birthday

Birthday in the Rainforest

| terriaw

We celebrated my birthday over the weekend with a trip to the rainforest!

waterfall in the rainforest

coconut tree in the rainforest

ferns in the rainforest

in the rainforest

I love all the funky sizes, shapes and textures of the big leaves in the rainforest.

big leaves in the rainforest big leaves in the rainforest big leaves in the rainforest

I always love seeing the coffee trees, which were full of green and red cherries. I think it would be great fun to add  a coffee tree to our house plant collection, even if it didn’t produce coffee cherries and beans.coffee tree
It was the featured exhibit at our local botanical gardens, which was a great place to be on a cold, rainy day. in the rainforest

After this adventure, we enjoyed a celebratory dinner at a local Irish pub, one of my favorite things to do. We lucked out with a live Irish band!

Terri

Birthdays Are Always Better On Fridays

| terriaw

TGIF! Weekend Postcard tools A few highlights from the week:

  • I received great news of more freelance illustration projects coming my way, perhaps a new collection of licensed art each month.
  • I illustrated a new map that I really love and entered into a design contest. (did you vote yet?!)
  • We had a great visit with my dad last weekend. We spent the day at his upholstery shop, helping him with a new computer set-up.
  • All of our snow has finally melted, and our brown matted grass is slowly starting to perk up.
  • We finished our taxes.

Birthdays are always better when they land on a Friday. Happy Birthday to my husband Dave! Dave at Cabo Wabo The first thing I remember about meeting him was his great laugh! He does love making people laugh. Dave also loves Las Vegas, donuts, cats, Coke, pizza, carbs, movies, video games, Journey, Rush, 80s music, taking things apart to figure out how they work, science, space, chocolate chip cookies, the beach, and so much more. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, he’s obsessed with napkins too. Everyone has their quirks. I do admire him for his individuality, confidence and convictions. I count my lucky stars everyday we’re together.

We’re going to a swanky place for dinner to celebrate, and then we’re going to the Zoo this weekend for some adventure. Happy Friday to you. Enjoy your weekend!

Terri

Thankful Friday, Thankful Birthday

| terriaw

Today is my birthday, so I’m stopping by for a quick post to say I am thankful to be able to celebrate another birthday. I really loved being 43, so I hope 44 is even better.

We’re planning a pub crawl around the State Capitol square to celebrate, which should be fun.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Cupcakes For My Niece

| terriaw

One of my nieces is having her birthday tomorrow. I never know what to buy my nieces for gifts, so I thought it would be fun to make something for this 8-year-old. She loves sweets (who doesn’t), but she can’t have much chocolate these days due to chronic headaches. So I found just the right fabric in my stash to make something for her – a cupcake zipper pouch.

What young girl doesn’t like polka dots? Perfect print for the lining.

I made a small pink notebook to sneak in the inside pocket, and I found the coolest pens to go with this cupcake pouch – scented with cupcakes and strawberries.

Hope she likes her birthday treats and enjoys a fabulous birthday!

Stats: I used a 9-inch brown zipper so this pouch measures 9 inches wide by 6 inches tall, and has a little pocket inside measuring about 4 inches wide by about 3 inches tall.

Art Cards – Week 47 – Celebrations

| terriaw

Last week was quite an eventful week full of celebrations.

We celebrated my birthday with presents, a special coffee treat, pizza for lunch, and hiking.

Then we celebrated Thanksgiving with a day of catching up with my family and cooking together.

Then we enjoyed my family’s annual Cookie Day, a full day of marathon cookie making. I think we made over 20 varieties this year!

Stop by our Flickr group to see the art Michelle and Sandra have been creating over the past year. I love to see how different our styles are. I am impressed with how clever they are in illustrating their daily lives.

A New Bag For a Trip

| terriaw

Why is it that every time I go on a trip, which isn’t that often, I feel like I need to make a new bag for that trip?

I can’t pinpoint where the inspiration for this bag came from. Maybe I dreamed it. I really just wanted to play with some of the home dec fabrics I have in my stash, which seem perfect for bags. I loved this color combination of brown, teal and green, so I kept the outside embellishment simple with random zig-zag quilting lines using teal thread.

