Fun clothes shopping at Mod Cloth

So I ran into this site the other day and wanted to share some of the goodies I've found here on Mod Cloth. I'm really loving all their clothes, shoes and accessories. I definitely plan on bookmarking this one and showing it to my husband, I definitely have a birthday coming up....

Things I will miss about Alaska: Sunrise over the mountains & killer crows

So I would like to assert that no state does mountains like Alaska. Sorry, just have to throw it out there. I'm terrible at distances (which frustrates my husband to no end) but these mountains are a highway drive of about 4 hours away from me and they look like they're right next door! There's McKinley there and the rest of the range and it's so beautiful to see when I drive home from work (assuming there's enough sunlight and it's not cloudy/ foggy). I love the sun rising over them, which happens about 10:30/ 11 now-a-days.
I will really miss the beauty of these mountains out my window.

I will also miss the HUGE crows that inhabit Alaska. I was worried they were going to carry me away when I first moved here. They're big enough that it's only half joking. My poor 7 lb. cat is convinced if given the opportunity she could kill them, I'm not very confident she could though.

You can see the sunrise over the mountains in the top 2 images, the sunrise takes so long that it's a beautiful thing to watch the light play over the mountains at its different stages. Then a not very large crow on the street light, it was the closest one I could find to take a picture of. Then there's a view of my street with the light from the sunrise hitting it.

I love Alaska.

Success! Wedding Invite Designed

So with different information and some color changes I was able to mastermind an invitation for my friend Jamie Boshart who is marrying Matt Riordan. This is the first go of the invite. Size will change as well... this one was set up for a square invite we've since decided against. Thanks Jamie for such a fun project to work on!

Things I'll Miss from Alaska: The Pups

So in getting ready for our move down to Georgia.... I've been thinking a lot of what I've loved so much here in Alaska. We're hoping to return as soon as we can manage, but in the meantime I wanted to share the love of this wonderful, wonderful place.

First and foremost we've completely, head-over-heels, utterly and completely fallen in love with the dogs here, specifically the working dogs. I can understand, if you haven't been here and seen it, how you might think that people are crazy and even mean to run these dogs or have them hauling sleds all over the place but then you get here and you meet the dogs and the mushers. The howl of a pup just waiting to be set loose to run in harness is an amazingly inspiring sound. It's the craziest thing!

These dogs want nothing more to be in harness and pulling for all they are worth, it is their purpose and their enjoyment. The dog probably won't even stop. The musher needs to know the pups and let them know when it's time to stop. The dog/ musher/ handler relationship is an amazing thing that I just love to see. The musher know they can't do it without these dogs and vice versa, they are each helping the other complete and amazing task and loving every minute of it.

We've had the amazing opportunity to meet up with a lot of pups here in AK:

 Sue's dogs (all but one former sled dogs) have taught us about the working dog and have been able to teach us how to skijor (attach yourself to the dog, stick on some skis and go! - or fall... it's all good). There is nothing cooler than skiing with a dog attached to you, even if they may be slightly disappointed with your ability to stay on your feet.

Our friends Rod and Julie were kind enough to take us out with 8 of their pups on a tandem sled run that was so amazing. To be behind the power of 8 dogs is an incredible experience.

We've also been able to take in events such as the Yukon Quest (endurance dogs) and the Open North American Championships (speed dogs) as well as the Dog Pull Competitions. To see a working dog be able to pull unfathomable weight with no assistance other than the encouragement (all hands free) of it's owner is beyond words.

Here are some pics of the working dogs. Sue's dogs haven't been included in this one yet - they're a special group that'll get their own pic but here's Rod and Julie's dogs and the a pulling competition pup.

1. At the trails end with Rod and Julie's whole team behind us. 8 dogs pulling 2 sleds (tandem is one sled ahead and one hooked behind, this way we got to ride a sled without worrying about not knowing what to do), 2 grown men and me (probably around 450 lbs in people alone).

2. Tandem sled on the trail, Joey is on the sled here and I'm ahead on a snow machine.

3. Our fearless leaders, these dogs are smart and quick and definitely dogs you need to trust and rely on when you're on a sled. They know better than you a lot of times.

4. Dog pulling competition: This guy was in the 100 lb weight class (there's one more weight class above this) and he's pulling 1640 lbs. all on his own - crazy awesome!

Eco friendly with a great illustration

I was checking out reclaimed wood furniture online and stumbled upon this awesome illustration on the webpage for the old wood co.  I love the use of the tools in the body and feathers of this rooster as well as the different textures. I'm working on some bird illustrations for an upcoming project and this patterning is great inspiration. Enjoy!

Save the Date: Kevin and Liz

So I have friends in town that will be getting married soon and have been working on invitations, save the dates, rsvp and reception cards for them. They're a super fun couple and were going for a nature themed, earthen colored invitation set. They decided the yellow/ stone/ brown colors suited them best and this is what we came up with. I'm finishing up the rest of the package but this is how the save the dates turned out.

Mr. & Mrs. Plumber: the wedding invites

These are the wedding invitations I was able to put together for our friends married on Jan. 2nd - congratulations to you Jess and Dave! Jess picked up the actual paper invitations and we worked on a type layout that they both really liked. It's a simple, elegant font that turned out beautifully.

Camping is IN-TENTS!

So this is a present I made for my cousin and his new wife Caitlin as part of their wedding present. I don't know where Andrew heard it but it's one of his classic "Andrew" jokes. I do the joke terribly but it's awesome when he does it. Either way, inspired by bustedtees.com (which is a great pick me up anyway to look through) I made my own matching shirts for the couple. Caitlin's was green and Andrew's fire-safety orange.

My Christmas Cookie Adventures

Well, we're back from all our Christmas fun and the wedding extravaganza of the year. I can finally post some of the things I was working on for presents! I did a mason jar full of the dry ingredients for the most delicious white chip orange cookies. They're a huge hit when my husbands Army friends come over for dinner. Here's an image of my own little army of mason jar cookies:

The recipe is inside the label and is as follows:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

2-3 tsp grated orange peel

2 cups (12 oz. package) white chocolate chip morsels

Combine flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg and orange peel. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!