We’re Utahns
We are finally feeling settled in our new home in Ogden, Utah. We took our camper from Virginia to Utah over the first week of April, stopping at campgrounds off the highway throughout the week. The dogs had a lot of fun and Diogo got very good at reversing “Cougie” (Cougar Camper) into campsites. Once to Utah, I set to work on making the house feel more like home and Diogo got acquainted with the local fishing and hiking spots. We found a church we love, a bunch sweet friends, and so many wildflowers. We can’t wait to host everyone over the winter and get some Utah snow under our boards.
Saying goodbye to Deer Run, VA
The hiking trail right behind our house
The house and my big boi hankie
Some standout florals
Halloween and the puppies just being totally tortured
Summer in Portugal
One of the many gifts from my marriage with Diogo has been the blending of our families and for me, an invitation into Portuguese culture, cuisine, and language. Diogo was born in Figueira da Foz, Portugal. His family moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was six but have made sure to return yearly to their hometown where both Diogo’s maternal and paternal grandparents still live, to spend the summer holiday with aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Nowadays his parents spend a lot more time there and we have taken up the mantle of the yearly summer visit.
Last year we started in his hometown and made our way through inland Alentejo, Cascais, and Lisbon. This year we started in Algarve, to celebrate a belated honeymoon, and made our way north through Ericeira and then to Figueira. I feel so grateful for our opportunity to experience new regions of the country as tourists and then to reunite with family as locals. This year we even got to visit Diogo’s grandfather’s suit factory before it is sold. It was like walking through a time capsule with all the old sewing machines, buttons, and zippers. It is a legacy I am so happy to have seen.
alentejo coast
Lagos
Ericeira
Figueira da Foz
Mendes & Monteiro Factory
2022 Christmas Décor
I’m not gonna lie, this year I went a little Ebay-crazy with the Christmas décor. For the last few weeks, I’ve been moaning and groaning about the many vintage-glass-fruit-ornament-auctions I keep losing (they always get me at the eleventh hour no less!). I did manage to win a few (maybe a few more than we actually needed for our modest-sized tree…). Some of the favorites include a Mexican folk art paper nativity set, way too many white doves than I know what to do with, Marlboro Red matches turned ornaments, a vintage toy soldier stocking, and various mercury glass bobbles.
Our Wedding Pt. II
Getting ready
On the day of, we all woke up pretty lazily. The ceremony was slated for 4 pm so we hung out, watched more World Cup, nibbled on leftovers, and drank mimosas.
I’d given everyone rather short notice of the wedding—initially, I’d wanted it to be a surprise but then thought better of it—so, I was impressed with how chic and inexplicably coordinated everyone looked with only a couple of weeks’ notice.
My dress was a miraculous online order from DÔEN. I had tried buying a few vintage dresses on Etsy but they just didn’t work. This order was a bit of a shot in the dark but the dress came in time and ended up fitting perfectly! My veil was from Kamperett and my shoes were Rachel Comey. The most important part of the look to me was the earrings. My mom and dad also got married in a courthouse ceremony where Mom wore an amber brooch and earrings. I often tried them on as a child and imagined wearing them for my own wedding. While I didn’t have the originals, I searched far and wide for amber accessories that felt uniquely me and I adore these earrings. I did my makeup and Maria did my hair and it ended up exactly as I’d pictured.
We took a few photos and then we got so carried away laughing and complimenting one another that we didn’t notice we were running late to get to the courthouse!
At the courthouse
Diogo and his family beat our car to the courthouse and we pulled up to the three of them looking like models out back. We quickly ran around front to meet Sheriff Marshall (lol sheriff and marshall) who would be officiating. The circuit court was technically closed due to the holiday so we had fun exploring and goofing off with the place all to ourselves.
The ceremony itself was short and sweet. It started with Gannon walking me down the aisle and Rebecca reading an excerpt from The Women Who Run With the Wolves. Diogo and I opted for traditional vows and Sheriff Marshall officiated like the seasoned pro that he is (up to 8 weddings a day!). Gannon then read a piece to honor our parents and Diogo’s parents, Jorge and Maria, closed us out with a reading of 1 Corinthians 13. Then we kissed! And were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Monteiro (and yes, I am taking his name 😜).
