06 November 2014

Copperplate Calligraphy


I just finished an amazing 6-week Copperplate calligraphy class with Anne Elser at the Spruill Center. I've always been interested in typography and letters. I love words, and calligraphy turns words into art. It's a beautiful combination.  


It's harder than it looks, but with an amazing instructor like Anne, I think I'm on my way to drawing letters in an impressive way.

In this post-grad world, it's important to stay inspired and to keep learning! How easy it is to stop learning. 


01 July 2014

17 June 2014

Italy, I just can't quit you.


GET OVER IT.

Sometimes, that's what I imagine people mentally think when I start a sentence with "When I lived in Rome..." or "One time in Italy...". So, I try to be aware. I try to listen more than I talk and think with a smile on my face without ever moving my mouth.

I'm struggling a little bit. My job is great, but I'm a get-up-and-go girl. I love my sense of adventure, but I look around and I don't see much. I'm sitting at a desk for 8-hours a day with the same nighttime routine prettyyy much every night.

So, when I come across an article like "39 Reasons Studying Abroad in Italy Ruins Your Life", I'm intrigued. The title is way too dramatic because Studying Abroad in Italy makes your life. It doesn't ruin it. What is ruined are the preconceived notions you may have had about your future, the path to take. Maybe money stops being so important. Maybe you learn to love the simple pleasures of life, like a good cappuccino instead of obsessing over television. Or maybe, like me, you become more conscious about where your food comes from, choosing a farmer's market over a traditional big box store.

At any rate, each one of those photos associated with the 39 Reasons made my heart flutter, especially "#36: The Way Roma Glows At Night". As beautiful as Rome is during the day, it came alive at night. The music, the loud conversations and the Orange Glow started off as the unknown and became a treasure during my 110-day visit.

Leave it to BuzzFeed for yet another incredibly relatable list. It's as if they hopped in my head with the thought, "Hm, what would Clare write?" and to be honest, I'm offended they didn't.



Though I will say, Italy pretty much ruined American pizza for me. Is that too dramatic? 

03 April 2014

and suddenly, all falls into place.

Life is beautiful right now. I got a JOB! Not a job but a JOB. A first step in a career. I'm thrilled and so excited to start this next part of my life. But, I've been busy and LT&C has taken a hit for it.

There's no time for apologies.
I'm happy!

28 February 2014

February 2014

It's been a weird month in Georgia. We've weathered apocalyptic ice storms yet last weekend, I was hiking a mountain in shorts and a tshirt. Il sole is a beautiful thing. But since this is Georgia, we'll have the heat soon enough. February has been a great month for reconnection. I've gotten back in touch and spent special time with friends and family friends that seemed to fall by the wayside. I haven't been writing. I haven't been in a place where I figured people would want to read what I had to write. Then again, who am I to make that choice? So a blitz of blogging is coming. I'll just be craftfully throwing it out there for you guys. Old travel stories I haven't yet shared, bizarre moments being a 22-year-old. You can't be anything but honest when fingers hit the keys.

[my favorite documented moments from february]

The Sundial Restaurant @ the Westin Peachtree Plaza // 72 Stories Up!
Snowy Day w/ a book & my kitty
Hiking Kennesaw Mountain 


30 January 2014

eating my way through NYC

Walk, Eat, Drink, Sleep. Repeat. 

I feel like it goes without saying but New York City has the best food in the world. Any food in the world you could want, I would bet you can eat it in New York. When I was feeling touristy, I snapped some shots of the delicious meals I ate. It's nice to remember how yummy it was, considering the massive hit that my bank account took after the weekend. Yep. It was worth it.


Crispy Sushi at Mira Sushi. The rice was flash-fried and tasted different than any sushi I'd had before. Amazing. 
The Formaggi & Salumi Plate @ Eataly's La Piazza
List of the cheeses (formaggi) available @ Eataly. Think this made me miss Rome? 
Brunch at The Smith. I had poached eggs with potato pancakes and creamed spinach. It was... glorious. 
It was the greatest weekend. Those girls sitting at that brunch table make my heart happy. They're all living in New York and it's everything. Fun / exhausting / crazy / challenging / rewarding / frustrating... Everything. I was happy to catch a glimpse and get a taste. 

27 January 2014

Lions + a GoPro


If you couldn't tell by the name of this page, I'm a big cat fan. So my jaw was pretty much open in envy for 15 minutes as I watched this video of a South African man who has developed an incredible relationship with lions. The video focuses on his concern with the habitat loss and shrinking numbers of the lion population. I think it's great that GoPro, a company with a huge advertising budget, chooses to promote their product while shedding light on important moral issues. Way to go, GoPro.