bloody brilliant

A few important facts about my Ideal Bloody Mary:

-The mix itself should be spicy & substantial, but you can still taste the tomato. Also not a lot of horse radish.

-The add-ons need to be more than just a celery stalk, but not insane. We're talking cheese cubes, not cheeseburgers.

-Definitely need a pickle.

-BEER BACKS. Seems to be something I saw more in Minnesota than out west, but I'm convinced that they are a necessary balance for the bloody. 

It's been a lot of radio silence on the blog, which I think is something I mention in every post... so this will be the last mention of it! I feel like a lot of the things I'd normally reserve for blogging end up on Instagram now... has anyone else noticed this? I'd like to keep up with the blog, but it may be round ups of my goings on instead of more regular weekly posts. You can still follow me on instagram for the silly stuff though!

Ideally I should have a handful of things to show off in the near future though... stay tuned!

bagel & talks

New year, new blog!

I'd like to try to do some process posts again this year - specifically showing my process for pattern and animated gif making. Obviously I am no animation master, but personally I love seeing people's process... even if it's way different from mine.

Here's the most recent sparkle food I made! I had BAGELS ON THE BRAIN... specifically bagels from Bagel Broker, but perhaps only because that's the only place I've had bagels since we moved to LA. But they're GOOD BAGELS. REALLY GOOD.

In other news: Lisa and I have a new pin! Okay this is sort of old news if you follow our instagram account. SORRY, I'm bad at blog updating etc etc etc.

But anyway, this new little bebe is based on Medjed. What, you haven't heard of this obscure Egyptian god who's mentioned only one time in the Book of the Dead? WEIRD. JK, I hadn't heard of him until Lisa brought him to my attention. Apparently he's experienced somewhat of a revival thanks to Japan and the internet. Know Your Meme explains it better than me.

We'd love to make more pins and OTHER FUN THINGS in the future too. If there's something you'd like to see let us know! We're friendly, I promise.

playing ketchup

Here in the US it's Labor Day! There's a lot of history surrounding this day, but most people just celebrate the fact that they don't have work and can drink beer & grill up some hot dogs in the middle of the day - which, I'll admit, is kind of what I do. Except we don't have a grill, so instead I digitally grilled up a SPARKLE DOG.

Tell me, interwebs, what do you like on your hot dog? I'm a simple ketchup and mustard girl myself, although I do prefer that the dog be grilled within an inch of it's life. Crispy dogs 4ever.

cherry on top

I was totally going to start doing these sparkle foods weekly. I think I maybe even promised that on this very blog? Okay yes I just went back and looked and I did indeed bandy about the word "weekly". The problem appears to be that I have a hard time keeping up with ongoing personal projects because I get VERY EXCITED about other person projects/paying jobs. 

Anyway, I'm now saying that sparkle foods will be a semi-regular series. And here's the latest edition! This started as a photo:

And then some super cool buddies of mine suggested I turn it into a sparkly gif! Challenge ACCEPTED of course, and then I realized that I would have to figure out how to make the food move - all the other ones have some sort of moving part besides the sparkle. Eventually I called to mind our old place in St. Paul, where a tree right outside our windows would make these suuuuper dreamy leaf shadows that quietly swayed back and forth.

It took me... awhile... to figure out how to actually make that work in animated form. Have I mentioned before that I only took ONE animation class and that was all the way back in like 2006? I'm not a very good animator you guys.

For reference, here is my insane-o work screen. I wish I would have taken screenshots of my process so you could see the whole thing, but this should sum up the craziness. Does anyone else like seeing how people lay out their Photoshop? I am VERY interested in it, in a weird voyeuristic way. #showmeyourphotoshop 

yeah yeah I hardly ever name my layers, yell at me now.

drink up

This post is dedicated to all you folks out there who have this Friday off work. Go ahead, kick back! Watch too much TV, read a book, talk a long walk to that place with the iced lattes you like... and bring me back one! I'm a sucker for an iced latte.

