Food, Food, Food!

I've had a chance to sample a few more of the June MS Living recipes and here are the results:

Chive Omelet w/ Chanterelles
Rating: 8
Tweaks: I went to three grocery stores and couldn't find chanterelle mushrooms. I ended up buying dried chanterelles and re-hydrating them - which actually seemed to work! I also substituted sour cream for the creme fraiche. 
Comments: Loved this twist on a traditional omelet. At first I was leery about using sour cream as the filling in this omelet but I'm so glad I went with it. It was absolutely delish!

Strawberries w/ Vanilla Syrup
Rating: 7
Comments: These berries are actually spicy due to crushed peppercorns and I loved the combination of spiciness with the sweetness of the berries. This is one super-light summer desert that I will most definitely be serving again!

Manayunk Arts Festival Finds

I'm very proud to say that I live in a very fun, hip and pseudo-yuppie neighborhood in Philadelphia! With that being said, we often have fun events but none get more excited than the Manayunk Arts Festival. Since I missed the past two years due to travel, I was even more excited about this year's festival. (Seriously! I was like a kid at Christmas.)

After walking the booths several times over both days of the festival, my fiance and I made some fun purchases from some of the standout artists/artisans. Here's are some of our favorite purchases: 

Soap Fish Pottery by Cat Audette Holt and Rich Holt of ClayMonster

What can I say. Who doesn't love clay shaped monsters? These were a total hit with me (I bought a few pieces!) and with fair-goers. Too much fun. 

Gouache Illustrations by Greg Stones

L to R - "Moon Sheep," "Zombies Hate Clowns," "Barn & Robot," "12 Penguins, 1 Cannon" 

Loved, loved, loved this dark humored artist and so did fair-goers! (He won first place overall at the festival.) I'm not sure what was a bigger hit with me - penguins shooting themselves out of cannons (or battling with light sabers) or the serene landscapes being attacked in the distance by robots and monsters. Needless to say, we bought several prints and grabbed a business card so we can build our collection of "zombies, robots & nudes." 

Photography by Nick Leh

We picked up a great vintage "Princess" motel print from this super-talented local photographer! 

Hurray for Whoopie!

Looks like a certain good friend has been paying attention to my blog and my fondness for all things chocolate!

I received eight of these authentic woopie pies this past weekend as a wonderful gift and promptly devoured my fair share of these nostalgic treats. Growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch/Amish country, I completely took these sweet treats fore granted until I moved to Philadelphia, where they are more of a novelty than commonplace. Oh how this brings back memories! 

Thanks, love :) Whoopie!

Work In Progress: Tetris Card

It's birthday time for a certain Tetris fan, so I quickly whipped up a cute, throwback Tetris birthday card.  For precision purposes, I used calligraphy ink instead of paint to make the design for a very special eight year old. All I that is left to do is fill in the black background and it should be ready to go tomorrow. Happy Birthday, buddy!

It's Always HUMID In Philadelphia

I don't know who came up with the concept for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but they totally got the title of the show wrong. It seems like Philly went straight from blizzard-wonderland to humid, ninety degree weather every single day. I mean seriously. Did spring even happen? Sigh. 

I cannot wait for fall! In the mean time, It's Always Sunny - you should really contemplate a good 'ole name change...

All In A Day's Work

A quick preview of how a digital illustration is brought to life!

Day 1 Illustration: Background layout and text placement

Next up - character illustration! 

Vintage Movie Poster Excitement!

I'm really excited about the poster I am working on for my very own Brooklyn Bride! (Blog reference here!) Since she will be having a vintage movie wedding, that will be the direction that I take her poster illustration. In doing my research, I came across these delicious movie poster inspiration photos: 

I can hardly contain my excitement!