Lavender Tea & Pretty Dresses

Illustration Inspiration: Pretty Dresses at Ra Ra Superstar 
Water colour and digital illustration by me!

Left: Key Lime Structured Sheath Dress     Right: Flamingo Paradiso Dress

The weather is getting warmer, the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air and listening to all of your neighbours splashing and laughing with glee in their pools, while you sweat it out is just not cool. This lovely refreshing Lavender iced tea will make you feel as cool as a cucumber as you sit by the fan and embrace summer with elegance and grace.  

INGREDIENTS

1L Boiled Water

A pinch of fresh lavender OR a small teaspoon of dried lavender

2 Black Teabags 

Honey to taste 

Sliced lemon & ice to garnish

METHOD

Pick some fresh lavender from your mothers garden (or dried lavender from the store). 

In a glass jug add 2 black teabags with a light sprinkling of lavender flowers. Be careful to only use a small amount of lavender to avoid the taste of drinking from a perfume bottle. 

Add the boiled water and let the tea bags brew for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add a heaped table spoon of honey for a sweet tea or less to taste. 

Once cool add ice and sliced lemon to the jug and pour into cute retro glasses like your granny used to have. For a naughty variation add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to your glass. 

If you are an impatient iced tea drinker like me; speed up the process by making a condensed version of this with only 1/2 a cup of boiled water and then fill the jug with cold water and ice. Instant iced tea. 

Glasses and Jug from my local op shop. 

Overshare?

There is a wintery change in the air bringing in some new exciting projects!
Here is the view from my studio: Dark, windy, wintery nights, quiet and still.
Crisp, clear-sky mornings with autumn leaves.
Copious amounts of tea.
Lavender, Lemon balm & Chamomiles. Peppermint & Spearmint. My two favourites.
And of course slippers and mismatched socks.

Writing a blog and sharing my inner worries, frustrations, opinions, inspirations, process and adventures, leaves me vulnerable to scrutiny and judgment. Lately I’ve been wondering how I am interpreted in my blogs and if I share too much.

While many may scoff at my writing style and naïve insights, it feels empowering to share my perspective. I’m not ashamed of my socially awkward humour or my overly dramatic recounts of every day life. I try to be entertaining in my own way. But I also try to share the process of what I’m doing in the pursuit of my dreams, my adventures and of course my artwork. I want to be different from the norm, I want to be creative every day, I want to have diversity in life and I want to have love in my life. I definitely do not want to fit into the mould of another; I have my own shape and my own direction.

I think it’s important to create awareness and community around creatives and freelancers. Sharing the struggles and the inspirations and feeling the comfort in the experience of others. It does comfort me to know that I’m not the only sharer.

Illustrator Dawn Tan (known for her amazing food & product illustration) expresses her tears, her self-doubt, her career confusion, her excitement and honestly tells her readers the ups & downs of her journey. Her blog 'Hand made love' is so honest and heartfelt.

Super Successful, 'Cup of Jo' bloggist, Joanna Goddard, writes so honestly about her life, her feelings and her family. She even shares her experience with post-weening depression and her fears of peeing in earshot of her husband.

 And in case you don’t remember these two articles on the struggles of freelancing: The first is an opinion piece by illustrator Kelly Thompson: RIP IT UP AND START AGAIN

AND a response article by Lauren Winter of Blooming Leopold

This artwork speaks to me every day: I’m proud of you for following your dreams. I feel so much joy in knowing that I am. This is my favourite art work ever – by Jen Ray in her etsy shop Corduroy.



“Who are you to judge the life I live? 
I know I'm not perfect 
-and I don't live to be- 
but before you start pointing fingers... 
make sure you hands are clean!” 
 ― Bob Marley 

Thank you Bob Marley, I like the way you think.
Live and let live.

Here are a few shots I took at the Indesign after party. I love the lighting! And I have no idea what these amazing little morsels are, because of my dairy allergy, but they look delicious.


I have just finished working on an exciting project with ForkMyFood!
I have created a series of illustrations to be used on the ForkMyFood Blog and Facebook.
Visit ForkMyFood to see the latest illustrations and make sure you check back regularly for the new illustrations and of course, the delicious recipes!
I have also been featured in a ForkMyFood Blog Post.
Here is some of my work for the project...
 
                          

This recipe looks so delicious - Banana pancakes with warm coconut honey:
And this beautiful cake... holy wow!

A little extra reading material:

My new favourite tumblr full of pictures of dogs:  http://dowhattowhosedog.tumblr.com/


An article on lucky people and how they find luck with a lucky attitude: http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/05/21/10-things-lucky-people-do-differently/#more-452 

One very stylish & hip man – Sam Lambert style interview in The Sartorialist: http://www.thesartorialist.com/style-profiles/style-profile-sam-lambert/#more-25824 

Rainy weekend blues

My big plans for the weekend have been thwarted by the cold and the rain. I am now in hibernation mode. I shall see you all again in summer as I will not be leaving the house again until it's warm and sunny and lovely.

Lots of lazing in bed, a bbq, braving the rain to see Barksdale Brass @ Blackbear Lodge, and will finally be seeing The Avengers tonight at the movies. (Maybe I'll bake cookies for a sneaky snack).
Sadly I'm taking a "rain check" on the markets for fresh fruit & veges. :(  I was looking forward to the markets so much!!

Here are some things to look at this rainy, snuggly weekend.

I WANT this bear pencil holder from the Tara Hogan Ink+Wit Etsy shop. (Although I think it should be a porcupine)


This house is so beautiful - I found it on the Colorful Homes tumblr, I can't tear my eyes away from this blog. I am lusting after this one particular room, I could spend hours just sitting in this room.
 After some more research, I discovered that this is the home of Doug Aitken -
See the whole house and NYTimes article here.

His home is literally an artwork - "Acid Modernism" video below:

My new favourite shop Sian Keegan on Etsy sells pet portraits, plushy plants and animals. 
How cute would Pommy look as a plushy!?
And here are some pot plants that I would definitely be able to keep alive .
 


Introducing the love of my life: Shane Hannan My sweet thang has just started up a music blog: http://shanehannanmusic.blogspot.com.au/ Keep an eye on it for Shane's work, thoughts and inspirations.

On Wednesday I met my good friend Rhianna at her boyfriend's specialty coffee and chocolate cafe, Bunker Coffee, in Milton. I love these vines...and the coffee is deeelicious.



I'm brainstorming some food styles and ideas for an illustration I'm working on at the moment. Here is a sneak peak, although I will develop it a lot further hopefully.

And then I got carried away with a strawberry pattern

New Recipes

New Recipes: Pumpkin, Leek and Bacon Pasta
and
Blondies with white chocolate, pecans and cranberries

Brown Bacon, Leek and garlic. Add microwaved pumpkin pieces, chicken stock, water, thyme and cinnamon. Cook until liquid reduces. Stir together with pasta!


Melt butter and mix with brown sugar until dissolved. Whisk in 1 egg and vanilla essence. Mix in flour. Add chopped white chocolate, pecans and cranberries. (Or any choice of chocolate and nuts or fruit). Bake for 20-30min 180degrees. (Best when warm and chocolate is still gooey).