Daily Drawing: 120 | Happy Tuesday

Just plugging away at making new inventory for Bust, and listing fun things on Etsy!  I'll share a full shop update tomorrow...I've got a just a few more necklaces to edit and list.  And if the weather clears up, I'd love to get some shots of the piles of scarves and necklaces I've been working on!

In the meantime...I'm going to enjoy this kitten that loves sitting under my skirt.

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Daily Drawing: 119 | Get this Party Started

Today I spent some time editing the photos I took this weekend of my new necklaces.  I'm really happy with how they turned out!  But I do have a seamless and a few different background colors sitting in my amazon wishlist to be ordered this Friday.  I spent (and still have to spend) waaay too much time stamping out the wrinkles from my canvas background haha!  

PS: Sprinkles say hi ^_^

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Daily Drawing: 118 | Countdown to Bust

This is the last week till the Bust Craftacular! I spent most of the day making and making and making, trying to get as much inventory as possible.  Lots and lots of the new crochet necklaces will be there, and I'm going to spend a little time on some of my winter stuff, just incase people want to grab them for gifts.

I also took some product shots of the new necklaces today, and I'll be editing and listing them in the shop tomorrow!

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Last week, on Instagram...

• I had my first post-op follow up appointment with my doctor on Monday, so I stayed home and snugged with kittens to rest up.
• When I got back from the appointment, I had a package waiting for me that I ordered a while ago from Applelatte on Etsy.  How sweet is this little rose gold foxy?!
• I've been playing more with my scalloped crochet necklace idea and this is one of my first tries.
• This week's Thrifty Thursday was Avenue Antiques & Ideal Theatre in Baltimore.  I died a little when I saw this display. So pink!

• I've been feeling much better and had the time and energy to start doing my full-on drawings again!
• More playing with crochet necklaces!  So fatty!
• We took a quick trip out to Michael's and AC Moore for yarn (duh) and some display solutions for my Craftacular booth.  There's a Toys R Us in between...so some ponies happened.
• OMG THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING!  It's so huge and neon and obnoxious and the bes thing ever.

If you want say hey, you can follow my silly instgram at @thepinksamurai.  There's lots of yarn and cats.

Daily Drawing: 117 | Workin' through the Weekend

I spent most of today making up inventory for the Bust Craftacular next weekend!  Lots of new designs that I hope people will enjoy.  Some of them are a little obnoxious...but that's what I love about them ^_^ I'm going to try and take some good shots of them for the blog and shop tomorrow, but for now you can peep instagram here and here for my overly excited first pics :P

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Daily Drawing: 116 | Now in Technicolor

Yay!  I had the time and the energy to do a proper drawing today!  My health is steadily improving and I've got another follow up appointment to get more junk cleaned out of my head on Monday and just see how it's going up there.  I've been steadily getting some smells and tastes back, which is fun and surprising!  There's things I just forgot had smells and tastes, so it's almost a bit alarming when they come of nowhere :P

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Friend-spiration Friday! Kristen Kochanski of Fork, Knife & Spoon

Today's Friend-spriration comes from my wonderful friend and co-worker, Kristen Kochanski!  We've been working together for almost two years now, and actually sit right next to each other with a couple of candy bowls in between.  We love chocolate, you guys.  She's an incredibly talented photographer (she shot my crochet class), and along with the bottomless candy bowls, she brings in the yummiest treats for our whole team!  Kristen's just started a food blog, Fork, Knife & Spoon to share the delicious food she creates!

Kristen Kochanski of Fork, Knife & Spoon

Where did you get your love of cooking?

My love of cooking definitely came from just growing up in the kitchen.  My family had dinner together every night at the kitchen table together.  My mom was always cooking. I used to just sit in kitchen watching her mixing, throwing stuff in a pot, smelling everything.  She never really taught me to cook, I pretty much just learned from watching. Sometimes I'd ask her to show me how she made things that were a little more complex and she would teach me her recipes.

Honey Butter Beer Bread

Does being a photographer impact what you choose to cook?

Being a photographer definitely impacts what I choose to cook.  I find myself trying to make dishes look cleaner bc I automatically think about how it looks on the plate.  As soon as I started to really photograph my food, I quickly realized how much I wished my kitchen had more natural light! I've definitely become much more aware of things now than I ever was before.  Everything I make I think about how it would look on a plate and in a photograph.  

Breakfast Egg Soufflé

Are there any quick tips you could share when photographing food?

Definitely using natural light for food.  I hate harsh shadows and bright lights that are normally found in a kitchen for food images.  It can make a gorgeous dish look horrible.  Natural sun light just has such a softer quality to it that really makes food photography look more appetizing.  I like simplistic and clean looking images too.  Not over-cluttering a dish is key.  Add colors and textures with placemats, napkins and surfaces.

