the local

from the sky

2010-08-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

juicing exploits

2010-07-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

I received this incredible juicer for my birthday (which was exactly what I wanted) and I thought I'd share some photos of a few of my concoctions:

a. Carrot Apple Orange
b. Kale Pear Lime Ginger
c. Pear Apple Orange Carrot Kale
d. Beet Pear

and, yes, those are the actual colors of the juice. plus an extra special photo (that didn't come out so well) that shows the juicer itself gobbling up some kale. awesomeness.

beach fourth

2010-07-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

galveston is not the prettiest of beaches ... but it is all we have. and it can have it's moments, especially when you can capture them. hope you had a happy and sun-filled fourth!

choco choco

2010-07-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

revisited

2010-06-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

so back to the country again this weekend ... what a blast. a little work, a little play, dance hall perusing and of course, some livestock ... what's not to like?

it's my birthday...

2010-06-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

and I feel like I'm at the age where I *almost* have to act like I'm a grown up....but not for another year!

ice cream ... !!

2010-06-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

so my second birthday gift ... an ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen aid mixer! and boy is it awesome. I usually hate mint chocolate chip ice cream but for the inaugural usage of my gift, I used this fresh mint chip ice cream recipe (courtesy of david lebovitz, the ice cream master) and it is AMAZING. it takes a bit of prep, but try it, you'll love it.

pesto pesto

2010-06-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

It's an awesome feeling when you can walk outside, pick some basil from your garden and be eating some pesto for dinner all within 30 minutes or so. Talk about fresh!

Also, it's the start of birthday week for me and my first awesome present were a pair of ceramic knives ... they are so so great ... my second awesome present I'll talk about soon.

praha church

2010-06-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

vernacular texas church architecture / design at it's best ,,, with a dose of creepy.

praha ruins

2010-05-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

zucchini & tomato

2010-05-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited about my garden update because what was once not long ago weed ridden and infested with squirrel treasures is now an actual veggie garden with fruit!

while watering this morning I noticed my first baby roma tomato and about 10 baby zucchinis ... I've got my recipes all lined up!

what are some of your favorite zucchini and/or tomato recipes that I should try?

organic pesticide

2010-05-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

so I've been looking for a good, easy natural pesticide for my veggie/salsa garden and I came across a great looking recipe which I just made ... it should work because my eyes were watering like crazy, and my nostrils were burning ... those buggies don't have a chance.

make it for your own garden:

3 onions
3 hot peppers
1 garlic bulb

puree and mix with water
let it sit overnight
in the morning, strain the water out with a cheesecloth/strainer
add more water to make it a gallon's worth

voila!

spoonflower

2010-04-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

spoonflower is an amazing website a friend of mine told me about a couple of years ago where you can design your own custom fabric and have it printed ... awesome, right? well, textiles turned into paper, and long story short, some fabric that I had printed from spoonflower just lay in a drawer. it wasn't perfect, the design needed to be tweaked, but I got a hankering for sewing a couple of days ago and made some cute drawstring lunch/snack bags out of it ... you can never have enough snacks and ziplocs just don't do it for me.

I see gift making in my future ...

by the way, HAPPY EARTH DAY!

earth day event | the local paper

2010-04-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Local Paper is having an Earth Day Event! For online purchases during the month of April, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Architecture for Humanity and Charity Water. In honor of Earth Day (April 22) we're giving back to these amazing organizations that help people in need all around the world and preserve the planet in the process.

Find out more here!

before and afters | part II

2010-03-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

so, long story short, I've always really, REALLY wanted a garden of my own. a true, blue, going-out-to-the-yard-to-get-a-jalepeno garden. I had one with my parents, but that was years ago, and now that I live in a house that actually has a yard ... well let's just say the time had come.

after spring started to show up around here, I decided that I'd take a gander back into said yard (to my credit, this garden area is separted from the house by an enclosed deck and therefore we never venture back there).

WOW.

let's just say the weeds were the size of small-medium sized trees and let the pics do the talking.

the first photo is showing the weeds ... and the small chunk of area to the foreground is the dent I made in the weeding the first day (two hours):

this is the second day (the newspapers are to help the killing of the weeds)

third day ... some progress is being made if I say so myself

this is after six days and copious amounts of help ... yay!

this photo doesn't show the enormity of the final pile, but you can see a pile of about a quarter of the weeds

so the seeds have been planted and we're so excited around here ... there'll hopefully be some photos of seedlings soon ...

a new favorite

before and afters | part I

2010-03-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

It's spring time and what is more fitting that before and afters? I have a doozy coming up in terms of our back yard/garden...at the expense of a disc in my back nonetheless.

