My Ears ♥ Kimbra

Kimbra - Cameo Lover (Official Music Video) from Kimbra on Vimeo.

One of my most recent music obsessions is Kimbra, who is just as talented as can be. She has great moves, style, hair, makeup, music... she's pretty much the bees knees (and I never say that). You might even be listening to her without knowing it. You know the Goyte smash hit, Somebody That I Used to Know? She is the female voice (and eyecandy in the video).

Funnily enough, she is one of the few artists that I think sounds better live than she does on her album. One of the songs that made me fall in love with her voice was her live performance of "Two-Way Street".

I can't say I can pick a favorite of her songs, but the one I find myself listening to the most is the Sam Sparro & Golden Touch remix of Cameo Lover (original above).

Loving with Bloglovin'

+ The amazing Kathleen wrote one of my favorite posts this year: How to Work With A Printer, the newest installation in the Freelance Matters series. The entire Freelance Matters series is an absolute gem for everyone in the creative freelance business. Though it is tailored to graphic design, many of the principles are universal and cater to both beginners and those already established in the field.

+ Elise's husband recently returned from his deployment and her Project Life series is flourishing because of it. She has been implementing simply amazing techniques with her scrapbook-esque project and it is great to see her happiness overflowing into her projects.

+ Ana's style continues to blow me away. She talked about her most recent projects for a musician friend and vegan blogger. Among color choice and hierarchy, I find the typography on both projects outstanding. Door Sixteen continues to be one of my favorite blogs.

+ The lovely Amy Morby is finishing up her wonderful self-love revolution project and sprung an amazing idea on everyone that I couldn't help but fall in love with. Find out how you can write a love letter to yourself at A is for Ampersand!

Electively Tagged: 11 Things About Me

Even though I wasn't tagged, I'm following the question train from Hello Vanny with 11 facts about myself.

• I have 4 lovely pets - 3 kitties and a pug. Their names are BK (Baby Kitty), Gizmo, Remy and Lilo.
• I have 5 tattoos (one is a pair) that all mean very important things to me. My most recent, a wren on my right-hand middle finger, is a dual tribute to Florence Welch and my best friend of many years, Kelly Wren. I do have plans for a half-sleeve on my right arm that may or may not happen, considering the artist that I want lives in the UK.
• I have met some of my closest friends on the internet. Chiefly; Tumblr. Suffice it to say, I am all-for internet relationships (friend and otherwise) and see it as a tool to connect similar people.
• I love to run, though I don't do it often enough to be good at it yet.
• I am very close to my parents and am very, very fortunate that they are still together after 25+ years.
• I get stressed out very easily and I'm trying to work on it.
• I have the goal of becoming a freelancer/stay-at-home Mom/blogger/crafter but made some big mistakes early enough in my life that I don't know if that's ever going to happen.
• By the end of this year, I'll have opened 3 Etsy stores - 1 for design, 1 for my vintage goods and 1 for my sculpted jellyfish.
• Yellow is the color of my life right now.
• I love the taste of coffee but can't drink it - there is something about the chemicals/caffeine in it that make me freak out and unable to focus.
• I spend a LOT of time planning and very little time doing, but I'm trying to turn that habit around.

Just A Reminder...

That thing that you need to do? You should do it now.

Please Do!

Whilst browsing the awesome collection of online goods over at Urban Outfitters, I came across the most amazing coin purse ever... have you seen it? It's the Assorted Cheeky Coin Purse and it was love at first bite. It is now on its way to me, along with an adorable studded friendship bracelet and a potential new camera bag for my lovely new Canon Rebel T3! I'm excited for my other purchases, but I can't wait to sink my teeth into the gorgeous coin purse.

HINT: If you're looking for a matching necklace, why not check out the Pearly Whites necklace by theTriangleOFBears on Etsy?

Friday Fancies #4

[I noticed a few things here... 1. This is later in the day around 2:30pm and 2. I have only posted once since my last Friday Fancies... woops!]

Just in case it isn't already painfully obvious that I LOVE aquatic animals, I wanted to let you know that I really, really do. When I spotted JellyFish Art and found out that it's now somewhat easy to own your very own jellyfish tank with live jellyfish, I about died of happiness. I don't know that I would be willing to undertake the responsibility right now, but I would love the chance to house my own jellies and other creatures. Not up for the real thing? ThinkGeek has your answer. (I actually had two of the ThinkGeek Jellyfish Lamps, both of which were gifts from separate family members two years ago for Christmas. I gave one to a friend and the other sits on my desk at work and I absolutely love it.)

Last year, I started reading The Hunger Games series with my family and have just about finished the third book. The movie looks amazing and I have to admit that The Hunger Games movie crew are doing a wonderful job of incorporating viral marketing into the premier of the first movie. Between Capitol Couture and Facebook plugins that sort you into the appropriate Disctricts (Disctrict 3, myself!), I really love it all. I even got a digital badge that displayed my name and picture, which they are currently offering free through CafePress (you just pay for shipping). I can't wait to get mine! Are you a fan of The Hunger Games series?

This Thank You CTRL Z shirt by The Social Dept.  is pretty hilarious to me. The women's gray shirt is great but I love the navy, too! I find myself wanting to press it in real life to fix drawing mistakes... maybe I should step away from the computer for a bit?

Buenos Aires - Inception Park from Black Sheep Films on Vimeo.

And finally, I invite you to take this weekend to enjoy your imagination like the creators of this awesome Motion Graphics video that totally made my day. Tomorrow, I'll be helping my parents move and Sunday I'll take my pug to the dog park with a friend, weather permitting.

Not Quite Instagram: Really Instagram Edition

As I mentioned recently, I took the dive into iPhoneland and have loved it ever since. I was always so excited about the idea of having easy to take and share photos from my phone and I finally have the ability. These posts will possibly need a name change soon, but here's my life lately, per my Instagram photos.

 

First rain | Black and white

 

My newest obsession - Nutella TO GO! | My dapper gentleman, Frank

 

Crunch time on a website | Sleeping Remy

 

The pug and Remy kinda cuddling | Self-portrait sketching

 

My new Canon Rebel T3 from Frank | Amazing Cuban steak from The Columbia

 

Gorgeous IKEA textiles | Adorable tri-color shot I got of my puggy, Lilo

 

Hand-stamped Valentine for my bestie | New Year's Resolution

 

A portrait | A comfy blanket

You can keep up with all of my Instagram happenings at my ink631 page.

Friday Fancies #3

I am 100% positive that I need this Large Jellyfish Poster Print by RocketInk on Etsy. It would look amazing in my home office! The Whale and Squid Poster is also very high on my "need" list... though to be fair, everything in the shop is oggle-worthy.

This is the city I live in, called Dunedin (pronounced done-eeeee-dinn). The Mexican restaurant with the amazing statues is one of me and my best friend's favorite eateries, and the whole video pans the more active area of Downtown. Such a fun place!

If you're like me and strive to be not only a designer but a developer as well, you're in luck! Envato has graciously offered to teach jQuery in 30 days for free to anyone who wants to learn. It does require a basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and the properties of Javascript, but it is F R E E! I'm on Day 2 myself and am enjoying it so far. If you don't have a code editor, I recommend Notepad++, a free supplement to Window's Notepad.

How insanely cute are these HandyMaiden goods? INSANELY CUTE! I want one of everything.

Mentionables

• With my most recent foray into iPhoneland, I've been loving Instagram! You can check out all of my photos online HERE.
• Gorillas have teamed up with Andre 3000 and Converse! Can't wait to see this awesome collaboration take shape... (Fun fact: the band that I have been listening to actively for the longest time is the Gorillaz!)