It’s been two years since we arrived in LA, ready to start anew on the left coast. Fresh off a mostly snow-laden road trip, we were wide-eyed and optimistic among palm trees.

The 24 months since have gone by in an absolute blur. I put together the video below over the course of weeks and months. With gin on my breath and tears in my eyes, I scoured thousands of photos, hunted down video clips, and listened to song after song on a mission to find what evoked this season of my life.

This piece of history is positively one-sided. I took photos and video when things were good, when I felt happy, when the sun was shining.

Missing from this, are the moments when my knees gave out when I got a phone call about my mother’s health. The minutes spent searching for a flight to Boston that left within the next few hours so I could go home to my dad’s side.

I don’t depict the nights I got out of bed and paced the living room, or the nights it seemed like I was hugging Matt and my friends just a little too often and fervently.

Or the day I got let go from the company I'd spent most of my career with.

I also don’t show the twenty-something fruitless job interviews I embarked on, or the hellish three-day career I had for a flood restoration company that turned out to be a positively weird yet enlightening experience.

I don’t detail the countless “we appreciate your time but have decided to go in a different direction…” emails, or the hours spent figuring out how to apply for unemployment for the first time.

Missing are the moments spent on a cool tile floor in North Hollywood, hot tears streaming down my cheeks, while a sweet little dog kept trying to get me to play fetch.

And missing from this video is the fourth of July last year, when I awoke to find out my dad—my absolute rock through two years of hell—was having a heart attack.

 Matt and I were barely on a plane back to Boston when he uttered what we both had been thinking. “We’re going to have to move back,” he said. He didn’t make it a question, or act like there was anything at all to decide. We were going to do what we could to help my family, and we both knew it from that moment on.

Moving back to Massachusetts was energizing and gut wrenching all at the same time. A second cross-country trip that demonstrated the obvious majesty of this country left me feeling like there’s still so much more to see.

And remind me that wherever we lay our heads, we’re never too far from where we began.

Home is just state of mind.

A few weeks ago, we had people over our place on a Sunday evening for drinks, grilled meats, and the usual enjoyment of a Southern California day in our backyard. One of Matt's friends from school came with his adorable girlfriend, which was a welcome addition to our usual group of six or so.

At one point, I came in from outside to check on the food or something, and I caught our new friend standing in our living room, intently staring at the wall.

"It's like you live in Pinterest," she said, studying each individual photograph in the 84 image collage. "It's so cool."

"Thanks!" I replied. "It was easy!"

And it really was. I mean, I get it, I suppose. What I think of as a simple little weekend project gives a lot of people anxiety. The fear of a project becoming overwhelming, or worse-- terrible once it's complete-- tends to hold people back. I know it does for me.

But I've always been one to decorate. I've never been the type of renter who throws their hands up and says "nope! Can't change a thing!" when trying to live somewhere. I usually don't paint, but I will bang nails in the walls, and cover the cabinets in temporary wallpaper, or sometimes hang fabric everywhere, and occasionally even stick seven dozen photos to the wall with removable adhesive.

It happens.

But the result is always a place that feels like home, whether we live there just a year or longer. I may be thousands of miles from where I grew up, but this little apartment in the San Fernando Valley feels like it's just where I'm meant to be.

While I usually come to this place armed with a recipe and/or memory of something delicious, I wanted to switch things up a bit today (and maybe once a week going forward? Maybe?) and offer up something free for the public!

I may or may not take my Photoshop skills for granted sometimes, but I feel that I'm quick with the friendly charity work, like Christmas cards and birthday invites and whatever else my people seem to need from time to time. Everyone knows they can reach out for quick design projects, because I absolutely love to do it.

On that note, I made this wifi sign for our place last month before we had some weekend house guests. Since then, I'll stick it in the living room if we're having a bunch of people over, so no one has to ask. When friends come over and want to show you a video of a pug who pees while standing on his two front paws, you want them to be on your wifi network. Obviously.

So! You'll need an 8x10" frame, a printer, and some heavy cardstock or matte photo paper.

If you're like the general public and do not have Photoshop (no judgments!) you can download a blank PDF here. Then, you can pop it in a glass frame and draw over the glass with some chalk paint to display your wifi network and password. This is especially handy if your password changes often to incentivize your kids do chores (again, no judgments. That is genius.)

A few weekends back we headed up the eastern seaboard, and met up with about a dozen or so of our friends to celebrate our roommate's thirtieth birthday. We stayed in a classy La Quinta in Portland, and starting wandering the downtown area before the sun went down. It was nice to be somewhat anonymous (and inebriated) in a small town and not the city we all walk daily.

It was a very fun night, one I attempted to capture on film until I clearly became a touch too intoxicated for the public and thus, put the camera away.

It felt more like a twenty-first birthday than anything.
I suppose you can just see for yourself. Turn your volume up and enjoy.



Cheers.

Set to some Bruno Mars and made to look somewhat like a comic book, naturally...

I had a lovely long weekend, dedicated to some household projects and immense cleaning. With the boy in Vegas for a bachelor party, our roommate visiting friends in Houston, and everyone else I know "down the Cape", it also included some forced very much needed "me" time. If you're not familiar, "me" time means: walks to get XL iced coffees with extra espresso shots, blasting WFNX as loud as possible and singing along, and lots of breaks to play with the dog.

In the end, I didn't get quite everything done that I was hoping, but the house looks significantly cleaner and less cluttered, which does wonders for my mood as soon as I walk in the door. I also did my first ever furniture re-hab! Which was a lot of fun and really gratifying. More on this to follow.

By the time the boys were back in Boston (equip with cowboy hats and wrestling masks...?) I was more than happy to grill up some food and enjoy our improved homestead. Wasn't the most relaxing weekend, but being productive sure makes me calm for days to follow.

So, I believe I noted somewhat recently, that dear old Neverbroken.com is about to get a bit of a facelift: from blog to brand, this here site will soon be home to various handmade goods and design concepts for home, weddings, and events.

...heheheheheheh.
Okay, I'm twelve. Anyway.
My life recently has included many, many iterations of Save the Dates (what were you thinking?!) for my friends' and family member's impending weddings. Here are the most recent batch I dreamed up for my cousin Meg. These will be getting modified, so I'll share the winner eventually, but for now, enjoy the first drafts!

...and everyone who is going to see these has (hopefully) received them in the mail, I'll share with you my very epic Christmas cards from this year and last.

Last year was the first year I decided to utilize my Photoshop skills and order some custom cards. I drew some inspiration from JibJab and some other holiday sites to create these folded cards:








...but as I said, these may be offensive. I don't really understand offending anyone, so I tried to err on the side of caution, and poked fun at the jolly old fat man instead. By depicting him as Matty. A drunk Matty. Pretty awesome.

While we're on the subject of weddings, I may as well share the exploits of my crafty Sunday spent with a (few) bottle(s) of wine and my dearest friend/college roommate Court. Court is marrying my buddy Andy at the Boston Public Library (swooooooon) come January. Like me, Courtney has great taste (ha) and a firm believer in DIY-ing it whenever you can. I'd say our labor paid off:

A while back I shared the magnet Save the Dates that I made for my brother's wedding. Now I have managed to pimp myself out for friends and am creating more of these. Check out this great Postcard concept I made for my friend Amanda:

Sometimes I take like 500 photos on a Friday night.

My brother is getting married in a few short weeks (!!)
Of course, I have taken it upon myself to do everything creatively for them that I can possibly stand to do, from Save The Dates to this current project.

Here is a sneak peak at the seating charts, which will be on three vintage windows (the paper behind which I am tracing will obviously be removed) and the programs, which are fans (and will feature a crossword puzzle on the back!)

Sorry for the shitty cell phone photo quality. iPhone 4 in a month or so!

I leave for Michigan tomorrow to spend a week with my boyfriend's incredible family, at a house on a lake in the middle of nowhere. I could try to explain why this place is so awesome, but just watch this instead:

My brother met a very cool girl.

And then came the puppy...


And then, a while later, came the ring!

Now these two crazy kids are getting married this coming October!
And I have obviously forced offered my creative services!

They have yet to decide a final design (or two!) but here are their designs for Save The Dates!
I am a big fan of a picking two designs for your Save The Dates and sending the fun one (like with your pet, or a funny picture of the couple) to friends and giving family and other guests the more formal or sentimental STD (I know. The one phrase I can't acronym-ise. I am doing it anyway! And with this clarification, I sure saved a lot of time, am I right?!)

Without further ado, my first spin at Wedding Design!







...Can't wait to see which they choose!

PS. I do stuff like this for hire. Check out my Design page and drop me a line if you're in need!

Here is a portion of my recent Chicago trip; A little old school flip cup, to the tune of Two Door Cinema Club's Undercover Martyn.
Enjoy.