I’ve been putting off blogging these images of my Merl. Merlin is a Schipperke/Pomeranian mix (and I totally made that Schipperanian thing up, though I think they should make that the official name!), and he is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. We adopted him from the Wichita Humane Society back in October, but we thought we’d give him a bit of a trial run before making this his permanent home. See, Baxter isn’t a big fan of other dogs. Or animals. Or small children. Or anyone or anything that doesn’t look just like me, really. Baxter is not exactly the most accepting of dogs, so we knew that adding another dog to our home may not go over so well with him. And let’s face it; he’s our first baby, so grouchy as he may be, he gets his way.

We thought it might get better as time went on, and it definitely did. If by “better,” you mean that Baxter no longer goes into attack mode when in the same room as Merlin. I’d say he’s improved to a point of reluctant tolerance and general disdain. Quite an improvement, considering where he started. Though he still objects when Merlin accidentally brushes against him and he still steals any treat that Merlin gets, I think he secretly enjoys the company. His tail gives him away.

Merlin had his first photo shoot back in November, and he’s quite a photogenic fellow. Just one of the many adorable things about him!

If you make a high-pitched sound, he does this really cute thing where he’ll tilt his head from side to side.

And finally, a little black on black in my office:

The last few years of my college life were a little monotonous. Who knows; maybe that’s why it started.
VisComm, as we referred to my design degree program, was pretty much wake up, go to design classes, work on design projects for hours on end, go to bed. Repeat, with a few yoga classes sprinkled throughout.

But retrieving that magical stack of promise from my mailbox every night truly brightened each day. The excitement of the unknown, envelopes of all shapes and sizes with my own name on them. This was undoubtedly one of the many things that my roommate Anna found quite odd about me, but she graciously let me have my fun.
Of course, the majority of my mail consisted of bills (no fun) and bank statements (equally un-fun thanks to all those bills),  but there were always a few fun surprises in the stack as well. An US Weekly, a BCBG mailer, an Anthropologie catalog. These were my daily presents delivered straight to my door.

Today, I occasionally get something even more exciting in the mail. Sometimes it’s a box of gorgeous mounted prints or a huge canvas for a client. This past week, it was my favorite postal gift of all: a beautiful, handcrafted flushmount album.
I loved Becky and Mike’s album so much that I’m ordering a second copy with a funky textured leather cover as a studio sample. I’ll be counting down the days til that one arrives on my doorstep…

There is so much to love about Cocoa Dolce, it’s hard to even wrap my mind around it all. The artisan chocolate shop at Bradley Fair not only creates mouthwateringly decadent little cocoa creations, it also has a selection of wine, beers, and champagne to pair with their chocolates. What’s not to love?

I recently spent an afternoon working there from my laptop, and as I devoured my champagne truffles (my absolute favorite), I began to notice layer upon layer of branding incorporated  into the decor of the shop. The colors, the furniture, even the rusty orange stripes in the ladies’ bathroom integrate seamlessly into the shop’s identity.

As if all that weren’t enough, their packaging is just to die for. I love how substantial the boxes feel, and the ribbon and wax seal add the perfect finishing touch.

Anyway, I’m hoping that if I stare at photos of the truffles long enough, I’ll overcome my urge to eat 50 of them every day. So far, it’s not working!

Happy Tuesday, all!