Overload

So much has been happening lately,
it's hard to keep up.

On the plus side, I will be selling
my cards and prints at the
Astoria Spring Fling Market on May 3.
I've actually been working on new cards
and drawings. And am really excited
for my first craft fair.

Spring is definitely here, everything in
Sunnyside is beginning to bloom
and I cannot wait until the temp.
is a steady 60.

Last night I had an awesome girls night-
dinner at Mara's, and then Cool Hand Luke on
the big screen at BAM. First time at BAM
and seeing the movie so it was a lovely
evening all around.

On the down side, Serg is still all weird.
Though he is finally pooping again...
I can't afford to keep running tests on him.
I just don't have the money and he is apparently
12 years old- so I wonder if it would even be worth putting
him through all the trauma.
















I also feel that he is past the point of any preventative methods,
and removing any teeth seems silly at this point because most
of his teeth are already rotted. Basically I want to change his life
the least amount possible, he doesn't need to adjust to something new.
Or have to deal with test upon test. I just want him to be happy
and home with us.

My parents dog (Big Mees) is also under the weather.
She recently had surgery to remove a baseball sized
abscess from her intestines. She is on the road to
recovery now, but goodness gracious. Poor Mees.

All these pet issues, I just can't handle it!

But anyhow-positive thinking.


Here is the new grimpoteuthis and
euphysa flammea cards,
and some finished bookmarks.

stuff

The little muffelatta has been sick
so I've been neglecting the blog.

But I've been a busy little bee,
I sent out an application for
the Astoria Spring Fling Market.
Which, if I get accepted it will be
my very first craft fair!
woo!

I've been trying to get some stock together
so that I actually have things to sell.
Just ordered more gocco supplies, and
finished 12 cupcake bday cards yesterday.

I've joined the NewNew group on etsy,
which is a group of etsy artists from the tri-state area.
Through them I hope to get a little bit more involved
in the crafter community.

This Saturday I will be attending a Sock Monkey workshop
which benefits artists with special needs. I'm pretty excited.















My mind is all over the place but I just wanted to update briefly
on all the things that are going on.
The next post will be on our amazing dinner that we
had at Blue Hill on Monday.
Believe me, it deserves its own post.

Chee-ee-ee-eese

It's no secret that I love cheese.
I'll take it on just about anything,
but my favorite cheese combo
is chocolate/cheese items.

Living magazine featured a recipe for
"Black and White Cheesecake Squares"
and I made them today.
They were everything I dreamed of and more.

Generally I'm not a huge brownie person
-mainly because the boxed kind just sits in my stomach
as a huge mass of chocolate flavored dough,
eventually causing nausea and belly ache.
(technical term)

With homemade brownies this is never the case.
thankfully.
So a big thank you to the folks at Living mag,
for sharing this awesome recipe
which I will now pass on to you.

*sorry dad. I'll do a non chocolate recipe soon.



Best Brownies Ever

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 21/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
   
2. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
   
3. Line dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang
4. on both long sides, then spray parchment.
5. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
   
6. Cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until smooth.
   
7. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until smooth,
   
8. scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture.
   
9. Increase speed to medium; beat until incorporated.
10. Reserve 1 cup of dough; cover, and refrigerate.
    
11. Press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish.
    
12. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until base is set and
13. edges are puffed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack.
14. Mix cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining egg
    
15. and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread over cooled base;
    
16. crumble reserved dough on top. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes.
    
17. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhang.
    
18. Cut into 24 squares. Squares will keep,
    
19. covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

I tried to do the copy and paste thing and the numbers got way out of hand.
So just ignore them. Oh and the dough will be very gooey
once it is finished being mixed, put the whole bowl into the fridge
for a few minutes and then spread into pan. It will be much less sticky
and more malleable.

Gah, I tried to find the chee-ee-ee-eese scene from
Old School on youtube to no avail. lame.
So here is a video of bunnies eating carrots instead.

Old, yet new, and improved.

That, my friends, is my new walkman.
A very out of date piece of technology
that is helping me learn french.
But now much, much more attractive-
and gaudy.


I don't know if it was from 16 years of wearing
dance costumes covered in sequins, but I love them.
Wearing, gluing, throwing I will pretty much be happy
doing anything with sequins.
However, I am aware that most people do not share this
love for the shiny mini discs, but that is OK.

To each their own.


For now I must get back to my easter cards.
pictures to follow.

The Cover Up.

Like most New Yorkers I own a good amount
of American Apparel clothing.
One of my favorite 50/50 long sleeve shirts
was attacked by olive oil, which left a large
stain in the center. Not cool.

I was thinking that I'd make an applique
for it, but then switched to stencil work.
golden stencil work.

This was a surprisingly easy project.

First I drew out my design on a fancier
version of contact paper















squid. because I can't get enough.

Then I cut out the design with my trusty x-acto knife
and laid the stencil on the shirt.
















I painted it using fabric paint, and a stencil brush
and just dabbing away.















