I Heart This: Surprise Flowers

Peter sent me lovely autumn flowers :-)

I Heart this: Annalemma Magazine

Since I contributed an illustration to Annalemma's online publication they sent me their lovely Issue 8: Creation.  You can head directly to their shop here to purchase one of their lovely issues.

I heart this: Material Culture

I find Material Culture very fascinating. The idea of a person having a deep connection with an object and soliciting it with emotive responsibilities. Humans innately interact with objects in this way by projecting our wishes and desires onto the things that surround us. I project into these objects below and force them to carry a indirect nostalgia. We connect all sorts of memories to objects even if they are not our own. For example someone say "my mom used to read Beatrix Potter stories to me all the time." Everytime you see a Beatrix Potter book you associate those images with the person. The feeling of that person gets left behind through those objects. A specific object they may never have touched becomes related because that is how our minds network information. Creating a mind map of everything that is related-things that we do not associate with other things lose rank. When you value something-does it have ties to more than one thing in your life?





The wooden cars were made by Peter when he was little. I love that he made them because many children get every single toy they ever own bought for them. When a child makes their own toys rather than an adult making the a toy with an idea of what the child needs-it's a very interesting development. The child takes it in their control to decide what they need for the use of play. An article I recently read from the Journal of Material Culture: The Material Culture of Children and Childhood discusses this idea well: download copy of pdf here

I heart this: Fotomost booklet

Going to the photobooth.net page to see if there might be a new photobooth in your area. Knowing that you should be happy with the color one that is so close.

Instead you found information about a small publication called fotomost. I had to order it and for 5$ it seemed like an obvious yes.

You can purchase yours here Be aware that they are a limited run.

To see my photobooth pictures go here

My friend Cathy's photoboothness here

I heart this: Article about Facebook

I get asked alot "are you on Facebook?" How do I answer this question when I'm not? I think I'll just say I'm a unicorn in the digital era. I'm referencing a article I read recently which I think best explains how it feels to NOT be a facebooker.

Why I'm Not on Facebook, and Why You Shouldn't Be Either

It's not that I'm not a lover of things online- I am. Obsessed with my blogs, my personal website, flickr, second flickr and probably many other web related things. If you want to access me-you can.

I heart this: Etsuko Ichikawa

You can view her website here.

I heart this: stamps and washi tape

1. Playing Card Stamps which I utterly adore.
2. Washi Tape bought from this etsy store, PrettyTape
3. tape in use on our wedding invitations :-)

I heart this: Moleskine Le Petit Prince Special edition

It Arrived! You know what "it" is, right? It's one of my favourite journals imprinted with one of my favourite characters from literature, the Little Prince. I remember the first time I read the story in 2007 I teared up at the poetry lingering inbetween the lines of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry story.

This was a lovely gift from Peter and I became all bouncy when it arrived. Moleskine recently has started to do special editions located at Moleskine Asia

I Heart This, Sunday: Street Art

2010, Austin, TX







2008, Canberra, Australia



2007, Paris, France



2007, Milan, Italy



2007 Austin, TX

I heart this, Sunday: Topo Chico

my Wheatsville coop meal from Cathy's flickr

In the past two weeks I have gone through 2-3 cases of Topo Chico. Some might find this insane to go through mineral water so rapidly. But there are select group of people who understand this ridiculous addiction. I have met them randomly and have created some new followers along the way. It happens.

Summer is usually when this drink addiction is at its worst.

If you study the bottle, which most people do not, there is a image of what I believe to be a Native American diving head first into a stream of water. I have these sort of mental visions of him reaching the water and saying “omfg this is all I ever wanted.” But instead of the usual water it’s sparkling water. He can’t stop drinking it and buries his face into the water only coming up for short breaths of air. I’m not sure if I should have this sort of dialogue about the drink, but I do anyway.

Some shots where Topo Chico snuck in.

Cathy, Summer 2010


Mary, Summer 2010

I Heart This, Sunday: Tea from Chelsea

Chelsea from Natalie's photos on flickr, 2009

I met Chelsea through my friend Natalie in 2009 when they passed through Austin. They stayed with me at my shared house off East 14th.

This is the only picture I have in that house. I know. I know. I look crazy. yay!

at the East 14th House, Summer 2009

She sent me some lovely tea awhile ago that I finally tried today. Not sure why it took me so long to open the lovely tin. Pu-erh Tea was definitely awesomely caffeinated as Chelsea said it would be. I bounced off the walls all morning. I now need to repay the kindness by sending her something via post.


