Thank You and Happy New Year!

-photo from my recent trip to New York City-

Thank you to all of my lovely A Vigorous Design readers. My first real reader (of my knowledge) was my best friend, Kelly Wren, and has since grown to a few family members and friends.

I appreciate your patience as I build my identity as a blogger, small business owner and designer. I am constantly inspired by my favorite bloggers and know that my blog and myself will flourish even more in the coming New Year. 

I look forward to sharing my life, design, fancies and products with you all in 2012! 

Have a safe and Happy New Year.

- Lindsay

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Planning Twenty-Twelve

One of my favorite things about the new year is getting a new planner. I am somewhat of a planner collector, switching planners throughout the year to suit my needs. Since I don't own a smart phone any longer, I wanted to make sure I kept in shape with a paper planner.

I used the red Moleskine weekly planner for a good part of 2010 and 2011 but reverted to a cute spiral bound from Walgreens for a reason I've now forgotten. This year, I wanted to find one that fit me and would work for me the whole year. After some serious Q and A'ing about the whole thing, I finally decided on The Poketo Tomorrow Planner in yellow!

I had quite the lineup but after eyeing the the Poketo planner for so many months, I decided to go for it. I was hoping to find one that was already filled with 2012 dates, but there is just something so charming about the red and white pages and the boxy, grid paper layout. I like my handwriting so I don't mind having to fill it all in. Plus, if I skip a week, I can just start over the next without having huge gaps of unused paper. My only grievance is that I waited too long and will have to wait until they reopen in the new year to have it shipped to me.

Some *wonderful* things happening for me in 2012... 

• My boyfriend, Frank, turns 25 in January.
• My parent's 20-something wedding anniversary is in February (on Valentine's Day... how cute, right?).
• My friend Rachel (and recent NYC trip partner) is coming to stay with me in March for a week!
• I'll be launching some seriously fun Etsy shop updates in April.
• My 3-year anniversary with my lovely Frankenstein is in May and we're taking a weekend trip to the Florida Keys to celebrate!
• June will mark the 2012 halfway point and should hold some wonderful keystones in my life.
• I'll spend the 4th of July with my amazing family on the beach.
• My 23rd(!!!) birthday is in August, only a few days after my best friend's birthday!
• In September, my beautiful mother and sister celebrate their birth, too.
• My best friend and her husband celebrate their wedding anniversary on Halloween in October.
• I am taking a trip to Maryland to spend Thanksgiving with Frank's family in November.
• And finally... I am graduating from college with my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in December!

Is anything exciting happening for you in 2012? 

Around These Parts

Around these parts, I...

Am thankful for my Christmas pug.

Try to see things differently.

Embrace errors.

Appreciate beauty in all forms.

Get involved in special events.

Take some time for myself.

Remember that giving is more fun than receiving.

Do things my own way.

Remind myself that I am loved.

Spread the love wherever I can.

Sometimes channel my love into delicious treats.

Adore all of the gifts given to me.

My Special Someone

Holidays are a time to reflect and appreciate the people in your life. This is me and one of mine, my Frankenstein.

A Wonderful Weekend

Photo by Felix Kunz

This weekend was filled with fun and frivolity, as they should be.

Friday evening was spent shopping for a few things, including a dress for my Christmas party and a new video game for Frank. We recently finished setting up Xbox Live and he's been playing with his brother (5 states away) and bonding, as brothers do.

Saturday morning, Frank and I woke up at the crack of dawn and drove downtown to run our first ever 10K! We weren't prepared, but we did it. Though we're both sore from the whole ordeal, we're proud to have conquered 6.2 miles.

That evening, we went to my company's Christmas party and found ourselves in a real-life circus. We walked into the garage and stood face-to-face with a full-grown male tiger lazing away. It was FANTASTIC! I had heard there was going to be a huge circus event, but I had no idea live animals would be involved.

You can imagine my delight when we walked through to the back yard to find a BABY TIGER playing, just waiting to be pet. Of course, I screamed with joy and ran over to see her. Her name was Sydney and at 10 months was about as big as my parent's Chesapeake Bay Retriever, with paws the size of dinner plates.

It was a wonderful event, filled with delicious food, fire spinners, aerialists, jugglers, talented coworkers and Christmas gifts from the company. It was, hands down, the best company party I've ever been to. It made me proud to work where I do.

I have quite a few Christmas odds and ends to wrap up this week, but I am confident that I can get them done. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that the next is even better. Christmas, ahoy!

We ♥ Avocado

Photo by Carolyn | Umami Girl on Flickr

Avocados are, hands down, my favorite green things ever. Creamy, versatile, flavorful - how can you go wrong? I'll take 'em with eggs, other veggies, in salad, in sushi, raw, blended with tomatoes, and beyond. They're also full of good fat that is especially good for hair and nails. There's also a LOT you can do with them. I've been exploring and, well, I've found some jewels and decided to share. Enjoy!

