&chloe

little john's REMEMBER the day

2013-05-23T07:23:00.000-06:00

I am not sure how I will incorporate this into his nursery ... we will have a nursery in our house now, however, I am not in a rush to get it set up {he doesn't know the difference}. However, for fun I did whip up Little John's *REMEMBER the day*. I used Pluto typeface and a color palette to match his proposed nursery.

dorian + stephen :: colorado aspen wedding invitations

2013-05-21T07:11:00.000-06:00

Dorian and Stephen had me customize the aspen tree wedding design that I had worked on for Erin and Jeff last year (as featured on Oh So Beautiful Paper).

Dorian and Stephen's wedding invitation is a beautiful neutral color palette of "thyme", "chambray", and "dough." Dorian and Stephen wanted to keep things environmentally-friendly and economical so instead of doing separate RSVP cards, we included the RSVP information on the back of the invitation. They choose blue envelopes to match the "chambray" text, which look beautiful.

everyday palette :: bright parfait :: 48

2013-05-20T07:27:00.000-06:00

{image source}

someone came early

2013-05-16T10:45:00.000-06:00

Meet John Raphael. He was due to arrive May 23, but he decided to make his appearance just under two weeks early on May 12.

John Raphael Marty was born on Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 3:10AM. He weighed in at 5 pounds 10 ounces and is 18 inches long. He may have arrived as a little guy, but he is super healthy and strong as can be.

We have been home since Tuesday afternoon and are enjoying our time together and learning about one another.

I may be somewhat quiet on the blog for the next week or two as we enjoy this time. I am not sure how often I will post, but I certainly want to try to as much as possible here and there; and then get back to regular posting in not too long.

In the meantime, I will be posting regularly/as usual on Instagram, Facebook (&chloe), and Facebook (my personal page).

blue spring

2013-05-14T07:29:00.000-06:00

The jeans and sandals in this photo inspired an outfit combined with a Joie silk top and Soft Joie sweater I have been eye-balling...

The look came together with various shades of blue; at first this was not intentional, but after the denim, striped top, and sweater followed that trend, I decided to go in search of some blue sandals and sunglasses.

Black Orchid Bloodstone Jegging ( I am also drooling over these Citizen of Humanity Racer Low Rise Skinny jeans and these AG Skinny Ankle jeans - but I gotta get done being preg first!)

Joie Terry Stripe Print Top (and a similar one here)

Soft Joie Correy Sun Bleached Hoodie (also loving this sweater hoodie by Enza Costa)

Sam Edelman Greyson sandals in Blue/Zebra (I am also loving these in the white/black snake)

Ray-Ban 3025 Aviator in Arista/Gradient Light Blue Lens

Do you ever dress monochromatically?

everyday palette :: jeni's ice cream :: 47

2013-05-13T07:27:00.000-06:00

{image source}

And, I do love Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams!

bicycle sketch silkscreen print :: print run no. 2 available soon

2013-05-10T07:16:00.000-06:00

The second print run of my bike sketch print is at the silkscreen printer as we speak and will be available by the end of the month! Pre-order in my Etsy shop.

recent REMEMBER the day designs

2013-05-09T07:31:00.000-06:00

These *REMEMBER the days* were custom designs that I did as Mother's and Father's Day gifts. MiMi's is the Lady Rene, Strangelove, and Brownstone typeface combo and PaPa's is the Zamenhof, Pluto, and Bebas typeface combo.

Multi-typeface (Zamenhof, Pluto, and Bebas) + custom color palette

Multi-typeface (Lady Rene, Strangelove, and Brownstone) + Secret Garden color palette

4880 :: kitchen

2013-05-08T07:33:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned yesterday, today I am sharing the details of our kitchen remodel.

First, a little about our new place. Our new home in Denver is a very cute 1921 bungalow. That means it is pretty small, but it has some gorgeous details like the original plaster detail and trim on the walls, as well as a large porch on the front and the back of the house. My parents had just put in new oak wood floors before we arrived and we are sticking with white walls like I learned I love in Miami.

