Big surprise, I went shopping again. I ended up snagging some free products using coupons at Superstore and Walmart, so that was decent. Check out those deals on my coupon site: Locupleto.

But I’ll show you the more exciting things on this site. Because that’s what I’m all about.

I ended up going to the outlet malls in the next town (city?) over, and to be honest I’ve never really went to the outlet malls there because I honestly thought they sucked. NO WAY. They do not. I found an amazing store called Urban Barn, which — before I entered the building I totally thought it was going to be  a sister-store to Urban Planet, because that store is right next door.

Oh brother. It’s a home decorating store and I should have really taken photos of everything I saw. I was there for a good hour looking around this one place. I swear the 4 lone employees working there thought I was up to something, so I ended up telling them that I’ve never been in there before and I was overwhelmed and excited and wanted to buy everything, lol.

Those are fake plants! They look so real, ha!

This umbra chest of ‘drawers’ was on sale and I decided I’d use it as a jewelry box.

Golden apples. I picked up one, and it said $8. I picked up another and it had an orange sticker saying $5.00, I tried my luck and picked up the third and it said $3.00! Ha! I ended up buying 4 of these goldens for $3 a pop.

Tiny silver rabbit (I bought two) to hold rings on its little ears! So cute. These were from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

This wicker type of basket didn’t have a price tag on it and I thought that it was the same as these baskets I bought last year, oops guess not. Either way I ended up asking the guy who was working the department how much it was. He asked me how much I wanted to pay for it, lol. But then quickly said not to go too low. I said “uh, I dunno five bucks?”. So he gave it to me for $4.94. Sweet!

Everything all set up.

I put the jewelry box, the fake orchid and the two rabbits in our bedroom and I finally hung the charcoal drawing my classmate made me twelve years ago back in art school! I had it hung up when I lived in Newfoundland. But it has been packed away since I moved to Ontario almost 5 years ago. I really need to frame it. It’s time. lol

This is a temporary set up for the fake bonsai as I’m not sure that the whole thing works here on the ottoman.  I decided to buy the faux bonsai since I already killed a few real ones. Guess it’s time to go plastic!

So this is how I kinda like to decorate. I think I’ll start doing this more often — I’ve been living with the boyfriend in an undecorated apartment for way too long. If you take a sneak peak at Urban Barn, that’s basically my entire style. I didn’t dislike a thing in there. Love that store. I’ll be back.

Tea, for two… doot de doo…

So I don’t drink all that many hot drinks at home, I usually save my tea for when I’m at work and a little chilled. But I think I would LOVE to give someone these toaster coasters for a housewarming gift. Wouldn’t it be adorable? Get a whole whack of them and you’ll have yourself a loaf of coasters. Baha! Get them here.

Also if you’re looking into hot tub spa cover since summer is coming upon us…

I wanted to copy and paste this ENTIRE article from the Six Revisions website posted on St. Patrick’s Day. I didn’t ask for permission, but I’m telling you in advance I didn’t write this article, just go here to view its original. Brilliant. At least I’m not supplying you with apidextra. Right!

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What Earns the Title of “Designer”?

Discussions seem to always point to how busy a designer is — or rather, in a cruelty filled cat-scratch with a ring of truth — how not busy they are and why.

Everyone is a designer these days. Many blame it on the personal home computer. With Microsoft Word, anyone who can create a garage sale flier or announcement for a child’s birthday party is a “designer.” Some argue they are just not a “professional” designer.

What is the distinction and what does it really matter? In my mind, there are many factors.

You are probably a designer if:

• You are the weird kid who drew in your schoolbooks while other kids studied hard and told the teacher you weren’t working.
• You make a living, or at least a good part of it (the economy being what it is), from design.
• Peers treat you like a professional.
• You’re somewhere on the first page of Google for something you designed.
• Relatives demand you do a logo for their new business and you wish lightening would strike you dead right there at the dinner table.
• You want to strangle people for offering you $50 to design a website for them.
• You worry about a client paying so you can make the rent and eat.
• You bitch about having to pay the outrageous price of some design publications.
• You get angry and call the people in the design magazines “overrated hacks.”
• You consider wearing a hook and eye patch from all the design software you have to pirate.
• You know the difference between RGB and CMYK and know they are not TV stations.
• You think crowdsourcing and design contests are eroding the industry.
• You swear your kids will never go to art school!
• You are starting to see a point to this article.

