Yarn and Coffee

So... There's News!

2011-11-21T00:17:00.000-08:00

There's been so many long silences on this blog that I really should stop apologizing. It is what it is and that's the nature of creativity, right? Well, the past couple of months had lots of different projects in the works that are still under wraps (the reveal of one will be on Wednesday, November 23^rd over at the Mystic Forest Dwellers). Well, the time has come to reveal my absolute favorite of those WIPs:

Yup. We're going to be parents.

This has been in the planning for a very very long time, and finally the timing was right. We are so incredibly excited. The baby is due in June 2012, and yes - he/she will have lots of plush toys. Well - dah!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Consider Yourself Plushed

2011-10-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

It's this time of year again. It's Plush You! time! I've been lucky to be invited to participate in this show for the past four years, and each year I try and push myself to make things I've never made before. This year's challenge? Plush wearing clothes!
After admiring the work of the amazing Felt Mistress, and successfully making plush that can stand on their own, it was the only obvious next step up the evolutionary ladder to start constructing garments for my plush. Granted, those couldn't really be worn by humans, but they work just fine on display.

And so, without farther a due -

Heathcliff

Professor Hobart

and Hannah

More photos here.

Plush You! opens October 14th, 5-9PM at Schmancy in Seattle, WA. If you're around, you should drop by to check it out. Hooray!

Love, Forever

2011-07-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

I love doing commission work. Yeah, it's fun to make whatever I feel like and work to my own deadline (or, ahem - a gallery's). But commission pieces have an added value - an extra done of heart and meaning.

My latest - a wedding cake topper for our good friends who got married in Big Sur last weekend. The theme of the cake was a nest, and I've been asked to create a pair of birds for it. Cool!

The wedding's colors were chocolate brown, mustard yellow and red, so robins fit nicely into the color scheme.

The nest is store bought (Michael's, I believe), with a wreath of flowers that was taken apart and assembled on it.

Whatever you do, please don't ask me about the wings...

The cake's decorator was the bride's aunt from Australia, and she didn't see the nest or the birds until the day before the wedding, yet everything came out absolutely perfect. And the best part? It was a lovely day, and a very lovely wedding. Hooray!
More photos here, on Flickr.

Where Your Input is Requested, Again

2011-05-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

May is a good month in our household, hosting both my birthday and Ant's. This year, my present has been extra awesome. Behold!

My recent survey/giveaway on the Mystic Forest Dwellers blog was so much fun - here's another one (but more of a contest this time): your challenge for the month, is to help me pick a name for her!
Here's the deal:
You suggest a name by commenting on this blog post or on our facebook page. If I pick it - you win a Welcome to the Forest button pack and a special discount code for the store for an entire year!
None of the names stick? Don't be sad, I'll raffle three buttons and a "thank you" hug to one of you, dear helpers.

Hints and clues:
1. All of the things that are dear to me are female. Case in point - Helga, my sewing machine and Lizzie McKindle (you can figure this one out, right?).
2. I love classic, old school names that are real, people's-y names
3. She's a hybric bike and is light metallic blue

Comments are open until May 30th, 12AM PST. Make sure I have some way of contacting you!

More from Mystic Forest (I Know You've Been Missing Me Too)

2011-04-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

A lot is going on around here these days (when does it not, honestly...), so here's today's blurb -

The Mystic Forest Dwellers shop is getting ready for an update!
This Thursday, 4/28 at 12PM PST, the shop will be stocked with plush galore, button packs and hopefully, a surprise too!

Ready? Set? Shop!

In Which I Ask for Your Help!

2011-03-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hi cool cats and kittens!

As you might know, last year I started my new project Mystic Forest Dwellers. It's been going really really well, and now is the time to expand the line. There are many ideas rolling around in my head, but there's only so much time to make them. And so, me and my fuzzy forest friends would like to invite you to help - what would you like to see next from Mystic Forest? And just to sweeten the pie, there's also a giveaway - three voters who will post on the blog or on our facebook fan page, will get a super fun button pack!

How to vote, you ask? Simply, go here! See the survey on the side bar? Click on your favorite option of the five, and don't forget to post a comment. Want another chance to win? Tweet, blog or post on your facebook page (don't forget to link to us and tell us you did) - and you've got one more for the count.

The survey closes March 31^st so hurry up and cast your ballot! The three top favorites will become the next products to join the line.

^{See you at the polling booth!}

First Plush (and Post) of 2011

2011-02-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Happy new year + a month! It's been industriously quiet here since we came back from our South African holiday adventure (photos and tales of wonders soon). So much to do, and so little time, eh?

I've been doing a lot of drawing and some sewing - and here's the end result of some of it -

This is Gus my first complete plush for the year, made for a little gallery show at work. If he looks familiar it's because he was originally meant to go to Chicago with these guys.

More photos here.

Happy February!

New from the Studio

2010-12-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

My studio has really been seeing a lot of action these past few months. I've done four gallery shows this year, besides developing, making and selling Mystic Forest Dwellers. Phew! You should see the floor of the place...
The latest work - for Oh No! Doom Gallery's group show Soft Serve, this weekend (12/11/2010) in Chicago:

Robin

and Trina

More photos here. What's really exciting for me about these two, is that they are my first pieces that stand on their own! I'm really really happy about how they came out. They will be available for sale through the gallery's art store after the opening, I believe.

Have a super weekend!

New Plush! Well, Plush-Y Stuff Anyway

2010-11-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

I think I mentioned this before, but this has certainly been the year of Plush for me. One of the coolest things that happened this year, is getting invited to participate in the annual Luv-able & Hug-able show in Gallery Hanahou. Super flattered! This show always amazes me.

This year, the show's theme is Luv-able & Hug-able & Wear-able. Yep, clothes and accessories related plush. What's a girl to do? Make monster-y garb! Introducing:

Mila Hat, Scarf and Pin

and Milo Hat, Scarf and Pin

More photos here.

The show opens December 9th, in NY, NY. More details here.
Go get yourself a furry monster scarf. It's going to be a cold winter.
Ciao!
Michal

3... 2... 1... Launch!

2010-10-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

It seems like only yesterday I stated conceptualizing it, and today - the Mystic Forest Dwellers web shop is officially open! Wow... Where did the time go?

I positively have plush butterflies in my stomach. Eeeep! After months of thinking and trying things out, and ordering, and thinking some more..., it feels so so good to be finally out there - on the web, and finally fully in business.
It feels a lot like a culmination of lots of previous experiences and try-out for me. Like when I was making papier mache creatures for a local shop a decade or so ago, my etsy shop, some experimentation with packaging and branding I did with some portfolios in the past, all of my plush making career so far... It feels to some degree like I was meant to get here. And while I'm super nervous about being a "business owner" (gulp), there's something very exciting about it. Or like a fellow just-starting-a-new-venture lady told me a few weeks ago: if it's not bold and risky and out of your comfort zone - it's not really worth doing. So true.

So pop by to the shop, and catch up on the adventure on the Mystic Forest Dwellers blog, or the Facebook fan page. Let's make this bold, risky, out of my comfort zone and fun - sucess.

They Too Came from Planet Plush

2010-10-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

If you're in Seattle this weekend, you should definitely check out the annual Plush You show over at Schmancy. There's going to be some seriously gorgeous plush and lots of fun activities. Go-go-go!

My contribution this time is part #2 of my series They Came from Outer Space that I started at Plush You LA a month or so ago. Why quit when you're having fun?

Watch out - some aliens are coming your way!

The Brain

Sergeant Moffat

I'm not in love with the photos... It's finally fall here in LA and it's been raining for three days straight (remember the temperatures here last week? So weird...), so I used my new portable light box that Ant got me (yes, I know he's the best). If you have any tips and tricks for using those to take awesome photos, especially with a white background - I'm all ears.
Stay warm!

(Almost) Open for Business

2010-10-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

Things are heating up very quickly around here! Next friday the annual Plush You show opens in Seattle (look for some more of my They Came from Outer Space plush!) and my new venture, Mystic Forest Dwellers will officially go public! Not yet sure if I'm more excited or nervous...

The shop opens October 14th, but before that - I'm taking pre-orders! Interested? Here's how it goes:

1. You read the posts on this blog or on our Facebook page and decided that your life will not be complete without one of them Dwellers.
2. You go to the shop (Yep! That's where it lives, at least for now) and check out the price of the Dweller you'd like to bring home.
3. You write an enthusiastic email to infoATmysticforestdwellersDOTcom and let me know which Dweller you'd like, your address and what email address your paypal account is connected to (sorry, only paypal at the moment. Once the shop opens, you'll be able to pay with credit card/virtual check too)
4. I'll send you an invoice within 48 hours. Once you pay, your order will be secured!
5. Your very own Dweller will be sent to you after the shop opens on October 14th.
6. You're so happy your mind might melt. You live happily ever after, amen.

How does it sound?
This email address is temporary, so if you have any question please use the shop's contact page. And to the first five buyers - a special surprise!

I hope to see you there!

Introducing... Mystic Forest Dwellers!

2010-09-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

This year has definitely been The Year of the Plush for me. I'm participating in three major plush shows, I taught a class about making plush, and have been working on one major secret plush project that is finally ready to be revealed. It had its ups and downs, debates, setbacks, collaborations and contemplations - until it took its final form and shape. I am so very excited to introduce to you my new project - Mystic Forest Dwellers.

Mystic Forest Dwellers is a line of plush, handmade in small batches, of a unique set of characters designed by me. They are are a bit animal, a bit magical and always full of personality. The line is made of five regular forest habitants and future limited edition friends that will come for short time visit. There are additional products planned for this line, so stay tuned.

You can follow the adventure of the dwellers on their blog, facebook page or twitter (yes, they have internet access and they are not afraid to use it). And most importantly...

Mystic Forest Dwellers will officially begin selling plush goodness on Thursday October 14th. This week, we will reveal a new design every day up to the beginning of the pre-sale, which will be Thursday September 30th. Crack your piggy banks and make room on your shelves kiddos because we are in business!

The dwellers and I are so excited, we can't wait to meet you!

They Came from Planet Plush

2010-09-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, the Plush You LA opening was incredible! If you saw me there and we never got to talk - sorry, I was running around like a plush headless chicken a bit, he he. The show is up until 9/19, and you can also purchase available plush online through Munky King right here.

These are my contribution for the show - my new mini-series They Came from Outer Space:

The Little Pilot

The Kuzbanian Marsh Dog

Admiral Ka-Blast

More photos here.
Part two will be in Plush You! Seattle, in october. Extra credit for figuring out the geek reference in these dudes.
Exciting updates coming this week, stay tuned!

Plush You LA is here!

2010-08-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Plush You, if you've never heard about it, is one of the bigger annual plush shows. Back in 2007, I first participated in one, and I have to say - I don't know where I'd be plush-wise without it.
It takes place in Seattle once a year (usually in October), but this year, we're also having a show here in LA, at Munky King. So excited! If you live in the area, please do come in. It'll be awesome! I'll be there, as well as Kristen Rask of Schmancy, and a slew of other talented plush peeps.

PLUSH YOU
8.26.10 – 9.19.10
Opening Reception: Thurs, August 26th 7-10pm

Plush or Mush!
Yours truly,
Michal

Update!

2010-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, AN update, there's more to come. Today - Plush Class session 2 with me at Blue Rooster in Los Angeles has been moved and will now take place on 8/28 - 9/18, saturdays 11-2. Sign up here.
And now - back to the sewing machine. Plush You! LA is in two weeks time. Eeek!
See you soon for more exciting updates.
Ciao!
Michal

Look What Mama Got!

2010-06-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

Now, on to mastering the beast. Any tips are welcome!

Breaking News! Breaking News!

2010-06-03T17:43:00.001-07:00

Hi Kids! How've you been?
It's been a bit of a quiet month here, quiet but busy. And I can finally share with you one of the things I've been working on - and boy, am I excited!
I'll be teaching a plush making class! Yes, indeed. I've wanted to do this for a very long time, and the guys over at Blue Rooster Art Supplies thought it would be cool. How lucky am I?

