HeartLand

Dores Jewelry

2009-11-10T19:47:00.002-06:00

Beautiful jewelry from Milwaukee-an Stephanie Renee of Dores. My favorite pieces combine metals and wood. So nicely done! See more in her shop and check out her lovely blog also.

Pomegranate Season

2009-11-08T20:11:00.004-06:00

So apparently it's pomegranate season? Suddenly all of the grocery stores are overflowing with them. The pomegranate is a little pricey for a piece of fruit, but it's kind of fun and different which is totally worth my $2.

I found this great tutorial on how to easily get the seeds out of a pomegranate. I like them sprinkled over some yogurt and drizzled with honey. Another fall time treat to add to to the seasonal menu!

Swissmiss

2009-11-05T09:51:00.002-06:00

Who doesn't love Tina Roth Eisenberg's beautiful blog Swissmiss? If you are in the Milwaukee area on Friday you must go see Tina in person! She will be speaking as part of an AIGA Wisconsin event held at Hanson Dodge Creative. More details here.

Dave Eggers and Valentino Achak Deng

2009-11-03T16:26:00.004-06:00

In his book What is the What, Dave Eggers tells a story based on the life of Sudanese refugee Valentino Achak Deng. Deng fled the Sudan as a young boy in the 1980s, growing up in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Wednesday evening Eggers and Deng will be speaking on the UW-Madison campus as part of the Humanities Without Borders lecture series. Find event details here.

Chicago

2009-11-01T20:00:00.005-06:00

While visiting my family this weekend, I managed to squeeze in a few hours in Chicago proper. It had been way too long since I was able to get into the city. Ofcourse, there was lunch at Milk and Honey. I also poked my head into a few favorite shops in the Ukranian Village and Wicker Park, like Penelope's and Habit. I was pretty excited to have found a new winter hat at Untitled. It was sad to see lots of boutiques had closed though, including Hejfina. I guess the recession hit pretty hard in that area?

Then it was off to Union Station to board a Metra train out to the suburbs. The mostly empty Saturday train is always a relaxing ride. I love those few moments where the interior of the train goes dark as it pulls away from the station.

Brock Davis

2009-10-28T13:06:00.006-05:00

I've had Brock Davis' website bookmarked for a while now; I knew I wanted to write a post about it. As I looked through his work more closely today, this shredded A caught my eye. I thought, now why does that look so familiar?? Then I recognized it as being the illustration on one of my favorite tshirts! I hadn't even realized it was Brock who designed that tshirt for Threadless. And many more!

You can also see more of his work in the Make Something Cool Everyday project on Flickr.

AppleBerry Farm

2009-10-25T17:18:00.007-05:00

Are you all ready for Halloween?? Costumes chosen, jack-o-lanterns carved? And the candy! I got some of my favorites this year: Twix, Starburst and Tootsie Rolls. I like to way overestimate how many bags of candy are actually needed for the handful of kids that come by to trick or treat.

This weekend was also a perfect pumpkin picking time. Off we went to the AppleBerry Farm in Cross Plains, WI to get some apples, pumpkins, bratwurst, cider and doughnuts. I wish I could say I've been able to show any restraint whatsoever around those cinnamon donuts, but that would be a complete lie. I am also thinking of following up all of the doughnuts with this soon.

Aside from all of the tasty treats, the AppleBerry Farm is a fun stop because they have a chicken coop! Last year, I found out that chickens love dandelion greens so I love to stick little pieces through the wire and watch them gobble it up. This little guy just discovered that actually he can reach the dandelions on his own and he doesn't need me at all.

And then there was the chicken on a balance beam act, also well worth watching.

On Sale!

2009-10-20T13:31:00.004-05:00

Have you been wishing the KITA bag cost 40% less? Well it is your lucky day because there are a few pieces on sale in the Pravina Studio shop. Check it out!

Lichens

2009-10-18T19:53:00.002-05:00

A few photos I took of lichens while out hiking this summer. I was pretty enthralled by all of their different colors, shapes and textures.

If you really want to see amazing lichen photos, check this out. I also love Diana Sudyka's idea of rendering lichens in watercolor.

Niki Johnson

2009-10-14T15:13:00.010-05:00

I serendipitously met artist Niki Johnson when she wandered into my office the other day, looking for information about the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection. She is an MFA student in sculpture at UW. How great is her work? I love how creative she is with the materials and techniques she uses. It's not everyday you see images of the presidential candidates spouses embroidered and framed in bakeware. This Donald Trump piece is actually made up of layers of cotton applique. See more of her work here.

Chad Hagen

2009-10-12T13:35:00.005-05:00

Chad Hagen is an artist and designer based in Minneapolis. I love these pieces from his Surreal Abstract series. I also really enjoyed Analog Controls and I Am Not a Number. You can see more of his work on his website and you can also purchase some of your very own on 20x200.

Strawberry Bread

2009-10-09T11:31:00.007-05:00

Remember all of those strawberries I picked this summer? Well some of them were frozen to be turned into something delicious at a later date, like say, strawberry bread. I had never even heard of strawberry bread until I came across this recipe. It makes sense though, why should the banana be the only fruit that gets a bread? Strawberry bread is fantastic, as you may have guessed. Especially for breakfast with a bowl of mangoes and a turkish coffee! Find the recipe here, and just substitute frozen berries for the fresh ones. Enjoy!

