Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Homefront





Glimpse of my studio/art room.

My uncle gave me this great dress form that's currently snuggled up with my scarves.
Our art wall has art from my mom, my grandmommie, dear Marley Ungaro, talented Meredith Cox, and yours truly.
My parents' farmhouse table serves as my work space and it's topped with tools of the trade.
This great fan stands in front of my centerpiece from my senior art show; a screen printed/quilted fabric wrapped around a custom made frame (thanks babe).

Storefront, late.



I've been under the weather the past two days, but luckily I was able to get some printing done! Don't you just love these poppy Popsicles? These are just one of the new summer themed cards that will come out this month.

I hope you like them, head over to the shop and get some for your next cookout or as a sweet summer thank you.

Monday, May 24, 2010

That's My Story...




Anna, graduating.

When I was in second grade, my mom told me and my brother that my sister (then three years old) was going to have surgery. Major surgery. Then, she made us watch a video of a similar surgery that she received from the doctor to help us understand what my sister would have to go through. My brother was enthralled while I was terrified. My little sister's head would be cut open to insert a cochlear implant to help her hear. She was born deaf and she was a perfect candidate for an implant. So they shaved half of her head and cut it open. When she was out of the hospital, my mom and my sister came to school to pick me and my brother up. My sister had a giant white turban-like bandage on her head. All I could do was laugh. I mean I laughed out loud right in the hallways. Now, I know what your thinking.

Geez Erin, have a heart. Your sister just had major surgery for crying out loud!

Well, it was the only reaction that came out. I think that in my 2nd grade mind, I was just thankful that she was there for me to make fun of. She was okay and the surgery had gone well. In the coming years my mom would work tirelessly to help my sister stay on track in her mainstream classes. Having the cochlear implant allowed my once deaf sister to be able to hear. But it wasn't all cupcakes and rainbows (I could eat a cupcake right now, but I digress). My sister had a hard time taking in information the way most of us do in a full class or crowded room. There have been bumps along this road, but my sister has always come out swinging.

So, this past Sunday, she graduated. She spent the last 4 years at a private all girls school here in Raleigh, Saint Mary's. She formed friendships with girls that will last a lifetime, learned things that challenged her way of thinking, accomplished athletic goals that few have before, and she texted more than I think any human ever has. Under an umbrella of southern oaks my sister walked across a stage, shook the dean's hand, and received her diploma. She was poised, confident, radiant, and most of all, happy. She had accomplished something that most people are proud at receiving, but the pride that she felt was magnified by the pride that my parents, my grandparents, my brother, and I were sending to her at that moment. I felt it all through my body, down to my toes. I felt nothing but pure joy for my sister's great achievements. I cheered as loud and obnoxiously as I could in hopes that she'd know how proud of her I was. I think she knew.

My sister is so wonderful. She is funny, sweet, kind, and always thinking of others. Her soccer accomplishments are amazing and she will continue to improve as she plays in college. I can't wait to go to some of her home games and cheer her on as I always have alongside my mom. I will miss her being around, but I know that God has such a plan for her life and I can't wait to see what else she'll accomplish.

I love you Anna Grace and I'm so proud of you.


(More photos to come later, hilarious haircuts and all)

Friday, May 21, 2010

List Love

Oh man, I am so excited about Fridays. I mean I've always loved Fridays. The hope of the weekend to come is just too much! I have always been "workin' for the weekend." However, I love Fridays even more now because of List Love. If you've read this blog for awhile you know that I love lists. So here is the first of many lists, some will be funny, some might be thought provoking, but mostly they'll be a blast to do. What will make this the most fun will be when y'all do your own version of whatever the list is in the comments section.

Favorite Summer Songs (in no particular order)
1. Summer Nights: Rascal Flatts (perfect summer country song)
2. Days Like This: Van Morrison (reminds me of my family)
3. When You Come Back Down: Nickel Creek (driving to the beach on 17 South)
4. God Only Knows: The Beach Boys (classic)
5. Your Love: The Outfield (reminds me of great 80's summer movies)
6. Coast of Carolina: Jimmy Buffet (Jimmy is summer)
7. Heaven: DJ Sammy Remix (from the good ole camp days)
8. Copperline: James Taylor (this song has been my summer anthem since I listened to it on the porch of a beach house as a baby)
9. All Night Long: Lionel Richie (this doesn't need an explanation)
10. Bella Luna: Jason Mraz (just a great chill song)
11. American Honey: Lady Antebellum (it's new, but describes my life growing up in the south perfectly. Also, it was written by a high school friend of ours, Cary Barlowe)
12. Trouble: Ray LaMontagne (great song, I'm not sure why this makes me think of summer)

Really, I could go on and on. This list is just a sample of songs that I'd love to hear as I'm in my beach chair with cold drink in my hand enjoying the sun!

I'd love hear about your favorite summer songs, I'm sure there will be a lot of me saying "Oh, I love that song! I should've put that on my list!"

