october is my favorite month. it means real true fall weather, no more of this hot MD crap they call a summer. plus, TONS going on!

oct 7: i turn 28. weeee!
oct 9: the warrior dash – the inspiration for this month’s calendar. a 3.15 mile obstacle course i’ll be running with some of my dearest friends! a little viking never hurt anyone, and for whatever reason, i find the viking to be very autumnal.
oct 13: day off! thank you, mr. columbus for doing whatever it is we think you maybe did.
oct 16-17: the only free weekend i’ll have in 8 weeks.
oct 23-24: crossfit kids certification in VA! can’t wait – gonna be a great time!
oct 30: a big 40th birthday extravaganza for my pal, keli.
oct 31: HALLOWEEN! i’ll be sporting the cheeseburger costume, yet again. stay tuned for a CrossFit Cheeseburger Workout photo or 2.

for this month’s calendar, please set your background color to: R: 62 G: 45 B: 1

my dearest & oldest friend, old in length of time, not age…anyway…

katie, the a fore mentioned dear, old friend asked if i would help create a design for her law firm’s annual bowling night. the brilliant theme the committee came up with was “Snakes on Lane”. i’m not sure anyone has actually seen that movie, but we’ve all heard of it. it was a pretty hysterical idea & not something i could turn down.

i wanted to give it a slightly retro look as i’ve always found bowling to seem slightly retro…nothing too detailed and just a quick line drawing seemed to work out great.

the best part about designing t-shirts for people is that often, i get to have one to wear! can’t wait to get this one – i will definitely wear it proudly.

have fun at bowling night, chum! :)

as you may (or likely don’t) remember, last june i spent 2 amazing days with jaime windon in hampden at Honfest! she was a busy bee working as the official photographer of the event, capturing all of the silly moments, including the dunk tank! this year, she’s handed off that exciting duty to john waire! john is an über talented photog w/ a great eye…& he has some ridiculous cute kids! check out all of his stuff at http://johnwairephoto.com/blog.

through the magic of twitter, john & i started chatting & he asked me to put together a quick doodle of him for his honfest t-shirts. of course, i couldn’t turn down a chance to create a doodle, especially for such a fun event. john’s pretty clever w/ the tagline on these: “waire is my photographer…” LOVE IT!

if you don’t have plans june 12 & 13, i’d really recommend you making the trip to see what honfest is all about. great food, great people, & very much fun all around!

last night was an exceptionally fun time with some exceptionally fun people. i got to meet some new people and catch up with some familiar faces. it was so nice to be in a room full of such friendly people. the best part – that’s just how they are. they don’t try to be friendly, they just are. i want to thank all of these friendly people for being, just that, friendly. it was wonderful to see you all! and a special thanks to cassidy (and his roommate tom!) who opened their home to a bunch of strangers who drank all of the drinks, ate all of the meatballs, and spilled goat cheese all over the floor. :)

a list of my friendly friends – old and new!
jaime windon – the blonde photographer
jessi ringer – 5rings photo
mary kate mckenna – mary kate mckenna photography
suzanne behsudi – suzanne behsudi photography
jay premack – jay premack photography
stephen gosling – stephen gosling photography
and of course, our gracious host from last evening…
cassidy duhon – duhon photography

eva is lots of fun – not a surprise considering she’s a pal of jaime windon’s. she asked me to start a mini-brand for her photo biz, photoladylove. this is hopefully the first of 6 different mini cards for her. we were in a hurry for this one since eva is participating in her first wedding show this weekend in richmond, va! it’s all very exciting & creating this for eva was awesome. we chatted on the phone for quite a while coming up with all sorts of fun ideas. finally landing on this fun doodle, eva was thrilled, & so am i! :) good luck this weekend, eva!

p.s. the final size of this card is biz card size: 2 x 3.5in.

doodling for friends is great – terrina & devin are wonderful, hilarious ladies & it was a total pleasure to create this for them! they make me smile everyday & i was so very happy when terrina asked me to doodle them for their 2009 holiday card.

it’s been an incredible busy holiday season & though my stress levels would suggest otherwise, i’ve loved EVERY minute of it. here’s to happy holidays & happy new years!

i am really, REALLY lucky. i have a great group of fantastic photographers who give me referrals all the time. this doodle is just one example of such luck. mary kate mckenna gave kerry my name a few months ago & from there, kerry & i talked about something i’ve never done before: a map. holy goodness – it was SO much fun. first of all, kerry is awesome – she was open to lots of different ideas i had & was genuinely excited to give me the chance to try something new – not something everyone would be up for! i could not be happier with the way this map turned out, in fact, i already have gotten an order for another one! i am really hoping that i am able to do lots more of these (so tell your friends!) – it was such a change from my normal doodles, & it really helped me focus on details in a whole new way. i consider myself truly lucky to have such great friends & such encouraging clients! thank you, mk & kerry!

this has been a looooong time coming. i am quite possibly, the worst secret keeper EVAH & this one was quite a challenge. jatana vanek (a super real estate agent) asked me to doodle this fantastic doodle of dan, emily, 2 of the silliest doggies in the world & 1 shy cat. that’s their house – it’s no joke robin-egg blue and purple – i think they should keep it like that…they aren’t so sure. so before they were able to paint it, i whipped up this doodle as a house warming present to be given by Jatana to her clients (such a great idea!) – now they’ll NEVER be able to forget its beauty. i see dan & em fairly regularly as they are evie & christian’s aunt & uncle & it’s been really hard not to spill the proverbial beans. but i made it! jatana dropped of the printed & framed gift this afternoon & i’m happy to report it was quite a hit! :)

welcome to maryland, dan & em!

the blonde creative is headed to knoxville for the long weekend to visit jessi ringer! jaime windon and i will be hopping in the car and driving down for what i can only imagine to be an insanely fun & entertaining weekend! back on monday! have a great labor day!

again, great friends – getting married – quinn is on the job! fellow navy friends, eric & shelley are getting married in jamaica on new years eve! quite a party! a few family members and some close friends will be joining them there (i’m holding out for a last minute airfare/sandals sale…) but for the rest of us, there will be a rockin’ fun party at Camden Yards in Baltimore! eric & shelley met there a couple of years ago, so it makes perfect sense to hold the celebration of their new lives together in that very spot! shelley wanted things to be beachy and casual and keep the invitations consistent without totally matching.  i’m really happy with the way they’ve turned out and i can’t wait to see the finished project when i get it back from the printer. weee! :)