I do art now.

So, this is perhaps my craziest adventure yet. I’ve always loved to draw, and I’ve kept sketchbooks with my bad anime doodles and fan art since early high school, or maybe even middle school. I remember buying a plain blue cloth-covered sketchbook in 10th grade, and I decided, “I’m going to fill this book up, and practice drawing every day!”

Well, to this day it’s still only half-full. I have about a million others that are also half-full, because I’m a hoarder of art supplies/sketchbooks.
But in the past few years or so, I’ve realized I have finally gotten to a level of art skill that I’m really proud of! I guess practicing really DOES pay off? (Who knew?)

Not to say that I think every single thing I draw is great- far from it, in fact. My Instagram has about every fourth or fifth drawing that I actually feel is worthy of posting. And, sometimes I post something only to immediately delete it. I still have some self-doubt and self-consciousness about my drawings.

And I STILL CANNOT DRAW HANDS.

But like, in the past year or so, I’ve given away and sold a few drawings, and that is crazy to me because it’s something I never thought would happen. I still sometimes flip through that 10th grade sketchbook and *cringe* because it’s some awful art I made when I should have been studying geometry, but I stuck with it, and now! Now, I may not always create a masterpiece, but I find I don’t mind sharing what I draw because I actually like how most of my pieces turn out.

And I guess what I’m trying to say through all this is never give up. I know it’s cliché as hell, but drawing is something I always wanted to do and was pretty discouraged because I was not immediately good at it. There was a good 15 years between that blue cloth sketchbook and the things I’m drawing today. I’m something of a perfectionist though, and even though I thought most of it was bad, I kept at it.

Now, yeah I guess some of my pictures turn out pretty nice, but I also found something that I really enjoy doing. Drawing has become a relaxing hobby for me, but also one that keeps me challenged and working toward something all of the time. It’s also helped me to realize that making mistakes isn’t the end of the world, but rather a starting point to improve.

So I will keep going! I will keep experimenting with different mediums and hopefully find new and exciting ways to draw the things I like to draw. :3

WOW

So it’s been…a while.

A lot has changed since my last post, which looks like it was a little over three years ago.

 

Since then, a lot has changed. I’m getting my master’s in public health, I’m ENGAGED, and I am drawing and painting more than knitting and reading. I still go on little adventures, but school and work keep me pretty busy.

So, more to come later. I will try to keep this updated. :3

Update:

I’m still alive! Moved back to Florida and started working full-time since I last updated.

So, yeah…haven’t had much time for posting, but I’ve had a few adventures. Mostly of the book kind, although I did go to Barcelona for a week.

I’m working on a book post, to kind of organize my thoughts on the books I’ve read in the past few months.

So yay! Hopefully I can get back to having adventures and exploring.

I’M BACK!

Ok, I have not abandoned this, I promise! Life just gets in the way sometimes, you know? Anyways, I’m here today because I have just made something EXTRAORDINARY and I think everyone should try it.

 

It started out with a craving for iced tea. Boyfriend and I decided we felt like iced green tea, so I brewed a delicious sencha tea I got as a Christmas gift. As I was looking for ice cubes, I noticed a bag of frozen strawberries. I’ve seen a lot of water and tea drinks with fruit infusions on pinterest lately, so I thought, why not? I’ll try it.

The result was a delicious, rose-colored drink, with that initial vegetal (or “grassy” as I like to think of it) and nutty taste of sencha, and just a hint of sweet strawberry aftertaste. Which is the BEST kind of green tea aftertaste. It even smells kind of fruity! I’m enjoying it so much, I am not sure why I waited so long to try this out. I’m already making plans for another drink to seep overnight. I have raspberries and blackberries, but also a lemon and a lime. Hmm! I have to go to work tonight, but I’ll probably be thinking about which fruit combination and which tea to use.

Lol.

Oh yeah, and the “crazy jell-o odyssey” never really turned out quite right, which is why I never followed up. (From my last post.)

Quick little note:

I’m about to go on a crazy jell-o odyssey, so stay tuned for the upcoming posts.

I always come back to tea…

I’ve been on a coffee-kick lately, but today I brewed a delicious pot of Duchess Grey, from a shop called “Franklin Tea”.

The tea is delicious. It’s an earl grey with lavender. Adagio has one too, but I actually prefer the Franklin blend! It’s the perfect tea for just about any weather, any time, or at least I think so. I drank it a lot during the brisk fall days, the few snow days we got this winter, and I’m going to continue on into spring. The lavender is not overpowering, which I love, and the tea has got a kind of creamy taste as well, so it’s like my other favorite adagio blend, earl grey moonlight. The best of both, in one tea!

