the crab + the moon
Olive Angelina Benicula Who, also known as Olive the Cute, is a rescue who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her birth name was Betty in her days of biting rope and mild gingivitis. She loves sports radio and her lamby. Her mother spoils her with all organic goodies and lots of hugs. She is a hipster pup and I am also her auntie. Who loves her very much. You can follow her on Instagram at @olivethecute.
I am still thinking about my trip to Flora Grubb when I was in San Francisco last week. Their space was so inspiring and fun. The first thing I said to the owner was of course...... do you allow pictures.
What made this moment even more perfect was the little coffee shop inside. They had an awesome playlist going.. I had my tea in hand and everything in the world was right.
If you're ever in the area it's a great little place to grab a coffee and walk around for a bit! They have great things for the home as well.
If you're not in the area you should visit them from the comfort of your home at floragrubb.com!
The Line Hotel in Los Angeles' K-Town is my little sliver of heaven in LA. I love everything about the place. The interior design is really cool, the food is SO good and the service is fantastic. The price isn't too bad either.
This time around I was so excited to learn that part owner, Roy Choi, opened a new rooftop restaurant and greenhouse calledCommissary located right on the second floor of hotel. The greenhouse restaurant overlooks the pool and serves clean healthy food in a beautiful setting. I couldn't wait to check it out. Around noon I went to take peek and a nom and found out that they are only serving dinner at the moment. My world for a moment was crushed. I did, however, get some great shots of the interior.
Next time I'm over there it will be at the top of my dinner list.
During my travels to LA I found myself on my favorite block of Abbot Kinney Blvd and in The Juicy Leaf. I was perusing for cactus and succulents and stumbled up these beautiful pieces of metal, crystal and death. I've never seen anything like them. If only I had an extra $2,800 in my pocket. If only.
Austrian Crystal Encrusted Skulls. Makes my heart skip a beat.
You can only find these pieces at The Juicy Leaf or on their website thejuicyleaf.com
If you're up at 2am tonight you'll be able to catch the lovely moon maiden.
Since I have an early eeeeearly morning flight tomorrow I will unfortunately be up at 2am. So at least I have something to look forward to when my alarm goes off. For the next week and a half I will be doing window installations across the country. California I'm coming your way!
I was recently inspired by some beautiful tea I purchased from Lovewild Design, my Nutribullet and a soar throat. I made the switch from coffee to tea and now that I have a juicer I wanted to see if there were any tea based detox juices to make. Sure enough there is! So I am tea-toxing on this cloudy, cozy and rainy Saturday. If you have a juicer you should try this recipe.
I have to say.. and I say this every time.. ever since I switched to tea I feel so much better. Tea for some reason makes me feel inspired. I don't know if it stirs up feelings of nostalgia of being home in the fall or something but it really does make me happy and gets my creative juices flowing. I want to try some of those actual detox teas that promotes weight loss and healthy digestion. If anyone has any they would like to recommend please feel free to leave them in the comments section!
Enjoy your Saturday!
Always in need of some floral inspiration.
Pulling inspiration from my photographs for my next project.
Tattoos and graphic wild flowers! A few of my favorite things...
Teepees, super moons and tacos..... I can't think of anything more fitting for my birthday.
I decided for my first celebration of the last year of my twenties to have a grownup birthday party in a teepee. I learned of this teepee through the lovely people of North Brooklyn Farms. It's called The Tipi Project and it's located in Havemeyer Park in Williamsburg. All I wanted was to spend some relaxing time making art with the people that I love. And I got to do just that!
The Tipi Project is a nonprofit space that offers things like workshops, yoga classes and events and when the Tipi isn't in use you can rent it out for your own boho party or gathering. Denise hooked me up and was super helpful with the whole planning process. I highly recommend at least visiting the space if you're in the area.
My morning started at Salon AKS where Sadah tatted me up and made my hair pretty and pink. Then it was off to the teepee. The day was a warm, beautiful day. My friends brought their own personalized art projects. Molly worked on her jewelry, Liz started building a vintage style camera from scratch and Kenzie... my beautiful lawyer... brought a kids coloring book. I had made some lemonade with blackberries, strawberries and mint. It was the perfect non-alcoholic refreshment and super easy to make! We ended the night by eating tacos and drinking Prosecco under the super moon. It was....... the best.
temporary tattoos - lulu dk
temporary tattoos - lulu dk
My 29th birthday was an absolute dream from start to finish. It started with a vacation home to see my family and close friends, went on to celebrate in a teepee in a beautiful park, then sipped champagne and St. Germain under the super moon and ended with a fairytale. My dear friend Sadah planned a whole day filled with clues and activities based on one of my favorite stories, Alice in Wonderland. Everything lead up to the final event which was a late night interactive play called "Then She Fell" in Williamsburg. This play takes you through a psych ward and into the mind of Alice. Very similar to Sleep No More, but a little more personal. My favorite part was the mad tea party. It was SUCH a great experience. I really do have the best people in my life. Thank you to my Angel Face as well for helping with the surprise. It was seriously a day I will never forget. 29 will treat us well!
