A Year Already?!

We’re off to Vermont this weekend to celebrate those guy’s one year anniversary of being parents! Ie this little guy’s birthday:

Home again, home again…

Phew! We’re back from an epic whirlwind trip:

• Wednesday night: Fly to San Jose, CA. Visit family in Berkeley and San Francisco.
• Friday morning: Train to Sacramento, then drive to Nevada City for a couple We Are Wizards screenings at the Nevada City Film Festival.
• Saturday night: Catch a –delayed, boo– red-eye to New York.
• Sunday morning: Get in just in time to sneak in a visit to Josh and Trisha’s fabulous new apartment and then off to Mandy and Henry’s bowling-wedding-party-extravaganza at Brooklyn Bowl.  (See picture above.)
• Sunday evening: catch Metro North to Connecticut for mexican food with G’s brother.
• Monday morning: train to Providence, RI and then a taxi to…home!

If only we had taken a ferry as well… Or a hot air balloon. Clearly, we were trying to see how many different modes of transportation we could utilize in five days.

Thanks for a wonderful time everybody!

Dolce far niente

I learned a new phrase from my uncle over 4th of July weekend: “Dolce far niente.”

Which means, “Pleasantly doing nothing.”

Sounds like a delicious way to spend the summer.

We did our best last weekend.

It’s True:

My sister sent this to me today and it made me laugh.

Pika Boot Camp Give Away!

You all know how much I love the fabulous Pikaland.

Well now they’re offering a “Boot Camp” series of classes for artists and illustrators.  Aaand they’re having a give-away worth $140!  Check it out here.

Are you home?

Agh! I’m here… I know I’ve been missing from this little space.  I even missed a monthly goals check in!  Yikes.

Well, I made it home from Seattle– which I loved.  It oddly, felt very much like New England.  Perhaps the wood framed buildings?  The scale of the city?– as my dad would say.  Definitely the pretty gray weather.  It was funny how  cozy and familiar it all felt until I’d look down a street, or out a window, and think “Goodness, those clouds are so dark!”   And then I realize, “Ohhh those are mountains.”  Humongous, serious, mountains.  Which we definitely do not have on this coast.   And then I’d feel very small, and like I was in some sort of dark fairy tale.  Which is a compliment, by the way.  Anyhow, I’d move in a second if it wasn’t so darn far away.

But since then I’ve mostly been tucked away in my little office/room/studio drawing, drawing, drawing.  To be a busy illustrator feels so nice.  I’ll post some images of what I’ve been up to as soon as I’m allowed to.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this little guy, my friend Austin and I spotted in a shop window:

We almost walked right past him when we realized he wasn’t a part of the display.  He seemed like a pretty happy guy.

Weekend Away

Recipe for Perfect Martha’s Vineyard Evening:

1. Kayak 40 minutes to the next town over and pull your boat up on some nice person’s backyard/ handy beach.

2.  Take the short cut to the Menemsha Fish Market.

3.  Eat your newly purchased chowder and raw clams on the pier out back, legs swinging, overlooking the fishermen hauling in lobster.

4.  Carefully pack your fish for dinner into the kayak.  Plastic bags and ice recommended.

5. Kayak home as the wind picks up.

6. Steam up some corn on the cob, set the table, light some candles, sear the tuna.

7.  Tuck in.

8.  Thank your lucky stars you have an aunt who happily welcomes visitors.

Wedding Fun

This past July, on the only sunny weekend, Austin, my friend (since nursery school!) was married in her parents’ beautiful backyard overlooking the water. 

I made a few items for the event and I’m really happy with how they came out. 

Wedding programs waiting to be cut:

Printed Pablo Neruda poem read in Spanish by Austin followed by the English translation by Oliver.

Place cards made from vintage National Geographic Maps:

Can you tell I’m a little obsessed with my round-corner-punch?  

Congratulations Austin and Oliver!

Moleskine Group week 1

I’ve been doing a “Moleskine exchange group” since July and I keep forgetting to share my drawings. It’s been super fun to do– the book has 60 accordion pages, there are ten of us, so we each draw on 6 pages and then pass it on to the next person. Sort of like Exquisite Corpse. Or a chain letter?
Anyhow I started off my moleskine with this:

My (2nd?) cousin had just been born and everyone was over-the-moon thrilled. I was in Vermont with my family when she arrived.  The coyotes were howling that night.  

Hence the baby and the coyotes.  

Its been challenging to just draw.  Right on the page.  No scanning, no rearranging, no computers.  Not much planning.  Coloring with whatever I feel like.  It feels like a good stretch.  

There are more images on Flickr if you’re interested.

Success!

I mentioned yesterday our food for the wedding was a success.  

 Somehow it all went from this:

to this:

We can’t take all the credit.  Actually the wonderful caterer Tamara, of The Sunday Night Dinner, deserves a good deal of it!  She took our food shoved into tupperware containers, (and food from lots of other people) and turned it all into that magical buffet you see up there.  Not to mention all the delicious food she prepared, the wonderful bar tender, and her assistant (Melissa, I think her name was?)  They all worked so hard, and everything tasted and looked incredible. If you’re in the New York area and have an event coming up, I know everyone there that night would recommend them.