I'm also a sucker for a tasty cocktail (duh). Last weekend I got some ingredients together for a greyhound slushie to make with my ladies and came home with plenty of extra supplies! That's when I realized I also had various fruit seltzers, and thus this modified greyhound was born.

This isn't exactly a breakthrough in cocktail science or anything, I just took a greyhound (grapefruit juice + vodka) and added some fruity seltzer, but hey! It was an excuse to draw more cocktail ingredients, which I'm still obsessed with. If there's a publisher out there looking for an illustrated book of cocktails LEMME KNOW. I would be so down for that.

What are your plans for the 4th? Mine involve an American flag vest and probably tater tot hot dish - it was a hit at the last BBQ I went to, probably because nobody in Los Angeles has ever heard of it!

p.s. Here's a preview of a fun 4th of July piece I made for Bright's newest campaign. Check out the whole thing here!

ice ice baby

It's officially summer! It's been feeling VERY summery here in LA for awhile now - especially according to my computer, who starts the fans up around noon every day. It makes me so nervoussssss.

Anyway, I made a sparkly ice cream cone to celebrate the changing of the seasons. No matter where you are I hope you can grab a cool, tasty treat soon! These little sparkly food gifs (I've been calling them #sparklefoods) have been really fun for me to work on. I might try to make it into a weekly series! Is there a kind of food you'd like to see next?

unlisted #8

Another set of items occupying my mind grapes - from the edible to the legible! Previous versions: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

bloodline | We were hurting pretty bad, TV-wise, after finishing House of Cards AND The Jinx in short succession. I love a good crime drama, true or fiction. After two episodes of this show I'm thinking it's exactly what I needed. Doesn't hurt that  Kyle "America's Favorite Coach/Police Offier" Chandler is in it.

korean bbq pizza | There's not a lot that can tear me away from a classic red sauce on a piece of pizza (I'm looking at you, white sauce- you have no right being on my pizza), but this recipe made me think twice. I'll admit, I was lazy and got a premade BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's, but they had this new sriracha kind and I really want to try it. Also I used premade dough too. No regrets.

myth, magic, and millennials | Usually when an article uses the word "millennial" in the headline I roll my eyes and go back to checking instagram while I drink my kale cold pressed juice. I KID I KID, but also not really. Anyway, this piece was actually really interesting and kinda hit the nail on the head for me.

good luck bar | After living within walking distance of this place for an entire year we finally made it over to Good Luck Bar to have some tasty tiki drinks. Of course, nothing holds a candle to Psycho Suzi's when it comes to tiki tastiness, but I definitely enjoyed my rum concoction.

the southern reach trilogy | I got the first book in Jeff VanderMeer's "sci fi" (if you could call it that and I still don't really know what to call it) trilogy from the library, and it so captivated me that the next day I ran out and bought the whole collected series. It helped that I'd seen the cover making the interweb rounds for quite some time and thought it was gorgeous and perfect, but really it's this weird/strange/gross/scary/beautiful story that got me so excited.

newpon | I follow two different rabbits on instagram. One of them is this fella.

see salt

EXCITING NEWS, I-FRIENDS! A little salt shaker that I drew is sitting pretty on the cover of Park Nicollet's Be Well magazine! The lovely Jacey Braband art directed this informative piece about the places sodium likes to hide (short answer: in all the foods you love) and I had a BLAST with it.

I mean, look, LOOK! I got to draw cute little grains of salt...

And the aforementioned salty foods! I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record... but I LOVE drawing food, forreal. This loaf of bread was especially fun, because bread has the best shapes. Please, everyone, hire me to draw all the foods.

tubular

Ahhh, Thanksgiving. Perhaps my favorite holiday? Shh, don't tell Halloween. Or Christmas. Or any of them really, I love all holidays.

ANYWAYYYY this was our first Los Angeles Thanksgiving, and it was a successful one. Prosecco was imbibed, deviled eggs were noshed on, pups were petted, turkey was consumed. Even though it was in the 80s until sunset I could feel myself getting into the winter holiday spirit.