But here is the first one. Maybe you can tell and maybe you can't, but this photo shows these beautiful old folding chairs we acquired via trade (the best!) with years of dust and grime.

And here they are after a simple wood cleaner. Awesome!

The garden is coming soon ... and be on the lookout for a special offer from The Local Paper in honor of Earth Day ... !!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

2010-03-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

The Local Paper is having a giveaway! Just click here and find out all the details.

Good Luck!!

big bend polars

2010-03-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

07 collage_mixed media

2010-03-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

06 collage_mixed media

2010-03-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

05 collage_mixed media

2010-03-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

04 collage _ mixed media

2010-02-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

03 collage _ mixed media

2010-02-23T16:29:00.001-08:00

02 collage _ mixed media

2010-02-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

01 collage _ mixed media

2010-02-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

okay, so who didn't love making collages as a kid? the sticky glue fingers, the scraps of colored paper all over the place...the holey magazines that would make everyone angry...!

anyway, I thought I'd revive that zest by doing some collages of my own, say a collage per day? starting next week? (let's see if I can stick with it...)

here's to collage week next week with a collage I made just for Friday (click on image to enlarge)

...have a good weekend! *by the way if you haven't already, you should leave a comment/rating for me here

aa...aaaaaaaa

2010-02-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

I've been on a London kick I guess .... it is pretty awesome, what can I say.

what type are you? (via poppytalk)

london love

2010-02-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

millenium eye | tower of london | tower bridge | st. paul's cathedral | big ben

more love: one of the most exciting illustrators I've seen in a long time, jon klassen

project

2010-02-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

started work on a new project and the prototype is underway as we speak ... sometimes the residue is just as interesting or even more so than the final product.

uppercase

nostalgia

2010-01-30T16:01:00.000-08:00

Lamhe, one of my favorite films growing up, came out when I was 10 years old. I've been thinking alot lately about my cultural past ... thank goodness for Netflix. Even though I'm not Indian, we sure danced the heck out of all these awesome songs at my sister's wedding.

Sridevi, one of the most beautiful (to me) Indian actresses of all time and Anil Kapoor starred in it ... weird storyline, but then again, it is Bollywood.

more to come on this front ... a wonderful Indian blogger

de Menil

2010-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

today has been such a grey day (although grey is my favorite) I've been thinking about a recent walk I took around the neighborhood in sunnier times.

have a great weekend.

we love indie

mmmmm

2010-01-27T13:33:00.001-08:00

by the way, I'm going to start this post off by saying that ... yes, some of the photos are horizontal and some are vertical (gasp!)

I do the best I can here, people. do you want cookies, or don't you?

so I was going to start a new venture today and I thought, why not start by making cookies? yeah! by the way, they came out delicious, you wish there was a scratch and sniff on your monitor, trust me.

courtesy of smitten kitchen - she is awesome.

some cool stuff I found recently.

the shop

2010-01-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

The Local Paper shop has officially been launched! Check out all our stuff!

Um, isn't Valentine's Day coming up? Don't you need to wrap all those diamonds and candies that you'll be giving to your loved ones? I think this is just what you need.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Oh, and look at how socially connected we are ... become a fan of our page on FB!

landscapes

2010-01-22T12:55:00.001-08:00

one can find a landscape in anything .... as you can see in the following photos:

apartment housing with rain catchment systems in between

a sports stadium surrounded by office buildings

a dense downtown hub filled with skyscrapers

utility plants, along with rain water harvesting and solar panels

public transportation, including a railway system and courtyard housing

that's my house on the right

where the trains turn around and go back

our city!

maybe this'll be my theme for the next few posts ... it's great for the ol' imagination.

check out manufactured landscapes ... an incredible documentary.

new year's day

2010-01-03T17:17:00.001-08:00

starting 2010 off right ... by perusing used items. hope your new year is starting off great ... !

the kitchen sink

and another thing...

