My Lately

Cold brew coffee

Starting to work on my 2013 calendar...

Loungin'

Right-side up Pineapple Cupcakes, from Vegan Cupcakes take over the World. (I used spelt flour and added some blueberries too.)

Teacup Succulents

Custom Save-the-Date postcards for a customer's wedding. I love custom orders, hit me up if you need something!

Another custom order; Watercolor painting of a cat in a suit of armor, riding a flying Spaghetti Monster, with his sword to the sky! Yes! 

Fridge Photos

During my cleaning spree on New Year's eve, I decided to clear off all the clutter on fridge (that has been there forever.) It felt good at the time, but later on, it just felt so EMPTY!  I decided to take some inspiration from this post at A Beautiful Mess, and print out a bunch of my instagram photos I have taken with my phone over the last year or so. SO glad I did! My fridge is instantly happier! Also, I learned that I take a whole lot of photos of my cat, my bf, and food. :)

I like this idea of changing it every year, and displaying different memories and good times. Brings a smile to my face every time I open the fridge!

Where did all the trees go? (Queue Tegan and Sara...)

Every year, right after Christmas in the park near where I live, there starts a mass tree grave that just grows and grows every time I pass by. People just bring their Christmas trees here to discard. It is so sad looking!

I took a nice long walk around the neighborhood today, enjoying the oddly-warm-for-December temperature and sunshine, while taking some photos. 

Happy B-day Miles and Sweet Summer Days

It was my sweet kittie cat's birthday on the 4th of July. Yep! 4th of July baby!  Miles turned 9 and spent the day celebrating kitty-style (sleeping). Nine years he has been with me...they fly!

I went outside to sketch yesterday afternoon and it was absolutely gorgeous. I need to do that more often, or at least do it while the temperature and heat is still bearable.  Nik and I are going to visit his parents in PA this weekend and I'm pretty excited to get out of the city. A change in scenery always does one good!

Texas Flowers

I like flowers, and there were lots of wildflowers in Texas, so obviously this worked out well for me!

Some pretty findings:

Agave plant

Spot the grasshopper!

I got one of these gigunda thorns stuck in my foot...

Cactus flowers

Texas Photos

Cement hands

     After Renegade in Austin, my Mom, Sisters, Uncle, Aunt, and I drove to my other Aunt and Uncle's home a ways north of Dallas.  I loved it so, so much there!  They are caretakers for a holy-huge-house and preserved land for a family that usually lives in Dallas, but has this really great vacation home in the middle of nowhere.  My Uncle and Aunt are such great people (and she is a super-great artist and photographer), and I loved their eclectic home decorated with such fun and different things.   It was so great to spend time with family that I never see, and even meet some I haven't met before!  

I have a thing for photographing flowers, so I have a separate post with those in a bit!

Findings hanging from tractor steering wheel

crystal mobile

Buddy

Handmade mosaic in the garden at the Big House

My Sisters, Mom, and I 

Rocks I collected.

Oh yeah. 

Super-dee-duper Mailing List time!

Mailing List Signup!

Hello!  Happy Monday!  Thank you for all the birthday wishes last week! 

They made me feel all warm and fuzzy. :)

 I hope your weekend was swell!  Mine was nice and cozy, with a huge thunderstorm Saturday night and a gorgeous day on Sunday.  I love wandering around in the Springtime, taking photos, people-watching, and running into all the things that I love about NYC. There are a lot of things that I hate about it, but the good parts are what keep me here.  I guess it evens out?

So, I started a mailing list a few weeks back and quietly put up a signup on my sidebar here on the blog.  I'm a little touchy about receiving mailing lists myself, so I'm going to keep mine super-special and fun.  Like only sending them out 4-6 times a year.  I'm going to include little freebies and downloadables,  along with market schedules and news, and super-special sneak-peeks and sale coupons (for newsletter subscribers only.)  Anyways, I hope you will sign up!   xo, Michelle

NYC can be perrrty! View from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Grate at Highline Park

Windows at Highline Park

I never understand the shoes on the line thing.  Nice (and expensive!) shoes too! Found in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Rainbow mountains

I went to Lake Pleasant this weekend and had a blast with some friends and nature. Good food, sights, friends, and laughs always makes for a nice get-away. We did a lot of hiking on saturday; Up to a waterfall and then across a river! Being in the woods, surrounded by the pretty moss and fungi and tiny plants and bendy roots is always inspiring and I got some good nature shots, I think.

Back to the grind tomorrow and I have a huuuuge "to-do" list to get done this week. Hopefully I can stick with it!

(click to enlarge)