Jan

29

5 MORE Etsy shops you should be watching

Filed Under Blog | 1 Comment

First, I’m going to shamelessly plug my own Etsy shop because not only did I just add three new prints, but Matthew is also still looking for a job so I’m hoping to sell work to help out a bit (oh yes, did I mentioned I still do custom paintings or re-paints of previously sold work? Check here for examples: View Meg Kat Paintings)

So here’s my shop: http://meganlee.etsy.com Buy some prints and I’ll post video of Matthew doing his dance move he made up in the 8th grade….and maybe even his Michael Jackson impersonation.





Alright, enough about my stuff. Now 5 MORE Etsy Shops You Should Be Watching (first installment here: 5 Etsy Shops you Should Be Watching)

1. staroftheeast.etsy.com – Baroque, eclectic, exotic, anything but boring.

Work by staroftheeast.etsy.com



2. valentinadesign.etsy.com – Original & Inspirational Art by artist Valentina Ramos

Work by Valentinadesigns.etsy.com



3. nouveaumotley.etsy.com – A Neo Victorian Wonder Emporium– Steampunk Jewelry

Work by nouveaumotley.etsy.com



4. ilee.etsy.com – letterpress and silkscreen paper products

Work by ilee.etsy.com



5. artquirk.etsy.com – Prints and original artwork by nina moscrip

Work by artquirk.etsy.com

Jan

28

Backstage with Audrey Assad

Filed Under Blog | 3 Comments

Doesn’t that title sounds so ridiculous? Like “E! True Hollywood Story!”. I couldn’t resist though.

My friend Audrey was in town yesterday performing a free concert. (If you haven’t heard of her yet, you probably will soon. She has a mind-blowingly beautiful voice and one of her most recent projects was writing and performing the song Winter Snow with Chris Tomlin. <--youtube link)

I got a last minute message to come early and hang out before the show so I hopped in the truck and nervously drove through the nasty 17-92 traffic to get there (I hate driving most of the time because of the horrible Florida drivers. I break out in a sweat, I get panicky...it's very tiring)

Well, I made it there fine and was able to spend a fantastic few hours with Audrey (also got to see Heather, another friend I hadn't seen in ages, and ran into my husbands cousin, Brian!).

I basically just followed her around for the several hours before the show and took photos the entire time. The security was hilariously tight and I felt way too important being escorted around by them as I walked with Audrey and the other artists. I really can't remember anyone's name (sorry guys!) but they were all extremely friendly and no one put up a fuss with my constant snapping of photos.

I'm putting my favorite 15 here in the post, the rest you can view in my Flickr set here: Flickr Set – Audrey Assad in Concert.



These are all from the sound check

concert06


concert19


concert15


concert16


concert12


concert17


concert05


concert01


concert10


concert14


On the tour bus after the meet & greet

concert28


concert29


concert31


Five minutes before going on stage

concert36


concert34


And there you go. Hope you enjoyed them :)

Jan

25

Coco, Steampunkness, & the adorableness of Addison

Filed Under Blog | 4 Comments

1. Last night I made a little homage to Conan and his pompadour. (feel free to share! Just please leave my watermark at the bottom :) )

Viva La Coco




2. I’m currently obsessing over every facet of Steampunk design. If you don’t know what steampunk means, go here, learn, and love: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

One of my new favorite websites is The Steampunk Home and I am coveting so many things from there!

Also would like all of this:


Steampunk 1 by meganlee featuring Ann Demeulemeester jackets





3. My niece, Addison, is staying at my parents house for a few days. I’m over visiting with her this afternoon and so far she has

1. Given herself a timeout for being “whiney and mean”
2. Put herself down for a nap
3. Proclaimed the musty blankets to smell “like grown ups”.

Then “Poppies” came home from work to eat lunch. As soon as he walked in though, Addison took his hand, led him to the other room and made it “play with the dollhouse” time.









And have I mentioned the faces?

Addison



Addison



Addison



Addison




This is her “Megan, can we play with the dollhouse now?” face.

Addison

And this is Addison, just being Addison.

