The Life of Riley

CryingWife.com

2010-02-17T00:03:00.000-08:00

You gotta see my friends Parker and Hollie on cryingwife.com. Hollie cries...like REALLY cries after watching movies and Parker is there with a video camera to capture everything and put it on YouTube. These videos have made this couple famous. They have been on Fox News and even Justin Timberlake has blogged about them. Check them out...it 100% legit.

I hold my friends responsible

2009-12-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

Everyone goes through awkward stages, but these pictures are all haircuts I've had in the past 3 years.

Brand Poster Contest...kinda

2009-12-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

I love brands and logos which is why I think this poster is incredible!

If you can guys all the logos represented on this alphabet poster, I'll include you on a post and write about the history of our friendship, how we met, what I like about you...basically I'll dote on you in an upcoming

Good luck!

On the hunt!

2009-12-14T22:36:00.000-08:00

As I've decided to lay down some roots in Orange County I've started looking at buying some property. It's been a little disheartening. This is how far my money goes here.

For the same money, I could move to Pearlman, TX and get this

Or Oswego, IL

Daphne, AL, perhaps

Or Foot Hood, TX

But when it comes down to it, there is nowhere else I would rather live than here. Even if I have to trade a circle drive for a rickety carport or a backyard for a community patio, this is where my life is and where I am happiest.

Halloweentime

2009-11-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

If you live in SoCal and weren't able to make it to Disneyland to hear Tim Davis sing the Halloween song for the fireworks show, here it is.

Property Search

2009-10-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

I'm currently beginning to look into buying property in Orange County. This is a very tricky process when you compare my salary to the salary of most OC residents, but nonetheless, there are 4 or 5 properties that are in my price range.

Ever since moving here 3 years ago I have come to realize that this is probably my home. I have no desire to move anywhere else. BUT, if I had to move it would be to New York City. This is my favorite place in the United States. I love the busyness. I love the extreme seasons, I love the diversity and energy. All around, it's my favorite place to visit. So if I ever had up and move there I wanted to be prepared.

I ran across this property in Brooklyn that I think would fit my taste quite nicely. I'd have to cut back on my Chick fil a spending and possibly go without cable for a while to save up enough money to buy this place, but let me tell you, it would totally be worth it.

It just costs a cool $25 million. Anyone want to go halfsies?

I can't wait to have kids...

2009-10-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

Recent Work

2009-08-09T02:27:00.000-07:00

I rarely post design projects that I work on. I don't know why. I think I might start doing that more often.

I had the privilege to get to design the marketing brochure for the Doug Fields' Live Curriculum from Group/Simply Youth Ministry (the publishing co. I work for). It's such a great resource for youth pastors and small church pastors. I was actually stoked on the way the brochure turned out. I liked working with the creators of the curriculum and fellow designers on this piece. I love the collaboration of design. Yeah, revision after revision can suck sometimes, but when you get to hold the final piece in your hands it's all so worth it. I love what I do.

Camping

2009-08-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

So this summer I went camping in Big Bear with a few of my best friends.

I like camping. I don't love it. On a scale from 1-10 it's about a 6. I mean, really, there's nothing better than a perfectly grilled steak, but I prefer it prepared at Ruth's Chris with a glass of wine. And I have all the rugged Patagonia and North Face gear, but, I'll be honest, it usually only gets worn when the marine layer hasn't burned off in the morning or it's a chilly evening at Disneyland.

This weekend was a blast though. The weather was perfect. We had absolutely nothing planned. We sat around all day and ate, talked, laughed, read and slept. I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing weekend. I love these guys.

Coworkers

2009-07-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

So, I this month marked my one-year anniversary working for Group/Simply Youth Ministry. I love my job even more than when I started which, I think, is pretty rare. Usually, stuff starts to suck after a while, but this has been different. I really, really love it.

I get to design book covers, web sites, brochures, catalogs, pretty much anything.

One bummer thing is that I don't get to work with the other designers on a daily basis. Granted, we are on Skype all day talking about about things like How to Teach Your Infant to Swim (I mean really. The child looks comatose and the mom keeps flipping him and dropping him underwater. This is far worse than spanking.) in between meetings, so most of the time it feels like they are a desk away. Anyway, every few months I'll fly out to Colorado for a few days for a design-binge with Veronica and Storm. That's the best.

My Condo. My Project.

2009-07-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

If I wasn't a graphic designer I would be a furniture designer...or a plastic surgeon, but that's just way too much school. So, I'll stick with furniture designer as my runner-up career choice.

It's tricky making my little condo in Lake Forest cool..but here's a look into my condo and how I've attempted to cool it up on a limited budget and limited space.

I bought this old carpenter table at a local consignment store. I've seen tables like this go for almost 5x what I paid for it. Makes for a really unique wine table.

