Favorite Picture Books of 2012

Hello, friends! As usual, it's been a while and I am a bad blogger. BUT since it's almost the end of the year (can you believe it?!) and it's Picture Book Month (yay!), I thought I would share some my favorites that were published in 2012. What are yours? I would love to know!

 And Then It's Spring, written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, published by Roaring Brook Press
-A little boy and his dog, (turtle and rabbit, too!) plant some seeds and eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring. This simple story is made wonderful by the illustrations and muted color palette.

 Sweet Dreams, written by Rose A. Lewis and illustrated by Jen Corace, published by Abrams Books
-Oh, how I love Jen Corace's illustrations! This is just such a lovely rhyming bedtime story.

 Olivia the Fairy Princess, written and illustrated by Ian Faconer, published by Atheneum
-Now you could argue that Olivia has become a bit a franchise, but I still love the books. The latest is one of my favorites, simply because Olivia, like myself, is sick of princesses! She has a bit of an identity crisis in this story because she doesn't want to be ordinary, she wants to stand out! Follow her humorous journey to answer that question in this quirky book.

 More, written by I. C. Springman, illustrated by Brian Lies, published by Houghton Mifflin
-Goodness, I love this book about a magpie who collects too much stuff and his little mice friends show him how less can be more.

 The Insomniacs, written by Karina Wolf, illustrated by The Brothers Hilts, published by Putnam
-A fabulous story of a family that moves twelve time zones away for a new job and has trouble adopting to the time change. They discover a whole new world at night when they are unable to sleep, and eventually find beauty in their new schedule. This book channels Charles Addams and Edward Gorey which is probably why I like it so very much.

The Mastery of Alvin & Elaine Lustig

This afternoon I wandered over to the gallery at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul to check out a fabulous exhibit filled with the work of Alvin and Elaine Lustig. There were almost 500 book, album and magazine covers designed by the amazing couple.

Alvin Lustig accomplished so much in his short life, he died at the young age of forty due to complications with diabetes. He lost his vision towards the end of his life and his wife basically became his eyes, as he would dictate his design ideas to her and she would execute them.

I need to go back again to fully soak in all of the design goodness, and I must order this book asap. If you like books, design or anything from the mid-century era, I highly recommend this exhibit! 

 

 

It's Almost the Weekend!

And I hope I have time to read piles of books. Happy (almost) Friday! What will you be reading this weekend?

Image from Kate Spade 
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Weekend Reading

With the long weekend in front of me, I am looking forward to making a dent in my massive TBR pile. Here are a few of the selections I will be reading over this final weekend of summer.

1. Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo, illustrated by Julia Denos
I bought this not only because I love Audrey Hepburn, but I adore the work of Julia Denos. I highly recommend her blog, The Cinnamon Rabbit. It's interesting that a children's book was published about Ms. Audrey in 2011, but I guess she is just a timeless lady!

2. Scripts, Elegant Lettering From Design's Golden Age by Steven Heller and Louise Fili
Talk about a power couple! Steven Heller is the author of over 130 design books, the co-chair of the design MFA program at the School of Visual Arts AND a columnist for The New York Times Book Review. His blog, The Daily Heller is full of all kinds of conversations about design.
Louise Fili is known for her beautiful typography, restaurant design and love of Italy. Her work is simply stunning.

3. bon appetit magazine because the recipes always look delish and the photography is fabulous. What's not to love?!

4. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
After a fantastic, unforgettable meal at his restaurant while I was in NYC, I had to move this one up on my to-read list.

What will you be reading this weekend? Happy Friday!

Inspiration: Little Golden Book Gown

Have you seen this? A friend sent me the link today and I just couldn't stop looking at the photos. Isn't this dress by Ryan Novelline, made entirely of recycled Little Golden Books amazing? The final product is incredible, but I find the process photos the most fascinating. Check out all of the photos here.

All photos from the website of Ryan Novelline

On My Bookshelf: 100 Years of Fashion Illustration

I love this book, LOVE it. It has so many beautiful images, I could have scanned them all. It's so interesting to see how the fashions and illustration style have transformed through time.

100 Years of Fashion Illustration, compiled by Cally Beackman. Laurence King Publishing, 2007

1911-Fabulous color palette

1966-I wish I could dress like this!

1949-Love all the yellow!

1951-Fantastic lines

1949-I love the details in the dress.

