My very nice and very photogenic room mate has been nice enough to model for my soon to be up and running Etsy store. This scarf is one of a few vintage items I'll have in the store. I'm currently developing my jewelry line. I thought three years of designing costume jewelry would get the design bug out of my system. Apparently not. More to come!

Spring fever has definitely struck. Most days I'm stuck in the house doing work so enjoying the weather is out for now. I would plant some flowers but I don't even have the option of a flower box in my fourth floor walk up so that's out. And I could indulge in the exhilaration of a spring fling but I'm not seeing any viable options these days so that is completely and might I add, damn annoyingly, out. But who needs a spring fling when you have spring vegetables like artichokes! OK, awkward bridge to a new subject. Spring time vegetables are exciting though. Buh-bye root vegetable and winter starchiness, hello crisp greenness. I thought I would share my easy stuffed artichoke recipe.

Here is what you will need-
1 onion diced
1/2 a red pepper diced
1 lemon ( juice and zest)
1 medium baguette cut into 1" cubes ( day old is great, if not a fresh one is fine)
1 egg
1/2 cup grated peccerino romano
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
2 artichokes

Everyone seems to be fearful of using and preparing fresh artichokes
but once you get the hang of it, you're going to be an artichoke preparing fiend. Here's a link to show you the basics.
After you have trimmed and de-choked chokes, put them in a pan of boiling salted water. Make sure the pan is large enough that the artichokes are fully submerged in the water. You can throw and a sliced lemon if you like but it's not necessary. Let artichokes
boil for 30 minutes.
Take artichokes gently out of pan and let cool.
While cooling, saute diced onion in olive in large saute pan until soft. Then add diced pepper, salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes. Cook until soft. Remove pan from heat and let cool. Add diced bread, pecerino romano, juice and zest of the lemon and egg. Combine all thoroughly and gently. Salt and pepper to taste again.
Take the artichokes that you have set aside and using a spoon, gently stuff the center on the artichokes with the stuffing.
Place artichokes in oven safe dish. Drizzle top with addition olive oil or cheese ( optional). Place in preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
As Julia Child would say, bon appetit!
Or as another favorite chef would say, bun eppeteet!

I'm developing quiet a few new projects right now PLUS trying to rediscover my "artistic voice" what ever that means. Above is me taking a sketch and developing it in photoshop. I keep reminding myself it's an experiment and not everythings a masterpices. My old comic book loving self is fighting with my need for things to look spontaneous. This really isn't doing it for me. But it's an experiment and not everythings a masterpices...she repeats to herself over and over and over.

It's a little dated but here are some of the pictures from my fun day in Boston with my good friends Ira and Shannon. We spent the day roaming Boston. The Isabella Stewart Gardner museum was amazing as always. But totally overwhelming! Ira was way more patient then Shannon and I. We were all about chatting on the benches overlooking the beautiful courtyard. If you're in Boston check it out. It right by the MFA. Afterwards we roamed around Harvard Square, got the best hot chocolate and pretended to shop with my imaginary money. We capped the night with Ethiopian food ( I always love checking one more nationalities food off my list).

BUT on the walk home we ran in to one of my Boston must go to places! The Porter Exchange is a mini mall of all Japanese restaurants and stores. As you walk through this maze you never know what you'll find. The have ramen shops, sushi bars, bubble teas and sweet shops. I love it.
Almost as much as I love foreign grocery stores!!! Above are some of our favorite finds.

Ever wonder how chic Asian boys roaming around NY get those straight out of an anime flick hair? Well see above. And they really are straight out of anime flick. No real models!! Actual anime illustrations! That's more faith then I think I could put drawing.

Ira's favorite was the freeze dried Japanese "Vermont curry"...because he's from Vermont and pretty sure that they don't have freeze dried curry there.

And the best is last. Not because of the picture but because of what that little hair product bottle says on it. "Mandom" is apparently for all your "man" hair needs. But ever better is what it says below that-

"Everyone loves a lover. Every one loves Mandom. Man o'man that's a Mandom!"

Uhm... what? Makes no sense what so ever. Did we laugh until I cried? You betcha.

The cherry on the cake? It was Anime Con in Boston that weekend. The whole mall was flooded with anime geeks in all their costumes glory. And yes. I did go a little link crazy with this post.

My friends Jess and Jana are taking their love of cupcakes to a new level. The Cupcakery is their new venture specializing in creative and delicious cupcakes. And I think they are going to do marvelously. Above is the new logo I created for them and a picture of the girls during the first day of recipe testing. I gladly played guinea pig in ultimate show down between butter based versus shortening based batter. The winner? For looks shortening, for taste butter. And back the drawing board they went. I'll be working on illustration for their website too so check back for some more sweets inspired art.