Organic Pu-erh Tea, 2010


Natalie, 2007

I Heart This, Sunday: Coffee

Last week I loved on Clare Rojas, known for her folk art style of artwork. This week I want to talk about something you might call an addiction versus a love.

Notre Dame, 2007

Something I have adored since traveling abroad in 2007 to Europe is Coffee. Yes, Coffee! I had never tried coffee prior to Italy and was repulsed by the smell. What I realised later is that my mom made Folger's coffee every morning. I remember the smell infiltrating the house and me wanting to throw up from the stench. It all changed once i was meandering through the streets of Paris with my dear friend Jeremie.

Jeremie in Paris, 2007 (in Jardin des Tuileries, it was hand painted with real hair)

We would pop into a pâtisserie for a lovely almond or chocolate croissant. Then sit in one of the many lovely cafes drinking espresso. These simplistic moments sitting with my friend Jeremie while drawing and jotting down notes are very interconnected to my passion for the drink. Randomly I will look at black and white photographs of women sitting outside cafes in Paris drinking their coffees and reading or chatting with friends. That bold woman who sits alone with no needed attendance.

I came back to the states saddened by the differences in structure around coffee. People would not frequent bars to order a espresso. Not that all American coffee is like Folgers. We do have some exceptional cafes filled with people who know how to make hearts in our latte froth. It is not a lost art here, it is just different.

Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse, soy latte, 2010

Thunderbird Coffee Shop, espresso with Edwina, 2008

McCormick and Schmicks, espresso, 2008

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to talk about coffee is I woke up dreaming of it. My dark roast coffee mixed with soy vanilla milk. With my pajamas still on and thinking about coffee across the globe.

Sydney Australia at the QVB, soy latte, 2008

Brisbane, Australia, Coffee Club, Soy latte, 2008

Auckland, NZ, Esquire, soy latte, 2008

I Heart This, Sunday: Clare Rojas

After posting about Frankie Magazine last weekend, I started thinking about my love for Illustration artwork. The artists usually have their own personal work, as well as work for publishing pursuits. I wanted to talk about one of my favourite artist/illustration artist, Clare Rojas.

I first learned of Clare Rojas while traveling to the northeast. I was in Boston visiting some old friends in 2009. My friend took me along with her to Brandeis University. A university I had applied to for a postgraduate program in visual art in 2009 but declined the offer based on personal reasons. While at Brandeis I visited their art gallery, Rose Art Museum . They had on their Numbers, Colors and Text: Works from the Collection exhibition. I remember a fellow pacing back and forth in the room trying to figure out one of the paintings, apparently their was some theological secret within the numbers. He would randomly talk to the gallery staff and they would kindly smile and nod as he barked his responses about the works. I started perusing the books they had for sale, and found Clare Rojas: Hope Springs Eternal exhibition book printed by the Rose Art Museum. I fell in love with her work. There was some issue at the museum if they had more copies for sale. I said I would wait while they checked their back stock. Thankfully they did and I walked away with a hard to find/out of print art book, something that excites me. Rare books are a secret love of mine.

Later that year I was at Domy Bookstore in Austin, TX and I found a children's book by her accidentally. It was called Blue Deer and Red Foxand details a story of these two creatures lovely relationship. I don't want to ruin it by detailing specifics but it is definitely worth a peek. I couldn't purchase the book that day because I had planned to buy a different book, but when I returned the book wasn't in stock anymore. I have the impulsive love of buying books from stores rather than online, so I miss out on owning many books. so it wasn't til lovely Peter gave me the book as a gift recently. I reread the story and fell in love with it all over again.


I am thankful for these sorts of childrens books, built around clean imagery with complex narratives.

I heart this, Sunday: Frankie Magazine

All I can think about is Frankie. Yes, Frankie, something that I adore and wish that I could run to the magazine rack and buy. The first time I spotted Frankie was at Borders in Canberra, Australia. This is probably one of my most frequented spots, perusing the contemporary culture of Australia. It is a uber adorable magazine published in Australia which features illustrations and cutesy articles. Articles such as, The Parent Trap: Why mums and dads don't belong on facebook and My Inspirational Wall: Five Creatives, some blank space and lots and lots of stuff.

The last issue was a gift from my lovely friend, Edwina, which is from Dec 2009. An awesome gift :-)

I'm not sure that there is an American equivalent to this magazine, although Domino Mag came close. Too bad it's out of print as of 2009.