Learning Copperplate Calligraphy

6th August 2014

My most anticipated wedding DIY is finally starting to come to life and I couldn’t not be more excited.

I’ve always had a passion for print and design and after about a year of trying to replicate what I thought was copperplate style of calligraphy and spending countless hours searching for online classes, I finally bit the bullet and enrolled in a five week crash course program with Sam Flax here in Atlanta.

While I still have a long way to go, taking on calligraphy has certainly been a test of patience and practice.

Nibs: I’ve learned quickly which nibs I love and when to use each. A Nikko G is still my front runner but a more flexible nib works wonders for thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes, which translates nicely for digitizing.

Grip: It is clear to see how my style of holding the pen has changed. I’ve realized that great lettering is a result of shapes and pressure – not your handwriting style.

Paper: Quality paper is worth the investment. A calligrapher who can write on kraft paper without snagging is my hero.

Finally, after nearly 100 practice sheets, five months of testing and goodness knows how many hours, I am bringing my own wedding envelopes to life and can proudly say they are now more than 75% finished.

I cannot wait to have the babies in the mail in little less than a month. For those of you receiving one of these in the mail, do me a favor and linger a little longer before you rip it open. I do hope they are as loved by our guests, as I’ve loved working on them over the past few months.

I’m excited to continue to hone my skills to start adapting to larger print pieces, send pretty snail mail and maybe even help out with someone else’s big day in the future.

Next on the horizon is digitizing my writing to use on our actual invitation. As a little secret, the draft is done and I’m finally pretty pleased with a process, stay tuned for details that adventure very soon.

Rock Hopping The Hooch

2nd August 2014

There are few things I love more than spending summer afternoons along the river. While I didn’t capture a single photo on last weekend’s canoeing adventure with Shoot the Hooch, (though my phone would have survived as we didn’t tip that thing once) I did snap a few on our most recent trek across the Chattahoochee thanks to my Nathan Shadow Pack a few weekends ago.

Who needs a pool when you have views like these?

While Atlanta may not have the mountains of some of my other metro loves (ahem Denver), living with beautiful adventures like these just a fifteen minute drive away is quite the perk.

Having a fiancé that knows the river like the back of his hand as a perk, makes spending a Sunday afternoon simply hopping from one rock, as far as our Chacos would take us even sweeter.

Bliss, it looks like Vida would most certainly agree.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Summer, don’t leave.

Vegas, You Win #donttellanyoneisaidthat

6th May 2014

Phew. Almost four weeks later and with a fairytale Faircloth wedding now behind us, and I think I may *finally* be recovered enough to blog about Vegas – bachelorette style.

Now, let’s be clear, this wasn’t my first rodeo with the city in the desert. P and I ran our way around the city quite literally with the Great Urban Race in late 2012, but boy does seeing the sun rise over the Vegas strip paint this city in a whole new light.

Backing up from the whole why-are-we-still-outside-when-the-sun-is-coming-up thing, when your best friend since 7th grade decides it’s time to go to Vegas for one last fling before she says “I Do,” first you apologize to your back account, then you buy some Goldfish crackers and finally you hop on a plane heading west.

Upon landing at 10:00PM PST, Vegas very quickly made it very clear that we were not in control. This bachelorette weekend may as well have taken place in an alternative Vegas than my first trip around.

We landed, headed to the hotel, made our way to the bar and then (or so I hoped) headed to find a quick bite to eat. Food quickly turned into a jaunt over to the MGM Grand to see Rev Run DJ – starting around 2:00AM if my east coast body was keeping track. Nearly five hours later, I was crawling into bed saying small prayers to make it out of the next few days alive.

Let’s get one thing crystal clear. I’d heard it before, but it didn’t quite resonate until we experienced it ourselves. Vegas LOVES bachelorette parties. I’m fairly certain there’s a special club just for that. In fact, it may be called every club. And everything is free.

Three days in Las Vegas lead us to make eight new friends on a bachelor trip (who coincidentally were also from Atlanta), spend three mornings watching the sun rise while walking home heels in hand, enjoy a few too many poolside jello shots and spend one weekend with one little lady who also happened to rock a tutu and close down the club after the last of the confetti fell.

If Vegas doesn’t invite me back, say ever, I’ll be OK with that, but I am proud and a bit humbled to have knocked a bachelorette in Sin City off of the bucket list, with countless stories to prove it.

#itneverhappened