That studio i blogged about earlier this week didn't really work out. I took a tour, and the interior just didn't match the exterior in charm, the price was higher than advertised, no sinks in the studios, and the part that really bummed me out: it's not really a building for creatives as advertised -- almost all the suites were taken up by medical practices. What I originally envisioned being a lively artists studio is actually a 'quiet' and professional building, which is great if you're serving up acupuncture, but if you're trying to break out of the monotony of working at home & the loneliness of a lack of art community, it's just not what i was looking for. it makes me question whether i should be getting a studio at all, or if I will ever find something like what I'm looking for in San Diego.

anyway, in other news: this FRIDAY (wait, that's today): the Enormous Tiny Art show opens in LA at the Living Room (hosted by Nahcotta): here's a link to my work There is work from over 25 artists in the show.
3531 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

and, next Friday, June 13th, I'm in the group show at Art Star in Philadelphia, PA titled "Draw 4" (a show of drawings) it's my first show at Art Star!
623 N. 2nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

I'm honored to be shown by both galleries (Nahcotta [their first west coast show!] and Art Star) I think they both represent some of the best artists making work today, always seeking new energy + emerging artwork to show. I am proud to own work purchased from both galleries in the past, and really am humbled that they both asked me to show.

ok, ready for the crazy good news?




i am engaged!

fun fact: i never planned to get married, and i thought i didn't care about it, until i saw the look in my boyfriend's eyes as he asked me to marry him and suddenly all my previous ideas kind of went out the window.

fun fact: i am obsessed with my ring. i keep staring at it. i think something's wrong with me. i have never owned a ring before, and never owned a diamond either. (it is conflict free by the way! i love that he did his research..)

fun fact: i knew nothing about weddings, except there seems to usually be a lot of white lace involved. i am looking forward to doing it my way. since getting engaged ~6 days ago, i have read approximately 2.5 books and 925082305825 blogs on the subject. i have clicked every wedding related facebook ad since i changed my 'status' - and i am learning that the more i learn about weddings, the more i want to do it my way. (our way)

fun fact: one such book said the invitation budget should be 2% of your total wedding budget. i'm thinking more like 20%. i'm a designer, come on! we're doing this shit letterpressed, for sure, even though we're anticipating doing something very small - like only our immediate families and our 5 best friends.

i hope i don't become one of those people who finds every opportunity to talk about the wedding she's planning with people who clearly don't care.
BUT right now, i am excited, on a cloud, engaged. crazy.

happy holidays!

sooo i have a t-mobile sidekick with my artwork! Pretty rad. Check how they spelled my name:
http://www.sidekick.com/gallery/artists.aspx

Look closely...
ok, if you've been on my flickr or twitter, then you already know the hilarity of it all.

but onto some updates on my shop and stuff:
i've introduced a couple new shipping methods to my shop this holiday
season: the options for Express Mail (overnight) and Priority Mail (2-3 day) shipping in the US, and First class air mail *insured* for orders headed abroad.

Please check the delivery chart below so your order has its best chance of arriving in time for gift-giving...



PS Come shop locally with me here in San Diego at Holiday Hit List on Sunday, December 7th! but are any of you local? i don't know.



oh, hey! happy t-day, by the way.
GO VEG!

that little finch didn't even make it through the night. i just found out over a terse email. it is heart-breaking when a wildlife rescue doesn't end happily. i hate when finches die -- i hate that we never figured out what was wrong with him. some days i feel really un-good about wildlife rehab, it just gets hard sometimes when animals don't make it that you really wish had. i thought finding him on my doorstep was a good omen, i thought maybe we helped him in time, but i guess that wasn't the case.

anyway.

today i was in LA for a shoot for a production for which i designed the sets. let me tell you, walking around my drawings is the most surreal thing i have ever experienced. i'm DYING to share pictures but can't until the commercials are officially released. this happens a lot with stuff i work on -- i have the urge to share but legally must wait. like the line of chronicle books stationery i have about to come out. i finally get to leak the secret: only a few weeks away!!!



i'll have them in the shop soon. these too -- just released today in Chocolate&Steel's Etsy shop, we've been working on these for awhile as well:


it's hard to keep some of these secrets! hopefully the surprise is worth the wait.

the homepage of livejournal suggested i write about my idea of a perfect sandwich, layer by layer. this is the part where i can share a funfact about me and sandwiches: when i was little, maybe 7 years old or so, i only liked to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. didn't have to be anything special about the bread, pb or jelly, i just really liked pb&j. it was my breakfast, lunch and dinner for years. i wonder if this means that i was vegetarian for longer than just the last 16 years.

enough about that. i've made a bunch of updates to the shop including new handmade pouches, octopus t-shirts and hoodies, "i love dirt" -- an activity book for the outdoors that i illustrated (written by the incredible jennifer ward), and last but not least:

here's what i'm super excited about:

new necklaces!



see?

http://shop.boygirlparty.com

happy sandwich day.

yeah, i ended up just redoing my entire website pretty much.

http://www.boygirlparty.com


oh, the things i do to procrastinate on figuring my taxes.

this weekend i finally hunkered down and began recording with my awesome friend roy at the habitat

the results are two rough mixes so far, which i put up on my myspace music profile if you're interested in rough mixes:
"two weeks notice" and "the wait"
one features a glockenspiel, but that's all i'm going to say.

http://www.myspace.com/snoozer


also, yesterday i got to hold and feed a baby hummingbird.
so basically, spring is looking pretty good so far.

introducing two new to-do list styles to the boygirlparty shop (http://shop.boygirlparty.com)



help keep organized, help those new years resolutions that are losing steam, or formally procrastinate.

and i meant to mention this:


thank you for those who voted for me in the venus magazine poll, i came in 2nd!

felt club!

felt club marks the official 'last planned event' of my year.
after here, it's just running the shop through the holidays and then hopefully a nice, big break from work and some much needed evaluating of what the heck i am doing with my life. i think i'm a few years overdue for that one, know what i mean?