We Be Cultured, Yo...

Our first opera - Madame Butterfly!

Followed by clubbing in our opera attire. Ya, that's how we role.

Fashion Remix...

I walk construction sites by day and runways by night...

Not really. But kinda. Every other year one of the professional design organizations, IIDA, hosts what's called Fashion Remix. It's an extremely fun and creative competition where teams of designers are paired with a vendor of architectural materials at random and then required to make an ensemble out of material the vendor supplies. Think dresses made out of wood, metal, wallpaper, etc. 

This year was my first year participating :-) We got paired with a vendor that supplies an architectural film - it's a vinyl kind of like wallpaper but for more surfaces. This is what we created... 

Pretty incredible huh? It took hours and hours of work but it was so fun working with girls from my office in this creative outlet and then being on stage to present our hard work (I was only chosen as the model because I was out of town when the team decided :-P But it was honestly a lot of fun). And to top it off... we won in our category! Most Innovative Use of Soft Material! Way to go girls!

Take a look at some of these other impressive designs...

wood veneer and carpet

Tile and chair parts (no joke)

 And this only give you a glimpse of a quarter of the ensembles! It is definitely one of my favorite design events of the year..

I am now a fashion blogger...

I joke I joke! But check out my latest project! I took a one size fits all construction vest, cut it apart, and turned it into a Star Trek inspired women's cut vest! ha!

...and here it is on display!

It was for a presentation promoting Women in Architecture - or women in any industry dominated by men for that matter. Looks like I could start one of those fashion blogs where you take thrift store finds and turn them into presentable clothing. I joke. But check out some of the beauties...

Selfie No Selfie...

I don't like selfies. Never have. So I don't take them. I could get on my soapbox about them but we'll leave that for another post. Regardless. One day Jake and I tried to take some together. And this is why we should never try that again...

I actually think Jake looks so sweet in this one! Just don't mind my huge forehead...

Rollin in her 20's...

My sweet roommate Meagan turned 20 and we celebrated it with a bang! Actually no. We celebrated it with a classy summer dinner party...

Happy Birthday sweet girl :-)

Summer Lovin'...

Movie in the Park with my main man :-)

All My Vacation Days...

I often ask myself why I rushed through high school to rush through college to rush into my career where I now have to work for time off. Why didn't I ever just take a summer off to be a normal kid that sits around looking for cures for boredom? But I was always just so busy. Now I use my one week of vacation and my five days of paid time off all within a few weeks of each other all for summer vacations. But what can I say... I love me some summer time!

So we showed up a day early... no big deal. Because the trip was planned by men we just waiting until all workers went to bed (2 am!) and then sleep on the benches of random tour boats until the sun woke us up around 6 am....

I mean, I'm not complaining. Invite me to Lake Powell anytime and I'll sleep on a rock but I'll look like this...

I'll tell you what though. It was all worth it when we arrived in this breathtaking location!

Lake Powell trips are a lot more adventurous when you have a few inspired men a ski rope, a pulley, and a few spare ropes... Say hello to the makings of a zipline! And... a few injuries.

Lake Powell. What an incredible place. One of my favorites - but so is this little gem... :-)