Stillness

I love falling snow. I love the seemingly endless uncountable flakes, like stars. I love the quiet of it. There is a no more peaceful precipitation than snowfall. 


Junior year of High School, my little group of best friends and I went on a retreat with our church to the most beautiful cluster of cabins in the mountains I've ever seen. We would wake up early to breakfast and worship, talk all day, stay up late and repeat. And every day we were there, we were met by these huge quiet flakes falling. It's one of my favorite memories of us all together, before college in different states, and life in general would pluck us away from each other. I remember one night in particular, I left the laughter and plinking of an out of tune piano in a common room and went outside. I heard the heavy wooden door close and taper out all the noise and I was left alone there, with the falling snow.


I like to feel quiet and small once in a while.


I hope you have a beautiful day.
I hope you have a chance to sip your favorite coffee, and find meaning in poetry you never found before, and hold a warm hand to yours.


I wish you all the best,
Grace Elizabeth.

In Colorado,

Inappropriate footwear, a foot of snow overnight, a boy who scrapes off the sidewalk for you. 

For me, this is winter <3

(Look who got her camera working?? :D)

All the best and beautiful,

Grace Elizabeth.

Speaking of logos,

I finally finished my logo submission for Parley, the college's academic journal! :D

It's a pencil on one end, and a megaphone on the other to represent their theme, "The Power of Voice." I think I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! :)

This is what it has come to, blogging about logo designs -____- oh boy, hahah. Bear with me folks! And have a beautiful day.

All the best,

Grace Elizabeth.

A Confession

So amid the hurry and flurry and hustle and bustle of logo designing, house cleaning, bill paying, working and trying to stay sane, we made a big decision: we want a baby. :D It's a little scary to say that out loud. I've had this huge fear my whole life that for some reason I won't be able to have kids, so I don't want to jinx us further by talking about it. But here I am, talking about it. I want a little person with his eyes and my hair, his fingers and my elbow creases. We want a little thing to love and take care of. It's huge and scary, I realize. And I'm not promising I won't regret saying this later if we find out we can't even have kids, or if we can and its completely overwhelming. But we've got a good strong thing going, and a good strong God. 

I'm sure either way we'll be just fine <3 

Also, this song has been stuck on repeat in my head all day:

All the best, 

you lovely people,

Grace Elizabeth.

At long last, writing:

The coffee staining the edges of the mug in her hand is the same color as her eyes, and just as bitter.
Dark, reflective, caffeinating. She says her words with emphasis when she speaks.

"poignant." "exploitative." "sublime."

It was a peep show every time she opened her mouth, a quick little glimpse into the dark of her. There was nothing to really do except sit there across from her, and watch. Pretend earnestly to not be endlessly dull and maybe have some secrets of my own. But my sleeves hold no tricks. Nothing at all except a scratchy white washing instructions tag and my every effing emotion.

And I'm sure she's noticed, but she keeps talking.

"prerogative." "chagrin." "ruminate."

My foot taps the stool base with such ferocity that the bitter drinks on the table ripple- and my mind cuts to that scene in Jurassic Park. I saw it with my idiot cousin in middle school. Right when the bad guy gets eaten as gruesomely as PG13 movie standards would allow, he had the sudden inclination to wretch on my new white Chucks. I still remember that sharp rotten popcorn stick.

I notice now that she's stopped talking and I try to snap my face back into a normal expression. I glance up and catalog everything about her I can before she is done taking that sip. Her bleeding fingernails. Tiny wrists. Rosey red arm bumps.

And suddently, I want to scream.
"Run!", I want to say.

"Run. This life is not the one you want. The raptors are coming.
The effing t-rex and stegosauruses are on their way and they will devour you. And there will be nothing PG13 about it."

But I don't say that, or anything. I sit and I listen to her finish the story she's telling. Something about her mom collecting anthropomorphic vegetable figurines. I try to time my laugh with hers, but I can tell it was a little off. I watch as her eye corners crinkle up, and for just a moment, I think I see the surface of those dark roasted eyes ripple.