I found these glass window tile things at a liquidators store back in Texas for like $10. So I drilled some shelf hinges on the wall and they make for some some cool, modern shelves. Easy and cheap.

I saw a buddy of mind do this in his office (Thanks, Ty) I tracked down some vintage marquee letters, nailed some picture hanging wire and PRESTO, a cool wall hanging. The letters (which I have about 500 of...way more than I needed) cost about $60 on ebay and the nails and wire weren't more than $7 at Home Depot. This whole wall was done in under 20 minutes. So fast and easy.

Lastly, I ran across this awesome truck tarp table/ottoman at Anthropologie at the Spectrum. It's was too cool to pass up. It was a bit of a splurge, but very cool nonetheless. I mean, come on, how often do you find a table/ottoman made out of old Brazilian truck tarps? Almost never.

So, that's some of the stuff I have done to my condo to make it more cool. If I think of anything else that creative or interesting I'll post it. That's all for now.

the 4th

2009-07-07T22:13:00.001-07:00

The 4th is one of my favorite holidays. Since I've moved to California I have always had memorable 4th of Julies...Julys?...I have no idea how to spell the plural form of July. Anyway, you get it.

This year was no different.

My top 5 things from this 4th are as follows:

• the sound effects game - try imitating a bunny being attacked by a coyote
• lighting non-dairy creamer-filled balloons on fire - disappointing results
• the Mission Viejo fireworks - beware of the faux finale
• Brian shooting potato salad out of confetti poppers
• my friends

Uppercase Magazine

2009-06-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

If you are into design or just like looking at great design, I would highly recommend checking this magazine out. Give the website a look to see if it's a fit for you.

Looking for something to get me?

2009-06-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

If you want to get me something you can get me these. They are a mere $145 per letter.

Price for my whole name (RILEY): $1045.00 + shipping
Price for my initials (RSH): $435.00 + shipping

You can expect a handwritten thank you note.

Ha.

2009-06-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

Riley needs...

2009-02-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

So, I'm taking a break from working on a few freelance projects to have a little fun.

I googled "Riley needs" and these were the first 10 things that came up that made sense. Try it with your name! It's a hoot.

Here's mine...

Riley needs to recruit bigger, faster athletes to hang with the Ducks.
[Ok, cool. I'd like to hang with the Ducks]

Riley needs to fire himself. Again.
[Not in this economy!]

Riley needs a forever home!
[I think I've found that in California]

Riley needs help
[Indeed. Professional.]

Riley has Heterotaxi Syndrome and he needs an Extreme Home Makeover.
[Driver, move that bus!]

Riley needs financial help again.
[If I fire myself again, I will indeed need some financial help.]

Riley needs a friend!!
[Preferably one who enjoys cooking healthy food.]

Riley needs a trampoline.
[...under my balcony. That would be awesome.]

Riley needs to take some posture lessons
[Give me a break. I'm 6'4". I have to duck everywhere!]

Riley needs some fangirling.
[If fangirling leads to a date, then, yes, I need some fangirling.]

Top 9 So Far in 09

2009-01-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I like to post my top 10 favorite brands, products, services, etc at the moment. Here is is my favorite things right now.

• Mamma's Boys on NBC
What's better than 32 girls living with 3 moms of 3 bachelors? Well, seeing everyone fight! The fights between the moms and sons are great...the fights between the moms and girls are even better! Go to the Mamma's Boys site.

• Bohnanza Bean Game
This is my favorite game at the moment. You plant, harvest and trade little cartoon beans. You can't buy it many stores. You'll probably have to go online. But it worth it. Check out the Bohnanza.

• Jon McLaughlin
Just a really great record. A little poppy, but not too much that it's annoying. Preview him on his MySpace.

• Stuff White People Like
Organic foods, studying abroad, Apple products, Barack Obama...all things white people love. You'll find yourself laughing at how on-the-nose this book is. Check out the author's blog.

• Los Primos Mexican Food restaurant
It's a Mexican food restaurant in a Foothill Ranch gas station with amazing burritos (breakfast burritos in particular). Here is the location of Los Primos.

• Cetaphil
the cheapest, best face wash. You can get it on the bottom shelf of any grocery store. Learn more.

• Kuler.adobe.com
This one is for the designers out there. This site suggests color palettes for a project. It gives you the RGB and CMYK colors. Just play around on it. It's my top design resource site right now.

• Amazon iphone application
I did 90% of my Christmas shopping on my iPhone. You take a picture of something and Amazon tells you how much they sell it for. Learn more about Amazon for iPhone here.

• Penguin clothing
my grandpa wore these shirts. I love them now. Their website is hideous but you can check out what they sell.

So my parents...

2008-12-19T12:45:00.001-08:00

really like their new dog, Ruthie.

