Kitty Genius

Book By Its Cover

For those of you you don't know about Book By Its Cover please allow me to now gush. It is run by the immensely talented Julia Rothman.

I am honored to be the latest artist featured in the Sketchbook Series. You can see mine right here.

Few things thrill me more than getting a peek into someone else's sketchbook. It's like my version of celebrity gossip magazines (ok, ok, celebrity gossip magazines are also like my version of celebrity gossip magazines : ) ) But, this is faaaaar more exciting.

Seriously, Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva? Camilla Engman? And Julia Rothman herself? Guuuuh. So good.

And the children's section…

Needless to say, it's one of my absolute favorite sites. I could not believe that I didn't know about it until Julia asked me to share my sketchbook a while back.

I hope you enjoy the site as much as I do and have a fantastic weekend!!

The Quiet Tap Tap Tap of Rain

It's the nicest sound listen to with the windows and a book open. And the breeze bringing in the smell of spring.

Our little "indoor garden" is growing. My best friend Loren surprised me today with that little fern-like moss. I love it!

Another thing growing in our apartment (thanks to New York) is my bauble collection.

These are the newest:

My taste in jewelry ranges from the dainty to the grotesque. Wood, bling, plastic, precious metals, and thrift store finds. I love it all.

And to store some of my favorite rings, I just bought this (as you can see above or below) from CB2.

It's a perfect little functional sculpture in my opinion, for a whopping $8!

I hope you enjoy your day!!

New York, New York

(the view from our patio/roof. I love the Barbie doll.)

WE ARE BACK!!! Our vacation was fantastic. One of my very few complaints is that didn't have enough time. There were some friends, blog friends, and family I wanted to visit with (I hope you know who you are) but didn't have the chance to see—let alone e-mail, since as I mentioned we forgot our AC adapter, and I think I went through computer withdrawal. : )

We rented a little studio in the East Village (Drew's old neighborhood) conveniently located above a 24-hour market. We used NY City Living as the broker, and I have to say I was a bit nervous, but it was a very positive experience. So, if you want to visit NYC and stay in an apartment instead of a hotel (we felt in the middle of everything and had the option to go to a grocery store and cook) I would suggest checking them out.

(the market below our apartment)

We of course visited MOMA, the Met, and the Guggenheim. There are some awesome exhibits right now. Please take a minute and click "view online exhibition". We also went to an opening at Giant Robot. We are now the proud owners of a piece by the fabulous Kelly Lynn Jones.

We strolled all around Central Park, Times Square (I made Drew go), Chinatown, Canal Street, and most of Manhattan (we didn't make it to the West Village).

We of course visited the Etsy Labs where EVERYONE was as gracious and kind as I could ever imagine. Thank you guys!!

(Mary's taking a picture of us taking a picture of her, hee hee)

We had a tour of Brooklyn with the best tour guide ever. Thank you so much, Grace.

Basically, we walked, bought, and ate our way through the city.

Mmmm… frites.

Mmmm… cannoli.

Mmm… challah

(Really tasty food, but OMG the most laughable, atrocious service ever at this place. Hilarious.)

I am a weak woman. Especially when it comes to accessories of all kinds (jewelry, scarves, purses, sunglasses, knick knacks, gizmos, thingies). Aaaahhh, there was a lot of self control on my part. Drew may have a different opinion ; )

And above all else, we are on the lookout for a new city to call home. Next stop, Portland, Oregon! Although, I must say I never feel prouder to be from St. Louis than when I'm away from it. It is a fantastic city in its own right. For me, I just wish it was on a coast.

And the silliest, worst part of the trip? Our flight was canceled and it was this big horrible mess (as anyone who has ever been to an airport would know). And we had the *pleasure* of staying at the airport Ramada. Yeah, this picture pretty much sums up the whole experience…

But even so, it was awesome. I hope you had a great last week or so too!!

We're Loving It!!

We're still on vacation and loving it!! Thanks so much for all the warm wishes! I just wanted to pop in and say that even though I'm still gone the shop is back!

It was rather funny, (but not at all to me for the first two days) we forgot the AC adapter for the computer. So, with super limited computer time this is even more of a vacation than I was expecting : )

Have a wonderful week!!

