Update

How about an update? Generally, it's safe to assume that my posts become minimal because I am oh so busy with school. And while that is most certainly the case at this moment, there are also various other life circumstances at play here as well. I'm not one for divulging the nitty gritty dramatic events of my life. So I will just say that Daved is no longer my boyfriend. And it was not sad, it was for the best.
Things have been going well for me. I've been struggling at school to learn my weakest areas, Flash and Web Design. It's a process, but I am slowly grasping the concepts of coding and design in these programs. My first projects are embarrassing epic failures, so I will decline to share these here. But I am oh so determined to make something cool on these second assignments. Hope to be sharing soon. I also realize I am totally lacking in any of my past design work, so I want to get that up in the future too.
And my black and white photography. I haven't shared any of it! I took best in show at the student art show this year and I never shared!? Too busy I guess. I have been working as a lab tech in the darkroom this semester, and it's been great fun. I enjoy it immensely. There is something so relaxing about the darkroom, and I just love the grainy black and white shots I make.
My digital camera has been collecting a little dust, but I do have some instagram shots from Halloween I wanted to post today. Enjoy.



Celeste was Clawdeen Wolf from Monster High this year. I think the dark colored hair makes her look like her mama.

A shot of her and I together before trick or treating.

I dressed up like a kitty cat. Merely because I could not work in my "real" costume. I made the ears that morning out felt, glue and electrical tape. Last minute for sure.

And for my real costume, the new beau and I were the classiest westerners around.



and our pumpkins!


Anyways, sorry again about all the IG pictures. Until next time. XO. -K.

28 Day Cleanse

At the beginning of the summer a friend invited me to an Arbonne party. Similar to Pampered Chef, or Tupperware, it is one of those independent consultant companies. The products they offer are all natural though. Right up my alley, so I was the perfect invite!

My friend had decided to embark on the 28 day cleanse and was also planning on a lifestyle switch to a Paleo diet. No way. Not me. I love food. There was no way I could make a drastic lifestyle change like that, but I decided to at least give the cleanse a try. I never let it inhibit me, it was more empowering. Granted, I had my cheats, but I did my best to abide one hundred percent.
So here I am, 28 days later, to let you know how things went...
A little preface... I feel like I was a pretty healthy eater before. I eat everything, but in moderation. I don't eat fast food, ever. I eat organic when I can. So I honestly thought there wasn't going to be much to "cleanse". But, I have a pot belly, a little souvenir from pregnancy eight years ago, and while I work out, it does nothing. So when I learned I could be carrying around harmful pollutants and undigestable irritants in my GI tract, I thought that might be my problem to losing my belly.
So what I couldn't have on the cleanse was wheat/gluten, dairy, yeast, sugar, alcohol, vinegar, caffeine, corn, potatoes (except sweet), peanuts and soy. This made cooking difficult, as I am very much a butter person. But the only oils I could use were coconut oil and olive oil. I already use olive oil regularly, so it was mostly about replacing butter and canola with coconut. I also had to give up my daily cup of coffee. This resulted in caffeine withdrawal headaches for about 3 days.
But the beauty is, after those three days I had fabulous amounts of energy. Prior to the cleanse I'd hit an afternoon slump where all I did was feel like napping and I'd come home from work and eat to get my energy back up. Now, I don't need an afternoon snack and I workout after work, with no worries on energy to fuel my workout. Another crazy thing? No more headaches! I was the person who had headaches almost every day. It is probably the greatest benefit of this cleanse for me, because my incessant headaches truly made my life miserable. And the results of the reason I decided to cleanse? I lost ten pounds, 4 inches off my belly around my belly button and 2 inches off the lower belly (measured at 2 inches below my belly button). I lost the most in the first week, and actually added a couple inches back on, probably because I figured out how to cook!

