eclipse due out Aug. 9th!

I know, I know...I'm reading teenage romance novels about vampires. But in my defense this series by Stephenie Meyer is surprisingly universal, in a Harry Potter kind of way, and very good! You too will absolutely get hooked if you have enough nerve to pick them up out of the teen romance section (for the weak I suggest amazon, a completely safe way to indulge). If you haven't started then go get Twilight and New Moon quick!

Belle & Boo

Today was such a great mail day! I received my belle & boo etsy purchases and I couldn't be more delighted! The little cloth doll sachet is just too cute. I'm transported back to childhood when I look at these little gems. Thanks LJ for introducing her to me through your etsy favorites!

Little Lola's

Hi everyone! Take a look at my sista's super cute etsy shop Little Lola's! My younger sister Lorajean is a cool crafty mom of two who is looking to earn a bit of money. Let's support her by purchasing her adorable little creatures! I call dibs on the dolly ;)!

Raven

Check out the new raven blog. This is the place to go to see updates on my fashion illustration persona. I hope you enjoy.

Want it

Ok so the Aug. 07 issue of Vogue is full of fall goodies and of course the lovely Winona Ryder graces the cover (who has always been a style icon for me). I went crazy for this Miu Miu pink bag in the above ad (sorry my temporary scanner isn't so good color wise). I can't find the bag anywhere online however so let me know if you see it around. I love it! I know, I've got serious bag addiction problems and Miu Miu is one label that is just not making things any easier. Can we say Christmas present? :).

Chosen

I was browsing the Fluevog site and saw that they now have the chosen Open Source shoe winners bios up! Take a look at yours truly.

I notice that they have still me living in Provo, UT (as that is where I was at the time of submission). I haven't lived there is over 5 years but I'm happy represent.

Urban Cravings

I'm craving these tufted pale ocean blue pieces from Urban Outfitters. The bench would go so well in my house. It's almost affordable which is oh so tempting.

Sartorialist Moment

Just a mere 10 min. ago I hear a knock on the front door. I open it to find my husband standing on the porch looking like so. Since when did Jon start one upping me in fashion circuit? It was a total sartorialist moment and I had to document it. Ladies I have to confess he did indeed do this all himself. He purchased the jacket and shoes of his own accord, and just look at this layering! I'm seriously impressed. Only in Santa Cruz could one bundle up like so for a cool summer night. Props to Jon. (poor guy had to find me in my pj's, no make-up and disheveled hair).

Fallen for Fall

Anyone who knows me probably knows that Fall is hands down my favorite season. I saw this pic in my current issue of Lucky and went nuts. It's making me dream of the days of cool crisp air and autumn leaves when I can layer again and wear cute sweaters and cozy hats. I think this ensemble is just perfect. I rarely copy outfits verbatim but I just might have to break my own rule and steal this look, I'm so in love with it.

Happiness Comes in the Mail...

...In the form of an art quilt by Christina Romero. I saw this on etsy and just couldn't pass it up. I love getting little handmade gems in the mail. It's like Christmas-getting a package at my door with a handwritten note from the artist. I love it. It's seriously my new obsession.

Crazy Studio Self Portraits

I have been going through a lot of my old digital photos and was cracking up when I came across my far too large collection of studio self-portraits. These are true evidence that illustrators need to get out of their studios and moms need to get out of the house more often. (Of course I'm using my fine editing skills to pick only the very best ones. There are several others that should never leave the studio. To give my self a little bit of a break, some of these were used for illustration reference but a good percentage of them were born out studio-shut-in-syndrome, and yes that is a technical term should you be wondering).

These also document my ever present need to change my hair color (perhaps another thing shut-ins go through? Who knows).

Sketch of the day

OK, so it was more like a week ago that I did this sketch but the title "Sketch of about a Week Ago" just doesn't sound as catchy.

Again getting together with my sisters for the 4th of July was inspiring (I have 4 sisters in case anyone was wondering-one older and 3 younger). My little sister Lorajean, of Little Lola's, and I were discussing our Etsy shops that we want to start and it got me in the leisurely sketching mood. Here is the drawing that came of that conversion.

great dresses

that I'm dreaming of...I love the nostalgic look of these dresses (D-lyn, these would go well on your yesterday blog :) ). I'm also dreaming of dressing for fall again, my favorite season. Being fair skinned and altogether bothered by too much heat or humidity, I'm a number one fan of this time of year (and of course my favorite holiday is Halloween :)).