Addison

Jan

22

You are lovely

Filed Under Blog | 1 Comment

Sometimes I am just flat out astonished by your thoughtfulness and generosity and I want to thank you.

Thank you for reading my little blog.

Thank you for every time you encourage me and build me up.

Thank you for every time you share my words with others.

Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts.

Thank you for sharing your time and/or resources with me.

Thank you for caring about me and my life.

Thank you for sticking with me even when I totally ignore blogging for extended periods of time.

Thank you for being lovely.



I also want to thank a few specific people:

Thank you to blog reader Lynn Mixson for the gift certificate to Seven Sisters (given at Christmas in the memory of her mother, Kathryn Mixson). I was extremely touched by her kindness.

Thank you to Joshua Mahn, (a friend for years now, even though we’ve still never met in person!) for the postcard from Japan and the following box of gifts (Japanese art book, Warhol file folder, cupcake card, Osaka aquarium goodies, dinosaur coloring page!) and notes, not just for me, but for my husband. He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.

Thank you to Audrey Assad, a talented and beautiful woman, inside and out (and the first stranger I ever met to say “I know your blog!”). I’m blessed to call her a friend and so glad to have kept in touch over the years, despite rarely getting to see each other! Her completely surprising gifts to Dickblick.com, Netflix, and Seven Sisters we’re beyond generous and had me skipping down the street like a little girl. Just the fact that she even thought to do something so sweet made me feel incredibly loved.

Thank you to Dawn Schreiner for all the kind words about me and my work, and especially for making an incredibly cool art piece from my portrait. I feel so honored to have my face drawn by her, especially when I see that she took the time to include so many of my favorite things in her piece.

And finally, thank you to Tracy from http://sugarcrafter.net for passing the Happy 101 Award to me last week, and to Jane at http://pixnprose.blogspot.com for the Beautiful Blogger Award. I wanted to acknowledge that I received them but am too lazy to write about myself and pass them along to a total of 17 people. Thank you both though, I very much appreciate them!

Jan

21

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Filed Under Breakfast, Desserts | 6 Comments

Basic ingredients, quick preparation, simple flavors, and especially good with a hot cup of tea.


Canon 350D, Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, 1/60th sec at ƒ/2.8, ISO 400




Ingredients:
(makes 12 muffins)

2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
2 large apples (or 3 small) peeled, cored and finely diced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F and grease two muffins tins.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together in a small bowl. In a separate larger bowl, mix together the egg, milk, and oil.

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until combined. Add another 1/3 of the dry and stir; repeat. Use a spatula to fold in the apple pieces.

Fill muffins cups 2/3 full and sprinkle a little white sugar on the top of each. Bake for about 20 minutes.






Canon 350D, Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, 1/40th sec at ƒ/2.8, ISO 400



I’m actually really surprised with how decently these photos turned out. I actually spent the afternoon quite frustrated and thinking that I had wasted my time taking mediocre shots and would have to post some fairly unlovely pictures today.

From the time I started shooting the apples, to baking the muffins, then finally the after-baking shots, I was continually grumpy and frustrated with the process.

I was frustrated that:
the day was overcast and there was poor light.
I don’t have proper lighting.
the studio is over crowded.
I was interrupted several times.
I don’t have faster lenses.
it took me a few weeks to realize my diatropic adjustment was off.
I didn’t fix the above until after all the photos were taken.

Overall, a foul mood and a LOT of dissatisfaction.

Then I realized; it’s not a big deal. There are much larger and more important things happening in the world, I have a lot to work with and a lot to be thankful for, and it’s just not THAT bad!

And so I told myself; Don’t get dissatisfied with limitations – get creative.

So I took my time, moved things around, used the dim window light I had, fiddled with camera settings, and everything turned out OK after all.

Just another reminder to myself that attitude really is everything.




Canon 350D, Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, 1/125th sec at ƒ/2.2, ISO 100





Canon 350D, Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III lens, 180mm, 1/60th sec at ƒ/5.0, ISO 200





Canon 350D, Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens, 1/160th sec at ƒ/1.8, ISO 100

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