Ye Olde Art Box

Some of these items have been with me since elementary school.

This weekend the paints came out, the first time since last winter if I'm being honest. I've decided paint, or gouache on paper specifically, is not my best medium. Whaddya know, I'm not the next Maira Kalman. Maybe trying it more than once a year would help. Still, I had fun once I lowered my expectations.


Since I have a thing for still-lifes, I painted butter. 

The butter actually looks pretty life like in photos!

While the first layer of yellow was drying, I painted the half of my gargantuan piece of coffee cake that I had yet to eat. It's a pretty abysmal representation. Let's just say I'm proud of myself that I finished it without giving up and eating the rest of the cake.


Last but not least, I made a birthday card for Mr. SevPrez in the style of Anna Bond at Rifle Paper Co. She must have an impressive array of skinny brushes, and a lot of patience.

My main man turns 36 tomorrow.

Age of Aquarius

I loved Oh Happy Day's party in a box so much that I thought, short of making it happen, I should draw it on a card for my friend's 30th birthday. 

I was limited in my supplies... Sharpies aren't my favorite for work on paper, way too much bleed, but hey, homemade beats store bought any day, right? 

The Barefoot Contessa Next Door

My mom's good friend and next door neighbor, and my most loyal reader, was kind enough to host a birthday brunch to celebrate my mother. It was a true feast. Usually brunches in my family are carb-fests, with the usual spread of bagels, homemade granola, and belgian waffles or popovers to order. But our host, being an intrepid and adventurous chef extraordinaire, filled her spread with quiche, and egg caserole, homemade turkey sausage, irish soda bread, zucchini bread, bread pudding, salad, fruit... well you get the idea. There were even appetizers to munch on while all of the hot food was being prepared.  


Some say our host resembles the Barefoot Contessa. She certainly rivals her excellence and ease in throwing great parties. As the party wound down, a stack of to-go containers appeared in the kitchen, next to all of the leftovers, and guests were urged to make a plate to bring home. What an excellent idea! 

My humble contribution was a hummingbird birthday cake, which everyone seemed to enjoy even though they were stuffed. I was particularly happy that Mr. SevPrez had two pieces, since he pledges such allegiance to yellow cake with buttercream icing that he tends to scoff at any other variety cake I make.


Party favors were sent home with each guest, having been lovingly made and crafted by a talented guest. Adorable custom bags were filled with chocolate Kisses with my mom's face on the bottom. They really made the party, and I know my mom was tickled pink. I think my next birthday wish will be to have life-long friends as caring and thoughtful as my mom's. Top quality I tell ya!

Another Wizarding Accessory

I forgot to mention a crucial piece of the Harry Potter loving puzzle in my last post -- my Constellation Baggu. It is the Baggu to end all Baggus.

For those of you unfamiliar with Baggus, they are the originator of the reusable nylon grocery bag. It's the same shape as a plastic grocery bag, but holds 3 times the amount of weight. When you're not using it, you scrunch it up into a little pouch that it comes with and throw it back into your purse or car. Not only does it help the environment out, it helps you contain the beast that is the exploding mountain of shopping bags under your sink. It's also helpful for disguising presents during Christmastime. Speaking of which, three ladies in my life received Baggus this year as part of their Christmas presents. To the naked eye they might not seem so exciting, but once you start using them their awesomeness is fully evident.

Arry Potta

That's Harry Potter to you. It's been hard to blog about anything when I've had my nose in Harry Potter books since Christmas. Well actually, right after Christmas I read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest on my new Nook Color. It was so great, I even brought it to the gym with me so I could swipe pages while I ran on the treadmill, which worked beautifully. 


Unfortunately you can't get any of the seven Harry Potter books on the Nook, so it's been paperbacks all the way. I am almost finished with the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire. I know what you're wondering, have I seen the movies? Yes I have, all seven of them. (The final movie comes out this summer.) I've even seen most of them in the last month. This hasn't ruined anything for me though. I don't mind not being surprised. I actually think it helps me manage my excitement, because I get to enjoy everything more as it's happening, instead of just hypothesizing about what's going to happen. Also, I as I get deeper into the series and the books get longer, there are more and more differences between the books and the movies, which have been simplified and changed for the screen. 


I find myself wanting to wear purply dresses with tiny gold stars. And cook soups in cauldrons. Just kidding. But I do enjoy the new JillEllen Designs Aubrey necklace that my sister-in-law got me for my birthday. I feel like it is my magical amulet that still passes for a chic accessory. I've got everyone fooled. 

Two Thousand Eleven

I'm sad this week is over, I've really been enjoying saying "happy new year!" to people, it's such a hopeful greeting to friends and strangers alike. One of my intentions for the new year was to be friendlier to strangers, so it's been nice to have a greeting in my pocket.

Charlie Brown tree #2

The Christmas tree came down on Friday. All the holiday decorations are packed away and the house is spotless. It'd been a while since every room in the house got a thorough scrub down, and I forgot how good it feels. I am loving my house right now, and only wish it would stay this way forever. Our cat Sonny, however, prefers a mess.

I got an email from the Sketchbook Project people. They were just reminding me that my sketchbook has to be postdated in less than two weeks. Meanwhile it hasn't seen the light of day since November. Whoops. I am going to try and fill some more pages this weekend.


I did manage to make this drawing for my niece's bedroom. Framed it in a big white Ikea frame and I'm told it's going above her bed, the ultimate honor. In case you're wondering, her name is Georgia. (We all live in NJ.)

My brother informed me this week that Georgia brought it to school with her on Wednesday, for show and tell, because the letter of the day was G! I nearly cried. 


And my friend and I are in talks to open a pop-up shop in Asbury Park... That's all you get for right now. Stay tuned for more details!


Promise to post more frequently! The holidays really got the best of me this year.