I also wanted a tote bag bigger than what I normally make. This prototype came out to measure an 11-inch square, big enough to carry all my purse stuff and fit a paperback inside too.

I wanted a long strap to sling this across my shoulders, but I didn’t have enough strapping for that style. So I made two straps instead, which I think I will like better anyway. It feels more sturdy and I like being able to tuck it underneath my arm. I’m super happy with how this turned out, so I’m hoping to add this one to my repertoire.

Our annual trip to New York City for my birthday bash is upon us, so I hope to see you back here in a few days!

Birthday Vacation

| terriaw

We are headed for the city – New York City!

Remember last year, when we went to New York City to visit family? We were celebrating my birthday. Yes, it was a big one. What a great place to celebrate a milestone! This year, it’s just another day, but we’re still going to celebrate. (On the birthday card envelope I got yesterday from my closest friend Tami, she wrote happy 4? birthday. Classic, don’t you think?!)

(envelope & card from Tami)

We usually make the same rounds: Purl, the public library, the Met, the Rose Center, Times Square, and plenty of Irish pubs in between! I do have a shopping list for M&J Trimming and Mood Fabrics so I am going to drag my husband there again. He’s such a good sport to go to those girly shops!

inside of M&J Trimming

This time around, I think we are going to skip a couple of those places, and try a few new things. We are planning to go hiking at Harriman State Park and sightseeing through Central Park, which we haven’t done in a couple years. I have always wanted to check out Tavern on the Green, so I hope we can get in, maybe just for afternoon tea or a cocktail. We will be trying out Cesca for the birthday dinner.

(funny office magnet from Tami!)

We are hoping to try out the Morgan library and the Frick Collection, which is showing stunning drawings right now.  I love stopping in to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which is such a gorgeous old church. I love the gothic architecture, the stained glass windows, the candles burning everywhere. My sister-in-law works in the Rockefeller Center complex, so we will have to look for The Tree too.

What grand plans we have! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. See you back here around Thanksgiving.

I Love Birthdays

| terriaw

Saturday is my husband’s birthday, and I’m so excited to celebrate!  

Dave at Rose Center in NY

We are going to his favorite restaurant in Milwaukee for lunch – Louise’s, which has the best BBQ chicken pizza.  Then we’ll spend the afternoon at the famous Milwaukee Art Museum. My mom is going to make him a special birthday dinner and brownies, so we’ll be in Milwaukee for the weekend.

dave-boston-mayor

I can’t believe we have been together for 12 years.  I am so thankful Dave was born and I found him!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

PS – I will be back soon with pictures from my trip.

Still 39

| terriaw

pink birthday cake

My family surprised me this weekend with an early birthday party.  We are going to New York City for my birthday and to visit Dave’s sister and brother-in-law.  They have lived in NYC for about ten years, and we just love visiting them and exploring the city.  So I can’t wait for the trip.  But since we will be out of town, my family was feeling a little left out of the partying, especially since this is a BIG one.

My mom likes to plan parties and she is really good at it from all her experience, so she helped my aunt Madelon plan a party at her apartment.  We had these wonderful bunwiches, which are ham and cheese sandwiches on buns, wrapped in foil and baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Terri and Mom

It was cool to see the whole gang there! We didn’t take pictures of everyone because, well, you know, most adults just don’t like to have their picture taken.

My cousin Wendy is an excellent baker, and she brought TWO cakes! One was a chocolate cake with pink frosting (which the little ones loved), and the second cake was a pumpkin praline layered cake.  YUM-O to both!

TWO birthday cakes

Dave liked the chocolate cake:

mmm- chocolate cake

I loved the pumpkin praline cake, which Wendy made from a Rachel Ray recipe.  Seriously, it was good!

mmm - pumpkin praline cake!

They even sang for me before I blew out FOUR candles (one for each decade, I guess).  Thanks family for a great party!  I have two weeks left to enjoy being 39, and then we’re off to New York to celebrate being 40.  I will write more on that particular topic as the big day approaches.  For now, let’s just enjoy looking at that number: 39.

PS: To all you bloggers out there: come back later this week.  I’ll be celebrating a milestone on this blog: my one year blogiversary and my 100th post.  You know what that means: giveaways!