If you live in the LA area and always wanted to try it, this is your chance. The class is for all levels, even if you never sewed a button and will take you from an original drawing (by you, your kids, your friend) to a finished plush piece to be proud of. Excited yet?
Here are the details:

Make your own Plushy!
Cost: $150
Duration: 4 sessions (three hours each) 11am - 2pm
Upcoming Classes: Four Saturdays 6/19 - 7/10 & 8/7 - 8/28

Learn how to make plush toys of your own design! Plush toys are not just for kids anymore, they hang in galleries and high end shops around the country. If you ever wanted to learn how to make them, this class is for you.
The class will cover every step from the initial design drawing, through construction, pattern making, fabric choice and sewing. We will focus on creative problem solving and student's self expression. Please bring a drawing (a doodle will do, more than one is welcome too) you would like to turn into plush, and let's get started!
Our motto is to teach you how to make the plush you want to make, looking for creative ways to make it happen.

About the instructor:
Michal Wright-Ward is a designer and illustrator with a degree in animation. In her four years experience as a plush artist, her work has been featured and sold in galleries and shops around the U.S. and abroad. She draws her inspiration from children's books and the animal world. She hates the words "you can't". She lives in Los Angeles with a menegerie of pets, monsters, and one very patient husband.

To sign up, click here, come to the shop (Blue Rooster Art Supplies: 1718 N. Vermont Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027) or call (323 661-9471).

See you in class!

Awesome, Possum, Orange Blossom

2010-05-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

So, exactly how awesome has my birthday been? Very!
After a "celebrating the last hours of my twenties with me" party Saturday night, Ant and I went on a little adventure. Where to? The Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar! And we had a private tour. Our guide Jen was super charming, and answered a lot of questions (see, I was trying to be a smart-a** and come up with good ones. That didn't always work). We also got to hang out, hold and pet some of the animals, which was totally nuts. And no, these guys are not trained, don't do tricks or anything like that. Most of them friendly/tolerated us because they were either used to people or are just very social animals. Here are our favorites:

The porcupine family were the most friendly, laid back gang. What do they really need to worry about anyway?

We got to hold a Tawny Owl, they're more feathers than bird, actually! Super light and fluffy.

The sloth was super funny. Every time she yawned she stuck her (long) tongue out, we just didn't catch it on film. And she yawned a lot.

Yes, I can hear you going "awwww!" all the way over here! I got to hold him too, but Ant's photos were better.

One of my all time faves - the Armadillo! These are not scales, BTW, it's hardened skin.

Kitty paws (on a seventy-five-pound Lynx)... And we got to touch them. Carefully.

I can't remember the scientific name of this guy, but it's a super cool dragon like monitor (that should be it's name, though)

Cool, ha? More pictures here.
But the coolness doesn't end here! Oh no. Check out what I unwrapped when we came home!

A pile of presents from my family and friends. Including a Shinzi Katoh teapot set, books galore, Ice-Bat, cute mushroom salt and pepper shakers, bath goodies... My friends and family are the best.

And then...

I got to bite into this red velvet raspberry cakewich from Cakemonkey. Yum!

There's one more thing I got for my birthday that I need to show you, but I need to take a picture first.
Find it on my Flickr stream in the next few days (let's see if you paid attention). Let's see if you can tell what it is. Special prize for the correct guess!

Thirty-Sometings

2010-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's how my DS welcomed me this morning. And yes, it true. 'Tis my birthday today, and 'tis how long I've been around.
Really, thirty is just another number. Does it change anything? Probably not. Have I changed in the last decade? More than I can even begin to tell you. Am I excited? Heck yeah!
So to celebrate my turning into a thirty-something, I'm going to share with you thirty-some-things about me that you may, or may not have known. Later in the week, I'll tell you about the day's adventures, as they're not quite over yet. : )

1. I've been a vegetarian for ten years now (almost, I will be in august). That's a third of my life. Wow...
2. I can eat the same thing for months, and only that thing, then all of a sudden stop and not touch it for years.
3. I'm the pickiest eater in the world, so if you ever meet my future children - mommy is allergic to broccoli (and green beans, peas, cooked baby carrots.. cauliflower... fennel... celery...)
4. That being said - I am trying, so (dad, don't faint) I've recently been eating kale, chard and sugar snap peas (although I'm on the fence about the peas. They can't be trusted).
5. I do, on the other hand, love cheese. Really really love cheese. Especially brie and goat cheese (or brie made out of goat cheese).
6. I'm lactose intolerant.
7. My right leg is a fraction shorter than my left. So that fancy, nonchalant pose I'm always striking - not really that cool.
8. I've worked as a secretary, waitress, web designer/programmer, illustrator, youth instructor, customer care assistant, teacher's assistant, retail worker and in animation production.
9. I think that secretly I'm a hypochondriac (watching House doesn't help any), but I think I've actually invented a new syndrome: I worry about most aches and pains but I'm so scared people thinking I'm a hypochondriac that I don't even go to the doctor.
10. I've had pets most of my life I really can't see myself ever living without any. And if I wasn't married I'd probably be hoarding them (or opening up a shelter).
11. I love pens, pencils, notepads and sketchbooks. Almost too much.
12. My ears are pierced in five places (two on the right and three on the left). My belly button is pierced too.
13. I have four tattoos. Tomorrow - I'll have five. And no, that's not going to be the last one either.
14. I used to drink 8-9 cups of coffee a day each exam season when I was in high school.
15. I used to sing in the school's choir. I can't play any instruments, though. Too clutsy.
16. I actually have a decent musical ear. I can tell a cover from the original easily, even a good cover.
17. I can't work without background noise, usually TV/movie/podcast. Not music though. Not sure why.
18. I used to go to ballet when I was little, but I'm a horrible dancer. Dancing at clubs doesn't count, and I'm horrible at that too.
19. I am married to a former ballroom dancing champ.
20. I have hand lotion and lip balm in every purse and on every desk and table.
21. I can curse in four languages. Guess which has the juiciest insults.
22. I hate ironing clothes. With a passion.
23. I hate following patterns, I always adjust and adapt them. But as a kid, I colored methodically inside the lines. Not sure if one contradicts the other.
24. My favorite color is red. I'm growing very fond of yellow too.
25. While I love colors an patterns and use them a lot in my work, I wear mostly black and grey and my tattoos aren't colorful either. Patterned clothes? Forget about it.
26. I am terrified of caterpillars and worms. And my back stairs garden can get pretty scary (especially in the lettuce patch).
27. My lucky number is three. This year I've been married for three years, on top of turning thirty years old. This might just be my year.
28. I used to be the tallest girl in my class until I turned twelve. Than I stopped growing and everyone shot past me. I've no problem with my hight now, but at the time I felt kinda cheated.
29. I don't really like musicales. And I really don't dig country or heavy metal.
30. My iPod is full of pop and cheesy 80 music. Most of my gym playlists' names have the word "cheese" in them.

New Stuff (or - Heck Yeah, I'm Showing Off!)

2010-04-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

I got some cool new stuff recently. It's funny, I tend to go in purchasing spurts. It's either I get nothing for months, get stingy and pre-occupied and forget what the inside of a shop looks like (except for coffee shops. I practically live in some), or I go buying and buying and buying. I have to say, though - these new acquisitions are long overdue.

The first thing I got is new business cards. I've ran out of of my plush moo cards, and it was time to get some "grown up" business cards. Especially at the stage I'm in with portfolio submissions and job search. So I ran some ideas, did me some research and this is what I came up with.

These are not the real cards (yet). I made some mock-up cards, printing my top two designs into heavy, nice paper, then cut and glued front to back. Yep, they both feature Freddie.

This is the end result. Wadda ya think?

After ordering samples from a number of printers, I went with GreenerPrinter. They're not the cheapest of the printers I checked out, but their product's quality was far superior to the others, including some printers that cost more. The eco friendliness is a nice bonus, too. The cards came out perfect, the customer service was extremely friendly and helpful (I run a waaaaaay old version of Photoshop, I needed help with the file saving settings) and the cards came in right on time. So yeah, me super happy and proud (and looking for any excuse to hand them out). Love!

I also got a new phone. If you can even call it a phone. It's a Droid Eris, and it's more like a computer that occasionally makes calls. Sheesh! I am not a technophobe, I swear, but my mind is kinda blown. I run my electronics down to the ground, so generations and generations pass before I get to replace a (really) dead machine. I should stop being surprised at what a new technology can do, once I (finally) get it.
It's funny though, as an 80s (ok, 1980 if you must know) kid, personal electronics technology has advance so much it's hard not to feel like a dinosaur sometimes. Ant and I were at Best Buy, researching the phones we were going to get (he has the Motorola Droid), and we were using a demo iPad. I won't say we were struggling with the thing, but it took some adjustment. Across the display from us, a kid that couldn't have been more than ten years old was using one like he was born to do it. Ant was musing that it's good we were getting these fancy phones, before we fall too far behind and embarrass anyone who knows us.
I swear, by the time our future kids are going to be ten years old, we'd be communicating with computers with our minds. Better start training.

More Plush

2010-04-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

I've actually made a lot of plush lately. I have a secret project I can't quite talk about yet (oooh... secretive like!), another that might happen soon, and just some fun stuff, like Freddie. I also got to make this cute little number as a present.

There are so many cute pattern books and independent patterns designed by super cool people, but there's a limit to how many plushies I can make for myself or dump on my poor friends and family. So any chance I get to make a plush that's not of my own pattern for a legit reason - I take!
This girl was a gift for my friend's new baby (baby Zoe is four weeks old today. They grow so exponentially...). She's based on Kat Kitty by the super talented Mmmcrafts (like this one, also a birthday gift). Zoe's Kat has been baby proofed - no buttons, shoes or applique. The skirt is removable too, but that's a part of the pattern. Seriously cute stuff, cuddly and fun, and the alphabet fabric is crazy adorable. I had to go get some more for myself. Just in case I have a baby girl too... Some day... In the future...

On a side note, I just discovered Pandora (I'm probably the last person in the universe to, I'm sure). So now I'm rocking me some cheesy 80's rock. A-Ha.

What I've Been Doing

2010-04-06T10:40:00.001-07:00

Hi y'all. Here's another "oh, it's been a while" kinda post. I've been very busy, some good, some bad. You'll forgive me if I don't feel like talking about it, right?
Let's make an effort to talk more often, ey? Promise I will. I have some interesting stuff to tell you, but in the meantime, enjoy this new plush I just finished yesterday. His name is Freddie, and he's the first plush ever that I've actually made for myself. Seriously, I'm stoked.

more photos here.

Stay awesome, and stay tuned!

In The Meantime...

2010-02-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010... and a month. I've been MIA again. It seems to be a repeating pattern over here this past year. I've been busy, and soon I'll be able to reveal what was I busy doing (exciting stuff!).
In the meantime, I have a formspring form in which you can ask me anything you want to know, from what my favorite animal is to what I eat for breakfast. Go on, you know you want to!
go ahead and ask!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays, friends! (Yeah, I know I didn't post about Hanukkah, how dare the lunar calendar not match this year? Bah humbug)

May the coming new year bring only great, fun, creative things for you all. I have a lot coming up in 2010 I'm super excited about, so stay tuned. I mean - hey, I might even blog about stuff every once in a while.

Many hugs,
Michal

They're here!

2009-12-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

Hooray!
My Plush exclusive is available for sale here. Get them while they're still available!

Plush, Plush and More Plush!

2009-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

My latest plush endeavor:

Welcome to the world my new-sewns - the twenty five girls of my Schmancy Exclusive series "Not Like Everybody Else". There are eight red, yellow and pink girls (all names starting with 'M') - and one little blue Elizabeth.

They'll be available from Schmancy in store and here online on Wednesday, Dec. 2^nd. Hooray!

New(-ish)

2009-10-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

So... What have I been up to lately, except for making plush until my fingers fall off?
1. I have a new Facebook page: Yep, I joined the raving masses. I too am on Facebook now. If you want to make friends, look up Michal Wright-Ward (yeah, that's me. In case you never knew that).

2. I have new ink: A new tattoo (or technically, two)! I love it/them.

It's actually about a month and a half old, and I just got it touched up this week. Cool, eh?

