next steps

I realize it's been awhile since I posted – mostly because I was trying to figure out the next step. Continue to blog? Take the blog in a different direction? Etsy? Portfolio site? Video? Or simply... take a break? And then, I blinked, and a year had gone by... pretty unreal. 

But even though I haven't been blogging, I have been keeping busy with other creative projects. Below is a sampling of illustrations, videos and even a few photos from the gallery opening where three pieces of my art work were chosen. I have to say, It was a pretty cool year.

Even though I don't know which direction my creative passions will take me, I know I'll keep exploring, experimenting and learning. In the meantime, you can find me and more of my projects here:

Behance   •   YouTube   •   Society6

Thanks for all the encouragement, support and best wishes to everyone,
Christina

The movie list and Kate Hudson

This past year, I really wanted to catch up on movies - the classics, the iconic films of new and old that were groundbreaking at their time - and the ones that I often would hear  "you mean you've NEVER seen (fill in blank)?!?"

Although the list is neverending, I feel I've been able to cross a few off my list this year. Star Wars, Casablanca and The Godfather, to name a few. One I recently watched, maybe not quite as well known, was Almost Famous. It reminded me one reason I love movies. When an actor or actress lights you up and somehow makes you feel stronger, smarter, more confident and simply happier just by watching their movie - it's an amazing feeling. On screen and off, Kate Hudson is one of many that does that for me. Not sure if it's her sunny disposition, her effortless California style (casual or dressy) or just her overall radiance and inner glow. Whatever it is, I think it's awesome.

1 • 2 • 3 

Check out the my 'love her' pinboard for women that, in one way, shape or form, I find inspiring. Who's on your list?

Top 10 tips for shopping at the Mall of America

For over ten years now, my cousins and I have been making a yearly overnight trip to the Mall of America in Minnesota. Because we have such a great time together, we've upped it to twice a year, and it still retains that giddy excitement every time. We've found some amazing deals and also have had a few regrets. Let's face it, the place is crazy huge and when you're with friends, the time passes WAY too quickly. To help out anyone that's thinking about making the trip, I've narrowed down my top 10 tips for making the most of your experience.

1. Plan your stay DURING the week. 
MOA turns into crazy town on the weekends. Taking a day of vacation or two is worth the lines and headaches. When you go during the week, you own that place. Trust me. 

2. If possible, stay at Raddison Blu.
The brand new hotel that's connected to the mall is pretty spectacular. Modern architecture, contemporary art work, gorgeous bar and restaurant, I could keep going. No worries about the weather when you can simply walk across a little skywalk and you're there. PLUS, from anywhere in the mall, you can call the concierge and they will come pick up your bags. *insert jaw drop here*  True story.

3. Make a list.
Sometimes I can walk into a store and be so visually overloaded that my mental list simply disappears. Check your closet before you go and figure out what you're looking for.  CLEAR is one of my favorite apps for list keeping. Worth the 5 bucks easy.

4. Dress smart.
This can be a tough one. Pick something that's comfortable, you can slip in and out of quickly AND still feels like you. (if you're anything like me, feeling like a sloppy tourist will bring down the mood and overall experience ;) I generally opt for comfy ballet flats, skinny jeans and a loose top. Don't forget a lightweight cross-body purse to keep your arms free.

5. Drink up.
Keep a lightweight water bottle on you. It's insane how thirsty you can get there. There are water fountains in the food court and by bathrooms that you can fill up at. This also saves you on blowing your budget on overpriced drinks.  

6. Keep track of sales more easily.
Download Malltip. You can add your favorite stores and it will let you know what sales they're having. It also shows you a map where the stores are located in the mall, which is immensely helpful in such a huge place. 

7. Take photos of your faves.
It's hard to say if you'll run into a better deal five stores down so take quick photos to keep track of everything you've found. You'd be surprised at how much you can forget, especially 6 hours and 20 something stores later. Review the list at lunch or the end of the day and go back for the best of the best.

8. Skip local stores.
Hit up the stores that you may not have access to normally. There's only so much time and you want to get your full worth out of your trip.

9. Sign up, know more.
MOA has a great site that you can sign up at to get deals, news, store listings, hours and more. 'nuf said. 

10. Take a map.
It's a little old school, but to help save my phone battery, and avoid hunting down directory kiosks every hour, I take a mini map with me. I printed out a floor plan and added some of my favorite stores. Click here for the interactive directory map. 

I hope this helps if you're planning a trip to the Mall of America or any larger shopping center. Check out some of my wish lists and finds here, here or here.

