I'm not the greatest about keeping up with this thing am I? I'm better with this than I am with most things though, so that should tell you something. 


I've been tired of working with watercolors for a while, I kept getting big urges to paint something, pulling out my box of paint only to get discouraged. I realized I've never tried oil paints which first weirded me out and second made me incredibly excited. On a whim I ran over to Asel Art Supply (ugh, but it's all I've got in Austin.) and spent all my money ($78) on paint. I bought a a couple of vibrant, beautiful colors in holbein and the more basic white/black stuff in cheaper brands. Wow! It felt so good to try out something new, I feel creative again!


Why aren't there any good art supply stores in Austin? I know this is primarily a music town but you'd think they'd have something. I get homesick for New York and the massive Pearl Paint on Canal St. Can't get much better than that. 

   
   I just got back from New York, I was there for the release of our second book The Borough of Blackwell.  It's a children's story about a little girl named Bonnie that stumbles upon a 6th borough in New York City, magical adventures ensue! Patrick wrote is about 2 years ago and I illustrated it this year. It feels really nice to see it in the store, finally!                                                            
                                                                    

Homemade Sushi

After feeling discouraged about my food allergies and desperately craving sushi, Ray and I decided to try making our own. Considering how much I love sushi I really don't know how it took me so long to try this. 

       Ingredients we used:

• Nori (Emerald Cove -10 sheets) 
• Salmon (1/2 lb)
• Cucumber 
• Avocado
• Carrots
• Ikura (wild salmon roe)  
• Cream cheese (White Mountain Bulgarian yogurt drained in a cheese cloth for a few days)

We went to the Whole Foods on N. Lamar Blvd, they have a sushi bar so we were able to buy sushi grade fish from there and we already had the salmon roe which we order from Vital Choice.

There are a few ways to do a roll but this was easiest for us.

Lay the nori shiny side down on the mat, I'm allergic to rice so we skipped that part. Next we placed everything except the ikura in a thin line closer to the bottom of the nori than the top. Fold the bottom of the nori over your ingredients then squeeze, roll, squeeze, roll until you're done. 

I read on a few websites to be careful not to squeeze too hard because the nori is fragile, for us the most common problem was making the roll too loose, so squeeze away! All that's left is cutting the roll into small pieces and we put the ikura on top of ours. 

Not the most beautiful rolls but certainly delicious! Now that we know how simple this is, we'll definitely be trying more adventurous rolls next time! 

I can almost smell the coffee and bacon

Wouldn't you love to wake up here? This reminds me of my Great Aunt Dotty's old lake house in Georgia. In all my memories of that place the lighting is just like this.   

 From http://cabinspiration.tumblr.com/

love bug.

I've always been interested in entomology, maybe it's because my maiden name is Bugg, although I'm pretty sure Bugg comes from Buggy. Now that I think about it, it's safe to say my last name has nothing to do with my interest in insects at all, my ancestors were probably all cab drivers in Sweden. Anyway, here's an ink and watercolor drawing I did of a beetle a while back. 

 

Note to self:  do a series of insects driving cabs. Make millions! 

Marriage

    I'm in one of those weird transition periods of my life right now. It's such a bizarre feeling to recognize growth as it's happening, rather than reading an old journal that makes you cringe or through old friends with "remember when you use to be like..." It's only happened to me a few times, where I was conscious of evolving but I don't think you ever know the true extent of it until much later and maybe not even then, unless you're in therapy.

Marriage has definitely made me more introspective but I think there's a very thin line between getting to know yourself and losing yourself completely. I say that while in my first year of marriage so I really can't say for sure but it seems like something that will always be a struggle, it's a beautiful struggle, I can say that much. 

"To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with" - Mark Twain

Photos of Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward.

an introduction

 
  This might be an attempt to organize my life and career or just another way to distract myself from both. Time will tell. Today is the first day of spring which seems like a good excuse to start something new, it's easier than New Year's Day. January has too much pressure...  and it's January! How anyone could be motivated to do anything other than hide under wool blankets or play in the snow is beyond me.  


More than ever I want things to feel airy, with windows open and sunlight pouring in, it's necessary after a cozy but stuffy winter. Baseball is around the corner, flowers are back, summer clothes are already in store windows. I get excited about the start of any season but Spring is long awaited. It's safe to daydream about swimming in the middle of the ocean now because I know it's just around the corner.  


It's strange how you associate certain movies, books and places with a season. You do that right? No? Just me? Spring makes me want to fly to San Francisco, read 'The Stranger' and watch 'Roman Holiday.' Summer arrives and it's Maine, 'Death in Venice' and 'The Graduate' but I'm not going to rush it, I have until June 20th before those kick in.