Blue (thanksgiving) Hawaii.

Ah. Home. You know how people complain about air travel? Well I'm one anyway. I complain about flying like it's the worst thing in the whole wide world! Yesterday it took me 20 hours to get home from Kona, Hawaii. And guess what? I didn't complain once, because that vacation was just that awesome! Maybe my brother will have a different recollection on my non-complaining...but he's not here to say otherwise. :)

Ok so it's a bit weird to still go on family vacations when you're 31 years old. But guess what? I like my family and they go to awesome places! Plus, it helps when Mom foots the majority of the bill, talk about a giver. (Mom shout out!) So in chronological order, here's my Hawaiian vacation, iMovie style. We start in Honolulu where Angie bottles her own wine, we visit some penguins, and eat at Morimoto. In the Kona area we swim, snorkel with sea turtles, drink a lot, eat all the fishes in the sea, and befriend a malformed donkey. Enjoy!

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I'm hoping to keep this aloha spirt around for a while. Maybe I can take in some of these colors, attitudes, and vibes into my work and design. Oh, speaking of... I got a new job! In a few weeks I'm moving to HarperCollin's Art Department, working on Middle Grade and YA covers. I'm nervous but I think we've got a good aloha feelin' going on in that department. Overall, a great start to a very thankful-filled holiday season.

Autumn

I love Fall in New York. I dare you to find someone who doesn't (if they do this person is clearly a Debbie Downer and should be avoided at most costs).

The colors in the parks in this city are outrageous and are inspirational for all things autumnal. But you know what's even more awe inspiring? Leaving the city. Head up to the Hudson River Valley!

Maybe you go for a day hike, those are nice. Or maybe you find a company that specializes in night time hikes, complete with meteorshowers and star gazing. And maybe this is is the last thing you see before everything turns pitch black—only to be illuminated by the awesome bright-as-a-city-skyline moon. Love.

And now to be a complete jerk, I must pack my bags for Hawaii. Volcanoes, beaches, family and poi, these are few of my new favorite Autumn-inspired things.

Muse fail

I just returned from a Nobel Desk top seminar titled Moving from Print to Web. This might end up being the most ironic part of this post, but more on that as things develop. (Foreshadowing!)

So while this was definitely an intro course and I knew a lot of the information, we did touch on the difference in web site construction and website layouts. Yea, no one likes Muse. It doesn't load properly and its code is crap. That being said, we're still Beta form so I have high hopes for it. Lord knows it would make my life easier.

But like I've heard 1,000 times before there is no magic "web site made!" button. This is also hilarious because I'm fairly sure that 40% of my own job complaints centers around the same argument—sure I can change this skyscraper Flash ad into a banner...it just takes a second! (Sarcasm!)

Oh speaking of Flash, Adobe abandoned it for mobile platforms, nice. So next up, old school html.

Adobe Muse

Remember when I said I was using this blog to help me explore transitioning from print to digital design? Somehow I missed the fact that the good people at Adobe have made it really, really easy. So thanks Adobe Labs! Muse is pretty much it—guess we're done here. ;)

I can not wait to use my interactive skillz on this! It's pretty much similar to the web functions and updates on InDesign CS5. I'm exploring it with Lynda.com's quick tutorial right now. If you're a member I highly suggest checking it out.

Oh and since Muse is in Beta, it's free. Onward in exploration and inspiration my friends!

I love learning new things.

Lynda and Adobe labs = Happy Sarah.

Mood Board Nov. 5

I'm trying a new thing out, visual diaries(?) Anyway, fun stuff of this week—and starting with tomorrow's marathon viewing party at the star-studded Dunkin' Donuts*—next week's looking good too.

Click to enlarge

*there are no stars at the 25th St. Dunkin' Donuts just to be clear.

Positive Post-Its

Click to expand my awesomeness.

A nice day today.

HH casual tea

While looking for inspiration for my website (totally perusing Behanced) I came across a thread of people's favorite fonts. And it was only inevitable I watch My Neutra Face one more time. Hey, it'd been like a whole year since I'd last danced to it.

Anyway, in my excitement—aka dancing— I sloshed orange-make-you-sleepy-tea all over my key board!

I'd attach a picture but I freaked out and cleaned it up.

Anyway, if you have a favorite type face...well don't dance while celebrating it by your computer. Heed this cautionary tale.