2009-12-23T20:34:00.001-08:00

we've been featured in two great blogs recently and I wanted to recognize the accomplishment!

first from the best paper shop around, PH Design Shop:

they had a great article about The Local Paper and they currently carry our products ... if you're in the area, stop by and check our stuff out, plus all the other awesome items they carry ... !

next from dear friend and accomplished designer/photographer Adam Cook:

thanks Adam, I'm so glad you like the paper! got some great new ideas about wrapping from you ... nice pics!

anyway, happy holidays to all, and hopefully there'll be more stories on this end soon.

cranbrook

2009-12-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Not feeling the best today, so I thought I'd post some photos that I've been meaning to, from a recent trip to Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan ... like a trip back in time.

the big launch

2009-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

So THE LOCAL PAPER is finally here ... and what better way to launch it than to have a giveaway!! Erin at Design for Mankind has kindly offered a set to two lucky readers and you could be one of them ... check it out!

more to come in the coming weeks

snow day ... texas style

2009-12-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

I know this is commonplace many places around the world ... but for us down south, this .... is downright unusual, but lots of fun nonetheless.

happy weekend!

rusty's sunshine

2009-12-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

from a dear friend's art show ... now a over month ago. the place was as interesting as the paintings.

this weekend there should be a surprise to share ... so excited!

farmers market finds

2009-11-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

I got these beautiful heirloom zucchini of all things, at the farmers market today, along with acorn squash, basil, and tiny tomatoes (not pictured) ... then made zucchini bread, courtesy of smittenkitchen from aforementioned courgettes. It was really great in an unexpected kind of way ...

an extraordinary thing

2009-11-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

well, for me anyway. some of you may or may not remember that I started this blog because I had a project ... design paper! And its finally here ... these are the first images of it at the printers and it should be available to YOU soon ... so hold your breath, this time it really will be here before you know it.

impromptu

2009-10-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

we had an unexpected but awesome gathering at our new place a week after we moved in ... as you can see, I took a bunch of photos of preparing the food but was having too much fun during the actual gathering to take many photos of the finished products ... ! regardless, everything turned out pretty good, if I say so myself ...

one of my favorites

sunday funday

2009-10-18T19:37:00.001-07:00

filled with bike riding, buying plants, good food and pascally-wag.

try this recipe ... you'll be glad you did.

a nice surprise

2009-10-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

this is my favorite ... classic

well...I had a pretty nice surprise last night, really awesome actually. I'm pretty sure you can figure out what it was.

this is for reels

2009-10-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

so since its been an absolute embarrassing and ridiculous amount of time since I last posted, I figured I had to put something up, no matter how busy I am with unpacking from our move right now (yes, that was what I've been up to) ... and a nice round month was about as long as I felt like I could go. as well intentioned as I was to document the entire move for the blogosphere, alas my camera was packed early on.

so here are some photos of post move-dom:

of course you can't have a move without boxes, no matter how empty they are ...

a new HUGE bright kitchen which will help me take sun filled photos of my cooking adventures

and wood floors! after about five years of brick (which was actually pretty cool) ...

cool, sleek stainless steel appliances (wow, do I feel like a grown up) ...

a corner full of cedar boxes...that I made and have been with me throughout the years ...

and some things that just can't be explained ...

hopefully it won't be soooo long till I post again ... until then ...

by the way, I really like her

sunday cook

2009-09-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

I guess watching 'Julie and Julia' inspired a Sunday filled to the brim with cooking ... but then again so did going to the farmer's market. It was fun, but I'm exhausted ...

my favorite etsy shop right now ... I bet you can't guess what I bought ...

oh-la granola

2009-09-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

I know...the photos didn't come out great, but the homemade granola bars did...!