----------------------------------------------------

Coffee and dinos, what more could you want :)

Hope you've all been well readers, and had a lovely day of lovin'.

Ours was interrupted slightly by college classes and work, but we'll be sure to have a V-Day repeat this weekend. Speaking of school, it's been occupying a whole lot of my face, so I'm sorry about that. Blogging might be slightly more sparse for a little bit. Hope you guys can be patient with me. 

All the best!

Grace Elizabeth.

Same Old

Hey guys :) I haven't posted in a few days because not much has changed around here!
I'm still obsessing over Wuthering Heights:

I may have even bought an audiobook. Oh boy -____-

This is my favorite quote from it which I may need to get tattooed very soon XD:

Click img for source.

Still Loving my Keurig and hanging out in my spare room:

But I did finally get some new boots! Seen in this outfit from yesterday:

And a new insane cute backpack for school (cause I'm five):

It's from Target by the way. You know you want one :P

And just in time too! It snowed like, a few feet here haha. But it's pretty so that's okay :) I hope everyone has been well. And happy weekend!


All the best,
Grace Elizabeth.

Guest Post by Jess!

Earlier this week, Jess from Jess Buckley and I decided to do some sweet little interview type guest posts for one another's blog! She has a lovely blog full of gorgeous art, freebies, inspiration and fun updates from her life. Check it out! :D

What is your best thrift store score to date?
A vintage owl necklace that I got a few years back for a buck! I don't wear it that often, as it's kind of heavy, but I love it!

Where did the name Olivine Eyes come from?
It came from a friend that used to call me olive because my eyes are green. Olivine is also a mineral that's a pretty green color.


If you could only eat one cupcake flavor from the rest of your life, what would it be?
That's hard but I'd have to say chocolate cake with mint Oreo frosting.


If you could choose one fictional character to be your best friend, who would you choose?
I think Ron Weasley. He just seems like an awesome, loyal friend.


What are some advantages you've acquired through blogging?
I value my art and myself quite a bit more now, and it's changed how I see things. Now the mundane seems a bit more interesting. I've realized that nobody has the same blog or life as me, so something that could seem completely normal or boring in my life can be outrageous in someone else's. It's cool to read that kind of stuff from other people too.  


What is something you enjoy about raising horses?
How curious, sweet, and funny they can be. They're like big, fuzzy babies.

How did you first discover you wanted to be a graphic designer?
The first thing I can look back and remember was using some computer program similar to paint in 2nd grade, and I used it to change a cartoon strawberry from red to pink because I thought it looked better that way. 


What is the grossest thing in your refrigerator?
Squeezable garlic spread! It looks like mustard but it's not. I have no idea where it came from. 



You've recently been accepted to Radford University- what advice would you give to someone still in the application process? 
Take your time and don't put all your eggs in one basket. I got wait-listed by my first choice. Not getting in isn't the end of the world. 

What has been your favorite part of senior year so far?
How everyone is so much more laid back. The teachers aren't breathing down our necks anymore, we can get away with stuff, and there's a lot less stupid drama.


If you were a woodland creature, what would you be?
I would be a deer without a doubt. They're my favorite animal. My friend Katie actually has one as a pet. He gives the best kisses.

What is your favorite article of clothing and why?
I love dresses. They're just so easy and fun. I would wear a dress every day if I could.


Do you have any strong opinions on body art?
Nothing too strong :P I want a few tattoos myself. I guess my biggest thing about tattoos is that they should have some sort of meaning to the person. I'm not much of a piercing person because needles freak me out, but I have nothing against them.


What song can you not stay still to? 
Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye is one of my favorites lately.

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Thank you so much for the post, Jess! Feel free to check out my interview on her blog, Jess Buckley, too! :D


All the best,
Grace Elizabeth.

Living In Earnest

Phone cover art by the amazing and talented Teagan White.

