Starve a fever

Feed a cold and starve a fever. Now that the fever has broken we're starving.

A breakfast inspired card. c.

Subtle

We are fighting high fevers in our house so it's all quiet and hush hush.

A white flowering branch on a white table.

A subtle design on a card. c.

I cannot tell a lie

I've got a little obsession with flowers and fruit right now. This bouquet is brightening up my kitchen.

Our neighbor gave us this pot of cherry tree saplings. We're going to plant one and watch it grow.

A new flora and fruit inspired card. c.

Goldilocks

Our holiday was relaxing. "They" kept telling us it was going to rain but it didn't. We tried teaching goldilocks how to golf but we didn't get all that far. c.

Into the future

Driving home from a lovely visit with our dear friends (thanks again Lindsay!) I spotted these windmills. Actually there were lots of windmills in the distance on this streatch of highway. I don't think I've ever seen that many in one place and it was pretty amazing. There is something very calming about watching those blades go round and round. I got to thinking that this will probably become an integral part of our landscape in the future, something my daughter will see as very familiar. We also spotted two Smart Cars and paid $4.12 per gallon for gas. It's a little hard to see but here's a pic of a few windmills taken out the car window.

A long weekend

Memorial Day weekend has always marked the start of summertime. Another perfect color pallet was found in the 5:30am sunrise which looks like it might just bring a sun filled weekend with lots of time spent outside! c.

Imitation

I love the saying, "art imitates life and life imitates art." Well that's not the exact saying it's really Oscar Wilde's quote, "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life." Maybe it's jut that art makes you stop and think about life. Hummm, crunch, I'm eating my photo subject.

These two little Abby Ryan paintings were a gift over the holidays from someone that knows how much I like single subject still life paintings (and because I wouldn't stop asking for them). c.

Mac-n-cheese sandwich

I have a new eat your veggies trick. I found this wonderful bread by Cybros about 4 years ago. It's sprouted whole grain, the REAL whole grain, not the whole grain that you see all over that pretends to be real whole grain. It also tastes delicious and makes the best toast ever. I put the bread together with a slice of reduced fat cheddar (soy cheese works) and then spread on some organic carrot puree and she does a little yummy dance while she waits for me to cut the "mac-n-cheese sandwich" in half (no pasta required). c.

Two is better than one

Yesterday I met a woman in the park that was a fraternal twin who had identical twin daughters. It's similar to my family, my mom is a fraternal twin and her twin sister had identical twin sons. Confusing? Twins can do that. We talked about how amazing twins are when you really stop to think about it.

Eggs are so pretty, collectively they form the perfect color pallet.

A bird illustration with some fraternal twins.

I love Eddie

Well this lucky girl got to go see Eddie Izzard last night with some very dear friends (xo, thank you again!). I think this tour "Stripped" was just as good as "Dressed to Kill," which made me a fan in the first place. Felt good to laugh a lot and it felt good to be back in the city. Here are a few not so good shots of a really fun night. c.

Perfume

Our lilac bush is finally blooming. I would highly recommend planting a bush near a door or window so that you can let the lilac perfume waft into your house. It's too cold for an open window today so I brought some of the lilacs inside. I wish I could attach smell to this photo because it's just so good.

Blown away

We had a high wind storm last night and lost power for about 6 hours. After the wind calmed down there were the most amazing clouds. There were also the unusual sounds of all the bigger kids playing outside just before dark. I guess it's because all the t.v.s and computers and game boxes were off. I saw this kid in the orange shirt standing above the hedge somehow. He lives two doors down and I've never seen him before. They were having so much fun.

Earlier in the day we had an attack of the giant dandelion seeds which have all blown away now. c.

Again and again

I've been walking over these two little leaves that are stuck on my street for about a week. I've just left them there because they seem determined to stay together and they create a mirror image which makes me pause and appreciate every time.

Today there was a great tutorial on Design*Sponge by the amazingly talented Julia Rothman about how to make a repeat pattern which is something I once learned in design school. I just placed together illustrations I already had from our cards with the new leaf drawing. It is so much fun to make these because you don't really know how it's going to turn out until you put it back together. What I'd really love is a whole afternoon to myself just to play with patterns. c.

Fried egg and pizza

I got this card and yummy breakfast made for me on Mother's Day. I think the card color coordinates nicely with the fried egg and pizza dish and that spoon has a fee fie foe fum sort of feeling to it.

Abby is also our baby and I know that if she would just stop begging for cheese for one minute that she would wish me a happy day too. I mean, just look at that face.

Had a nice little trip to the library in the afternoon. We've been renting the old Muppet Show videos which I hadn't seen since I was young. They are still really fun. c.

Luck and charm

Happy Mother's Day!

I take care of her and she takes care of him.

An unexpected gift filled with luck and charm from someone that is very thoughtful and very wonderful. This really brightened my day, thank you so much.

Bloom

This tree is in bloom and a little card that is too.

Artist Anna Ventura makes people that bloom.

Two going on twenty

Today was a little vacation for us. We ignored our ever expanding list of things to do and spent the afternoon at the park. I think it reached 80 degrees here today and if felt like heaven. After a long day and lots of play she took a seat on the back deck and gave me a "what of it look." It was one of those moments where I could picture her teenage years. c.

Everyone is doing it

Etsy.com is a great place for people to sell the things they create. Shopping there is a nice way to avoid mass produced products and support people that are making things by hand. Our little Etsy shop is up now and just to get our feet wet we've got 1 whole item for sale. We are planning on listing new sets of cards for birthdays, holidays and thank you's really soon. miazucca.com will still function as our custom announcements and cards site.

There are many wonderful artists selling on Etsy and I love the featured seller link because it's a nice way to see some of the artists and crafters up close. How else would you find this person making jewlery out of recycled skateboards or these wonderful prints from New Zealand? If you're anything like me you are going to lose a hour or two browsing on this site. c.

A dozen times

We had yet another storm on Friday that gave us this rainbow. The photo isn't great - I think it's hard to photograph rainbows. I've probably only seen about a dozen rainbows in my lifetime because we rarely get the right combination of storm and sunshine. I sort of get why people chase storms and tornadoes or head to the beach during a hurricane. Mother Nature provides the best cinema.

I once visited Iguazu Falls where there is a rainbow all day, everyday.

It's easy to miss people on a rainy day. c.

Random isn't easy

It's raining outside today so I brought some of the outside in. We were playing with the Fern's. They are a very easygoing family.

I created this random pattern when I went to clean the Fern's off the table. Making random things look good is hard. It almost always happens accidentally.

A deliberate recreation of a random moment. c.

Sprout

We've got a lot of stuff sprouting up around here.

This is what happens if you don't put weed killer down on the grass. I know dandelions are considered a weed but I love them. I think a lot "weeds" are beautiful.

Like my little weed who's getting so tall.

A dandelion inspired thank you card. c.