The kitchen was in need of some TLC and John was just the guy to help my dad renovate the kitchen. We are doing things on a very conservative budget, but the results will look anything but (I think!).

We kept the cabinets, which are simple in design and John simply sanded them and painted them in white like the swatch shown above. My dad and John discovered some gorgeous fir floors under the linoleum tile so now we unexpectedly have some beautiful, original fir wood floors. The remodel is being rounded out with new appliances, new counters (granite tile shown above), a new sink, a white subway tile backsplash (like shown above), new cabinet hardware, and a pendant light (the front-runner is the Hektar pendant from Ikea?) over our dining room table with Eames chairs.

Another pendant options is the Brentwood Pendant from West Elm (below).

Or, yet another pendant option is the Globe Pendant from West Elm (below).

And, just to make it even more difficult to choose, here are some rug ideas that I am tossing around.

from left to right: Dash & Albert Rhapsody Wool Woven Rug | Surya Smithsonian Hand Tufted Rug | True Blue Rag Rug

So these design boards show you the direction we are going and the difficult (but fun) decisions I have to make for our 1921 bungalow with a mid-century modern kitchen on a budget. I am pinning the kitchen details to my 4480 kitchen board on Pinterest as well, so you can find sources for most of the details above there (I haven't linked to them all in this post).

{why 4880? because that is the house number}

welcome to colorful colorado

2013-05-07T07:39:00.000-06:00

It is time for an update! If you followed my dispatches from the road or my #themovebacktocolorado Instagramming activity, then you know we made it safe and sound. We are in Colorado, and more specifically in Denver.

We are getting settled in our home here (a house! not a condo!) and currently John is working with my Dad to remodel the kitchen. Getting settled is quite the job when you are only 3 weeks out from your due date and you are still working on client design projects and *REMEMBER the day* orders. I am going to try and keep up with &chloe posts as much as possible, but please forgive me if I miss a day here and there.

Tomorrow, however, I will definitely be posting ... I will be sharing the details of our kitchen remodel! And, just as I did with our Miami condo, I hope to share some snippets here and there as we settle in to our new home (as I mentioned, it's a house and a very cute 1921 bungalow).

photo taken by me on Instagram

everyday palette :: miami lifeguard tower :: 46

2013-05-06T07:14:00.000-06:00

{image source}

eat good food :: the social

2013-05-03T07:22:00.000-06:00

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my photo that I took in the Upper Arlington Whole Foods of their restaurant concept called The Social. It was such a cool Whole Foods location in general ... the store was just gorgeous. But The Social was something I had never seen before (heard about something simialr on Juli's blog, though) ... a restaurant concept inside Whole Foods that is kind of like a cross between a coffee bar and pub.

The Social offers a manageable selection of breakfast dishes in addition to coffee bar selections:

Farm Breakfast :: $5: two eggs, hash browns, choice of bacon or chicken sausage
Corned Beef Hash :: $9: house-made corned beef and potatoes, topped with a fried egg
Loaded Hash :: $9: potatoes, bacon, cheddar, onions, sour cream, chives, topped with a fried egg
Fiesta Hash :: $9: potatoes, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, green onions, cheddar, topped with a fried egg
Banana Nut Steel Cut Oats :: $6: with bananas, walnuts and maple syrup
Buckeye French Toast :: $6: battered, pan-fried brioche stuffed with peanut butter and chocolate, served with preserves and maple syrup

We had breakfast before hitting the road and I had the steel cut oats and John had the corned beef hash. Here is a photo of John and I on Instagram enjoying our breakfast.

The night before, when we first visited this Whole Foods after our run, The Social was hoppin' offering its burger, hot dog, and fries dinner menu along with Ohio beers.