Dinner
Our next stop was the Farmhouse at Veritas where we had reserved a private room for the evening. It was delicious and awfully romantic. We talked and laughed and luxuriated in retellings of our love story. By the end, we’d all had many glasses of delicious wine (except Gannon who had been dutifully served fancy sparkling cider throughout the evening) and we were ready to dance!
The afterparty
It may have just been in our living room but the afterparty was a blast! We changed into our afterparty looks—mine was one of the many vintage Etsy dresses and Diogo’s was a tshirt and sweats lol. Our first dance was Nick Cave’s Into My Arms, quickly followed by a fair bit of ABBA and Michael Jackson. It was my perfect wedding. We went to bed with tired limbs and happy hearts <3
Our Wedding Pt. I
Diogo and I got engaged pretty recently (refer to a few posts ago) and went back and forth on whether to have a big blowout wedding or something smaller and more chill. After a couple of pros and cons lists over dinner, we decided that while a bigger wedding celebration could still be in the cards in the future, we wanted to be married (and I needed health insurance!). We decided that since our closest family members would be in town to celebrate Thanksgiving, we might as well add a courthouse wedding.
The festivities started on Thanksgiving Day. Mondana had been staying with us for a couple of weeks already and we’d landed on a theme of French Alt-Thanksgiving. We (aka mostly Mon) cooked Chicken with Mustard and Butternut Squash Crumble from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz as well as some traditional favorites like sourdough stuffing. Diogo’s mom, Maria, probably gets the award for having most understood the assignment—she is responsible for the baked brie in the photographs. We spent the day and evening laughing, eating, watching the World Cup, and planning excitedly for the following day…
Maria’s baked brie—tasted better than it looks if you can even imagine
The lunch spread
Gannon and Mon (and Gisele’s Hank-protection gate)
My mother-in-law (ah!), Maria
Aunt Beck!
The chicken 😈
Maria, Jorge, Gannon (and Hank), Diogo, Me, Rebecca and Mondana
Baby Boy Dog
We finally caved and let Joni get a puppy. He has yet to be officially named but is bringing Joni and our little fam much joy. He was born among 14 brothers and sisters to a neighbor’s lab/pitbull mix. We found him on Craigslist (where I found Joni as well!) and picked him up last week. A few adorable pics to follow.
Alentejo, Cascais, Lisbon & our engagement!
Alentejo
Our second week started with a stay at Casas Caiadas Boutique Home in Alentejo. The property includes three guest houses and a shared kitchen/living house, all converted from old water mills. We were very lucky to learn upon arrival that we were the only guests for the duration of our stay! We got to run around and treat the grounds as our personal compound for three days. It was the perfect setting for a surprise PROPOSAL from Diogo!
Arraiolos
A short drive from our stay was the city of Arraiolos. We spent a day there exploring the Centro Interpretativo do Tapete de Arraiolos (Tapestry Museum), the Arraiolos Castle and a number of whitewashed churches. In general, this region of Portugal reminded me of the high desert in California and Nevada — lush but dry and very beautiful.
Cascais
Next was Cascais and Sintra, located on the coast. This was the first time during our stay in Portugal that we sat down at a restaurant where the people seated on either side of us were also speaking in English. While a bit more touristy than the rest of our trip, we enjoyed a bit of retail therapy (as I was having withdrawals) and saw beautiful views from the cliffs.
We tried to drive up to the National Palace of Pena (the famous colorful castle in Sintra) but realized once we reached the castle that we were expressly instructed by Diogo’s parents NOT to drive there because the roads up are treacherous and there is no parking! We watched as the buses we’d forgotten to look into drove past us full of eager tourists. We didn’t mind though as we were hungry for lunch. We drove back down the roads that were supposedly intended as two-way, praying that we wouldn’t encounter any vehicles coming in the opposite direction. We eventually reached Sintra where we stopped at a very cool family-run vegetarian restaurant for lunch. Once back in Cascais, we got dinner, packed for Lisbon, and went to bed early.
The waterfront in Cascais.
Boca do Inferno, “Hell’s Mouth.”
A man chillin and fishing on slippery, very tall cliffs.
View from lunch.
Cliffs in Cascais.
And then we watched a cat climb down the cliffs with this other man.
View of Sintra.