3. We have a new car: Unintentionally, actually. We loved the Civic, and were planning on keeping it for many years until it died. Well... We did. Kinda. It got totalled in an accident almost a month ago. We're perfectly fine, thanks for asking. Still shook up a bit. It helps that we just got the official police report and we've been found 0% guilty. Phew! And now we're driving a CR-V around town. Oy...

4. The garden has been re-vamped: I took out the squash plant who's flowers and fruit kept rotting. No natural pesticide/fungicide could beat it, Grr... Now I'm starting some leafy greens, flowers and strawberries. The tulle you see is a new method I'm trying to deter caterpillars and leaf-miners. Yeeck!

5. Not do new, but exciting - look how my little pocket-size-bunny-baby has grown! She's a real bunny now, and a bossy one too. She chases the cats around the house, demands her food at specific times and she won't let me stop scratching her forehead. Really, that's my hand.

There's some more new and exciting stuff cooking up here, I'll keep you posted. Promise.
Ciao!

Plush You!

2009-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight at Schmancy, Plush You show opening! We couldn't make it this year, but if it's going to be anything like last year, it'll be awesome.
I realize I never got to show you what I sent in this year (it's been nuts around here, I'll tell you some other time), so here they are:

Rose

Violet

and Lilly

More pretty pictures here. Progress pictures here.

Easter in August

2009-08-03T21:07:00.001-07:00

What's that? Who's there?

Ta-da!
Her name is Maple, (not Mitz Petel, but I have thought about it) and she's the teensiest bunny I've ever seen. She's a bunny, so she won't grow much, but the fact that she's totally pocket size makes her even cuter. Awww!!

Since Max died last year, I've had a hole in my heart looking for something small and cute to fill it. I'd say this little ball of fluff is perfect for the job. We're already smitten.

What does Suki think? Well, as long as she gets her cuddles she might agree to share. Might. If you ask in advance. In print, in three notarized copied.
She drives a hard bargain this one...

It's That Time of Year Again

2009-07-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's that time of year again - plush show time. And first one for this year - Plush You.

This year, I'm making these little girls. I'm experimenting with making as much a variety with as little difference in patterns. Wish me luck!

It worked!

2009-07-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yay! My computer and I went through the upgrade and update nicely and (pretty) smoothly. Phew! Macs are lovely, but boy, do they have a way of making your heart stop sometimes, especially if the resident IT guy (poor Ant) is a PC person and the user (that's me) is only somewhat technically informed. But it could have been worse. Like if I actually broke something and not just entertained the guys at Melrose Mac by forgetting to take the front panel off the optical drive's tray...
So I'm back, but all of my interesting stuff is on the backup drive. So yeah, not even a kitty photo to keep you entertained. Sigh, how cruel of me... I promise to rectify the situation as soon as possible.

I'll be right back

2009-07-12T10:45:00.001-07:00

Computer and I are going on an adventure. The optical drive perished after good four years of service, and as a reward, i also got it some extra memory and am going to format it so it's all happy and rejuvenated.
So if you see me kinda frazzled, muttering to myself or bursting into tears over the next couple of days - that's why.

On the other hand, I have a Mac, so I'll probably be back in half an hour, all happy and relaxed. I should do one of those "I'm a Mac" commercials, really.
See ya on the other side!

Her name is Helga

2009-06-24T20:39:00.001-07:00

Sew Mama Sew, apart from being a great shop and a resource for all things home sewing (with free tutorials, patterns and weekly giveaways as an added bonus), has also given me yet another opportunity to brag about my new machine. Brag? Nah... Me? I'm just helping people looking for a new sewing machine to buy. It's for the greater good. Really...

Ahem, well, without farther ado, The Sew Mama Sew Sewing Machine Meme:

Introducing: Helga

What brand and model do you have? Viking Emerald 183 (yep the same one they're giving away! Let me just say "wow")

How long have you had it? Six months

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? $800 But it was on sale for $600 at Joann's at the time

What types of things do you sew? Plush, clothes, a bit of home decor stuff, lots of small things

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? On average 6-10 hours a week

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I love Helga to bits. Love her-love her-love her. This machine is solid and is very smooth to operate. I often say it can sew without me, all she needs me to do is press on the pedal.

What features does your machine have that work well for you? I like the ease of stitch selection and adjustment, and the Stop and Fix buttons. I like that it's electronic and gives me some indication of what's wrong when something is wrong. That was a big frustration point with my old Singer 8280. I also love the drop in bobbin.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? Not really. I'd say the manual is a bit vague, but so far that's it. I haven't tried sewing knits with it yet, or making button holes or some-such, so who knows. Oh, it's also not the prettiest machine in the world, but it has a brick-ish charm.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! It was a Xmas present from my darling husband. He knew I was saving up for a new machine as a part of trying to make more of my wardrobe (instead of small children in china), and decided that the gift budget we set for the year was not to his liking. Yes, he is a catch, and for your information - I have some fighting skills. I've been paint-balling, watch out.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? Absolutely. I know it's pricey, but a refurbished machine or if you did a tradeoff at a Joann's store might help drop the price somewhat. If you don't need the embroidery stitches (did I mention it has some of those?) you could possibly go to the lower end ones in the Emerald range, but I believe none of them are electronic. Yeah, it's kinda fancy-nancy, but it just makes things a bit nicer and smoother. Also, it's a sturdy beast, unlike a lot of machines at the same level (like the Singers), it feels like an old school machine, built to last. That's also the main thing I read in reviews about it as a big big bonus.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? What you're planning to sew, how much are you willing to spend (with the understandinprobablyhave to sacrifice some comfort and quality,), what other sewers feel about a certain brand and machine (learn from other people's experience). I'd definitely try and find a place to test-sew on the machine you're considering. Comfort and ergonomics are important and hard to gauge if you're not sitting in front of one. On that note, remember that the sales people are there to make a commission, so don't let them sell you on a machine that you were not planning to get, is more than you need or just plain doesn't work for you.

Do you have a dream machine? This one! I hope it will last me a lifetime of sewing. I do sometimes fantasize about my grandma's old black and gold Singer, though. Those are gorgeous machines (not to mention the sentimental value).

Feel free to ask me anything else, BTW! I'm no expert, but if I can get a chance to chew your ear off with my smarty-pants-know-it-all-ness I'll most likely take it. Be warned.

And the "Maybe the Best" Award goes to...

2009-06-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

1. Maybe the coolest nail polish color ever: It's OPI "NY Apple Red" (or some such), but it says more tomato to me. It's the pedicure I got at the end of a long spa day Ant got me for my birthday (he's definitely the coolest husband). And yes, of course it's a cup of coffee in the background. Dah.

2. Maybe the cutest plush pattern ever: It's Katy Kitty (with an extra coat pattern!) from Larissa of Mmmcrafts on Etsy. This is one heck of a well written pattern! It's very easy to follow, super cute, and I didn't even alter it much, I know, it's a shocker. Strange, how I drew very carefully inside the lines as a kid, but I refuse to follow any pattern without some sort of alterations as an adult... I'll ask my psychology student friend. But I digress, super cute, please buy it and support this super talented lady (or any of her other patterns). I made this for my best friend for her birthday and she loves it. Now I just need to make one for myself.

3. Maybe the tastiest banana bread in the world: - the low fat banana bread from The Veganomicon. Hands down. Make sure to add a bit of soy/rice/almond milk (for extra gooey-ness) and some walnuts and chocolate chips. I'm making an average of a loaf a week. I kid you not.

4. Maybe the best TV show: The Shield (well... maybe the best after Dexter, depends on what season you're talking about) The Shield. Excellent show, but sheesh... not for the weak of heart or stomach, though. It's like a mix between The Sopranos, Law and Order (do you really need a link?) and Dexter. Funny though how it's all shot in Los Feliz, Silverlake and Sunset Junction, which is all a ten minute radius from us, on foot. Yeah... Got to love LA.

Hey! Whatsherface is back (maybe)

2009-05-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

Hey look! I'm still around! Dear, oh dear - have I been gone this long?
Life has been really busy since we got back from Christmas break, and I can show you none of that (yet, at least). Busy, but good busy. My, oh my...
So what have I been doing? Drawing, mostly. And sewing with my beloved Helga, working out, drawing some more, working, sleeping (very little, usually on the couch), growing another year older (last year of my 20s, people!), getting addicted to new TV shows (House and The Shield), drawing even more, playing paintball (yeah, sis, I'm a job'nick, but i can hold my own on the paintball field!), cooking and making new friends (between drawing sessions).
What can I show you? This little cake topper I made for our friends' Amanda and Phil's wedding (photo courtesy of the happy couple and their wedding photographer. That's the day our camera died, seconds before the wedding ceremony started. Of course).

I have more to share, I promise not to vanish on you quite so often. If I misspell stuff more than my usual though, please forgive me, I must have drawn all night again.
Ciao!

Why, hello there!

2009-02-16T20:04:00.001-08:00

This post is brought to you by my silly little Bean Sprout camera (no, it's not our new camera, just something for the time being, while we save for the fancy Canon we're liking, and yes - that's teal nail polish. I'm having flashbacks of high-school. Eeeesh...)

We've had a lovely 3-day weekend, and a valentine's day. Ant bought me some potted tulips and a strawberry growing kit, but no fancy dinner due to the second and last installment of this, but that didn't matter much. You know, we're not really fond of shopping holidays. And anyway - since our engagement anniversary was only two weeks ago, what can beat that on the romance scale?
And what did we get for our engagement anniversary? these:

This is mine

and this is Ant's

(You can tell this is a kiddy camera, right?)

Yep, they're real, yep they hurt to get, and yep - we love them a lot. Mine is on the right wrist, Ant's on the left, the same hands we hold when we walk around together (all together now - "awwwwwwwwwwww...").
Want another "awwwwwww" moment? For both of us these are tattoo #2. Both of our first tattoos are dragons, both that we ourselves have designed, and are on the right side of the body, and on two different continents - we got them around the same time.
We were meant to be together, babes.

How to handle a stressful job

2009-01-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gents, today we have for you a tip about how to handle a stressful job:

Free Videos by Ustream.TV
It's simple - just keep this window open on your computer desktop at work and gaze at once an hour (or more if needed, but not so much that you are caught and then get into real trouble). adoring sighs and mutterings seem to increase the relaxing effect.
This method have been tested by my team and I and has been found to work 90% of the time (our other coordinator is such a cynic).
Good luck!

(Oh, yeah. The darn camera is still dead. Blah. Well, at least i supplied you with kitties, right?)

Thank you!

2009-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for the kind words about my grandfather. It means a lot to my family and me. Thank you so so much.

And a second thank you goes out to the Whipup crew for writing about my little studio! I'm incredibly flattered. Our camera is dead, so no new photos (besides - it's a mess. Again) with Helga (my new sewing machine. What? That sounds perfectly Viking, right?), but here's one, some more details and the whipup link (yeah, I'm just a smidge proud of myself).
Thanks for visiting!

Goodbye, Grandpa

2009-01-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of hours after we got into Philly for our friends' wedding we got the news that my grandpa had passed away. He has been sick for quite a while. The last few years his health was poor, and he became a shadow of his former funny, laid back and friendly self. They think he had a stroke and he was hospitalized with the grim notion that the only thing we could do was keep him comfortable. Then he deteriorated and within a week, he was gone. He was my dad's dad, and although we didn't see him as often as we'd like to, we have plenty of fond memories. How he'd invite us to his little store at the beginning of every school year and we'd pick out whatever we needed (and some stuff we didn't too), how we had so many books growing up from when he worked at the printing press, how he'd always have a cat (or five) hanging out and taking over his yard, how he'd have some really funny treats waiting for us when we came to visit (like that one time we had frozen grapes because he wanted to cool them off for us but forgot them in the freezer. That was actually pretty good!), how he'd amuze us by wiggling his ears (my dad and sister can do it too, but she's a living proof of evolution as she can wiggle them each ear separately)...

He passed away over two weeks ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to talk about it. I know it was time, and that he didn't suffer, and that he's more comfortable wherever he is right now, if there is such a place, but I haven't seen him or my family for so long it's been really killing me. It's been four years since I saw him last, and even though I know he most likely would recognize me for a flickering moment only, it still sucks. It sucks that I couldn't be there for the funeral, and with my family, and to hug my dad. It sucks that I don't have any recent photos with him, that his smell is something I have to struggle to remember, that I've been so totally out of the picture for so long. That he couldn't come to my wedding, and never met Ant, all because I moved my life away. That I never got to say goodbye. It just... adds to the extra suckiness of losing someone you love.

