Full

There are only five pages left in my Smash Book (challenge no. 26), which is good because it weighs twenty-three pounds and is close to exploding. In ten days I will be crossing this one off the list, along with twenty-eight others (one challenge, my short film, will be left incomplete but that's only because I want to do it right and by right I mean perfect and by perfect I mean award-winning and by award-winning I mean I want to shake hands with Martin Scorsese as he offers me a feature deal). So I get a 97 on the final exam.

Important Smash Book Entry

Congratulations, Mr. President.

Monster Smash

My Smash Book (challenge no. 26) is close to bursting. With only a few pages left to fill, it's crazy to look back at all the bits and pieces that landed a coveted gluey spot. Here are my latest:

Storm gloom + Hurricat + our marionette costumes.

Photo from Wicker Park, Chicago + some textural framing.

Squirrels go to Chicago for a week, then San Francisco.

Card from the Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

And also, just because, here are some haunting phone shots I took earlier today after venturing out into the city. Happy Halloween:

Subway stairs to nowhere. 

Con Edison trying their damnest.

Union Square Park got slapped around some.

Spoiled Fruit-ball!

Fallen awning.

Batteries and flashlights for sale on the street (Lower East Side). 

Fallen gas station sign (at 2nd Avenue and 1st Street).

More people than I've ever seen making their way across the Williamsburg Bridge.

şut kitap

Latest Smash Book additions (for challenge no. 26), most of which are from my trip to Turkey.

If you'd like to see my pictures from said trip (so far, as I haven't downloaded images from the last few days of the trip), click here.

 I try and keep a business card from every restaurant and shop I visit.

 Thick-stock postcard from an artsy shop.

 All of my tickets and passes to various attractions.

My talented cousin's discarded sketch for a work-related project.

Smashing Books, Records

A peek into my Smash Book (challenge no. 26) as of late:

 Good writing. One of my favorite claps.

 Cool illustration.

 Congrats!

 Chicago Half Marathon. New personal best.

A few of my favorite things: Ace Hotel, healthy food find.

Go Turds!

Some Smash Book tomfoolery (challenge no. 26):

 

Inside-joke illustration done by our other intern, Mika. Sloth vs. manatee.

 

Random postcard found while our office was moving.

Hump Day Smash

Just a few details from some recent Smash Book entries (challenge no. 26):

 Wise words, which I painstakingly cut out for no reason whatsoever. 

 An in-progress sketch by my intern, Devon. Yes, I am ordering my intern to help me with my challenges. And yes, that is a crowd of cats cheering us on.

Someone got pulled over by the NYPD while riding her bike. Someone has to pay $90. Someone shouldn't copy what other bikers do. I can't tell you who this someone is, but her name rhymes with Oh-Well Dots.

The Answer, My Friend

Some more Smash Book action for you (challenge no. 26), this time featuring drapery fabric, postcards, fifteen minutes of Oreo fame, mood boards, and Colorado memories. I also did some math and discovered that my Smash Book is 69.74% complete. And yes, I Googled "how to figure out a percentage of something" to get that number. I'm going to be a great parent one day.

Smash Book Friday

I've filled 47 out of 76 pages in my Smash Book (challenge no. 26), mostly with scrumptious visuals and words and designs and overall memorable memorabilia. I look forward to the next 29 pages.

Here are some I've completed in the last few days:

 

Squat Jamz

Latest Smash Book creations for Challenge no. 26:

Smash Book: Life Change Edition

A certain mother of a certain fiance was kind enough to give me a wedding Smash Book, a place to write down ideas and keep a handle on the time-eating stress monster that is wedding planning. Don't worry, I'm totally looking forward to it.

Side note: Mr. Hamilton did not ask for my hand in marriage just so I could cross Challenge no. 13 off the list. He actually does want to marry me, I suspect for the following reasons: (1) My grammar skills are superb; (2) Watching me attempt to dance is the fast train to a good laugh; and (3) I keep buying him swords.

Back to the Smash Book. Aesthetically, I'm loving the vintage, design, typographic, and rustic details that are scattered among its pages: