A few weeks ago, my roommate informed me that we had a new roomie… a cat named Djuna. Growing up in a family where practically everyone is allergic to cats, I’ve never lived with a cat before – but I did house-sit for two weeks once and got along quite well with the two cats who lived there, so I was pretty excited at the prospect of living with a feisty feline.

The first thing I did upon meeting Ms. Djuna, was see how she reacted to yarn. To my delight, she was very Honey Badger-like and just didn’t really give a shit, which is fantastic, because we all know how much yarn I have.

Left: Djuna plays dead, vying for attention Right: Djuna sits on my fabric, again, trying to get attention

Cats have always been one of my favorite animals. They’re self-reliant, fluffy and sassy. What more could you want from a pet? Well, I was a little sad to discover that cats don’t play fetch, and almost lost my hand when I tried rubbing her belly (must remember cats are not dogs!), but aside from that, Djuna and I are getting along just fine. She also makes sick days (like today) way less depressing.

Hello, kids! I thought, in light of the upcoming weekend (and one of my favorite people coming to SF to visit, pictured above!) I’d do a fun blog post… reminiscent of my Livejournalin’ days. Remember those days? Yeah you do! So here we go! Taken from Miss Liz’s blog, here is the A-Z of Me.

A. Age: 27
B. Bed size: Full
C. Chore that you hate: Honestly, grocery shopping. Which is weird because I love to cook! I just wish all of the groceries would magically appear in my kitchen. Grocery shopping is boring.
D. Dogs: Are cute! I want a Miniature English Bulldog sooooo bad. I want to name him Mijo.
E. Essential start to your day: Waking up to music. I use the Awaken app on my iMac to get out of bed every morning.
F. Favorite color: It’s a tie between a mustard yellow and gray.
G. Gold or Silver: It depends on my mood, and which outfit I’m wearing.
H. Height: 5’8″
I. Instruments you play: I can play a pretty mean tambourine. I wish I could play piano or guitar.
J. Job title: External Communications Designer, Freelance Graphic & Web Designer & Developer, Crocheter… too many things!
K. Kids: Kids can be cute. They can also be smelly and obnoxious. I hope to have one someday. My kid will be the coolest.
L. Live: San Francisco!
M. Mother’s name: Anya
N. Nicknames: Tati, Tater, Tat (pronounced “tot”), T-Bone, T-Rex, T
O. Overnight hospital stays: Never (thank jeebus)
P. Pet peeves: When people flake on plans. Also when people are negative for no real reason, and constantly pump bad vibes into the universe. Shtop it.
Q. Quote from a movie: “Thank God for the model trains, you know? If they didn’t have the model trains they wouldn’t have gotten the idea for the big trains.” – A Mighty Wind
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: 3 younger sisters – all of whom are cooler than me.
U. Underwear: I’m for ‘em.
V. Vegetable you hate: Probably okra.
W. What makes you run late: Making coffee, taking too long to get ready. I have a lot of hair; it takes a while to make it look good.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, and arm when I got in a car accident.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I’m constantly getting inspired by food blogs, so I make a new dish almost every week. My favorite dish I’ve made has to be my enchiladas, which I made without a recipe. All instinct!
Z. Zoo animal: I’ve always loved flamingos, ever since I was a kid. I also kind of enjoy the reptile exhibits, even though I’m deathly afraid of snakes. (shivers)

That’s all folks! If you decide to list your As to Zs, let a sista know in the comments. Have a great weekend!

I don’t even know if I could call this a “revamp” because technically… before this, the corner of my room was pretty bland, and CROWDED. There lived my hamper, my plastic dresser from college,  rubbermaid boxes full of fabric, more fabric on top, a box of patterns and some oversized books. Man oh man. A few days before my sisters and cousin were supposed to arrive into town, I decided that I needed to clean things up… and FINALLY hang some of the frames I’d purchased over a year ago.

I bought this large frame from Ikea, and for a year couldn’t find any artwork that I thought worked with it. So, on a whim (while looking at the huge pile of fabric in my room) a little lightbulb turned on and I decided to stick some fabric in the frame. I absolutely love the way it looks.

Around the large frame I hung smaller rectangular black frames and stuck postcards of some of my favorite women in history. Pictured (left to right): Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Abagail Adams, Dorthea Dix, and Frida Kahlo.

Also included in my little corner are my beloved and new (to me) record player, and my pretty gold milk crate (thanks, Jane!) which holds my ever growing record collection and some travel books to keep me excited about future trips.

I’m really excited to rent a Zipcar and head over to Ikea this weekend to pick up a few more things to really bring my room together (and eliminate clutter!). Organization is great, isn’t it?

Happy Friday, folks. I hope you’re not like me and have that horrid song by Rebecca Black stuck in your head. I’m sure you know the one. I’m sad that it’s the song I now associate with Friday instead of NSYNC’s “Just Got Paid” (Friday ni-eet). Oh well.

Moving along, I didn’t get to posting my links from last week, so this week is a double-decker-dose of linky goodness. Hope you’re hungry for some KNOWLEDGE (and a little nonsense):

• This week Lady Gaga was at Google (say that three times really fast). Here’s the entire interview!
• Let this guy’s boo-boo be a lesson for all of us who work in Social Media – DO NOT confuse your company’s Twitter account with your personal account. Ouchie!
• LivingSocial is amazing and matched donations to aid earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. Although the “deal” is now closed, you can still donate to the Red Cross.
• You might think I’ve been living under a rock, because I JUST FOUND OUT about Google Web Fonts.
• I love this blog so much, as does my stomach… Grilled Cheese Social. Check out the special St. Patty’s Day sammich.
• A really great piece on the role of Psychology in Web Design – it’s important, you guys!
• Last but not least, and because it’s Friday: How to Make Your Own Fried Pickles (now you don’t have to go to Hooters!)

That’s all folks. Have a lovely weekend, and don’t forget that tomorrow is Saturday. We so excited. (I promise, that’ll be my last reference to that song, ever).

First of all, HAPPY 311 DAY!!! Second of all, we’re getting closer to my birthday! It’s on Tuesday but I’m celebrating on Saturday. So. Excited. I feel like my 27th year will be the best yet. Moving right along, here are some articles I read this week that I wanted to share.

• I’ve been thinking about Social Media a lot as a way to engage with customers, and I was happy to stumble upon this quick post by Jacob Cass where he talks about his experience with Vegas hotels in the Twitterverse.
• Alex Smith discusses the impact of social media on search results. Businesses and brands need to be prepared!
• I love most girl bands, especially rock and roll girl bands. It was cool to learn about a new one this week. Thanks, Electric Ant Zine for sharing info and a few songs by The Welders on their blog.
• My sister is getting married in November and I’m her Maid of Honor, so I totally have wedding stuff on the brain. I loveeee this Video Save-the-Date that Christina posted on her super cute blog. So original.
• I love these What We Wore posts by James (of Bleubird Vintage) and her family. Such a hip bunch! Totally shows that you don’t have to lose your funky style when you “grow up” and have kiddos.

That’s all for now! I’m so excited to see The Craft at the Castro theater tonight with my buddies and relive my teenage years of being totally obsessed with everything witch-related… as I’m sure millions of other girls were in the late 90s. Anyway, have a safe and relaxing weekend!

Poster by Barbara Kruger, 1989 (scanned from Suffragettes to She Devils by Liz McQuiston)

Hey, all. So I’ve decided that Tweeting my favorite links is just not enough. I want to document them here in my blog as well. Why? Why not!

There are so many articles I come across on a weekly basis, and it’s kind of nice to do a little recap of the articles that really affected/influenced/inspired/educated/entertained me throughout the week.

This week, since I’m reading Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by bell hooks, I felt especially sensitive to news surrounding women’s rights (particularly pertaining to reproductive choice), so there are a few in this list.

• It’s good to stay grounded and remember that everyone is creative in their own way, not just us designers.
• Elsie Flannigan, a crafter/entrepreneur/artist who I admire launched her very first dress line this week. Her video lookbook is incredibly inspiring and adorable.
• Bundle, the place to find accessible articles about personal finance presents a nice piece discussing the cost of not having a baby. (Thanks, @reportermike)
• Speaking of reproductive choice, Dolores P gives us the low down on why she is an abortion provider – she also uses colorful language, and is probably my new fave person. (Thanks, @remoteryan)
• More stuff about women! This time, from the White House.

Because the majority of these links skewed slightly on the serious, here’s a fun clip from Portlandia to lighten the mood.

I hope you enjoyed, or were moved by these stories in some way. If you have any you’d like to share, please leave a comment!

One of my little goals for 2011, and hopefully the years to come, is to keep a little record of the tidbits of my days. I’m really proactive about keeping my Google Calendar up to date with upcoming events, so I thought it would be a nice change to keep record of things that happened during my day. Just a few things – filling out nothing in advance. I decided to use this Sanrio pocket calendar that I got for free.

This was inspired by my friend Jane’s mom. She was given her mom’s purse from the 1980s which contained, amongst other cool remnants of the past, her mom’s daily journal. It was a simple datebook in which she jotted down a few things that happened each day. We were both really inspired by this little historical relic.

1.) Remember that movie with Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt where they have too many kids and it’s like an hour and a half of pandemonium? That’s what my bus was like this morning.
2.) In more positive kid news, an adorable little boy in the coffee shop just started exclaiming to me in a really excited way about how his big sister had to stay home from school today because she’s sick and has to go to the doctor. I know he’s just totally stoked that he has sibling company for the day. So cute.

3.) Ever since I watched Louis C.K. the other day, I’ve been on a stand-up kick. Last night I watched Anjelah Johnson do her thang. I’m totally lovin this chick. Hee-larious.
4.) Lastly, I have really big news comin at ya this weekend! “Hold on to your butts.” – Jurassic Park

Anyway. In lieu of the amazing countdown of movie moments, here’s a fun, quick video that I’m sure you’ve seen, BUT YOU NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN. Because it’s spooky, and scary. Enjoy.