Today is opening day at Fenway Park. It is going to be 66 degrees and sunny and I think it is fair to say that spring has officially arrived! Thank all that is good and holy!

I love baseball. I am not a rabid fan of any one team (though, the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals are my 'home teams' and have my heart and I will root hardest for them. In the case of inter-league play (and several recent World Series,) I go with who is winning...useful strategy.

I think it is everything surrounding baseball that I really like.

The accessories, if you will.

I like hot dogs (only at the ball park) and beer and open-air play. The uniforms are classic (though a getting a little baggy if you ask me...) it's family friendly and the game is distinctly American. Oh, and summer is a fine thing to have in your back pocket if you are looking for fans. But I think the thing I like the most about it, is that despite the outrageous budget discrepancies between teams and all of that front-office malarkey, it can always surprise you.

A player can, at any moment have the game of his life, pitch a no-hitter, take it to extra innings with a well-placed grounder, or land in a slump the size of his team's Yankee-sized budget. No matter how much money is spent, there is still room for a little magic. And sometimes, sticking it out until the 9th inning... really pays off.

I found this poem, written about local Boston baseball hero Ted Williams and thought that it would be a great way to celebrate the beginning of the season, and also remind all of us to keep our eyes on the ball.

Enjoy!

The Ted Williams Villanelle by Wendy Cope
"Don't let anybody mess with your swing."
- Ted Williams, baseball player

Watch the ball and do your thing.
This is the moment. Here's your chance.
Don't let anybody mess with your swing.

Its time to shine. You're in the ring.
Step forward, adopt a winning stance,
Watch the ball and do your thing,

And while the ball is taking wing,
Run without a backward glance.
Don't let anybody mess with your swing.

Don't let envious bastards bring
You down. Ignore the sneers, the can'ts.
watch the ball and do your thing.

Sing out, if you want to sing.
Jump up, when you long to dance.
Don't let anybody mess with your swing.

Enjoy your talents. Have your fling.
The seasons change. The years advance.
Watch the ball and do your thing,
And don't let anybody mess with your swing.

xoxo

Happy Friday to you! I wanted to share another addition to the January 2013 release.

When I was in college, the design program I was in was really intense. It was a rigorous first year and a half of 'bootcamp' like basics classes that all led up to a 'review' process. The 'review' was a jury of your teachers and the A&D faculty who took a look at your 3 semesters of work and decided whether or not you should be allowed to continue in the program. Like, at all. It is a very stressful and nerve wrecking time. You put your work up, wait all day (some of us may have done some, ahem, 'liquid' waiting...)and then go back in to decide your fate. The day I went into mine, I will never forget. When they told me that I didn't pass, it was as if the whole world had stopped. I had worked so hard, and so long, and at the time, felt like this was the one thing I was good at. I was devastated. Crushed. Lost. I ran all the way back to my dorm room in the snow and just cried in the dark.

My college sweetheart, who was and is one of the best men I know, got wind of my terrible news. He ran from his apartment to my dorm room (there is a lot of running in this story...it was Kansas...it was big, and we didn't have cars...) he opened the door to my room, saw me curled up in a ball and not knowing what else to do just came over and with his whole body, laid right on top of me. Not in an inappropriate way, but in an all-encompassing way. A protective way, He wanted to just soak up all of what was hurting me and take it away.

That move has stayed with me for the rest of my life. At the time, though I appreciated it, and needed it, it seemed odd to me. Throughout the course of my life since then, I have grown to understand that feeling. The feeling of wanting so badly to take away all of what is hurting someone you love, that you just want to cover them like a blanket. Sometimes there are not words to describe that want, only an act.

Sadly, It is often not appropriate to lay on top of your friends and loved ones, so I have tried to encompass that feeling in this card. I know it falls short, but hopefully not by too much.

This one is for the moments when there is just nothing more to say. All you can do is be there for your people when they need you and let them know that you are there. This goes out to a few of my own people who have gone through/are going through things that I wish they didn't have to. My heart is with your heart.

xoxo

P.S. I did eventually get into and finish the Vis. Com. Program at KU. It was hard to get into and hard to get out of, but I did it. I'd like to think they'd be proud.....with the appropriate amount of chagrin. ;)

Hello there! Sorry to have left you for so long. I had to pop out to attend the National Stationery Show last week (you know, work...) and the long days on the show floor and the distraction of being in NYC did not lend themselves to my getting any blog posts done. And what a shame!!! I have these beautiful color collections to share with you from our Instagram Scavenger Hunt!! If you are just joining us on the hunt, WELCOME! Please start with this newest challenge, Challenge #4 (above).

In this challenge we are gettin' graphic. It should be amazing! We all love pattern, and we come across it everyday. I want you to find patterns that make you squeal just a little bit, and want to cover every available surface with them. Snap a shot and tag it. I can't wait to see what they look like all together! Also, I want you to find words. You can find them anywhere, on a building, on a sign, in a book, on a tattoo...whatever, but try to focus on a single word and make it as large a part of your photo as you can. I want to see what kind of poetry we can create here. (I told you I was gonna be specific!!) Finally, find some numbers...my preference was architectural, but any cool looking numbers will do!! I just want to see what you see! 

Speaking of what you see, you all see in full color!!

Look at how fabulous they all look together! I love how different they are and how many ways we found to capture my favorite color.
Yellow is fabulous too:

Thank you to those of you who are participating (with gusto!), it is really fun to see who is out there! If you are thinking about jumping in but haven't yet, please do!! Getting as many different perspectives as possible is what this is all about.

