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EXPLORING ASHEVILLE, NC

8/26/2015

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On the last day of my trip to North Carolina for my brother’s wedding, some of my family that was still in town all decided to go explore downtown Asheville. I had heard of Asheville plenty of times. My parents had visited  enough to have a few favorite local breweries, and my friend Lindsey had always touted it up to be such a fun and eclectic type of city. It was only about a half hour away from our cabin in Hendersonville, so we thought it’d be a fun little evening trip.

LIVELY STREET WALKING

We found a parking deck pretty easily and started to walk around, wandering the streets and soaking up the culture. The weather was perfect. It still felt like summer but there was this great breeze as the sun set. I loved looking at all of the styles of the buildings, they seemed so welcoming and full of character. The people we saw had a lot of character themselves. There were a good mix of hipster-types and plenty of hippies. 
The city was full of young, quirky people. Many of them were sitting on sidewalks in big groups, playing music and telling stories, laughing with each other. For a minute, it almost felt like I was back at Camp Bisco. In fact, you could hear live music just about every place you walked in Asheville - one of my favorite parts of the experience! Check out the video on the right for an idea of what Asheville sounded like.  
Another interesting thing I saw was something called a Pub Cycle. It’s basically a bar crossed with a tandem bicycle, so you peddle while you drink and take a tour of the city. It looked like a pretty fun time!
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THE THIRSTY MONK

The first brew pub we went to check out was called the Thirsty Monk. It was a purple building, so right off the bat I knew I liked it. One thing that made this place unique was all of the decor, there was so much artwork everywhere you looked. Check out some pictures below! The main floor was pretty crowded for our party of eleven, so we decided to check out the basement level. While everyone was figuring out whether or not they wanted to stay, I headed straight to the bar to check out their beer selection. 
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The bartender was really helpful in finding something that I’d like. I’m not the biggest fan of most styles of beer, but the name of one on tap sparked my curiosity - Psycho Kinesis from Grimm Artisanal Beers. I settled for a sample because the bartender was sure I wouldn’t like it (most people don’t at first). It didn’t look like beer, it didn’t smell like beer, and it definitely didn’t taste like beer. I loved it! So I quickly ordered a pour of my own. 
Psycho Kinesis is a Dry Hopped American Sour style Ale. It was tart, definitely sour and hinted of watermelon. It had a finish that reminded me of a dry wine, and then finally the hoppy notes of an ale popped in my empty mouth. It was unlike any beer I had ever had, and might have fooled me for a cocktail if someone hadn’t told me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to savor it because my mom wasn’t impressed with the tap selection downstairs, on top of everyone having more of an appetite than the Thirsty Monk’s small-bite style menu could really accommodate.
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I shortly found myself back up on the busy musical streets of Asheville with my cousins who stayed back so I could finish my drink. The rest of our group went ahead to get us a table at our next stop. We saw and heard plenty more interesting things on our walk. One thing that really stuck out was a giant chalkboard painted on one of the walls. Big and bold at the top were the words “Before I die….” Underneath this were countless lines where passing strangers could write out goals from their own bucket lists. It was very unique and special, and it stretched for almost a whole block, filled with hundreds of things people wanted to accomplish before they died. If I had some chalk with me, I would have added to it!
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WICKED WEED BREWING

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Not long after that, we finally arrived at Wicked Weed Brewing. I had heard plenty of stories about this place from my family who had been before. The brewery gets its name form a famous quote by King Henry VIII, “Hops are a wicked and pernicious weed.” There was a comfortable yet curious atmosphere, plenty of dark corners, vintage artwork, and worn in stools. By then, I was starving so I was happy to hear that a couple of artisanal cheese plates and other appetizers were already on their way. We ordered a round of drinks, too. I pondered the impressive beer selection, looking for a style that would stick out to me. The Pernicious IPA seemed like a popular choice. Just about everyone else ordered a beer, but I couldn’t resist it when I saw Basil-Cucumber Gin and Tonic listed on the cocktail menu. It was so refreshing, and you caught a whiff of the freshly muddled cucumber before every sip. 