Lisbon
Last but not least, we went to Lisbon. Admittedly, by this point in the trip, we were quite tired having already been traveling for two weeks and experiencing all the emotions of the engagement but we tried our best to be good tourists! We started things off with a football game — Sporting vs. Gil Vicente. It was really fun to experience the Portuguese soccer energy first-hand. We ended the trip exploring the city with Diogo’s parents and pigging out on Sea Bass at their friend’s restaurant. Overall, we had a great trip!
Eu sou Sporting!
Figueira da Foz & Porto
Figueira da Foz
We started our trip in Diogo’s hometown, Figueira da Foz. We arrived the third week of September, right when the summer rush begins to die down. I was relieved by this but some family members felt sorry for our misfortune. We had in fact originally intended to come during the summer months, but after a comedy of passport errors, had to postpone. Either way, we were happy as clams to have finally made it to see his family. Figueira is a small seaside city. 10-minute drives in either direction bring beautiful cliff-top views over the Atlantic or entertaining sights of surf camps. The weather was perfect. We worried that we’d miss the summer weather but we got the perfect mix of crisp mornings and evenings and hot middays.
We stayed at the Malibu Foz Hotel for the week. It was very comfortable with a modern beachy aesthetic. We sat by the pool some days but mostly spent time with Diogo’s big Portuguese family. While I do not speak Portuguese besides a greeting here or a curse word there, they all (besides his grandparents) spoke great English and were very generous in speaking with me as best they could. His parents are both totally fluent so they would flank me at the dinner table and help me feel comfortable. My impression, whether it be shaped by my interactions with his family and friends, or a sense I got from the whole of it, was that the Portuguese people are just lovely—welcoming, fun, warm, and non-materialistic.
We ate at a number of wonderful restaurants including Restaurante Caçarola I, Tasca Maria - Comida Caseira, Chez Bernardo, Marujo, and Puro. We also danced the night away and sipped the most delicious G&Ts at RedShoes.
The beach is very long in Figueira. “Europe’s widest urban beach!”
Diogo and beer and nut things I wasn’t much a fan of.
Cute scooter
This was taken on our first day—beautiful view overlooking the ocean.
And of course so much good tile everywhere.
Us with Diogo’s maternal grandmother.
We spent an evening in Coimbra with Diogo’s parents. His mother attended the University of Coimbra, considered one of the best in the country.
This is a cute gargoyle.
A bit of fado to round things out.
I mean drool
Pink marble emerged as a theme of Porto.
Street altar
Stay tuned for week 2 & some surprises 😉💍
Mexico City Photographs
Curtains at Museo Frida Kahlo
In May of 2019, I took a trip to Mexico City. My friend Louis accompanied me. The city is vibrant and full of life. We had a blast. Looking back, I distinctly remember going to a Mezcal Bar where both Louis and I thought Mezcal was to be shot like tequila. We learned quickly that Mezcal is more of sip situation. We ate lovely food, did some touristy things, and shopped a lot (to Louis’ dismay ha).
Trinkets & doll at Mercado Morelos
Flowers at Mercado de Jamaica
Candles at Velas Cereria de Jesus
Dinner at Entremar
Louis at Teotihuacan
Life in Virginia
I thought I would give a bit of an overview of the lifestyle change I’ve just undertaken. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I have lived in Brooklyn, NY for the last 5ish years. I spent most of my free time with friends, going to parties and events, and SHOPPING. I decided to take a break from my fast-paced life including a fast-paced job to focus on feeling less anxious and more peaceful. This was part of the reason why my partner Diogo and I decided to take a year in a town neither of us had ever been to.
We rented our house only having toured the OUTSIDE of it after there was a mix-up with the tenants at the time of our scheduled tour. The outside is what won us over. To get to our new address on Deer Run, we drove through miles and miles of fecund farmland, surrounded by the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Once we got to our prospective property, we were pleasantly surprised by the acreage; we’d thought it was three acres but turned out to be five. There was also a small pond at the far edge of the property, at the bottom of a sloping hill, just visible from the big windows in the dining room (we presumed). We decided that this would be our nature retreat.
The following month, we conducted a multi-pronged moving operation. We had Diogo’s house in Lake Tahoe to pack and ship, my apartment in Brooklyn, and all the shit we’d brought with us across the country from Nevada to Georgia, where we’d been since house-sitting for Diogo’s parents. All of that to say, we felt quite accomplished once the last U-Haul was returned.