Girl Savage

2009-10-07T16:27:00.002-05:00

How cute and hilarious are these stuffed animals from Girl Savage?? My favorite is the feltidermy pieces to hang on your walls. So clever!

Wisconsin Natural Acres Honey

2009-10-05T16:46:00.004-05:00

Every time I see these beautiful glass jars of honey I wish that my honey didn't get squeezed out of a plastic bear. Don't get me wrong, I live in Wisconsin and therefore it is a bear full of good local honey, but it is nevertheless, a plastic bear. While I do love the honey bear, I long for the sophistication of a glass jar of Wisconsin Natural Acres Honey. I did get some once and it was taaaaasty. I highly recommend trying it. You can order online or find it locally.

Watch the Food Network's episode of Unwrapped featuring Wisconsin Natural Acres Honey tonight! Monday, October 5th at 8PM central time.

Uniform Natural

2009-10-02T11:04:00.005-05:00

Uniform Natural is a new project from the ever talented Martha of Uniform Studio. I love all of the purples and grays she is using here. I can't wait until the shop opens on October 8th!

In honor of the launch there is a great little giveaway going on at Unruly Things, so head over there to win this beautiful purple gossamer scarf.

Hier Apparel

2009-09-30T06:32:00.000-05:00

Fall is really here. The weather this week has definitely felt like a dramatic change in season. So now I'm thinking about all things warm and cozy, like wool jackets. I've been admiring the awesome coats over at the Hier Apparel shop. You can also learn a little more about the Laura in her Etsy featured seller interview!

Monday Monday

2009-09-28T06:15:00.000-05:00

The weekends sure pass quickly, don't they? My time was spent enjoying the new shadows of Fall, dinner with friends, a morning walk and treats from the incredible Batch Bakehouse, a lovely bike ride around the lake, pizza and cake! It's no wonder Mondays are so tough. I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Food for Thought Festival

2009-09-25T09:25:00.005-05:00

The 2009 Food for Thought Festival
Saturday, September 26 2009
8:00 am-1:30 pm
Madison, Wisconsin on Martin Luthur King Jr. Blvd.

10:00 AM the special guest, Michael Pollan, will be speaking.
Michael Pollan, as you likely know, is the author of the Omnivore's Dilemma and more recently, In Defense of Food.

Uncommon

2009-09-23T08:29:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting a clock for my studio for a long while now. Problem is, it's hard to find a nice looking clock! Well, look no further than Uncommon's Etsy shop. I so want the sunny saffron victorienne clock. As luck would have it, a few days before finding out about this perfect little clock shop, I settled on a less than great clock from Ikea. Hmmm, do I maybe need TWO clocks? I think so.

Vincent and Jessie of Uncommon were Etsy's featured seller a few weeks ago, read the interview here.

Summer grilling days

2009-09-21T16:14:00.002-05:00

We are very much fairweather grilling people. If it's a nice summer day outside, we're grilling. If it's below 70 degrees, it's likely not happening. Sadly, this means that any day now it will be time to say goodbye to barbeque season. Tonight, we are grilling Turkey burgers and topping them with an awesome creamy cucumber relish. And I got some fresh corn over the weekend. Yum. It's almost time to get that chimney started...

Kate Funk

2009-09-17T11:24:00.005-05:00

Milwaukeean (that's a word, right?) Kate Funk creates these great cards from her Polaroid photos. She also has a hilarious line of cards featuring her cat AC in various settings and costumes. Adding to the humor is that AC is actually short for, you guessed it...Annoying Customer, named after the cat in Clerks. So really there is a lot of awesome stuff going on here. You can even follow Annoying Customer's own blog!

PARA

2009-09-15T21:09:00.003-05:00

A few new PARA pouches and clutches listed in the Pravina shop.

Ironman continues

2009-09-13T16:52:00.004-05:00

Some scenes from this morning at the start of the Ironman Triathlon. It is so neat being there to watch the mass of swimmers take off through the lake. Amazing, these Ironpeople.

And a few shots of the peaceful lake while we (and a few thousands others) waited for the start.

Renegade Chicago

2009-09-11T12:56:00.004-05:00

This time last year I was preparing to spend the weekend in Chicago hovering under a tent in the pouring rain for two days at the Renegade Craft Fair. Man was there a lot of rain. More impressive though was how many people put on the wellies, grabbed an umbrella and still came out to the fair. My schedule didn't allow me to participate this year, but I really hope to be back next year.

It looks like Renegade will have perfect weather this weekend, so go out and support some local artists!

September 12-13
11am – 7pm
Division St. between Damen Ave. and Paulina St. in Wicker Park

Ironman Wisconsin

2009-09-10T09:26:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again! Ironman Wisconsin has descended on Madison. This morning there were tons of swimmers doing laps in Lake Monona. For those of you unfamiliar with Lake Monona, it is a rare site to see people swimming in it. It was so neat to watch these lines of swimmers in perfect form gliding through the water.

If you're in the Madison area on Sunday, stop by and cheer the Ironmen and women on because anybody who can swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and THEN run a marathon deserves a few rounds of applause.