it's 84 degrees today here in San Diego, but still somehow feels like fall. Or indian summer. maybe it's the daylight savings thing -- i always dread the fall one, because the sun in my eyes at 6am makes it so i can't sleep, and the darkness at 5pm makes it so i can't work! probably the only perk of living in indiana, in my opinion, is that they don't bother with daylight savings at all over there. it was always such a source of confusion when driving from chicago to michigan (not unlike the time traveller's wife! we spent tons of time in south haven as kids) when in indiana we never knew what time it was supposed to be.
I feel right now like I have so much on my plate -- too much -- but I know I've handled this kind of work load in the past and I know I can do it again. I've been trying to use my time off to do good things for myself: whether it's taking in a good museum exhibit, going for a walk, or cooking a really awesome meal from scratch. i think that's how i weathered the storms in the past: balancing life with work, and i need to learn to do that again!
which reminds me: i welcome any fall recipes! If you have a good one, I'd love to get it. I've been making lots of curry + snickerdoodles these days.
Also, I've been blogging more over on my site -- really mostly about the shop and what's new with me and art. today I posted some paintings over there. But comments are enabled, so please visit me over there sometime.
ok. over and out.
it always feels weird to get back to work after a major event in my life (buying a house, having an art show...) part of me wants to reply to the 200+ people i get emails from every day "just wait a minute! this girl is positively exhausted! something big happened in her life and she needs to read a book or two and catch up on some sleep and go grocery shopping before she can handle anything next!" but alas, it's time to just move on, cause after the big event (art show, wedding, house/moving) is over, you really no longer have an excuse to take a break.
on a totally opposite note: thank you so much for everyone's warm congrats and kind words on my most recent post abt the wedding! i will share some more photos soon from the big day soon (although our hired photos won't be ready for another two months?)
but for now, maybe just look at the photo above of little peter p. finch and his nest, and marvel that a creature that small can build something so sturdy and soft and comforting.
check out this photo by our super-talented friends dustin & elvee, the same amazing people (and our neighbors!) who made our cake (see previous blog post):
our super no-two-people-should-be-this-talented friends took us for a beachy photoshoot the day of wedding 2, and how much fun we had! can you tell? (though after seeing how amazing their photos were, i am regretting not having professionally done my hair and makeup for them!)
anyway, we're giving ourselves this weekend to pay bills, read mail and get back to speed, move all the boxes out of our living room and catch up on sleep...
then moving on, though it feels so weird to do so.
( a couple more photos by Dustin & Elvee )
My brother and I were talking earlier this year about how we both always use the word "goodies", and we totally get that from our parents. Do you say 'goodies'? I didn't think so.I added lots of NEW GOODIES to the boygirlparty shop today, including four new tote bags (such as the one pictured here) and a new chickadee necklace. Plus, the latest book I illustrated "Let's Go Outside" just came out, which is also very exciting & available in the shop.
Not much else to report besides: two weeks until the wedding! Last night I had an anxiety dream that I dropped the ring and it rolled off the balcony we're getting married on. Um. Uh-oh. How do I gravity proof my life until November?
Oh, also, here are a few recent DRAWsomes
OH AND I FINALLY FULFILLED A LIFELONG DREAM: I SAW THE B-52S PLAY A CLUB SHOW! (Not so) secretly, I am a huge b-52's fan (see also: my cover of 'Legal Tender')...I just typed this whole long thing about all the songs they played and how excited I was to finally hear "52 Girls" live, and how dancing at that show reminded me of decades of listening to them, back in the 2nd grade when my sister and I used to hop around listening to Rock Lobster and Dance this Mess Around and Butterbean (which, by the way, totally instilled this bizarre obsession with eating butterbeans when we were kids). They are still so completely awesome, and such solid musicians. I deleted the whole long thing I had typed because I don't feel I can properly express what an exciting night it was.
