I hold my friends responsible

Everyone goes through awkward stages, but these pictures are all haircuts I've had in the past 3 years.

Brand Poster Contest...kinda

I love brands and logos which is why I think this poster is incredible!

If you can guys all the logos represented on this alphabet poster, I'll include you on a post and write about the history of our friendship, how we met, what I like about you...basically I'll dote on you in an upcoming

Good luck!

On the hunt!

As I've decided to lay down some roots in Orange County I've started looking at buying some property. It's been a little disheartening. This is how far my money goes here.






For the same money, I could move to Pearlman, TX and get this


Or Oswego, IL


Daphne, AL, perhaps


Or Foot Hood, TX


But when it comes down to it, there is nowhere else I would rather live than here. Even if I have to trade a circle drive for a rickety carport or a backyard for a community patio, this is where my life is and where I am happiest.

Halloweentime

If you live in SoCal and weren't able to make it to Disneyland to hear Tim Davis sing the Halloween song for the fireworks show, here it is.

Property Search

I'm currently beginning to look into buying property in Orange County. This is a very tricky process when you compare my salary to the salary of most OC residents, but nonetheless, there are 4 or 5 properties that are in my price range.

Ever since moving here 3 years ago I have come to realize that this is probably my home. I have no desire to move anywhere else. BUT, if I had to move it would be to New York City. This is my favorite place in the United States. I love the busyness. I love the extreme seasons, I love the diversity and energy. All around, it's my favorite place to visit. So if I ever had up and move there I wanted to be prepared.

I ran across this property in Brooklyn that I think would fit my taste quite nicely. I'd have to cut back on my Chick fil a spending and possibly go without cable for a while to save up enough money to buy this place, but let me tell you, it would totally be worth it.











It just costs a cool $25 million. Anyone want to go halfsies?

I can't wait to have kids...

Recent Work

I rarely post design projects that I work on. I don't know why. I think I might start doing that more often.

I had the privilege to get to design the marketing brochure for the Doug Fields' Live Curriculum from Group/Simply Youth Ministry (the publishing co. I work for). It's such a great resource for youth pastors and small church pastors. I was actually stoked on the way the brochure turned out. I liked working with the creators of the curriculum and fellow designers on this piece. I love the collaboration of design. Yeah, revision after revision can suck sometimes, but when you get to hold the final piece in your hands it's all so worth it. I love what I do.

Camping

So this summer I went camping in Big Bear with a few of my best friends.



I like camping. I don't love it. On a scale from 1-10 it's about a 6. I mean, really, there's nothing better than a perfectly grilled steak, but I prefer it prepared at Ruth's Chris with a glass of wine. And I have all the rugged Patagonia and North Face gear, but, I'll be honest, it usually only gets worn when the marine layer hasn't burned off in the morning or it's a chilly evening at Disneyland.

This weekend was a blast though. The weather was perfect. We had absolutely nothing planned. We sat around all day and ate, talked, laughed, read and slept. I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing weekend. I love these guys.

Coworkers

So, I this month marked my one-year anniversary working for Group/Simply Youth Ministry. I love my job even more than when I started which, I think, is pretty rare. Usually, stuff starts to suck after a while, but this has been different. I really, really love it.

I get to design book covers, web sites, brochures, catalogs, pretty much anything.

One bummer thing is that I don't get to work with the other designers on a daily basis. Granted, we are on Skype all day talking about about things like How to Teach Your Infant to Swim (I mean really. The child looks comatose and the mom keeps flipping him and dropping him underwater. This is far worse than spanking.) in between meetings, so most of the time it feels like they are a desk away. Anyway, every few months I'll fly out to Colorado for a few days for a design-binge with Veronica and Storm. That's the best.

My Condo. My Project.

If I wasn't a graphic designer I would be a furniture designer...or a plastic surgeon, but that's just way too much school. So, I'll stick with furniture designer as my runner-up career choice.

It's tricky making my little condo in Lake Forest cool..but here's a look into my condo and how I've attempted to cool it up on a limited budget and limited space.

I bought this old carpenter table at a local consignment store. I've seen tables like this go for almost 5x what I paid for it. Makes for a really unique wine table.



I found these glass window tile things at a liquidators store back in Texas for like $10. So I drilled some shelf hinges on the wall and they make for some some cool, modern shelves. Easy and cheap.