Happy Shopping Friends ;)

fall fashion wish list

Although I'm a little sad to move my summer dresses to the deep dark sides of the closet, I have to admit, I'm kinnnnda getting excited about fall fashion. Quite honestly, fall fashion, sometimes, is the only thing that keeps me from being completely destroyed about the dropping temps. I love digging out my warm coats and scarves and all the winter accessories I'd somehow completely forgotten about. Drinking delicious hot coffees and cocoas while cozying up in chunky knits... my favorite jeans... knee-high boots... layers of tops in jewel-tones ... the list goes on.

This fall my wish list is all about quality leather items in various chocolate shades, the softest knits I can get my hands on and delicate gold jewelry. Luckily, our annual Mall of America trip is right around the corner, so I'm hoping to cross a lot of these off my wish list very soon. :)

• watches (thanks to Casey for opening my eyes to these beauties) And I can't decide! I want both!

• classic riding boots from ALDO (TOP of the list)

• tote (I want the real leather but this Target one is a great inexpensive substitute)

• thigh highs (I want a pair in every color)

• locket

• ring 1 • ring 2

• coffee girl inspiration • fireside inspiration

#100happydays Challenge

So awhile back I signed up for the 100 Happy Days Challenge. The goal is to share a photo via social media every day that makes you happy. It's not about competing or showing off - but rather slowing down and finding those little moments that make you smile inside.

I thought, hey, I already write in a gratitude journal and instagram pretty regularly - this should be an easy win-win. Surprisingly, it's been much harder than what I thought. Time does what it does best sometimes and flies by and then before I knew it, I'd missed days. I could've quit (by not posting every day I had already failed the challenge) but instead, I decided to keep going. Challenge myself to get to 100. 

I'm currently at Day65 and even though I still miss days, I can definitely say I've gotten better at keeping my eyes open for those beautiful little moments. 

If you're a big fan of photobooks and instagram, check out Blurb. I just finished my third book and couldn't be happier.  

instagram watercolors

I recently returned from my annual Craft Retreat get-away. It was my third year attending and it did not disappoint. I met amazing girls, ate tables of incredible food, tried new drinks and walked away with tons of new artwork. win, win, win and ... win. :)  

One of my projects was exploring the idea of using a few of my favorite instagram photos and extending the photos with watercolor. Hope you enjoy. :) 

NYC Anthropologie Window Display Photo

Banana Pancakes - inspired originally from one of my favorite songs and artists

Downtown Chicago

Check out some of last year's Craft Retreat creations. 

Finerminds & some SoulPancake

FinerMinds by Mindvalley has been such a great resource for me lately. It's packed with uplifting advice and cute, pull-on-the-heart-strings videos. Articles about happiness, wellness and personal growth. It's the best pick-me-up tool I look to on an almost daily basis. 
I wanted to share this poster on some advice given by Arianna Huffington. Some of the steps you've probably heard before but I figured it doesn't hurt to get a reminder from time to time. :)  

source (and to see larger)

Here are two incredible videos also found on Finerminds by SoulPancake. If you're in need of some quick warm-fuzzies please please check them out.

Capture Your Joy

Amazing Happiness Experiment

First 5K with Brooks Ghost 6

Four months ago I decided that I needed to healthy focus in my life and challenged myself to run a 5K. Coming from someone who has never been much of a runner and usually raised an eyebrow at friends that would "pay money to run?" this was a pretty big deal for me. But lo and behold, four quick months later I ran my first 5K! 3.1 miles of sweat and hills. It was amazing tho! My oldest son ran it with me too *proud mom moment*. Friends and family came to cheer us on... It was honestly, a pretty amazing day.

I did have a few motivators along the way... a girl needs cute workout clothes, right? So after it warmed up a little, I picked up a few things. (seriously, I ran the first few weeks in my down winter coat - welcome to March in Wisconsin). Anyways – as much as I'd love to drop a month's salary at Athleta, I found some really great things in Target's active wear section and even found some great tops at Walmart. Who knew?! Great athletic fabrics for super cheap.

My first big purchase was these Brooks Women's Ghost 6 running shoes. LOVE them. AND, right now they're on sale! Check'm out.

And for completing the 5K, I am rewarding myself with the Cadillac of sports bras: Victoria's Secret Front Knockout Front Close Sports Bra. I'm patiently waiting - I seriously can't wait til it gets here! :)  Bra review to come later.

