willy wonka and the national stationery show

Yesterday's entry in Edgar's illustrated calendar. Note who gets to be poor little Charlie Bucket.

florence: Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitti

To end my two day mini-tour in Florence, I decided to visit the Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitti. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to find a peaceful place to draw, meditate and relax. Not to mention, the amazing view of the city that awaits for you when you walk all the way to the top of the gardens. I think my spring fever is on now... can't wait to garden.

florence: Il Duomo

And of course... I could have not left Florence without trying to capture Il Duomo. It was quite a challenge to find a comfortable place to sit and draw in peace due to the amount of people circulating the streets. Luckily, I visited the Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitti where the view was breathtaking and the drawing spot peaceful.

florence: doors + house numbers

I wish I could have brought home one of the thousands of beautiful doors throughout Florence. All doors had intricate details, door knockers with mythological creatures and beautiful house numbers on ceramic tiles such as the door of Libreria Gozzini right accross from Galleria dell'accademia which houses the statue of David among other Michelangelo's works. I guess the Renaissance designers saw 'the door' as a very important threshold.

florence: firmness, commodity and delight

This past week I had the fortune to visit Florence, Italy after a short business trip to southern Italy. The city blew my mind. I just couldn't comprehend how artists were able to accomplish so much with their bare hands. There was not a brick left to randomness. I was quickly reminded of Vitruvius' point of view relative to architecture in which he explained that a building should be guided by three basic principles: firmness, commodity and delight. The city still stands as if it was built yesterday; it still accommodates the needs of millions of visitors and Florence's beauty still continues to amaze whoever visits it.

new goldfish

This morning I woke up to find one of my goldfish with his belly up. It broke my heart. Well, this evening I decided to get a new goldfish. I hope he likes his new home.

status report

The holidays wore us out! Both boys were sick and sleep...sleep...well... Thankfully, things are back on track, routines have resumed and all is well.

ho! ho! ho! merry christmas!

busy days

These days have been busy, but somehow I have managed to spare some time to have fun in my journal.

Mon, Dec 12 :: Max kept us up all night as he is currently teething. Miles slept like a possum.

Tue, Dec 13 :: Flew to Dallas, TX. Prepared for a big presentation.

Wed, Dec 14 :: Presentation went well! Suzanne called me to tell me Miles said "Dah-Dah".

mr. moptop

Edgar doodled The Beagle and this 'cool kid' last night. Every time I've run across them on my desk today it's made me smile. I'm lovin' that hair!

note to self: chichi

illustrated journaling

Last week I mentioned my desire to freeze time in sketches. As much as I want to do this, Edgar is much better at actually making it happen: drawing daily, without fail, in his journal. As a result he's created quite the record of this past year...something I'm sure the boys will treasure as they get older.

Here's is a tiny portion of the entries from the last few weeks...

Arriving home from vacation:

Before a super-busy time at work:

When he was sick:

[check out my cleavage]

When I needed my own super hero! [AKA my mom]:

On his dad's birthday:

Pokey and Reilly's thoughts on our new furniture:

Discussions between Max and my mom:

And working late, like tonight:

don't want to miss a thing

'She was twice blessed. She was happy and she knew it." --Kathryn Windham

Edgar shared with me earlier how he wishes he could bottle up the moments we're living and keep them forever. Recording them in my sketchbook is my eager attempt to do just this.

Life is grand. And I love this little family of mine so, so much.

letting nature take the lead

In the past Edgar has been determined to rake up the leaves from the million trees that surround our house as soon as they touch the ground. This year, however, the babies [or should I say, our bosses] have kept him too busy indoor to maintain the yard. As a result, when we look out our windows now the ground isn't a mossy green, but a wash of gold and amber. It reminds us just how beautiful nature is when left to do its own thing.

bring your babies to work

Have you ever taken your child[ren] to work?

If so, HOW ON EARTH did you get any work done?

best birthday present ever!

I know it's been a while since we last posted anything. We are happy to announce that Maxwell Brady and Miles Morgan are safe and sound at home. They were born last Wednesday, June 1st (not that is a big deal, but it was on my birthday). Suzanne is doing wonderful and I have to say, I did not know how strong she was until I saw the ease at which she handled the delivery. Here are some facts.

Maxwell Brady :: 4:52 pm :: 5 lbs. 12 oz.
Miles Morgan :: 4:55 pm :: 5 lbs. 15 oz.

Suzanne will be back very soon with a more detailed report on the babies.

Thank you all so much for checking in!

brown knight + pf changs

In the last two months, Suzanne's mom broke her ankle...bummer; and my mom broke her wrist...double bummer. As they both recover, they deserve extra care and attention. On Tuesday, Suzanne and I decided to give my mom a surprise visit in Raleigh along with takeout from P.F. Changs. She was so pleased! and so were we.

better than flowers

looking forward

A little something-something from Edgar's sketchbook...

With about three months to go until delivery, the babies seem to be getting bigger [and heavier] by the day minute second! So far, so good for me. Not so sure the same can be said for Edgar's stork!

butterflies

This illustration was inspired by the first kicks [or flutterings] of our babies-to-be. We are so happy for every milestone we reach...but this one is extra special.

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