Avocado Waffles by Well Fed, Flat Broke

Eggs Cooked in Avocado Slices by Apron Strings

The Simple Lunch - Avocado Baguette Sandwich by Joy the Baker

Mango and Avocado Salsa by Nutmegs, Seven

Roasted Cauliflower with Avocado Cream by Guilty Kitchen

I highly recommend TasteSpotting.com for inspiration and amazing recipes. I've been using them for a few years now and have never been disappointed.

Merry Christmas from Frank and Lindsay

A Christmas Wishlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[All items are from either my Etsy favorites or my Amazon wishlist.]

Not Quite Instagram: Road Trip Edition

A few weeks ago, Frank and I drove up to north Florida to visit his dad and stepmother. The weather was gorgeous, crisp, and cool. Despite nursing a headache for the second half and both of us almost too tired to drive, we had a great time. We got lucky and made off like bandits with a few hand-me-downs from his father, some including freshly grown peppers straight from the garden.

We got to visit a giant vintage hardware store, only to find it had closed a few minutes after we arrived. They had lots of pretty vintage lettering on the outside. Then, a walk through the woods behind the property we were staying at.

One of the hardware store's many quirks; a giant grizzly greets you upon entry. Then, Frank found his new zombie-killing tool - a giant wrench!

His father's pets, the adorable lab/chow mutt, Nikki, and Shadow, being vocal. 

His father had a flourishing pepper garden, which we reaped the benefits of.

A local seller's Christmas poinsettias were having a hard time standing against the wind. Then, their dog Scooter was very shy and wouldn't look me in the face.

My new Wren tattoo continued to heal nicely. The morning we had to leave, it was sunny and 65F with a hint of a breeze. Perfect weather.

Things with Faces

I was introduced to the idea of documenting the faces of inanimate objects at my first design college. Throughout the years, I've seen them here and there across the internet. Recently discovering interest in them again, I've had great fun perusing the various Flickr groups and Huffington Post articles. Because of the joy I find in them, I have decided to start my own "Things with Faces" segment to document the hilarious finds I come across from time to time.

I spotted these two in a grocery store parking lot and squealed with joy at their tiny little metal faces. Both reminded me a bit of the movie Robots - do you agree?

Loving with Bloglovin'

I use the trusty site Bloglovin' to track my favorite blogs in one place. Here are my favorite posts and finds from this past week!

• I recently started following Wonder Forest and really love her layout, mentality and posts so far. Real, emotional writing paired with fun features and DIY treats make me really excited to be following her! I found her through SillyGrrl's feature on her DIY Scratchoff Card post.
• One of my biggest blogger crushes is Kathleen from Jeremy and Kathleen. She recently posted about how she uses Pinterest as a visual inspiration board for her new company, Braid, and I am in love with how organized and lucid it all is. 
• Danelle Bourgeois recently posted a Christmas desktop freebie that is totally cute and classy.
• The Dainty Squid's post on her new recent hiking trip makes me so excited to potentially go up to Vermont to see my good friend Rachel and hike the green mountains!
• From the queen of jello shots herself - Peppermint Mocha Holiday Jello Shots, anyone? Yes, please! 

Friday Fancies #1

I am admittedly not very religious (or able to spend $800), but this nativity set by Alexander Gerard for House Industries is just gorgeous. I think it would look great paired with traditional Christmas silver and gold for a pop of color.

My coworker pointed out the Sello typeface to me today. It's super cute, though I think it loses a bit of its quality in smaller sizes (as in the 7th picture). I would love to add it to my library.

My boyfriend Frank knows me well. He shared this Octopus porcelain mug with me earlier this week! I love bowls and cups that offer a surprise at the bottom, but this mug is just too much. He wants the shark one himself.

How adorable is this little money bank that sneakily snatches your coins away? Watch this .gif for a demonstration.

Speaking of cute, I am in love with this Totoro coin purse! My first tattoo ever was Totoro riding the top with his umbrella (sans the girls - it's on my back). The attention to detail on this leatherette coin purse is outstanding. I may just need to get it as a personal Christmas gift, though I wouldn't get it until the new year since it's shipped from Thailand.

Mentionables

• The Swell Life's eyeball ornament DIY makes me screech with joy. Not only do I LOVE googly eyes in any form, I love the chance to mix Halloween with Christmas!
• You can now paint realistic hair easily with Photoshop CS5 and this wonderful PSD Tut video.
• Did you know that you can make your own custom-color chalkboard paint? Hop on over to the Martha Stewart website to find out how. [via]
• Having a bad day? Watch this video of a camel being tickled and you'll feel better. I promise.
• There is nothing better than knowing a friend appreciates the time you put in for personalized gifts.