Hello. How are you?

Whew, it's been awhile since I posted an update over here! I am embarrassed my last posts were of my wedding and honeymoon, but truthfully life has just not slowed down at all since then. This is going to sound like one of those weird end-of-the-year family update letters, but with 2015 coming to a close I thought I should talk about a few of the rad things that happened in the last 6 months:

1. I started Dine and Draw CLT! It's a monthly event where folks get together at restaurants around Charlotte to get away from the computer and get some sketching time in. It's been a blast to organize and meet other creatives. Want to check out one of the events? Join our mailing list.

2. My friend Lenny roped me into doing a competition called Ink Wars at Hopscotch Design Fest in September. Eight artists have one hour to fill an 8ft tall canvas on a topic that isn't announced until the start of the competition. Most frightening and thrilling thing I've ever done. More posts on Ink Wars to come!

photo by Basia Coulter

3. I participated in AIGA's Beer & Branding, where I was partnered with a home brewer to design a label for them. The brewers meanwhile were competing in their own competition where they had a month to brew a beer with a secret ingredient (this year it was lemongrass). I was partnered with a snarky English guy who loved cats, which made my job easy. I went with a big cat theme and designed this label. 

4. I showed all of my favorite design-related places around Charlotte on the @WeLoveCLT account, and was featured on their blog. 

5. Eric and I took a fabulous trip to Dallas and Los Angeles to visit friends and family. Disneyland, El Matador Beach, and the new Broad museum were all on the itinerary.

6. Remember my new chicks? I gained a fourth (an older hen named Mona), but then two ended up being roosters. They went to live on a nice family farm in Lancaster. I'm currently getting about 3 eggs a week from Mona and patiently waiting for Peggy to start laying!

7. I started working at the fabulous Advent Coworking space and am transitioning back into working in an office.

8. I reached all-time crazy dog mom status by tattooing Bella on my arm, joining and hosting and Italian Greyhound Meetup group, and taking the girls to model for a La-Z-Boy print ad.

Hope this update was a little more interesting than hearing about cousin Johnny's school project in those family holiday letters. So tell me, what big things happened to you in the last six months?