My dad put together a flickr set with some photos of him throughout our family history here. This is my favorite, it's so tender. It's sad to watch them, but also fun to bring back good memories, and funny to see the parade of bad haircuts and progression of people you know from smiley kids to grumpy teens to serious adults. That's my family, folks - and I love them and miss them to bits. This summer, I promise בירושלים הבנויה.

There is hope

2008-12-29T13:56:00.000-08:00

I mean, if these two get along, the next thing is pigs flying, hell freezing over and peace coming to the middle east (in that order).
Right?

(more cuddlage here)

And the winners are...

2008-12-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

I asked Suki to pick randomly pick two numbers, and that was her response:
(we call this the WTF face, and I've been told I pull it off sometimes too)

So I had to resort to Random.org - the random number generator:

And the winners are^*...

Congratulations to Melissa of popdogpress.com and Jessica of funkyfinds.us! I'm even more excited and flattered that two such creative ladies (seriously, check them out!) like my work. Thanks, girls!

And yes, I was so happy abut the response to my giveaway that I decided to give away two ornament sets instead of one.
Talking about the holiday spirit.

* Since the contest specified you could comment on any post on my blog, and a couple of people posted twice, by accident, I had to number my posts myself, by order of submission. No preferential treatment here - promise!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, my dear readers! I hope you all are having a great, relaxing day, got all the presents you wanted and are having a really awesome day in general.

This is how our morning looked:

The top gift is what I got Ant (A De Longhi espresso machine, an elegant cup set, Intelligensia coffee, home made ganache for mochas and some other bits and bobs), and the bottom... MINE!

It's a Viking Emerald 183, and I'm SO stoked. Especially because one of my goals for the new year is to modify and make more of my own clothes. It's about twice as big as my old Singer 8280, which Ant bought me for my birthday a couple of years ago, and it's seriously a number of steps up. It has so many functions I didn't even know you could have on a machine, and it's electronic. Whoa!
Isn't Ant the best? Look how satisfied he looks. Justifiably so.

Thank you so much baby! You rock so hard AC/DC's got nothing on you!

A slight delay

2008-12-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,
So sorry, but the drawing for the ornament sets will have to wait a couple of days. Some dentist chased me around with some surgical tools, and all I can do right now is lie down and drool into the couch. Even the cats don't want anything to do with me (I growl occasionally too). Stupid Motrin doesn't work fast enough...
I shall return shortly, equipped with a better mood, a couple of winners and hopefully some Vicodin. Amen.
Michal

P.S.
Happy Hanukkah, y'all!

Yep, it's really almost Christmas!

2008-12-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

Man, I'm always a bit surprised by holidays and birthdays (I have the worst sense of time), but this year Christmas really jumped me! How did this happen? Jee-wiz Louise...
So we've decided to be crafty this year, and our lucky best friends all got/will get a box full of goodies: Oreo truffles (from this recipe) and one of these ornaments:

It's made using this pattern. It was meant to have embroidered eyes, but I spend three days sick this week, and figured people won't want my germs for Christmas too. That's why Ant made the Oreo truffles too. He did so well, BTW. They came out very delicious. We only exchanged the candy bark with white chocolate chips. It made the coating less even and more lumpy, but I thought it was much tastier.

So we got a real tree (we're really on that bourgeois binge this year, especially now that we're officially middle class) from Delancy Street trees in Silverlake, which I didn't know was something special, but now that I do - it makes me even happier. Charity means so much more these days.
We (finally) decorated it, and the cats are pretty ecstatic. Emmet figured out that if he picks off the ornaments from the back of the tree, it'll take us longer to find out = more time for him to play with them. And we thought he was just such a dummy little cat...

And how's your holiday crafting going?

Giveaway! Oh Yay!

2008-12-11T23:09:00.000-08:00

So I totally missed the week of giveaways, which is sucky but typical of me lately. But giving late is better than never giving, right?

Welcome to Michal's fun! Joyful! Merry Giveaway!! so here's the Q&A:
"What will I win?"
A set of my handmade, screen printed ornaments in reindeer or raccoon. There are three ornaments per set and they're not only hand made and original designs, they're also pretty darn cute.
"What do I need to do to win?"
Simple, just comment anywhere in the blog between tonight and friday 12/19/2008 12AM PST. Please use your email address in the comment or I'll have a hard time getting in touch with you and sending you your prize. Not fun. The winner will be chosen at random, by luck of the draw. No, the cats won't be picking the random winner. They're too easy to bribe.
"How long can you live without chocolate?"
If I don't need my sanity I guess I can live a normal life span. No Chocolate and maintaining sanity? I don't know, but I'm about to find out. Keep your fingers crossed for me, please.

Finch's Holiday Boutique

2008-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

I've been invited to participate in this great holiday boutique this year, Finch's Holiday Time Boutique in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's all happening this weekend (Dec. 13-14), and it's hosted by the lovely Elisa Brynteson who's a designer at Target.
Looking at what she has this year - there's something for everyone so go check it out! I'll have a lot of my little accessories and little ornaments there, and a couple of plush toys. The added bonus, every artist donates to the American Cancer Society as a participation fee. Neat, eh?
If you live in the area, you should totally check it out. Like, totally.

Hi kids, I have some cute for you

2008-11-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

Man, has it really been almost a month since my last post? Is it really almost December? Sheesh, time flies when you're having fun (and we are. Fun and way too much work, as usual...). I owe you many a story, but for now, I'd like to interrupt this blog slumber with an announcement - you ready?

I have plush to sell!
If you ever wanted to buy any of my plush creations, check out what's available below. To avoid confusion, mishaps and disappointment, please read all the details below first:

This is how I'm going to do this:
1. You look at the plushies available below, fall in love with one and want to buy it.
2. You email me at michal AT michalwright DOT com and tell me you're interested. If said plushie has not yet been sold, I'll give you my paypal address so you can make a payment. Please note that this is done on a first come, first serve basis.
3. We'll determine shipping costs before any money changes hands, based on your shipping address (yep, I'll ship internationally. Why not?)
4. Until payment is made, I will not consider the plush sold nor ship it to you. I will hold a plushie for you for 48 hours, unless we agree otherwise in advance.
5. If no payment is made in 48 hours, the plushie will be taken off hold, and if another person (the "next person in line", sort of) is interested in it - it will be sold to said person.
6. I'll get back to you either way within 12 hours. Yeah, I'll check my email more often. Promise. : )
7. If you're interested in gift wrapping, Christmas delivery or any some such, please let me know.

Please email me with any questions.
Happy shopping!
Michal

Yorick"Monstrously Nice" for "Crammed Organisms", 2008
Original design, synthetic fur and wool felt, cotton, polyfill, Hand Sewn.
Remember when your mom told you not to take candy from strangers? I hope you listened well. Because if you don't watch out for Yorick kids, you might end up in a Kid Stew. Yummm...
SOLD

IgorF"Monstrously Nice" for "Crammed Organisms", 2008
Original design, synthetic fur and wool felt, cotton, polyfill, Hand Sewn.
Igor has a present for you, and it's exactly what you want. You'd better wait for Christmas though, because what Igor wants, is to make you into meatloaf. Yup
SOLD

Stella"Monstrously Nice" for "Crammed Organisms", 2008
Original design, synthetic fur and wool felt, cotton, polyfill, Hand Sewn.
Stella loves to bake. She makes the best cupcakes you've ever eaten. But watch out, or you might end up in one of them. With cream frosting and a cherry on top.
Available from Wizard Sleeve Toyz here.

Olaf"Monstrously Nice" for "Crammed Organisms", 2008
Original design, synthetic fur and wool felt, cotton, polyfill, Hand Sewn.
Olaf knows kids like bunnies. They're so cute and soft and cuddly. And so are kids, as it turns out. Especially ones that have been made into stuffed toys. Monster children need toys too, you know.
SOLD

AlexOriginal design, wool felt, cotton, polyfill, Hand Sewn
Price: $50

Hi girl!

2008-11-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

At last, the last plush for the show season 2009 is done! Well, she's been done for two weeks now, but I'm still recovering. She's hanging out at Ruban Rat waiting for Plush It! to begin.
Ladies and gents... please welcome - Fifi-Lou!

I love how her little hair ribbons turned out. So cute.

more pictures here.

and work in progress pictures are here.
And now - off to plan 2009!

Just say "NO"

2008-11-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

I managed to stay out of all of the political discussion so far, but I just wanted to say: Californians, no matter how you feel about homosexuality, traditional values or marriage - please vote "No" on prop 8. Civil liberties should be allowed to be taken away by small minded people who think their values are the only values.

And if all the BS about teaching marriage in school (really...) got you confused, check out this cute and touching short by fellow CalArtian Adrian Molina:

The bottom line is - that's what it's all about. And what's more human than to say yes to love?
Good luck to us all tomorrow. Life is about to get a whole lot more interesting around here.

We're back! (And you didn't even know we were gone)

2008-10-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! We're back from a weekend in Seattle, for Plush You! and a bit of a breather. It was great, we absolutely loved it. I promise a slide show sometime next week (we're back in the grind, shock).
And all of my plushies were sold! Wow!

And Dia de Los Plush opened last friday too, and it looks like it was a blast too.
Check it out. And if you're interested in Señor Muertez, you can buy it, and other show "participants" here (just choose "current show" and scroll around).

See you on the other side!

Buonas noches, Señor Muertez!

2008-10-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was recently accepted into the cool Dia de Los Plush show, at Red Hot Robot in Phoenix, AZ. Honestly, it was a short notice and I really had no time at all to even think about it, but I was intrigued. My art work, in case you're not very familiar, tends to be cute on the side of sweet and i've been trying to bring it a bit "to the dark side". I want to make it more edgy, a bit darker, more cynical and a bit creepy. Hence the child-eating monsters and the interest in a show that's inspired by the Day of the Dead.
Some research, some eating "Dead Bread" (provided kindly by one of our PA's wife) and a lot of gringo (read "white Jewish girl from the holly land") head scratching - and in came Señor Muertez,

(more pictures here)
He's Death's accountant (i've been watching too much Dead Like Me lately), and he's a crafty little guy. He made his own headdress himself. No, he didn't, actually. I did. And yes, it did take forever.

The Future

2008-09-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

My friends, the future is here - and it's called Chromatic. A couple of weeks ago my good old G3 ipod finally gave up the ghost (don't be fooled by the seemingly active screen in this photo. Just try and get it to actually play music). I've had it for four years. And lucky me, it happened just as a brand-new-spanking-gorgeous new piece of music playing electronics got released (my old one was bought right when it was released, mind you).
It's interesting with me and stuff. I take pretty good care of my stuff. My CD player, about 8 years old, is still alive and playing music, in whatever storage box it is. My walkman, that's probably alive too, and I'm only on my 4th cell phone since 2000 (and my first one actually still works. They don't make them like they used to anymore). And so, every time something up and dies on me and I have to replace it - the strides technology took in the time that passed simply boggle my mind. I mean, look how thin this thing is!

So yeah, I have the new nano ipod, yeah it's red, yeah it's sweet and yes - I'd make a really bad gadget-eer.

And this is a tribute to Claudia. I love this little machine.

Adoption day

2008-09-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Why did I disappear and what was I doing?
I was fostering these three babies:

Toby

Princess Lulu

Mr. Muffin

Yes, raising baby monsters is no easy feat. Just figuring out what each of them will eat was complicated. And then there was the feeding schedule, and baths, and playtime, and sibling fights, and fleas, and vaccination, and teething... Sheesh! Now they're big enough to fend for themselves, and they're making their way to Seattle, to Plush You. Hopefully, all three will find a loving monster-parent who'll be ready to give them a good home. How can you resist this lovely face?

(More pictures here)

Kristen already outed me, but here's the official announcement - we're going to the show this year! We're going for a four day three night vacation in Seattle. Except for the main attraction on the 10th, any other fun events to look out for? Anyone else coming? What do people do in the Starbucks State?

When short on blogging material...