Anyway. Back to your regularly scheduled program
My sister threw me the most amazing bridal shower ever the other day. She even ordered custom Sweet Chamomile, Orange and Bergamot soaps as favors for everyone (from local soapmaker Simply Soap), knowing how much I love handmade bath products! I felt so spoiled, and loved, even though many of my closest friends faraway weren't there. This past year has been really isolating, challenging and one in which I feel sometimes like I don't have a community, so it was really nice to feel the exact opposite for a day. (Thank you so much, Lilly- can't thank you enough, seriously)
If I'm quiet over here, it's just cause I'm busy and feeling uninteresting!
On a side note, though, I got all these new awesome cameras (Flip, an Intova underwater camera, and a Canon DSLR -- some first shots with the underwater cam + canon on Flickr!) so I look forward to sharing more visual updates soon!
My old point-and-shoot camera has a cluster of like 20 dead pixels in the middle of the screen which inevitably gives EVERYONE a hitler moustache when viewed on the screen, so it's been frustrating taking pictures as of late. So nice to have new fun stuff!
Which reminds me: if anyone has seen anything particularly awesome on Macy's (home goods section) or Amazon, please share - as we are looking for stuff to register for, and we are out of ideas in the stuff-we-will-register-for department!
Seacrest out.
Well, I'm pretty sure I've already gotten the weirdest part of the month over with news-wise, at least as far as personal news goes. Yesterday, my dad went in for a test CT scan, strictly to sample some new equipment the hospital got as a favor to make sure it functions or something, no biggie. Four hours later, he was in the hospital recovering from an angioplasty and two stents inserted in two dangerously clogged arteries commonly referred to as a really horrific term I can't bear to say or think.
My dad was discharged from the hospital this afternoon & is doing well all things considered, we're all shaken up, but boy am I counting my blessings. I'm so grateful for the health of my loved ones, and for the bravery and luck of my father & how this total fluke probably saved his life. I don't know when this panicked feeling in my heart will subside, I don't feel like this is real yet, but I'm just hoping the rest of August (and 2009 & 2010 & so on...) is smooth sailing & emergency-free.
Counting my blessings.
Telling my family I love them.
Feeling scared but grateful.
Exhausted.
(btw, highly recommended letterpress printer i worked with: http://glidewellpress.etsy.com )
and now, to find wedding bands and a dress and write our ceremony and we're pretty much done & just excited to have family/friends rolling into town...
so i finished that etgar keret book, and two more of the narnia books, and now i've started "animal, vegetable, miracle" inspired by having seen the documentary "food, inc" earlier this afternoon. i love having a bookshelf of unread books so my reading choices can meander around organically like this.yesterday we went snorkeling again, this time at la jolla shores, and saw at least 300 leopard sharks and guitarfish. it's a strange thing, floating in water only a few feet deep with sharks swimming freely under you, more than you can count, until you feel positively surrounded. and when the waves push you closer to them, even though you know they're harmless, your heart skips a beat. it's a thrill.
did you know you can get seasick snorkeling? i found out the hard way!
that said, i hope i can build up my sea tolerance so i can go on long swims in the ocean before summer's over. born & raised a midwesterner, salty water with living things in it bigger than i am still freaks me out.
i'm reading "girl on the fridge" (short stories by etgar keret) right now.
books i read these past few weeks: the first 4 books of the chronicles of narnia series (planning on conquering them all before summer's end), "walden" by henry david thoreau, "the pearl" by john steinbeck", "the stranger" by camus, "devil in the details" by jennifer traig, "goodbye tsugumi" by banana yoshimoto, "anagrams" by lorrie moore, and lots of others. it's been a reading-heavy summer so far, which is the best kind in my opinion.
really excited about some paintings i've been working on & some really great collaborations i've had the opportunity to do lately.. summer is feeling good so far.
other than that, not much going on over here. i hit the fabric district in LA yesterday with my mom & ended up buying something like 90 yards of fabric for various needs (butter yellow + vibrant robin's egg blue for you colorphiles out there). now we just have to sew them up in tangible things like tablecloths and napkins.
planning to get married feels a bit like we're making costumes, directing, and writing a high school play for crappy first time actors who happen to be ourselves. 4 months to go, wacky.
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