Monday Inspiration

  

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// this entire Pinterest board of food illustrations

// this J.Crew Elopement

// canva.com 

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Spotify Playlists

I really dig Spotify. 

It blows me away when people ask me what it is.  In my opinion, it has completely changed the way that we discover and listen to music. I really loved Pandora, 8 Tracks, & Songza, but the accessibility is really what sets Spotify apart.   

             

             

Night Run // SZA // TransAtlantic Lullaby // Peaceful Indie Ambient

Also, can we just touch on the amazing Word section where you can listen to literature and learn different languages?! Yes, please.

          

         

Russion Lit // Learn Swedish // Learn French // The Poetry of Sylvia Plath

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Cozy Night In

comfy night in by hilarybadger featuring Tala

mug // book // tank // boxers // scarf // tin // tea infuser

Today's weather is just so rainy/humid/sleepy.  I am so lucky that I have some of the best pals that are coming from out of town to stay with me tonight!  If they weren't coming, this is what I would be doing.  Lounging with tea and a a good book; the weather simply calls for it.  

But we will be taking a night out in good ole' Ctown! 

It will be great to be reunited with my roomies of 3 years, toast to the new chapters in all of our lives, and celebrate the new beginnings each of them will be embarking on in the months to come.  Most of my girlfriends from college are brilliant, talented women who are entering intense Masters programs and law school (slackers) so I'm excited to cheer them on and their new institutions.  

What are you up to this weekend?  

All my Baltimoreans - see you tonight at the Yard! Go O's!

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Rifle Paper Co. Sale!

Rifle Paper Co by hilarybadger featuring nyc home decor

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I am super crazy about Rifle Paper Co.  I have a serious love for everything they do.  
I don't think that there is anything that I don't want from their online shop.  I'm crazy about their new wallpaper collection and would love if I had the ability to wallpaper my bathroom in this print! Give me all of the journals and notebooks.  Fingers crossed I am able to get a new iPhone 5 soon so that I can purchase this London case.

Don't forget, save 10% on all art prints from Rifle Paper Co. until tomorrow, July 23, 2014!  

Follow Anna Bond on Instagram to see the latest projects happening at Rifle Paper Co. & be inspired! 

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Bayside Bride Reunion!

In the Fall semester of 2011 I was the social media intern for Bayside Bride, an amazing wedding blog that is now one of the top 50 wedding blogs in the world.  Let that sink in for a second.  Think of all of the Pinterest boards and blog devoted to 'the happiest day of your life.'  These ladies of the Chesapeake are doing amazing things and I am so lucky to be a part of the Bayside Bride family. 

Natalie Frank Hayes, the cofounder of Bayside Bride invited those of us who had interned with her throughout the years to her house for networking, nibbles, and great conversation.  It was amazing to connect with the girls that I had interned with, sent emails to, followed on social media, but had never met IRL in real life!  The little get together came at the end of a two day marathon of meetings in DC and while I was tired of driving, traveling, and sharing my story, it was one of the best decisions I could have made to slap a smile on and go!  

Being greeted by Natalie with a arms open wide and a big smile was such a relief as I was a tad nervous connecting with girls I had only read about.  I made a Smart Girls connection right away with a past intern that attends Fordham University with our founder, Emily Raleigh. 

I met the ever lovely Kate Ann Morris of Kate Ann Photography  and hopefully will be collaborating with her for this little blog #fingerscrossed. 

We missed Bayside co-founder Krista A. Jones, but you have to check out her work.  She is incredible! Also, be sure to check out their amazing workshop that Krista and Natalie will be hosting this summer with Caitlin Moran of Glitter Guide, Janelle Diamond of Baltimore Bride, and Staci Lanham of Baltimore magazine.  

Be sure to follow/like/love Bayside Bride on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, & Instagram !

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Old Art

Going through all of my belongings once I moved home was definitely a sweet moment.  

Reading all of the letters, notes, cards, newspaper clippings, etc of accomplishments, celebrations, and heartbreaks of past was a great way to reflect on the last 8 years.  

One thing that I did find that was especially entertaining was my sketchbook from my honors portfolio class.  

Can I get a #nofilter ?!

I'm just really in love with these bananas.  They were hands down my favorite page in the entire sketchbook.  I believe they were done with Prismacolor Colored Pencils and I think this was on the cover of that set and I just copied it. 

