This morning I realized I was waking up to the first day of what will be a very hectic week. Needless to say, it was a bit of a struggle to pull myself our of bed. Luckily Miles was there to give me an encouraging lick in the face. I think he just wanted his morning treat, but still, there’s something so charming about having a cute little dog lick you awake. Anyhow, later this week I’ll be in NYC working on LAMA’s site redesign. Yup! LAMA is getting an overdue facelift and a whole new look! I am thrilled and a little terrified all at once, but I’m excited to see what we come up with. Aside from that, I have about a million and a half tasks to get done prior to and during my time in New York, which led me to today’s Monday Motivation poster by artist Chris Piascik.

While it might not seem like the most motivating message, I actually love that at this point, I have so many ideas floating around in my head and so many things I want to get done, that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I’m thrilled about the creative explosion that’s going on inside my head.

On an unrelated (well, somewhat related) note, I was going through Chris Piascik’s site and I came across a very cool Monday project he likes to do. Every week, Aaron Cohen writes a recap of Mad Men for his blog Unlikely Words, and Chris illustrates something from that episode to go with it. As someone who spends lunchtime on Mondays discussing (in incredible detail) Sunday night’s Mad Men episode, I got this biggest kick out of this. These are some of my favorite illustrated words from this season. I can’t wait to keep checking back every Monday.

Have a great week!

Recently I’ve been on the hunt for cute new products to fill the LAMA shop with. In my search I came across these adorable laptop cases by “diseñadora estrella” (design star) Laura Mendanha, better known as Lala. Polka dots, stripes, and a charming llama illustration?! I’m kind of in love. What do you think? A new LAMA product? Let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Friday! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

There’s nothing I love more than a great fiesta. Since moving into a much larger apartment, my fiance and I have thrown quite a few. I just love gathering together with good friends, food, and music. It’s truly the best way to spend a day or night. This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot as I prepare to plan the biggest fiesta of my life, my wedding! With party planning on my mind, I’ve decided to start a new segment here at the LAMA blog called “Fiestas.” There are so many gorgeous and inspirational Latin themed parties floating around out there that I thought it would be fun to share my favorites here. The first is an adorable DIY Papel Picado invitation I came across on one of my favorite wedding blogs, Once Wed.

These invitations were created for a rehearsal dinner but can easily be used for any fiesta you’re planning on throwing. Click here for full instructions on how to create your own Papel Picado invite banners. I just adore this spectacular (and simple) idea!

I love watching the process of how things are made. It’s so cool to see how ideas go from simple sketches to an actual product. That’s why I was particularly excited to come across artist Ana Laura Perez’s sketches of patterns she designed for one of my favorite Buenos Aires clothing companies Pesqueira. I love the way Ana’s sweet and romantic illustrations and Pesqueira’s fun and adorable clothing design came together to create a truly unique product. Aren’t artist collaborations wonderful? I guess two heads really are better than one.

One of my fondest memories of my time spent in Ecuador was the experience I had with the food. Some of it brought back childhood memories of the staple Ecuadorian dishes my mom would make from time to time, but most of it was a brand new experience of eating fruits and dishes I had never seen before. I remember telling my mother on my first phone call home that I was truly made to eat Ecuadorian food. I had no idea I was in for the type of unique culinary experience I had. I was overjoyed last night when my fiance came across Laylita’s recipes, an Ecudorian food blog! Going through recipe after recipe turned out to be quite an emotional experience as it brought back a flood of wonderful memories. It’s amazing how food can evoke such strong emotions. I knew I absolutely had to share Laylita’s beautiful blog here today.

Beyond the incredible and authentic Ecuadorian recipes, Laylita includes easy to follow instructions and gorgeous photos of the dishes she creates. Above is a popular staple dish called Menestra de Porotos, though I grew up with a very similar version called Menestra de Lentejas. She also talks about her culinary vacations through cities like Quito and shares her photos of Ecuador to give readers an idea of the atmosphere her food comes from.

If you’ve ever been curious about Ecuadorian cuisine (or are now), I highly recommend checking out Laylita’s blog. This weekend I’ll be cooking up some of my favorite dishes for sure! In fact, I might even be brave enough to share some photos of my own Ecuadorian culinary adventure. High on my list is this dessert recipe for Dulce de Higo con Queso (fig preserves in syrup with cheese). It’s a three day process but SO worth it!

Worries?

Not today. Happy Labor Day! I’m OUT!!

**via**

This has been a bit of a dog week for me so I decided to end the week by sharing a couple of ridiculous llama themed dog shirts I came across. The selection of llama dog tees over at cafe press was unusually large considering how random of an item a llama dog tee is. The two below are my favorites (and both were made in the USA in case you didn’t notice).

I’m giving a slight edge to “Save the Drama for Yo’ Llama.” Be sure to check out cafe press for all of your llama tee needs. Moving on to my favorite part of this Friday’s post, last night my fiance came across the incredible video below via his favorite blog The Awesomer (where you can find all things awesome). After we spent 10 minutes laughing hysterically, I knew I would have to share it here today. I bring you Dancing Merengue Dog, the hottest dog in Latin America! And yes, it’s AWESOME.

Sometimes, when you’ve been working on the same project for several years, it gets a little.. well.. maddening! At least, that’s what started to happen for me. I think anyone with a creative side needs to take on half a dozen projects at the same time to satisfy whatever it is that makes them nuts when they’re not being creative. At least, that’s my theory. This has been a very interesting summer for me. I have found my way and lost my way about eight times. I have thought about where to take myself and my career until I thought my head was going to explode. I have walked around aimlessly searching for answers. The funny thing was, the answer was so painfully simple: do more of what you like! Then I thought, “okay, so what are a few of my favorite things?” 1. Searching for great products. 2. Writing about them and sharing them with others. 3. Design blogs. 4. Dogs! That short list led me to my newest undertaking; a contributing editor for one of my very favorite design blogs Dog-Milk!

What’s really cool about this (besides everything!) is that I get to be a part of a design blog that I love doing work that is just fun for me. Dog-Milk is the sister site of Jaime Derringer’s very successful Design-Milk blog. Design-Milk is one of the first design blogs I started reading years back when I was fresh out of art school and looking for some inspiration. I’m so excited to be contributing posts her way at this point in my life. Speaking of posts, my first one went live yesterday! Based on the incredibly cute and hilarious Hipster Puppies blog, I decided to do a roundup of great products to help your pup get this of-the-moment look. Go check it out!

The best part about this, is now that I have something new to focus some of my energy on, it has really inspired me to get back on track and move into a cool new direction with LAMA. It is a direction that is right for me and hopefully for everyone involved. I’m looking forward to sharing what that is soon. So, to wrap up, I guess the biggest lesson I’ve learned this summer is to decide what you want to do, and then be the person who does it.

Graphic designer and photographer Albano Garcia enjoys documenting his city, Buenos Aires, the way he experiences it on a daily basis. His photography doesn’t capture the romantic tango dancers and vibrant street musicians we are accustomed to seeing, but rather, it captures the grittiness of city life and the unseen streets off the tourist path. Six years ago, Albano started a photo-blog entitled Flaneur. In his words, “Flaneur is a french term that refers to a man who flows thru the city, letting himself go, with no hurry, finding the unexpected; a call to serendipity. And precisely this is the subject of these photos, this project is focused in portraying Buenos Aires, my own Buenos Aires, mixed from time to time with towns and cities from other latitudes.” His incredibly successful photo-blog has since been turned into a beautiful book by the same title. Below are some of my favorite shots. Enjoy!

To view more of Albano Garcia’s work, visit his website here.