I got straight to work on updating things a bit. My brother, an electrician’s apprentice, came to help me replace nearly every light fixture in the house. I hired a local man to paint everything a crisp white and had the smelly carpet in the living room replaced. While I was preoccupied with home beautifying, Diogo took up fishing. He explored our surrounding area to find more than 6 ponds all stocked with different kinds of fish. We talk about largemouth bass more than we used to.
Once I finished the house, I decided to take full advantage of my unemployment and focus fully on cultivating an artistic practice. The only rule I’ve imposed on myself is to try new things and to share them even when they’re not perfect! I'm giving myself permission to be less obsessed with the end product and if it makes money and more obsessed with getting a little weird! I have been experimenting with writing, drawing, painting, fashion, and even video editing.
We are happily leading very quiet and simple lives. We expect some new excitements, projects, and endeavors in the new year but take the time now through the end of the year to rest.
Japan Photographs
In October of 2019, I had the opportunity to go to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan to speak at a cryptocurrency conference about UX Design. While there, I took many photos and was just in awe of how different and special the Japanese culture is. I hope you enjoy!
A Trip to Blue Heron Flower Farm
I usually buy fresh flowers once a week because it just makes me happy to see them. I call it my floral therapy. When I was in Brooklyn, I would go to a bodega or Wholefoods, maybe a bougie flower place from time to time. But now that we are in VA, I get the opportunity to go out to the farms myself. Last week, I got to meet Bev, the owner, and operator of Blue Heron Farm. One of her volunteers, an unpaid but very appreciated neighbor, had made a beautiful bouquet for me. Bev also agreed to let me poke around on my own and take photos. I hope you get a sense of how peaceful and beautiful it was to walk around. Blue Heron farm is a family-run flower farm in Nellysford, Va.
Redecorating my Virginia Mountain Rental
I moved to Nellysford, VA (a little outside Charlottesville) a couple of months ago and have been busy at work updating some parts of the house to suit my partner and me a bit more. While I probably would have liked to do more extensive renovations, my partner has talked me off the ledge of completely redoing a RENTAL and so, I stuck to the bare minimum of repainting and only replacing one of the floorings.
I tried to stay economical on the furnishings and will probably replace some of them over time but this is how it will sit for now. Let me know what you think! ;)
The Dining Room
Before
After
The Living Room
Before
After
The Guest Room
Before
After
The Master
Before
After
Welcome!
Hello & welcome! I’m Chriss(ie) and have been designing for the last 7+ years. I thought I would take a moment to give a bit of a backstory before jumping into new content and work.
Childhood & Boston
I grew up in a little town in Southern Maryland called Shady Side (yes, “shady” jokes are welcome). My parents were both artists and were very encouraging of creativity early on in my life. I went to college at Boston University where I studied philosophy and worked for numerous creative companies in the Boston area including the Huntington Theatre and Albertine Press. I was also beginning to teach myself graphic design by creating wedding and baby shower invitations for friends and trying my hand with videography as a second shooter for local weddings.
While in Boston, I fell in with a group of church planters from Louisiana and was given my first platform for '“professional” creative work. I was a member of the church community throughout my time at BU and worked with the team in branding, print collateral, creative direction, set design, photography, and videography.
France
During my junior year, I took a semester off from school and applied to be an au pair in France. I got a position in Chambéry, a small town at the base of the French Alps. While there, I continued my creative practice by dabbling in bookmaking, illustration, and painting.
NYC
After graduation, I spent time in Annapolis and DC before heading to NYC to pursue graphic design more seriously. I worked at an emoji startup photoshopping NBA players’ heads, countless freelance branding and marketing gigs, a fin-tech consulting company, and a 2016 presidential talk series. I took jobs on Craigslist, met folks in coffee shops, and hustled my butt off to eventually afford the couch a friend was letting me sleep on.
Eventually, I realized I was getting increasingly interested in the tech side of things (websites, apps, etc) and decided to enroll in General Assembly to tighten up my UI/UX chops.
After GA, I worked for NBCUniversal, AirSwap, and Coinbase.
Virginia
In mid-2022, I quit my high-paying tech job and moved to Nellysford, VA with my partner and my dog. Since then, I’ve been messing around in my studio. I have big ideas for my professional future but for now, I am dabbling all over the place—photography, interior design, fashion, videography, painting, digital illustration, and more! I can’t wait to share some of what comes about!
Until then!
Xx