Cape Cod is such a special place. Everyone in Massachusetts travels there for their summer holidays. Each family has a different town that they call their own. My family would stay in Dennis or Yarmouth each summer. We would meet up with our friends and have huge cookouts. There were about 7 of us kids that were all around the same age and it was perfect. We would fly kites, collect seashells and hermit crabs, go fishing, build sandcastles. The best feeling was crawling into bed feeling a little sandy, a little sun kissed and being so excited for the next day. All of these things make up the memories of my childhood.
This recent trip was flooded with feelings of nostalgia. My mom and I drove past all of our old beach cottages that we've had over the years and reminisced. It was so nice.
I used this trip to find some floral inspiration for future paintings and illustrations. My poor mother pulled over along side way too many white picket fences with beach roses so that I could snap a shot or... seven. She's a true champion.
The real icing on the cake of my vacation is happening right now. Listening to the crickets outside my window. Perfection.
Let's celebrate.
Cancer is, as you've guessed, the astrological sign that I hold nearest and dearest to my heart because it is of course my sign! Hence, the crab and the moon. The crab being the zodiac symbol and the moon being our ruling planet.
I plan on making this a two part series by doing an additional crab illustration. I've been sketching but it hasn't really clicked just yet.
This little number I came up with is a waning crescent moon, which is the moon I was born under, with poppies, peonies and lithianthus blooming from it. The flowers and the outer circle also represent a flower crown symbolizing summer and every moon maiden's inner flower child. It was originally suppose to be my first tattoo. This piece is very special to me to say the least.
Everette Mica Rhee was who inspired my horoscope series. My little Aries inspiration. She is the brand new daughter of one of my closest friends. I knew I wanted to paint her something and I wanted it to be a subject that would be relevant throughout her life. When I showed her the painting she could not stop scanning it side to side and then smiling. Aries was officially baby approved. That moment made my stomach drop.
From meeting Evers yesterday, I get it. I totally and completely get it. She is perfect in every way and all you want to do is stare at her and hold her. It was a cool and strange realization when I was holding her last night. This age is pretty cool. You get to see the people you love the most having mini versions of themselves that you can hold and cuddle. It's pretty amazing in every sense of the word.
Evers and Jess were just too photogenic to not include photos of them.
The illustration was done in pen, ink and watercolor. The frame is an authentic vintage frame I found at an antique store back in Massachusetts (that kind if vintage look can't be replicated). I have been holding on to the frame for a while now and it was always the odd man out when it came to my wall decor. Now I know why... it wasn't meant for me it was meant for Evers. I adhered paper flowers onto the frame to give it a softer look. I really think it came out quite nice!
Happy Sunday!
In honor of the Midsummer Festival that takes place today in NYC, I bring you the ultimate babe in a flower crown.
Virgo will be available for purchase on Society 6 very soon. We'll let you know when it's up!
Custom Bike Magazine Feb. 1977
Happy Father's Day to all the hip dads out there!
This is my dad circa 1977 in Custom Bike Magazine. He was so cool.
Still is.
Many moons ago, when I lived in South Boston, this little shop filled with all organic and locally grown goods opened up called American Provisions. My best girl and I were their biggest fans! We signed their petition to allow them to sell alcohol and we purchased their food and coffee every chance we got. The products they carried were not only delicious but the packaging was so cool.
Two years later their shelves are stocked with beer and wine, their variety of products have grown so much and the shop was looking as fantastically merchandised as ever! Everything in there is presented perfectly. From the vintage shopping baskets they offer at the door to the basket of freshly made breakfast sandwiches at the register, everything is just so damn Instagram worthy! I'm telling you, presentation and packaging is everything..... as we learned $200 later.
They now carry Mast Brothers Chocolate which made me feel right at home! Grabbed one with a motorcycle print for Father's Day!
If you're in the Southie area I highly suggest stopping by for at least a coffee. It's also a great pit stop before a BBQ for a host or hostess gift this summer!
They're located at 613 E. Broadway in South Boston.