2008-08-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

... Post cute pictures of your cat.

Hi daddy, I'm just going to get me a little nap here, do you mind?

Ahem, did I say you could take my picture?

(giving a royal stink eye)

Sigh... You people...

I'm cooking up a small series for you as I'm working on my newest plushies for this year's Plush You. Stay tuned.

Barn! *

2008-07-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

We got home from work tonight and this is what we found:

Yes, this is our bathroom. Or was. Turns out the almost a hundred years old wooden windowsill was rotting and let water seep into the wall. The whole thing has to be broken apart, let dry and re-covered. Later in the week they'll have to re-tile the new wall, put on the grout and seal it. And it's going to be a few days before I can use my lovely shower. Barn!

It's tragic, really. You see - I love my showers more than is probably natural. I think the shower is man's greatest invention. Think about it: you can get a warm one on a cold winter day after you've been rain soaked and three cars in a row raced past you into a puddle. You can take a cold one when the temperatures outside go three digit. You can take one after a long sweaty workout (or a military kitchen duty - trust me, that's shower ever), or as a short, quick refresher before you head out for a night on the town. Seriously, showers are great.

I'm certainly guilty of liking my showers a tad too much. My dad and husband will agree. I'm a good environmentalist, but I really have a hard time cutting my showers short. If I don't get my morning shower, no amount of coffee will save the day. If we run out of hot water in October I'll still take one. I even braved the crowds and jail-house conditions in my basic training camp ("Julis", no less) to get one. Like I said, I love my showers.

So you see, not being able to take one until roughly Friday makes Michal super cranky. We'll have to go to the gym earlier all week to grab some running water. I wonder just how bad my hair can get in four days (I'm not optimistic). But hey, I am trying to look on the bright side - at least we still have running water.
Knock on wood, hamsa-hamsa, and thank goodness neither of the cats is even remotely black.

^* In case I neglected to mention this before, I curse like a sailor. But I work in a fairly PG language environment, so I have to improvise. "Crackers!" or "Holy crackers!" have been my favorites so far, but I started using "Barn!" lately, and I'm having a blast with it.
You do know what I really want to say though, right?

7.25 UPDATE:
The shower is back in action! It's filthy as all hell, but I can actually take a shower in my own apartment now. Phew! Sanity restored. Just in time.

Holly crackers!!!

2008-07-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

Go watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog! It should be free for only a little longer, but then you can buy it on iTunes.
And you probably should. Independent film making should be supported.

And of course, if you're up for some Hollywood film making that should also be supported, go see The Dark Knight. If you can get your paws on some tickets, that is.

Now, that's something you don't hear every day...

2008-07-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell you I got sneezed on by a giraffe? Well, I was. Really.

It was the summer of 1996 and we went to Kenya for my sister's Bat Mitzva (awesome! Warmly recommended). We finished a week long safari tour and has some time to kill in Nairobi while we were waiting for our flight to the Seychelles (very warmly recommended), so our tour guide suggested we go to this rescue where they save orphaned baby wildlife and have plenty of giraffes too. We were game (yes, pun intended) so we drove out of the city to the orphanage.
As soon as we got in, we saw this wooden tower, surrounded by giraffes who were being fed by the visitors and staff. My sister and I were on top of it before you could say "zebra". We were feeding the giraffes for quite a while. They eat those giant pellets, the size of a golf balls, which you kind of have to toss to them because darn - giraffe teeth sure are big, and I'm not quite sure they're smart enough to remember they're vegetarians when they're hungry. Giraffes are funny creatures, they're lips have fur on the inside parts too, which makes them look like puppets. And they were hungry, they shoved their faces as far as they could into the tower balcony where we were standing to get more pellets tossed at them.
My sister was in a feeding frenzy, my mom was busy video taping us, and I can't remember what I was doing (talking to them, probably) when all of a sudden I heared a very large, very close "ha-tchooooooooo!" and the left side of my face got quite wet...
It's like, that scene from "Jurassic Park", only by a mammal. Remember that one?

Anywho, last night I checked out Cute Overload, and burst into hysteric laughter.

I don't know if that's "my" giraffe, but it sure is the orphanage we went to.

If this story made you laugh - good! It sure was meant too.

A million different things

2008-07-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah, a lot is going on chez nous lately, a lot of the "I need to think about it" kind of things. I really can't seem to be able to wrap my head around one thought and come to a solid conclusion. I can't seem to even agree on, start, work on and finish one single project. So I guess it's going to be yet another random post, eh?

- Thanks for the kind words about Max. I was crying for a whole week, and still choke up about him being gone every once in a while. It's strange how, considering what a zoo we're running, this quite (well, after he was fed his snacks) little guy is so badly missed, and what a huge hole his death tore in my heart. Poor little guy...

- On a more cheerful note, my little garden is doing super well (shocking, I know). One of my tomato plants is in full bloom, and if the pests let us, we'll have some tomatoes this summer! Yum. Since I wrote about it last, I had to rip out my entire lettuce box and the radishes box because the buggers started munching on them already. They seem to have forgotten about them this time around (knock on wood). Maybe the heat is as bad to them as it is to us. Either way, I have enviro-human friendly extermination plans. I'll try them out and let you know how it goes.

- After a long, grueling search, I finally bought me some new shoes:
It's a great pair of Naturalizer Ganache. I have an expensive taste, what can I say... The cool thing about them is that Ant spotted a tiny stain on them, hardly visible, and got me an extra 15% off (he's indeed a keeper, and can you believe he's actually gone shoe shopping with me? Wow... I hardly have patience for myself when I go shopping...). Not so cool? That I decided to wear them right away for another two and a half hours of cruising the Glendale Galleria and the Americana, on a hot day without any protective socks. Ouch...
Alas, this purchase will not tame my burning desire for these beauties. Did I ever mention I have an expensive taste?

- I've gone back to cooking, with a real vengeance. We've been trying to eat healthier these past couple of months, less processed, less "something out of a bag" (probably helped that Ant got rid of the microwave when we moved), as much organic as we can reasonable afford. My parents' last years' birthday present of some quick dishes cook books has been very useful (thanks, folks!), for recipes and inspiration. I even decided to give tofu a second chance (but not broccoli, that's never going to happen, mark my words). And when I discovered the Veganomicon (via Anna. Thanks Anna!), besides the geeky giggles, I knew I hit gold. Then Amazon did one of those tricks when it reads your mind and presto - The Joy of Vegan Baking and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World somehow ended up in my shopping cart. How did Amazon know I've been searching for baking recipes egg-allergic people can eat? True magic.

Ant's never had a cupcake in his life (or a birthday cake, but that's a whole other tragedy), so he really wasn't getting my giddiness over the cupcake book. For my first attempt, I decided not to go all nuts, and made a basic chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting (except for dying half of it a orange and swirling it our toothpaste style). I swear he must have thought I was crazy, but after scarfing down his second, he summed it up like so: "Interesting... It's like a cake - but SMALLER". Yep, now he got it.

And by all accounts, he's totally hooked too, because he had no objections when I asked to go shopping for the above icing supplies, extracts, natural food dyes and colored sugar sprinkles. You're all over to the dark side now, babe. Mwha ha ha...

- Last weekend I made yet another attempt at putting the way ideas in my head on paper in some organized fashion, so I cut swatches from all my garment fabrics and put them in one of my many scribble notebooks, with some sketched and ideas as to what they will become (eventually, hopefully, one day). I'm pretty proud of myself. Now, If I can actually get some sewing done that will be nice...

The above stripy pink and red number is what I'm working on right now, but it's a whole other (horror) story for a whole other (lengthy) post.

- We're completely in love with our neighbors' dog Duncan. He's a Basset Hound, which we love anyway, but he's also the friendliest, drool-iest, floopy-est big footed puppster you've ever seen. He always come to greet us when we see him around the complex, and he's always up for a belly rub. If we were meaner people, we'd totally steal him. Totally.

- And since you haven't seen the cats in quite a while, here are some new feline photos for your viewing pleasure (courtesy of Ms. Pampered-Face Suki, who recently has been giving us the stink-eye every time we dare ask for her royal attention):

I'm actually bening sneaky with these pictures, as they also showcase our finally-finished bedroom (can you believe we've been living here for more than six months already?). The picture on the wall is this Matte Stephens piece. We also have this one hanging, but you can't see it in the photo.

Behold, a rare moment of feline domestic bliss:

See ya around!

Bye bye Mr. Max

2008-06-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

My piggy Max died today. He was an old pig, and he wasn't doing so well for the last few days, and the weekend heat-wave didn't do him very good. We came home tonight and he was gone.
Max was my college buddy. I got him on Christmas break of 2002 when I was lonely, homesick and feeling totally out of my element. I can't even describe what a great pet he's been. He'd recognize my steps coming down the hall and squeak to the high heavens until I walked in the door. He once, quite literally ate my homework. He often had more food then me (and more time to eat it). He was awesome, and I miss him. Tomorrow morning is going to feel so weird, without him nagging me to get him his breakfast carrots.
Bye bye, little baby pig. You were a great friend.

Random Saturday

2008-06-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Hi chums. Sorry for being so sparse. Stuff is getting a bit crazy again at work and when I get home I'd rather craft something or chill with my darling. So this post is going to be much like what's going on inside my head - random. I hope you don't mind.

1. A couple of weeks ago we went and saw Indy at the Vista, which just happened to be our local theater (seriously, it's a very short walk away). And if one LA landmark wasn't enough for one night, we later went for drinks at the Tiki Ti. And if that doesn't impress you yet, we had breakfast at Millie's the next morning. Man, I love LA.

2. Speaking of food, we're officially got the Ramseyism. We can't eat anywhere anymore without dissecting our food, the restaurant and the service harshly and pondering what would Gordon have to say. Got to love a crazy, cursing Englishman, right? (and I do say that with all the love in the world). And yes, we are addicted to the new season of Hell's kitchen. Why?

3. I'm still knitting and sewing, and contemplating my upcoming plush shows, but we'll talk about it some other time. Promise.

4. Did I ever tell you that I have a garden? Well, it's not much of a garden, really. It's more like a collection of flower boxes in which I grow herbs, flowers and some vegetables. Or am attempting to, at least... You know, I really thought that I inherited my mom's green thumb along with her other creative talents, but I guess I'm not a natural at gardening as I hoped. The long and the short of it is that I almost killed my entire garden (and the ficus in the living room, and my succulents, although that was mostly Emmet's fault), not so much of neglect or ignorance, but of over enthusiasm. Let's just say that there's definitely such a thing as too much fertilizer (especially if it's the wrong kind) So a couple of weeks ago, I got tired of looking sadly at my cute little organic garden turned scary bush of a thing with mite infested overgrown plants and caterpillars (eek!) crawling around, and took some more research and my garden shears to it and started over, pretty much.

The empty looking box is for lettuces. I have a "salad mix" seed packet I pretty much empties into this one. The smaller box is for herbs: spearmint, parsley, chives, marjoram, basil and sage.

From top to bottom, right to left: our mini rose bush, radishes, pansies (I love pansies), cherry tomatoes, my dying succulents, spring onions and chamomile. It doesn't look like much in these photos, but by now the lettuces have sprouted very nicely and so did my radishes, spring onions and the pansies. And most of the tomatoes survived, which I'm very proud of. Oh, and my neighbors are totally jealous, so there. Watch out Martha Stewart, I'm right behind you.

5.
And after a long day of gardening, I get to sooth my hands with this hand cream, a part of a very useful present I got from my folks for my birthday. It's so good... Thanks, mom and dad! (and while I'm at it, can anyone be an English teacher for a minute and tell me what this flower is called? I got it from a friend for my birthday and none of my native English speaking colleagues, friends or spouse seem to know. What on earth do they call a rakefet in this country?)

6. Our good friends got engaged in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, which is super exciting. I'll let them make the big announcement in the bloggiverse themselves, but we're so happy for you (you know who you are)!

7. Speaking of weddings, this year we're definitely feeling that it's the season. I went to two bachelorette parties in one week, and I have a bridal shower coming up next weekend. Most of my female friends and colleagues are or have been bridesmaids in at least one wedding this year. It's going to be one busy summer...

