Thursday, November 29, 2012

turkeyfoot


Well you didn't think November would end without a Thanksgiving post, did you? I've done one almost every year! Thanksgiving is a biiiig deal in my (large) family, and the sheer amount of food produced to feed the 18-24 folks that normally show up is monumental. My personal favorite bite is a little bit of turkey and mashed potato with a BIG helping of my mom's uh-maze-ing cranberry orange relish.

And, since there are so many of us, many games are played. This year's hits included Blockus (which I won both times, thankyouverymuch), Cards Against Humanity and the three classics: Poker, Euchre, and FOURSQUARE. We take our foursquare seriously, and let's be honest: it's the only exercise I got all weekend. Otherwise it's just eating, drinking, and quite a bit of karaoke-ing. What else could a girl ask for? Oh, some photos from my phone? OKAY.

 
 
foursquare time / 666 / jake goes back for seconds / pickled peppers on the back porch

And now, of course, my mind is already turning to Christmas. I know a lot of people don't like how early the holiday stuff comes out in stores these days... but I guess I sort of don't mind! Parties and food and lots of gold and white and blue and red? Sounds like a good time to me. Now, someone help me make a wreath.

 
wreath inspiration on my parent's porch / my beloved martha stewart christmas tree - this might be its last year, the branches are yellowing.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

girl talk



I mentioned earlier that for the GIRLS: Fact or Fiction show at Light Grey I chose the talented and gorgeous performance artist Marina Abramovic. Well, here's the piece! It's been quietly sitting on my website for some time but I wanted to wait awhile before I posted the whole thing.

This ended up being a very difficult portrait to do - by doing so much research I started getting nervous about properly representing an artist that I admire so deeply. After many attempts at starting, I finally decided to focus on the props used in her many pieces throughout the years. See if you can figure them all out! It's like Marina Abramovic scavenger hunt!!

And please, come to the opening of GIRLS if you can make it! If you can't make it, no worries! There's a real sweet looking book for sale. [UPDATE: you can also buy my print NOW, HERE! Spend $100 on prints or whatever and you'll get the book FOR FREEEE].


Monday, November 26, 2012

supply & demand


Hello, bloggie! Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? I certainly did - although at 18 attendees this year our numbers were down ever-so-slightly. That's right: usually the "Tritsgiving" (as I like to call it) tops off somewhere in the 20s. Even so, it was delicious and full of plenty of merry-making.

Things are getting festive and holiday-y now, so before I descend down that path (party planning, cookie baking, present buying, etc) I wanted to post one little non-Christmasy thing. I've been working on this pattern as part of a self-initiated challenge to make more patterns. There was a hot second where I was going to create a pattern for a fabric and then make bandanas from the fabric, but that might be best left for next year.

But that doesn't mean we can't use this fun lil' guy inspired by my love of cute office supplies! NO SIREE. Here, some links to get you started:


Feel free to offer these up on your blog but (of coures) only if you link back here! And please, let me know so I can stop by and say thanks!!

Monday, November 19, 2012

prints charming


Have you heard of Minted? It's a pretty good website to get completely sucked up into, only to come out an hour later dreaming about baby shower invitations and moving announcements - even though you're in no way planning on having a baby OR moving. 

The nice thing is that they sort of have a Threadless-style system going, with themed challenges for artists and designers to submit too... with promises of prize money and a cut of the profits if you're picked! Obviously there are more direct ways to make money as an artist, but I sort of like the homework-esque feel to these challenges. After all, the pressure of a deadline always works well for me.

So here's my little plea, oh Dear Lovely Readers of My Blog. Would you go vote for my submission to their latest art print challenge? I'm quite happy with what I came up with, and hopefully you are too!

And even if you don't vote for it, at least go look around. There's a lot of fun stuff to find, and a lot of talented people contributing!

Monday, November 12, 2012

bake off




Aw man guys, this weekend was great. It delivered. I am satisfied. Much relaxation was done, but the highlight was, as Alli dubbed it, PUMPKINFEST 2K12 (pronounced "two-kay-twelve", of course). With two sugar pumpkins and a few baking accessories in tow, I made my way over to Alli's house Saturday afternoon. A few hours later I emerged with three different pumpkin dishes and a sense of supreme Fall happiness.

And, of course, a full stomach!

They were so pretty, I couldn't help but draw them all. 
I'd never made pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin, but it was surprisingly easy! Just a little more time consuming, and the final product was just a little more textured. I can't find the recipe we used, but I substituted half the heavy cream for a quarter cup of very strongly brewed chai tea, for some spice. These awesome piecrust cutters came in handy for some simple decorations.

Do you like pancetta, fontina cheese, brocollini, pumpkin and more pie crust? If so then I really highly recommend this crostata recipe from Dramatic Pancake. I ended up using pumpkin instead of squash, premade pie crust and threw in a lot more fontina than they called for... but that's because I'm lazy and also I love cheese. It's seriously so delicious, rustic and tasty and makes the kitchen smell AMAZING.

Alli made this black bean & pumpkin soup, which was also so tasty. We sat around in the kitchen while this finished up and ate cheese and whipped up some hand made whipped cream for the pies. The soup is hearty and perfect for a dark fall (or winter!) night. 


Are you still in pumpkin mode? It's a hard habit to kick for me until Thanksgiving is over. 

Friday, November 9, 2012

looking forward to the weekend

friday

Welcome to the weekend, friends. I'm happy to report that my plans for the following days include relaxing and baking, which is a nice break from last weekend's major (enjoyable) frivolity. To celebrate, I made this little drawing. Yay!!! 

Here are some links to get your weekend going right:

-First put on this crazy awesome Korean girl group 2NE1 and get your dance on. I love the fashion (bling'd out baseball bat! hair horns! THE SHOES OH MY GAH) in this video, and the song sounds a little like current day Robyn, which I love. I'm falling down the Kpop rabbit hole, guys, and I don't think I want to come out of it.

-Are you the drinking kind? I've been making a whole lotta mulled cider with some whiskey poured in for a little extra happiness. My premade mulling spices just ran out, so now I'm looking to put some together myself - this recipe looks good.

-This adorable story about a dad who hacked into a Legend of Zelda for his daughter - cute and nerdy!

-Totally going to try to dig out the sponge rollers and try this out, the Beauty Department always has such good ideas!



In other news, yesterday I was featured on one of my absolute favorite illustration blogs: Pikaland! What a nice surprise :D - they always have such fun an interesting posts, you should seriously check them out some time.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

electoral


Whirlwind weekend leads to whirlwind beginning of week! My dearest little/taller brother was in town with his awesome lady, and we tried our darndest to show them a good time. After they were gone I went on an adventure to unlock my car (my fault) with Bill, and now I'm sipping a coffee after getting my vote on! What will tomorrow bring?

a halloween card, expertly picked by my expert greeting-card picking mother / an "I voted" sticker, straight from my most favorite polling place ever. They're so nice!

Settlers of Catan with my visiting family, of course the winner was the Catan Virgin / Tonkatsu Curry Ramen from Masu at the Mall of America. I will never eat at another MOA restaurant again, this place is the tops.