We've been doing p90x, so I will continue to tone up, and I will maintain the "cleanse" style of eating, gradually adding things I miss back into my diet and seeing how my body reacts to it. And if it's negative, I will know I cannot eat those things regularly, only as treats. So, how does it work? Well you can google "Arbonne 28 day cleanse" for a more in depth description, but here's what I did.
I replaced my morning coffee with detox tea.
For breakfast (previously I ate none) I made a meal replacement shake out of 1/2 cup organic almond milk, 2 scoops Arbonne vegan protein, 1/4 cup carb (I used organic frozen strawberries), 1 teaspoon flax seed oil, 1 scoop Arbonne fiber and sometimes I'd throw in a handful of spinach. I also have a juicer, so sometimes I would juice blue berries, carrots, apples and spinach and mix that in instead of frozen berries.
For lunch I would have a salad of organic spinach or mixed greens, layered with onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes and a hard boiled egg for protein, and drizzled with olive oil for fat. Your plate should be 1/2 veggies, 1/4 protein, 1/8 carb and 1/8 fat. I would snack on organic raspberries and strawberries inbetween meals as my "carb".
Dinner was difficult. I had to feed my family while still maintaining my cleanse. So I bought a Paleo cookbook since the cleanse is quite similar. (paleo cannot eat beans or rice, on the cleanse I can). Dinner was the only time I'd eat meat (unless I had leftovers for lunch) which is fine with me, organic meat is VERY expensive. I've also never been one to have to have meat at every meal. I would just stick to the plate division rule, and try to creatively season my veggies to make them more interesting and flavorful. I will share some recipes soon!
I had a cup of detox tea before bed as well.
For sweeteners you could use agave, stevia or xylitol (apparently natural). I had Agave already, so I used it in my tea. You are not supposed to eat after 7 p.m. This rule I violated constantly. My schedule doesn't allow it. Impossible most of the time.
Post workout I'd have a recovery shake consisting of 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 scoop Arbonne protein, 1/4 cup carb (frozen berries, or if I used rice milk, none) and 1/2 a banana or 1/2 cup pineapple plus water.

I am really looking forward to maintaining this organic healthy lifestyle. I want to be a good example for my daughter, and I don't want our family plagued with health problems often associated with processed and pesticide ridden foods. I also love the respect for the earth that organic farmers have. As a gardener myself, I have a true appreciation for the hard work that goes into producing these crops. It is not easy, and it is understandable the price difference. So in order to compensate for this, we will of course eat our own produce (this year we have green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin and rhubarb), as well as eat seasonally. Continuing to limit meat consumption will ease the costs of organic, free range, grass fed meats.

So how about my cheats? The first cheat was in my second week. I had a mini pistachio gelato at Whole Foods while grocery shopping. I felt fine. Next, (beginning third week) I had a half a turkey sandwich at the lake with a friend. I was bloated in the belly the next day, but felt fine. At the end of the third week we went out to eat and I had a Brie and granny smith apple grilled cheese sandwhich with sweet potato fries. The restaurant uses responsible ingredients, so I have no qualms there, but I instantly felt tired and ended up napping that day. This was at the end of the third week, and I also gave two vials of blood that morning and we walked in the hundred degree heat for a couple hours, so many factors could be to blame here, I consider it a horrible combination of all! The next day I had s'mores in our backyard (3). I had a headache the following day.

So I'm learning what I can and cannot eat, what's affordable, what's best for me to keep me feeling good and energetic in my lifestyle. I'm taking it a day at a time and remembering to live too, this is not a diet, it's a healthier lifestyle.

The Third Grade

Can you believe it? I can't. I have a third grader. Weird. She is really enjoying it though. I took her school on her first day, which I do every year. We curled her hair and dressed her in a cute skirt. Celeste just loves getting all dolled up! Just like her mama there. Last year her school switched to uniform polos, but you could still wear jeans. This year it is now khaki or navy uniform bottoms. Gross. I hate it, and she does too. You are going to have to spend a good portion of your life conforming to mainstream society, why start so young? Why strip them of any personality or individuality before they've really had an opportunity to develop it?
The districts reasoning? Gang activity and social isolation. Hmmm. I don't remember any elementary school gangs in my day. And I highly doubt our kids are noticing if your shirts and shoes are nike or old navy. And who's to say those name brands didn't come from hand me downs, flea markets, thrift stores or ross? C'mon people, they are kids. Remember all those silly little fashion phases you went through in school trying to find your niche? We just took that away from our kids.