Do you have a piece of art that you especially love that you created?  

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Watercolor May

I get most of my inspiration for my paintings from Pinterest.  When I found this painting, I knew I had to try it!  How cute are these little radishes?!  I'm loving summer so much already.  Finding time for the gym, cleaning out my college stuff, and making time for painting!  Also, the lighting in my parents kitchen is to die for.  So much pretty content to be shared!  

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WaterColor: April

Finally making the time to get back to monthly watercolors.   

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TEDx Chester River 2014

This past weekend I gave my first TEDx talk. 

Eeeek! 

A few weeks ago I was sending TED talks to my Business professor when she suggested that I join their team for the TEDx Chester River weekend.  I joined the group just 1 week ago and when asked who would give the presentation, I jumped at the chance!  We are hoping to write up a paper on our ideas and have it published.  This was such an amazing experience and I'm so excited to post about it.

Lord & Taylor was having an ah-mazing sale the other week, and I found this perfect black shift for work, interviews, life.  

We heard from Mary Daley Yerrick, the Co-Founder of Vital Voices, married couple, writer Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr of Idiot's Books, Robbie Blinkoff the Cultural Anthropologist, and Washington College professor, Kaitlin Thomas.  The speakers at TEDx Chester River were so inspiring and thoughtful.  I can't wait to see the videos when they are published!   

Have you ever been to a TEDx talk?

November Watercolor

On my 101 things in 1,001 days project I vowed to do 1 watercolor painting per month.

It's such a great way to relax.  I usually do my paintings after lunch on Fridays.

I love getting inspiration from pinterest before I start to paint. 

I totally tried to copy this pin, and the color didn't work out quite the way I wanted.

So I cut out my sketch.

Then I found this elephant, which I'm sure I'll finish one day, but until then, he will look like this.

Be sure to check out last month's doodle.

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Finals Survival Guide

Finals survival guide 2 by hilarybadger featuring a pom pom blanket


Happy Finals Week!
Not much has changed since last year's final survival guide, just the geographic location.

How do you cope with this extremely stressful week?

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Allo Mon Beau

learning french by hilarybadger featuring old navy tote bag

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Water Color [101 in 1,001]

This past thursday I was finally done for the week.  No more papers, quizzes or thesis meetings.  I could just be for about 2 hours and it was glorious.  On my 101 things in 1,001 days challenge I promised myself I would at least do 1 watercolor per month to relax.  I love art and I get so frustrated with myself that I don't leave time for it.  So, I've decided that I will.  

When I was in Denmark I was bought this small little water color set and a sketchbook. It was so nice to just forget about my classes, forget that I'm 4,000 miles away from my friends and family and just be with me.  

I'm excited to make this a series and share with you my monthly watercolor doodles.  

Here are some of my favorites from my time in Copenhagen. 

What is your creative escape?

[Organize] Free Calendar & Monday Inspiration

School is officially in session & I am already bogged down with homework and looming thesis deadlines.  I've really tried to cut back on my involvement this year so I can put as much effort into my thesis as possible, yet somehow I'm still freaking out. In effort to help me stay on top of all my work, I found these precious printable calendars from Oh So Lovely just in time for September.

In other news, I'm really enjoying my Political Inequalities class this semester.  I've discovered I have a real passion for human rights, economic and social inequality.  I was reading "Why We Can't Ignore Growing Income Inequality" by Timothy Noah and loved his reference from Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett's The Spirit Level.

"Modern societies will depend increasingly on being creative, adaptable, inventive, well-informed and flexible communities, able to respond generously to each other and to needs wherever they arise.  These are characteristics not of societies in hock to the rich, in which people are driven by status insecurities, but of populations used to working together and respecting each other as equals."

I hope I'm still around to see that. 

Makeover

Purple Flowers has been an evolving project. 

I'm always learning something new about webdesign, html, and editing. It has been so fun!  My sorority sister Sam from The Bits and Pieces Life is so talented and great at all things computers and design.  After hours of sending her blogs that I loved, she figured out pretty quickly that I loved minimalist looks and flat images.  She 'threw together' a template that she thought I might like[which I loved] and walked me through the steps to make my blog what I envisioned.  The best part, she's so cool & funny; the second best part was how EASY everything was.  I really enjoy learning new pieces of html.  

So in addition to my new design and layout, there's another new piece that I'm really excited to launch.

