Happy Fat Tuesday~Mardi Gras...Biegnets, Peppermint Mag+642 Things to Draw!

(photo courtesy of Southern Living )

Happy Mardi Gras~Happy Fat Tuesday!

Whenever I think of 'Mardi Gras~Fat Tuesday', I think of New Orleans. The first thing I think of are not those 'beads or the carnival atmosphere' but those delectable, scrumptiously, delicate yet puffy Beignets...with a delicious cup of hot earl grey tea or cafe' au lait or even a sweet cappuccino...I loved New Orleans and when we visited there several years ago, we made sure to stop in the famous Cafe' Du Monde. We bought several boxes of these irresistable sweets. But it didn't last long! You can buy them at Cafe' Du Monde's shoppe over here

(photo courtesy of Cafe' Du Monde )

or you can try to make them on your own. How about trying Southern Living's recipe
Go to their site + follow their 4 step slideshow...hmm...well, I might just have to try that out...

How do you celebrate your Fat Tueday?

Any exciting plans for Big Fat Tuesday? Do tell!

Well on to some good news, so far, March is really one Lucky month for me...

(photo courtesy of Three Buttons + Self Indulgent Exhibitionism + Chronicle Books )

yup...that's right...I am a lucky winner in 2 giveaways!

One was from a Sweetheart from Australia~Angela's Three Buttons
YAY!!! I won one of her magazines called Peppermint Magazine. It's one of Australia's newest and upcoming, eco mag showcasing handmade designs from Australia + the world. Topics ranging from good designs about fashion, lifestyle, art + bringing a whole lot of creativity while being environmentally friendly! Go GREEN!
Her blog is quite inspirational and she finds the neatest blogs+showcases such lovely eye-candies to drool over! I absolutely LOVE her blog...you must check her world out...
she has fab ideas + a cool shoppe too!
I'm truly amazed with Australian women. They really know how to take it up a few notches with their sweet Soirees or their unique creations.
Thank you so very much, Angela! You made my day even SWEETER!!!

The second prize I won was from another sweetheart: Summer Woodham's Self Indulgent Exhibitionism giveaway.

I wrote all about it in this post. I look forward to seeing Summer and the other artist illustrate their creative ideas from this book...I still can't believe I won...YAY!!! The book arrived safely and it's beautiful! I really can't bear to draw in it as I love to keep it as an inspirational book. Thank you so very much Summer + Pattie (from Chronicle Books) for sending this magical book my way...the possibilities are endless and it truly is inspiring me to think of creative ways to draw simple objects. Plus it will help me grow confidently in my drawing techniques, as I'm self-taught...+ this experience will help me believe more in myself...
I've promised myself that I'll draw something weekly and post the drawings here on my blog.

Here is the first object: a rolling pin :

I was inspired by a recipe/rolling pin favour I received from a wedding shower years ago. I thought about how happy my marriage has been over the years (17 to be exact!) and how cute the recipe was. I just added the phrase on the last line "Decorate with Life!"

click on picture for larger image + see a close up of the "Recipe for a Happy Marriage"

Well, I'm off to try out that Southern Living Beignet recipe...
let's see if some Beignets will make my marriage even more HAPPIER today...

bon temps!

xoxo

642 Things to Draw...

(image from internet~i just added text+arrow)

What a nice thing to wake up to this morning: Chronicle Books Blog Art+Design: The 642 Things to Draw Book Challenge

How cool is this? I can totally relate to one of the featured artist , Summer Woodham . She's using this book to challenge herself on her blog. I really loved what she said, "When you don’t have an outside job, the guilt of engaging in a hobby is really intense because there is always something else you should be doing and it seems terribly selfish to take any time away from those chores because after all you’re not bringing any money in. Stopping to take time for yourself feels like you’re not contributing, but I really think it’s important to find things that are just for you. I think it makes you a better parent and a better partner to carve out that space for yourself."

This is so true for me. I commented back to her on her blog by saying this: "I'm also blessed to be a SAHM who's trying to find my passion + totally understand where you're coming from about the guilty pleasures/meaningful contributions...it's a constant battle over here in my world to find a balance between raising a family + finding time to create. I recently participated with my family on the SketchBook Project 2011 with arthousecoop.com. It was a challenge but we managed to work like a team to complete 4 books just in time for the deadline. I honestly don't know how artists with families do it. Manage a website, blog, shoppe, publish books, magazines, create, travel etc...I wish there was more time in the day to do all that I want. "

{As a sidenote: I think that staying home to raise a family does contribute a whole lot to this world. Some may not think that SAHMs financially contribute a penny but I beg to differ. We are the ones who are staying home + taking care of the children. We're managing the household, the groceries, making home-cooked meals, the endless laundrying+cleaning the homestead, managing the bills, the schoolwork, teacher conferences, mending the sick munchkins, playing+counseling the lil' ones, running around with all the extra-curriculars, etc. We're saving on child-care costs, travel expenses and other miscellaneous expenses associated with outside childcare. I really think I'm raising healthy, happy + good children that will hopefully grow up into healthy, happy + good adults. My munchkins are our future and I think SAHMs oftentimes get categorized as non-contributors to society. When you have a family with lil' ones, I really think it takes two (or if you're a single parent-support systems are vital!) to make the world go round + successfully contribute to society.

With that in mind, we SAHMs sometimes do not have co-workers to take over when we need a break or are sick. Sometimes, we SAHMs don't have vacation time. Our job is 24/7. I used to be a full-time corporate career mom. And somehow, I managed to have a scheduled workout time, break and vacation time. Life seemed a bit more easier than staying home. Now that I'm home, I really don't have time for myself. I have to remember to schedule some time for myself. So, when I'm discovering creative soules on-line, when I'm reading inspirational literature, listening to beautiful music, capturing beauty with my camera or when I sneak away to create...YES... I feel guilty. But I have to stop and remember that I DO so much and I deserve a break and to be MYSELF...it's a constant battle everyday for me. But there's really no one to back me up, except for myself. }

This book, 642 Things to Draw, sounds like another wonderful stepping stone for me in my search to find my passions...Go visit Summer here and enter her sweet giveaway (until 2/6/11 11:59 pm eastern standard time) for a chance to win your very own copy of this exciting new book! Also, check out Chronicle Books' blog and read up on their review of this book and meet other wonderful artists. Plus Chronicle Books truly have the coolest books + neatest stuff around!