8. Tomorrow we're going to the 23rd Israeli Film Festival in LA. No, I'm not dragging my poor husband to see the almost-academy-award-winning-but-not-quite Beaufort, but what looks like the promising sweet comedy The Galilee Eskimos. I think Netflix might have it, it has Big Dig (Te'alat Blaumilch) which I somehow didn't manage to see ever (a confession as difficult for an Israeli as admitting she dosen't like hummus. Which I don't. I know, I should be ashamed). Ant's going to be hearing a lot of Hebrew this month.

8. Thanks for all the new car love! Of course the lovely detailing work was all ruined by a sand storm followed by rain the same week we got it, but it's ok. It probably eased up the transition from owning a tin car to owning a tiger. We actually are beginning to get used to it, which is grand. We were going to call it The Reliant, until we found out about those reliants. Sigh... Don't worry, we won't call it a Sussita either.

Have a good weekend, peeps!

Happy birthday, my love!

2008-05-30T19:20:00.001-07:00

The best guy in the world (sorry ladies, I got him) is turning 27 today.
I love you, baby!

Almost here!

2008-05-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Don't forget! Next weekend is the first night of Crammed Organisms. We ended up having to give up on going, but if you're in the St. Louis area - you really should go. Looks like a blast!

"Let's agree on one thing first, ok? We're not buying a new car today" (Ant, 1PM today)

2008-05-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

So how did we end up driving home in this?

He he, yeah, I guess you can't really walk into a dealership and just look at a car nowadays, can you? They badly want you to actually buy one.
Truth is, we were planning on buying a new car for a while now. Our old clunker (a 1991 Honda Accord) was not going to pass the upcoming smog test, had a dead AC and a passenger side window that won't roll down, it leaked oil, the transmission was dying and the breaks could use a break - you get the picture. Luckily, Mr. President was quite fond of us this tax year, so we didn't have to replace cluncker A with clunker B. I think the deal was officially sealed when they offered to take good old "Enterprise" (yep, that's what we called it) off our hands for a fair amount. We were contemplating this purchase for a long time, but to say that we were actually mentally ready for it - not really...
So what's the new Ward-mobile? It's a gunmetal grey Honda Civic LX, brand new (oh, the new car smell!) with extra warranty up the wazoo. I can't believe I'm saying this on a such a "family car", and considering the impractical sporty/manly/concept cars Ant kept finding (how? I'll never know) but we actually love it!
We were pretty set on a Toyota Yaris and were just going to take it around the block before we sign on the dotted line, but honestly - cute and affordable as it is - it handles like a cow (the car "sohevet ba'alia" if you have any Hebrew in you). Not a good feature when you live in LA. besides, the Civic was only about 2K more with a slightly larger engine, almost the same gas mileage and much much higher safety ratings, and it's smooth as butter.
I guess that you reach a certain stage in life, when you realize you've worked hard enough for long enough and you can afford to upgrade when it's worth it. From one bedroom to two bedrooms, from Ikea to West Elm and from a compact "youngster" car to something that can handle more than two people and their groceries. But man, I didn't realize we got there already.

Now, for the really important stuff - any geeky Sci-Fi name suggestions?

I love...

2008-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

... How a scribble...

... Turns to this...

... Which turns to this...

... and then to this...

... and finally to these:
Yorick

Stella

Igor

and Olaf

(more pictures here)
These are the monsters of "Monstrously Nice", my submission to Crammed Organisms.
I love how they came out, but I swear - never again will I commit to something I so blatantly have no time to do. I had a month to create a portfolio and these guys, and for someone with a day job, well... not quite possible I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited, super thankful and happy to have been accepted to the show, but I really finally need to learn how much I can do at any given time. I seem to always think I can cram more work into the time I have, and the end result is usually a massive lack of sleep, a filthy house and a very neglected husband. You'd really think that in twenty eight years (yeah, I almost forgot - it was my birthday last week) I'd learn my time-space limits. I need a Tardis, I really do...
And how are you? how are your creative juices doing these days?

Happy Matzah-Day!

2008-04-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Passover, everyone!
I'm super busy with a portfolio and my Crammed Organism work, so just imagine that I sent you this funny JibJab card. Funny that in the holiday that's all about becoming a free people, I'm slaving so much over my own work. But thus is life, right? But we're actually doing a Seder this year with some friends, which I'm looking forward to very much. I haven't done one in what - six years? Sheesh...

And talking about work, this has got to be a good time for copyright attorneys. Can you believe this? If you're an illustrator, please check this out and make sure you're not one of the people who's work got stolen. On the same note, it broke my heart to read this. So FYI - this is why I won't be making patterns for sale any time soon. Sorry guys.

I hope you find the Afikoman! What did you ask for when you found it, as a kid?

Scary plush and exploring St. Louis

2008-04-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

The weekend's heat wave left me with a killer migraine, but I still managed to work on my Crammed Organisms plush. Behold, the team of "Monstrously Nice" - they're monsters alright, but they try to look all innocent and nice so they can lure kids to their home and eat them. Mmm... Yummi. I actually got pretty tired of drawing all uber cute and stuff. I tried for more scary this time, and I'm pretty happy with the result.
These guys don't have names yet, but I'm working on it. This is my first time trying to sort out the colors in the design phase. All these guys are going to be made with synthetic fur, wool felt and cotton. I'm so excited I scare myself, I'm telling ya...

And with these creepy dudes, we too will be going to St. Louis! It's going to be a bit of a way belated honeymoon, late one year anniversary celebration, a post birthdays party with soon very needed and well deserved vacation thrown in for good measure. So, St. Louisians - any suggestions for a hip, kookie, nature, art, craft and fun loving LA couple coming to your lovely city?

37 Degrees (or 98, you non Celsius folk)

2008-04-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Man, it was one hot weekend! I've taken three showers today and am ready for a fourth. The cats are flat on the floor like a couple of pittas (or should I say matza, in the spirit of the upcoming holiday), all the fans are on and the bedroom AC and multiple cups of iced coffee and teechino have been consumed. Sheesh... And it's only April.
Since my brain seems to be dripping out of my ears in this heat, I'll spend today's post bragging talking about my new workspace. Behold - the studio:

This is what used to be a walk in closet. Now - it's my sewing area!

This awesome table is the Jay desk from West Elm which is awesome. Above the desk is this beautiful art piece by Dawbis She made for me as a part of a swap we did a while ago. Yay!

Storage! Thankfully there's a Paper Source nearby. These work so well in my crammed little space.

Ribbon, embroidery floss and buttons in jars from Ikea.

Ze stash (that I somehow almost managed to double in the past couple of weeks. Wow...)

The computer.

The art desk. I finally have all of my art supplies in easy reach, and that's super exciting! No more drawing on a crowded desk shared by a computer, a printer, a scanner and gianormous piles of paper!

Markers and my lovely owl lamp.

More markers, pencils and this wooden postcard that I got and framed. The cup is some Decole cuteness.

Out the window - the entrance to our small complex.

Ok, I've got to get that fourth shower if I'm about to get any sleep tonight. Sigh...

The good, the bad and the random

2008-04-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

Some randomness, courtesy of the late hour (am I getting old? I'm calling something before midnight late? Sheesh...):

- At life drawing class at the studio last week, I got really frustrated watching this guy draw really well. Good use of line, shape,character. I got so mad I could draw as well that I left the class early. Ant wasn't there, but he somehow figured out very quickly that the man I was jealous of was no other than Stephen Silver. Hey, if you aim anywhere - aim high.

- We're going to see the Izzard again in August at the Kodak Theater. Ticket pre-sale, baby.

- And speaking of comedians, did you ever watch Demetri Martin? He's a good comedian, kinda Mitch Hedberg-y. But he's much better to watch than listen to. His drawing comedy is hilarious. No, I didn't turn into a comedy connoisseur. I'm one of the least funny people I know. Seriously.

- I took up spinning (the other kind, AKA "indoor cycling") again, in a studio in Burbank. I forgot how strangely good it feels when your legs are so tired they almost fall off.

- I should start doing memes like this and this. In general, I think blogging in comics is neat. Maybe I should use The Healing Sketch to do something like this myself.

- Can you believe I didn't knit a stitch in over a week? My lace project is giving me a headache, my socks bore me, and I didn't get a chance to start something blissfully mindless yet. But with a knit and spa weekend plotted by my knitting maven co-workers Angela and Sonserae (Ravelry links), this knitting "meh" should end soon.

- Also on the craft front, did you know that Joann's has all Simplicity patterns for 99 cents a pop sale? I was there browsing for a hoodie pattern last weekend and overheard the sales chicks talking about it. Me and this other girl who was browsing patterns were plotting how to trick the ten patterns per purchase term of the sale, and soon enough we were both raiding the pattern drawers. I ended up getting almost every pattern from the Built by Wendy line (dude, they're normally $15 each!). I saw the other girl outside the store later, and asked her how many she scored. "Five", she said, "but I'm going back for more" (she was on her way back in. That's my type of girl).

- I got a new phone and it boggles my mind a bit. It's the Sony Ericsson W580i and it can almost make me a cup of coffee too. Considering that my now departed three and a half years old Nokia was my first color screen phone, I think I'm dealing with the tech overload quite well. At least dialing is still just pushing numbers. Phew.

- I've been working on some ideas for my Crammed Organisms application (man, I SO want in!), so here is one of them. Please cross your fingers for me!

UPDATE:
I made it! I made it! Whoo hoo!

Thank you

2008-03-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to say thank you for all the kind words, the condolences, the beautiful stories so many of you wrote and shared in your own blogs and websites. They can't dull the pain, but they make it more bearable. I never met many of you, and I wish we met under better circumstances, but still. Thank you.

We drove up to Napa for the funeral service on Friday. It was beautiful, lots of people came to say goodbye. Many heart warming words were said. We laughed just as much as we cried, and we did a lot of both.
And then we went in a big group of friends to celebrate Justin's life over dinner and drinks, and while we were clearly one person short, while one chair was painfully empty - it felt great. To be surrounded by friends, to be happy together. It was something to be very very thankful for.

It's quite incredible how many lives Justin has touched in his short life. And very inspiring. He makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to do more with my life, make more of it. Grab life by its horns, so to speak. His death makes me want to appreciate the people in my life more, mend bridges, restore old friendships.
It even makes me want to draw more, funny as it might sound.

Lesson learned, Justin.
Life's too damn short.
And we're so damn thankful for every minute.

Justin 1981-2008

2008-03-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

We've just found out that our good friend Justin Wright passed away today. He had a heart attack at the age of twenty seven. We're still in shock. It's very hard to believe he's gone. It's unreal.

We were classmates and roommates back at CalArts and were department PA in the together. He was a professional, passionate, hard working, reliable, funny, supportive, creative person. Since we graduated he moved back up north to work at Pixar, where he always wanted to work. He was a storyboard artist, and he was darn good at it too.

And we've been just looking at our wedding photos this week, and found him there, with his goofy smile, celebrating with us. It's hard to look at them now. It's just so... crazy.

If you are a believer, please say a pryer for him, he was one. And please send a comforting thought to his parents and sister.

Justin, it's hard to imagine we'll never see you again, talk about video games, argue about movies, plot our creative careers, our young lives together. It's so hard to talk about you in past tense. You might be gone, but not forgotten. You'll always live in our hearts.

We miss you.
Your friends.

More from friends and co-workers on Cartoon Brew, and from Amanda.

Out of my cave

2008-03-16T20:22:00.001-07:00

Well, hello there dear readers!
Yeah, this blog has been hibernating for a bit (is it really March already? Sheesh!), but it's pretty much spring here in the So of Cal and it's time to have some fun. And so I'm back! Did you miss me?

Quite a lot happened since my last update. We moved to our new apartment (the move was a nightmare, as they tend to be, but we love our new place so much it's almost a shame we're just renting it), settled in (after spending six hours and two value packs of Mr. Clean Extra Strength Erasers on cleaning the bathtub and shower walls), moved around a bit at work (for the better), went to see Eddie Izzard live, discovered how cool our new neighborhood is, started new projects, finished old projects, got hooked on Teeccino and started a little "garden" of herbs and vegetables on our back door stairs.
I'll catch up with the details little by little, but here are some photos to entertain you in the meantime.
Enjoy!

