the almost-spring-but-not-quite blues

Sometimes I really struggle with what to say on here.  All over the blogosphere people are always talking about "authenticity" and how you should "blog from the heart" or whatever... but no one likes a whiny blogger.  Right now I'm in this funk where I have trouble coming up with something to say.  I've been trying to just blog about basic things that everyone can relate to (like yesterday, you guys totally blew me away with your cool comments!) but even then sometimes I feel like I have nothing worthwhile to blog about.

So let me just throw this out there: I've been feeling really blah this week.  I feel whiny and distracted and unproductive.  I'm itching for spring and SUNSHINE and actually exercising and finding some balance.  I want to say that I need a break, but I took a break from the computer this weekend and things weren't really better when I got back.  I'm not really sure what the solution is other than trudging along.

I truly believe that sometimes you can choose to be happy, so I feel lame for getting in these funks.  And I have a lot to be happy about.  So here's what I'd like to know friends: what do you do to shake the winter blues?  Besides chocolate and telling yourself that spring is right around the corner?

I forgot to include these links in my post yesterday!  So you should really check out this interview on Curious Damsel, as well as this sweet post on Paint Speckled Pawprints, and leave them some love!

on dreams

Lately I've been having really vivid dreams.  And not the good kind.  The other day I killed someone in my dream.  Don't worry, he wasn't someone I know in real life, and he was the mass murderer/rapist in the story so I guess in my dream I was doing something good.  But still.  I dreamt that I killed someone.  With my bare hands.  It was pretty creepy, gross, and disturbing.

Usually my dreams aren't about people I know in real life, but sometimes they are.  I feel like they come in waves and are usually not good- I've had pretty realistic ones like 4 days in a row.  And my surroundings are usually one of the biggest components.  My brain creates these crazy spaces that I've never been in before, and are usually a little Escher-like.

Do you remember your dreams?  What's the weirdest one you've ever had?  Once I had a dream that my mom was going to die, which was disturbing in and of itself.  The reason?  She was pig for Halloween when she was young.  It was like a terminal illness, like if she had grown up in a nuclear wasteland or something, but caused by a Halloween costume.  Yeah, I don't get it either.  But it's always stuck with me.

weekend in delaware

One of my college roommates is a grad student at UDel, and this weekend me and one of my other college roomies road tripped it to Newark to visit her!  We had a fun and lazy weekend, full of old movies and lots of food.

The cat's name is Minnie.  In case you couldn't tell, I'm kind of in love.  I might miss her more than my roomies (just kidding loves!)  The owl is a long story, but his name is Alejandro and he was a staple in our apartment in college.  We were more than happy to have Minnie and Alejandro for our photoshoot.  Sorry that some of the pics are blurry, I need to look into fixing that when I'm using my remote.

Don't worry, I did take photos on campus, to prove that we went outdoors.  And you can see all the photos from the trip in one place here (witty captions included, or corny depending on your sense of humor.)

I used tutorials from Pugly Pixel and Confessions of a Graphic Design Student to make my first ever animated GIF.  If you're using Blogger, make sure you check out Kristen's tip at the bottom of her post!

Friday Links

Hello friends!  Was it just me, or did this week seem to fly by?  Craziness!  I'm looking forward to unplugging and unwinding with friends this weekend.  How about you?

I know this is not from this last week, but what can I say?  I'm obsessed with Downton Abbey just like everyone else.

Did you see Anna's blog design and Supal's sketchbook?  I have such talented blog friends!

The motherload of Pinterest tips!

Building up quite a list of blogging tips, this week was all about alternatives to GFC!

This art to outfit post is so cool!

Love this list of cake trends.

I'm a sucker for some good packaging.

snow day

Yesterday we got our first heavy snowfall of the year.  It was so beautiful to watch it build up over the course of the day.  The best part?  School was cancelled in the evening!  Even though I'm an adult now and school being cancelled means that I don't get paid to sub, I couldn't help but be excited.  I think my overwhelming amount of design work that I have to do was part of my joy.

Last night around one in the morning we hear snow plows outside our window.  I peaked out the blinds and saw the two smallest plows I've ever seen plowing the empty parking spaces in our apartment complex.  The best part?  It's supposed to be fifty degrees here today.  Great job, guys.

