(Inside A Black Apple)

Post-Easter Candybrain

I'm so glad the new banner is such a hit!
Thanks for all the sweetness, you guys!

But on to the matter at hand: Good grief, there is so. much. candy. in this apartment.
I'm going to ration it out over the next few weeks, so as to not encourage the onset of diabetes.

I hope everyone had a nice spring weekend! We had a really nice little Easter this year...on Saturday, Josiah and I paper mache'd some enormous easter eggs to hold our candy/treats for each other and yesterday, My mom and sister came over for lunch and egg-dying and a good time was had by everybody (I think!). The weather here was just beautiful...I remember so many soggy, grey Easters, and was very relieved by the crisp brightness of yesterday.

On Saturday night, we scoured the neighborhood after our jog for flowering branches to decorate the table with, and they looked so pretty! Sadly, my kitchen has one measly little window, and my photos turned out pretty awfully. The only decent photos are of my Easter pièce de résistance (which is definitely better than nothing!):

Oh, good! There is evidence of some of the pretty branches after all!

I made orange cupcakes (orange meaning containing juice and zest) with cream cheese frosting, and they were (and still are) very tasty and Easter-y.

Happy Monday!

PS: Anyone who was jonesin' for print images from the last update (The Terrarium, Button Collector, etc.) all five are now up in the shop.

 

Stitches on the wall

I really love this semi-new little cluster in my bedroom:

Most of the embroideries are from this amazing Etsy shop. She will make you a custom, beautiful little embroidered initial if you'd like, and she also has other designs that are very pretty (like the moth, cloud, and squirrel). I made the two others (and the cameo isn't embroidery at all).

Possibly my favorite quote of all time (which shouldn't come as a big surprise):

I got the oval hoop at a thrift store, and I have a few more that I'm planning on using to "frame" some fabric swatches for the studio.

Happy Friday!

Sad Roses

When we made a late, dinner-ingredient dash to the Grocery store on Sunday night, there were these Charlie Brown roses in the "sale" flower area. They were so pretty, in their tired, tattered way...so I brought them home.

I also realized that we're running short on proper vases in this house...which resulted in this arrangement:

Not too shabby, though, right?  Also, I am crazy about this book right now, which figures prominently in these coffee-table pictures.

Off to start my Tuesday in earnest!

Everything was a mess, so I made some bread.

Thank you guys so much for all the support over at Venus. It's so exciting just to be nominated with such wonderful company alongside me!

My whole apartment (bedroom, studio, etc.) is messy right now, so I'm being the slightly-bored straightening-and-cleaning-fairy. You know how all of a sudden...after a few house-guests...some willful ignoring...your home is suddenly not in the least tidy. It has exploded with clutter.  And then it's a few days to set it to rights.

This weekend was nice and quiet and was mostly the aforementioned slow cleaning and being a bit of a hobbit. And I finally read the September Vogue that weighs at least as much as Miette.

Also, on Sunday afternoon I thought that the smell of fresh bread a-baking would give a nice homey-ness back  to the place, so I rustled up the really good recipe that began as Alicia's and is now a little different (due to my experimental cooking nature). It is so easy and really, really addictive when it is finished.

Really Tasty Rosemary and Olive Oil Bread
(The foundation of which is Anne's No-Knead Bread, courtesy of Ms. Alicia Paulson)

Combine and set aside:
2 C King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour (or similar...this particular pale whole wheat is really tasty, has just a tiny bit of nuttyness and is a little more nutritious than its white counterpart)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon + 1 pinch Salt
2 packages of dry yeast (1/4 oz packets)
2 Tablespoons fresh Rosemary (or dried, if it's what you have access to)

Warm lightly on the stove:
1 C Water
1 C Milk
1/4 C Olive Oil

Have on hand:
1 Egg
2 C. White Whole Wheat flour
Greased loaf pan (6"x9" or 5"x8")
1-2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove liquids from heat, and add egg. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. Blend slowly (with your mixer, or your wooden spoon) and then a bit more vigorously for 3 minutes. Stir in the other 2 cups of flour with your good ol' trusty spoon. Cover with a cloth and let rise about 50 minutes (it should be about doubled). Stir down and then spoon into greased loaf pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, and then test with a knife or skewer for done-ness. It may take another 5-10 minutes if you're using a 5"x8" loaf pan. Take care to not overcook, it should be lovely and golden all around. Brush/spread top with a dollop or two of softened butter, and you should have a crust resembling this:

Let it cool for at least 30 minutes (but preferably a bit more) before turning it out. Let cool a bit more, whilst cutting slivers absent-mindedly for yourself to snack on. After it's mostly cooled, unless you have enough people to devour the whole loaf right away, cut off some slices for yourself and those deserving, and wrap it in foil (It's very moist and soft and wonderful, but seems to get a hardness/staleness creeping in very quickly).

If you're feeling peckish, you can make yourself some tasty (but crumbly) chicken and/or tomato sandwiches for lunch the next day:

Happy Monday, Applets!

Hi there! I'm here.

Sorry for taking a wee, un-announced break there, and for worrying anyone that I worried.

I'm here!
I'm fine.

I've been getting work done, but also keeping it a little quiet at the Black Apple cottage.

A little of this...

(Enjoying Amy's book, which is every iota as wonderful as everybody says)

A little of that...

(munching on banana bread)

And a just a little of this, too:

PS: Thank you so much for the great update Tuesday!
There are a few original pieces in the shop at the moment, so take a gander if you're interested, as it doesn't happen too often.