Dark Chocolate Bark with Almonds and Cranberries

Do you have a favorite go-to meal to prepare on a regular day?

My go to meal would have to be sausage and peppers in a crock-pot.  Not the most photogenic dish but it's so good and on a day that I want a good hearty meal but don't have the energy to cook, it's perfect.  Toss everything in the crock pot and let it do all the cooking for me! I kind of feel like using a crock pot is like cheating since you really aren't standing over the stove cooking all day but it makes people think you did!

Citrus Marinated Grilled Swordfish

What are you going to do next?

I really don't know what I plan on cooking next.  It all depends on what my stomach is craving that day! I'll be spending some time with my mom this weekend so maybe I'll cook up something again in the kitchen with her.  I love trying out new recipes too.  I have tons of recipes magazines and blogs I follow.  You'll just have to see what I post next to find out what I come up with! :)

Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanks so much for sharing with us Kristen!  I can't wait to see...and eat...what you make next!

Keep in touch with Kristen over on her blog and pinterest page ^_^

Daily Drawing: 115 - Sneezy Bean

Not quite back to full drawings yet. But this one has a sneezy Turks! He's been sneezin it up all night!

Thifty Thursday: Avenue Antiques & Ideal Theatre

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Ideal Theatre / Avenue Antiques
Ideal Theatre facebook / Avenue Antiques facebook
address : 901 & 905 West 36th Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
hours :  Monday - Saturday: 10am - 7pm | Sunday: 10am - 5pm

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Continuing our tour of Hampden in Balitmore, today brings us further down the street to, from what I saw is, the largest antique shop in the area.  It's one of those wonderful, typical antique malls with lots of vendor booths packed with a huge variety of stuff and things.  You could get lost in here for hours!  There's the main floor, a basement full of clothes and an attic filled with mid-century and etcetera.  The day we went, there was a sidewalk sale going on.  I'm not sure if that was a special thing, but it was fun poking through things.

When you first walk in, you'll be surrounded by glass cases that are stuffed to the gills.  You'll also be pretty overwhelmed by how big the space is.  The photo above was taken after walking about halfway into the building.

There's a great upstairs space that has a lot more mid-century furniture and decor.  Lots of specialized booths with ephemera, themed inventory, right alongside booths just packed with everything you could imagine!

I need everything in this photo immediately.

Downstairs is a treasure trove of incredible clothes! Seriously.  I died a little.

Can you picture my eyeballs turning into hearts and bulging out of my head when I saw this display?  Because that's exactly what happened!  There's a pink Sunbeam mixer right under a pink tutu!

This place is just too much fun.  The Hampden area just too much fun and this shop is just on an already big list of 'must sees' on that main drag.  I'm already itching to go back!

***If you've got any shops you love, or own, that you'd like me to feature, just shoot a note over to becky@thepinksamurai with the name, website/facebook, address, hours a few things that make it awesome, I'd love to take a look!!!***

Daily Drawing: 114 | Back in the Saddle

I went back to work today and I'm crazy tired! But hopefully I'll be back to my regular illustrations tomorrow...I need to get some color back in these girls!

Daily Drawing: 113 | So Ready

I'm hoping today will be my last full day at home after surgery. I tried to get off if my painkillers, but there's still so much going on in my head that Tylenol just wasn't ding the trick. Glad I've only been taking half doses of the stuff, though. So that's something!

Wish me luck tomorrow!

Daily Drawing: 112 | One Day at a Time

Post op procedures after getting sinus polyps removed is no joke, you guys. I've done this before, but this aftercare is a bit different than the first time. Knowing it'll be worth it in the long run is making the current trials bearable. That and my darling husband!

Daily Drawing: 111 | Naps are Awesome

Spent another day in bed, snuggling with kittens and my wonderful husband. We watched a lot of Netflix and a took a few naps as he doted all over me. It was a pretty great day ^_^

Tomorrow I go to see my doctor for the first time since he took out my polyps. There's another quick thing he's gotta do which is not too exciting, but I've done this before and I'll power through again!

Last week, on Instagram...

1. One of our favorite traditions as a couple is our early Sunday movies.  We've got a great theater near us that's virtually empty on Sunday mornings, and this showing was the perfect example.  Only one other person in the whole theater for our 3D viewing of Jurassic Park.  Too bad it wasn't just us so we could quote the whole movie :P
2. I posted a quick crochet tip for keeping a nice loose chain on your work.
3. Sprinkles must've known that I was a little nervous about my procedure the next day, and was extra snuggly with me on Tuesday night.
4. We spent a lot of time in waiting rooms getting ready to have my sinus polyps removed, so a bag of crochet projects was a necessity.
5. My procedure went well...faster than the doctor had predicted and I got to go straight home from the hospital.  I might tell the whole exciting story sometime later ^_^
6. Turks has been the most amazingly loving little creature since I got back from the hospital.  He's hardly left my side and just sits and snugs and purrs all day while I drift in and out of sleep.  He's The Best Cat™.
7. Even in my painkiller haze, I had to get out a Thrift Thursday post (even if it was a day late).  Denova is one of my favorite spots!
8. Another Denova pic, because I neeeeeed that mirror in my life. 
9. Annnd...another shameless pic of Turks the Sweetest Kitten!

