My dear friend Jamie and I planned a little day trip to a super cool North Carolina city that's quickly growing in hip-ness and population: Durham! Jamie relocated there a few months ago and is killin' it as a graphic designer and illustrator. I'm so amazed by Jamie's talent, but even more by her kind spirit and heart for people. She is just the best. You can take a look at her work on her website and Instagram. We took our sketchbooks around the city, coming up with our own illustrative interpretations of random lil' things- salt and pepper shakers at Parker & Otis and coffee cups at Cocoa & Cinnamon, flowers at Duke Gardens, etc. etc. I brought my Posca paint pens and Jamie brought her watercolors and that was sufficient for a day of memory-makin. Perfect! Scroll down for some inspo-foo.
So yes- there is plennnnnty of inspiration to be found around the Bull City- we found it downtown in the 21C Museum Hotel, in the teeny cafes we visited, and even from the funky lil orange and white and yellow and black koi fish at the Duke Gardens. Some photos of those guys are below. And these plants had this overcast-day moody glow (not really a glow- actually the opposite of one, but yknow) that did a number on ma' heart. Look at how pretty they are! We then sat down for dinner at this AMAZING Chinese restaurant where, much to my delight, I was served up some more INSPO with my spring rolls. Since I only ordered an appetizer (if you know, you know) I can't actually speak for the food much, but the DECOR Y'ALL! All you need to see are these turquoise tables with matching blinds. Some may say "Juliet! That turquoise is straight outta the 80s!" but I say, "I didn't live then so I dig it." At my parents' house we had turquoise and peach tile for a while, though, which I'll admit was pretty dated-looking. Something about seeing patterned blinds for the first time made me feel justified in loving this vibe here. I say it's a winner :-)
