Rickshaw

Tuesday, I drove downtown to pick BJ up from work and we stopped by the farmer’s market on campus. We ended up buying a couple of macarons, raspberry marshmallows, and one of my favorite meals this week—polenta with some sort of tomato and cheese from Maison Burdisso. BJ bought baby-back ribs and grilled them up. So delicious. The roasted tomatoes on the polenta reminded me of how my mom prepares them with catfish.

We also were gifted with tickets to New York City for our honeymoon! B’s mom made it all possible, and I’m so excited to do all the things we usually make plans for—when we do go there—but never get the chance to do. No more 10-minute run-throughs in the Met. We’re already setting aside one day for that. (With breaks of course.) Eeek!

Happy Friday!

I had a nice weekend. I only wish there were more hours in the day! On Saturday, I bought several rolls of film and fell in love with a Mamiya 645, picked out fabric and ribbon, went to the bookstore, ate a delicious dinner at Empire café, and got beignets for dessert. Oh and I added a shirt to my collection of all things striped. Thanks BJ and Thuy for spending the day with me!

Sometimes if I know things will be a little crazy at school, I’ll do a pen illustration related to our class project the night before. Then, for a few minutes each period, I’ll squeeze in some watercolor time. Trust me, it’s these small things that make a huge difference in terms of mental wellness! (But I really can’t complain much about my kids, they’re a good bunch… it’s the 6 classes in a row that’s exhausting!)

And TGIS. Last week was long and tiring due to a combination of a variety of things: weather, Homecoming Week at school = crazy students, workshops, trying to stay healthy, late buses etc. Late Friday night, we were both in a funk, just got off of work, but everything quickly turned around after making plans for some frozen pizza, Dark n’ Stormies, Double Chocolate Stout, Dots, and grilled T-bones. MMMmmmm. We capped the night off watching Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

Btw, RISD girls, I thought of y’all and the Wild Colonial after mixing my own Dark n’ Stormy. Even BJ liked it!

Table design by Geoffrey Keating

Snippets of a few side projects I’m starting to work on. And tonight, we’re eating at Feast! And there’s a cold front in Houston and we got to wear jackets. And there’s a student holiday on Monday so I get to work in a quiet room. And…I love weekends.

B’s recent postcard for a opera event. All the information goes in the bottom black area, but I filled it for now. I’m going to try and scan the sketches he drew for this because they’re just as interesting. He had several cool ideas for this project that didn’t make it in the final design.  Plus, I’m always interested in rough drafts and seeing other people’s though process.

I was in a funk a little today, so after wasted hours online and naps with Igby, I decided to just go for it and work on one of three canvases that have been lying around my room for a year. Since I haven’t painted for awhile, I used watercolors instead of oil. It allowed me to work quick and cover mistakes easily. The lips are way too puckered among other things, but it got me out of my funk. Mission accomplished.

Oh, I always leave the left eye until the end. I promise I’ll try to finish it and not paint hair over it like I did in high school. Yep…

Determined to send out more snail mail to friends. Here’s a start:

card stock, silk thread, & watercolors