Burger :: $6: choose Ohio beef or Pennsylvania turkey, ground fresh in-store daily
JR Burger :: $5: choose Ohio beef or Pennsylvania turkey, ground fresh in-store daily
Veggie Burger :: $4: made with veggies, nuts and grains
Jumbo Dog :: $4: all-beef dog in a split top bun
Veggie Dog :: $4: jumbo veggie dog on whole-grain bun
Big Farm Salad :: $6: chopped salad with seasonal vegetables and seasoned popped heirloom corn
Little Farm Salad :: $3: side salad version of the

For all those burger, dog, and salad options you can then choose some toppings for an additional cost.

Coney Island: chili, cheddar, onions
Reuben: Swiss, kraut, corned beef, Thousand Island
Paris: brie, mushrooms, dijon
Belly Buster: bacon, mac & cheese, crispy onions
Italian: fried pepperoni, coppa, provolone, hot peppers
Mediterranean: feta, oregano, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes
Fireman: Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, celery, carrots
Mama's: bacon, fried egg, cheddar
The Social: caramelized onions, cheddar, Thousand Island
Loaded: bacon, cheddar, green onions, sour cream
Fiesta: guacamole, salsa, cheddar
Columbian: pineapple salsa, mayo, mustard, ketchup, potato chips

What impressed John and I so much about The Social was not only the amazing Whole Foods attached to it and therefore the fact that The Social offers high quality, clean food. But the design and branding was just top notch. The architecture with the window walls, the wood paneling, the furniture, the fireplace, etc. all came together with the logo, branding, menu, etc. to create one absolutely cool place. Whether you come to have a coffee and get some work done on the computer, or to grab breakfast on the weekend, or to meet up with friends for burgers and beers, The Social is just plain cool in a way that so many restaurants these days just fall short.

recent REMEMBER the day designs

2013-05-02T07:54:00.000-06:00

Multi-typeface (Lady Rene, Strangelove, and Brownstone) + Citrus color palette

Multi-typeface (Peoni, Veneer, and Strangelove) + custom color palette

Lady Rene typeface + Pastels color palette

Dolce Caffee typeface + Love color palette

may day

2013-05-01T11:11:00.001-06:00

May flowers? We are in Denver and have some snow! But, heck, snow, cold, rain, shine - I will take anything as I am just glad to be back in Colorado!

Are you getting some May flowers? Get some in May's digital desktop calendar that I designed as part of my collab with Blog a la Cart. The May calendar is up on her blog today for download! Enjoy!

Head over to Blog a la cart to download the new desktop calendar!

dispatch from the road :: the move back to colorado :: 2

2013-04-28T19:45:00.000-06:00

After a week in Maryland, we were back on the road as of Friday morning. On Friday we traveled west through Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and into Ohio where we stayed the night in Columbus.

We had a great run on a river trail near Ohio State and were blown away by the Whole Foods in Upper Arlington {I will share more on that Whole Foods in a post soon}. On Saturday, we continued west through Indiana and Illinois, into Missouri where we stopped for the night in St. Louis. It was a rainy evening and we discovered an amazing craft burger and shake place, Bailey's Range. We also got to see the arch impressively obscured by fog and clouds in the rain.

I must admit, by last night, all the hotel nights were weighing on me. But, today we drove through Missouri with a stop in Kansas City for lunch. We discovered a super-cute and tasty place with a focus on locally sourced foods, Blue Bird Bistro {the beautiful tile floor}. After lunch, and down the block from Blue Bird, we came across Little Freshie. Little Freshie is a little coffee shop that also makes from-scratch syrups for sodas and snow cones {think flavors like blackberry lavender and from-scratch root beer and ginger ale}.

Tonight we got in to Salina, Kansas. Our last stop before Denver. Tomorrow by this time we will find ourselves "home".

recent REMEMBER the day designs

2013-04-25T07:27:00.000-06:00

Pluto typeface + Surf Lesson color palette

Multi-typeface (Zamenhof, Pluto, Bebas) + custom color palette

dispatch from the road :: the move back to colorado

2013-04-23T07:23:00.000-06:00

In case you have not been following along on Instagram, here are the snaps I took while we traveled from Florida to Maryland. If you would like, follow along on Instagram ... I am tagging all our travel photos #themovebacktocolorado.