You probably are just playing at being a designer if:

• You were the kid telling on the kid drawing in his/her schoolbooks.
• When a relative asks you to do the logo for their business you get excited and tweet to your 12 followers about it.
• When you walk up to a group chatting at a design event, they roll their eyes, become very quiet and scatter quickly — while you are still in mid-sentence.
• You are on the first page of Google only for being arrested or burning down your house by smoking in bed.
• You get excited at $50 for designing a website.
• Your spouse pays all the bills and you have no idea where the checkbook is kept, nor do you care.
• You subscribe to every design magazine to put on the coffee table but never actually read them.
• If you read the design magazines, you feel anxiety rising within you because you are jealous of the people in the publications.
• You ask your spouse to buy the latest version of Adobe CS, 24 hours before it’s released and they do it just to shut you up.
• You enroll your kids in every art class there is in town and go with them and yell about how their work is “sloppy” and “lazy” until they cry.
• You think this article is mean and I’m an idiot.

Why the Distinction Matters

Almost daily, we deal with “design-by-committee” from those who feel we are too stupid to be able to do our jobs properly or they, by some thought process, are better due to the corporate pecking order.

Having other “designers” helping knock down our profession in the eyes of clients certainly doesn’t help. Have you ever heard a client offer a low fee and say, “our last designer did it for $50!” The next question should be, “Then why don’t you call him/her to do this project?” The answer would be he/she wasn’t any good.

Have you ever spoken with a client who wanted some spec work first to make sure you could do the work? That’s because the last “designer” screwed up. This is the fallout suffered by working professionals.

At the last Phoenix Design Week, a key speaker, Brian Singer, creative director and founder of Altitude Associates, a San Francisco based creative agency and the creator of The 1000 Journals Project (a global art experiment where journals are passed from hand to hand) made a statement about a design community and the ability to elevate it to epic proportions.

“The way you get ahead in design is by lifting up those around you,” Singer said. Sound advice!

It also works the other way around; those around you lower design for you.

There are several professions that have such dilettantes attached. Actors, writers, even dancers, suffer from those who have no talent but push their way into the inner circles of those who do. Would American Idol be as entertaining if it didn’t start with the lame people who think they have singing talent?

While on the board of a top-level professional organization that had two membership levels — professionals, proven with portfolios and the signature of six members and associates who were involved in the arts in some supportive way — there was a question of unjuried shows. It seems some associate members wanted to show their work as well.

While almost all professional members flat out refused the idea of sullying the organization’s reputation, one board member imparted that they should be allowed to join in because the entire membership “might miss seeing some beautiful art.”

Needless to say, there was no beautiful art to miss, except for future shows boycotted by professional members. What was left in the shows hurt the organization’s reputation.

See how it works?

{read more—the article is long!}

“Do me a favor?”

It’s what makes every Graphic Designer cringe, once they hear that question. It usually means: “Wanna make me something for free?”

I know I’m going to offend some people who read my blog here that I know in person, because they’ve asked me to do such things. Which is fine. I’ve done them. But I really want to lay this out on the table for everyone else.

You don’t know how many people think I can “whip up” something in no time. It doesn’t take a short while to come up with a design piece that I’m proud of. It takes a lot of thought, and energy to come up with some really different pieces. I just don’t have ideas for your wedding invitations or christmas party floating around in my head. I mean, I don’t need to be a negative nancy (ha!) here, but seriously? If I wanted to be a freelancer, I would’ve been. But I’m not.

Another thing. Just because we’re friends, doesn’t mean that I am going to work for free, or even give you a discount. My work takes a lot of time, and a lot of times I don’t like to freelance based on the rates and trust me. It’s quite high. Especially since I’ve been a Graphic Designer for 5 years.  While I do work full time 5 days a week at my job, and while it doesn’t feel like work at all and I truly do enjoy what I do. I just want people to think before they ask someone such a favor.

For instance, I worked on design project as a humerous joke. Sent it to some people. Weeks later one of the people on that mailing list asked me to re-create the exact same thing, with different images. I can’t elaborate on it too much because a few people I know read this blog and they’ll know who I’m speaking about. But what was involved in that project was a lot of manipulation inside photoshop. It took HOURS. I’m not sure how many people really and truly understand that.