So, I don't have much to say today so I thought I'd just give ya a little updated photo of my quickly growing out pixie cut (yes i'll get it trimmed soon!) and tell everybody what we've been up to:


Recently, I've been super obsessed with the amazing writing on Thought Catalog :a place for relevant and relatable non-fiction and thought. They featured a ton of super talented writers sharing their thoughts and stories about every subject you can imagine, and most all of them leave my face looking like this :O It's been a long time since I got a chance to read really beautiful writing from people in our age bracket. I can't recommend it enough, go check it out :) (This is one of my favorite posts!)


After reading Sarah O'Holla at Desirous Of Everything's various blog posts about the show Downton Abbey, I finally got around to looking it up on Netflix and WATCHING THE ENTIRE FIRST SEASON. Unfortunately its only 7 episodes right now, but holy wow I cannot wait for next season to come out. It's extremely interesting, has engaging characters, plot twists, historical events, and of course- drama! It keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat the whole time. I quickly fell in love with the characters and I can't wait to see what happens next! Be sure to check out the show if you have Netflix or PBS, and Sarah's blog where she was even featured in The New York Times for her Downton Abbey Season 2 Premier viewing party! :D


Once I was finished watching the whole season of Downton Abbey, Netflix recommended other PBS Masterpiece Classics, one of which I watched last night in it's entirety, Wuthering Heights. I cannot even explain to you how completely AMAZING and moving this two part series was!! I was a huge girl and cried multiples times. This adaptation of Emily Brontë 's scandalous novel does not disappoint, it is filled to the brim with romance, suspense, longing, drama, scandal, and love. It was beyond words fantastic. If you love the 1800's and forbidden love dramas, oh man -____- watch this. I also saw a listing for PBS Masterpiece Classics Sense and Sensibility so I'll give you a review of it as soon as I can! :D


In that same general historical love story token, I recently got a copy of Through A Glass Darkly for 2$ from an amazing new little used book store a block from my house! I'm only a little ways in, but the back blurb sounds amazing! "As opulent and passionate as the 18th century it celebrates.Through a glass darkly kill sweep you away to the splendors of a lost era. Like gone with the wind, it is rich with characters so vivid -- from aristocrats to scoundrels--they create their own immortality. Here is the story of a great family ruled by a dowager of extraordinary power: of a young woman seeking low in a world of English luxury and French intrigue" and of a man haunted by a secret that could turn all their dreams to ashes..." Uhm, yes! I can't wait :D


Also, I've been wanting to tell ya'll about and ammaazzzing organic food delivery service we've been using lately, Door-To-Door Organics. They deliver fresh organic produce straight to your door in varying sizes and prices weekly or bi-weekly and basically just saves you a ton of hassle! We love it. It's been a blast! We do the Bitty Box, so for only 25$ a week, we get enough fresh organic fruit and veggies to last us well into the next week. 

They also have a shop section where you can buy any other organic food you want basically. We usually get the free range chicken broth, and I can't resist their amazing fresh bakes breads. MMM. We use the broth to make varying veggie soup depending on which veggies we get. It usually consists of onions, carrots, celery and potatoes :)) So yummy! 

So if you live in or around the Colorado Springs area, be sure to check them out! If not, just Google produce home delivery, and I'm sure you can find someone who delivers to you! I've been working on becoming better at lady things like cooking and cleaning, haha >__< so I'm pretty proud of that soup. I also scored a new food processor and Kitchenaide mixer over Christmas so I'm really moving on up in my Suzy-Homemaker status :P 




(By the way, as I'm sure some will speculate, Door-To-Door Organics in no way sponsored this post or blog, I just really dig their service and felt like sharing :P If you're interested, all members get 5 invites a month they can send out, giving the person who receives it 50% off their first order. I'd love to share if you're interested :)

And just in case you're short on your cute quota today, here is our little sleepy ferret Milo getting a bath :D 

g'awww.

So what have you all been up to? I'd love to know :D

All the best,

Grace Elizabeth.