44 | Palindromes are Good Luck

Today, I was told that palindromes were good luck. I'd like to think this is true since during my palindrome age, there have been some nice celebrations and surprises... like: getting a job! graduating! and defining love, friendship, and family in entirely different ways.

speaking of friendship, here is a recent set of stationery I designed for a guy, and his best mate:

| TOM & WILL correspondence letters . designed 06.2010 |

and what's an envelopes' best mate? a liner, of course.

| TOM . lined envelope stationery set . designed 06.2010 |

In between paper and design projects, L&A has had plenty of time for culinary exploits to prepare herself for apartment living in a month or so...

| wannabe ^ chef |

some keepers

| GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE CITRUS CAKE |

take your favorite gluten free muffin recipe (i love this one!) replace any fruity ingredients with fresh raspberries, dark chocolate, and a cup of orange juice with some orange zest... and you have yourself a delicious any-time-of-day treat!

| FARMERS MARKET ARUGULA SALAD |

Arugula and Spinach make a great green couple - the butteriness of the spinach is the perfect complement to the spicy bite of the arugula. Paired with some avocado, roma tomatoes, and fresh squeezed lemon + 1/2 cup of olive oil.. and you have yourself an easy, and delicious summer salad!

and when you're done with this gluten-free, farmer's market fresh business... head to FREEBIRDS in Santa Barbara for some custom-made nachos.

{ and as everyone knows...LOTUS&ASH loves speaking the custom-made language. }

| FREEBIRDS NACHOS |

15 | Favorite Things

| SUMMER on SKYLINE with a BIANCHINI'S PICNIC 07.2008 |

Summer has proven to be productive and relaxing - and, incredibly enjoyed with a few of my favorite things. Though time spent on Skyline, picnics, visiting San Francisco (the city I LOVE), and cooking pizzas in backyard ovens have cut into time in the LOTUS & ASH office, they are all well, well worth it.

The past few weeks have included designs for new LOTUS & ASH letterhead and proof and order forms, in support for launching a more online-based ordering system.

But good ol' favorite paper fun did not stop with these administrative improvements. L&A celebrated a best friend's birthday with a handmade and custom designed guide for Fine Living at Twenty. Always a fan of Moleskin notebooks, they serve as great canvases to make whatever journal one can imagine.

And, after a long time in the making, a sweet greeting card made its debut. Quoting a favorite STARS song, it can be reproduced in any size.  Sometimes, though, the smaller, the more easily tucked away and re-read. And that's the point of this whole stationery thing anyway, right?

Time working on L&A has been divided betweensailing in the bay and working on B I N A R Y P R E S S

Indeed, things are busy. But they are being thoroughly enjoyed.

| FOGGY GOLDEN GATE 07.2008 |

14 | A LOTUS&ASH SUMMER

it's a lotus & ash kind of summer

before lotus&ash transplants itself to oxford for ten weeks this autumn, it needs to soak up all the northern california sunshine and air it can in the meantime.

the summer provides for perfectly-lit afternoons to have a paper & grass photoshoot, new and bright designs, and plenty of time spent in the new lotus&ash office.

plenty of time, eh? indeed. this summer, lotus & ash will be introducing new paper designs, and experimenting in web design with a revamped website.

also, i will be producing a cross-media project for the stanford cantor arts museum, provided for by the ASSU. BINARY PRESS will give me the opportunity to learn the craft of letterpress at the center for the book in san francisco, as well as develop my web skills further with a web documentation of my project's progress.

this summer will definitely busy with so many design pursuits and explorations! but, there will also be plenty of time for relaxation, reading, visiting farmer's markets, and cooking -- everything that a summer should be defined by.

| FRESHLY CAUGHT TROUT with FARMER'S MARKET ASPARAGUS cooked 06.2008 |

stay tuned.

| ALL PHOTOS by LOTUS & ASH 06.2008 |