Lettering Love: Nothing More Truly Artistic

Hand-lettered on Clairefontaine paper with the Hourglass Oblique Pen Holder, the Brause EF66 nib, and sumi ink, then scanned

There has been a lot of lettering going on at my house in the evenings these days! It's been about ten months since I began learning calligraphy (you can see my progress in my Instagram feed), so I thought I'd share some of what I've been working on lately. Don't worry--outfit posts are certainly not going away! I am planning and plotting to move my lettering work to a new blog eventually, but I'd love to share some pretty quotes and inspiration here with you in the meantime, sprinkled in with lots of outfit.

In this someday-lettering-blog, I plan on doing some tutorials and lists of resources, but for now, I'll include a list of the supplies I used to create a particular piece of lettering when I post it. My number one piece of advice: step away from your local Michaels and order the good stuff online.

Here are my current favorite suppliers:

Paper& Ink Arts
Dick Blick Art Supplies
John Neal Books
Paper Source

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Dot-Dot-Dot

Dress: Anthropologie (no longer available, similar here) | Turtleneck: H&M (similar here | Tights: H&M c/o | Sunglasses: Valentino | Shoes: L.K. Bennett | Clutch: Jimmy Choo | Necklace: Ann Taylor | Bracelets: David Yurman, Swarovski, J.Crew | Watch: Michele

It was nice to take a break from work this weekend and catch up with the blog a little. January has been pretty brutal at work after the holiday lull, so there hasn't been much time to wear anything but suits all day and flannel pajamas when I finally get home at night. I'm excited to have a few posts to share with you this week, though!

One of my favorite purchases this winter has been my plain black turtleneck. It's comfy, cozy, flattering, and perfect for layering to make more summery dresses winter-friendly. The Anthropologie dress I'm wearing here is pretty lightweight, but adding tights and a sweater underneath makes it a three- or four-season piece. I could also see wearing it to work like this if I worked in a more casual environment.

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

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Weekend Wear: Cargos & Manolos

Jacket: ZARA (old, great petite-friendly option here) | Shirt: J.Crew (similar here) | Pants: American Eagle (love these from J Brand--on sale here if you're my size) | Sunglasses: Valentino | Shoes: Manolo Blahnik | Bag: 3.1 phillip lim, available at Barney's or Otte NY (read my review) | Necklace: J.Crew Factory | Bracelets: David Yurman, Tiffany | Watch: Michele

It was an absolutely gorgeous holiday weekend in Colorado, so I decided to ditch my usual boots-and-wool-coat combo for some pretty pumps and my favorite leather jacket when I headed out to brunch (for any Denverites wondering, I went to this lovely place). Hope all of you got to enjoy a long weekend and some warm temperatures, too!

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Tweed & Jeans

Jacket: LOFT | Blouse: Urban Outfitters (last seen here) | Jeans: Paige | Shoes: L.K. Bennett | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Bag: kate spade new york | Necklaces: Ann Taylor, Brian Gavin | Bracelets: David Yurman, Tiffany | Watch: Michele

I happened upon this great sweater-jacket at LOFT recently, and loved how it had the structured look of a blazer, but the softness and comfort of a sweater. It has been easy to style for work or more casually, as I have here.

I like that I've been seeing more bootcut jeans around after having all-skinnies-all-the-time for the last few years. I pulled these Paige jeans out of my closet and decided they paired well with the tweed jacket. The style I'm wearing is the Laurel Canyon, which is still available and is a great fit for petite, slim-hipped ladies. The sizing runs relatively small, and the low rise ensures that the waistband fits snugly and doesn't gap. Although I generally wear a 23 in denim, I wear a 24 in this style.

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Layers upon Layers

Coat: J.Crew (temporarily out-of-stock, but love this classic peacoat too) | Top: Limited | Jeans: J.Brand | Scarf: H&M | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Bag: 3.1 phillip lim, available at Barney's or Otte NY (read my review) | Socks: Nordstrom (no longer available, but I have my eye on these & these) | Boots: Frye Melissa Button (read my review) | Bracelets: David Yurman, Tiffany | Watch: Michele

Last week's warm weather quickly fizzled here in Denver, and it got very, very cold over the weekend (as it did in most of the country, it seems!). When it's this chilly, I love layering nice, thick over-the-knee socks over thin socks and skinny jeans to keep my legs toasty. A big, soft scarf also helps keep the chill at bay. Hope you're all staying warm!

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