Beautifique

PHOTO courtesy of www.hostessblog.com

I’ve been spreading myself out this week between working on illos (and let’s not forget twittering, facebook stalking etc.) and trying to gather ideas for my neighbor’s (who are also some very great friends) birthday in which we’re holding in our back yard. When it comes to party planning I lack the knack for details, after all my initial ideas of a backyard party have always been beer+friend(s)= great party! But after a couple days spent on surfing various blog sites for outdoor entertaining it’s really difficult for you not to be inspired by some of their visuals. Here are a few of my fave home & garden deco sites so far ( in no particular order):

Hostess Blog

Style Me Pretty

At Home with Kim Valle

The Party Dress

Now, I’m not expecting my dingy little back yard would somehow transform itself to any of these lavishly wonderful visuals, but it definitely has inspired me to add a little bit more to the ambiance other than a cool 12 pack. I’ll try to post up pics from the festivities next week.

If you know of any other places of inspiration send them over! I love love love me some eye candy. Happy Thursday!

Babies babies babies!

Seems like everyone I know right now are either newly weds or proud parents to be or both. And here I am at 28 (yrs old) barely able to take care of a cat who seems to be developing some sort of a tick as I type sigh

Very exciting times!! Especially for two very awesome people I know who are going to be proud parents of a baby boy due in a couple months! I hope mom and dad enjoy this little welcome gift for baby Jaiden. Can’t wait to meet him.

Want a personalized copy of this print? Market version coming soon at the good ole Etsy Beautique. Stay tuned. Can’t wait? Email me at ninarose(dot)m(at)gmail(dot)com and I’d be happy to set somethin’ up for you . Until then Happy Monday!

I found a CD full old works, unfinished stories and forgotten pictures unintentionally shoved in the back of my memory bank and a box full archives. I found so many awesome things

plenty of my old sketches and scanned paintings…

a picture of the signed poster I got for an old friend.

I even found a couple of old sonnets I wrote for a writing class …

Sonnet 2

I’m stuck at home with this to write

While they are out enjoying life

I’ve put it off so many nights

Now I am here with so much strife

I rip I roar but whine at most

I wish this quick so I could go

To eat and drink enjoy a toast

Its almost done I wish it so!

Third train to write but what about?

I’m losing time its almost up

Lets make it quick then dance and shout

C’mon let’s go bring me a cup!

So this is it! I’m really done!

I Gotta go and have some fun!

(uhm soo glad I stuck with drawing….)

After 2 straight days of  endless amounts of assorted cakes and food, bbqing, dancing, cooking, wine, beer, instant sangrias, a cat on the roof, hours and hours of good conversations and some good old family catching up…

WE ARE EXHAUSTED !!

Slept in until 1pm this afternoon, barely got any work done… But so well worth it! It was quite an awesome weekend…

Here’s to my daddy, a man who once picked me up from a friends house when I was barely 20 after a crazy night of drinking, drove really slow making sure to hit all the bumps on the road and kept offering me cashews on the drive back home knowing it would make me deliriously nauseous….Thanks for the harsh yet well needed lessons papa bear.

Love you lots!

This weekend’s gonna be chock full of bbqs and celebrations! Happy weekend everyone!

Currently working on a few sketches for Highlights (yay!) for a poem very much similar to a project I did during my sophmore year of undergrad called “Thumbprint” by Eve Merriam. My approach to illustrating “Thumbprint” were silhouettes of children on a large hand each representing a different finger print…this current assignment for the magazine oddly calls for the same type of approach as suggested by the art director. Weird! Who says you can’t really apply things you’ve learned in school to real life…who!? …me.

Well I use too.

Thumbprint by Eve Merriam (1916-1992)

On the pad of my thumb
are whorls. whirls, wheels
in a unique design:
mine alone.
What a treasure to own!My own flesh, my own feelings.
No other, how ever grand or base,
can ever contain the same.
My signature,
thumbing the pages of my time.
My universe key,
my singularity.
Impress, implant,I am my self
of all my atom parts I am the sum.
And out of my blood and my brain
I make my own sun and rain.
Imprint my mark upon the world
what ever I shall become.

Totally lovin’ this rosey ring my neighbor gave me two days go. sweet.

Waiting for time to pass by today, feels longer today than most days..Spent most of my morning sketching random things in my backyard, like the odd collection of grade school chairs carefully lined up by the side of our fence, and reading  Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez. A hustle and a dream type story …pretty good so far, I guess we can all relate in one form or another. I’ve been meaning to read this since sophmore year of undergrad but never really got around to doing so until now…I’m not exactly sure that’s a good thing.

More talks of doodles and stuff tommorow…

Our internet is down and as calm as I’m trying to be right now it’s really tough having to get through a day without it.

I didn’t realize how much of my day and work actually involves surfing the net for information or random articles to waste my time with.

I didn’t realize how important a simple tuning into my favorite Pandora station could actually affect my day if I suddenly do not have the access to such a feature.
Although I do have my itunes, and a lot of work to do off line…I still feel like my day is not complete and basically shot because I am without the internet…..

When did I get so dependent on the world wide web?!

While Simone and Garflunkle dance their pants off…

I’ve been trying to juggle jobs and errands today. Making mailers, will post them up soon.

An editor I’m working with requested a short bio and a kiddie pic of me for their publication and I’ve narrowed it down to these:

They aren’t the greatest but I really don’t have time to go down memory lane right now, knowing myself I’ll end up not getting anything done..so these will have to suffice. Nice glasses ma…

I think this year was by far the best Valentines Day I’ve ever had. Home made cards, home made gifts, and the most delicious home made paella and lobster ever! Every solid relationship has a thing( or things) that holds them together…We love cooking, that’s our thing. We love sleeping…that’s also our thing but if we’re not sleeping…we’re cooking! And it gets better and better.