September 28th 2009

We had a great weekend up in Muskoka. On Saturday we went for a great walk back through the woods behind my parent's home and found lots of mushrooms, sarcoscyphaceae (tiny fungi), and moss. It must have been a nice damp summer up there.

The colours are changing really quickly, so I'm glad I got up there when I did. I think in the two days that we were up there, the tree at the front of the house nearly fully changed. Most of the hardwood trees turned red, but one section of the words was almost entirely yellow. It was so pretty.

I saw some types of mushrooms that I've never even seen before! I'm pretty sure the one pictured above is an Amanita Muscaria, (Toadstool), mushroom. These ones were all half-eaten and knocked over, but they still look so pretty.

There was a lot of sarcoscyphaceae, or lichens, attached to old stumps and boulders along the path. They look like they belong on a coral reef rather than in the forest. I grabbed a small patch of it, put it into a mason jar terrarium and brought it home as a little piece of the north.

September 25th 2009

I've had a migraine for the better part of the day, so this is all I'm going to post for today. (I know, bit of a cop-out). My What I Wore Today drawing.

We're away again this weekend, but I'll return on Sunday night with some lovely Muskokan nature photos. (As long as the weather holds out for a nice nature walk).

September 24th 2009

Since doing a (very small) batch of Vanilla Pear Jam at Jen's a couple of weeks ago, I've been wanting to try canning something else.

I went out and got a big stock pot, canning tongs and lots of little cucumbers and Chris and I made a lovely batch of pickles!

I went to Roncesvalles to pick up the last few ingredients, including heads of dill, which are so pretty and smell amazing! I love walking down that street to all of the different fruit and flower markets, although there's a lot of loud construction going on there lately.

I'm really happy with the batch. They look really great in the jar!

Chris and I cracked open a jar last night, and although they're a liiiiittle bit salty, (okay, a lot bit salty), they're pretty tasty! The spices and dill taste just right!

Tonight should be a lot of fun. Nikki and I have a project that we're going to work on, and I'll post about it before we leave town tomorrow. Fun!

September 22nd 2009

Happy First Day of Fall.

We’re back!

Chris and I had a great trip to New York. His show was a success, (the boys even got to meet the art critic from the NY Times!), and the show looked really lovely.

It was nice to finally meet the staff at Giant Robot. They were all very friendly and had fun tips to keep us busy in the city.

30 Rock!

Some of the best street signs I've ever seen

The first meal we had in the city was at Caracas, a Venezuelan arepas bar. Erica and John had recommended that we meet up for lunch before they took off for their honeymoon to New Zealand. It was nice to see them, and they also had loads of places for us to visit. Our meal was so delicious that we went back for our last meal before we left the city, and we took Lauchie and Shauna.

We ended up walking around a good part of Manhattan, and explored some of the old subway stations.

I love this Eames children's chair so much

Remember when I said I really love ceramics? Well, I really looooove Russel Wright...

The day of the show we went to the MoMA for hours and explored every exhibit they had up, yet somehow managed to miss what would have been our favorite pieces of artwork in the whole gallery! Lauchie informed us after we met up later that day that we had missed a Henry Darger painting, a couple of Hockney’s and Koons' and a Marcel Dzama piece. We still don’t know how we missed them.

Yogurtland

One of my favorite meals, (and we did quite a lot of eating while away), was at Freemans. It was a restaurant that Anthony had recommended before we left, and I’m so glad! It was such a gem! It was a small restaurant hidden down a little alleyway off of Bowery. It was decorated like a mix between an old hunting lodge and farmhouse, with lots of taxidermy and old oil paintings on the walls, and the food was amazing. We ate tiny cocktail sausage corn-dogs, the biggest pork chop I’ve ever seen, and the most delicious scallops. What a meal. Oh, and their raspberry ice cream was the best I’ve ever had. I’m sure it was homemade.

Park Avenue

Caracas Arepas Bar

Some of the most fun things we did were the things we stumbled upon, like Yogurtland. Chris and I are thinking of opening up a chain in Canada. We’re really missing out up here!

Everyone we came across in New York was incredibly friendly. (I’m a little embarrassed to say that people in Toronto are far less hospitable). We couldn’t have had a better trip. I can’t wait to go back again soon.

September 16th 2009

I borrowed a book from the library the other day called "Deep, Dark Chocolate". It was full of some of the most beautiful photos of chocolate goodies I've ever seen, including this one. Best looking birthday cake ever? Yes, I believe it is. Possible wedding cake idea? Perhaps.

It is less than 24 hours until we're in New York, and I'm starting to get excited! Before I can get too excited, however, I have one more illustration to finish up. I'm nearly there, and I'm quite happy with it, but I'm having a bit of a hard time concentrating on it.

I will be on a very short hiatus while we're away, but will write a report when we get back into town. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures, (most of which I'll probably post on Flickr), and stories to regale you with.

Until then!