swallowfield :: jennifer judd-mcgee

a trip south, + a hard re-entry

we're back from a family trip down to south carolina and savannah. it was nice to get out of maine for a few days, and to see my dad and stepmother.

highlights:
red velvet cupcakes at back in the day bakery

fernlings

horseback trail rides (it had been 20 years since i'd done it!)

drawing and doodling + collecting stuff to draw now that i'm back home

i also read three (yes, 3) of the twilight books while i was gone. i resisted them for awhile, but now i'm sort of obsessed.  39 going on 17, that's me.

our re-entry to crusty ice and snow land has been sort of a buzzkill.  but when i got back i remembered i'd done a little orla damage before i left.  the stuff really *is* pretty.

i'm so happy it's almost march.

only you

valentines day 1984, i loved this.

valentines day 2009, i would say this works pretty well. 

i don't *feel* like a girl who's turning 40 this year; a girl who has loved goofy love songs for at least 25 years.  woah.

there are chocolates (and a fancy trail of abandoned ones from the kids that i'd take a photo of if my camera battery was charged....)  and wine and nice hors d'oeuvres around here today. it's been a stellar and low-key valentines day.  what have you been up to? 

(my very formal card from 'chase m.,' because, you know, i might not know who it was from if he just signed it from chase.)

messy + chocolatey

what does your kitchen look like on the friday morning before valentines day? i hope it is tidier than mine.

i have frosting in my hair and a nice big drive-by streak of it all over my favorite velvet coat. and it's a pretty sure bet that the kids are going to come home from school wrecked from sugar and covered in glitter.

i saw this wonderful video on dear ada last weekend and everything about it made me feel happy.
have a nice weekend and a happy valentines day.

coraline

we went to see coraline in 3D yesterday. it was gorgeous, dark and fun, and i am still obsessing over all of the incredible details and intricateness of it all. i really enjoyed reading west coast crafty for her account of the premiere and some of the other behind the scenes details. it's creepy for sure - and probably scary for the under 8s out there - my kids did not grab me once (that's my test for when things are a bit much) and they are 9.5 and 8.  i am not usually a fan of 3D because it makes me feel seasick, but it was totally worth it yesterday for the extra patterny details - though i think the regular version would be great too.  (and no, we haven't read the book yet, but plan to this week - so i can't speak to whether it's as good as the book, but we all completely dug the movie.)

sparkly

a little bit of glitter can do wonders for the february funk. 

i'm also thinking of trying these cookies out for valentine gifts. they look good, right?

i like valentines day and i'm not ashamed to admit it. :)

hansel and gretel

two posts in one day is practically unheard of, but i've been meaning to write this one for awhile now.  we spend a lot of time reading childrens books around here. the kids mostly read chapter books these days, but they still ask for picture book stories to be read aloud a lot too. sitting in front of the woodstove reading together on a cold afternoon (preferably with a comforter on top of us) is a bright spot in my day for sure.  i think they would agree.

for christmas i got them hansel and gretel, written by cynthia rylant, illustrated by jen corace and published last year by hyperion. i ordered it through tiny showcase so we could have an autographed copy, because jen corace is one of my absolute favorite artists. (i love tiny showcase!) i'm not sure you can get copies of the book from them any more, however.

it would not be an overstatement to say that this is one of the most beautiful picture books i've ever seen. the illustrations are rich and lovingly detailed, and have a sort of sad + beautiful quality. i love cynthia rylant's take on the story, too, and reading it aloud is fun because the words sound nice rolling off your tongue - which is a good a really excellent thing, because my kids love the story a lot, and have asked for it to be read to them over and over. i think i will be buying many copies of this book to give as gifts.

enormous tiny art show 5 opens tonight!

two of my favorite nights of the year happen to be the opening receptions for nahcotta's enormous tiny art shows in september and february. happily, tonight is the opening reception for the february show! 

there are some amazing artists in this show, and i am feeling very lucky to be a part of it too.  i made a little mosaic of some of my favorite pieces, but it was hard to narrow it down because there is so much great stuff.

you can look here for links to the makers of these specific beauties, and you can look here to purchase anything from the show. 

hope to see you tonight!

nahcotta gallery

110 congress st, portsmouth new hampshire

opening reception from 5-8pm

nahcotta

enormous tiny art