Now that that's off my chest. Celeste's school had open house a couple days ago and we met her teacher and a new principal this year. Celeste has been lucky to always have really nice, caring compassionate teachers, and this year is no different. That's a really good thing, since our schools are some of  the worst in the nation. I can imagine it's got to be pretty hard to stay positive when that statistic looms over your shoulders.
Ahh, posivitvity. Something thats a little hard to come by these days. I happy here, with my little family and our little home, and thats all I really need. But it gets tough. We both work for the same company. We've been there for years. It's stability. It's a job. And here there are none really. There are complete blocks of empty retail spots all over town. This city is dying it seems like. So I cling to my job because it sustains what I love, my home and my family. But I don't believe in it. I am not passionate about it. And lately it's hard to even remain complacent about it.
They decided to turn to a computer based scheduling a couple weeks ago. And I see my fellow employees lives in ruins. We are all struggling to find childcare and rework our lives around what the computer says we need to work. It's sad. There is no compassion for these people who have given years of their lives to this company. If you can't work the shift given to you by the computer, you don't get to work. No flex.
I've been complacent to remain at a place that I don't believe in for all these years because I am working towards my degree. Life there just keeps getting sadder and sadder. It wears on a persons soul to see so much struggle and frustration on a daily basis. I just have to remind myself, in three short classes, in 32 combined weeks, at the end of nine months, I can get a real job. Something I love. Something I believe in. Something that has the same values I do. I just hope to God it's out there for me. After, I have a third grader to take care of!

July Birch Box Review

So, it feels like it took forever for my July Birchbox to come in. But it was the 10 days from shipment. I was getting pretty ancy, since two other ladies in my circle got theirs first! But now that I've had a chance to try all my goodies, I'd love to share my reviews....

For the month of July Birchbox teamed up with Glamour to create a box about the five senses.
For my "see it" samples I received boscia green tea blotting linens and Eyeko skinny liquid eyeliner. I love the opportunity to try all natural products, so I was really excited about the blotting linens. They work well, and I find it and extremely useful addition to my purse! The are a semi-translucent brown paper, so it makes the oil absorption difficult to witness, but if you hold them up to the light just right, you can see they've done their job. I also prefer these to powdering my face throughout the day, less time consuming and less makeup caking by the end of the day. The Eyeko eyeliner makes the box! I use black liquid eyeliner everyday, I love me some cat eye. I had no idea it came in pen form. It turns out, this is a much easier application method for me. It also does not clump up my eyelashes like the liner brush and pot I usually use do. I received a full size liner in this months box, thats a $15 value!

For my "hear it" sample I received a set of neon pink and green headphones. For my "taste it" sample I received a Larabar. It was bananas foster flavor and oh so yummy. I am currently doing a cleanse, which is sugar free, gluten free, etc. but I was still able to eat this bar without it ruining my cleanse, so it's good healthy stuff that is oh so yummy! My "smell it" sample was a vial of Oscar de la Renta live in love perfume. This scent is a little heavier and mature than what I usually go for, I may be passing this one along to someone else. And finally, for my "touch it" sample I received the tiniest smidge of Jouer luminizing moisture tint. I feel slightly offended that I should be able to adequately sample a moisturizer that comes in a tube smaller than my pinky finger. But I tried it. It's tint is not even enough coverage to even out the most perfect of skin tones, it pretty much just absorbs into your skin. But the glimmer is very pretty, I would recommend it for the decolletage, shoulders and arms.

Baby Put on Heart Shaped Sunglasses, 'cuz We're Gonna Take a Ride

I don't know why, but the summer time just always seems like the perfect time for a road trip. Last year for my vacation I went to see my best friend, Crystal. She relocated to Seattle, Wa. a couple years back. We have been friends since high school, and our daughters are also friends and the same age! Last year Celeste and I flew up to see her. But this year, plane tickets were most definitely way too costly. So I put on my heart shaped sun glasses and we took a little ride.
I just love seeing new places. I love seeing how other cities live, how different their environments are from mine. I love the exploration, the sense of adventure. And most of the time I leave super jealous, because my city lacks what I am looking for in life. Maybe thats why we fell in love with Portland. Crystal was determined to convince me to move to Seattle. Trust me I don't need convincing. But then I met Portland. And my heart sang.
But that story is for another day, for now, I leave you some pictures from our drive up from Reno to Portland, the first leg of our road trip to Seattle.




And here's some from our trip back home...

