GOOD BRANDING IS THE WAY TO MY CART | NO.2 (FOOD FINDS)

May 13, 2014

fancy grocery/kitchen/food stores always seem to have the most appealing food products with beautiful packaging. here are some discoveries that caught my eye!

1) i talk plenty about mcconnell’s ice cream on this blog…but i didn’t realize they sold the pints at whole foods until a few months ago! they rebranded a few years ago and i love their new packaging.

2) i recently came across seaworth coffee co. and tried their single fin sludge cold brew. it’s some good stuff. reminds me a bit of stumptown. the company was started by a few surfers in costa mesa that couldn’t find a decent cold brew in southern california so they set out to make their own. it’s always nice to support local!

3) yet another coffee product with good packaging. califia coffee products are definitely more of a sweet treat than straight iced coffee, but a glass for an afternoon pick me up does the trick.

4) i have yet to try this pizza crust from williams sonoma but that box calls my name every time i visit the store. reis and i eat/make pizza at least once a week and i would like to bring this crust into the rotation.

check out the first “good branding is the way to my cart” post here!

WORK IT OUT | NIKE TRAINING CLUB

May 8, 2014

it’s been so long since i’ve done a fitness post! time to bring them back. for the past several years, my favorite fitness app by far is nike training club. not only is the design impeccable and so pretty on the eyes, but it’s so well thought out and so customizable! when there’s no turbo kick, zumba, or spin class that fits into my schedule, i’ll go to the gym and use the [empty] group exercise room to get my NTC on. i love that you can pick your workout based on your goal, fitness level, and the amount of time you have. they also have step by step instructions via photos (and video!) so you can see exactly how to do each exercise with proper form. oh it’s just so good. (it doesn’t hurt that the models all have rockin’ bods so you work that much harder.)

i feel like nike has totally stepped up their design game in the past 5 or so years and i am a big fan. from their instagram feed to this app to their clothes and shoes, they all inspire me to get my sweat on.

and now for some of my favorite nike threads as of late…

roshe run “palm trees” | gym vintage crewneck shirt | signal t-shirt | futura leg-a-see leggings | j.crew x nike air pegasus ’83 sneakers

THE YELLOW CONFERENCE

April 21, 2014

The Yellow Conference

i’m so excited to share with you all about the yellow conference going down in LA this summer! my friend joanna is organizing this event and i love her vision and her passion behind it all. she is truly inspiring! here’s a little summary of the event from the website:

“Taking place August 28th and 29th in Los Angeles, CA, The Yellow Conference is a gathering for creative women who desire to ignite passion and bring goodness to the world through everyday living.“

an amazing group of speakers has been rounded up and i cannot wait to hear their talks. a few of them include: sarah dubbledam, the creator of darling magazine, promise tangeman, the incredible designer and founder of sitehouse designs, and dale partridge, the founder of sevenly…and those are just three of them! i’m so intrigued to hear their stories and how they got to where they are pursuing what they love! as a small business owner, i’m constantly evaluating the work i’m creating, the work i want to create, and how to go about achieving my goals while thinking about more than just myself + making a living. i’m looking forward to feeling very inspired by the end of the conference.

joanna is kindly offering a 10% discount off for you guys if you sign up this week! (enter the code BLOOMJAY at checkout) i’m so excited for august and i hope to see you there! for more information or to sign up, visit the website here.

STUFF FOR YOUR HOME $20 AND UNDER

April 16, 2014

i’m a sucker for a deal. i rarely buy anything full price and i love a good sale rack. buying little things for around the house is one of my favorite things to do and these are a few things i brought home with me recently that didn’t break the bank.

west elm copper cook’s tools | our kitchenware is quite the hodgepodge of a collection that i already had from living on my own before we got married. nothing matches and and most of it is looking a bit aged. when i saw these tools were only $7 each (and free shipping!), i got one of each.

world market marble utensil holder | okay, so this isn’t on sale, but if you sign up for their explorer rewards program, they send you 10% off coupons a lot and hey, that helps. it sits pretty on the counter and now my copper tools have a nice little home.

west elm throw | our house is freezing in the morning and nights and i sit with a blanket around me all day while i work. for $10, i love this throw a lot. funny how things get cuter as they get cheaper.

gold scissors | these aren’t the OG ginghers, but they are a really great pair of scissors (and pretty too) for only 10 bucks!

happy shopping!

WORK | ELLAY FILMS

April 14, 2014

Ellay Films | JayAdores

oh hi there again! it’s been quite some time and i have so many things i want to blog about. starting with this! today i’m sharing the branding + website i did for our film company, ellay films. it’s always fun designing for personal projects and having complete control over every element involved. after we established our mostly neutral aesthetic with this mood board, i hand lettered the logo and designed the site. then i created some branding pieces including a pricing sheet, business cards, notepads, thank you cards, and foiled coasters. we just can’t get enough paper. up next – a PDF brochure to send out to inquiring clients!

honestly, this whole project has been a dream – working with my sister, designing, filming, editing…so many things i love wrapped into one! it’s going to be a good year.

WORK | HAND LETTERING

March 12, 2014

i recently finished up some hand lettering for some wedding invitations and here are a few snippets! this client was so sweet and so much fun to work with and her ideas were a blast to bring to fruition. i’ve been doing a lot of lettering the past several months (these invitations and these invitations, this logo, my logo…) and i’m really enjoying time away from the computer experimenting with different styles and brush techniques. i’m currently working on a few wedding invitations with custom lettering (good script fonts are few and far between i tell ya) so you’ll be seeing a lot more on here in the near future!

happy wednesday!!