011/The boys of summer.

As soon as Gloom June passes, summer will officially begin. 

Tan lines here I come.

010//Color Consultant & Designer.

Today was spent photographing the lovely Philippa Radon. She is awfully camera shy, so I had to keep the conversation flowing by asking her how she met her handsome husband. I am rather proud in my photography skills today. I love taking pictures but I am far from calling myself a ‘photographer.’ Practice makes perfect, I suppose.

BTW, The National Spelling Bee….amazing. Those kids can seriously bring it. I think I would be so nervous I probably would misspell my own name. In other news, Im actually looking forward to the weekend. I will be attending Upright Citizens Brigade Theater for some improv comedy. If you live in the Los Angeles area, check out their website. Tickets cost $5 for weekday shows and $8 for weekend shows &&& you can bring your own drinks (wine) and food.

http://losangeles.ucbtheatre.com/shows/1687

Happy weekend everyone!

009//I have mastered the disappearing act!

AHH! HELLO. Happy {belated} memorial day. As you can see from above images, I spent mine brunching, mani & pedding (is that a word) & working.

A lot of new projects, aside from the daily grind of my 8-5, are coming my way. I have taken on some new clients including a top Color Consultant & Designer from London who needs me to create an entire branding identity kit {logo, business cards, & stationary.} I am very excited to be working with her. She is a very sweet woman, I think she got me with her accent itself. Aside from her identity kit, I will be working on her blog & website. She worked with clients such as Madonna and Jennifer Aniston. She even did all the art murals inside of Caesar Palace in Las Vegas. Here is a short bio I will be including on her ABOUT page.

“I live in a small rural community an hour plus North from Los Angeles. A hidden pocket of farmland and open space, that took my husband Peter and I, 2 years to find. Our property was a chicken farm in the early 50’s, but we just raise a handful of chickens now, our Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds – which provide us and clients with the best eggs, plus a constant circle of wild life we rescue and our german sheperd. Having been raised in the English country side, I find my mind and soul still yerns for the peace and beauty of open space land and sky at the end of each day – Its a balancing act which I have mastered well, being an early to bed early to rise kind of girl – I hit the road by 5.00 am most days and watch the local cows file out, the meadow larks swoop and chime as the sun rise in my rear view mirror. The drive is a daily communion with nature, from which so much of what I do professionally comes. As an established color consultant for both residential and commercial projects – I always observing, always aware of my surroundings. I see color first, then my mind translates to what the object is. For all of us color is something completely familar, that we take for granted, and because we have learned what we know almost by osmosis, we don’t actually know color or have a relationship with it. So if you are interested in color or need to use color somehow in your home – this blog should be useful. As color, much like ourselves, is all part of a bigger story about relationships and the development and connections these form for us.”

Ahh, its like im right there with her and her chickens! Wonderful writer.

Needless to say, I am very busy and blessed to be learning and growing so much in my career as a designer. New photos of the studio to come, I promise…

♥ Cristina Francisca

008//Greetings from the studio.

Hello! Things are a bit slow today. I am going through fabric swatches we received for our quilt collection. If your into quilts let me know, these patterns are delicate yet fun! The process is a bit tedious since I have to match up pantone colors in Photoshop and Illustrator until all the pieces look uniform.

Keeping me going, Starbucks green tea and my all time favorite….RICE KRISPIES!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend & a very happy Mothers Day!

♥ Cristina Francisca

007//Studio Renovations Part 1

Got around to posting the renovation pictures before the weekend. WOO HOO! Cant wait to show you part 2.

♥ Cristina Francisca

006//A glimpse inside the studio.

Just wanted to share the reason for my lack of updates. These pictures display the inspiration I am surrounded with everyday when I get to work. This interior design studio is where I have been spending most of my time.

I just finished my first interior design project, featuring Maria Shriver’s daughter Christina Shriver. She is going away to college next year so we decided to come in and add some spice to her room. I will post the finished inspiration boards sometime this weekend. We are going through a couple renovations at the studio so I will definitely make a post with before and afters for all of you to enjoy!!

 

♥ Cristina Francisca

005//A day in the life of a publicist & a designer.

Well hello there. I have been really really bad at keeping up with the blog world. This has been due in part to something I like to call a full time job. I dont know how other people juggle both, but apparently its possible!

Anywho, I know your all just dying to know details about this new ‘dream job.’ I don’t want to share all information due to security reasons, BUT I will say that I have been hired as the full time in house designer for an Interior Design Studio. Some of our clients include Marcia Cross (red head from Desperate Housewives) Minnie Driver and even Arnold..yes the governor. My job entails a whole lot of responsibility and enslavement to my work. The perks, I FINALLY get to combine my passion for graphic design with my passions for interior and fashion design! I am even in charge of their blog, which I may share with some of you later on.

In celebration of landing this job, me and my other half (the publicist) decided to pamper ourselves at Saints Salon. They closed down the place just for us and we popped a bottle of champagne. At one point there were about 15 people gathered in the front window trying to peek in to find out who exactly was getting their hair done at 9pm on a Friday night. Needless to say, it was as close as I have ever come to feeling like a celebrity.

And what is with this weather, from sunburns to cold winds….you got to love the unpredictability. I don’t really trust Dallas Raines.

♥ Cristina Francisca

004//Its the simple things in life…

Laughing Cow & Cucumbers with salt, Godiva Chocolates from a boy(!!!) Jimmy Chooooos & pretty necklaces on vintage mirrors and a refreshing old sko’ Pepsi are just a couple things that made my day today!

As well as the fact that I landed my dream job….more on that tmr. Im starting to see sheep jumping over fences or whatever it is they jump over…

♥ Cristina Francisca

003//Easter Sushi

Happy, not so happy Monday! Hope you all had a fantastic Easter. I spent mine in a 3hr yoga class, tanning at the beach and eating at my new favorite sushi restaurant SAKETINI. This place is truly a neighborhood gem. They offer a mix of japanese and korean cuisine and $10 lunch and dinner specials. I ALWAYS get the Roll Mania (18 pieces of sushi/10 bucks) and although cheap sushi may be questionable the freshness is evident in every bite. Also, it’s owned by this very attractive asian God Sung Kang. He played Hun in the 2002 movie, Better Luck Tomorrow. So, if your ever in Brentwood do stop by, its delicioso!

Btw, how cute is my roommates new tattoo? The three hearts stand for the love she has for her family, friends, and herself. Jealous!

002//DIY Whole Wheat Pancakes

Saturday Mornings are typically best for eating pancakes, especially if you need to build up strength for some afternoon shopping.

Whole Wheat Pancakes
2 cups of whole wheat flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1-1/2-2 cups of milk
3-4 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
5 tbsp oil

Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl, and all wet ingredients in another.
Combine both and whisk, whisk, whisk until the batter is nice and fluffy.
Pour into pan, flip over (this is the part where I add some bananas) and serve!