Enjoy making your list, but let me warn you, you will get sucked into ITunes trying to find that one song and before you know it two hours have gone by and you've bought way too many songs. Sorry babe, I couldn't help myself.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Homefront


Hello dears! So, there are some fun ideas floating around for our condo, but for now this homefront will be a yummy recipe that I tried last week and we loved it! It is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine that I absolutely LOVE. I am officially in love with soba noodles and this recipe is a great introduction if you've never tried them before. I got them at Kroger (no need for a fancy store) for $2.50 in the Asian food section.


Ingredients:
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
1 cup fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces chicken cutlets
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 package (8.8 ounces) soba (Japanese buckwheat) noodles


Directions:
In a food processor, finely chop scallions, cilantro, parsley, garlic, and ginger with vinegar and 1 tablespoon oil. Transfer to a bowl.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Season chicken with cayenne, salt, and pepper. Working in batches, cook, turning once, until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; let cool 5 minutes, and thinly slice.
Cook soba according to package instructions. Drain; toss with herb mixture. Serve chicken with soba; garnish with cilantro.
Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Storefront

Every now and then, we need a make over. Obviously, not this chick. I mean, the use of the Hollywood Bump-It is perfection. However, my Etsy shop is in dire need of new life. So, I've done a couple of things to kick off the make over.

I've ordered some new supplies and I'm creating some new screens for summer themed cards that will be perfect for any occasion this upcoming summer season. I can't wait for y'all to see what I've got planned. Bright colors and sweet drawings will keep you coming back for more! Or for the first time!

The second thing I've done is hired a graphic designer to brand me! I love logos. Anyone that knows me knows that I save tags, bags, buisness cards, anything with a cool logo on it. So, when I began foster&stella, I wanted an amazing logo. I wanted to create it myself. I've been trying for about two years now. It's difficult because I don't have the software to create the most professional looking logo, and I want to stand out from the crowd. So, with the generosity of an investor (my wonderful parents) I was able to hire a graphic designer, from Etsy. She has amazing talent and I can't to see what she's going to come up with for my little shop. Check out her shop here. Her designing packages are VERY reasonable in price and she copyrights everything over to the client when she's done so that you can continue to use the logo as you wish. So look for the new foster&stella logo reveal sometime in late June.

So, out with the old and in with the new. Well, unless the old is a classic and we just spruce it up a bit. I'd love to hear about how you've made over something in your life. An old piece of furniture, your attitude, your closet. Let's just hope my make over goes as well as the ones on TV where everything is sparkling and fancy and there's always a bowl of perfect lemons or apples on the crisp new table. Of course, in this case it'll just be my shop looking sparkling and fancy with a crisp new logo and full of bright new cards. You'll just have to tune in to see!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Fancy Pants or Blog

So, this blog has been asleep for awhile. Just like the Bud here. As you can see I've updated the layout a bit and I've added a weekly schedule. I think that this will keep me blogging because each day has a sort of theme already attached. It will keep everything a lot more streamlined and organized. I'm really excited about it and I hope you are too!

Mondays: That's My Story...
This will be a chance to either catch up from the weekend or just tell a great story. I've always loved story time, my best friends and I just love telling stories. Mostly they catch us up on what's been going on, but really it's time to act out something (usually hilarious) that has happened to us or our families recently. So, if nothing exciting happened over the previous weekend that's worth blogging, then I'll just dig into my story file and tell one that will hopefully entertain my wonderful blog readers.

Tuesdays: Storefront
Tuesdays will be all about my Etsy shop, foster&stella. I'll keep you updated on new products, maybe do a giveaway, or just let you in on my process a bit. This will such a nice way for you to see into my shop and my creative thought.

Wednesdays: Etsy Finds
I started doing Etsy Favorites last fall and I loved it! I'm sorry I ever stopped. Wednesdays I will give you a couple of amazing handmade items from the pages of Etsy. Hopefully it'll get you over to the site and supporting independent artists like myself. I can't wait to show you all that Etsy has to offer! Each Wednesday will probably have a theme to give it a coherent feel. I'm all about consistency!

Thursdays: Homefront
This day will be fun, I hope. It will be news from our home (improvements, projects, or ideas) or, if we have no home updates, there will be a recipe. My friend Laura does Tasty Tuesdays and I love it! So if there is no breaking news from the Grove Barton Condo, you'll have a tasty meal that hubs and I have tried and loved!

Fridays: List Love
My favorite day of the week deserved one of my favorite activities. I love lists. Plain and simple. I love to make to do lists, packing lists, things I want lists, etc. But my favorite kind of lists are: lists of favorites. Confused yet? Stay with me. My dad, brother, and I always loved the movie High Fidelity. Great movie. In that movie John Cusack's character works at a record store and he and his co-workers are constantly doing Top Five lists, of everything and anything. I love that! So, on Fridays, I will have a list of favorite ______. Then, I will ask that you, my dear readers, join in the fun. In the comments section, you are invited to leave your version of whatever the chosen favorite is that particular Friday. It'll be a fun way to see what other people like.

So there it is. I hope that you're as excited as I am to begin this new journey! It will begin tomorrow with my first Storefront post. See you then.