June Birch Box Review (plus April and May)

At my best friends recommendation I have been trying a new Birch Box every month for the past three months. I had never heard of it before our visit together in March, but I decided to order it and I also ordered it for my sister. My sister loved it! My BFF also loves it. It is a fabulous way to try a wide variety of products, high end products, without investing your hard earned cash into a full size product you wind up hating. It really is a pretty good deal, often paying for itself with one item in each box. Well, at least for everyone else. Birch box hates me, I think. My two previous boxes have been a little, meh. And this month many subscribers are receiving a Modcloth headband. (a $15 value). I can't tell you how upset I was to learn that I was not a lucky recipient.
I did get a box full of things I actually like this time around. I am really big into natural products and environmentally friendly lines, and nearly everything in my box matches me there. So that was nice of them. The false eyelashes by Georgie Beauty Winks are a $28 value, so the $10 monthly investment in this box has panned out. You also receive points each time you give feedback on the products you've sampled. That's a potential free $5 each month, which also helps that little box pay for itself. Plus, I love getting girly awesomeness in the mail every month.
The first month was kind of lame. I received Hollywood fashion tape. I honestly thought I'd never touch it. But I have this tank I love, and it dips a little lower than my modesty allows, so I tried this tape out with it and it was fabulous! It stayed all night and was not uncomfortable to wear or remove at all. The box also included Stila eyeshadow samples on a card (a little cheesy) but it was pretty and I still have some of the powder eyeliner left on it a couple months later, a little spritzer of Viva La Juicy, that went fast, Shu Uemura hair oil, a little of that goes a long way so I am still using this sample, and lastly some Befine face wash and moisturizer samples. The moisturizer ended up being expired (the SPF) so I got awarded 150 points ($15!).
Last Month was the Gossip Girl box. There was a foil nail polish from Color Club. It was nice, tough and sparkly, but I am not a fan of gold, though I did get a few compliments on it. Atelier cologne. Love this stuff! I wish it wasn't so pricy, because it's the first scent I have ever worn that lasts all day long, without varying in intensity. Twistband hair ties and Dr Jart Beauty Balm. I have actually ordered both these. I have fine hair and I like that the twistband is a gentle ponytail holder and the Dr Jart is an easy lightweight coverage that gives me a nice dewy complexion. Lastly, Sugar lip treatment. I love this stuff also. It is super moisturizing and provides a perfect blush of color. They were out of stock both times I tried to order, so it's popular.
This month, after I got over my tissy about the Modcloth headband, I realize I actually got to try some pretty neat products. I wore the lashes to the Rockabilly Riot this past Saturday night. They were lightweight and I hardly noticed I was wearing them. The adhesive is amazing, I brought it with me but I never had to reapply.  It’s made with  organic blue chamomile and is free of parabens, formaldehyde, phthalates and synthetic fragrance, which can irritate eyes. This stuff is right up my alley.

 

 Next I had the La Fresh eco beauty oil free facial cleansing wipes. I am not a big fan of cleansing wipes because they seem wasteful to me, but they are definitely a must for camping trips. These worked wonderfully, they even removed my mascara and liquid eyeliner. And my face still felt clean in the morning.  I think they are a great idea for camp lovers like myself who still want to clean their faces with natural products away from home. Next up was the Hair Rules volumizing shampoo. I wish I could have also sampled the conditioner, but it does work well and keeps my fine hair plump and weightless in between washes. The Balm Stainiac is a good multipurpose product to have on hand. I love lip stains, because I can have all day color without worrying about rubbing off on my food or face like lip stick does. It can also be used for cheek color, which is a nice little bonus. The last item in my box was the Tili bag. It's like a decorative ziploc. My eco friendly self is not impressed. In fact, I have begun to loathe plastics and try to purchase glass now whenever possible (obviously its difficult to get away from in this day and age, but I try). I am hoping this product will come in handy when organizing toiletries for travel or camping.
After all my rants and raves if you feel like giving this monthly makeup product sample service a try below is a link. Check it out! It's actually fun and exciting to be able to try out all these things, and I have discovered some new products I love, and that's the best. I can grow away from my habitual tendencies and branch out into new things.