We will be in Maryland until mid-week ... then we will be back on the road.

my cookies on foodgawker

2013-04-19T07:27:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week I updated my post about my favorite {healthy, no-bake, 4-ingredient} peanut butter almond cookies. I updated the recipe a smidge and I also added some fabulous new photos. My friend TiAn of Unruly Bliss was kind enough to work her photography magic on my cookies and gave me some gorgeous images to use.

The purpose of all this updating to the post was so I could submit it to to foodgawker, which I did. TiAn coached me on how to submit and get a post approved and her advice worked! On Wednesday my cookie recipe was featured on foodgawker!

So if you haven't made these cookies yet, I highly suggest you do. They are amazing! And, if you already have made them, head over to foodgawker and the updated post to see TiAn's gorgeous photos. Also be sure to check out her blog, Unruly Bliss, for tasty recipes and more beautiful photos.

on the road again

2013-04-18T10:29:00.000-06:00

Remember the fun road trip John and I had last June in making our way from Colorado to Florida?

Well, I have got some news ... we are doing it again. This time it'll be a different route with a stop-over in Maryland, but we are heading back to Colorado!

If you remember posts like this one, then you know that I (we) have missed Colorado ever since we left. And, after a lot of soul searching and digging deep, we recently made the decision that we needed to move back to our home. The unexpected news that we were expecting played a big part in our decision, along with a lot of thinking and discussing about what is important to us in life and our quality of life.

So, tomorrow, we "set sail" once again on a road trip adventure that will take John, Mochie, baby-to-be, and I back to Colorado. Although I am not yet sure I will have quite the time to put into dispatches from the road like I did in June, I will definitely be posting at least some of our journey ... I will just have to see how the trip goes. And, you can also expect to see lots of Instagramming from me so make sure to follow me on Instagram if you want to follow along on this next adventure of ours.

Map shows our route from Florida to Colorado with a pit stop in Maryland. :: photo by me on Instagram of my Oh Darling, Let's Be Adventurers print which was purchased for my eventual print wall.

subscribe to &chloe + new fb page

2013-04-17T07:22:00.000-06:00

Did you know you can subscribe to my blog posts via email? See that little sign-up box to the right there? If you put your email in there, you can receive my posts via email, in your inbox each day. It is super convenient. And, I just "upgraded" the service I use to provide subscriptions so it is better than ever.

If you enjoy &chloe, please consider subscribing. You can do so over there on the right, or below:

get &chloe posts in your email inbox

Also, I finally got around to setting up a Facebook page for &chloe. I would love to connect with my readers on Facebook, so if you are so inclined head over to my new Facebook page and "like" it. Be sure to select "show in news feed", too if you want my content to show up in your news feed.

basic clothing for baby

2013-04-16T07:28:00.000-06:00

We are in the home stretch of waiting for our baby to arrive ... I am about 7 1/2 months along. We have pretty much everything we need, which actually did not amount to a tremendous amount because we purposely kept things to a minimum and kept things simple.

I think it is easy to think a baby needs all this stuff and buying for baby can quickly become quite overwhelming and baby stuff can take over your home. However, for us, we have been living/purchasing with a focus on keeping necessaries and clutter to a minimum. So, I thought I would share what this looks like in terms of how we have shopped for baby. Today, I start with the baby's basic wardrobe; here are all my favorite brands and items which constitute my baby's wardrobe with the addition of a couple of more pieces by Splendid baby and some plain white onsies, kimono shirts, and socks. In most of these items I have one or two in various colors.