I've been in the process of eating better, more natural, unprocessed foods and I came across this great site...I think I'm definitely going to have to get her cookbook.

tart treat

2009-08-27T18:40:00.001-07:00

I really wish I had taken more photos of this nectarine/marscapone tart with a gingersnap crust (courtesy of smitten kitchen)...but I think I got really distracted by the fact that the first perfectly brown crust I made fell splat to the floor.

darn those removable bottom pans.

it was so good once it was done, though. to more dinner parties!

austin: no limits

2009-08-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

a weekend on the lake....an adventure to say the least.

these guys like design, they like friendship...check them out.

marfa memories

2009-08-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

some friends recently went to marfa...I was so envious because that part of the state is one of my favorites in the world: its just near and dear to my heart.

so, enough reminiscing, thought I'd share from some photos from one of our many trips there...2004?

p.s. one of the only photos I've ever been able to capture of lightning...!

nice work from round...and they're from oz.

night shots

2009-08-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

awesomeness...

foreign texture

2009-08-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

london markets

2009-07-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

photos from columbia road flower market, cambridge market, and borough market.

more food, I know, but it was so fabulous.

on columbia road, was ryantown...check out his amazing paper cut outs

london food

2009-07-20T19:04:00.001-07:00

1. cupcakes at sunday upmarket, london

2. delicious one-of-a-kind chocolates from ... ?? by old spitalfields market, london

3. fresh orange juices at market square in cambridge

4. amazing rolls in cambridge

5. fresh strawberries in guernsey

6. savory muffin from konditor and cook, london

7. pots of creme at borough market, london

8. afternoon tea with carrot cake with marscapone filling at la fromagerie, london

9. meringues at la fromagerie, london

10. scones and tea at sketch, london

go get some.

london gates

2009-07-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

london calling

2009-07-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

leaving for london tomorrow and I'm SOOO excited...probably won't be posting until I return, but I'm sure there will be lots of photos to share....!

cool illos

the fourth

2009-07-05T13:36:00.001-07:00

celebrating the past

2009-07-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

now that all the birthdays are over....its nice to remember one in pictures.

birthday rings via design milk

aerial still-life saturday

2009-06-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite sites

another birthday...

2009-06-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

only a week later, and another birthday...but its almost more special when its not my own...

almost.

I can't WAIT to try these...the clock is ticking. courtesy of smittenkitchen

2009-06-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

those last ones are birthday peonies that I got for my self....love.

awesomeness via camilla

birthday cake part two

2009-06-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

well, it tasted about as good as it looked...and there's plenty left over to share.

thanks to everyone out there for all the birthday wishes...it was really great...!

birthday cake part one

2009-06-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

we still haven't eaten it yet...

party time...!

2009-06-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

yesterday was my birthday and I've got to say, it was one of the best that I've had in a LONG time....a fun time was had by all!

next post: the birthday cake.

outside the house

2009-06-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

they're here!

2009-06-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

so the business cards are finally here...and I think they came out great.

localdesignoffice

P a N t O n E

2009-05-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

ahh....our beautiful pantone guides just came in.

now its on to business cards and paper...!

beautiful patterns

four years and counting...

2009-05-21T16:13:00.001-07:00

another year, another contract.... :)

seeing as I was the bride and did not take these photos, I must acknowledge it.

out by the pool

2009-05-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

its so incredible to have a place like this to go to in the heart of the city.....

my new favorite blog

pear upside down chocolate cake

2009-04-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

this is the only way I can seem to post right now...gotta eat, right? anyway, the studying is going, and should be done soon...! this cake is awesome, pear and chocolate, how can you go wrong?

favorite desserts, anyone?

shoes...oh my god!

2009-03-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

I used to take photos of shoes for a friend of mine...came across these old ones recently and realized how great some of them were.

this is my favorite....

2009-03-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

it isn't much, but I'm not quite ready to show it yet...working on my mehndi collection as of late along with other excuses and have been too busy to post (is that possible?) but I will be better from now on! no more neglect! must keep going...

sunny flowers

2009-03-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

it was really dreary today....secretly that's my favorite, but these are pretty to look at too.

LocalDesignOffice

2009-03-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

such guilt for not having posted in a week ... oh well, I've been busy.

check out our "official" website ... hopefully there will be lots of new work to put on it soon ...!!

pictures of pancakes

2009-03-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

This morning I made sunday pancakes...haven't done that in a while, but my new favorite blog posted a recipe I couldn't resist. All I've got is say is: they are perfect.

secret buddha

2009-02-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

I found this in front of my door when I got home today....intriguing. I wonder what it means...?

great blog I discovered today...mmmm food.

pop ups are pop ups

2009-02-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite books...beautiful.

looks like a good one this week.

modularity

2009-02-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

felt like posting some old photos...three different photos from three different cities, but with a theme, right? (nyc, houston, and san antonio, respectively)

found this amazing site, via ms. corwin.

