September Around The Web

I still feel like early Fall has the ability to put me in the back-to-school mindset, even though nothing about my work routine changes this time of year. This September was no exception, and I am really proud of myself for creating new personal lettering pieces, seeking out an exciting new opportunity at work, and making lots of time for friends, family and fitting  in a quick trip to LA. Because this is Dale's last year of school in St. Louis I am trying especially hard to make the most of each weekend surrounded by our friends and the amazing home we have created in the Central West End. Now for my favorites this month: 

And there you have it! As I mentioned earlier, this month was definitely one of change and growth. Yet the best moments were still the ones spent going on a best friend trip, celebrating my cousin's wedding, spending a weekend with my Sister-in-Law and her family in St. Louis, and fitting in an Octoberfest celebration plus a few happy hours. This September I'm grateful for all the people in my life who encourage me to work hard, and make the work all worth it. Now I'm officially ready for all the Fall activities this October will bring. 

Enjoy your Friday, friends!

Los Angeles Part One

Last week my friend Laura and I headed to LA for a whirlwind few days! Today I am sharing a few photos from our first two days, which included lots of good food, time spent in traffic and an Eric Clapton concert. We started our Tuesday morning with breakfast at Commissary, a beautiful restaurant on the roof of the Line Hotel. Next up we made a quick trip to The Last Bookstore before heading to Alchemy Works for some window shopping. When we noticed a Salt & Straw location right across the street we decided on ice cream for lunch and then headed to our reservation at The Broad. It was worth the wait to see Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room, and I absolutely loved the rest of the museum as well. After checking into our Venice Airbnb and relaxing for a bit we headed to our first dinner at Rossoblu (start with the meatballs!). 

Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles

Day two was all about exploring Abbot Kinney. We went to breakfast at The Butcher's Daughter, another beautiful breakfast spot, and then spent the rest of the morning was spent wandering through all the shops. I was really excited to pop in Urbanic and Burro. We also made our way to the Venice canals and admired all the lovely homes! After a quick stop back to our Airbnb to get ready, we headed out to get sushi at Wabi which had some great happy hour specials. Laura and I ended up in Los Angeles because of the Eric Clapton concert so after dinner we hopped in an uber and went on to enjoy the show! 

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Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles
Letters Are Lovely | Los Angeles

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life

I recently finished reading Bill Burnett and Dave Evans' book Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life. It's been awhile since I last shared a book, but this was a good one. As someone who went through design school, this book made total sense. I love the idea of approaching the way you life your life with the same lens and tools used in design thinking. The authors believe that:

“A well-designed life is a life that is generative – it is constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving, and there is always the possibility of a surprise.”
— Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Each chapter of the book ends with actionable steps and exercises you can complete to make real changes in your life. They truly embrace finding problems and deciding upon actionable solutions, not ones that are impossible due to the realities of life. One thing you can always change is your thinking. 

“Life designers don’t fight reality. They become tremendously empowered by designing their way forward no matter what. In life design, there are no wrong choices; there are no regrets. There are just prototypes, some that succeed and some that fail.”
— Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

I won't go into too many details about the exercises, but at one point you are tasked with defining your life view and your work view. The most interesting part of this exercise is seeing where the two overlap. Ultimately, I found that this book opened me up to a completely new way of thinking in regards to goals and long-term dreams in life. By considering different realities, I was able to see that mindset and perception really are the concepts that define how we view our lives. If you are in a period of transition (like I am this year), or pondering your career path, or even happy with your current state of affairs I still recommend this book for the insights it gives into using design thinking and theory to embrace the joy and enjoy the process of life. Happy reading!