 
A little sweaty and a lot exhausted but WE DID IT !!!

glittery gold sperries

I first fell for Sperry boat shoes after spending time at a gorgeous marina in Sturgeon Bay the last few summers. Maybe it was all the pristine white boats... the perfect summer sun... the wine at sunset - either way, I have to admit I'm smitten with the entire lifestyle. It's like I've found my vacation-style calling. Here's where my mind wanders:

sperries • collage • boat 1 & 2

choose happiness

Lately my life has involved a lot of inner dialogue that goes something like this: “breathe Christina… breeeeeeathe… deeeeep breaths.” I know deep down things will eventually be fine and I DO realize things could be worse, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the roller coaster of emotions that’s involved with divorce. Sketching and reading positive books/articles/quotes has been a HUGE help. This one below is a pencil sketch I did with my own watercolor incorporated in the background. Hopefully you will find a bit of the serene-sunny-tranquility combination in it that I do.

Victoria's Secret Sugar Scrub

My newest favorite purchase is completely a result of cabin fever and the insanely long winter we've had. Victoria's Secret has walls of intoxicating fragrances and lotions and their Lemon Sugar & Coconut Body Scrub is a perfect mix of sweet lemon and perfectly subtle coconut.  And how freakin' pretty is that packaging?!?  I bought the scrub, the lotion and will probably go back for the body spray - if that's any indication of how much I like it. :)

VS lotion (scrub in stores) • collage • destinations

keep creating: watercolor sailboat

One of the toughest things about blogging, in my opinion, is the longing for everything you put out to the world to be amazingly wow-worthy... PIN-worthy... VIRAL-worthy. Unfortunately, I have piles of creative work that's anything but.  However, I'm forcing myself to keep going, keep practicing.. sketching... painting... sewing... because I'm not going to get any better if I don't do anything, right?  This article is an amazing inspiration and refreshes the way you think about talent. Serious motivation. 

So here's some of the work I did today. Not the most impressive sailboat... I think I actually like my paint mess photos a little bit more... but I think that proves you never know where things will go. Maybe I'll take my messy palettes and scrap paper and do some collage work - who knows? The point is to keep going.. keep creating. 

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

red necklace sequence

I just purchased the best red beaded necklace from Denise Jewelry Designs on Etsy. I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek at what usually happens in my head when I get excited about a new purchase. Let's just say... I won't deny being a big dreamer. ;)

necklace  •  fashion set  • paris pics 1 2 3

hidden eiffel

There's something about being able to take old unwanted things and create new art out of them that is deeply satisfying for me. One of the easiest ways I know how to do this is taking an old canvas - usually that I've found at a thrift store or possible garage sale - and repainting it. *When doing this, try to get past the god-awful dated painting on it and look to see if the frame has potential and if the canvas is in good shape and not warped.;)

Below is one of my favorites. I found an old painting of the Eiffel Tower, rotated it and painted, frame included. I love that you can still make out the structure of the tower. I think it adds interest and is kind of a fun story to tell, ya know? :)

amazing grace

It's been quite awhile since I've posted. What happened? Christmas shopping? Holiday madness?  ... Life? ...   A little bit of everything I think.  

2014 has just barely begun and although I'm filled with optimism and goals and hopes... the truth is, this will be a tough year. For myself and for my family. I won't go into detail because I honestly don't have all the answers right now. I DO know I have a lot of amazing friends and family there for me, I've been reading a lot, doing a little bit of yoga, and overall, just trying to stay healthy - mentally and physically. And yes, there's been a few nights of bubble baths, moody music and a few too many glasses of wine - don't judge. Sometimes a girl needs what a girl needs.  

One of my favorite items of 2013 was Philosophy's Amazing Grace lotion. I was SO so so happy to get more for Christmas and also the perfume to go with it. (Seriously, I've gotten so many compliments on this lotion - it's the best - fresh, clean and beautiful - try it - it's addictive.) I was struck by the message on the perfume box because it's very fitting right now and is truly how I'd really like to take on my 2014.

philosophy: how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. in the end, it all comes down to one word. grace. 

it's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness and the light.

So here's to living 2014  with Grace.  

*cheers* 

NYC Photography - Anthropolgie

I'm not trying to post about Anthropologie all the time, but they've been such a great inspiration when it's come to fashion, decor and design, it's hard not to. Even their videos captivate me. 

This time, Anthropologie was a great source in helping me decorate my home. The last time I was in NYC, I walked down to their flagship store in Rockefeller Center but got there a bit before they opened. I wandered around, taking in the NYC morning and marveling at their always-impressive window displays. (seriously google image search 'NYC Anthropologie' please - impressive stuff).

Below are some of my photos, and at the end, a desaturated version (enlarged to ~22 x 34") that works perfectly with my bedroom decor (dark grey walls, this WestElm duvet cover that I'm completely in love with, fresh white sheets and a mix of antique and contemporary dark stained furniture). Can't wait to get it up on the wall :).