what? I have a blog?

Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately.......

I've been sick.

It tends to happen a lot this time of year, what with all the floaty things in the air... germs + pollen + other delightful morsels... 

but, thanks to some delicious food and medicine from my sweet parents, lots of sleeping, 5 of my favorite movies, Animal Crossing, sudoku and crossword puzzles, and of course much well-wishing and prayers from kind friends, I'm doing a lot better!

It was actually really, really good to take a few days off. 

Sometimes I get so caught up in being "productive" I forget that having fun and/or resting are just as important as working... that they're actually beneficial and good for you! Not only that, you NEED them!

Consequently, there was a lot of this sort of thing...

and a great deal of enjoyment taken from these...

oh and let's not forget this one... (sorry the pictures are fuzzy/small, they're what I found)

All, except the top right (Little Manhattan), are taken from my arsenal of tried-and-true, watch-this-and-you'll-feel-happy-and-inspired DVD collection. 

I promise I really am 25 years old.

I think I'm secretly 12.

lemon blueberry upside-down cake

Not sure how I actually managed to do this (I feel pretty crummy today), but... I really wanted to make a cake for Easter. I used this recipe from epicurious.com and I think it turned out okay!

My brain's too foggy to say much so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

assemble...

put in the oven...

"garnish with lemon slices"...

As you can see it took several attempts to come up with a worthwhile lemon-slice decoration. 

I finally settled on this:

Hopefully it'll taste as yummy as it looks!

If I could've gotten away with it I would've sampled a slice this afternoon... 

))))))Best Easter wishes, all!((((((

with lots of love from Tab

glass + light = happiness

Even a trip to the recycling center can be a special treat when the sun is shining and there are lots of interesting things to look at.

When I went on Saturday, the bins were slammed full, so I brought my camera along on Monday to record the amazing variety of packaging all jumbled together... but... instead, I found air and space and lots of happy sunlight making its way through empty crannies.

I liked seeing all the sand on the bottom of the glass section. 

How clever of those bottles to recycle themselves!

Wouldn't this almost be a splendid place for a photo shoot, with all that light shining in? Something with a really fancy dress?

I bet Tim Walker could make it work somehow...

This week feels all mixed up, all my regular babysitting jobs got switched around or cancelled, it got cold enough to snow (in some [nearby] places it did!), and my allergies that I thought were gone have decided to come back. Is it really Thursday already?

Come back, Monday! Come back, Tuesday and Wednesday!

Well, this weekend will be full of baking + Easter preparations, so that's exciting.

Happy day, everybody. :)

xoxo, Tab

business cards

I can't afford to have business cards printed right now, so the lovely Nichole suggested I make some. 

Here's the first batch!

I used a scallop-edge rotary cutter to chop up an old piece of watercolor paper, then wrote & drew my info with india ink. It really didn't take that long and was very fun to do... once I figured out what to write. "Illustrations + more" looked corny to me... so I changed it to "illustrations + art." Much better.

It's FREEZING in Greenville today so I'm off to eat some hot soup!

Happy Tuesday!

pictures in the sky

It was one of those beautiful days where the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and all the clouds seem to look like props from a wispy, forest-themed kindergarten play. 

I had brought my camera along to record my exciting trip to the recycling center (#10 from the list!) but couldn't resist snapping a few photos of the fluffy creatures.

As I was sitting at a red light, window down and lens pointed to the sky, I heard someone next to me shout, "hey! HEY!"

"Take a picture of me, too!"

So I did.

little pleasures

finding stars in your cereal bowl

going on a bike ride

shy violets hidden beneath a corner of the house

red-painted fingernails

open windows

bare feet

finishing a commission, even if it's not something you would normally paint

happy weekend, all!

xoxo

it's going to be a glorious summer...

I may already be 25-and-a-half, but that didn't deter me from jumping at the chance to make my very own pre-birthday list as soon as I caught sight of Miss hula seventy's! All day long I couldn't stop thinking about all the things I would add if I wrote one. What a glorious way to embrace each passing year!

So, after much deliberation, I set about to compose my List... complete with 2 rules:

Rule 1: Each item must be something I have never, ever done before,

with the exception of

Rule 2: A select group of recently-accomplished feats to account for the fact that I am already 25.5

Without further ado, here's my

...to do before I turn 26

1. Pack a bento box

2. Spend a day in Brevard, NC

3.  Dye my hair red

4. Make $2000 or more in one month

5. Plant wildflowers

6. Eat at Tupelo Honey Cafe

7. Explore Hendersonville, NC

8. Bake a cheesecake 

9. Start a blog

10. Recycle (I'm ashamed to admit I don't do this yet)

11. Make homemade ice cream

12. Go skinny dipping

13. Ride a roller coaster (Carowinds, perhaps?)

14. Create a stop-motion animation

15. Learn 5 phrases in Japanese

16. Host a garden party

17. Eat an Italian picnic in Montebello

18. Make advanced guerilla art

19. Sew a dress (and wear it!)

20. Read Wuthering Heights

21. Participate in at least 3 art markets

22. Take a class on illustration

23. Walk around the MOMA

24. Visit Anthropologie in Charlotte and try on at least 5 outfits

25. Wear red lipstick for a whole day

6 down, 19 to go!