Leave it to me to order a cocktail at a brewery □ but hey, the cheese plate is on point! Asheville, you're cool in my book ☺️□ #Cheers!

A photo posted by Becca Morrow (@beccajune12) on Aug 2, 2015 at 6:08pm PDT

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The cheese plate was my favorite thing I ate that night. There were three types to try along with the different nuts and dried fruit (pictured top to bottom). The first was a Spanish goat cheese which had a unique tang and was surprisingly a hard yellowy cheese (most goat cheeses are soft and white). The next was my favorite, a French soft-ripened triple-cream cheese called Délice de Bourgogne that was so creamy and smooth, it melted the second it hit your mouth. And last was a beautiful green semi-hard cheese called Sage Derby, named after the herb that gives it it’s distinct flavor and color. The plating style was rustic and beautiful, and I loved trying all the different combinations of flavors! 
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We sat and nibbled and drank a while more before our dinner came. I ordered the Bison burger that came topped with blue cheese, fresh slaw and shoestring fried onions. I also asked for a side of their house honey mustard to dip my fries in. The burger wasn’t bad, but I enjoyed the honey mustard substantially more. It was a thin sauce, with the perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
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While we digested, I wanted to explore the brewery a little more. So far I had only seen the upstairs, which only showed a bar and dining area. The actual brewery portion was downstairs, where you could take tours and do tastings. So, I convinced the younger half of the crowd to go check it out with me. All along the walls of the dimly lit staircase, we saw playful chalk signs guiding us forward, promoting the live music of the night. We were too late to hear music or get a tour, but we were able to walk through and peek at some of the hardware. 
We sat and hung out at a picnic table while we finished our drinks and enjoyed each other’s company for the last time it would be for a while. Everyone was heading off in different directions the next day, so I was thankful for the extra time I got to spend with my cousins. By then it had gotten late and everyone was tired from the exhausting wedding weekend, so our trip to Asheville had to come to an end. It was a really great visit and I’m glad I got to check out that funky little town! 
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Bill, Kyla, Me, Sarah, Kristen and Joey!
I’d definitely go back some time soon and check out some of the other great bars and restaurants. I loved exploring Asheville, especially since I had some of the best people to do it with.
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CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT

8/22/2015

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Photo by Leah Flores Designs. Graphic by Becca Morrow.
Earlier this month, my family celebrated my brother’s marriage to his beautiful wife, Kristen. They live together in San Deigo, where they got engaged. I remember taking a trip out to visit them about this time last year and we hiked up to where he had proposed. The view was breathtaking, and I loved hearing about all of their west coast adventures they had been having. Even though they had made a new home in California, they decided to have their wedding on the east coast, which was closer for both of their families an many friends. They chose a beautiful little venue in the North Carolina mountains. It couldn’t have been more fitting for their adventurous souls. In their house they have a wood painting with one of their favorite John Muir quotes “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” 

At the place where he proposed □

A photo posted by Becca Morrow (@beccajune12) on Aug 9, 2014 at 6:48am PDT

I was very impressed with how Kristen planned the entire wedding from across the country. I offered to design the save the dates and invitations for them, you can check them out in my portfolio! After all of the months of excited planning and preparation, it seemed as if the day came and went too quickly. After the massive event that was the rehearsal dinner, we hardly caught our breath before Saturday morning came.

PULLING THE FINAL TOUCHES TOGETHER

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Photo by Leah Flores Designs.
Early in the day I headed to the venue to help with some of the setup. Kristen asked her friend Heather to act as the wedding planner, and she did a fantastic job! There are just too many things for one person to do, though. So I went to offer my services and see if there was anything I could do. I ended up being in charge of writing out the events for the evening on a giant chalkboard, which was fun for me since I had plenty of practice with chalk when I made the Hand-Scripted Chalkboard Menu for the rehearsal dinner! A group of friends had helped set up the centerpieces for the tables and all of the other decorative touches. Some family members helped get the chairs for the ceremony ready, and having so many hands made the whole thing go quickly! It was the first time I had gone to check out the venue, and the view from the top of the mountain was absolutely beautiful. Once the setup was done, everyone headed back to get ready!
Getting all fancied up for a wedding is one of the few times I enjoy dressing up! The only aspect of my outfit I  was unsure of was my hair. I had just cut about 10 inches off a few days before, and having short hair really limited my options (and ability to do something myself). I’m really not good at styling my hair beyond flat ironing, and I didn’t have the time that day to attempt something new on my own. My cousin Abby is extremely talented when it comes to braiding hair, so I asked her if she would style mine for me. It only took her about 10 minutes to put a gorgeous waterfall braid in my hair! I was so impressed and thankful for the help! Check out the picture of my hair on the right. Follow Abby on Instagram @abbysbraids! You can see some of her most recent work below. Seriously, she’s a rockstar! She has over 15K followers and has even been offered sponsorship deals. Pretty awesome! 
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Photo by Leah Flores Designs.
Once everyone was all dressed and ready, we headed up to get to the venue. Before we took our seats for the ceremony, I just had one quick stop to make. Joey and his groomsmen were getting ready in this little cabin, and I headed in to give him a special letter that I wrote for him for the occasion. One of the photographers snuck a picture of us hugging after I gave it to him and wished him luck, I absolutely love that he captured that moment! 
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Photo by Leah Flores Designs.

TWO HEARTS BECOME ONE

Shortly after we got there, the ceremony began. It was so heartfelt and touching. Joey and Kristen asked their friend Maddie to officiate the ceremony and she did a spectacular job. She added in personal stories and tied so many beautiful words together. It definitely made me tear up, no matter how hard I tried not to! The bridesmaids were gorgeous, and I loved the different shades of purple for their dresses! Joey was also looking very handsome, and I knew he had put a lot of thought into the details and accessories of his outfit. My Uncle Jim lent him my grandfather’s pocket watch to wear that day, which I know meant so much to him. Aside from the happy tears, there were also more laughs than I’ve ever heard during a wedding ceremony! It was beautiful in every way. I’ll let the stunning photographs speak for themselves in the gallery below.
After the ceremony came the reception! All of the decorations were spectacular. I offered to design the signs that were placed at each table, along with signs for the guestbook and memory table. I loved being able to contribute to the wedding in that way. A part of me always wanted to find a career in wedding planning, but I think helping out the people who are the most special to me is more rewarding. We took family formal pictures and then headed off to cocktail hour. The appetizers were delicious and I had a fun time catching up with so many friends and family who had journeyed out to be with us that day. More photos below!

DINNER, DIALOGUE & DANCING

Once the bride and groom were done with pictures, it came time for dinner, speeches and dancing! Dinner was catered by Mac the Truck, a local Georgia food truck that specializes in macaroni and cheese (mmm!). The road to get up to the venue is sort of steep and windy, so the food truck wasn’t able to make it up the mountain. But they served everyone somehow! The food was delicious. There was a side salad, macaroni and cheese, and peach bourbon glazed brisket. It was so tasty! 
Shortly after dinner, the speeches began. Kristen’s dad gave the longest speech of the night, but it was worth every second! So many funny stories, and it was really touching. All of the bridesmaids gave speeches, too. Joey’s groomsmen gave the most heartfelt speech I’ve ever heard, and had everyone laughing along in order to hold back even more tears. My dad then gave his speech and said how lucky he was to watch his son marry the love of his life. And then, it was my turn to grab the microphone and tell everyone how happy I was that Joey and Kristen were going off on a new amazing adventure together.
 After all of the sentimental things were said, it was time for their first dance. They danced to a beautiful piano rendition of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” which had everyone tearing up all over again. I remember them going to see the Lion King at the Fox Theater, it was a story that sits so close to their hearts. It was the perfect music choice for them. My mom had been nervous about her dance with Joey, but they had taken a lesson and I gave her a pep talk, too. It ended up being an absolutely beautiful dance, and they chose Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” as their song. Photos of all of this are in the gallery below!

SWEETS & A SUNSET

For dessert, Joey and Kristen picked out cakes and pies from The Grit in Athens. It was where they had their first date, and while I didn’t have any cake that night, I tried some the next day and it was fantastic. I was bummed I missed out on the key lime pie, though. After dessert, it was about sunset time. The venue had the perfect view of the sun setting beneath the mountains, and it made for a gorgeous photo op! Check some of them out in the gallery below!
The rest of the night was spent drinking, dancing, and being merry. Vinnie and I became friends with the DJ, so naturally we began requesting songs left and right. We heard just about every song we could have wanted to. One of my favorite moments was getting my sister to dance to “Gangnam Style” with me, a dance that not many people know I can do. Another fun moment was dancing to “Sweet Home Alabama,” especially since we had some (rivaling) Alabamans in the crowd. At one point we had a big dance circle going crazy to some obnoxious pop song that I definitely knew all the words to. And then, near the end of the night, I remember slow-dancing with Vinnie to Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight,” one of my very favorite loves songs. It was an awesome wedding, and everyone had a great time! The photo gallery below has pictures from all of the crazy reception shenanigans! 
The whole day was a busy one, but it was an absolute blast, and very memorable. I was so happy I was able to spend so much time with Joey and Kristen while they were in town, and help out with some of the planning process! It meant so much to me to be a part of it. If you ever have a graphic design project you need help with, don't hesitate to ask! I've made flyers for friends, graduation announcements and plenty more. You know how to find me!

The pictures were absolutely perfect, and there were way too many for me to post! The photographer shared the album on their Facebook page (embedded to the right!), so be sure to flip through some of the different albums. It was the best wedding I’ve been to yet! If you have any stories to share, feel free to comment below, and check out the related posts for more stories from the wedding weekend!

Kristen and Joey's North Carolina wedding gallery is ready! You can use this link to view, share, favorite, and order...

Posted by Leah Flores // Photography on Monday, August 10, 2015
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MARRIED TOMORROW - A BLUE MOON REHEARSAL DINNER

8/21/2015

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Photo by Leah Flores Designs. Graphic by Becca Morrow.
When my brother Joey told us he and Kristen were engaged, everyone in my family became so excited for them. They have such a beautiful relationship, and I knew right away that Kristen belonged in our family. The two people who were the most excited, perhaps, were my parents. They knew he would be happy with her for the rest of his life, something that every parent wishes for their children. 

But, one aspect that heightened the excitement even more so was my parents’ one and only opportunity to host a rehearsal dinner. I come from a family full of event planners. Every family get-together, no matter how small (or how large), is carefully thought about, brandishing every unique detail right down to the adorable cocktail napkins. 
I grew up surrounded by this warm, welcoming, hospitable family and they are a big part of who I am. There is a reason why I feel a need to take care of people, love having appetizers for dinner, and get excited when unwrapping serving dishes or cheese knives on Christmas. Being a good host is in my blood, and I learned from the absolute best; my mom, her five sisters, and my grandmother. Joey was the first of my parents' kids to get married. It was an event my mom had been looking forward to planning since before he could walk.
So, once their engagement was announced, my mom didn’t waste any time and began writing out lists and  thinking out details. Now, normally a rehearsal dinner wouldn’t be the biggest thing to plan. Most of them consist of 20-30 guests and are usually catered. However, both my brother and his new wife have a huge extended family. The wedding wasn’t local, either, and many people were traveling in town a day or two early. So, because we love a good party and know how to entertain a large number of people, my parents welcomed anyone who was in town to come to the rehearsal dinner. It ended up being a guest list of about 100 people! It took three full SUVs to take all of the things for the weekend up to our cabin in North Carolina. It almost looked like we were moving in! My mom rented a large tent and some tables and chairs, but everything else we brought with us. Including a keg, three massive coolers full of food, and plenty of boxes and bins full of decorations. Loading and unloading the cars was a total workout, to say the least. My mom had picked the perfect location. Our cabin was spacious and it sat on a huge property, with a large open field for the rehearsal dinner. Perfect for playing yard games, including ultimate frisbee (my brother’s favorite!).
Because of the size of the crowd, my mom planned the menu very carefully. My parents looked into catering options but decided that it just made more sense for us to feed everyone ourselves. My dad is famous (to our neighbors, at least) for his lasagna recipe, so he planned out 14 varieties of lasagna to serve for dinner. This was a great choice because it was easy to customize gluten-free and vegetarian options. My mom planned a delicious summer salad to go on the side. She also bought a giant chalkboard that she wanted the menu written on. I offered to write it, and I think it came out great! To read all the yummy things we served, take a peek at the photo on the right. And, check out my post if you want to make your own customized hand-scripted chalkboard project! Below are some pictures of all of the great food and drinks from the rehearsal dinner. 
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My cousin Sarah and I spent the whole day before the rehearsal dinner making lasagnas, but good company and good music made the time fly by. It wasn’t supposed to be our job to make them, but my dad ended up having his hands full all day. In my family, if someone needs your help, you help them. No matter what. Even if they don’t ask you. Even if you’re hungover from the bachelorette party the night before. Even if you’d rather be playing at the lake with your cousins. If we hadn’t helped, I don’t think it would have gotten done in time. I’ve always had a ‘get things done’ attitude and I know it’s because I’m part of this amazing and hardworking family. 
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When you're making 14 lasagnas in one day, bassnectar is the only music choice.

— Becca Morrow (@BeccaJune12) July 30, 2015
We had a ton of help with every aspect of preparing and setting up for the party. Aunts helped with plating the desserts and appetizers, uncles helped fill coolers, cousins helped with setting up the chairs and tables, and friends helped cut and place lasagnas out for serving. It’s amazing how many people helped make this rehearsal dinner a success. I can’t express how thankful my parents and I are for that. Planning a huge party can be really stressful, especially when you have a big guest list and a ton of details to worry about. Having so many helpers who were willing to jump in wherever they were needed was amazing, and after dinner we were able to fully relax and help everyone else make the keg float! The gallery below is full of pictures of people helping out! If you were one of them, thank you again for helping make that night a total success!
While the food is a close second, my favorite thing about any party is the decorations. There were so many great details and decorations for the rehearsal dinner, I just had to mention them. One of my favorites were the centerpieces my mom put together for each of the tables. It was a simple glass jar filled with colored river rocks and a votive candle. The top was wrapped in twine, and at the center of each one she glued a heart stone. Heart stones are special stones my brother collects for my mom (sometimes I’ll find some too!). Throughout his whole life, almost every time he’s gone to the beach, he’s found a stone in the shape of a heart to give to her. She didn’t use up all of them on the centerpieces, trust me, but they added a very special touch (I was lucky enough to keep one!). Some of the other cute details were all of the mini chalkboards full of cute sayings. At the drinks station, we put out over 100 different pint glasses for people to use (greener than plastic!), and at the end of the night everyone got to keep one as a party favor. My parents have quite the pint glass collection, so they had no problem parting with some of their duplicates and older glasses. Check out the gallery below for some pictures of the little details!
And of course, we had one of the best crowds that night. Plenty of neighbors, old family friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, and of course Joey and Kristen’s wonderful friends who are just some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. It was fun getting to know some of Kristen’s family, too! I was happy I wasn’t too busy running around helping to actually relax and have some fun. Everyone looked like they had an awesome time, which is really the only thing a host could ever ask for! Oh, and plenty of people were dancing too. I’ll chalk that up to my DJ skills, thanks to the Spotify playlist Joey and I made for the party. That night was a full blue moon, so my playlist had a lot of moon songs. Check out some of the photos below of everyone celebrating the fact that Joey and Kristen were getting #MarriedToMorrow.
It was such a beautiful night, and I had an absolute blast! Joey and Kristen picked an amazing wedding photographer, Leah Flores, who came to the rehearsal dinner. You may have noticed some of their gorgeous pictures mixed in with the ones my Aunt Eileen and I took. I’m so happy for the people who documented this special evening so we can all look back and appreciate the fun times we had! Joey, Vinnie, my sister’s fiance Chad and I stayed up talking, drinking, and watching YouTube music videos until after 4 in the morning! That’s when Joey realized he was getting married in 12 hours, so we called it a night. Not before my mom came out and hissed at us to keep it down, though (oops). We went to bed right after that, because after all, there was a wedding to go to the next day! Check out the related posts below, and if you were at the party, comment below with your favorite moment from Friday night!
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HAND-SCRIPTED CHALKBOARD MENU

