Holiday Craft Bazaar at Hercules's Market Hall

it's craft fair time! i'm excited about the tree lighting ceremony & not so excited about the potential rain. either way, i'll be there with a smile!

outfit picked!

supplies packed!

& plush neatly tucked away! let's do this!

The Books & Near Death Experiences

armed with my usual pot of genmaicha tea, i sewed like whoa at casbah cafe, my sliverlake coffee shop of choice. boo on you intelligentsia!

i sewed an H, a mustached S, a whale & an elephant in one afternoon! my reward: toffee + candied pecan & madagascar vanilla gelato with a sampling of sea salt caramel gelato at pazzo. yum!

then it was off to the books for the ultimate reward :) this song is one of my favorites to see live.

them playing the song live!

and this one was kevin's favorite:

mmmm... covering nick drake's cello song. so good.

on my last day, i started matt's custom order as rachel drew plans for a fancy garden. then, kevin treated me to a fancy dinner. whuttaguy!

this is the dish that nearly killed him later that night. maybe. booo on you chestnuts.

cherry 'bread pudding' & i duno... some bittersweet chocolate tart deliciousness with hazelnut ice cream

such handsome grays

The Creative Process

I noticed while chatting with my traveling little sister that I have for some time now stopped reading & writing about the creative process. I mostly write about my gratitude for friends, adventures in LA, marketing strategies, goals, and custom orders. I've stopped caring about what other people have to say about how to spend your time, how to be a successful freelancer, how to stay focused, etc. I think in the years spent gathering all the information in the world regarding the creative process, I noticed it was same information over and over again. And I realized that reading analytical text about a very gutteral experience is just pointless. Sure, it warns you of what you're getting in to, but like anything, no amount of preparation can help you if you're really going to dive in head first. I'm glad I didn't read stuff like the 40 hour work week because I now find I didn't need to, because I lived it by doing and making mistakes. **Oh, I forgot to add that I didn't have to read it because my friend quoted it at least every other time we spoke hehe.

From an interview with David Horvath:

Did you ever go out and actively ask people

for help and advice?

I realized when I was much younger, after calling

up Gary Baseman for some very good advice,

that I was getting great advice on how to do

things a way they had already been done.

The best advice I can give is to get as much input

as you can, and then don’t follow any of it.

Dear Michelle Obama,

I am Isayas, and I wanted to tell you that English is a good language because it’s easier to learn. And I want to ask you why do people make up weird names like hot dog or runny nose, or even smelly feet? Because a hot dog should be a dog that’s hot and a runny nose should be a nose running, and a smelly foot should be a foot that has a nose on it. Do you get these? And do you have a nose on your foot?

Here is a joke: What is a hissing cockroach’s favorite subject in school? Hissssssstory. What should you do to a blue elephant? Cheer it up! Why do brooms and vacuum cleaners think people are mean? Because they keep on pushing them. So, were they funny? Great!

— ISAYAS BIKILA, age 9, Seattle

Just had to share. So darn cute! Read more here.

So So Thankful

it's a sea of FOOD!

the dessert portion of the meal. Yes, that is BUTTER.

we had two trunk shows after dinner... Le Petit Elefant & my aunt's jewelry :)

my to go plate

a few snaps of the HARO! custom order before I send it on its 'Mary' way

(ohhh ha ha ha :)

Rachel at the CSA pick-up

black friday dinner...

chard & bacon, truffle french fries, parsnip fries, and tangerine, persimmon, sesame salad. Thank you CSA & friends!

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun!

Love this long drive.

Made it in time to see Tsz kick ass at a noodle cook-off competition with Kevin & Chris.

Tonight's Menu... friendships!

Don't drop the persimmons, Kevin!

Real men don't cry, Kevin!

Nice of you & your socks to finally join us, Germain

The ladies lounge while the men clean. I like this.

REMINDER! BLACK FRIDAY SALE on etsy!

Holy guacamole!! Black Friday Sale on etsy!

For one day only I'm offering free shipping within the US and sale gift bundles:

calendar +

print +

card for $40

petit elephant +

print +

card for $32

or four holiday cards or more at $3.50 each

I'll have the bundles available as items & you simply specify which print, card & color preference for the elephant when ordering. The bundles are perfect as one gift or multiple for your mom, a friend or yourself!

Enjoy & have fun eating then shopping! :)