Birch Box

XO. -K

Rockwell Type Specimen

Today I would like to share a PDF of my first project in electronic layout and typography. The project was to design a typography specimen for a typeface. My typeface was Rockwell. We were to use images from the time period the typeface was designed as well as include all the letters, upper and lowercase, all the numbers and a 500 word essay. The front cover could only showcase one image and the name of typeface, the back cover had to have an image of the creator and an additional image as well as two paragraphs about the creator. Mr. Pierpont has no images of himself! It was also a very difficult typeface to establish a creator, because most of my research showed that Rockwell was "created at the Monotype Foundry under the direction of Frank Pierpont".
The Rockettes were formed around the same time this typeface was created, so I decided to use that imagery. I feel it also helps to support Rockwell's "showy" nature, since it is a typeface well suited to large type, like headlines and titles.
Please click the link below to view the PDF... and as always, I'd love to here what you think!
XO. -K

Rockwell Type Specimen

The Finished Product

It's only taken me all semester to have a moment to post this. I have never been able to post all projects from school up here, but I really think I've got some neat stuff, so I need to work on getting it on the blog when I have a chance.
So the first project in my commercial printing processes class was to design a business card for ourselves. I used my typography self portrait from a couple semesters ago. Overall, I am pretty proud of how they turned out. I even went all over achiever and did a two sided design, which was not a requirement, but I like two sided designs better. I'd love to here what you think!

Photograms

One of the very first things we did in my black and white film photography course was make photograms. We would place an object on a piece of photo paper, expose and develop. Here are my photograms...

Preliminary

*this post started February 7th... 
Just wanted to stop in for a minute to share my preliminary work for my business card design. I need to get used to my new school schedule. I'm juggling it, but I feel very disorganized and I am severely lacking sleep.
This first design is a style I'm a fan of. It got mixed reviews. It basically breaks all the design "rules" so my classmates were not very fond of it. There's no hierarchy, margin or leading. Oh no! But I like it. And my instructor liked it. If I went into my portfolio class with this business card newer designers might like that I chose to pursue this concept, he said. But old school designers may not be a fan of it. So I tested it on my old school instructor. He said it looked like a junky magazine cover!
*this post finished March 29th
Yikes! What a gap. I started writing this post to share my preliminary work, but I ran into problems uploading with Flikr, so off to the back burner it went. My business cards are done and printed, and I would have a picture of the finished product, but my camera died. I have been so into my film camera, that my digital has been in it's bag since December! Today I at least have my preliminary designs. I decided to print the second design.

Black and White Photography

Another class I am taking this semester is a black and white film photography class. I have always wanted to learn how to develop my own film and work in a darkroom. I think this fascination may stem from a southern California afternoon when my step mom pulled some boxes out from under her bed and showed me all her film and photos from her days hanging with bands like Led Zepplin and taking some kick ass pictures.
My life is nowhere near as interesting and adventurous, so I mostly snap pictures around my house and my city, Reno. Here are a few of my favorites that I've hung in the hall ways of my college. I am also considering entering one or two in the upcoming student art show. I'd love to hear what you think!

Research

This semester I am taking three classes. Electronic layout and Typography. Commercial Printing Processes. And a Black and White film photography class.
Today I have been doing research for my Printing course. It's the first upcoming critique, this Wednesday. Our first assignment is to design a business card for ourselves. It is actually turning out to be a bit more difficult than I thought. I have so many fabulous interests, I'm just not sure which I'd like to emphasize. The illustrator Kristine? The vintage Kristine? The baker Kristine? The photographer Kristine?
So many options! I'm sure I will figure out something in the next three days. Here are some of my favorites that will serve to inspire my concept.

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The Week in Instagram

I'm officially in love with Instagram. I have posted a few pictures from my favorite app on the blog, but this  post is a week in Instagrams!

January 8th: I took Celeste and her cousin to the new children's discovery museum that opened in Reno recently. The girls had a blast running around, playing and creating.

January 9th: We went out to Pho and I tried grass jelly drink for the first time. Bubble tea is still my favesies

January 10th: I made strawberry bundt cakes with lemon icing for a bake sale at work. One stuck to the pan, and Celeste ate the broken piece when I wasn't looking!

January 11th: We hacked up my 1960's kitchen to install an over the stove microwave. A decision I've wrestled with for a while. Ultimately I came to the realization that I will not be able to afford the oven hood I really want and also my other microwave quit working and I needed the counter space this one provides.

Afterwards we went out to eat at the Blind Onion for the first time

January 12th: Celeste and I started getting crafty for Valentines

January 14th: We took a mini road trip to Ikea.

Then we went to Chipotle for Lunch and Trey B Cakes for dessert

We saw a horse mounted cop

And on January 15th: I stayed home listening to records and cleaning my studio

Until next time. -XO K.