on my nightstand: chocolate and zucchini

Preliminary note: I promise I don't work for the library, nor do I get paid by them. I just go all the time!!!

I went with some good friends to see Julie and Julia this afternoon (two thumbs up), which inspired me to head to the library to check out Julia's legendary book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Well, I wasn't the only one with that idea – every single copy was checked out, along with every other book by Julia Child. So I browsed the French cooking section a little longer, and stumbled across this book by Clotilde Dusoulier. I recognized the title from her blog, which I've been to on more than one occasion, so I'm excited to check out the print product. I'm particularly interested in trying some things from the "Savory Tarts" section. I'll post whatever I cook from it. Bon appetit!

my budget tip of the week: checking out coupons!

I don't know about your local library, but ours has a Coupon desk. The librarians cut coupons out of the papers they carry at the library and organize them according to category. You just stop by the desk and take what you need. I'm usually there a few times a week to check out books anyway, so I just make it a habit to stop by and grab coupons I might use as well. It not only gives us the coupon savings, but also the cash we spent on a newspaper that we didn't even read. See if yours does the same.

on my nightstand: access chicago

I just found out that I'll be heading to Chicago in early September for Renegade Handmade Chicago, so I stopped by the library to check out this book to get some tips for the trip. Like I've told you before, I stop by the library every time we go on a trip to pick up a guide book. It's much better than shelling out the money for a book when the info becomes outdated so quickly. Every little bit helps, right?

movie rec: 500 days of summer

Ok folks, I promise to get back to regular blogging soon! It's been crazy busy the last few weeks - I've been working on new stuff for fall, and also trying to figure out my fall and holiday show schedule. Now that I have that out of the way, I should be able to at least try to keep this thing updated regularly!

This weekend, we saw 500 Days of Summer, which I thought was fan-tastic. Main reason I probably loved it: I want to be love Zooey Deschanel. But she wasn't the only reason to love this movie, there were also the credits and art direction of the scene transitions, the wardrobes (I want one of everything Zooey's character was wearing), the music, the set (loved the chalkboard wall in Tom's bedroom) and the ending (not a typical Hollywood ending). We give it two thumbs up. So, what about you? Any new movie recs for me?

life gets in the way...

Since I returned from LA, life has gotten in the way of blogging. Which is how it should be I suppose! I have been really busy, and can hopefully share some of what I've been working on soon.

I've been trying to photograph some new items - and newly listed in the shop are the Sea Creature tees, pictured above. More to come soon!

renegade recap...

Wish the image was a little brighter, but here's a shot of my booth on the second day at Renegade before the doors opened. I had a great time, and it was a great event. I wish I had taken more pics, but it was so busy I didn't even have the opportunity to see even half the artists there. 

Our booth was next to kg + ab, and I was super excited to walk away with one of her fantastic porcelain owls, and she walked away with some L+L gear for her little one. We were also just one booth over from Harrilu, also from Dallas, so it was nice to have someone from home to borrow hole punches from, eat dinner with, etc.! 

I'm getting back into the swing of things here now, and am ready to take some time to do a big organization of the studio. 

whew!

Well, Renegade is over! A more detailed recap will follow (after I get back home to the cord that syncs my computer to my camera), but for now, I'll just say that I had a great time, and am dog tired. 

Tomorrow I'm planning on getting a bit of sightseeing in before heading home. 

hooray for hollywood!

Hope you had a great weekend – I'm in the home stretch and getting ready to head to sunny Southern California for Renegade Los Angeles. I'll be taking time off from the blog to do my final preparation and travel out there. Stop by Booth #203 if you happen to live in California! And check back next week for my recap of the show and the trip. I'll also be stocking up my Etsy shop after I return with lots of new items. See you next week!

whale of a weekend...

A peek at another of the Sea Creature tees I'll be bringing along to Renegade. And while we're on the subject of water, we're headed to the lake this weekend to celebrate the holiday, then I'll be coming back and making the final push before heading to LA next week. 

I hope you have a safe and relaxing holiday. Happy Fourth of July!

at the movies: food inc.

If you are at all interested in food (other than just in eating it), definitely go out and see this movie. Now that I think of it, even if you aren't interested in food, go see the movie! Shouldn't we all know where what we eat comes from?