Serenity Now!

First off, happy Friday!  The upside of the 19 inches of snow that fell a few days ago, is that I haven't really left the apartment, but have been super-productive.  Gotta look on the bright side (even if I'm fuh-reezing!)

I am totally a little hippy girl at heart. Give me some trees, sunshine, some friends, and some good tunes and I am SET. Thus this print is born.  I've been trying to incorporate more people into my work lately, and I think this girl is a cutie!  Print is available in my shop.

Here's to a long, warm, and cozy weekend (and no more snow, jeez!)

Don't forget to Dance!

Don't Forget to Dance! print available here.

Dance, dance!  I felt like I needed a reminder to dance more and thought I would share this sentiment with the world.  Totally hanging this up near my computer!

It's crazy-snowing outside right now and I am quick-finishing up adding three new prints into my shop before heading out for a sketch-date at the Museum of Natural History (not a sketchy date, a date with a friend to sketch in our sketchbooks!)  It's nice to hibernate and all, but I go a little crazy-eyed if I don't leave the house at least once in the day! 

Stay warm and cozy! 

Magical Stardust Duo. Print available here.

Today Will Be Awesome.  Print available here.

Plushies!!!

Octopus

I'm excited to present a new product line in my shop, with a super-small edition of printed plushies! I had these fabrics all printed, using Spoonflower, and then machine and hand-stitched and stuffed them myself.  These are a test run batch, to see if they do well, before I decide to keep them in my shop permanently. So! SUPER small edition for now (like, only 2-3 of each one).

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Details:

Fabric: 100% Quilting weight Cotton

Stuffing: 100% Cotton

Professionally printed using Spoonflower

Kitty Cat

Bunny Rabbit

Pug

Owl

Penguin

Annnnd altogether!

Tamale time!

When my little sister was visiting me last weekend, I decided that we should have a cooking night in (brrr, it's cold out there!)  I wanted to make something time-consuming and different and something we don't eat often, so tamale time it was!  Tamales have been on the "things to make" list for awhile now, and it was the perfect night for them.  We made an improvised filling of black beans, rice, sauteed mushrooms, onions, and some sriracha and cumin seasoning, and used the recipe from Viva Vegan! to do the rest. Holy yum!   Added bonus: this makes a TON of leftovers, so into the freezer they go for later enjoyment!

Red Pandas!

I've been a wee bit obsessed lately with cute little Red Pandas, so I decided to paint one!  Seriously, they are so freaking cute! Can't stand it!  

Anyways, ahem.  I painted this 'lil guy with watercolors and acrylics on paper and made an 8"x10" print available in my Etsy shop!  

What would this world be like without adorable fuzzy animals?!

Dinorawr!

My little sister is visiting me all this week and we're going to see the dinosaurs today at the Museum of Natural History and then we are going to rock out later on to some Nintendo rock.  Talk about embracing our childhood!

I'm also excited for some Red Bamboo for dinner tonight. It's one of my favorite NYC restaurants!

The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Cookies (with choc. chips instead of raisins)

So I received The Vegan Cookie Connoiseur, by Kelly Peloza, before Xmas, but have been saving up making a post about it so I could sample some of the cookies. Lemme tell you, it's really hard to choose which ones to make! I mean, I wrote down a narrowed down list of about 20 that I had to try right off the bat.  I really like the "Cookies Inspired by Drinks" section and will soon make the Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, the Root Beer Float Cookies, and the Mocha Cappuccino Cookies. I made the White Russian Cookies (I sadly forgot to take a picture, but they were really pretty!) for my family and they loved them. I'll probably make some Hypnosis cookies for a late holiday party I have coming up and many more different kinds in the upcoming cold months. Holy yum!  And have I mentioned the pretty photos that accompany almost every recipe??  If it wasn't hard enough already to choose which recipe to make...

PB&J Thumbprints

Caramel Apple Bars

Inspiration: Ceramic Dog Planter by Miriam Brugman

Ohhh the cuteness!  I stumbled upon this handmade ceramic dog planter, by Miriam Brugman in her Etsy Shop, and I want to line my whole apartment with her planters and teapots now.

She has lots of other amazing drawings and ceramic work you can squeal over at her Flickr site!

Doodles: Today will be Awesome

I'm all gung-ho on this new year goals and resolutions stuff!  One thing I want to do this year is concentrate on my sketches a lot more, exploring things like type, figure drawing,  and from-life drawing.  Basically, things that I used to draw a whole lot, but haven't in the past couple years!

I had a pretty low-key new year's eve this year.  Nik and I went for take-out at a new mac 'n cheese place near us (they have vegan and gluten-free options! I had mac with cheddar Daiya, spinach, and mushrooms, and it was cheesetastic.), and watched movies all night. There was a bad movie (Antichrist) and a this-is-so-amazing-go-watch-it-now movie (The Fall.) This was the first weekend we've been able to stay home and have no commitments since November, so I was pretty excited to just do NOTHING.

How was your weekend??

So anyways, hello Monday, I hope you will be awesome!