shades of color.
I’ve been really inspired by color spectrums lately.
Instead of choosing one or two colors, multiple shades of the same color or an entire section of the color wheel is used. Despite the number of colors, there’s still simplicity in a limited palette of related hues. A sense of beauty and order.
I’ve seen it show up in everything from design to baking. Here are a few of my favorite iterations of this trend.
Clockwise from top left: source unknown — from my inspiration files / blue paint chip quilt / rainbow cake / NBC’s ‘More Colorful’ campaign / paint chip placemats
design, color,chicago.
I had the privilege of spending my birthday in Chicago this year. It was a business trip, so not much sightseeing was done, but it was still fun to be in a big city and eat great food the whole time. It was rainy and cold when we got there. A full forty-degree difference between Greenville and Chicago!
The entire time we were there, I never pulled out my ‘real’ camera, but I have a few shots from my iPhone that I can share.
I loved seeing the giant old buildings with ‘modern day’ businesses in them.
The first night we went to The Purple Pig, a restaurant that made Bon Appetit’s 10 best new restaurants list. The food was unbelievable on several levels. Amazing flavors and crazy combinations — like fried chorizo stuffed green olives. And the desserts! Pistachio ice cream and paninis filled with nutella, marshmallow creme and bananas. I tried to take a few food pictures, but in the low light they just didn’t look good. Look who we found at the bottom of the ice cream bowl.
The next day was full of business meetings, but we were able to squeeze in a quick trup to one of Chicago’s three Anthropologie stores. Their displays are always so inspiring and this time I got to try a few lovely dresses on!
The giant spheres are made of wine corks.
Our afternoon meeting was at the beautiful offices of Y USA, where I got to meet some of their design folks and learn a little bit more about their recent rebrand. It was really interesting to hear about different challenges they’re facing as they transition from a company with simply a logo, to one that now has a full brand system. It was great to meet everyone and learn about how they work.
We ended the night at de cero, a great taco place in the Restaurant District. They even treated me to a birthday brownie!
It was a quick trip and obviously there are many other aspects of the city I wish we had time to see and experience. But Chicago was already on the (growing) list of places Andrew and I would like to see together. Besides, I wouldn’t mind it being a little warmer next time I head that direction!
life, design,organized things.
I’ve really been enjoying this Things Organized Neatly blog. So much fun and inspiration in one place! I love that bringing order to simple things can create so much beauty.
“We must have craft before we have art, and craft is founded on fundamentals.”
— Michael Ruhlman, Ratio
The little things.
Lately, I’ve been more aware of the tiny things that make my life better — even in the simplest ways. Things like pretty cookware. Flowers in the kitchen. Or good-looking software that makes my life simpler. I’ve always believed that great design can improve the quality of life. But think about how dull life would be without these extra little things!
life, design,handmade holidays.
I’m always a bit nervous to take the official handmade pledge. Mostly because I know that while I love hand-crafted goodness, not everyone has the same appreciation for handmade things. Plus, in years past, I would have tried to do all the hand-making myself, but I like to think I’ve become wiser this year, realizing (a) I’m not superwoman, and (b) there are a lot of really talented people out there making things much better than I ever could.
Also forefront in my mind this year was the fact that Andrew and I have been working to simplify and de-clutter our lives and our home. This made me look harder than ever to find meaningful and useful gifts for others. The great news is that when all the shopping was said and done, I’d given a lot more handmade gifts this year than I expected!
Because I’m a designer, and a bit of a nerd, I made a chart (using Daytum) that shows where the gifts we gave came from. I think visualizing data is the best way to understand it.
last minute holidays.
If you’re like us, it’s right about now that we start thinking about Christmas seriously. We know there are other procrastinators out there like ourselves, so we just put our entire Christmas selection on sale for you. All Two Over Zero Christmas goods are 30% off this week!
If you still need Christmas cards or gift tags, head over to our shop to take advantage of this sale, but do it fast! Supplies are limited and time is short. There are less than two weeks until Christmas!