cranberry scones

2009-02-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

so...I decided to make cranberry scones for the first time, after seeing this wonderful recipe in design*sponge. well, just took them out of the oven and they smell amazing...update later on how good they were....nevermind, they are excellent!

from paper to fabric

2009-02-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am SO excited to show the swatches of the burglar bar patterns .... in fabric! Thanks to Spoonflower, they are the most awesome people ever! I think there are some pillows in order...!

these guys are awesome, went to their lecture wednesday.

poster close-up

2009-02-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

bold images from our walls...it was rainy out today, with yellowish gray sky like before a tornado. nice.

this is very cool.

new identities

2009-02-07T15:39:00.001-08:00

so....been quite busy lately, working on coming up with an identity and website/blog for our design studio, local design office (hence 'the local'). the bottom picture shows some of my iterations, and we've finally agreed on one...so hopefully I'll be posting the new cards soon.

the top photo is a documentation of cards that I've been associated with...either I worked/work there or know the person who owns the card very well. bet you can't pick the one card out of the bunch that I actually designed...??

I'm so excited! a link to our blog up soon...and hopefully the shop to closely follow....!

tag you're it

2009-02-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

famapa tagged me today...my first ever!

"Open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog it. Write something about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same."

I took this photo at the top of Emory Peak in Big Bend National Park in the summer of 2006. It was the second climb I'd ever done up to the peak, but had never before made it to the antenna (the very tippy-top). You've got to do some rock climbing up a sheer vertical face for the last 50 feet, and for someone who has a fear of heights, its pretty darn scary. Its such a beautiful view, glad to revisit it!

I tag Lauri, Rynke, Heather, Carolina, Shauna, and Nidhi...get to it!

around the house

2009-02-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

shots from around the house...interesting to see how they all go together.

I finally got around to doing a semi-full mock up of a roll of paper (with several different options rolled) went through a lot of label designs but I think I've finally settled on one. still working on the actual production.

they do nice work

fabric and ribbon

2009-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

musky, colorful...inspirational. good to spend some time in this place.

interesting product design

plugspace

2009-01-28T06:27:00.000-08:00

an architectural model of a housing project based in costa rica ... makes a nice sculptural piece.

my new favorite architects

beautiful photos by a young photographer here

via style rookie

sunday paper

2009-01-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

designs for paper/textile that I've been working on ... inspired by burglar bars. maybe I should call it BARseries ... ? no real name as of yet for this collection, still working on it. I think I like the fact that its all grayscale ... a wrapped gift can have a huge, colorful bow on a monotone backdrop (shown).

aami

2009-01-24T20:42:00.001-08:00

remembering my girl on her day...

texturexeterut

2009-01-22T19:01:00.000-08:00

there's some great texture around us ... just stopping and looking, I found these.

check out these wacky, awesome photos

red white blue

2009-01-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

congratulations president obama...!

some red white and blue to commemorate.

celebrationation

2009-01-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

celebrating a friend's birthday this weekend ... always a great time.

saturday morning walk

2009-01-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

in an effort to inspire myself to see the good in houston, I've decided to take a series of photos that show my city in a new light ... to me.

these are from this morning, before it got gray.

freaky friday

2009-01-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've felt like this before ... or maybe even looked like this.

promises of new photo "projects" this weekend ... thanks for the inspiration ms. juto.

bricks, bricks and more bricks

2009-01-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

which one doesn't belong?

(hint: alcatraz, san francisco; mariscal mine, big bend tx)

the point: bricks new or old (especially old) are great. channelling architecture geek.

coral links

2009-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

photo taken at california academy of sciences, san francisco

knitting + sea creatures = excellence

via designboom

dreaming of mehndi

2009-01-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

if you've ever done it, you'll never forget the smells: earth, lemon, sugar and love.

inspiration for patterns, to come soon.

homage to polaroid

2009-01-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

... sad to see them go.

I will miss the instant gratification (of the physical, not the digital), the subdued colors, and the white border.

monday shapes and shadows

2009-01-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

photos taken from a recent trip to san francisco...whimsical shapes and elusive shadows, perfect for monday.

recycle posters

2009-01-11T20:42:00.001-08:00

silkscreened posters 9" x 20"

designed and created for a "recycling campaign" ... click on each image to read the facts corresponding to the diagrams.