Marry me:

I love hearing about proposals. I'm a total sap when it comes to stuff like that--whether it's a viral internet lip-dub sensation that the whole world is privy to, to something as intimate as rolling over and proposing in bed, I think there's no wrong way to do it (well, there might be, but I haven't seen one that bad).

So when one of my favorite typographers put together a website that went through how she and her fiancé met--including proposal--well, let's just say that I wasn't exactly PRODUCTIVE for that half hour. Seriously, you guys; Jess and Russ' wedding website is cute and clever when it comes to design (including their friend's illustrations--LOVE THAT), but add the story of their coming together, and their engagement... well just mop me up off the floor, will ya?

In a secluded corner of the park, she spun around and half-jokingly exclaimed ‘This is where you ask me to marry you!’
He had been waiting for the right moment and decided this was it. He got down on one knee and took out the ring.
Confused by his reaction to her joke, it took her a second to realize that he wasn’t actually joking. She shouted “Yes!”, jumped into his arms and nearly knocked him off his feet.

Truth be told, Mattio proposed to me in a very similar fashion, which may be why I am so drawn to this particular proposal.

Actually, he asked me while we were in bed (oh, get yer minds out of the gutter). He had been trying to get me to go out to dinner with him for weeks, and I just couldn't make it happen with my waitressing schedule (because I was SUCH A BUSY waitress, you know). So one night, we were lying in bed talking about our futures--as lovestruck twenty somethings are wont to do--and I turned to him and said, 'One day, you're going to pull a ring out of that [nightstand] drawer.'

And to my surprise, he did. 

See you guys? Proposals = awesome. 

More Brave, less princess:

Today--first day of summer vacation--it rained. Like, poured; with thunder and lightening. So: no beach, no playground, no pool. So we did what everyone else does on a rainy summer's day, and went to the movies. And naturally we passed up Madagascar part 32: Ben Stiller Still Needs a Paycheck (Oh, I kid, I kid--it's going to rain again this summer, so no worries, we'll see it) to see the latest Pixar installment: Brave.

First, the good (alright, the obvious): it's Pixar, so the animation is UNREAL. I mean, it's so realistic, it's UNREAL. OK, maybe UNREAL isn't the best choice of words. It's top notch, as usual.

Seriously, the background, the bears, the hair on Merida's head--spectacularly realistic. The scene where Merida and her mom--as a bear--are catching fish? Look at the water and tell me that's not awesome. Oh, Pixar, you guys never disappoint in that department.

The story: it was cute. OK, adorable. I was pleased that the story was about a princess (GROAN--see below) who didn't want to meet a prince and fall in love and live happily ever after (YAY!). Actually, as far as princesses go, Merida was pretty badass, in a Katniss Everdeen sort of way (I'm thinking archery is going to be a thing now). 

But seriously, you guys: a princess? Why? Is that some sort of... void that needs to be filled in the entertainment industry? Especially family entertainment? Come on!

Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie... I'm just tired of princesses. I feel like they're being shoved down my girls' throats (and as a parent, mine too). You know what made movies like Up, and Monsters Inc, and Wall-E, and Finding Nemo awesome (aside from the fact that they were completely original)? THEY WEREN'T ABOUT PRINCESSES.

Look, Pixar: I don't mean to complain (OK, I do), but enough with the Princesses! Let Disney take care of that end--you guys just stick to awesome, non-princessy movies. 

Whoa:

I have a celebrity column in TweetDeck that I don't pay much mind to--every once in a while I'll scan it quickly but I certainly don't check it day in and day out. But in scanning it the other day, I came across a tweet from Neil Patrick Harris (who is awesome, btw. If you're going to follow a celebrity on twitter, follow him):

Ooooh, NPH talking about art? I'm game. Let's go check it out, shall we?

Um, WHOA. Those little dots on the screen? Those are nail heads. And the make up of the image is one single strand of black thread: 

Constellation is an ongoing series of portraits by New York artist Kumi Yamashita known most prominently for her innovative light and shadow sculptures. Each image is constructed from a single unbroken black thread wound through a dense array of galvanized nails mounted on a painted white board, meaning that the darker areas within the portrait are formed solely from the density of the string. Colossal is no stranger to artworks created withthread and nails, but these are certainly some of the most impressive and intricate works I’ve ever seen made using this method.

You guys, go to Kumi Yamashita's website and prepare to be amazed. I am in love with with her "rubbings", portraits created by rubbing their image over the subject's expired credit cards. 

Unbelievable, indeed. Thanks NPH. 

New work (launch):

New artist site: devinemodernart.com.

Between our art talks, and our college conversations (we both have high school juniors), artist Catherine Devine was a dream to work with.

Oh, and her art's pretty fab, too. Go to her new site, if you don't believe me (you should go there even if you do believe me)!

Oh, baby:

Before I begin today's post, I just want to put this out on the table, lest the post title fool you: there are no new babies at traciedesigns HQ. There are no new babies on the horizon--nor will there ever be. Don't get me wrong, I love babies--I'm just at the point in my life where I love other people's babies.

Anywho. One of my BFF's had a baby last week, and I am beyond thrilled. Of course I am beyond happy for my friend and her husband, but selfishly I'm thrilled because there's a newborn in my life again (one that's not mine! +1!), AND it's a boy!

To welcome Dimitri into the world, I made this:

And remember how this weekend, I was all, creative rut, boring work, WAAAAAHHHHH! This project was fun. This was a great first step into getting my groove back (I know, way to make this birth all about me, right?). But for serious, you guys, this project was a great combination of the things I love: design, typography, CUTE LITTLE BABIES. Perhaps this is a first step into a little side business? Something to think about...

Truth:

It's embarrassing that I've gone a whole month and a half neglecting this blog.

SO.

Embarrassing.

I wouldn't be lying if I told you that the reason for the lapse in posts is because I'm super busy--but I wouldn't be completely honest, either.

Truth is, I'm in a rut. A really bad rut, where I just feel like everything I do is so uncreative, so uninspired. The past few projects I've been working on have kept me busy, but at the same time, they've been so unsatisfying, creatively. I've taken on these mediocre projects basically to pay my bills, not to keep things fresh, fun and interesting. And this morning, I had a great pep talk from Mattio about the future and what I need to do to, well--as Stella did--get my groove back. Until he pointed it out, I had no idea how glaringly obvious it's been that I've been in a creative stupor. Now that it's out on the table, I can address it and figure out ways to fix it.

So am I back 100%? Not quite yet, but I'm working my way up to it. I've got some fun ideas to get things going again, and pretty close to the top of my list is blogging regularly again. So, until next time (which won't be another month and a half from now)...