emeraldcitysara

Heya! My name is Sara (she/her) and I'm brand new to the site but have been swapping mail via Postcrossing, sendsomething, and lots of FB groups. I'm an artsy, outdoorsy, adventurous, music- and animal-loving gal in my late 40s living with my boyfriend and our cats in a Mid-Century Modern style home on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington, United States. I'm a warm & outgoing introvert. I'm a graphic designer by profession and my hobbies include Postcrossing and penpalling; paper crafts; landscape photography; outdoor activities like hiking, camping, e-biking; kayaking/sup and soaking in hot springs; travel; exploring National Parks & quaint little towns; reading; listening to podcasts; watching dumb dating & reality TV; etc. I have a fascination with the spooky & unexplained.

THEMES I LIKE

• Cats and Pallas' cats
• Witchy/goth aesthetic
• Sun, moon & star illustrations or night sky photos
• Woodland creatures (foxes, owls, deer, squirrels, weasels, badgers, hedgehogs, porcupines, marmots, pikas, mice, bats, even pangolins!)
• Ghost / paranormal / unexplained / aliens
• Halloween
• Folkloric creatures and spirits and cryptids from around the world
• Ice Age Pleistocene animals
• Illustrations / cut paper / block prints / linocuts / silkscreen / risograph
• Typography
• Bioluminescence, auroras, glowing lava
• Glittery things
• Colorful buildings, doorways, & windows
• Geothermal sites (Yellowstone, Rotorua, Hveragerði)
• Thermal baths / spas & onsens
• Bright blue bodies of water
• Cassette and VHS tapes
• 80s & 90s themes
• Progressive politics
• Feminism / equal rights /social justice / mmiw, etc.

FAVORITES

• Musical genres: grunge, garage rock / blues, indie folk / alt-country / Americana, hair metal
• Bands / musicians: The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Ryan Adams, Kathleen Edwards, Uncle Tupelo / Jay Farrar, Mark Kozelek, Jeff Buckley, Blind Pilot, PJ Harvey, Jane's Addiction, Radiohead, Guns N' Roses
• Celebs: Jack White, Lady Gaga, Noel Fielding, Björk, Kurt Cobain
• TV: Six Feet Under, True Blood, Game of Thrones, What We Do in the Shadows, The OA, Dark, Transparent, Offspring
• Movies: Almost Famous, Singles, Amelie, Cold Mountain, High Fidelity, Brokeback Mountain, Before Sunrise / After Sunset, Shawshank Redemption, Dead Man, Dead Man Walking, Philadelphia, Cameron Crowe, Jim Jarmusch
• Books: The History of Love, These Silent Woods, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, The Snow Child, The Glass Castle, Half Broke Horses, Educated, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Big Rock Candy Mountain, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
• Colors: blues, turquoise / teal, purples, fuschia and magenta, greens

I LIKE TO SWAP

• Postcards
• Stickers / washi
• ATCs
• Decos (trying to break into swapping them!)
• Traveling postcards
• Sticker books
• Collages / sketches
• Zines
• More to come!

DISLIKES

• AI designs
• Sanrio, Disney, superheroes
• Conservative political messages & images
• Morbid / disturbing
• Weapons / violence
• Religious OR anti-religious 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 (love images of beautiful houses of worship, though!)