A Happy First

On Sunday we celebrated Lina's first birthday with a chocolate brownie slathered in frosting (thanks Rebecca!) and sprinkles. Typically I post about my children on our Deniz Babies blog, but this time there is a little DIY in the birthday pics. The party was very last minute and thrown together in a couple hours with the help of Rebecca, who has been staying with us while working with me as a volunteer for Nest. That requires a whole slew of photos that will have to come later. But in the meantime, we hastily cut out letters from an old newspaper and spelled out Lina Joan while guests were arriving. They were baffled by our scissors and DIY efforts, but we were pretty happy with the end result, and now get to read the news from last week in little snippets.


Here's to year number two in the Deniz household and hoping we can survive having two toddlers under one roof!

Getting there

Lamp at night, photo by Barbara Heath

One cup of coffee down, one to go. On ice. Because it is so hot and humid here that just sitting is unbearable today. I have some corners, floors, and counter tops to attend to, and forgive me if the thought makes me want to take a nap. I've been busy at work on a set of new illustrations, and have two new short stories that I've started. I feel like there is much to share, but with everything in progress, it needs to wait a little bit. I've learned not to share things too soon, when the process needs more time, or to risk abandoning a fledgling project because of well-meaning feedback. Good or bad, the feedback can interfere with the direction it needs to take and slow down the momentum. In my opinion, there needs to be a hefty amount of work one does that never gets printed, hung on a wall, or saved in a portfolio. I need those 'mistakes' and unfinished pieces to generate ideas. What do you think? The other question for me is, when is it done enough to share? I'll save that thought for another, less brutally hot day. Have a happy weekend, and for those of you in the US, a happy 4th!

Colette Patterns

I have just discovered Colette sewing patterns through Pink Chalk Fabric. I'm in love with the ink and watercolor drawings of the clothes on their patterns and how the model has been painted in a wash of color. Completely lovely. The one below is called Parfait, and I'm determined, once and for all, to sew myself something wearable because of this pattern. Colette's blog is here, and designer Sarai Mitnick's blog Sweet Sassafras is here. How come I've never seen these patterns before? I wonder if the use of hand-painted illustration is part of a new collection. I'm off to investigate, but if anyone knows, do tell!

Happy Curtains

On this hot, humid, and tiring day I need happy curtains, and nothing but happy curtains will do. So, dear friends, here are the curtains I hung a few days ago. It feels like I have a new living room. I just can't get enough of magenta, orange and red.

Luna Park

This photo from LeCool Magazine Istanbul edition caught my eye. the aqua green color does it for me, that's for sure. But also the vintage feel is great, and the way everyone's suspended in air.

I am making yogurt this morning (heat four kg of unpasteurized milk on the stove until boiling; let boil for five minutes then turn off; wait until it cools and add a tsp of thick yogurt to the milk, stir; cover partly with lid and wrap entire pot with towels for remainder of day; at night put into fridge; voila!), and did some sweat-inducing house cleaning like mopping the balcony and vacuuming under the carpets. If any of my friend from college are reading my blog, they probably won't believe me. Yesterday I hung new curtains that I am contemplating ironing (Can you believe it? I know!) but like the kind of natural way they hang. I'll snap some pics, promise.

You'd think that if I had time to clean my balcony I'd also have time to get to the pile of things overflowing my desk. Most of the time my office/studio is the last room to get cleaned, but I hate to disturb the karma dust which helps propel projects along. That being said, I am far more tidy than I used to be in the studio in graduate school.

Why a beautiful photo prompted me to discuss my cleaning methods, I have no idea. But I'm wondering if others might have an interesting Thursday tale to tell? By the way, the smell of warm milk has filled the house. It's absolutely delicious and homey.