I saw a buddy of mind do this in his office (Thanks, Ty) I tracked down some vintage marquee letters, nailed some picture hanging wire and PRESTO, a cool wall hanging. The letters (which I have about 500 of...way more than I needed) cost about $60 on ebay and the nails and wire weren't more than $7 at Home Depot. This whole wall was done in under 20 minutes. So fast and easy.



Lastly, I ran across this awesome truck tarp table/ottoman at Anthropologie at the Spectrum. It's was too cool to pass up. It was a bit of a splurge, but very cool nonetheless. I mean, come on, how often do you find a table/ottoman made out of old Brazilian truck tarps? Almost never.



So, that's some of the stuff I have done to my condo to make it more cool. If I think of anything else that creative or interesting I'll post it. That's all for now.

the 4th

The 4th is one of my favorite holidays. Since I've moved to California I have always had memorable 4th of Julies...Julys?...I have no idea how to spell the plural form of July. Anyway, you get it.

This year was no different.

My top 5 things from this 4th are as follows:

• the sound effects game - try imitating a bunny being attacked by a coyote
• lighting non-dairy creamer-filled balloons on fire - disappointing results
• the Mission Viejo fireworks - beware of the faux finale
• Brian shooting potato salad out of confetti poppers
• my friends

Uppercase Magazine

If you are into design or just like looking at great design, I would highly recommend checking this magazine out. Give the website a look to see if it's a fit for you.

Looking for something to get me?

If you want to get me something you can get me these. They are a mere $145 per letter.





Price for my whole name (RILEY): $1045.00 + shipping
Price for my initials (RSH): $435.00 + shipping

You can expect a handwritten thank you note.

Ha.

Riley needs...

So, I'm taking a break from working on a few freelance projects to have a little fun.

I googled "Riley needs" and these were the first 10 things that came up that made sense. Try it with your name! It's a hoot.

Here's mine...

Riley needs to recruit bigger, faster athletes to hang with the Ducks.
[Ok, cool. I'd like to hang with the Ducks]

Riley needs to fire himself. Again.
[Not in this economy!]

Riley needs a forever home!
[I think I've found that in California]

Riley needs help
[Indeed. Professional.]

Riley has Heterotaxi Syndrome and he needs an Extreme Home Makeover.
[Driver, move that bus!]

Riley needs financial help again.
[If I fire myself again, I will indeed need some financial help.]

Riley needs a friend!!
[Preferably one who enjoys cooking healthy food.]

Riley needs a trampoline.
[...under my balcony. That would be awesome.]

Riley needs to take some posture lessons
[Give me a break. I'm 6'4". I have to duck everywhere!]

Riley needs some fangirling.
[If fangirling leads to a date, then, yes, I need some fangirling.]

Top 9 So Far in 09

Every now and then I like to post my top 10 favorite brands, products, services, etc at the moment. Here is is my favorite things right now.


• Mamma's Boys on NBC
What's better than 32 girls living with 3 moms of 3 bachelors? Well, seeing everyone fight! The fights between the moms and sons are great...the fights between the moms and girls are even better! Go to the Mamma's Boys site.


• Bohnanza Bean Game
This is my favorite game at the moment. You plant, harvest and trade little cartoon beans. You can't buy it many stores. You'll probably have to go online. But it worth it. Check out the Bohnanza.


• Jon McLaughlin
Just a really great record. A little poppy, but not too much that it's annoying. Preview him on his MySpace.


• Stuff White People Like
Organic foods, studying abroad, Apple products, Barack Obama...all things white people love. You'll find yourself laughing at how on-the-nose this book is. Check out the author's blog.


• Los Primos Mexican Food restaurant
It's a Mexican food restaurant in a Foothill Ranch gas station with amazing burritos (breakfast burritos in particular). Here is the location of Los Primos.


• Cetaphil
the cheapest, best face wash. You can get it on the bottom shelf of any grocery store. Learn more.


• Kuler.adobe.com
This one is for the designers out there. This site suggests color palettes for a project. It gives you the RGB and CMYK colors. Just play around on it. It's my top design resource site right now.


• Amazon iphone application
I did 90% of my Christmas shopping on my iPhone. You take a picture of something and Amazon tells you how much they sell it for. Learn more about Amazon for iPhone here.


• Penguin clothing
my grandpa wore these shirts. I love them now. Their website is hideous but you can check out what they sell.