sunday scones

This Sunday afternoon was spent making a mess in my rather non-existent excuse of a kitchen, baking up a batch of gluten-free scones for tomorrow's bake sale. After a series of unfortunate health events over this past year, I recently had to make the switch to eating gluten-free. Yet this new challenge, coupled with two square feet of counter space and my humble countertop convection toaster oven, were no match for one girl's determination to whip up something delectable! And after sampling my culinary success, I simply couldn't resist transforming these treats into pretty little packages–easy on the eyes, and the stomach. I hope others will agree.


Want the recipe? It was an adaption of this. 

I cannot help but imagine my mother eagerly fingering through the pages of the cookbook below. Today is her birthday. 
Happy Birthday Mum! You make my life taste sweet.

learning to cook

I recently discovered this absolute classic while browsing the bookshelves at work: Betty Crocker's NEW Boys and Girls Cookbook, copyright 1965 by General Mills, Inc., in Minneapolis, MN! I can never get enough of the technicolor food styling of the 60s and 70s, and who doesn't love food with a face?


"Dear Boys and Girls, Learning to cook can be an adventure–like exploring a new country, with a recipe as your map. And if you follow directions exactly, you are sure to arrive at your destination–proud and pleased to be able to cook many good things for your family and friends..."

-Betty Crocker

possibilities

Two months in to this new(ish) year, and I continue to find hope in hard work, and a barreling forward into the unknown. Thank you, Katie & Nate, for this impeccable letterpress gift! Come back to San Francisco soon! We like you here.

meadows & mockingbirds

I've received some lovely bits of brightness in the mail as of late, from a talented pen friend, and a gracious up 'n comer. Arranged in an abstracted order, I think they take on a tale of their own.

Thank you, John and Anna!

"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."      

–Harper Lee

happy hearts

My heart is happy today; made stronger my the transparency of vulnerability, by a willingness to let the light shine through the cracks collected along the way. 

Happy Hearts Day, everyone! Reach out and love somebody.

(And get crafty! Directions here.)

bitty bentos

Living in close proximity to Japantown, I am continuously charmed by the wealth of visual and edible inspiration that the culture has to offer. And when I purchased the precious little book (above) at Kinokuniya Bookstore last Fall, I paged through it obsessively, trying to decipher in pictures what I could not in words. 

Since then, I've had bento on the brain, and after recently purchasing this book (in English), and a few fun supplies from here and here, I embarked on a bento adventure of my own, resulting in a snack of seaweed salad, sweet potato turkey nuggets, and tamari-glazed squash and shiitake skewers, all topped off by a happy bear egg! 

Truth be told, beautiful bitty bentos are a lot harder to pull off than they look, but at least my first attempt was delightful and delicious. And it certainly is a great way to convince children (and adults) to eat their vegetables! Or, as the Japanese saying goes, "Eat with your eyes," not just your mouth.

Get more information here, and here. 

books & things

It's always a bit strange to see an object you've worked to produce when it comes back from the printer; weeks of work manifested in real form. Looking at things objectively is often difficult when you've been so engrossed in the behind-the-scenes!

BUT, I'm very pleased to offer a small glimpse into some of the pieces I've been working on over the past several months here. And of course, my work would not be what it is without the amazing talents of the brilliant and delightful illustrators I've had the great pleasure to work with on these–Thank you all. And, enjoy!

from the design desk

I've been busy busy back here on the West Coast, making and doing and working and playing as a children's designer at Chronicle Books. But I'm never too busy for some whimsy! Please check out my recent contribution to the Chronicle Books blog here. 

we are not cold

Silly Snow Monster! by Ella and Owen. Minneapolis, MN. December 2010

In this land where the snow falls, when the blankets of white turn into shards of grey, it is too easy to succumb to the cold; to see the world through narrowed eyes and allow the turning inwards to overtake us–a novocaine for the soul.

Yet it is now the New Year, I've spent a week back in my beloved wintry land, and through it all I'm left with a steadfast hope that human beings are not cold. We were not born to be anesthetized automatons, seeking solace in our economical pragmatism. Rather, we were born to hope, to mess up, to laugh, to cry, and to find joy and strength in the warmth of others.

So here's to a fresh start, to a continued hope in the existence of romance and wonderment in a world far too driven by austerity. Happy New Year to loved ones near and far!