didn't listen to music, watch a video, I just sat and tried to regulate my breathing.

I saw that post-it note again and gave it the side-eye. But knew it was right. I could only move forward with what was in front of me.

In 30 minutes I had to leave for my next interview. 

I exchanged my sweat pants for my tights and skirt and off I went.

I tried to just think of how excited I was to meet new people and listen to them talk about what they're working on.

I got there in one piece, did a little dance, and walked my booty in the front door.

The interview was seriously like a breath of fresh air. I went in open minded and left just happy to have had the experience I did. Even if nothing were to come of this, it was just nice to meet people who are open, honest and are trying to make a difference. I wrote a thank-you email as soon as I got home because when you have a great experience like that, you let them know!

It was as if the pendulum of my day had completely swung in the other direction. I went from tears to peace to joy.

I was home for about 30 minutes, doing my laundry and I got a phone call. I had been offered the job. (!!!!!!!!!) I felt so grateful and I looked at that post-it note again.

'Today is your teacher.'

Damn.

Those words.

So much more impactful today than I originally thought. I makes me wonder if my brain just knew this attention to NOW was going to make the impact that it did.

I could have had the accident sour my mood and then bring that poor mood with me to the second interview, but I tried my best to let it go.

I also could have had their quick response to hire me scare me leaving me second guessing if this job was going to be good decision for me.

Instead I said yes to the offer because it felt right RIGHT NOW. In a few months I might not feel that way but I need to embrace what feels good in my current situation so that's what I did.

My mind still wanders to 'did I do the right thing?' or 'maybe they won't like me' or 'what if I hate it?' but I am so comforted that whatever day 'today' is, is my teacher.

I'm also leaving the words in their raw 'unpretty' form because today felt raw, real and also detached from expectations or judgements.

Now, here I sit so excited for a new experience to start next week while filling out a claims report for my car accident.

HA!

STUDIO SOUNDS: DEATH TO THE WINTER BLUES

Studio Sounds: Death to the Winter Blues from 12100758 on 8tracks Radio.

Hello and welcome to the pits of winter! It's been winter for a while, and for those of us who experience the colder seasons in all of its coldness it gets to a point where you think winter could last foooooorrrreeeeevvvveeeeer.

For me, this is that point.

I have been relying on some all time favorite musicians and songs to get me through this time, because a happy person means happy work, right?

With that, I made a playlist for anyone out there who just needs some damn sunshine, even if it's just for the ears.

Before we know it, summer will be here again.

So they say ;)

PENCIL CASE UNZIPPED

I'll admit it! I have a lot in my pencil case. But I swear, they all serve a purpose. And I want to share them because I think I found a really good balance of tools to have when I'm on the go.

Maybe this will help other wandering artists too?

I really only ever need 2 pencils; one pencil with hard led, one with soft led.

The hard led pencil (2H) has been my go-to for almost everything. This is because I usually draw with pencil before I ink my work or I will erase my lines all together and having lighter lines helps with this a lot.

Then there are the cases when I want a heavier darker pencil line, which is why I like woodless graphite pencils. SOOO much more led real-estate! This one is a 2B.

My Pentel Clic Eraser is the only way to erase. It's clean, precise and feels easy and natural to use. I've been a fan of this guy since middle school.

I only ever need this guy. It writes like a frickin' dream!

I like to have three liner pens on hand, each with different size (thickness) of nib. This can help with creating depth easily in a drawing.

My Micron black pen is my most used liner pen. It doesn't bleed at all, drys very fast and the line is consistant. Bonus points: it's soooo inexpensive!

My Copic Multiliner, which has a little bit thicker of a nib (0.3), is also a very solid pen. It gets points for having sexy packaging. It feels nice in the hand and makes for a great line. The only thing is that you are paying a little more because of the packaging, and the brand name, to be honest.

The Faber-Castell PITT pen I have has a thicker nib, I'd estimate at a 0.7 but they don't number the nibs like other companies do so that's just a guess. Any who, this one is good too. I believe it sits in the middle of the road between the Micron and Copic, price wise. 

Duo markers are pretty excellent because they have a bullet point AND a brush point. It's like a one stop shop! The are a bit long in body, but whatever!

The Pentel duo brush marker is my favorite. I have spoken about this pen before (both pens actually!) and since then, I have just been more in love with the Pentel brush. It's expensive (in the pen world) but I can't imagine my pencil case without it. To be honest, if I could only have five items with me, this would be one of them. 

The Tombow duo brush marker is great, but be warned! Please only use it on ultra smooth paper, like that from Rhodia. If you use this pen on sketch paper, drawing paper or any other paper with more texture, the fibers of the paper will eat away at the tip of the marker pen causing it to fray. It took me a lot of pens to learn that lesson. Luckily, they only cost $2.50.

Brush markers are so fun, satisfying and frustrating to use. Frustrating, because they take a lot of practice and each marker takes time to adjust to. Satisfying because when you get in the groove it's amazing and fun because, markers (!!!!!!) They come in all nib sizes and I like to keep a variety with me. With all of these markers, use ultra smooth paper, like bristol or anything that Rhodia makes, this is because more textured papers ruin the tip of the markers over time. These markers can last a long time if you use the right paper.

Pigma Sakura Bold and Medium brush markers are really great. I got them as part of a set, pretty inexpensively too. The bold is even larger than the Tombow, which I didn't know was possible. The medium is about the same size as the Tombow but the stance of pen is smaller so I think it's easier to use.

The Faber-Castell brush is a nice smaller size and still is veeeeery flexible.

The Pentel brush sign pen is excellent for small work. I tend to draw and letter on the small side so this has been very useful. It writes very well, but it also requires a light hand, which has been an adjustment from pressing more forcefully with other markers on my down stroke. Also, the packaging is sparkly, which I loooove.

GROUP SHOT!!!!

Everything fits very well in my case, with room to spare. I like it because it's a little bit of everything and having this collection with me makes me feel prepared for whatever I want to work on.

Do you have any go-to pencil case essentials? I keep thinking about getting a drafting pencil, but I don't know if I really need one…

Do you have a favorite pencil case? Mine is a very un-sexy case I got as part of an 'artist starter set' when I was in college just before my intro art classes. I suppose it has good memories attached to it, but yeah, if you have any suggestions for a formidable replacement, let me know! I'm casually looking :)

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a rockin' day!