Fun with Water Colors

My sister D-lyn and I had a lovely Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago where we peacefully sat in a sun filled room and painted with watercolors (and when I say peaceful, I mean we sat happily painting away, oblivious to our less than peaceful children at play all around us). This is the character that I came up with that afternoon. It was very rejuvenating to paint for pleasure again. I think it might have to be a new Sunday afternoon tradition for me.

Santa Cruz

Well our gypsy traveling family has been in Santa Cruz for about a week now. After staying in Colorado for two weeks prior Atticus and I have now come to join Jon here in Santa Cruz for the Summer (he is acting in the Shakespeare Santa Cruz festival). It's beautiful here. I'm' still so amazed that you can have the cool air mountains and warm sandy beaches all in one city. It's wonderful. We would love for any friends and family to come and visit us and see Jon's show. You are welcome to come and play!

Tea Anyone?

My sisters and I are big tea party fans. We have one just about every time all 5 of us are together. My take on the tea party world is a bit more Brit rock/Gothic than my sisters so I think this tea set by Rosanna is just perfect for me. I have yet to be the hostess of such a tea party so I better get this collection and start planning :). Girls start thinking hot pink frilly numbers with black ripped tights.

Sisters

If any of you are wondering if I fell off the face of the earth, well you just might be correct. I've been up to my neck in exciting illustration work all while taking care of a hyper active toddler and moving across country. Jon was hired to be in the Santa Cruz Shakespeare festival so we are going to be living out there for the next few months. Atti and I decided to stop off in Colorado to visit my family and are currently staying at my sister's home (hence the name of this post).

I did this sketch a while back and really liked the relationship of these two girls. While staying with D-lyn, my older sister, and her three girls the memory of this sketch came back to me. These girls make me think of her eldest two girls, Mickey and Lil. They love each other yet there is definite mischief behind their eyes accompanied by some serious sibling rivalry. I can say that D-lyn and I know this look well :). We are also happy to say that sisters do grow out of it and can look back fondly at the stages of clothing tug-a-war and cat fight scratching and know that it is all apart of growing up with your best friend(s).

So here's to my SISTERS! I love them!

Ooh La La

These Parisian chairs are simply wonderful. I want every single one of them in my house. The Bright pink set of drawers is to die for as well. Viva la Paris!

J'adore Parisian Windows

Hello all! So it's been a while since my last entry but we are back from the magical city of Paris and life is starting to get settled once again (which will be short lived as soon we'll be packing up and moving to California for the summer...but that's another story). Well Paris was beautiful and everything I'd dreamed it would be. I will be posting more photos and inspiration but I wanted to start with this lovely window display. I love these silhouettes. I had purchased some black wall sticker material to make some of my own previously and then seeing these windows has inspired me to make my profiles more stylized like my characters. Should be fun!

Favorite look of the day

Marni fall 07

Manish Arora

The latest issue of Selvedge magazine spotlighted Indian designers and in particular Manish Arora. I had a lot of fun looking through his various collections. He has so much fun with color and pattern. There is a huge part of me that loves bright colors and patterns yet when it comes to dressing on a day-to-day basis I like a lot more subdued colors mixed in with a pop of color here and there. This is so much fun though! I think Bjork would be a fan :).

Favorite look of the day

I think I'm going to start posting my "favorite look of the day". Today it's this Balenciaga's look from their fall 07 line. This makes me wish it were fall again and not so humid like it is here in TN :).

Chantelivre

I'm really excited to visit the Parisian children's book store Chantelivre. Here's a little pic of the place. I hope to come home with a lot of great French children's books!

On My Way to Buy Eggs

I check out a lot of children's books from the library and I recently checked out the book On My Way to Buy Eggs. It's a lovely book with beautiful illustrations by Chih-Yuan Chen. I have chosen some of my favorite illustrations to share with you.