I am in studio this week (big deadlines!) but I will be posting the rest of the color challenge results later this week (so if you want to sneak one in under the wire..now is your chance!) as well as filling you in on the Stationery Show, and a couple of other fun things!!

Happy Wednesday to you!

xoxo

I am back from a mini-break to California to celebrate my birthday with Coach. It was fabulous, fun-filled and much-needed time together. I am grateful for all of that. I am getting packed up for the Stationery Show, but wanted to show you the gorgeous results of the Curly Girl Instagram Scavenger Hunt Challenge #2. These are getting better and better! Wait until you see the colors from Challenge #3!! You guys are so clever!

I will post the final challenges this week ....get ready to search for some really specific things (now that I have you warmed up!) it's gonna be great! If you are new to the hunt, welcome!! If you know someone who should be doing this with us...for goodness sakes! Tell them!! Here is the original info. The more the merrier!!

Thank you to those that are participating! Your photos are really wonderful and I am loving the collections! Especially DELICIOUS! I love photos of food. I love food, just in general...

ok, have a fabulous weekend! Let me know what you think!!

xoxo

Here are the "sparkle" results from the Curly Girl Design Instagram Scavenger Hunt Challenge #2!. I will be posting "Magic" and "Delicious" over the next couple of days. Challenge #3 is going on right now and it is a colorful one! Please join us!!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! It was a fabulous one!

xoxo

Hello! Here is Challenge #3 for the scavenger hunt! I have been loving how all the photos look together and think these should be especially breathtaking! Go out there and find some color!! (This will not be hard for all of you... you are the colorful sort) Thank you all for participating in this! It is really swell to see all of the different interpretations of things and how we see the world collected into one place. If you are just joining us, you can get the jist of what we are doing here and welcome along!!

A few notes:

•Photos MUST be your own

•Photos MUST be Instagram photos

Also, I encourage you, if you can, to take the photos for the purpose of this hunt... part of what is special about this is that you go out into the world looking for these things and I think that has an effect on the way you see them. It's like that Proust quote:

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

Anyhow, I would love to hear what you think of the project thus far!

Here is how we see the word "inspire":

Isn't it magnificent!? I particularly love the mussel shell in the sand from @ncampos1 and the box of fun from @droozstudio! Great compositions! We take inspiration from so many things, but this really showed me how good we are at inspiring ourselves! To see everyone's descriptions of their photos or comments about them search: #cgdscavenger_inspire on Instagram.

What are your favorites? Weigh in!

xoxo

Happy Monday! I hope this collection of our Curly Girl Scavenger Hunt images for "Inspiring" gets your week of to a fabulous start! I am loving this project more and more! You guys are finding some awesome stuff and I love seeing these words through other people's eyes!

You can join us on Challenge #2 here if you hurry and Challenge #3 will go up tomorrow! Will you help spread the word about this? The more the merrier!

To see everyone's comments and descriptions of their images search #cgdscavenger_inspiring on Instagram.

Couple of notes: You must only enter your own photos for this. It's doesn't feel right to bring in other people's work wIthout them knowing. Also, I cannot get access to the photos if they are not public or if I am not following you, so if you want me to include your private photo, email it to: info@curlygirldesign.com.

Happy Hunting!!
xoxo

Good evening! Apologies for the late post, but I am traveling and that always screws up my sense of time and space.

This Instagram Scavenger Hunt thing is so dang fun!! You guys are crazy brilliant and insightful and I really love seeing what you come up with! A handful of you participated in this first challenge and some of you got really into it! SO GREAT!! Here is how we (collectively) interpret 'inspired':

Isn't it beautiful! For more info, like everyone's description of what they shot, search #cgdscavenger_inspired on Instagram and select individual shots. I loved @Mlsgb's "glass half full" and @Alyssabarr's "teacher who comes to the house". I loved them all!! Which ones struck a chord with you!??

I will post _inspiration and _inspiring over the next few days, but in the mean time, the next Curly Girl Design Instagram Scavenger Hunt Challenge is up!! These should be crazy fun to do!! Will you do this with me!?

Say yes! I know you see magic everywhere.

xoxo

OH THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUN!!! Ok, so I am sure I am not the first person to think of this, but since I think you guys are so cool and interesting and creative and amazing, I wanted to try it here.

As I am sure many of you are, I am obsessed with Instagram , though only recently ( I know many of you are old pros at this point...) it is changing the way I see things, and making me so much more aware of the tiny beauty and little millimeters of my life that I actually stop and observe every day. It is a real genius outlet for the visually minded! But is also such a nice way to share what you see and how you see it with friends.

So, according to my research quick poll, there are potentially around 150 of you out there that might want to take part. I think that is a great number and could make this stunning if I can pull it off the way I want to. Here's the deal:

There will be 5 challenges, a new one every few days. Each challenge card will have 3 words/things to find on it. Each thing will have it's own hashtag. (ie: #cgdscavenger_inspire)

Interpret the words/things however you want and take a photo of your interpretation. Tag it accordingly and make sure to also include me (@CurlyGirl510) on it so it will be easier for me to find it.

You can do one word/thing or all three, but make sure your photos are in by the deadline on the card. I will then compile all of our interpretations here for all of us to see together. I think it could be beautiful and amazing!

Will you play with me? (Mom! that means you too!)

Today's challenge is above, and starts now.

Ready, Set, Go!

xoxo

P.S.: If you don't have Instagram yet, and have a smart phone and want to participate, you can get it for free online or in the App Store on your phone. I believe it just became available for non-Apple users too.

I found this on Pinterest and it struck a chord. Hope you are having a good day!

xoxo