blog it forward:

hi friends! i am so excited to share with you my blog-it-forward post today. sweet victoria at sf girl by bay started the most fabulous 'blogger mashup' which is such a fun way to get our blog community together.

the question starting the first ever blog-it-forward is "what inspires you personally?" and there are 10 other blogs are posting what inspires them today as well. (be sure to check it out!) then tomorrow, another blog will post and the next day, another blog will post and so on. it's all here in the schedule. there are about 300 blogs participating so you may see it going around the blog community ;)

so when i sat down to think about what inspires me, here are the top 5 things that came to mind: (thought i'd make a little graphic using some of my favorite fonts, which also inspire me, hehe)

one:

italy. image by simply bloom photography

i have always, and will always love to travel. traveling to another state or another country: there is always a journey to be found. i think the thing i love about traveling is that you get to go somewhere beyond what you're used to. traveling reminds me that there is a whole world that exists beyond what i'm used to and my everyday suburban life.

honduras. image by brandon kidd

venice: where i want to go for my honeymoon.

image by RachaelMc

rwanda. image by living water

saigon. image by kindsir

i've been here and the motorcycles are insane!

in a good way. it's just such a neat culture.

two:

Dusty Sunset by Philipp Klinger

i can never get tired of looking at images or taking images of the sky..... it is full of such beauty- a simple and natural beauty. sunsets, clouds, the vast blue color reminds me of a Creator.

Brooklyn Bridge Sunset by Philipp Klinger

(all philipp's photos are amazing!)

heaven's tree by bitzi

wonderful day as bright as a day has ever been by neloqua

{pure} by jessica.paige

three:

image by o-check graphics

i am inspired by design: of all forms. but my emphasis in school was graphic + visual design so it definitely holds a special place in my heart ;) here are some designers i love:

artwork by aprile elcich

i love designing using found papers in art and aprile does it with perfection.

anthropologie tags by dan gneiding

oh goodness. tag design, be still my heart. you ever wonder who designs all the lovely tags on anthropologie + urban clothing? this guy! his work is amazing. seriously my dream job.

design by harmonie-interieure

fabien's work is amazing. and he runs a fabulous design blog here: just full of inspriation.

design by popcorninitiative.com

a good business card design always gets me. (image from daily poetics)

four:

image by edgarkhachatryan

blogs. who isn't inspired by them. and just the whole blog community in general. i honestly never even thought of where i would be once i started oh, hello friend a couple years ago. i've made a few good friends in real life and the blogging community is so amazing and supportive. so here are some of my all-time favorites that never cease to inspire.

- sfgirlbybay: been following victoria's blog for a while now and it was so amazing to meet her in real life at alt, she is just as sweet as her blog in real life.

- decor8: holly always has fresh new content and is such a dear.

- darling dexter: whitney is my hero: she has pursued all forms of design from photography to fashion - many things i would love to do myself!

- mint: ellie blogs about all aspects of design and her content is always inspiring. (especially love her personal works!)

- ruthi auda: ruthi has a super fun job at hurley (thanks for letting me know friends!) and has worked at anthropologie in the past. her blog + design is ever so lovely.

five:

vintage laundry by gingerlillytea

well, needless to say: photographs are the soul and essence of inspiration. without photographs, where would we be? i love how photographs tell stories, document life, evoke emotion.

A spring gathering by IrenaS

soul valentina by Christian Cruz

(my friend ruby's beautiful baby girl. love her sweet face captured in this shot)

image by Kimberly Chorney

love the emotion captured in this image by max wagner

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and for tomorrow, i forward it on to the lovely mixed plate blog!

be sure to follow tomorrow as they continue this mashup :)

that's it for my first blog it forward! the whole mash-up schedule can be seen here. be sure to check out the 9 other lovely blogs who are posting their inspiration today as well:

creature comforts | hula seventy | paper pony | design for mankind | ink on my fingers | poppytalk | heart fish | sfgirlbybay | smile and wave

(and thanks for victoria from sfgirlbybay for putting this whole thing together!)