In other news I blogged about my 5 favorite blog design trends over on This Wonderful Life today!  Check it out!  Also, I was playing around with my menu bar a little, and I added a page for my guest posts and features, so you can find all of them in one place.

Check out photos from the balcony from other seasons.

happy friday

I have a lot of work to catch up on this weekend, so I'm afraid that pure relaxation isn't exactly in my near future.  But I love what I'm doing, so don't feel too sorry for me!  Lately I've been craving some sunshine, so maybe I'll sneak out of the apartment for a few nice long walks.  This picture is proof that winter sun can happen and can even be warm.  I took it last week at my parents' house.

Here are some links to keep you happy over the weekend!

Check out my tips for using Twitter!  And one that I forgot: follow other bloggers back!  It's just nice.

I still subscribe to several wedding blogs, but this photoshoot is just magical.

Kinga's sketchbooks are amazing!

A post about sustainable blogging from Pugly Pixel.  I couldn't agree more.

Joelle wrote a great post on being organized!

Have you seen my design inspiration posts on KBD?  There's a pretty cool collection of blogs right there.

This DIY mug is so chic!  You could give that to someone as a gift!

I kind of want to read this book.  I definitely feel like we live in excess.

Happy Valentine's Day

My mom really outdid herself with these cupcakes.  She used the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake Recipe and we piped on vanilla buttercream.  She sent us home with a few and I quickly regretted not grabbing some more.  They were divine.

Last night we went to a little restaurant that we hadn't tried before... it was delicious!  Then we came home, watched Alcatraz, then Brian made me a pink funfetti cake and we watched Beauty and the Beast.  Perfect! Since we went out last night, we are going to cook up something yummy at home tonight.  What are your plans?

I hope you have a sweet Valentine's Day!

balance

How was your weekend?  Mine passed in yoga pants and pajamas, but I worked most of the time.  Which is okay, because I kinda love this kind of work, but still, I think that balance is going to be a big theme is this little venture of mine.

Also happened this weekend: I came down with some sort of cold, our fire alarm went off no less than four times due to something gross in our oven, Brian made pizza, and I ate cinnamon rolls, chips and dip, sour patch kids, pizza, and icecream exclusively on Super Bowl Sunday.  Win?  I feel like I need to go on some sort of extreme cleanse today.  Ugh.

Friday Links

Sorry if I've been a little absent from Blog Land this week, friends.  It's amazing what happens to your Google Reader when you ignore it for a week- yikes!  In addition to attending Blog Brunch tomorrow, I'm hoping to tackle some of the many unread posts.

We don't have any Super Bowl plans to speak of... do you?  Brian and I are both pretty big non-sports fans, so maybe we'll just put together our own Super Bowl feast at home.  Maybe we'll even turn on the game for the commercials.  Who's playing again?

I made a few announcements on KBD this morning, including that prices will be increased on Monday!  If you're interested, contact me this weekend to get the current prices! (you can also email me at info {at} katelynbrookedesigns {dot} com!)

Some ideas for what to make for your Super Bowl feast.

The start of my Tips for Better Blogging weekly feature!

Definitely felt like I'd made it big on Wednesday!  Also, thank you all for your sweet comments!

All the Art to Inspiration images in one place!

I'm itching to find a use for these lace brushes, which I didn't know about until this post.

How to pack lightly for a trip!  I wish we were going on one really badly.

winter morning pictures

I've been feeling like I'm in a blogging rut this week.  I didn't post at all yesterday, anywhere, and I think that helped get things going a little better.  I found these on my computer this morning and I thought I would share them here.  I took these around town in December, and I guess they weren't Christmas-y enough to get posted.  I remember that this morning was crisp and clear and beautiful, and that I was excited about the season.  Sometimes I need to remember that feeling later in the winter when I'm not so excited anymore (you can see more pictures of that morning here.)

I usually get sub jobs on Fridays but I didn't get called today, and let's face it, it's always fun to have Friday off, especially if it's a surprise!  It worked out because I really need the sleep this morning.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, here are some links to check out!

