March Around The Web

March is always an eventful month as we head into Spring! This March started with a work happy hour, Dale and I celebrated Laura and Kam’s 30th birthdays the same weekend as Alyson and Kale’s engagement party, my friend Sonya joined me in Mexico for Simi and Sandeep’s wedding and I also had a busy month at work and with Holiday Mart planning. I’m so grateful I got to spend time with so many friends this month and am looking forward to more travel in the next few months!

  • Around the web this month, I discovered Janet Hill Studio and am obsessed with this print!

  • It’s impossible to not be thinking of those suffering war and horrific violence in Ukraine. This was a beautiful roundup of art for Ukraine.

  • I always look forward to the St. Patrick’s Day card my Irish grandma mails me every year! I would love to make this wreath for next year’s festivities

  • Anticipating warmer weather, this badminton set would be the most fun replacement for our worn out set!

  • I finally had an occasion to use my “The Bigger Carry-On” suitcase this month! I love how it coordinates with my larger bag and is so easy to travel with.

  • Pre-ordering Jamie’s book now!

  • A super fun hair clip roundup

  • One of my favorite books I have read in awhile!

  • I also saw that this book from Hallmark featuring my lettering is now in stores!

May the road rise to meet you.

February Around The Web

February has come to a close and this month’s highlight was celebrating my 30th Birthday in Breckenridge, Colorado! This month we also went salsa dancing with our friends Sydney and Salvador, Dale and I celebrated Valentine’s Day with dinner at Novel, I went to my first concert since the pandemic began (Kacey Musgraves in Denver!) and preparations for Holiday Mart 2022 continued. Around the web, I am still obsessed with these doily honeycomb hearts from Lars, I would love to make some for next Valentine’s Day!

XOXO

January Around The Web

Hello 2022! My new year started with a quick family road trip to Decatur, Illinois. After that the rest of the month was filled with Holiday Mart 2022 planning meetings, a weekend trip to Denver to visit Laura & Ashton, and the month ended hosting Megan’s baby shower and celebrating my grandpa’s birthday. I also started a rotation at work in Hallmark’s Trends Studio this month! I’m not super into horoscopes but I did enjoy this one for the year ahead from Wit & Delight:

Hello, 2022!

101 in 1001 (Round Three)

2022 has arrived and has not started out exactly how I pictured! To attempt and swing the new year in a more positive direction I decided to write my third 101 in 1001 list. (Round One & Round Two for reference.) This round feels exciting (in some ways daunting) and overall motivating as I know the next 2.75 years are sure to bring lots of big changes. I decided to keep my categories the same as my second list with one grand finale item. I will update from time to time, wish me luck!

January 1st, 2022 – September 28, 2024

CREATIVE CAREER/LETTERING

1 Complete a rotation at Hallmark (Trends Rotation January-May 2022)
2 Take on a challenging illustration assignment
3 Work on a large, collaborative project (at work or beyond) (Holiday Mart 2022)
4 Participate in the mentorship program again
5 Update website lettering
6 Letter a custom return address stamp
7 Create family monogram
8 Design logo for Turkey Hill
9 Create lettering for a friend (Katie Baby Shower, Leslie Wedding 2022)
10 Update portfolio yearly (January 2022, January 2023)

DALE AND ALLIE

11 Write anniversary notes in our guest book each year
12 Send out Christmas cards each year (2022)
13 Plan a KC Staycation (Birthday Weekend at The Elms Feb 2023)
14 Surprise date night
15 Make homemade pasta together (Spaetzle Christmas Eve Eve 2022)
16 Try three new restaurants (Baba’s Pantry Nov 2022)
17 Map out five year goals together
18 Camp together for a weekend
19 Volunteer somewhere together
20 Host a fellowship graduation party!