8/21/2015

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One trip to my Pinterest boards, and you’d notice that I’ve been pinning a lot of chalk-related things lately. Earlier this summer, I searched far and wide for inspiration for some chalk projects my mom had enlisted my help in. She had bought a huge framed chalkboard where she wanted the menu for my brother’s rehearsal dinner to be written. I gladly offered to write it out for her, but soon I realized that it was a much trickier project than I had realized. 
Chalk isn’t the most easy writing tool. It’s clunky and there isn’t really a ‘point’ on a piece of chalk. I like to think that I have pretty good handwriting, but when I started writing things with chalk it looked like a kindergartner had done it. This wouldn’t do, not for this special party that my family had worked so hard to plan. This menu had to look stellar, I wouldn’t settle for less. So, I recollected my thoughts and started doing some research on Pinterest. I ended up finding this tutorial, DIY Perfect Chalkboard Lettering, and thought it was too easy to be true. 

STEP 1

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Design the artwork. This was a fun step for me, because I use a graphic design program called Adobe InDesign for almost everything (including all of the graphics you see on this blog!). I had to design the menu with InDesign first so that I could get the proper spacing for the large board I would be tracing on. If you don’t have a fancy program, Word or Pages works just fine! The important part is to find fonts that are chalk-like, so that your result will look natural. I linked the free fonts I used below! And check out my Graphic Design board below for plenty of pins about chalk fonts. If you’re still nervous about this step, comment below and I’d be happy to help!

Fonts Used: Bergamont Ornaments, Pea Ellie Bellie, Sandwich Paper Dark, Little Days
Follow Becca Morrow's board Graphic Design on Pinterest.

STEP 2

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Print your design. If the dimensions of your board  are larger than a standard piece of printer paper (8½ x 11in), then you may have to print your artwork in pieces like I did. InDesign is great, because you can change the dimensions before you design so you can assure your artwork will be proportional. Once I had my artwork done, I exported it to a .png file. Then, I made a blank file with the dimensions that would be print-ready. I pasted the artwork .png and cropped it to fit, doing this four times until I had all the pieces of my artwork covered. Then, I printed the four sheets and pieced them together with tape until I had one sheet of paper to work with.

STEP 3

Gather Materials. Usually this is the first step, but it works better here. For this project, you’ll need your printed artwork, a chalkboard, 2-3 pieces of chalk (depending on the size of your artwork), a ballpoint pen, tape, a chalkboard pen, a wet paper towel (for mistakes), and a dry paper towel. You'll also want to find a comfy seat because this project can take some time!

STEP 4

Cover with chalk. I did this one line at a time, mostly because my artwork was pretty big. Tape your artwork in place on your board. Once you start, you don’t want the artwork to move or else it may end up looking funky when you’re done, so this part is important! Fold the top section of your artwork down and cover the back of the artwork with chalk by rubbing it flat on the paper. 
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STEP 5

Trace your artwork. With the ballpoint pen, trace over the artwork carefully. Be sure to do all of the details, and take your time with this step. The slower the better! Once you are done tracing, fold the paper back down and you should see a perfect outline of your artwork on your chalkboard!
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STEP 6