Well, let me start of by saying that my family is not a "pet" family by any means. We could never keep pets around while we were growing up. We would forget to feed and water them and they would die. We would run them over accidently. Sometimes they would just run away to a safer home...those were the smart ones.

But now my parents have a dog. An indoor dog. I have a slight problem with indoor dogs in general...as did my parents about 3 months ago before they got a dog. I just think it's gross and it makes your house smell weird and the dog owners don't notice it because they are used to it...and there is hair everywhere, that's the worst. Anyway, that's not the point of this entry.

My parents sent me two separate Christmas cards showing off the new member of the family.

(The first one is thankfully a joke that they just sent to my sister and I.)

She is pretty cute, I must say.

I'll admit I am excited to meet Ruthie next week when I got back to Hereford.

Have Yourself An SYM Christmas

2008-12-16T22:58:00.000-08:00

Last week Veronica, the other designer for SYM, was in from Colorado. Chris and I tried to show her a good time while she was here by taking her to Downtown Disney for a night.

Here we are in the Disney Californian. Yes, Veronica and standing on a foot-tall box and yes, I am still taller than her.

On Friday night we had a our SYM Christmas party at Opah.

Here's Doug and Cathy.

Chris, Veronica and I. We really bonded last week!

Veronica, Debbie, Nadim and Brandi.

I freakin' love my team!

Fresh Look

2008-12-15T23:49:00.000-08:00

So, as you can see my blog has a new look. Thanks to Tim Moore for the sketch...and the CSS coding of the page.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T09:49:00.000-08:00

Living in California with my family living is Texas can makes it impossible to go home for every holiday. I've been fortunate though to have awesome people out here who take me in every holiday that I am out here away from my family. This year at Thanksgiving was no exception. I got to spend Thanksgiving with Tim and Melody Davis and their family yesterday.

John and Dominik were also family-less this Thanksgiving, so we all got to enjoy Thanksgiving together. The food was incredible. I have no idea how she made it all, but Melody prepared the most elaborate spread of food. It was a classic Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings topped off with a 6-inch-tall, homemade apple pie.

I snapped this picture of Dominik right before dinner.

Highlights of the night were:

• hearing about Dominik's family history at dinner. Dominik is from Germany.
• meeting Tim's friends Adam and Nikki who Tim knows from the music industry
• post-dinner conversation about which music artists are pleasant and which ones are very much not...it was very interesting.
• Watching the "Signature Sound" concert on DVD with GiGi and Joe, Melody's parents. You can't beat southern gospel music.

It was such a great Thanksgiving.

Name That Logo!!!

2008-09-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

On the new cover of Billboard magazine the headline reads "Maximum Exposure" using the letters of some well-known, iconic brand logos. Can you figure out where each of the 15 letters comes from?

Post a comment with your answers.

Creative Block Party

2008-09-21T14:10:00.001-07:00

If you are a graphic designer you have felt it. It's inevitable. That helpless feeling when you realize that the project you have been working on for the past 2 hours looks like something your mom would have designed using Print Shop Deluxe or the brilliant Word Art feature in Word in the early 90s.

I found this great article by Blake Phillips at Vibra Design about overcoming creative block as a graphic designer. It gives 20 very practical things to do when you hit that time of the week (or day) when, no matter how hard you try, you can't come up with the right color or layout to match the style of the project you are working on. Don't throw in the towel or think that you should be doing a data entry job instead of designing. Try out a few of these tips.

20 Ways to Avoid Creative Block When You are a Graphic Designer
by Blake Phillips || Art Director || Vibra Design

Logos

2008-09-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone gets excited by different things. For me, when I see really great design it makes me happy. It makes me smile. It makes me know that I can be a better designer...which makes me really excited.

I ran across these logos for Proof wine. I love when organizations take risks by having a rotating logo. And using big foot, ufos and the loch ness monster in a logo for a brand called "proof" is ingenious. Bravo to their designers, Alphabet Arm Designs.

New Pad

2008-09-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

So, I moved to a new place a few weeks ago. It was a short move...from Mission Viejo to Lake Forest. While it was sad leaving the old place because it was the only place I had lived since I moved to California two years ago, I love my new place.

My parents called me when I was moving in and my mom asked if I needed her help unpacking, lining my shelves (ha) and getting the place set up. I foolishly told her that there was no need for her to fly all the way out here just to help me. But as I spent Labor Day lazily opening a couple boxes I realized that if this place was going to get set up, I was going to need some help. So she flew out last weekend and this is what she did. These are the main rooms that got the most attention.

Before mom (living room):

After mom (living room):

Before mom (dining room):

After mom (dining room):

Before mom (bathroom):

After mom (bathroom):

Thanks, mom. You are welcome to fly out here ANYTIME!