:: no. 1 :: baby GAP button leggings
:: no. 2 :: Freshly Picked Moccasin in Smoke
:: no. 3 :: Ever After Clothing Waffle Thermal
:: no. 4 :: Peek Little Peanut Happy Pant
:: no. 5 :: Ever After Clothing Pima VNeck three pack
:: no. 6 :: KiKee Pants Bamboo Footie PJ
:: no. 7 :: Ever After Cardigan

Over the next several weeks, I plan to share some of my other favorite baby basics with my minimal philosophy in mind.

everyday palette :: hotel south pacific :: 45

2013-04-15T07:32:00.000-06:00

{image source}

almond spirulina banana smoothie

2013-04-12T07:17:00.000-06:00

I am hooked on this protein and green packed smoothie right now. I make it almost every day for John and I. It is inspired by my favorite smoothie from Choices Cafe here in Miami (the "Monkey Business"). Mine doesn't end up tasting much like theirs, but I love my version.

Almond Spirulina Banana Smoothie

1 1/2 cups vanilla almond milk (I use homemade; see recipe here)
2 Medjool dates roughly chopped
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons organic spirulina powder (read about the amazing health benefits of spirulina here)
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons organic, smooth almond butter
7-8 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in the blender (best to use a high-powered blender; I love my VitaMix). Blend until smooth. I prefer this smoothie to be a little smoother and less thick, so I blend mine pretty well. The ice cubes are key to keeping it cool.

Have you tried spirulina? If you try this smothie; let me know how you like it!

more on identity design for AIMbaby

2013-04-11T07:31:00.000-06:00

So last week I shared some of my thoughts on identity design as well as the logo design I was working on for AIMbaby. As I continue the identity design process with my client, we have finalized her brand/identity/logo guidelines and business card designs.

Last week I mentioned the importance of defining and setting guidelines, and this is usually done in a PDF/document like this one:

The PDF/document defines:

the logo and its variations
the typefaces that are used in the logo and other collateral
the colors
any icons that are suitable for use in collateral, in this case it is the elements that make up the logo broken apart
how the business name should be written/typed in plain text

Here is a closer look at the sections of this document:

The business cards are the next piece in AIMbaby's identity that I am sharing today.

My client and I decided upon kraft paper stock for her business cards. And, there will be two versions; one with just her her website and Etsy shop and website and another with her name plus these web addresses. Each card serves a different purpose.

And, yes, as you see my client is my sister! Although she is my sister and that in and of itself makes this a fun project, at the same time my process and relationship with her in terms of working to craft her brand identity are the same as if I were working with any other client.

{Note: The web addresses on the business card mock-up are not live yet and are subject to change.}

From here, the next step is to move forward with opening up shop on Etsy, which Jonna will work on and I will assist by providing the necessary graphics that she needs for her shop. We will also be setting up her website, which for the time being will be a landing page. After the Etsy shop and website, this project will be essentially complete; although I will continue to offer my design services as needed when a new piece of design or marketing collateral is needed.

And, I will keep you posted on the official launch of AIMbaby!

custom wedding invitations :: liz + jered

2013-04-10T07:52:00.000-06:00

Last month I finished up these wedding invitations for Liz + Jered. Liz came to me with a sketched idea of general layout and from there we selected typefaces together and refined the layout. The invitations were digitally printed and paired with beautiful dark gray envelopes.

&chloe

little john's *REMEMBER the day*

dorian + stephen :: colorado aspen wedding invitations

everyday palette :: bright parfait :: 48

someone came early

blue spring

everyday palette :: jeni's ice cream :: 47

bicycle sketch silkscreen print :: print run no. 2 available soon

recent *REMEMBER the day* designs

4880 :: kitchen

welcome to colorful colorado

everyday palette :: miami lifeguard tower :: 46

eat good food :: the social

recent *REMEMBER the day* designs

may day

dispatch from the road :: the move back to colorado :: 2

recent *REMEMBER the day* designs

dispatch from the road :: the move back to colorado

my cookies on foodgawker

on the road again

subscribe to &chloe + new fb page

basic clothing for baby

everyday palette :: hotel south pacific :: 45

almond spirulina banana smoothie

more on identity design for AIMbaby

custom wedding invitations :: liz + jered

little john's REMEMBER the day

recent REMEMBER the day designs

recent REMEMBER the day designs

recent REMEMBER the day designs