Buckeye Book Fair

Just a quick post to let you know I was invited to participate in the Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster this Saturday, November 1. It's the biggest book fair in Ohio, and it's going to be a fun event with around 100 writers and illustrators participating.



I made button pins from Haiku Baby artwork. One is with the cover art, and the others represent each of the four seasons. The buttons will be give-aways for people that come to my table and buy a book. I am also signing copies of my other book, Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes: A Very Silly Alphabet Book.

So, if you're looking for something to do on Saturday when you're coming down from your post-Halloween sugar-high, come visit me and all of the other authors and illustrators too! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

tickled!

Hello all. I know I still owe you some photos of the Oregon part of my trip, but for now, I thought I'd share a preview of my new book called Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger? And last Friday, I was "tickled" myself when I came home to a surprise advance copy of the book on my doorstep. What fun it is to finally see a new book in print! Doesn't feel so new to me since I have already moved on to the next book projects, but this reminds me that the book is still new to everyone else out there. It is full of quirky animals with 6 touchy-feely textures, including the tiger belly fur on the cover. It will be available in May 2009...I can't wait to share more of the book with you then!

west coast show-and-tell: cali

I'm back from a lovely 10 day trip to the west coast. It's taking me quite a while to sort through my photos, and I'm getting antsy to share, so I've decide to break this up into a few posts. So, first are some highlights from our trip to Sonoma/Napa and San Francisco:


We LOVE the cottage where we stay every year...feels like a home away from home. This year, the peach tree was full of fruit and the owners said we could pick anything from the garden that we wanted.


This trellice full of grapes was just outside the door.


And check out this giant garden dahlia!


This is a sunrise view from our cottage deck.


And this is one of the resident horses at the cottage, who came over to say hello.


We took a great tour at the Benziger Family Winery, where they practice biodynamic farming.


Here, they are extracting all the "good stuff" from grape skins that have already been removed.


This is their wine cave, which stays at just the right temperature and eliminates the need for refrigeration.


And this is the view from Rombauer Vineyards, one of my very favorite wineries.


This was a neat little spot where we stopped to have lunch at an Indian restaurant. I have a thing for red doors, and this was a good one.


I also have a thing for colored glass panes.


I also loved these colorful prayer flags.


On our way to San Francisco, we took a trip to Muir Woods. Our trusty GPS decided to play a trick on us and tried to take us the back way into the park. It didn't work in the end, and we had to turn around and find the "real entrance" but I didn't mind getting lost in the redwoods. I felt like we had happened upon a whole secret village of houses co-existing with the redwoods–it was really amazing to see people living in such a magical forest.


At last, we did find Muir Woods, and here are just a few of our very tall tree-friends.


I love all of the shadows and highlights that the dappled sun creates in forests like this.


I noticed that each of these numbered signs on the path were carved with a different pattern.


Driving over (and under) the Golden Gate Bridge in a convertible is the best!


Mmmmm...here's what was left of our "Happy Anniversary" dessert at our favorite San Francisco restaurant, the Slanted Door.

And then we were off to Portland the next day. So, check back in a few days for Oregon highlights.

one year ago...

One year ago I walked down this aisle and cheerfully said "I Do!" (my friends still tease me about practically shouting it...I think everyone expects me to be mousie at times, but I can belt it when I mean it!). Happy anniversary to my dear Jeffrey!


I feel as though we have come so far in a year, yet we are right back where we started in a way too. We are celebrating our anniversary with a trip back to Sonoma/Napa and San Francisco, right where we started off our honeymoon last year. I think this may become an annual trip for us. We love it out there for so many reasons.


Here's one reason...this is one of our horse-friends at the cottage where we stay in Sonoma. Aren't velvety horse noses one of the BEST things ever?!


And here's another reason why we love Sonoma...grapes and the earth. Everything FEELS so healthy out there, the air, the sky, the food, and yes, even the wine.