Our contributions were cranberry relish (how I love thee) and roasted sweet potatoes with a spicy coconut creme fraiche. Doing research on a sweet potato dish reminded me of how hilarious the word tuber really is. Well done, little sweet potato, well done.

children of the corn

Ahh, October. A crisp breeze blows through the air, the leaves change, scary movies are watched. Well okay, I'm still on the fence about that last one... let's just say an overactive imagination doesn't mix well with creepy children lurking around the corner. You know what does mix well though?

....I mean, if you hadn't guessed from my little animation above, the answer is PEANUTS AND CANDY CORN. This "trail mix" was introduced to me by a fellow college classmate and I think I've made it allllmost every year since then. If you like candy corn you'll LOVE it, and if you don't like candy corn then what are you even doing here. Next you're going to tell me you don't like circus peanuts or black jelly beans!! 

My taste in candy may be a little strange.

Anyway, if you'd like to make this delicious concoction for yourself I have very generously illustrated this DIFFICULT RECIPE for you.

Yep, that's it. All you have to do now is sit back, relax, and enjoy as you watch Halloween for the umpteenth time because that's the only scary movie you can actually watch without waking up in the middle of the night due to ghost nightmares. 

What's your favorite Halloween treat? If you say apples and toothbrushes you can also leave.

Just look at that beauty.

Toasted

LE SIGH. Another session of Make at that Sells is drawing to an end. At least the last assignment was loads of fun - party paper inspired by Bavarian and Ukranian folk art? Yes okay! I had a good time doing image research - check out the National Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art if you want to spend some time looking at some truly gorgeous textiles.
I'm super happy with my final product too! Because I'm a crazy person I made a repeating pattern for the napkin design, even though that wasn't really necessary. YOU'RE WELCOME, NO ONE.

Now I'm thinking about summer parties (did I mention it's been over 90 degrees pretty much all week? HOT, DYING OF SWEAT) and all that fun stuff. My party supplies might look nice at a summer BBQ with a vaguely European slant, ja? Please throw such a party and invite me. Here are some recipes to get you started:

Pigs in a Blanket / Dill Pickles / Spicy Shandy / Raspberry Tart

unlisted #7

Another set of items occupying my mind grapes - from the edible to the legible! Previous versions: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6
phone cases by julie kostreva | Ever since I got my shiny new 5c back in January I have been desperately hunting for a nice looking case. I don't know what possessed me when I decided to go with the hot pink over white for the actual phone - I mean, yes, it is a gorgeous color, but it looks CRAZYGONUTS underneath most conventional cases. Also nobody makes attractive 5C cases and sells them in store, because of reasons? Anyway, I finally admitted defeat and have been doing some online case shopping - and this simple one by Julie Kostreva might work perfectly with my neon iBaby! Julie also makes a faux marble case, which would look baller over a white phone.

true detective production design | Now that I've had plenty of time to mull over and mourn the end of True Detective I'm starting to think about the AMAZING production design. The devil's nests were my absolute favorite, and while I can't find an interview with Joshua Walsh (the artist that created them), this article in Vice  about the entire look of the show satisfied my needs.

firewatch | VIDEO GAME TALK ALERT. Oooh boy am I excited about Firewatch - it's got exploring elements like Skyrim and Minecraft, a weird narrative driven objective like Dear Esther, and artwork by Olly Moss!?!?!!? AHHH PLEASE BE EVERYTHING I WANT YOU TO BE.

gotta catch 'em all | SECOND AND FINAL VIDEO GAME TALK ALERT. I'm sure you've seen it, but today is April Fool's. My official favorite so far is the pokemons on mobile Google Maps, followed closely by LinkedIn's CMYK.

birch aquarium | Last weekend we took a day trip to San Diego to visit my brother - the Birch Aquarium was fully the highlight of the visit! They had a TON of creatures (jellies!!!) and a little tide pool petting zoo. So, you know, I touched an anemone.