FITNESS/HEALTH

21 Consistent workouts for 1 month
22 Hit water goal every day for two weeks straight
23 Take vitamins consistently for a year (2022)
24 Try five new recipes (Banana Oatmeal Muffins Feb 2023)
25 Update our recipe book
26 Treat myself to a massage (April 2022)
27 Treat myself to a facial
28 Try a pilates class
29 Go on a long walk with a friend (Sydney May 2023)
30 Go to a personal training session with Dale

TRAVEL

31 Take a family vacation (Steamboat Springs for Ben’s Wedding September 2023)
32 Visit a new state (South Carolina October 2022)
33 Travel to Europe (England and Croatia May/June 2022)
34 Travel with friends (Denver Froends Reunion October 2022)
35 Travel to Thailand
36 Visit a new country (Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina June 2022)
37 Travel to a destination wedding (Charleston Brittany & Parkin October 2022)
38 Visit out of town friends (Visited Laura & Ashton January 2022)
39 Go skiing (Breckenridge, CO February 2022)
40 Get TSA Pre-Check and Possibly Global Entry

ENTERTAINMENT

41 Go to the Kansas City Symphony (Harry Pottery Symphony January 2022)
42 Go to a concert (Kacey Musgraves Denver, CO February 2022)
43 Go to a KU game
44 Host a game night
45 Go salsa dancing (The Ship with Sydney and Salvadro, February 2022)
46 See a movie in theaters (The Barbie Movie, July 2023)
47 Host the Chi O Ornament Exchange (December 2022)
48 Host a holiday party
49 Plan a college reunion weekend (Dominican Republic 2024)
50 Watch a new TV series (Only Murders in the Building August 2022)

GET ORGANIZED

51 Go through phone and organize/delete contacts
52 Organize second bedroom (Fall 2022)
53 Take broken china to be repaired (November 2023)
54 Clean out basement
55 Organize 2021 Photos (January 2022)
56 Organize 2022 Photos (January 2023)
57 Organize 2023 Photos
58 Check safety of online passwords
59 Organize closets (Early 2023)
60 Update home security system

FAMILY/FRIENDS

61 Host a dinner party
62 Spend a weekend at Turkey Hill (Leslie and Nathan, November 2022)
63 Finish Sophie’s Wedding Album (February 2022)
64 Send hand-written letters to five friends (Holiday Mart Letters October 2022)
65 Finish college t-shirt quilt with Sophie
66 Take Sophie and Grace to dinner
67 Take Mom and Dad to a fancy dinner
68 Take Grammy and Pop to the dinner and a show (Anastasia Starlight August 2022)
69 Celebrate Allie’s 30th Birthday (Colorado and Family Dinner February 2022)
70 Take professional family pictures (Christmas Card 2022)

BOOKS

71 Read an memoir (Spare, January 2023)
72 Read a fiction novel (The Maidens, April 2022)
73 Read a non-fiction book
74 Read a historical book
75 Read a book (Goodnight Beautiful, March 2022)
76 Read a book (The Maidens, April 2022)
77 Read a book (Nothing to See Here, June 2022)
78 Read a book (Gilt, November 2022)
79 Read a book (The Song of Achilles, December 2022)
80 Re-read all the Harry Potter books (Complete August 2022)

FINANCIAL

81 Invest extra each month for a year
82 Increase retirement savings percentage (May 2022)
83 Read a new financial book
84 Take a Ramit Sethi course
85 Follow up with student loan debt advisor (October 2023)
86 Save for home addition or a move
87 Get will and healthcare directives in place
88 Max out retirement accounts
89 Meet with financial advisor (Spring 2023)
90 Plan long term financial goals

KC HOUSE

91 Install gas logs in our fireplace
92 Framebridge artwork in second bedroom (October 2022)
93 Framebridge artwork in bedroom (Fall 2022)
94 Have electrician fix random things on the list
95 Decorate second bedroom (Fall 2022)
96 Update stairwell
97 Install new bathroom sink
98 Get new driveway installed
99 Make plans to renovate garage
100 Fix doorbell!

GRAND FINALE

101 Try something outside my comfort zone (Fundraise for LBDI and Holiday Mart 2022)

December Around The Web

We kicked off December celebrating my mom’s birthday at the Overland Park Arboretum Luminary Walk! The week after I hosted my annual Chi O ornament exchange at my house and then attended a Junior League holiday party. I was extremely grateful to end the month spending Christmas with my family after testing positive for Covid in the middle of the month. Around the web I was super inspired by the home of designer Martin Brudnizki featured in Architectural Digest: