Grid: The Gardening Issue

You guys...it's official:



The April 2010 issue of Grid Magazine is out, and my illo is ON THE COVER! I couldn't have been happier to work on the garden-themed issue, which is appropriate since Shaun and I want to volunteer at Greens Grow Farm this year. So super-excited about this, and thanks to art director Jamie Leary for the opportunity. There are tons of places to pick it up around Philadelphia, or you can read the whole issue online here.

:)

Hansel & Gretel

I am about to jump right into the final stage of a new illo project (may or may not have something to do with the cover of my favorite Philadelphia sustainability magazine!), but I wanted to share one of my latest completed works. Seriously had fun choosing which candies to include—I realize that non-pareils are more French, but I think the inclusion of the chocolate-covered pretzels really brought the German theme full circle. Mmmmyumm.

January

1. SURFER BLUE: I have to admit that this post was slightly more difficult than others, because we spent so much time fixing up/moving into this apartment that we didn't do much just for fun. But what IS fun is this color blue that we painted the walls of the living room. At first I was just a bit nervous about it, but now when I look at the walls I can't imagine them being any other color–it's great.

2. GEOGRAPHY: We had the same shower curtain when we lived in the loft, but this time around the map faces the toilet instead of the inside of the shower. Now I can be assured that Shaun is getting at least a few minutes of geography lessons a day.

3. EATING ANIMALS: I started reading this book in January, and although I haven't yet finished, it's already influencing the way I feel about what I eat. Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my favorite writers, and in his first non-fiction book he makes a convincing argument in favor of vegetarianism. At this point, I have no intention of becoming vegetarian, but I do know that I need to eat less meat, and I'm on a quest to get my friends/family to see the same point.

4. WII FIT PLUS: It had been awhile since I had used my Wii Fit, but since I bought the Wii Fit Plus add-on, it's become a new obsession. I love the build-your-own routine feature, the calorie-tracker, and the new games! So fun!

5. AVATAR: Yes, I, like the rest of the universe, saw Avatar...and yes, I liked it. Perhaps because I went into the theater fully prepared to hate it, it managed to exceed my low expectations. The effects were amazing, and even the odd choice of blue anime-type creatures grew on me by the end of the movie. As far as the "story" which so many people gripe about...I'm just glad when blockbuster movies manage to sneak in good lessons about the environment once in awhile (ie. Wall-E).

6. MAPLE SYRUP: "99!"

7. TABLE: I spent a few days in the studio with Shaun this month to start refinishing and old table that I've "inherited." It had been painted a brown faux-woodgrain to cover up what I discovered was some pretty nasty water damage. But I've managed to sand it out, and even without the final stain I think the table looks pretty good, no?

8. I'M WITH COCO: I didn't actually join the "I'm with Coco" Facebook group, but trust me...I AM with Coco. What is NBC's problem?? I think they've really shot themselves in the foot with this decision. Conan's final words to the audience made me teary...I hope he gets a good deal with another station because I could never watch late night without him!

December

I'm a bit late with this post, but we moved into a new apartment January 1st, so between all the moving and settling in, I sorta forgot. But here goes!



1. CHRISTMAS VILLAGE: I was in Reading with Shaun and his family for Christmas this year, and one of the highlights was when Shaun's parents took us to Christmas Village. It's a very strange, kinda creepy, but ultimately charming farm set up with Christmas lights, character cut-outs and little houses with scenes inside. One of the last buildings holds a miniature train set town, which more than anything made me want to go back to Roadside America sometime.

2. COOKIE CUTTERS: Amongst other great gifts, Shaun's parents got me a set of cookie cutters in the shape of BUNNIES! With a little carrot! I can't wait to use them, but I've got to figure out a good cookie that won't crumble around the ears.

3. CHRISTMAS VILLAGE (part 2): Another sight from Christmas village; I think this sparkly M came from a sign that says "God Bless America," which I don't think has much to do with Christmas...but let's pretend it said "Melissa!" instead, k?

4. PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS: It was Kati's birthday in December, so I made these cookies for her! And saved some for myself, duh. PS - The Lady Gaga song count at Kati's party was probably about 25, AND the Bad Romance music video somehow made an appearance!? Viva La Ga!

5. SNOW: Finally. After more than 6 years schooling/living in the Philadelphia area, we finally got a decent blizzard. I seriously love snow, so much that I don't even care if Philadelphia doesn't have its act together enough to plow any of the streets that I use, OR shovel any sidewalks. We would have been pretty much stuck inside all day, but our friend was in town with his trusty Subaru, so a bunch of us went on an adventure to sled on the art museum steps. I was skeptical that the sledding would be fun on concrete stairs, but there was enough snow that you couldn't feel the steps at all; it was a blast. (Oh, I've had this hat for awhile, but it was an integral part of sledding-day.)

6. ORNAMENTS: I don't have lots of disposable income at the moment, so Shaun and I decided to make presents for his family this year. I made everyone's initials out of Fimo clay, and attached little blue ornaments and candy canes with ribbon. I'm actually amazed at how well the letters turned out, especially the script-y ones; I should think of other applications for this...

7. MOVING BOXES: Like I mentioned earlier, we moved. So we've been up to our eyeballs in boxes...in fact, we STILL have boxes in our apartment, even though we're mostly settled in. I just posted some to craigslist, so cross your fingers that someone will take them!

8. FRIENDSGIVING: Shaun and I were invited to a Friendsgiving at our friend Nike's house this year. I'll have to admit, potlucks in our circle of friends tend to include cheap bread, dry store-bought cookies, and bizarre experimental concoctions—but this potluck was of a different variety. Everyone really brought great stuff, and the food was gourmet and delicious. I brought pumpkin bread pudding, and also assisted Nike in gravy-making, care of my mom's tried-and-true recipe. And also, we made handprint turkeys, and this one was mine. :)

Happy Holidays

I had some leftover type ideas from my latest illustration for Grid, so I figured I'd put them to work. Although, I don't know why I even bother making new holiday cards every year, because this DIGITAL HOLIDAY CARD (yes) that I made freshman year at Tyler (intro to computers!) is perfection:




I actually sent that to relatives on a mini-CD. It will never get any better!

Novembrrrr

1. MULTNOMAH FALLS: Early in the month my parents and I took a trip to Oregon to visit my sister, and two of my aunts and their families. Besides having a good time visiting with family, we saw some really pretty parts of Oregon, including this waterfall. I took this photo with my iPhone...doesn't it look like it comes straight out of Rivendell?? Mmmm dreamy...

2. SWEET POTATOES: Oh man. Sweet potatoes. I want to eat sweet potato fries. And mashed sweet potatoes. And sweet potato chips. I want it all. This month Shaun and I discovered something amazing: Sweet. Potato. Tacos. We sort of based them off a recipe online, but mostly I think Shaun improvised, and seriously folks, I could eat these all the time. I have never been a taco person, but sweet potatoes have officially converted me.

3. PUMPKIN PIE CAKE: This was Shaun's "birthday cake" that came a few weeks late, but it was worth the wait. Again, I based this off a recipe I found online, but with a few tweaks. It's basically a layer of pumpkin pie with a layer of cake mix on top, and they way they mix together in the baking process is super. C'est magnifique!

4. TROLLEYS: One of the highlights of the trip to Oregon was surprising my dad with a visit to the Antique Powerland Museum, where we got a private tour of the trolley museum AND my dad got to DRIVE A TROLLEY! This is especially significant because a few years ago he said that if he ever got to drive a trolley, his head would explode. He drove this one pictured above, a trolley from Portugal in the early 1900's I think. It was so cool!

5. TURKEY TIME: This is a picture of my family's dining room table at Thanksgiving, prepped for a feast. My mom did 95% of the cooking, and I helped out 5% by making delightful cornbread pudding. The best part...Shaun was able to join us because we are sharing holidays between families this year! I am so full of thanks for that day!

6. WINE TASTING: After the trolley museum, we visited some nearby wineries to taste the offerings. The vineyards were so pretty with all the fall leaves, and it was fun to FINALLY be able to drink the wine at wine tastings (thanks a lot Mom and Dad!!). I personally thought the wine was really good, but I'm no oenophile...yet.

7. SCARF SEASON: That's right, it's scarf season. So get ready to see my brown pashmina permanently attached to my neck for the next 5 months.

8. GINKGO: FACT: Ginkgo trees are completely underrated. Why doesn't anyone ever talk about how pretty they are? Since yellow is my all-time favorite color, Ginkgo is now my favorite fall tree. I never noticed how many there were in Philadelphia before this year, but now they sure do stand out. *Swoon*

October

1. THE PHILLIES: Alright, so as of last night it looks like the Phillies might not make it all the way, but we sure had fun watching them make it to the World Series. First we crammed ourselves into the El Bar, then we crammed ourselves into the Piazza, and it was seriously like being in the stadium (except we got to bring our own beer!).

2. CHARCUTERIE/CHEESE PLATE: Mom was visiting family in Allentown, so she stopped by to visit a few days before my birthday. We went to the Swift Half Pub at the Piazza to enjoy a charcuterie/cheese plate, caesar salad, and some buffalo shrimp which were delicious. Thanks Mom!

3. iPHONE 3GS: A few weeks ago Shaun and I agreed with each other that we wouldn't go all-out for our birthdays the way we did last year, to save money and all. Little did I know that he had been plotting to get me an iPhone for months. I was completely shocked and excited and now I have an iPhone!! Thanks Shaun!

4. APPLES: Did I mention that we were planning on going apple-picking on my birthday? Well, it was pouring the night before, so when I got back from visiting with Nicole and Mike there was a branch in our living room with apples tied to it. Shaun had also tied little aluminum foil apples with little presents inside. And the last foil apple? The Apple gift card, OF COURSE! SO PERFECT!

5. DEL FRISCO'S V.I.P.: Last week Kati invited me to a party at the auction house where she works, where we had free wine and looked at some art. Afterward Kati suggested going to Del Frisco's, where her boyfriend works, and boy was that a good idea! We were treated to these pineapple V.I.P. drinks on the house, and happy hour priced appetizers. It was the fancy-pantsiest night I've had probably EVER.

6. LEPP COOKIES: October is all about birthdays, since Shaun's and mine are only a week apart. And every year, without fail, Shaun's mom sends him Lepp cookies, and every year I get a little bit more addicted. Thanks Shaun's mom!

7. THE WAITING ROOM: A few months ago someone got the idea that our group of friends should dress up as characters from Twin Peaks. Fittingly, Shaun went as The Man From Another Place, and I went as his "cousin" (aka Laura Palmer). I have to say, everyone really pulled through and our collective costumes were freaking amazing.

8. POOR PUMPKIN: We carved this pumpkin at my birthday party (hot spiked cider at Kati's house!) but unfortunately he totally collapsed on himself by Halloween. (Speaking of Halloween, we went to the Bates Motel somewhere west of the city and OH MY GOD was it scary. Definitely the scariest haunted attraction I've ever been to, second to Eastern State Terror Behind the Walls. Being the lone girl in a group of four OF COURSE meant that I was constantly attacked! Unfair! They were just as scared!)