blueberry lemon loaf | Latest baking conquest! We all know that all dessert can be eaten as breakfast, but this one really takes the cake. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAA Trithart out *drops microphone and walks off the stage*

merry & bright

I've been in Michigan for the past couple days, celebrating birthdays and holidays, last minute shopping and eating my heart out. In case you are jealous here's a recipe to start you on your journey to replicating Emma's Holiday Season 2013.

table setting

Hooray! I've finished up another project from the freelance files that I can now show to you. The Heavy Table is my go to blog for all things food related in the Twin Cities - I trust their opinion dearly, going so far as to order the flavor of ice cream they liked from the ice cream place around the corner. They're also behind so many exciting food related projects, the most recent one being the Secret Atlas of North Coast Foods. It was already fully funded on Kickstarter (woo!) when I got the call to supply some spot images of random foods found all across this fair land. 

 In the book these babies will probably be black and white, but I find it easiest to start in color and adjust the greyscale after everything is all finished up. Does that sound crazy? It sounds crazy now that I'm typing it.

Whatever, HANDS IN THE AIR DON'T CAREEEE (insert appropriate emoji here). How about you just enjoy this sampling of some of the images that I included on my website and buy that dang book as soon as it's out! And then hire me to make some food illustrations for you, because IT IS SO FUN.

pie chart

Last week I got an e-mail from Annie asking me if I wanted to help her make typographic pies. How could I say no? Lettering and desserts... it's too good to be true!

So I came up with some designs on the fly and made my way to her adorable apartment in Minneapolis and we scrapped some fancy pies together! 

A pro tip to everyone who wants to try this at home: maybe try a simpler design than I came up with at first, or try something on a flatter pie. The peach and apple pies were ever so difficult to get perfect.. and don't get me started on the intricacies of baking the negative spaces inside the letters separately!

Instead let's just admire all the gorgeous photos that Annie took...

We gave up on the pie above after having tested a few others - this one would've been impossible to read if I had cut out the crust, so we dusted it with cinnamon! WIN.

bonus! some behind the scenes photos I took on my phone...

 

fair enough

After reading Annie's round up of her day at the fair (she got some DONUT BEER, so jealous) I figured I might as well do a little one of my own!

If you're not from Minnesota you, as I did when I moved here, might be scratching your head in confusion. "The state fair?" You might be asking yourself, "People go to those? Isn't it just a bunch of cows?" I mean, yes, it is a bunch of cows. BUT THERE'S MORE. Minnesota takes its fair VERY seriously - the fairgrounds are on a permanent stake of land, not a field like all the county fairs I'd been to in Michigan. There are PERMANENT buildings. There are REAL STREETS, you can see them on google maps and everything! Maybe other states do this as well, but in Michigan they don't even have a state fair anymore, so I can't exactly speak on the matter.

But really folks, the most important part of the fair is getting the weirdest food you can, drinking beer, walking around, people watching and maybe playing some arcade games. This year we went late on the very last day, so all the animals were already gone... but it was nice and cool, and the crowds were down. You could even hear the vocal stylings of Toby Keith wafting from the Grandstand.

 

waiting in line outside the grandstand for our fried olives / first beer of the day

In case you were curious, here is a list of everything I tasted on that day. If you're into healthy food you  might want to skip this portion, otherwise you may experience heart palpitations.

-cheese curds

-beer (3)

-comet corn (illustrated above, these were like.. liquid nitrogen soaked, cap'n crunch flavored nuggets)

-fried olives stuffed with cream cheese (worth the amazingly long wait)

-a piece of fried banana

-corn dog

-cronut dosant 

-minneapple pumpkin pie and cinnamon ice cream

   

clockwise: the last fried olive / alex goes for the gold / giant jenga sits alone / alli and her dosant haul

We also went down the giant slide, which was more fun than one might think.

 

inside the agriculture & horticulture building / kidway at dusk