Happy Winter Solstice!

My family has been in a year-long journey of finding a new house and hopping around the Durham, NC area, so in the meantime most of our stuff has been hidden away in storage. Christmastime, then, (or 'Kissmas' as Sadie calls it) hasn't been full of the usual traditions and vintage decorations, but I'm loving the makeshift celebrations we've been exploring to compensate.

Today, for instance, we decorated our first real tree! Having a real tree, and not our usual re-usable one, has always been a dream of mine. We decided to celebrate the winter solstice like Little Bear does and decorated our tree outside with edible snacks for birds and squirrels. My fingers are a little red from getting poked by pinecones, but I'd say it's definitely been worth it! Hopefully soon I'll have photos of our woodland neighbors enjoying their Christmas dinners. :)

Enjoy your traditions this year, and maybe try adding a new one to your list! 

love, rudi

Officially Post-Grad

My Christmas break started out just right with Truchi's graduation! I've gotta say I'm over the moon proud of this guy.

These are just a few of my favorite pictures from Saturday. Isn't his grandpa so cute and smiley?

The best part of his graduation might be the reminder that my own is coming up quickly, and after that he and I will finally be together, signing a lease somewhere, picking out what type of juice to buy at the grocery, and buying a couch.

I'm seriously excited about having my own couch.

love, rudi

Stop Being Busy

Fox on the Run

I'd say that I've learned two really big life skills during my time here at Stephens.

The first is how to work hard. My first year at Stephens I was an always-working, in-the-shop, up-til-three theatre major, and these past two years I've been a never-stop-thinking, late-night-labbing, always-problem-solving graphic designer.  Stephens women as a rule seem to never be satisfied having an open spot in their schedules- we're notorious busier-than-you's. When I think about the amount of work I've produced in just two and a half years, my head spins. The meaning of 'busy' has been completely redefined for me.

This leads me to the second life lesson, which is how to be un-busy. It's more than just browsing Facebook or sitting around Stamper for an extra hour- intentionally and deliberately relaxing is a whole different genre. It's the difference between procrastinating (read: wasting time) and doing something intentionally nice for yourself before starting up on those website design edits. I always used to think that if you weren't constantly working, you weren't doing a good enough job. Now, though, I can honestly say that I have personally stopped the glorification of busy.

love, rudi