Off to See the Wizard!

Here are some photos of my latest Artist Trading Card. The theme was The Wizard of Oz so I decided to do a fold out of all the characters.

New Digs

As you may have guessed, The Big Move and its aftermath kind of took over my life the past few weeks. Between unpacking, painting, steam-cleaning the carpet (!), and more painting, I haven't had much time for anything else. I have been working on some Artist Trading Cards, though, so will post those soon. In the meantime, here's a peek at my new decorating scheme for my bedroom (the bedding isn't actually black and white, though, it's red and orange in the same pattern. There's a lot of orange with some green accent pieces thrown in here and there.

Procrastination

I should be packing since I'm moving this Friday (eek), but instead I'm looking at wall decals online. Thinking about ways to decorate the new place is way more fun than trying to organize piles of random crap.

Here are a few from one of my favorite sites for wall decals:

http://www.whatisblik.com/walldecals.html - all the decals pictured are above are from this site. They even have some that are re-usable so you can move them around according to your whim.

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com

http://www.modernwallgraphics.com/

http://www.slicksticks.com/

Owls

I've been thinking a lot about owls lately - and drawing them, too. What makes the difference between a serious owl and an angry owl? One v-shaped line? Are big eyes what make a cute owl? I doodled owls for a week in preparation for creating these two owl-themed ATCs.

Below is a funky, retro owl that I did in Microsoft Paint the other night. Working in Paint is probably a good exercise for me in doing drawings that are more graphic and simple.

Insect ATCs

Here are pics of the two ATCs I made for the insect-themed swap.

Two "French" places in Minneapolis

I didn't take the picture above - it is from Metro Magazine's web page.

When I was really craving a croque-monsieur, not having had one since a semester abroad in France many moons ago, the place I went is Cafe Barbette. I don't get there very much but I think I should make a point to go soon. Here is the blurb from their website:

"Barbette has received "best of's" from local press for its late night dining, desserts, wine list, and, of course, those French fries that accompany the steak frites. Barbette uses local and organic ingredients as much as possible, presenting beautiful food in a casual, eclectic, bistro atmosphere"


As it turns out, Barbette also has a most awesome Bastille Day Celebration. Too bad it was yesterday - d'oh! There's always next year. Or I just found out that they have a special on Mondays so I could celebrate tonight:



Prix Fixe Mondays: From 5 to 10 p.m., Barbette prepares 4 to 5 course dinners, including dessert and/or a cheese course for $32. Menus often include sustainable harvested fish or locally farmed meats, but Peter is happy to accommodate vegetarians, vegans, and others with dietary constraints.

http://www.barbette.com/


One of my very favorite places to eat dessert is the French Meadow Bakery & Cafe. I've been there for dinner and brunch a couple times and the food was excellent but the lines were way too long. I'm told they have a fantastique selection of vegan entrees and dessert; since I'm not vegan, I couldn't tell you. However, I do know that they have a super-cool (pronounced SU-pair Kewl, en francais) Cappuccino Torte.

http://www.frenchmeadow.com/cafe

Marie Claire Idees

I will spotlight some cool French things in honor of Bastille Day - like this magazine and blog, Marie Claire Idees! It is kind of a hipper, european version of Martha Stewart. I can read some of it, but you can get tons of ideas just by looking at the pictures.

http://mci.blogs.marieclaireidees.com/