So, on September 22 of this year, Jeff and I will be walking down THIS aisle. And we can't wait to share it with our sister-in-law and brother-in-law, who are joining us on our trip this year. A first year anniversary AND 30th birthday celebration all in one trip, actually all in one DAY. Cheers!

color palette snapshots

I am no great photographer, and don't think I ever will be...I just don't have a gift for it. But lately, I've been trying to be better at snapping shots of good reference I see everyday. It's my way of "cataloging" my inspiration and remembering it. Which is why I like blogging too...I feel like knowing I have an outlet to share things makes me be more observant and appreciative of my everyday surroundings. So, here are a few little snapshots with flowers in vases that caught my eye:


I brought these simple flowers home from the grocery store the other day, stuck them in a vase in the corner, and realized this made such a nice color palette: a soft neutral aqua, vibrant yellow-green, honey mustard yellow and expresso brown.


This is a cute, little storefront of Wild Flour Bakery in Rocky River. It just feels European (maybe French?) to me, though I've never been to Europe. I've never been into this bakery either (everything was closed on Sunday), but it just looks so inviting, doesn't it? Plus, I am a sucker for anything painted cobalt blue...don't know why, I just am. Ooh, this makes me want to post some pics from my trip to Jamaica a few years ago (LOTS of cobalt blue there!). I'll save that for next time!

august highlights

August has been a busy but fun month of summer celebrating–celebrating family, friends, nature, locally-grown foods (mmm, they are sooooo good right now), baseball and birthdays! My husband just had a birthday and it seems the past week has been full of surprises for both of us.

Last weekend, we went to the Shaker Lakes Nature Center on Cleveland's eastside:

Here's Jeff, perhaps contemplating life's big mysteries? Or wondering where I hid his birthday gifts? Or studying cattails close-up? Or did he just lose his flip-flop?


I liked this saying that was carved into the rail.


I think I might chose this house if I were a bird...


...a leaning tower bird condo!


I loved the painted wooden sign with a map of the trail.


Here's a detail of the map.


It was magical, the way the leaves became transparent in the sunlight. I love how forests have mini-forests within them, how each tree is a canopy in a forest, but also how each individual leaf becomes a canopy as well.


It was a flower wonderland.


I mean, who wouldn't want to go down this path?! There's bound to be good things on the other side!


Baseball is one of my husband's favorite summer pasttimes...and going to games has become one of mine too. Jeff surprised me with an afternoon baseball outing last Thursday...I have to say we were really enjoying the benefits of self-employment that day!


Our seats at the game...in Jeff's favorite section. Go Tribe!


Then on to sit outside at one of our favorite city hotspots...Great Lakes Brewery Company. Holy Moses with an orange (on the right) is my beverage of choice on a hot summer day, Jeff's is Imperial Dortmunder (on the left).


Patio at GLBC.

And here's some more of the celebrating with family and friends this month:


My niece Ava, snapping her first beans. As you can see, she was a very determined little snapper.


The Winery at Wolf Creek has some new additions this summer...goats!


Here's Miss Ava and her goat-friend having a little staredown.


This is what we all secretly want to do when we bite into a cupcake.


Mmmm...can I have another?


Some of my bestest friends in our party dresses! What a fun baby party!

Back on the homefront:

Sometimes I only have to look as far as my backyard for reference...see this animated spread from my book Haiku Baby and you'll know see exactly how my world finds its way into my art. We've been enjoying watching our resident fawns grow up. They still have their spots but have gotten so big...and have almost learned to not bother running from our old, harmless dog.


This is Hank, doing what he does best in the dog days of summer...dreaming of deer-chasing.

summer debut

Just thought I'd post these two gift cards I did for Target that made their debut this summer. If you get the chance, look for the actual cards in Target because they did a great job with the printing techniques to give them that extra something special. It was a really fun project to work on. It's funny, I remember getting the call from my agent while I was getting a manicure the day before my wedding. So we set up a conference call that same day, right before the rehearsal dinner, and I got the project. Some things you just can't pass up, even if it IS the day before your wedding.



My book signing at Joseph-Beth in Cincinnati went great! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this event. I just have this picture a friend of mine took on their cell phone earlier in July. It was a really good turnout for the signing, and I could tell the bookstore did a lot to promote the event. The staff was so accommodating and nice, and I couldn't have felt more welcome. It's so fun to talk to parents and kids afterwards too. I always learn so much. I also got to spend some time with a few good friends, which always fills me up inside and gives me an extra boost of happy vibes.