This is my final product.















I think it's pretty sweet.
I can't wait to wear it!!
Hello golden squid goodbye oil stain!

New Stuff

I made two new squid drawings recently.
Similar to the recently posted
rock of love squid.

We now have "Too Much?"















and here is "robots."
















the robots one isn't completed yet,
still need to pick up some more prismacolors.

I like these. lots.
they'll be on etsy soon.


short and sweet post. xo

Cheryl.

"the dance party that will ruin your life"
yes please.

I will FINALLY be attending CHERYL this month.

For non- new yorkers or people not familiar
with this dance party, Cheryl is describes as this
on their facebook page:
"CHERYL is a monthly dance party that explores the
themes of mortality, mania, the feline-human connection,
the limits of shoulders, the flammability of dollar-store hair extensions,
and the staining power of fake blood"

in other words, jackpot.
Every party has a theme and
an accompanying video.

This months theme is
The Great Depression, Take Two: Electric Boogaloo.
So basically I will be making a trash bag into a dress
and perhaps some plastic bags into puffy sleeves.
and gold tights....naturally...

Here is the video for this party



for those unfamiliar with this, just remember
to not think too hard on this. just enjoy it
for what it is....awesome.

you can watch the rest of their videos here

and you can attend this party next thursday night
at ROYALE in park slope. it starts at 10. be there at 10.

Sicky-poo

Ugh, Ive been sick for about a week!

But since it's all rainy today I'm
napping long and frequently.

I took the man to get his haircut today,
he looks absolutely handsome
and has the silkiest fur ever!

In crafty news I finally finished my
Bret Michaels squid that I had been working on.
I just need to get a frame for it
and then put it on etsy.

















I know that I definitely have to send a copy
to my sisters, since we all are obsessed with
the Rock of Love Bus, and it's trashy glory.


I got some new prismacolors, which
though insanely expensive,
make coloring things in
a whole lot easier.

I'm thinking of making some more later
perhaps the famed cheetahbunny,
and the bf suggested that I draw the
"octo-mom" as an octopus.
So we shall see how that turns out.

Perhaps another post later,
for now I am off to the land of naps
once again.
xo

My Latest Obsession

I don't remember the last time
that I was absolutely blown away
by a restaurant.

But that changed last night with
Dirt Candy.
I'm completely obsessed, and want
to shout it from the rooftops.

The name is summed up in this
statement that is off of their
website/blog

"What is dirt candy? Vegetables, of course.
When you eat a vegetable you’re eating little more
than dirt that’s been transformed by plenty of
sunshine and rain into something that’s full of flavor
– candy from the dirt. Dirt Candy. It’s also
the name of my restaurant, which opened about three months ago,
after a long, long battle with the forces of evil."

I'm not vegetarian, but I LOVE veggies.
I also love anyone that creates a restaurant
around such a sweet and natural idea.
AND! they can make any of the dishes
vegan, which I think is amazing.
It's hard to find good vegetarian fare
but it is even more challenging to find
an amazing vegan place.

I had the pleasure of dining with my Cioci Karen
and cousin Rachel.
We started off with the jalapeno hush puppies
with maple butter.

(I used the pictures from their website because
though I want to add my own, I always feel awkward
taking pictures of my food.)
**but let it be noted that the food looks exactly
like it does in the photos.


















They were perfect.
Just like the South Carolina
hush puppies that we love.
and the maple butter...ohh the maple butter
I definitely did not let any of that go to waste!!

Next up, was a salad for all of us.
Mixed greens with grilled cheese croutons,
and grapefruit pops.















Basically the best croutons ever and grapefruit
pieces that were covered like candied apples.
Fantastic!!


For the main I had the crispy tofu with
green ragout,















and Rachel had the carrot risotto.













I cant say enough about either,
they had amazing flavors, perfect
portions and kind of blew my mind.
Especially the carrot dumplings.



For three of us the bill was $101
for 6 plates and 2 glasses of wine.
Definitely affordable.
The dessert looked good, but I really wanted
to take them to Chikalicious,
because it's just a different kind of dessert experience.

Needless to say, I will definitely be returning,
and with the exception of shouting it from my blog
I may just keep this gem to myself.

It's Official!

The bf and I are going to PARIS!
We bought the tickets, booked the hotel
and are ready to go!
Too bad we have to wait until May.
But it's ok because this gives us the chance to save money
so that we- well, I, can do some serious
flea market shopping.

I was reading on tripadvisor.com
and there is apparently an old books market,
which I will definitely be meandering around at.
Just think of all the treasures there!!!


I'm also looking forward to doing some
touristy things as well.





















This time I want to visit the Sacre-Coeur,
the catacombs, and actually sit outside a cafe.

Like Fred Astaire I am going to dance
my way through the streets.






and stuff my face with deliciousness
in pastry form.
yessss.
and the cheese! oh the cheese.
and wine! oh my goodness.
this trip is going to be amazing.
fact.