And I just have to say, Emily you were FANTASTIC on Martha!!!!!!

We're Outta Here!!!

Drew and I are off on our first real vacation together (that's over 4 years!). I even closed the shop for the first time ever. What will I do if I can't obsessively check and answer my e-mail? I guess relax!

I can't wait to tell you all about it when I come back. But as a procrastinator, I have a few last things to do : )

I will be back the end of next week (around March 22). So all my e-mail while I'm M.I.A. will be answered as soon as I can when I get back!

All in a Day

So my blog post for today is actually on another blog. I delighted when Erin from Design For Mankind asked me to participate in her ongoing series The Dailies. You can read mine right here! Thanks again Erin!

Overall, the weekend was a bit slower than it should have been but well spent. Saturday Drew and I went to some estate sales in the morning (we hadn't been in awhile) and then I was seduced (rather easily) by my sister, Autumn, to go get coffee and hit some thrift stores.

In the p.m. Autumn, Hillary (my other sister), and I all went out. And it struck us all that we have never ever been "out on the town" (meaning at night) together, all three of us and just the three of us. Sounds strange, but Autumn's almost seven years older than me, Hillary has always worked weekday days, and I have always worked weekends and nights, and then of course we normally aren't all living in the same city. So, in all seriousness, it felt pretty special.

I hope everyone had a nice little weekend and Daylight Savings! Woo-hoo!

Bearded Guys Around the Country

Kristof

Finnegan

Nicholas

Kristof, Finnegan, and Nicholas are in New Hampshire at artstream studios. You can order them online right here! Like all bearded guys these are editions of 10. I also have originals available!

Ian

Jacob

Ian and Jacob are now available at NYC-based The Shiny Squirrel!

Randolph

And Randolph is in San Fransisco at Rare Device!

And for those of you looking for originals and I do have some available right here at Velocity. Also available at Velocity are some exclusive limited edition prints.

I pretty much covet everything that these shops and galleries offer. You know like this, this, this, and this to name a few. I'm sure most of you have taken time before to browse through these shops but if you haven't, consider yourself warned. You may get lost in want : )

Today I paid taxes and went to the dentist. Bleeeeehh to say the least. On the plus side: no cavities! On the down side: apparently the reason I have not been able to really chew on my right side since I was 19 (oh, it's true), and why I am now having pains on my left, may all be sinus-related. I am a walking ball of sinus pressure from my squishy eye to my throbbing face. So, this just might make sense. Stupid sinuses… they ruin everything.

What is one to do after a day of taxes and dental work? Clean the apartment and then work out, of course. I am now ready to curl up with my book, to say the least, and maybe a wee bit of guilty pleasure television ; )

Snowtarded

It's a snow day!!!!!!!!!WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dressed, caffeinated, and ready to go.

Our wee snow person.

Look! It's a Drew in the snow : ) We walked around a very empty neighborhood. It's fun to be the first person to make tracks on the sidewalk.

And it's still coming down! I imagine it's the last one of the season so I'm going to relish it. Though with how this winter has been, who knows. 75° one day and 28° the next.

The wet clothes and boots are by the door. I'm going to make hot chocolate. My only regret is that we didn't get a sled this year.

HELLO March

The weekend is here and so is March! And in addition to patio seating at restaurants, open windows, and the beginning of street cleaning, it means it's time for another HELLO print! HELLO March, a.k.a. "Incognito" is now available in the shop!

This month's charity is Conservation International.

"Our mission is to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. We apply innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity in the biodiversity hotspots, high-biodiversity wilderness areas as well as important marine regions around the globe."

And if you have a bit of moustache envy you can hope right over here and check out all the great stuff Something's Hiding in Here has to offer.

It's super late (or super early) and it's definitely past my bedtime. But I could not bear spending another Friday night watching "What Not To Wear," so we headed out to a late dinner and then drinks, coffee, and I even squeezed three games of bubble hockey in. I lost : (

And in totally unrelated news I am loving Papa Nicholas Hazelnut Creme and Trader Joe's sea salt brownie bites. Those two will solve any craving!

Ok, have a great weekend!!