I just had to let that out there.  That’s one massive absolutely huge pet peeve of mine.

To leave you with a little humor, I found this image online. “Should I work for free?”. Most of the time the answer is no— lol.

[Start in the middle + click to enlarge]

Almost as annoying as asking the neighbour you only half know to do your taxes for you, for a piece of gum. Sure I’d take up on that offer, since I’m addicted to gum (only while sitting at a computer) but I mean c’mon the least you can do is return the favor and give a nationwide insurance review for my little white car. I know, that last paragraph made no sense. It’s not supposed to. Today will be my 5th day at CrossFit. I’m losing my mind. I drank the kool-aid. Addicting.

I came across the I love doodle website and fell in love. I want all of these images on tee-shirts! He even has a daily tumblr account. Check out his site, super talented.

People always wonder why I use coupons. I tell them its’ because I want to buy nicer things with the money I save! For instance, I always enjoy a splurge or two at Anthropologie. I don’t always shop there, because sometimes you can find the look for less.

But what if I owned a home? I couldn’t always go to Restoration Hardware (this store is the best) or Pottery Barn to furnish my home. Sometimes you need to get a little creative! I came across a fantastic website while reading my Real Simple magazine (October issue?).

It’s called Copy Cat Chic and I have loved everrrrrything that this person has posted. I spent a good while browsing the site for — well, not inspiration because I don’t own my own home yet. But just fascinated at the deals you can get, without breaking the bank.

Check out some of the posts:

annndd (omg)…

That’s all I’m showing you. You’ll have to check out Copy Cat Chic for more awesome stuff!

I love accessorizing rooms, especially bathrooms. Actually, I think that’s all I know how to accessorize. I have so many different tastes with living rooms, and bedrooms that when I try to put it together, it looks like a huge mess and no place has a home. But bathrooms I like having everything spa like, things in baskets and have the towels make a PUNCH for a statement.

I have some towels (and wash cloths) from Pottery Barn that I really love, but I don’t use the towels since I’m a bath sheet and not a bath towel type of person.

Browsing on the Pottery Barn website again I have the Home Decor BUG. Check out these towels I’m eying, but definitely won’t purchase at full price.

(view here)

(view here)

I take it I like stripey towels.

Or even some new duvet covers to spruce things up. Surprise, stripes!

Crisp, clean and summery (view here).

LOVELY. I need a patio/deck.

(view here)

Will someone buy me a house so I can get in and decorate? I’ll decorate, you paint the walls. I’m total crap for picking out paint colors. They look nice on the paint chip sample, and on the walls they look nothing like I had imagined. I need to hire someone.

Is Pottery Barn your style? If not, what sort of home decor suits you and your homey personality?

You  have got to be kidding me. There’s no way this thing is for real, is it!? A freaking Haircut Umbrella! At least it’s cheap. This kid’s expression, or eyes disturb me. Or perhaps it’s the miserably failed photoshop attempt to remove the background. But whatever you do, don’t look in to his eyes. He may ask you to google something crazy like “jobs philadelphia“. I know. It doesn’t make sense.

Have a grrrrrreat friday afternoon!

Canadians + Igloos. Love it.

How adorable would this be, set up at a party? Especially during the first snowfall. I know I shouldn’t even dare talk about more snow as we’re walking into spring here. But I still think it’s a cute thing to have around! I love icecube holders. They never melt in there! My parents use theirs all the time when they entertain, maybe I should get them a NEW one.

Oh, and for those who want to make your own quick easy (so no discount prescription glasses are needed to make this!) supper tonight, I uploaded the recipe to make meatless pita pizzas. Scrumptious.

It’s Kelly’s birthday today! Go on over and wish her a happy 29th!

P.S: You have a few more days to enter my contest to win a High Sierra backpack!

Now I’ve seen co-workers have mini heater things for their coffees on their desks. But I have not once seen a cooler/warmer that plugs in. That’s something nifty that I probably would never buy, but still like to oggle at. I could totally see this sitting on some desk like in an business insurance office

Isn’t that neat? I’d totally use it if I received it as a gift though! I love cold drinks.