PPS: I'm not getting about half of my comments via email...and I don't know why. I'll investigate, but in the meantime, it's probably best to email directly if you have an important question.

Lotsa dolls and lotsa books

Redhead: "I TOLD you it wasn't a good idea for all of us to try to squeeze into this cardigan!"
Blondie: "But I was hoping it would bring us all closer together."
Ms. Black-hair: (Rolls eyes) "Oh, what does it matter. We're going off to different homes soon anyway."
Pinkie: "Don't be so cynical."

A batch of new, pretty, personality-filled Sophie dolls for the shop update tomorrow! Remember, it's 2:00 Eastern time (I think I said EST, but we all know I'm just a forgetful Fran and it's actually EDT).

Also pretty:

I could no longer resist the stack-of-books bookshelf from Design Within Reach (or as I like to think of it, "Design Mostly Way Out Of My Reach"). I thought about it a great deal, and I was so pleased when it arrived today. I really love the illusion of an enormous stack of books, while also maintaining the function of, well, actually being able to get to one's books without having to un-pile the enormous pile..

Josiah says it looks like we have some sort of magical books, and I heartily agree

More frames on more walls

We picked up a big load of stuff that was finished at the framers yesterday, and I finally finished assembling the big wall o' art in the living room that I've had in the works. I couldn't be more pleased...

Beautiful photo from Light Leaks, an Adrian Tomine print, and a vintage furniture drawing in colored pencil that I really love.

An amazingly funny and lovely naive-ish vintage oil painting, tiny Nara print, and a  little drawing-on-napkin by my Sarah which I've dragged with me from place to place for the last 4 years.

A great vintage skate label (blown up and printed by the folks at Blab!), a little black fox print by John Golden, and this incredibly beautiful Ray Ceasar print (my all-time favorite image of his) with a frame that seems made for it.

...and a water-damaged, but very beloved, print by big-eye artist "Lee" (my favorite of the big-eye crowd, FYI), a beautiful John Clark piece, and a wee little tom-cat portrait by Sarah Hogren.

Also waiting for us at the framers is this VERY BELOVED BY ALL WHO LIVE HERE Tara Mcpherson poster for the Atlanta Comics Expo that my sweet peas Devlin and Robert scored for me:

I moved the Seonna Hong print that was there to the kitchen. That poster looks so great with the pink couch!

Whew. Sorry the photos aren't the best, the light in there is pretty crummy. 

How many times have I used Happy Friday as a post title?

This would've been the third time, it appears. I need to come up with some new title-material, clearly!

Just a little note to say just that, well, "Happy Friday", that is...and let you know that I've got a few new postcard packs a-brewin', the first one being comprised of these cuties:

It's just been added to the shoppe as we speak!
The other new pack is a new sort of sampler pack, which I'll show off in the next few days.

Josiah's amazingly lovely mum and sister came to stay with us for a few days, so in addition to packaging up orders, running errands, and scheming up new painting ideas, I  had a reason to bake cupcakes! Not that one needs a reason, at least I certainly don't...but a reason is nice...

My secret ingredient in the magnolia buttercream that I alwaysalways use, is that I include about a teaspoon of cinnamon. It's just barely noticable and it takes a little bit of the super-sweet edge off.

So good.

Prettying up the walls some more

Lately I've been scouring Etsy and other places for more art for the apartment. Like everyone, I'm extremely particular, so it's a tough job (especially sorting through the Etsy art category!). I feel like it (more art) is the only thing that's missing...clusters and clusters of art.

So, I've got a bunch of pieces off at the framers, and some waiting for frames that I can handle (standard sized stuff), and I'm rearranging some of the work that was already in my home into new clusters. Over the couch, we have this new constellation:

From left to right, we have the most hilarious + wonderful shadowbox from Deadbird, a pretty E from a fancy vintage font book I acquired recently, one of my pal Ashley G's  pieces(an original painting!), a framed Yoshitomo Nara postcard (it looks so flippin' good in that frame...it just kills me), this beautiful ceramic plaque with a cast of teeth emerging from the center that I bought from a local artist at her exit show this past spring, the little oval jacket drawing by me, a Seonna Hong print that always catches my eye and makes me happy, and finally, a really pretty J from the aforementioned fancy font book.
   
 

Oh! And the winners of that last little postcard contest have been emailed,they are a trio of nice gals named Ann, Lorna, and Stephanie. Thank you SO much, everyone, for playing along! I have tons of new potential books, and feel very happy to hear books that I already love so much (Lolita, Mrs. Dalloway, Geek Love, Little, Big etc. as well as many of those great children's books get some props).

I hope that the week is wrapping up nicely for everyone! Happy Thursday!

Suddenly, I found myself loving my kitchen

So, I think it's fairly well documented how much I love my apartment. It's perfect for me. Perfect. I don't intend to live in it for more than a few years, but still. It's the bee's knees. And I've been gathering more and more perfect stuff to feather the little nest with lately (lots of art for the walls, some small furniture pieces, etc.).

The only room that I don't love as passionately as the rest is the kitchen, and that is due to the curse of awful "Apartment Cabinets". But suddenly, I do.
I can cope with the bad cabinets (for now). I'm really liking it. At least, this little stove-top view:

I think it's mostly due to these little greeting-letters.

...and the very hilarious vintage embroidered hand-towel (a recent thrift-find).

I don't really agree with that sentiment, but I DO find it wildly hilarious that someone believed in it strongly enough to embroider it.