2012 Year in Review Infographic

2012 was the year of the infographic, right? Seems like it to me. The design nerd in me is a big fan, and when New Year's Eve rolled around and I still hadn't checked off "write end of year letter" from my to-do list, I decided that an infographic was the perfect way to go. It may have helped that Merrick recently reminded me of this letterpress card I pinned a long time ago.

This is our third year to send out an end of year card to friends and family (second year to send them via email to save money), and if I do say so myself, this is the best yet. Definitely blows last year's out of the water, but that's not saying much since I threw it together while sick and very pregnant.

I'm glad I went with the infographic. It was much less daunting than the thought of sitting down and trying to write an essay about the whole year. And I looove the way it looks. And since I subconsciously used the color scheme of Elle's* baby book, I can print it, and it will fit right in. =)

Source List
1. Fonts (in order of appearance): Perpetua Titling MT, Sail, Pigeon, Quaver Sans, Mensch, Piron V2, Homestead, Pea Bethany's Doodles, Pea Igna's Doodles, Pea Bhea Script (Many of these can be downloaded for free here or here.)
2. Arrows--this includes a tutorial on how to add brushes to Photoshop that I wish I'd read years ago. I love when people share their talents for free.
3. Graphics: I just googled what I wanted + silhouette and found them (baby silhouette, house silhouette, cruise ship silhouette).
4. I pieced together my own photo template using Paislee Press's DIY Project No. 1.

*I've decided that Elle will be my daughter's nickname on the blog for privacy's sake. Also, watermarks. I don't like them, but the reality is there are weirdos out there who steal pictures and pretend they're their own. I wouldn't blame them. Look at my baby. Hello, cuteness overload. But I'm going to do what I can to prevent stealing.

No. 19: A Photo Workshop

This past Saturday I participated in Kristen Duke's Say No! to Auto photography workshop. Let me start off by saying that I'm so glad I did! 

When I put "take a photography class" on my 101 list, I never thought I'd be able to mark it off so quickly.  I got my dSLR in December 2009, and since then I've toyed with the idea of taking courses through the local community college, online, and via a Groupon offer. I didn't feel ready to commit to any of those options though. Out of my budget. Too time consuming. No idea what the class size/environment would be like. (I'm making this sound like a life-altering decision, I'm sure, but I didn't want to go down an avenue that would be a waste of my time or money, you know?) But when Kristen posted a link on facebook about this workshop, I thought it sounded perfect for me:

1. Afternoon commitment. 
2. Affordable price. 
3. Small class size (10-15 students).
4. I already knew Kristen,* and I knew she wouldn't scam me!

We all met at Kristen's house, which was nice and cozy. She started by giving us all a packet with our textbooks for the day, one large, more detailed spiral and a smaller one to take on the go. We jumped right in and learned how to adjust ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.

And Kristen explained the basics for figuring out where to start with each setting. She also shared her tips for getting great portraits and doing basic photo editing.

 The information was a little confusing at first, but it started making sense once we practiced. We took a walk to an open field down the street from Kristen's house.

First we took pictures of our model and Kristen's assistant/photographer for the workshop, Jenny Polson.

Then Kristen asked us to pair off with a partner to practice some more. Naturally, I picked my friend Laura. I tried to get some fun backlit ones...

But this one is my favorite. You're so beautiful, Laura!

So, the bottom line: I loved the workshop. Not only did I finally get a grasp on ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, but it was also so much fun! I can't wait to practice, practice, and practice some more...and my husband thought I took a lot of photos before...he ain't seen nothing yet!


*Kristen took photos of me and my husband in February 2009. I was so impressed with her kindness and the quality of her images. She took the photo we had made into a canvas print that now hangs above our TV. 

You can read Kristen's recaps of the workshop here and here. Click on over.

2010 Favorite Photos

 

 

Farewell, 2010!

Remember that Time

Henry,

Remember that time about five years ago when I tutored you in the UGL and afterward you asked me out on a double date? I remember how I spent hours picking out the perfect sweater to go with my favorite pair of jeans...and then I spent an hour doing my hair and makeup.

I still remember that outfit, but I have no idea what you were wearing.


Remember how you lent me your coat, and it was much too big for me? Not much has changed.

Remember when you asked if I'd be your "partner in crime," and I said no? I'm glad I changed my mind.

I love you. Forever.

allison

Meatless Monday: Quinoa Edition

So first in what will hopefully become a series of Meatless Monday posts is my discussion of quinoa. After some Internet research and discovery of Forvo, the pronunciation dictionary, I learned that it is pronounced KEEN-wah.

I first heard about quinoa on a blog (I almost feel like that should be a given), and for whatever reason I wanted to try it. Again, I'm late to the party. Apparently, "it has been an important food for 6,000 years" in South America. At least someone on Wikipedia thinks so. It's a winner because it is high in protein (it's considered a "complete protein"), dietary fiber, phosphorus, lysine, methionine, cystine, magnesium, and iron. Did I mention that it is also gluten-free?


