Author: haley montgomery

March 19, 2015 go

go . Cafe Keough

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Today I’m sharing one final post from our Valentine’s weekend trip to Memphis. I mentioned before that we were snowed in for a couple of extra days, which was actually tons of fun (and maybe a little nerve wracking for the Mommy). On Monday morning when we ventured out, our favorite pancake spot for breakfast, the Blue Plate Cafe, was closed for a snow day. That gave us the excuse to wander down Main Street a bit in the snow and ice in search of an alternative. We stopped into Cafe Keough, a corner coffee shop we had seen in our previous walks. It’s a wonderful old space with high ceilings, big windows and a great mix of history, industrial feel and urban vibe.

Part of the appeal was that the manager was shoveling off the iced sidewalk in front of the cafe when we walked up (bonus!). But, the pastry counter kind of sealed the deal. The kids enjoyed waffles with a side of oatmeal cookies, because that’s what you do on a snow day in Memphis, I guess. And, I couldn’t resist the chocolate croissants. We settled into a couple of the small cafe tables by the front windows and enjoyed our munchies with a great view of snow-covered downtown — a view I’m sure we won’t soon forget. Thanks for sharing the trip with us, and I can’t wait to try out some of the sandwiches at Cafe Keough the next time we are in town!

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March 18, 2015 free art + printables

make . Easter Egg Holders [printable]

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I’ve been getting into cute bunny mode this week since the kids helped me get down the box of our Easter decorations this weekend. I decided to use a couple of the bunnies from this year’s Easter gift tags (plus a few new watercolor illustrations) to create these printable egg holders. Baby Girl and I had a fun time making the samples! Just click the image below to download the printable. Print the designs onto cardstock, and cut along the dotted lines and around the illustrations. Then, cut the slits shown and thread together to create rings. These would probably be cute napkin rings for a little tea party as well! Enjoy!

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March 18, 2015 beautiful ordinary, morning letters

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Wise words this morning during practice.

Sometimes I get questions from folks about my art and design process. It varies for me, usually depending on the project, but it very often involves hand-crafted work, my scanner, and photoshop. I use the Morning Letters series truly as practice in lettering where I hone my craft in painting various typefaces I’ve seen or my own lettering style that seems to be rising to the surface among everything I’m doing. BUT, I always want to put pieces out on the blog and in social media that represent me and my work well. Sometimes meshing those two goals needs a little more help from the scanner… like today’s practice piece:

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That’s the original behind-the-scenes page where you’ll see that I mis-spelled “around” and generally missed the mark on that line of script lettering. Although perfection isn’t really my goal, I’ve learned that practice DOES at least help create a look I like better. So, my “tech” (as my kids’ Iron Man tv shows usually call it) helps me replace the goofs with the second effort I’m happier with! It’s all part of the process. In the words of my 8-year-old Bug, “if you make a mistake, just X it out and write it again.” More wise words.

March 16, 2015 go, my South

go . Walking in Memphis + Snow

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We were excited to visit Memphis again for Valentine’s Day last month, and I thought I would share a bit of our trip through pictures. We were there to see The Lion King at The Orpheum Theater for the Saturday matinee, and ended up with an extended vacation because of ice and snow! We went from shedding our coats during the walk on Saturday to throwing snow-turned-to-ice bombs at one another on Monday. It was a fun time for everyone to be snowed in for a few extra days. Plus, since we were staying away from the roads and some of our familiar haunts were closed, we had the chance to try some new things. All in all, it was a grand adventure which included the broadway show, Memphis BBQ, the National Civil Rights Museum, familiar walks in and out of snow, and some good togetherness. Here’s a look…

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[late afternoon trek back from the Orpheum]

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[doorway peek into Southern Folklore]

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[Memphis deliciousness from Central BBQ after our visit to the Lorraine Motel]

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We usually stay next to Court Square downtown when we visit Memphis, so these buildings are a familiar look up. The skies went from bright cobalt blue to pretty gray over the few days we were there.

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