Brick by Brick

Tips To Becoming A Landlord: How to get started with loans, interest rates, taxes and budgeting.

by Marisa D.

I want to thank my mom for sharing her story. She has come so far and built so much for her family growing from both her failures and triumphs. At 57 her and my dad have acquired 6 rental properties and sold a single family residence with the hope of retiring at 60. I am proud to offer up her wisdom and share it...

August 5, 2018

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Business, World of Pearls
That age old college question: Should I study what I love or what will make me money?

by Marisa D.

Question: People always ask the question - should you go to school for your passion or for a degree that will get you a good job. Now that you’ve finished school and have had jobs throughout the entire process, what is your answer to this? Answer: "The idea of passion has vexed me since the moment it really became important, right before college when you...

July 22, 2018

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Architecture, Undergrad Tips
The Power of Financial Education

by Marisa D.

Unfair Advantage – Robert T. Kiyosaki The power of financial education My mother is a stay at home mom but has undertaken the challenge, what Kiyosaki calls to be, “financially free.” This all started with the expensive process of both her daughters going to college and wasting more money on dorms and renting apartments. She decided she no longer wanted to waste her money...

August 15, 2017

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Book Reviews, Finances

Undergrad to Grad school: Benefits of pushing through to the end!

It took 3 years before I decided to go back to grad school, but one does wonder what it would’ve been like if I had done them back to...

Life Tips, Lifestyle

How To Manage Your To-Do List

Are you the kind of person who has to write to-do lists in order to have a productive day? I definitely am, but there always seems to be...

Living, Photography

San Antonio Fiesta 2019

This was my first Fiesta parade so I knew I had to capture the moment! I had so much fun walking around in the crowd. You have to love...

Book Reviews

The Healthy Workplace Nudge

You know how they say curiosity killed the cat? Well sometimes it gets you off your butt to ask a simple question. Recently I’ve started reading the book, The...

S-Architecture, Sketching

Duomo di Milano

Sketching and traveling to Milan during my study abroad experience in College.

Undergrad to Grad school: Benefits of pushing through to the end!

by Marisa D.

It took 3 years before I decided to go back to grad school, but one does wonder what it would’ve been like if I had done them back to back. So I asked my dear friend… Q: “As one who went straight on to get her masters of architecture, what would you say are the benefits over taking a gap year?” A: Do you stop half way through a marathon? To train for a marathon, takes time, effort, sweat, long distance exhaustion, and you, at your most glorious moment of running, want to stop before the dream is finished? I think the difference for me was once I had my brain wrapped around the idea of “becoming an architect,” my realization was that undergraduate school was not accomplishing that goal. For me, undergraduate school turned out to be just a stepping stone into graduate school. Since graduate school was always the goal, it wasn’t a hard decision to continue on. I would say there are several benefits to this. I was able to focus...

Who is your favorite Architect?

by Marisa D.

Whether you’re a design professional, or an artist of any form, it seems people want to know where we get our inspiration from and it makes sense. In the design world we look for inspiration from the greats. I remember one professor saying, “what you’re envisioning for your project, it’s probably already been designed before so don’t be afraid of researching and gathering ideas from other people. It’s not stealing or cheating it’s the way we learn, from the best, from history.”

What should be taught freshman year: The Architectural Design Process

by Marisa D.

My freshman and sophomore year there were no real clients just very loose guidelines built to unleash your inner creativity. Since I was new to design my ideas were erratic. It wasn’t until my junior year did I really understand the meaning of “program” and how it fit into the design process. Having this process organized made me feel like I was designing with a purpose and that I had an achievable end goal. Had I had this bit of knowledge earlier maybe it would’ve made projects seem more realistic and professional. Crazy forms are fun, but in the end we love believing our designs are buildable, for real people in real situations, in an environment we made safe.

That age old college question: Should I study what I love or what will make me money?

by Marisa D.

Question: People always ask the question - should you go to school for your passion or for a degree that will get you a good job. Now that you’ve finished school and have had jobs throughout the entire process, what is your answer to this? Answer: "The idea of passion has vexed me since the moment it really became important, right before college when you are finally asked to determine a major, likely for a profession which you have no right to claim passion to. Passion, as many loved to tell me, came from this vigilant search in which you are this puzzle, with a singular answer to light the way into the dream land called, “happiness.” If you find your passion, you won’t work a day in your life. What if I never found my passion? What if I didn’t have a passion?

How To Manage Your To-Do List

by Marisa D.

Are you the kind of person who has to write to-do lists in order to have a productive day? I definitely am, but there always seems to be a problem with this method. One, my list is never a reasonable amount. I always write down more than what can be accomplished in a day leaving me feeling disappointed at the end of one. Two, procrastination sets in. I’m always eager to cross an item off my list so I tackle the easiest ones first. Small victories but nowhere close to winning the war. What I’m left with is the most challenging longest tasks rolling over to day two and yes sometimes even day three. What the heck, if I’m being honest here let’s just say next week. I hope as you’re reading this you’re not judging my struggles in life. Can you relate or are you a person who has a firm handle on your everyday tasks? Maybe you’ve established a hierarchy and have the discipline to stick to it. For example, today...