I picked up about 1 1/4 cup of quinoa in the Whole Foods dry goods section (not sure if that's what it's really called, but it was on the aisle with the self-serve grains/beans/dried soup mixes/etc.) for a couple bucks.

These are teensy tiny seeds you're dealing with here, so it was somewhat difficult to wash them per Whole Foods' instructions. I do not have a strainer with teensier tinier holes, so I attempted to rinse them in my 1/4 measuring cup. That turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, so I ended up just plopping them all down in my sauce pan. I only saw one black thing floating around in the water, and I was able to get it out. Conclusion: I think you can skip the washing step if you don't have a strainer with holes that are teensier tinier than quinoa.


Cooking the stuff couldn't have been more easy. You bring water to a boil, turn it down to medium heat, and let it bubble for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.


Draining the water, again, was hard. I did the best I could with my wooden spoon against the side of the pan. Next time I might try using my rice cooker or I might invest in a strainer with teensier tinier holes...but probably not. It turned okay the way I did it.

It had the fluffiness of rice, but with what people describe as a "nutty" flavor.  I added a frozen vegetable mix to mine, and voila! Lunch was ready.

I will definitely be making some again because I have a lot of it left over, but I won't be adding this particular veggie mix...after one bite of cauliflower I remembered how much I detest it. But really, the possibilities are endless if you just think about using quinoa in place of rice. I'm thinking it'd be good with a yummy stir fry. Mmm.

Sayonara 2009: July through December

July

In July we discovered Mayfield Park in Austin. It's an old homestead that was donated to the city, and peacocks are allowed to freely roam the grounds. 

Henry and I celebrated our second anniversary on July 7th by going to lunch at Fogo de Chao. We still love being married!

 

We also went on another popular Austin adventure:  a bat cruise! During the summer months a colony of 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats take up residence under the Congress Bridge. It's the largest urban bat colony in North America. At dusk you can see them fly out to look for food. When Henry and I were dating we canoed down the river to see the bats. That was one of my favorite dates. This was a similar thing except we were on a bigger riverboat with a bunch of tourists and we had a tour guide.

 

I turned 24 in July too.

 

August

We moved out of our first newlywed apartment at the first of August. It was bittersweet. We really liked living there, but our new place is much closer to my new job, and the rent is $125 cheaper!

In August we also said farewell to some grad school friends who moved out of state for work.

 

My best friend Alifia came to visit from Kuwait.

 

 

I started my first grown-up job! This is me at the end of the first day of school, August 24th.

September

When you have a grown-up job you get real paid!

Sumi came to Austin for a Geology reunion. We got to do some shopping together, got our makeup done at Sephora, and ate at Madam Mam's. Yay for girl time!

 

Henry and I visited Amanda and Joseph in San Antonio. We had some of the worst Mexican food ever on The Riverwalk. Hopefully we'll choose more wisely next time. =)

 

October

My parents, nephew, and great-nephew came to visit us in October. We went to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. I recall it being a pretty chilly day for fall in Texas, but we did see some pretty flowers.

Over the summer I was diagnosed with psoriasis. It wasn't a big deal then (just dry patches on my forehead), but in October it spread to my eyelids and elbows. I spared you the pictures of my actual skin since Henry said it looked gross. Instead I am sharing a photo of the creams I acquired with my most recent visit to the dermatologist.

 

Henry and I won our ward Halloween costume contest by dressing as Mary Poppins and Bert. Putting the costumes together was one of the most fun projects for me this year. I'm amazed that we were able to find 90% of our costumes at Goodwill.

 

 

November

My brother-in-law David moved to China in December for a post-doc position. Yes, you read that correctly, China. I think Henry is still in shock that he actually moved there. We had a farewell dinner for him in Austin. Hopefully we'll be able to visit him sometime in the next three years.

I went to the Regina Spektor concert with my old friend Larissa and my new friend Meghan. I loved it. I think it was the best concert I've ever been to.

 

 For the second year in a row we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment. Unlike last year, however, my parents and sister Randy came (in addition to Henry's parents, Lara, William, April and Helen and her boyfriend Tripp). I really enjoyed cooking with my mom and Henry.

 

December

As is tradition, we visited the Trail of Lights in Zilker Park and spun under the big light tree. Guaranteed to make you dizzy!

This year we went with three other young married couples from our ward. We've been very blessed to meet so many cool people this year, and many of them have been in our new ward.

 

I tried my hand at paintball and got shot in the left arm three times! It doesn't feel good, I'll tell you that, but I did have fun.

We celebrated Christmas at my parents' house in Houston. I was very excited to get a dSLR!

 Henry and I are very thankful to have had such a great year. We look forward to seeing what 2010 brings!