My February Favorites

Hi guys! Welcome back! I really like this month’s post and I hope you do too 🙂

Art

My biggest art accomplishment this month has been an exciting one. My etching print, where will my sidewalk end?, was selected for the 52nd Annual Student Juried Exhibition in the gallery on campus. There are a lot of other talented artists that were also selected, and many are friends. Several are also classmates whose prints got selected from the class we were in together. I am very proud and excited, and I will just have to deal with the empty space on my wall for a month where it hangs above my desk.

Some other fun projects I am working on right now are:

• a physical representation of a song for my design class
• adding more personal art to my portfolio
• getting into book illustration for fun
• SAB merch
• brainstorming more print ideas
• an essay for INSIDER

For the past two years, my Spotify playlist covers have been a picture from the corresponding month. But this year, I am trying something new (for as long as I like it). I am still including a picture, but I am writing the month in fun bubble letters instead. Very scrapbook-ish and fun. I haven’t decided if I will use picture I took, or if I will just find pictures I like. For January, I used a picture my boyfriend took and I think it’s really cute. I think this style is fun and will be interesting to play with, I just don’t know if it will provide the same connection to the playlist as a picture I took of myself will, but we will see how it goes.

Something fun I learned about in the design field this month is Milton Glaser. He is the designer behind the “I ❤️ NY’ design that is widely known. He did not get paid for that design but said he is honored and proud that it is so popular and recreated in different ways. We watched a video on him for class and he seems so cool. I liked a lot of his practices and advice he had about designing. It helped me put a name to a design, and I learned something new.

Fashion

I am very much looking forward to spring weather. I am tired of the cold. Here are some outfits I am looking forward to recreating once it is sunny and warm!

Food

My roommate Bella (an avid enjoyer of this blog) and I have been on a mini mission recently to try new coffee shops in Des Moines! Last weekend, we tried Horizon Line. I know, we’re late to the game, but it was everything we could’ve hoped for. The interior is adorable. Lots of plants and natural light allowed for it to feel very relaxing. It is a popular place, so it was a little bit of a competition to find seating. It is extrememly dog friendly and we met a lot of sweet little furballs. Another draw to Horizon Line is their no-waste habits. All of their goods are served in or on reusable glassware and china, even their takeout options. You just have to return the bottle/jar. Because it is so popular, it wasn’t exactly a quiet environment, so I wouldn’t seek this out if I had an important call or a demanding deadline, but the business made me feel very productive. The atmosphere was light and happy, and we will definitely be returning.

Today, we tried Daisy Chain Coffee. This adorable establishment is right next to Raygun, and they share a wall. You can see right through a doorway in the t-shirt shop to view the coffeeshop. With the entire storefront being windows, the natural light shone on all of the whimsical and kitchy decorations. A local artist’s pieces are featured and for sale on the large back wall. The owner of this shop has how own bees, and they use his wildflower honey in their lattess and it is also for sale. Their lattes were delicious, and I just couldn’t stop looking at everything around me. It is pretty limited on indoor seating, but many people were taking advantage of the outdoor seating on this rare 60 degree day in February. The sunlight gets pretty bright and warm, but I was too busy enjoying the decor and the sights. Ansother must visit for sure. Cute coffeeshops just make me happy.

We are going to make it our goal to try more coffeeshops that are new to use! Keep an eye out for more coffee tidbits in future blogs to come.

Media

TV

One of the biggest anticipated TV events of this month was the release of season 3 of Outer Banks. They also announced the renewal of the show for season 4 on the day the released the new season. I jsut watched the first episode last night and I am so excited. I love how they continue the storyline of the gold and incorporate the cliffhangers. There is a reunion of characters that I am looking forward to and the introduction of new characters. I will definitely be talking about the rest of the season in March’s blog post.

I could go on and on about this show, but right now I am absolutely obsessed with The Last Of Us on HBO, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. For those who don’t know, this show is based on a video game of the same name about a fungi zombie apocalypse. Pascal and Ramsey play an accidental father/daughter dynamic trying to survive 20 years after the initial outbreak. I previously knew who Pedro Pascal was, but hadn’t seen anything that he’s been in, so I am really liking him. The storytelling is absolutely insane and the visuals are amazing. I think it is so cool that they were able to recreate the video game almsot exactly. I can’t wait to see how this continues to play out.

Music

This month, Spotify introduced Spotify Blends. Blends are basically a shared playlist curated by Spotify from you and a friend’s account. The playlist includes songs that you and your friend both have in your rotations but also introduces the other person to songs that are unfamiliar to them. And it updates every few days!! I have only created one so far, but I love the one I do have. It’s fun to remember the songs that we both listen to and have listened to together but also shows me new songs that she has that I can listen to without searching through her playlists. I think it is just a super fun way to find new music.

A peek into February’s rotation:

• Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles
• Can’t Stop – Red Hot Chili Peppers
• I’ll Be Waiting – Cian Ducrot
• Sparks – Coldplay
• Right Down The Line – Gerry Rafferty
• She’s Not Afraid – One Direction

Other

Random things I have enjoyed recently:

• chocolate in the freezer
• having fresh flowers in our room
• briogeo texture spray – lovely smell and doesn’t make my hair too dirty. has also been doing wonders for airdrying my curls
• using velcro rollers for my front pieces when I blowout my hair
• the sock monkey I made for my boyfriend for valentines day

Goals/ideas I am currently working towards:

• going to Hinterland this summer
• getting an internship!
• doing good in my classes
• doing more traveling this summer and perhaps spring break
• making more prints
• visiting friends at their schools
• crocheting more hats!
• making money
• doing more illustration

Thank you guys for your continued support with these! It makes me so happy that you guys like all of them. Please comment your thoughts or any other post ideas you have!