Link the link to check out a sneak peak of my style.  

Did you build your own blog? 

Did you read any books along the way or watch tutorials?

I'd love some suggestions!

All About The Juice

When I was in Copenhagen, the least expensive foods were veggies and fruits.  It was glorious and a great incentive to eat healthy.  When there are happy hour specials, food chains on every block..it's challenging and tempting to just 'get by' with whatever is easiest and cheapest.  Being an intern who's used to a dining hall also probably doesn't help...bottom line, I've been eating really poorly and it needs to stop.

New lines of juices have been coming out and 'juice cleanses' are all the rage and I've been really anxious to try a cleanse.  There are so many great recipes to try on Pinterest, so I found a juicer on Amazon for $30 and I went for it.  

juicer by hilarybadger on Polyvore

Hamilton Beach Health Smart Juice Extractor
casa.com

My roommates and I have joked endlessly about this.  We've joked about sticking quesadilla's, nachos, quac down the juicer, etc.  They thought the closest I would ever come to a juice cleanse was me and my Cucumber G&T at The Hamilton a few weeks ago...ok, maybe that was the first step?

Have you ever done a juice cleanse? 

DC's hot; stay cool

District Summer by hilarybadger featuring strap flat shoes

Now that it's officially summer, what are you loving this season?
If you're in DC today, you know it finally feels like a DC Summer outside.
Yikes, it is warm!
How do you stay cool?

While DC is expensive, its not nearly as bad as Copenhagen.  CPH was Euro Chic, all black, all the time.  DC is the right amount of Prep, Hip, & Chic all rolled into one.  The city really has a style of its own, but it encompasses a whole lifestyle.
brunch, sunnies, fresh flowers, starbs, statement necklace, sparkles, flats

Here are some of my favorite things this summer.
"You're so DC."

I don't hate it.

Weekend

Happy Monday!  

I hope everyone had a happy weekend!  I know I did!  

This weekend I went to my first DC Capitol Pride festival.  I think I read that there were 150,000 people visiting this weekend to celebrate love, no matter what kind.  5 blocks long ran the streets filled with vendors, a beer garden, and a huge stage.  I was there to support one of my best friends and enjoy the show!  It was an amazing experience and it really struck a cord with me while I was there.  So many of the artists that performed sang of love, life, and spreading hope all over the world. 

 It was really special.  

I saw Icona Pop perform live and they were absolutely incredible.  

I only knew 'I Love It' from the radio and I knew they were from Sweden (yay Scandinavia!)

I was not expecting to love every. single. song. 

Watching them on stage you could just tell how 'real' they were, it was not a performance, they were simply jamming, singing to the crown, and loving every second of it.  Mostly, I was impressed with their stage set up, they controlled every effect and mix of every beat on stage.  They were not only singing, they were crafting and making music on stage. 

Icona Pop Washington DC June 9, 2013

Their outfits rocked, so Swedish.  They were radiantly beautiful and full of so much positive energy!  I'm not ashamed to say that I have been listening to them nonstop since I got home from the concert and this has been on repeat all day at work.  

This one is my favorite ^^   We Got The World: Icona Pop

What I was most excited about yesterday was seeing Emeli Sande perform live for the first time.  

I was close to seeing her perform live at the Royal Albert Hall back in the Fall while I was in London, but we missed each other by a few weeks and seeing as how the tickets were hundreds of dollars, it was unlikely.   But I was as close as I could get.  

In front of the Royal Albert Hall, London Fall 2012

However today, she was right in front of me.  Besides being an absolutely amazing live performer, her lyrics are just gorgeous.  She recently just broke the Beatles top hit week streak in the UK.  I've been a fan of her's for a few years now, but she's just recently popular in the US with her hit, "Next To Me."   

Emeli Sande Washington DC June 9, 2013

Her British accent was so cute!  I squealed more than I should have and shed lots of tears.  Anytime I've watched her perform live online, she was has always seemed so serious, so into her music. Yesterday she was all smiles, non stop energy and pouring her heart out to every single person there.  It was truly incredible to watch.  She tweeted about how excited she was to be in Washington and supporting yesterday's cause.

I don't even know how to explain her music because it is too good to put into adjective form.  

Heaven: Emeli Sande

Where I Sleep: Emeli Sande

How did you spend your weekend?  Have you seen either of these artists?? 

xo Hil