Welcome to Sunny Side Up! Collecting happiness, applauding creativity, and discovering adventures. Join this California girl as I spend my last few days in the sunshine state, and move to the Big Apple. This is a place where inspiration is found in pop culture, fashion, hidden gems, fun times, and good people. Join me while I look on the sunny side of life!

Friday, May 13

Adventuring-Art with Heart

via Design Sponge
The week included a variety of venturing, including the beginning of Sunny Side Up,  spontaneous fun in coffee shops, and ultimately concluding with adventures into the world of art. The beauty of art, I find, is not just what is created; it is the process the artists follow that showcases a chunk of their soul and fiery passion. Art establishes what makes people tick, and how the soul can bridge between the material world and human condition.

My entire Friday revolved around exposing myself to "student" art. Please not that the term student may imply a lack of experience or professionalism, but certainly does not apply here. The art I viewed is produced by an impeccably talented group of 20-somethings, and cannot believe the talent that was exuding from the two galleries I walked through. 

I began my day in the Architecture gallery to see + Impact, the show with my roommate's thesis. I was not only blown away with how far she's come since deciding her concept, but was impressed with both the layout of the space (*museum nerd alert*). On top of that, each project focused on a real location and used creative architecture to establish a positive impact on the area and community. Projects ranged from changing home dynamics to fit our 21st Century lifestyle vs. the 1950s lifestyle (i.e. inclusion of freeways led to spread out areas to make Suburbia). 


My second stop was Spectrum, the portfolio show for graduating graphic designers and photographers. I'm biased when I say this, but my best friend had one of the best portfolios.  Keep your eyes peeled to see her incredible, whimsical, and sassy designs of Kevlyn Walsh. I mean, just look at the cover! Other highlights included the work of Annie Kruggel, and the winning campaign designed by by she and Kevlyn for the Cal Poly Cat Shelter is both humorous and heart warming. I can't wait for it to be used!
Produced by Kevlyn Walsh, graphic designer and artist extraordinaire


A big surprise of the artsy adventure was a friend's photography portfolio. Displayed electronically on an I-pad, where beautiful photos were streaming across the screen, I was shocked to find this:  


Last year, I had the absolute pleasure of dressing up as Charlie Chaplin for a project done by Meghan Hollister. Her portraits are beautiful and always capture the endearing and inner spirit of her subjects. I had no idea this picture of me playing dress up could be considered as a shining piece of her work, and boy am I honored! Playing a role was hilarious and silly, but Meghan's ability to funnel that into a photograph with so much depth astounds me. Please check out her work. And Meghan, thank you dearly for offering me a significantly greater appreciation of photography. 

All in all, my Friday's adventuring went off without a hitch. I was even able to complete the evening with being exposed to the artwork of the soul, as I sat around with a few beautiful, strong, confident women who shared their stories over wine, cheese, and fancy shmancy appetizers (recipes to come!). It just reminded me how much strength, beauty, and creativity our world is filled with, and I hope you can find some of that today, tomorrow, and each day thereafter. 



The show itself was filled with up and coming designers and photographers whose work will fill the shelves of Trader Joes, the frames in your homes, and packaging of wine bottles, etc. Not only was their impeccable growth apparent, but to see their personalities shine through their work made it worthwhile. The displays of their portfolios and the variety of their work showcased so much emotion to communicate to the public, whether it was designing a book of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, or a poster for a campaign to save a forrest. Simply put, I was blown away by the perfect blends of colors, discussions, and growth. (See Kevlyn's portfolio cover below.)

Wednesday, May 11

Quote of the Day-Wise Words of J.Crew

via The Glitter Guide

Lovely Lists-Buckets

via countryliving.com
Buckets are generally used to hold some sort of object, whether it be water, soil, or used as decor. I like to fill them with my hopes, use them to sort a next batch of accomplishments. I've been devising a bucket list for my last month leading up to graduation. Fortunately, I've already crossed off food fights, flash mobs singing in a restaurant and having a pillow fight in the quad, and wearing a mustache in an interview. How do you wrap up the last month of the college experience? With a BANG! Well, more like with a series of little pops of happiness...

  1. Line dancing in red cowboy boots after interpretive dancing to the wind machine man's cello tunes at Farmer's Market.
  2. Stargaze on top of Madonna Mountain. Or fly kites there. Or both.
  3. Tell each person in my life here how wonderful they are. Everyone deserves to know how much they're appreciated!
  4. Pretend to be a stereotypical tourist on a campus tour, and employ fanny packs, Hawaiian shirts (fashion faux-pas to the max), and a partner-in-crime. I think an accent and blatantly awkward questions would help complete the process.
  5. Throw a Glee season finale party with costumes, music, and Glee-related snacks.
  6. Play Pretty, Pretty Princess and Scrabble at a local bar. I'd like to see my male friends sport some plastic jewelry, and then to take pictures to show their future significant others how they've found quite the catch.
  7. L.A.R.P. (not sure what this means? See here.) There's a group that meets at a specific park on Saturdays. I would like to join in, even for just a few minutes. 
  8. Clothing swap with my girls. What a better way to refresh your closet than to get rid of a few items you're only going to wear a handful of times throughout the year? Another gal's mediocre emotional investment is another's dream worthy piece.
  9. Document a food tour of the area, complete with great pictures, and create a mini-album. The food in the area is incredible, and to have 
  10. Bar Crawl at 6am...then graduate.
And so the countdown begins: One month. 31 days to accomplish ten fun things. 744 hours to say, "See you later." A small sliver of time to enjoy this place and these people who have defined my idea of home. Cheers to bucket lists and all the spontaneity that may stem from them!

    Tuesday, May 10

    Fashion Forming-Pretty in Pink

    Diane Kruger at the Pieds Nus sur les Limaces premiere in Berlin, April 28, 2011. Via starandstyle.com 


    Diane Kruger sets the tone for fashionistas everywhere in a pink No.21 dress and seafoam Brian Atwood pumps. The blousy bodice, open back, and large ruffle attached to the pencil skirt add just enough embellishment to make some lace go from drab to fab. Normally, pink is not my color of choice; the lace has enough blue undertones to make is beautiful instead of reminiscent of Pepto Bismol. The contrast of the pale blue-green shoes against the romantic late 1930s silhouette completes the outfit with a modern, colorful flair that makes the outfit interesting. 

      

    Take a walk in her shoes:

    1*2*


    3* 
     
    4*5* 
    6*
    From top: 1* Try her color combo with A Little Glimmer at Mod Cloth, 2* Open back and ruffles with Eastylyn by The Row, 3* Racy lacy at J.Crew, 4*Satin silhouette from Preen Line, 5* Modest pink from 3.1 Phillip Lim, and 6* 1940s retro vintage.

    Sunshine in the Frying Pan

    Welcome to Sunny Side Up!  The blog will be structured in a weekly format:

    Monday Giving Thanks
    Tuesday Fashion Forming
    Wednesday Lovely Lists
    Thursday Quote of the Week
    Friday Adventuring 

    There are two purposes for writing in this blog. The first is to shine light on the good things in life. Perspective is hard to come by on a consistent basis, so why not collect a whole lot of positivity in one place? I can't say I've ever turned down a pick-me-up. The second is to be able to appreciate life as much as humanly possible. Taking time each day to reflect on my personal passions and inspirations will hopefully lead me to live each day to the fullest. Cheers to this new blogging adventure!