1953-Bright pink and black, what a wonderful combination!

1969-I love this style, it reminds me of vintage Barbie illustrations.

Covers: Redesigned

My edition of Betsy & Tacy, around 1968

I was a big fan of the Betsy and Tacy stories when I was young, and it's been many years since I have re-visited them. While trolling the internet earlier today I found that HarperCollins will be re-releasing the high school Betsy stories in October of this year. Since the first book was published in 1940, the covers have gone through many changes with the times.

This edition came out in 1993

One of the originals, from 1947

Covers from Harper Collins re-release in October, 2009

After so many different looks, (I left out some of the worst) I am glad to see that they returned to the original illustrations and went with a simple, yet elegant frame around the title. I think the colors work well and keep the books feeling a bit vintage, but updated in all of the right ways. Hopefully this re-release will spark some new interest in these sweet little stories!

All images from Amazon & HarperCollins Catalog

I dream of...

A counter like this! Maybe there is a use for all of those books that are piling up around my living room?!?

Found via Apartment Therapy

Giddy Exhaustion

I got to attend my first ever book convention, the International Reading Association (IRA), for an all too short two hours today. And for a book geek like myself, it was pretty amazing. My tote bag was bursting (literally, it broke on the way out) with goodies. I now have an overwhelming stack of Advance Reading Copies on my coffee table, was able to purchase the two books above at a reduced price and get an author's signature in a book I have been waiting to read for months (After Tupac and D Foster).

But most importantly, this whole experience reminded me how lucky I am to work, make and be around books every single day. Right now, I am doing something that I love and I still can't really believe it-pretty cheesy right? Right.

On My Nightstand

I recently began subscribing to some fantastic cooking blogs. I get lured in by the gorgeous, mouth watering photography and amazingly complex recipes that I vow to someday create (riiiight). I do love to cook, although lately with my schedule I been relying heavily on frozen pizza and the like (so horrible I know!).

I can't remember exactly how I came across this book but after clicking around, I found multiple bloggers who gave it rave reviews. I became intrigued and as I read more I found out that the author has her own blog, Orangette. So I began to read, and I really fell in love with her writing style.

Jump to later in the day while browsing at Barnes and Noble and I see one last copy of said book sitting on the "New Fiction" table. I am SO tempted. I try so hard to limit my hardcover purchases to Amazon, but it's been a while since I have had a really good read so I splurged and picked it up. I am only about 50 pages in but I can already tell it's going to be a keeper. So let me go out on a limb and say, even though I have yet to finish the book, that if you are at all interested in cooking and how it relates to who we are/who we become, then consider adding this book to your wishlist.

Kat Macleod

While browsing Design Dust this evening I came across the work of Kat Macleod. I heart her work so much! I really want to incorporate more textures and pattern into my illustrations and her work so inspiring. Oh my!

And I added this book to my Amazon wish list, (it's getting dangerously long!) because it looks fantastic. The title? So clever! It comes out in April and you had better believe it will be one of my birthday wishes.

Retro Eye Candy

This weekend I was the lucky recipient of some great stuff from days gone by. Although there was some coaxing involved, I finally convinced my mom to part with some cookbooks that I have had my eye since I was quite small. The Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cookbook was my 1st cookbook, and my mom's too, so it's quite special. This little gem is fantastic, and here are some reasons why:

A recipe for hot dogs-6 franks, 6 buns and butter-does it get any better? Simple and classic.

Even at a very young age I quickly learned from mom that the best way to remember a recipe (good or bad) is to make a small note on the page detailing the outcome of the meal...

Note my remarks on this dish in the upper left hand corner. Please keep this in mind if you ever consider making this dessert.


Another favorite when I was young was the Pillsbury Bake Off Cake Cook Book. While not quite the vintage gem of the Junior Better Homes and Gardens, it's still a goodie. I love the photography, everything looks so calorie laden and fantastic. My favorite photo (then and now) below:

Don't those cupcakes look divine? Yum!

And my final score, while not cooking related, is a good one. We were going through M's Grandmother's belongings (she passed away years ago) and I was given, among other things some fantastic records. This one is my favorite:

I chose it solely for the cover-the couple, the outfits, the champagne, the rug? Fantastic. I need to find a good place to display this beauty. I also claimed Abba's Super Trooper, The Footloose Soundtrack, and Cyndi Lauper-the album with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time. All on vinyl-yes! One could say it quite a good weekend...

