Seemingly the only snowy weekend this winter was spent in New York, tearing through frosted pines. Ellicottville is hardly an exotic locale, but by comparison to this past season, a chilly and serenely beautiful landscape, making the cut for wanderlust.

Companions: Jarrod, Jonathan, Katie, Cory, and Sarah, adventure seekers and family.

Accommodations: Snow Pine Lodge, a mere 200 feet from the base of the Western face. Amenities include balcony, loft, working fireplace, and full kitchen. 

Assessment: cozy, convenient, and well stocked. 

For all you snow birds, enjoy the last of winter's chill!

Happy New Year!!! I'm thrilled to open the new year by effectively closing the old with the second part of my do-it-your-damn-self Christmas. 

I am obsessed with suspension, the beauty of hanging things dangling magically in mid-air. Last year's tree proved such a success that I had to try again, this time in a half round to acquiesce to spacial limitations in my new place. 

The process is both simple and complicated: fishing line, clear packaging tape, and hand cut paper snowflakes strategically hung in concentric circles (read: lots of love and time) compose this personal and unique Christmas fixture. Perhaps next year I'll blog my process and incorporate new things. :) 

Enjoy the new year, one and all!!

We received a well-intentioned wedding present any typographic nut would love. Some friends innocently gifted us a Message-in-a-Cookie Christmas set from Williams Sonoma, a charming gesture if not for the obvious repercussions.

The process is easy- select a generic holiday greeting or assemble your own from the bag of washable letters, and slide them into the designated slots on the cutter.

Simply press firmly into cookie dough and lift to reveal a lovely Christmas message.  At least, that's what should happen. Like a middle school boy with a calculator, however, the answer was obvious and crude.

Williams Sonoma offers this simple fun for a mere $19.95, which can be purchased on their site or in stores. I know it's early, but perhaps one can't plan too far ahead- I'll in the meanwhile be crafting vulgar eighteen character thoughts for 2012....

Enjoy :)

Philanthropy- Christmas Desktop

Hello all! I hope the lights are burning brightly in your house for Christmachannukwanzakuh this year, my lights upstairs are busting with holiday inspiration. Particularly today is a lovely desktop for any and all interested in some digital merriment.

Feel free to click on the image for a 1200 x 800 download to desktop. A widescreen version is available here. :) I hope it finds you lovely.
Enjoy.

Married Mush

I am back from a very busy life these last two months. First and foremost, I got married. :)

Photo by Christy Meyer, XY

Forgive the shameless display. As evidenced by the photo, we have lots of fun together.

If there weren't enough excitement for all month/year/ever, my honeymoon purposed a Wanderlust post on Belgium. Unfortunately, I was not as disciplined as my last trip (for obvious reasons) so my photos are few. However, there are a few gems nestled in the pile.

Please look expectantly forward to new photos- I am very glad to be back.

Enjoy.

Mmmm, tasty!

Photo by Alexandre Dubosc

Did anyone else love zoetropes as a kid? These edible animations of Alimation indeed take some kind of cake- I can hardly get over the "Choco-Show," as it's called.

Part of a curated collection of visual insight and trickery by Colossal, this is one of the many tasty artistic wonders and ventures on the carefully progressive blog sure to take your breath away.

Kindly enjoy [for hours]. 

Great Advice

Illustration: Oscar Ramos Orozco

I can't help but follow the very sound advice of Behance's brilliant blog, the 99percent.

Every remotely well-known creative professional today follows this model. I personally have blogged creative essays and musings for almost ten years, but in the artist's realm I fail miserably. This article proves yet again the importance of staying interesting, current and generous.

Please enjoy- it's worth the read!

*Edit* Mark McGuinness wrote this article?! I love that man. If you want a lovely nugget of positive reinforcement in your inbox on a weekly/biweekly basis, I beg you to sign up for his Lateral Action online course. He is always an insightful, inspiring [and free] read.