Living the Creative Life

Technology is amazing, isn't it? Did you know you can now watch the ball drop live over the internet? Granted, it's not time-delayed, like I'm used to on tv, but in a way, this is even better! Happy New Year, everyone!

Speaking of playing less video games ...

I was recently reviewing my GoodReads account and realized I've only finished 22 books this year! Twenty-two!! That's... like... crazy talk. Seriously. When I was 12, I could easily finish 22 books in one month. Granted, my life is busier now and the books I read tend to be longer, but still... If anyone's curious, I read 27 books in 2012, 22 books in 2011, and 13 books in 2010. This is an alarming trend, people! One realization I've been coming to is that I spend far too much time zoning out in front YouTube, television, The Sims, Solitaire... basically anything on my computer or phone that could be considered fun. And while there's nothing wrong with fun, I think perhaps I need to put fun back in it's rightful place. So... I'm going to try an experiment. I'm starting this week, even though it's not the New Year yet, because if I don't start now I never will. This is a modified version of my previous  technology fast , in case you were won...

I was recently asked for a list of my favorite web design tutorials, and... well... I got a little carried away. So, here's my ultimate web design resource list! Merry Christmas! Basic Development Platforms Blogger : This one is free and very versatile, since you have full access to both the HTML structure of the site, as well as the CSS style sheets. They have a WYSIWYG editor, as well as a custom CSS editor, making it extremely easy to customize a basic blog or site very quickly. Wordpress : Though the basic software is free, this one does require you to purchase hosting. I personally find Wordpress cumbersome and annoying to code, but it can be extremely robust and versatile if you know what you're doing. There are many, many free and paid templates to choose from, which can give you a good starting ground for designing a site. (Or if you'd rather design a completely custom site, there are many people who specialize in coding Wordpress sites from scratch, which can b...

Here are a few client blogs that I've been working on recently. Thought you might enjoy seeing what I've been designing! View this design in action . View this design in action . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you'd like your own blog or small business website designed, reserve a spot on my calendar today ! I'm now booking for January and February! ------------------------------------------

Hello! Sorry for my few and far between posts lately. I'll try to be better about that. To catch you up... My previous job situation got downsized after about 2 weeks, so since then, I've been either looking for work (which is surprisingly exhausting, if you've ever done it), building up my Etsy design shop , flushing out my business website , and also helping my dad with his job (a night-time route delivering the LA Times). On the paper route My neice turned one years old a couple weeks ago. Time sure flies! She's crawling now and starting to learn to stand while holding on to things. Rachel's First Birthday The weirdest thing about living in Southern California to me is that it never really got to be winter here! We had one week where it got into the 30's at night, but for the most part, it's been fluctuating between the 40's and the 70's (night & day, respectively). Last week we even got into the 80's! That definitely make...

Originally published as a guest over at a la Mode : Five things every woman should know how to do: #1 -- Fry an egg No really. There's something awesome about knowing how to make the perfect fried egg. It's gotten to the point where I don't even like eating eggs other people have made because I like how mine taste better. #2 -- Pin stuff on Pinterest Because it's fun. And relaxing. And a great artistic feeding ground. I am learning that, as an artist, it's very important to feed my inner artistic self or I will not be able to be very creative. For some reason this is easier said than done. I think maybe we artists get used to being depressed and "blocked" so much that we forget that the quickest way out of it is to inspire yourself with other people's creativity. One free way to feed your creativity is by curating a Pinterest stream that speaks to your sense of wonder and imagination! #3 -- Go to the movies alone Okay as an introvert,...

I've been working hard this week pulling my new business website together. After trying to make a design blog work, I realized that's not really what I want my site to be about. I want it to be professional and clean and ready to sell myself to clients! So.... I of course will still build Blogger blogs when I get those requests, but I am expanding my offerings to include mobile-responsive Squarespace-based websites as well! Squarespace is so much easier to manage than Wordpress (at least, in my opinion) and every site built on Squarespace version 6 is automatically mobile-responsive, which is amazing! I look forward to working with small businesses, indie artists, and small-town churches who haven't built their own site yet! Is that you or do you know someone who that sounds like? I'd appreciate it so much if you could help me spread the word! Visit my site . ----------- Update 1/8/2014: Sorry guys, but I'm closing the comments on this post. I've been...