"Talent"

I'm told by family members all the time that I should go to art school (been there done that), but whenever I look through my sketchbooks it's really all just pictures of Kaku (and sometimes Lucci)... so here's the latest installment in my Kaku portfolio.

All of these were drawn in Starbucks while I was waiting for friends / supposed to be researching graduate programs...

And, in honor of our recent cold weather:

Now if only it would snow here.

I'll replace these with real scans at some later date and maybe a colored version of something who knows...

Real World harassment.

Lately I've been asked by an artist to (potentially) illustrate the cover of a novel he's publishing.  I personally don't think my artwork or art style suits the subject (murder) but it's his prerogative if he wants to hire me or not.

That said the idea of having this sort of exposure when I'm not as developed as an artist as I want to be, slash the idea of commitment to any one project is intensely stressing me out (among other things) and I've been spending my time in Starbucks doodling things that have nothing to do with the book concept whatsoever.

This was the concept I did for the artist at his request.

And this is what I've been doing in Starbucks all day, and honestly, what I would much rather be doing with my time (and what I believe I am much more suited for). Also, I can't get a straight answer advice-wise from anyone who has had experience in dealing with these types of situations which only succeeds in stressing me out more.

I'm downing coffee and spending money like a madman, I am not a responsible person when I'm stressed at. all. and the only thing I can think of to solve it is sleep - something I can't do right now because of how panicked I am.

Can December be over yet?

Turkey Day festivities

If you know me at all you KNOW how adverse I am to exercise and in particular hiking, but my friends convinced me to go hiking with them and I have to say I actually enjoyed it even though I get winded after 30 steps or so (even less on an incline). It was the perfect precursor to my Thanksgiving holiday.

My Thanksgiving was pretty wonderful but what was especially enjoyable was the company, someone I had a very fast connection with:

This is a friend of mine's dog, Midnight. He's gotten old and he's usually kept upstairs so he doesn't smell up on people, but I have to say this old guy's a complete charmer.  He and I spent the better part of the night (after dinner and dessert of course) watching Punkin' Chunkin' 2011 on Discovery Channel.

And, in the spirit of of the holiday, fall, and some delicious food inspired by my family in Mississippi, a recipe:

The recipe is courtesy of the Food Network, a sweet potato casserole!

Ingredients

Filling:

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Filling:

In a large bowl combine all the filling ingredients. Transfer to a buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Topping:

In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, and butter until moist and the mixture clumps together. Stir in the pecans and spread over the top of the sweet potatoes in an even layer. Bake until the top is golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

Good as a dessert AND a side! Love it!

Nerdy hobbies...

I've been in kind of a funk lately, my work stresses me out and my life, in itself, is a little on the depressing side. That said, I didn't really spend today making that any better... I tend to bum myself out to an intense degree so today I spent the afternoon painting models.

If you've heard of Gundam you might be familiar with the show, Gundam Wing, that aired in 1995 - it was my favorite of the series.

Not a fabulous picture of the finished product (it was taking on my phone) but I spent all afternoon painting painstaking detail onto this thing (it's 1/144 scale model, so who knows how big that actually is) but I have to say I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! 

My fifteen year old disgusting self would be so proud of how I've grown up.

From Starbucks with Love

Forgot to mention that when I went to Starbucks, I ordered a birthday cake pop and the girl at the register joked, "Is it your birthday?" And when I answered that it was she was like, "Really? I just ask people that as a joke!"

Then they gave me this:

Very cute!

Happy Birthday!

Today was my birthday! And my friends went out with me for dinner, then bought me a delish ice cream cake (red velvet and cake batter!) It was a pretty wonderful day despite my morning being a little on the crampy/melancholy side.

お誕生日おめでとう！

Rarity

Rarity by noblesque featuring metal jewelry

Another outfit inspired by My Little Pony! (So embarrassing!) This time I made a set designed after my favorite character, Rarity:

I'm so ashamed to say that I'm absolutely addicted to this TV show... It's a total flashback to my childhood! I remember we even had a stallion! (It was my brother's favorite when he was like, 3...) 

Pinkie Pie

Pinkie Pie by noblesque featuring a yellow gold bangle

I'm so embarrassed about the inspiration for this but I thought if anything should be inspired by the show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, it should be fashion.

That said, this was inspired by actually my least favorite character, Pinkie Pie:

I tried to make the outfit colorful and playful without being clownlike, but...

Halloween Best

My dog just came back from a (desperately needed) trip to the groomer. I love when she comes back fluffy and doggy-dolled up!

Those little Halloween bows are my favorite! Too bad she hates them! 

When in Rome...

So my friends and I all went apple picking/pumpkin picking (kind of) on Sunday at an orchard near here. Unfortunately, Irene hit most of the farms up here pretty hard so most places aren't much to look at but in the end it was successful.

Besides the necessary cider doughnuts and apple cider, we used the apples to make apple cake (and muffins). We also tried this pizza monkey-bread recipe I found, which I'm sure Kunjal will put up eventually... but if not, feel free to ask and I'd be more than happy to send it to you!

In case you're not quite sure what monkey bread even is, this recipe was essentially little pizza balls thrown into a bunt pan. There are other, less savory, variations too.

While everyone was rolling up the monkey bread balls, I carved a pumpkin for our front yard:

Looking pretty fly, pumpkin man!

What does it mean?

I know this joke's been played out, but maybe the people in my town today saw the double rainbow?

It's faint but there are definitely two! I was very excited so on my ride home I stopped at a red light and took a quick snapshot on my phone!

Some fall inspired patterns

So if you haven't heard of Colourlovers yet, I suggest checking it out. The patterns are GREAT for iPhone backgrounds or to use on your blog... I'm completely addicted!

Study Date

Study Date by noblesque featuring a v neck cardigan

An outfit (on polyvore) inspired by what I wore today.

Fall foliage!

The fall leaves are SLOWLY changing! These shots are from my backyard but the drive home really looked like fall! Even the weather is (kind of) getting colder...