My redesign of Small and Chic Home is live!  Eek!  Make sure you read my interview too- Jeannine asked great questions!

Downton Abbey is my new favorite show.  I had to contain squeals when I saw this post on Oh Hello Friend.

I took these pictures leaning over the passenger seat of my car.  Nice.

Did you see my guest post on Cake Memoirs this week?  Thanks to Lot for having me!

As someone who has very little taste when it comes to wine, I appreciated this how-to on Chevrons & Eclairs.  You know, in case I ever have a guest with more refined taste.

I love finding new artists, so this post on vmac + cheese was right up my alley!

The business cards might be the #1 reason I'm depressed that I missed Alt.  Just kidding, sorta.

I WON!  Now I have to pick just one.  It's a good problem to have :)  Which would you choose?

see ya, weekend

Another weekend gone, my friends.  Do you ever have those days where you feel like no matter how long you stare at something, it just never gets done?  Well I had two of them back to back.  I really probably should have just walked away from the computer, but I tried my hardest to stay put and accomplish things.  Let's just say that my mile-long to-do list wasn't exactly tackled.

Part of my problem was that I felt a little bit like I was losing it.  There were just too many things to do.  I was/ am totally overwhelmed.  Especially just by opening my Google Reader.  I've started following a lot of new blogs recently, and I'm starting to get them mixed up, which really makes me feel crazy.  Maybe I've reached my limit?  I don't know, but I hate feeling like I can't keep track of stuff.

Source: talesofayoungdesigner.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Today is rainy and gross.  Ugh.  Not off to the best start this week, here's to hoping it turns around!

It's Ok!

I've seen this link-up several times but I've never participated before... but it seems perfect for my poorly functioning brain today!

It's okay...

... that I got 5 hours of sleep last night (winter break is over, friends!) and looked TERRIBLE at work today.  First graders don't care!

... to kinda cheat on your main New Year's resolution by making your salads not so good for you.  IT'S STILL SALAD.

... that after lunch I pretty much count down the minutes until my afternoon coffee.

... to make a beeline for my computer after school.

... that I have been terrible about exercising.  It's even nice out today and it's still not going to happen.  See above.

...  that I have been totally lame on the broader scale of blogging.  I always manage to write something up for you guys, but Sketch and Wash and KBD get the short end of the stick.  Womp.

... to decide that you want to totally redesign your blog while making minor changes.  And then spend all night on it and still not finish.

... to clean your house 90% and then quit.

... to retweet compliments on Twitter.  That's what they're for, right?

Thanks for reading!  Tomorrow is Friday, woooo hooooooo!  If you're stopping by from the link-up, say hi!  And even if you're not, you should say hi too!

Dusting

Brian and I got back to Lexington this aftenoon.  We scurried around trying to organize and unpack ourstuff... we didn't even bother to open the curtains.  As it was getting dark Brian said, "Kate, have you looked outside?"

I peeked out and saw snow!  It was kind of funny that after two weeks of mild weather we come back to our apartment and saw SNOW!  Of course I grabbed my camera and dashed out onto the balcony.  The best part?  I took these babies on FULL MANUAL.  Yippee!

Check back tomorrow for my New Years Resolutions post.  Finally!

There are more balcony shots where those came from.

New Year's Eve

So... our New Year's was lame.  BUT as you can see I did have fun taking self-timer photos with my camera (and the remote I got for my birthday!)  I played with some of the manual settings some more, and I still have a long way to go.  That's why some of them are grainy!

I started taking them because I've been meaning to capture my haircut so that I can remember what it looked like for the next time it needs to be cut.  My friend Molly cut it (she is the one who did my hair and make-up for my wedding!) and it's shorter than it's been since my freshman year of college.  I love it!

Brian and I went out to dinner and then basically hung out and watched TV until my brother and his girlfriend got back a little before midnight.  Even though most of the evening was boring, it was fun to ring in the New Year with them.  And Liz even humored me and took more pictures with me!

Hope you all had a fun night!  Brian and I are packing up and driving home tomorrow morning.  I'm excited to be back in my own apartment, but I'm sad to leave my family and friends.  It's been a good break.