Le Kitchen. No, the cat didn't come with the apartment
What you're not seeing is the mess the cats made outside their litter box (to the left) and the giant pile of dishes in the sink (to the right)
The little coffee/tea corner and our new spice rack

Mr. Emmet snoozing in the sun in the den, before we set it up
This is my desk now, all clean and ready to work (Ant's desk... not so much)
Looking from the den into the living room. Ant's just finished vacuuming. And you can't see the new coffee table, but there is one

I got me a few vintage Pyrex dishes. I'm a pattern addict, what can I say?
I made some veggy (broth) soup and "locksh" for us one night when we were sick-y

A new knitting project
Knitting is always better with a cat

Suki, the bathroom cleanliness inspector (I hope we pass)
Suki, the kitty food inspector "I'm not sure about the quality issue... I need to re-inspect. Fill the bowl again, please!"Suki, the sunshine inspector. Yeah... I think she's pleased with it
Suki, the food inspector. Not sure this nectarine is up to par

Merry Christmas y'all!

2007-12-24T13:44:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas, my dear peeps! May you get all of your holiday crafting done, get the best presents ever, have a great time with your family and friends and in general - have a great holiday.
These sweet gift tags are by Natascha Rosenberg and I'm totally smitten with them. How sweet! Thanks for sharing these (and other), Tania!

Note to self, make some of those next year.

Out sick

2007-12-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

Poo to that... Luckily, Suki is here to cheer me up (or because I was cozier than the couch, the jury is still out on that). I'll be back with you shortly.

I went to the MTV Network Christmas party and all I got was this stupid hat

2007-12-13T00:43:00.000-08:00

Yeah...
I find it ironic that in the same week our New York comrades fight Viacom (the mother company of MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount and other various entertainment companies), we get invited to a fancy Christmas party in Hollywood for MTV and partner networks employees.
The booze was free, the company was grand (I love my co-workers) and the location was very nice and fancy. LA. MTV. You get the picture.
They gave out these crummy white beanies which I thought was funny too.
I'm getting cynical with old age.

Packing

2007-12-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

How sweet is Emmet, helping us pack and all?

We're famous!

2007-12-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not allowed to discuss work on my blog, but hey - the LA times did, so I guess that much is OK. This article is all about the new Madagascar Penguins shenanigan - a TV show. The show that yours truly works on.
All I can tell you is that - get ready to laugh.

Done!

2007-12-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

My Christmas shopping, that is. It's not fair, actually. I only have one person to shop for - Ant. And you may not be surprised to find just how long it takes to shop for one person.
I'm embarrassed to say that I pretty much completely broke my handmade pledge. Sad but true, but what can you do when you know that the recipient of your presents won't enjoy handmade goods that much? I mean, handmade is unique, special, made with so much more care and love but... not for everyone. And it's all about making someone happy this season, isn't it?
And since Ant didn't want a new hat this year, Amazon.com it was.
I will make him something cute and lovely, though. Because handmade is still - so me.

It has began

2007-12-09T18:54:00.001-08:00

The move. it has began. Sheesh... I hate packing...

Just a reminder

2007-12-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to remind you dears, that these are still available at the shop, with a free shipping offer. If you don't want to go through Etsy, you can email me at mwright AT michalwright DOT com. I have a few left.

Best book ever!

2007-12-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

I've been craving this book forever, since I saw it on Old School Acres. And now I found it on ChocolateSwirl on Etsy. I love this book, so much! I mean, how cute is it? In the scale of how many of these patterns I want to make as a grade system for the book - A+ all around. Joy!

P.S.
ISBN is: 978-4-391-62420-5

Look what I got for Christmas!

2007-12-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

Look what I got at the department's White Elephant gift exchange. There were a lot of good gifts floating about. Good geeky gifts, like DVDs, movie toys, gift cards and Nerf guns in various sizes. So what if I was number 7 on a list of 37 and hid it the entire time? It was totally worth it.
It's my favorite type of geek.

The big reveal!

2007-12-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

So, you've waited long enough for the big fun news...
We got a new apartment! Why the hush-hush and sneaking around? Because we almost didn't get it. It came down to a race, almost between us and another couple who applied before us but wasn't reliable. We were really heartbroken when we thought we lost it, hence lowering our expectations and trying not to jinx anything. LA rentals, I'm telling you. It's a vicious world out there. But now it's ours and we'll start moving in little by little until the end of the month. Yeepee!
It's a cute two bedroom in Los Feliz, a fully renovated 1920s building (kind of like our current place) in a mini complex with a gate, garage and tiny garden. It's got large windows so it's full of light, it's got all the appliances, including a washer and dryer (oh, yeah!). It's 15 minutes from work, and two seconds from Hollywood, Silverlake, Downtown LA. W can finally stop being anti-social and hang out with friends, go out on weekends without the dreaded hour long drive back.
It's all ours and we're moving in a couple of weeks.
Yep, we're doing a little jig of joy.

This is my love at Fred 62 on Vermont st., having some yummy food, chilling on Sunday afternoon. This is the life, I'm telling you, and it's all ours now.

Happy Hanukkah!

2007-12-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Hanukkah, my dear readers! I wish you a happy, yummy holiday full of donuts, latkes and chocolate gelt. Make sure those darn cats don't get near the candles too. Those fluffy tails are awfully flammable. The donuts in the background are from Fairfax, which we drove up and down looking for. Trader Joe's had the chocolate gelt, and we had latkes in the form of hash browns a couple of hours ago at a restaurant in Los Feliz, so I guess that's a good Hanukkah haul.

And I just realized I was blessing the candles without and head coverage, like a good married Jewish woman should do.
Oy vey...

Not what it seems

2007-12-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

I was looking at my cup tonight, when I was making my before-bed shake and thought "Jee, that looks gross!" Truth is, it's just some chocolate whey protein with some Miracle Greens mixed in (I know, a vegetarian not getting enough vegetables?), and it doesn't taste all that bad either. It just looks... Hmm... Somewhat funky.
Sorry about that, you guys. It's my way past midnight humor.

Today at my FA meeting

2007-12-02T22:41:00.000-08:00

"Hello, my name is Michal and I'm a Flannel-oholic."
"Hi Michal."
"I wasn't always a user. I swear, I used to think that flannel is stupid and cheap and really not cool enough. But then... (sigh. Trying to contain herself) I started sewing pajama pants."
(sympathetic whispers and nods from the audience)
"I thought I had it under control. I really did. I sewed one pair, and it was really cozy, and the pattern was so stupidly cool, and it was cheap, and... and... (sobbing) I got hooked! I thought I could stop whenever I wanted too. But... but... (breaks down, bursts into tears and being ushered back to her seat, hugged and patted on her back on her way there."

Yeah, I really needed that Flanneloholics anonymous meeting today. Every store that has a handkerchief's worth of fabric gets examined for some flannel. I even got flannel at Walmart, on the way back from San Fran! I do indeed have a problem...
(But hey, it makes for some darn comfy PJs!)

This post was brought to you by the wish not to discuss really important, really exciting stuff that I don't wish to jinx. You will find out soon enough...

Oh, it's not November anymore?

2007-12-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

Wow! Where has November gone? Mostly into Burbank, into work. I can hardly believe I've been an industry professional for a month. That's just incredible. Much a change is afoot these days, but some of it will have to wait until telling you about it might jinx it. Yes, being married to an Irish man might make you superstitious. He he...
Anywho, the biggest change you're going to notice, at least for this month, is that this blog is going to be more active. I totally missed this year's NaBloPoMo, again and I got jealous. So I declare, on this here blog - NaBloPoMo - the December edition. Posting every day, holidays not an exempt. Mark my words.

What does Suki have to say?

"Oh no! She's going to use her chair so much more this month! Where will I sleep?"

Hooray hooray!

2007-11-25T18:39:00.001-08:00

I know I owe you updates on a million different things, from life, work, San Fran and knitting but I'm very excited about this so this is what you get today - a shop update!

Please welcome -
The PaperArmadillo Christmas 2007 Ornaments are here!
Yeepee!

The ornaments I've been dangling under your noses for a while now are finally available in my store! Here's the scoop:

They come in two sets of three ornaments - Raccoons with a present, a sack of presents and tree ornaments; and Reindeer with a star, tree ornaments and a bunch of presents. There's also a Smiling Gifty ornament, sold individually.
They're all printed from original designs on my happy little Gocco machine on solid cream and chocolate brown cotton, with snowflake design ribbons. They're hand sewn and stuffed and packaged in neat cello bags with a decorative tags. They're all around 2.5"-3.5" tall (without the ribbon).

The sets (Raccoons and Reindeer) sell for $24 per set, $8 for individual ornaments, and the Smiling Gifty ornament sells for $6 each.

Come on and get them right here: paperarmadillo.etsy.com
Merry Christmas, everybody.

Happy birthday, girl!

2007-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

Today is my sister's birthday. Yay! Big 24 for this sweet chicka. It seems like only yesterday we celebrated her last birthday. How quickly time flies.
Happy birthday, little sister! Many happy wishes, success, love and happiness. And all of you, please wish for her university strike ends before they decide to cancel the semester. She'd really like her degree.

How's moi? All's cool. I'm having a really good time here:

Photos and reports from our San Francisco trip with Ben last weekend, later, but here's the proof we were there:

I'll leave you with a photo of Sam's soon to be girlfriend - Scarlet!

Isn't she just adorable? Aunt Suki is very proud (And Uncle Emmet? He's as cluelessly cute as ever).

Clocking in

2007-11-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

And so, last night, I clocked out of the store for the last time. I can't tell you how happy it made me, but also a little sad. As much as working retail has stressed me out, worn me out, brought me down and drove me nuts - I did get to work with some wonderful people, learned a lot and did really well. Monday morning I'll be reporting at the studio to begin my new job, and I won't say I'm not nervous. Because I am.
Ant will say that I'm allergic to change. I hate moving apartments, changing routines, being overly spontaneous - I just get so nervous, like I can see only things going terribly wrong. But I'm also excited and thrilled and I can't wait to officially become an animation industry employee. At last! At long long last.
So this week has been mostly a countdown to my last day, plus entertaining Ben (remember Ben? Our best man?) who came to LA for two weeks, chilling and having some fun. I did get some knitting done on the Frankenstein Shrug and it's going great. I took it off the needles last night and it fits perfectly. So far - so good, but please cross your fingers for me that nothing bad happens to it, because with me - something often does.
I didn't draw much either this week, but here's something cute I did a couple of weeks ago, trying to teach myself to paint in Photoshop:

Came out quite floofy, ah?

And speaking of floofy things - check this guy out!

Aren't those expressions priceless? He inherited them from aunti Suki, no doubt.

And on other floofy news, my guys up at Schmancy are still for sale, so feel free to contact the store if you're interested. I'd love to be able to find them a good home.

And now, if you excuse me, I need to go to the optometrist to pick up my new contact lenses. Yep, my "blind as a bat" days are over. Well, for the next two years of constantly working in front of a computer, at least.

Moving on - moving up

2007-10-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

So! Long time no speak. Believe it or not - I was busy. But for a change - I can actually tell you about what kept me busy! Ready?

First things first - I got a new job! My first real (animation) industry job: I'm going to be a production assistant (PA) at Nickelodeon. I'm stoked, really excited. It's going to be a lot of work, lots of learning and lots of stress - but hey, that's what I came half way across the globe for!
I gave my two week notice at Whole Foods already and my last shift is on Wednesday. The countdown is so on.

More on the creative front, let's see if you can guess what these are?

Yeah, these are my new Xmas ornaments. Remember them penguins from last year? Tis year, I've decided to make ornaments in sets. There'll be two sets of three ornaments each, one of celebrating raccoons and the other of joyful reindeer. I also designed a more traditional holiday-ish set, but only one of the prints worked out well, which I'll sell as individuals ornaments. They'll be available in my shop as well as in a high end online shop I'm so very excited to work with. Get ready for the mad holiday season, craftsters!

On the knitting front, I've been making me some fall/winter clothes, the first of which is what I fondly call - the "Frankenstein Shrug". Why Frankenstein? Because it's made up of a number of different patterns. The body is based on the Two Toned Shrug from Fitted Knits, measurements based on the formula Ysolda shared in her Ribby series, using a cloverleaf pattern. So far - knock on wood, it's working well. Cross your fingers it ends up something I'll actually wear this time...