Plus, the little shop is so cute, and you can even get tea to go! I don’t remember what kind I got, but I did enjoy it. If earl grey is not your cup of tea (haha.), then I’d recommend coconut oolong! (Which is what I plan to drink, iced, all through summer. So look for that post in the future.)

Well, back to the actual tea: I usually drink it pure (that is, without milk or sugar or anything), but I tried something new today: French vanilla coffee creamer (like I said, I’ve been on a coffee-kick), a bit if milk, and a shot of vanilla syrup. The result is more on the side of a tea latté, but I’m planning on taking a travel mug’s worth of the pure tea when I go to work later.

Franklin is a good place for tea. You can read about my other Franklin tea adventure here.

Well, have a nice weekend everyone! I hope you brew your own delicious tea, or coffee, or whatever makes you happy!

Latté art

No, I didn’t do any latté art, but I’m thinking about trying some really soon! This makes it look really easy! I’m gonna try it with my steamed microwave milk, lol. Not sure if it will really work, but I’ll find out!

Creations.

I made things!

1) Ginger quinoa: Regular quinoa (pronounced “Keen-wah” or kinwa) made with ginger tea instead of just regular ol’ water. I thought this would be really delicious, but either the tea just wasn’t strong enough (even though I steeped it for about 10 minutes), or other spices I added to the beans I mixed into it (black beans and chick peas!) covered it up. In any case, I may try this out again, but maybe with stronger tea. Or perhaps lemongrass? That might be interesting.

2) I mod-podged another tin! It is a small 1oz. tin from adagio that I got in a Christmas collection.

The paper is from another scrapbook collection. Picture quality is not great though, sorry!

I think it came out a little bit better than the jar, but the first tin I did looks a bit better…still, it’s super fun, and if I drink enough tea this week, I might have another tin to practice on. This tin is currently holding some of that ginger root that I made the tea from. It smells so yummy and strong when the lid is open!

3) Pineapple Rum Iced tea.

My mom bought me these when she went to the Bahamas.

Ok, I lied about this one, I haven’t actually made it, yet, but I’m going to right now.
It’s brewing right now and it smells SO GOOD! Just a few more minutes to go!
Now I’m drinking it, and I’m trying to decide exactly how to put into words how it tastes. “Interesting” might be the best word? It’s definitely sweet on its own, but I’m going to try it with some sugar.

YES, DEFINITELY ADD SUGAR. Oh man, I can’t tell you how much sugar improved it. This is going to be an AWESOME tea to enjoy when the weather gets a little warmer!

 

Well, these are the crafty kind of adventures I have been up to lately. I’m thinking the next post is going to be about books, but not sure exactly what yet. Anyone been reading any interesting books lately? I’ve been into fantasy lately, but I’ve also been on the search for a good non-fiction, science-y book about either space travel, neandertals, or language, so I know these categories may seem odd, but if you can, please recommend any books to me!

Knitting Socks, pt.2

The socks continue! Still on the first sock, and still on the cuff. I’m kind of a slow knitter, but also, the last few weeks have been surprisingly busy. Still, this first sock is coming along, and I’m starting to notice the color changes and stripe effects.

LOOK. “Flowering Cabbage” in action! 

I’m on row 42, approximately, and I say that because I may have skipped a row (OH THE HORROR). I’m happy to say I haven’t skipped any stitches at all, although a few rows ago, seven stitches just slipped right off the needle. I’m pretty sure my heart just stopped. I managed to fix it, but it’s still somewhat noticeable, if only to my eagle-eyes I’ve attained as a knitter.

It’s blurry on purpose, because it’s a mistake.

Well, on I go, knitting until I drop from exhaustion. (Or at least get a little sleepy.)

The Chinese Tea Incident

Well, a few months ago, while adventuring around Franklin, TN, my boyfriend, his mom, and I stumbled upon a little tea shop with the friendliest owner I’ve ever encountered.

She taught us many things about tea, and her hometown in China, where they grow oolong tea. I learned many things about oolong, but also the briefest intro into Chinese tea ceremonies, multiple brewings, and the cutest tiny clay teapots. It was a very strange day; we walked into the shop, never expecting to be swept up in the impromptu ceremony, but it was delicious.

So delicious, and we got so involved in it, we walked out with way more tea than we would like to admit, but my boyfriend drinks a few cups a week, and we still have some, so yeah.

Did this really happen??