Daily Drawing: 110 | Company Cats

Turks and Sprinkles have been the sweetest lil things these past few days. Nap times are our best times ~_~

Daily Drawing: 109 | Road to Recovery

Today was full of naps, kitten snugs and so many pills! It's late, I'm about to take some painkillers and sleep all night ~_~

Thrifty Thursday...erm Friday: Denova

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Denova
facebook
address : 1021 West 36th Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
hours :  Wednesday – Sunday: 11am - 5pm

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Today we're heading back to the Hampden area of Baltimore to Denova.  It's right up the street from David's on the Avenue and carries mostly mid-modern furniture and I mostly want to own everything they have.  The prices are a bit more than David's, but the quality of the pieces is much higher and more consistant throughout the shop.  There's also A LOT more inventory.

When you walk in, it's just stuffed with so much, it's almost sensory overload.  I swear I get anxiety whenever I walk into a place like this because I get so overly excited about everything!  There's lost of little staged areas to wander through and definitely take a peek upstairs.  I'll let the photos do the talking now...

This is what greets you first step in.  It's hard not to pass out in the entry way.  I'll take one of each please.

Upstairs is just as packed.  You can see the steps going down on the left bottom of the photo. 

I love that the inventory is specific to furniture and home decor.  The staged areas they have are so cute, I just want to take home a whole display!

Denova is a must see if you're in Hampden and love mid-century decor.  The prices are better than what you'd find in DC, the pieces are all extremely high quality and there's just so much to choose from!  I've been on a perpetual hunt for a china cabinet for my Grandmom's china, and I think I'll save my pennies and come back here.

If you've got any shops you love, or own, that you'd like me to feature, just shoot a note over to becky@thepinksamurai with the name, website/facebook, address, hours a few things that make it awesome, I'd love to take a look!!!

Daily Drawing:108 | Guest Artist - Andy Helms!

I'm feeling a bit peaky from recovery, so my wonderful husband Andy stepped in and helped today!  I love it so much!  Nurse Sprinkles!

Daily Drawing: 107 | Post Op

The surgery went well today and I actually just got off the phone with my doctor. Smooth sailing...not a lot of pain...and a sweet gauze bandage mustache. I didn't have my laptop with me, so I used Andy's sketchbook and he inked it for me ^_^

More updates soon, when I'm not on my phone...and not so loopy :P

Daily Drawing: 106 | On the Horizon

Tomorrow I go in for my sinus surgery.  Wish me luck!

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Daily Drawing: 105 | See You in Space, Cowboy

Sometimes I go through phases when I listen exclusively to the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack for weeks.  It's my absolute favorite anime and Yoko Kanno's soundtrack is just incredible.  It always puts me in a good place.

This week, I go in for surgery on my sinuses.  It's a procedure I've done before, and it's totally routine for the doctor performing it (he's the top in DC/VA/MD area), but I still get anxious.  I know the post-op is not going to pleasant and that's ok.  The benefits far out-weigh the discomfort.  But still :P  Tomorrow will be full of prepping like...doing my nails.  I need a little pink sparkle to help me through ^_^

This is part of my 365 project where I draw my outfits every day!  Check out my first post of the year for details!

Chain Cheater

I'm still pretty new to crochet and this might be heresy to people who have been doing this for years, but it's a trick that works for me!  Making even chains can be discouraging for newbies and can make for some wonky looking work if the chain is tighter than your work.  So sizing up by a millimeter can help take guesswork out of things.  I used this trick for these three patterns and I bet you couldn't've guessed ^_^

I hope it helps!

Daily Drawing: 104 | A Sleepy Day in Kitten Town

We might have taken a couple of naps today.  And they were soooo nice.  Turks gets super excited for bed time and nap time, so he was all up ons most of the day.  Every time we get in bed, you just have to wait a second to hear the puff of the comforter and feel the stompin' boots of a kitten who's about to be up in your face purring.  It's super cute, except when he tries to pet your face when you're almost asleep  :P

Between the naps and soooo much crochet, we saw Jurassic Park in 3D today!  It's one of our favorite movies and one of the things we bonded over when we first met.  You know I love myself some dinosaurs.  It was so fun to see the movie in the theater again, especially in the early Sunday morning showing when there's only one other person in the theater.  So good.