Go over outline. Now, take the chalk pen and go over the outline you just traced. I did this from right to left, so that my hand wouldn’t erase the outline as I was drawing. Be careful on this step too! Most chalk pens take a minute to dry and may smear if you rub your hand on it. That’s what the wet paper towel is for, too. You can carefully erase smudges or mistakes made with the chalk pen. 
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STEP 7

Repeat. Continue steps 4-6 until you have transferred your entire artwork on to the chalkboard. If your artwork isn’t in line-format like mine was, you may find it easier to just cover the entire back of the paper in chalk before taping it down, and doing it all in one shot. This may take a while depending on how big your artwork is. Mine took about 2 hours from start to finish. My hand felt like it was ready to fall off! Once the chalk pen is completely dry, take the dry paper towel and wipe the extra chalk dust away.

STEP 8

Display. The best part is seeing your work completed! My mom was thrilled with how beautiful the final product was (and so was I)! Hang your chalkboard and display it proudly. And be prepared to answer the question “Wow! Who did that?!”
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Photo by Leah Flores Designs
The menu I made was hung under the tent where the food was being served. I only wish I had gotten a picture of the menu with the gorgeous spread my mom planned! The menu was almost as gorgeous as the food was. And, this was a great step for me in making progress with my 101 in 1001 goal to learn how to do hand typography! I don't totally count this because I traced it, but any practice is good practice.
Above is a gallery with some photos of the dishes from the night. Also, be sure to check out some of the posts linked below for more photos from that very memorable weekend!
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IT IS WHAT IT IS

8/13/2015

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Acceptance. It is sometimes a bitter part of life. The unfair situations, the frustrated moments, the problems that just can’t (and maybe shouldn’t) be fixed. Acceptance is not defeat. It is not giving in. It is not a weakness. It is a form of serenity. It is being okay with the way things happened, especially if it didn’t play out in your favor. Sometimes acceptance comes with disappointment, and sometimes it comes with relief. If you’re somewhat of a control freak like I am, accepting things the way they are is difficult and even frustrating. Sometimes you can want things to be different so badly that you lose sight of why they are the way they are.
Right now I’m in the middle of job searching* and I have pretty ambitious aspirations for myself. There are plenty of jobs out there that I would succeed at, that pay really well, but I just don’t have enough experience for at the moment. It’s hard to accept the fact that a dream position that I want right now will have to wait 3-5 years until I can apply and have a fighting chance. But, it is what it is. The best thing I can do is look at the situation differently, be optimistic about finding a job that will make me as happy as possible, and be patient for myself and my future.
There are countless situations I find myself in where I had planned a different outcome, and was disappointed tenfold by something I never had to begin with. Some of my favorite lyrics by the band 311 come from their song Flowing; “You can’t be let down if you don’t expect the world.” These words have so much power to them. So often I overhear people yearning for their future, planning out each milestone in their lives. When good things happen to them that don't quite match their highest hopes, they feel disappointed instead of appreciative of the amazing things they have. They let their expectations drown them, stifling life's happy moments. My philosophy on life is aim high, but expect nothing. Let life take you by surprise.
In all honesty, acceptance is an aspect of my life I need to work on. This is a bad habit of mine I’ve had my whole life, and I don’t like admitting it. When things don’t go my way, my first instinct is to rework the situation into a more favorable possibility. I push for things, and sometimes I don’t know where to stop and accept it for what it is. It causes me to be my own worst enemy on some days, and I’m realizing it’s a destructive habit that just isn’t worth it. The quote I want to include with this one is some of the best life advice I’ve come across. Read it, reflect on it, and see how you can apply it to your life. 
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Found on Pinterest.
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*I began writing this post in late May and didn't finish it until early July. I have since accepted a job offer for a company where I can learn and contribute my skills in a meaningful way. I feel like I subconsciously didn't publish this post right away because after writing it, I got what I needed out of it. Now was the right time to share this advice with everyone else. I hope it is helpful to you.

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    Writer, stargazer, believer in human beings. Die-hard rock and roller with an insatiable urge to dance my way through life. 
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