Things I am loving this weekend.

1. London Fog Tea Latte from Starbucks. As a lover of both lattes and teas, this seemed to be a perfect drink for me. The fact that I had a free coupon made it even better. I tried the London Fog (Earl Grey with a bit of water, steamed milk, a dash of vanilla and foam), it was quite delish and I would most likely order this little delight again.

2. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. I picked this up from the library today after being on the wait list forever. I am only a couple of chapters in, but it's very interesting so far. I needed something to balance out all of the Teen Fiction that I have been reading lately and this might just do the trick. It was the winner of the 2008 Man Booker prize so that's good right? Plus, I am always a sucker for a great cover!

3. Scrambled Egg and Cheese Breakfast Pitas. We are always in search of the perfect breakfast sandwich and wish sometimes that we lived in NYC for this reason alone. The best way to start a weekend morning is with a savory bagel filled with a fried egg, cheese and other goodies. Said sandwiches are quite difficult to find in our neck of the Midwest, however we came close this morning. We have loved Shish Cafe for quite some time (their falafel wrap is fantastic) and discovered today that they are now serving breakfast. Pitas filled with eggs and cheese for $3.95-what could be better?

4. Long walks with friends. When the weather gets warmer and here that means any time the temperature hovers above 30 degrees, I love venturing outside with a close girlfriend or two and walking all over town. The best sign that spring is on it's way? Being able to wear wellies for the first time since fall!

5. Viva La Vida by Coldplay. I have been listening to this album for a while now, but lately it's been at the top of my ipod playlist. Strawberry Swing is quite possibly my favorite Coldplay song of all time.

Lame post I know, but it's been a very long week.

This past weekend I finished two E. Lockhart books, The Boy Book (sequel to The Boyfriend List) and Fly on the Wall. I loved the Boy Book, another great Ruby Oliver novel. E. Lockhart captures teen angst so well! Often while reading I would think, "that's exactly how I felt in high school!" I could relate to her characters, and while it was somewhat uncomfortable to revisit those awkward moments from my past, it was so worth it for the good read.

Fly on the Wall was not a favorite of mine. While the idea was grand, the story lacked many things and I found myself kind of rushing through the book just so I could be finished. I won't say specifically why I was disappointed by this book here and now, because it would get long winded and boring. I don't want to turn away the few blog readers I do have just quite yet.

Anyway, I wanted to post all of the Ruby Oliver covers together because they are so fantastic design-wise. While purusing E. Lockhart's blog, I stumbled upon something exciting-she will releasing a third Ruby Oliver book this summer-yay! I think this cover for The Treasure Map of Boys is the best one yet. So fun. The book will be out July 28th and I can't wait!

I am now reading Edgar Sawtelle, yes I know it's an Oprah pick. Don't hate me, she picks good books sometimes.

In other news, I am working on some exciting projects but cannot share them just quite yet so stay tuned!

Winter Blues.

I just got back from yoga and while I feel a bit more centered, my life is totally off balance. The weather (it is currently a balmy -7 degrees) has totally taken me down-you win okay? My week has been a bit nutty-as in my normally 30 minute commute has been turned into 1-2 hour ordeal. Fortunately, I have an excellent co-pilot/driver which always helps. However, all of this has thrown me off my game and when I finally get home, I just want to crawl in bed never to be seen again.

There are a few things that keep me going-in no particular order-Yoga, Wine, new episodes of Gossip Girl, old episodes of The Office (Dwight anyone?) and books. Lots and lots of books.

So for lack of a better post, here is what I am currently trying to read my way through (I know, I know, I just did a book related post but hang on, I promise more design is coming!).


If you have yet not read The Boyfriend List, I highly recommend that you do because it's fantastic. I just picked up The Boy Book by the same author which is supposedly the continuation of The Boyfriend List. And can I just say how I love the covers of these books-the frog and the penguin-does it get any better? Perhaps, but these are pretty great. Also by E. Lockhart is Fly on the Wall, and the plot sounds promising .

At the recommendation of Look At That Book, is The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett which I am eager to start. And finally, there is Rumors, part of the Luxe series, which has been my reading candy as of late.

I promise I will get down to the real business of this blog soon, as there are projects in the works, inspiration to be found and many more Illustration Friday's in which I will participate.

So hang tight internet friends, things are about to get interesting!