Other things that happend:
Look at this cutie:

This is Sam, my folks' new cat. Doesn't he look like a certain someone? He's a ragdoll and he's adorable. He's also gianormous! Say hi, fellows!

What does Suki have to say?

Nothing. She's into cuddling these days. A lot of cuddling.

The Damages season finale was ok, but not what I've expected. I still think the premise was cool, Glenn Close rocks, the production design was brilliant - but the end result... Could have been better. I really do need to write that "TV review" post. I'm such a harsh critic.

Ant got me totally hooked on The Walking Dead. Strange how the king of gore and dark stories ended up with the queen of all that is cute (that's us, by the way), but it's actually a darn good comic that's kind of hard to put down. There's actually not that many zombies in it, it's a lot more about people, surviving in a world that is evil and desparate and pretty hopeless. And it's got an introduction by Simon Pegg, which makes me like it even more.

And it finally seems like the fires are dying down. No, they didn't get close, but the news that Valencia got hit again reminded us of the same time of year in 2003 when we weren't sure if our school was going to go up in smoke. Man it was crazy... The fires didn't come close, but the smoke did, and the south bay couldn't breath for three days. We were lucky, though. We could have been in San Diego.

200th

2007-10-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

My 200th post and I've nothing much to say. I've been so busy I didn't even get to take pictures of the million and one things that have been keeping me busy. I will get back to regular blogging once I chase down my sanity. In the meantime, allow me to entertain you with some kitty photos:

This is of course - Emsicle (AKA, Emmet), schnoozing in his little cat bed. So cute.
Here he is, after we woke him up (look at those bleary eyes):

Suki couldn't believe Emmet got so much attention:

Want more photos? Check out my sista's documentation of a trip to northern Israel, and Haifa. Gorgeous, ah?

And can you believe it's already October?

It ain't summer no more, baby

2007-09-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

It rained for the first time this weekend (rain? In LA? Unbelievable, I know), which of course, was the perfect timing to draw me some bathing suits:

.I don't know what' with the urge to drew vintage ones, but there you have it. They're a bit girly, but they're just sort of studies of shapes, construction and such. Hopefully, these will lead to some portfolio worthy stuff. That is, at least, the plan.

And here's some other stuff I've been scribbling this weekend:

Ahem - these are some studies for some plush I promised for a friend (I don't take challenges lightly, Mr. Madison. It's game on!). Now I need to figure out how to turn this terrifying, maniacal, violent meat eating machine into something cute and cuddly made of felt. Hmmph... I'll need to scribble some more.

And if work, a new portfolio, a new freelance, new knitting (yep!), more wholesale stuff and a challenge plush were not enough - I'm also contemplating this new little plush:

Yep, it's a self portrait. And I'm going to be keeping that one. If anyone volunteers to translate my excited scribbles into decipherable language, they will be rewarded generously.

P.S.
This Sunday was also our six months wedding anniversary. Wow, has it really been this long? Feels like yesterday...

And MOO to You Too!

2007-09-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Lookie what I got in the mail today! Yeepee!

I finally had the perfect excuse to get them. The fine ladies at Schmancy suggested we send in some promotional materials. Oh, yeah. I love promotional materials. These are, MOO cards, of course - way too nifty! And the quality is really nice too. They're thick, matte finished and printed on both sides (I put my contact information on the other side, business card style). Swoon!

I used a few photos from my Flickr collection. I'm still waiting on the other part of the promotional package (I've been craving these for SO long!).
I think I might have to take them out of the box again a couple of times and cuddle them a little. Aren't they cute?

Grumpy

2007-09-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

As I recently decided to merge my "art blog" with my "what? I'm not art?" blog (this one here), you're going to some more of my scibbles and other artsy-fartsy nonesense on these here web pages. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience.

I drew this little girl yesterday. I had a closing shift at work and spent the entire morning washing piles of dishes, filling out a six (!) page performance review (a page for every month of employment? I won't be surprised) and some other enjoyable tasks. No wonder this little girl is so grumpy...

P.S.
Yes, she does resemble Little My (good call, sis!). I felt like drawing Tove Jansson style that day. I love her work so much...

Plush me?!

2007-09-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it is (finally) time I Plush You, isn't it? You might have seen most of my plushin' shenanigans on my Flickr already, and yet, I didn't yet Plush myself to You (I'm having way too much fun with this...).
So yeah, I made it into this years show, which I'm completely and untterly amazed at, especially considering what I submitted in application. You may not know this about me, but I'm a terrible critic and pretty much hate everything I do as soon as I finish drewing/sewing/knitting it (with rare exceptions - I still love Jimmy the cat to death and miss him a lot). And I was planning on doing something completely different for the show, still very "me", but different.
I've been interested in doing more of "art plush" for quite a while now, ever since I sew Anna Chambers' plush a few years ago, I've been fascinated with toys that, while not playable and therefore somewhat "anti-social" are just made for the visual pleasure of shape, color and personality. Plush that's made with higher grade materials, with techniques that don't need to be child safe, that are truely one-of-a-kind and therefore have a much greater value emotionally. So that's what I've decided to make for the show. A set of three "art plush".

In terms of materials, I swapped the fleece I was already sick of, with wool-viscose blend felt. I bought a bunch of different colored sheets a few months ago to get me inspired. Man, this material is amazing (I can't even imagine what the 100% wool is like, drool!)! The texture is so rich, sewing it is so much fun. Sigh... Good move, why oh why did I wait do long to experience thy charms? Of course I used a lot of patterned cottons too (especially after the stash re-build of a couple of months ago. There was a tragedy involving some not so well guarded fabric and two vicious cats that resulted in massive casualties and a run to the local fabric store), but since color + patterns = me it's not really surprising.

First, there was Libby:

I like Libby. She's very simple yet cute. I had a bit of an accident while washing her (red dyed anything will bleed. When am I ever going to learn that, eh?) which rendered her not show material. Ant is happy about it, though. He wishes I didn't have to sell any of my plush at all. Yep, he's a good purchase.

Then, there was Alex:

Alex was using the same pattern as Libby and I was ok with him for a while. The eyes were a big seller for me. I like making more flat, more "drawn on" eyes. But then... there was Audrey:

She's still my favorite. With her I really pushed the "drawn on" eye idea to the max, and the natural felt totally lets you do it! It takes fabric glue really well, and when you poke it and mush one layer of felt into the other, they felt into each other a bit too. It's quite amazing, actually. After I made her, only a month left before the submission deadline,I had to make my other two submissions more like her (so Ant gets to keep Alex too). Introducing - Arthur and Adrian (yeah, their names are coordinated, I think it's funny):

Arthur was quite a bit of a pain to sew, between the giraffe mane and the weird head shape. In the end I feel like I winged it a bit, but I like the way it came out. And finding a color scheme for Adrian that will match both Audrey, Arthur and a raccoon was a challenge too, which resulted in (yet another) trip to the fabric store.
So here they are, Audrey, Adrian and Arthur! In the end, sleepless nights, pricked fingers, anger directed at paper and fabric and lots of concern - I love them all. I think they came out really well and I seriously hope they'll do well at the show. It's going to be really interesting to see who's going to be their gallery-mates in October.

More photos of Audrey, Adrian and Arthur right here. Please wish them luck!

Waaaaaaaaaay too cute

2007-09-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

While we're awaiting an update from Michaland, here's some free entertainmment:

We used to have a cat named Speedy, once upon a time. She used to steal melon rinds and corn cobbs from the trash can and nibble on them. That was just about as cute.

Shana Tova!

2007-09-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, hellow there! Did you think I vanished off the face of the earth yet again? Youre not too far off. Although the mission to Mars giggled as it denied my application, the vortex of wholesale sewing and Plush You prep took me in happily. But I'm back, and I might actually get to talk about it soon. I just wanted to pop my head in and say Shana Tova! or - Happy Jewish New Year!
Yep, it's Rosh Hashanah again, and as they say - may this one be better, brighter, happier, craftier, more creative, better at work, more successful full of ...yarn!

This pile is a bit (!) of the loot I got at the sale at The Little Knittery in Los Feliz (the stock was way reduced by the time I got there, compared to the photo). I got some Rowan silk blends, some Katia snuggable goodness and some other stuff I can't be bothered checking the stash for. Hey, it was 50% off.

I have a late shift at work, so no time to make any holiday goodies. No reason to keep you starving, though! Jewish tradition demands vast feeding of the masses. And so I give to you - my mom's excellent recipe for a honey cake. It's really delicious, especially with the lemony glazing. Sorry if the instructions are a bit sparse. Like many other great recipes, it lives mostly in my mom's head (especially the modifications that make it really special) - which means short instructions, and lots of added love. Thanks mom! I hope you don't mind sharing.
Note: I gave the option to substitute the eggs and butter for a vegan option, but it is a honey cake which to most vegans renders it out of picture. If you're really strict - sorry. Maybe agave nectar or maple will work?

Mom’s Honey Cake

1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
200 gr (a bit over 7oz) butter/substitute

In a small pot or saucepan, heat on low heat until the melt. Blend together thoroughly. Take off the stove and let cool a bit.

2 eggs/substitute
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. clove
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. lemon or orange zest

Blend in a large bowl. Slowly add the cooled honey/sugar/butter mix. Blend thoroughly.

4 cups flour
2/3 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder (yep)
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup milk/soy milk

Mix one by one into the bowl. Add the milk last.
Bake at medium heat until a toothpick inserted in the middle yields small, fluffy crumbs (but the inside is still moist).

If you feel like adding a little something-something to the cake, try mixing about 2 tbsp. of lemon juice with 2 tbsp. powdered sugar in a cup until they melt (add some warm water if that’s not enough) and pour immediately over the warm cake (right out of the oven. Trust me, it makes a difference). Let cool completely.
Goes great with pomegranate, apples dipped in honey and lots of appetite.

Shavna Tova!

Good bye, sweet Cleo

2007-08-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

I just got a terrible email from my parents - our poor old Cleo passed away. My sister discovered another lump on her stomach last week and she went into sergury on Thursday. She recovered a bit slower than last time, but she seemed all right. And today my parents came back from family visits to find her dying. She died in my father's arms. She was fourteen and if there's any consolation, she lived a good life. She also, hopefully, didn't suffer so much in the end, like her mother did.
Cleo was a silly cat. A real dummy. She would walk into walls on occasion, and get stuck in our winter blankets like velcro. She would always walk behind and around the couch or chair you were sitting in before jumping in your lap. She didn't care much for food, except for fruity yogurt (and even that, a couple of licks and she was stuffed). My sister just recently added her to The Infinity Cat Project. She must have had no clue what was going on. Silly kitty...
But she was a sweetheart of a cat, who was always there if you were crying. She slept in my suitcase on my last days in Israel like she knew I was leaving and didn't want me to go. She would come and ask for attention all the time, like a little puppy. And she always slept in someone's bed. Every night.

Cleo 1993-2007
We miss you, fuzzy one. We miss you so much.

More about Cleo on my sister's blog.

It seems like the last few weeks have been terrible for bloggers and their pets. I'm sending a virtual hug to each and every one of you, you know who you are. It seems wrong to link around about this.

August has been a very bad month. Thank God it's almost over.

A fantastic ending to a crummy week

2007-08-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

So, I'll spare you the details of the week that just ended. Let's just say that it was crummy. Really crummy. But there were a few lights shining this week, and one of them (the one I can actually tell you about) is "Stardust".

Oh, do yourself a favore - ignore the stupid trailers and go watch this movie! It's fantastic! It's a classic fairytale, very much like "The Princess Bride" (only not so very 80's, of course). It's beautiful to watch, romantic in measure, and funny beyond your expectations (no spoliers here - but loads of the giggles belong to De Niro's fantastic character). What can I say - I can't wait to get my hands on the DVD.

And to think that if it wasn't for you, my bloggy friends, who urged me to go see it - I would have missed this gem. And so I pay it back to the blogland - this here blogger recommends it too! If you had any doubts until now - have no more.
Just go see it.
Enjoy!