GIVE THANKS - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, it's a reminder of all that I have been blessed with. Beyond anything I am so thankful for my kiddos, Wyeth and Penelope. They make every day an adventure and I can't even imagine how my life was before these two special people. I'm so proud to be called a mom because of them and I am so happy of our little family. For my boyfriend Josh, who is an amazing guy. I love him so much and his love for me and my kiddos is beyond anything I could have imagined. I am thankful for my family, my parents, my brothers, cousins and other relatives both near and far. For my kiddos dad Ben and his family, who play an important part in my kids life. I am thankful for being able to draw and create with my hands, and for the other talents I have been blessed with. For clean water, food in our bellies, a home over our head, my job, my health an so much more. There is so much to be thankful for, what is something you are thankful for this holiday season?   

Kiddo thankful notes below:
Thankful for - Penny, Luna (our cat), Family, Turkey, Wyeth, Mom, Candy, Dad, Josh, Jessie (school friend) - Penny age 4.5
Thankful for - Dad, Mom, Family, TV, Luna, Toys - Wyeth age 6.5

COLOR PALETTE 63 : NATALIE FOSS

Lovely illustration and color palette by Norway based artist Natalie Foss. To see more of her beautiful work, please link below. Happy weekend, hope you're getting in some much needed relaxing an gearing up for Turkey day this week!

MORE WORK BY NATALIE FOSS

FOOD : CHICKEN AVOCADO BURGERS

We are always looking for healthy food options and these chicken avocado burgers were great! They were healthy, quick an easy to make an super tasty, plus paired with the sweet potato fries was an overall yummy meal. Hope you enjoy them too.

 
INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground chicken
1 large ripe avocado - cut into chunks
1/2 cup panko crumbs or other bread crumbs
1 chopped clove of garlic salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Toss the chunks of avocado, breading and garlic together. Blend (I used my hands) mixture into ground chicken being careful not to mush the avocado. Form into 6 small patties and grill until done. We used the Foreman grill an cooked them for approx. 8-10 minutes, an we served ours with sweet potato french fries.
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RECIPE courtesy of Laughing Spatula
PHOTO courtesy of J.Dusel

WHERE'S THERE 11 : MOROCCO

The architecture and great details of the Ben Yusuf Madersa, which was once a school, showcases the beauty and true reflection of the Moroccan art. The structure is now a museum and available for tours. How lovely is this though. If you google the name you will see more photos of the ornante detailing of this place. Have you been here to se it for yourself?


IMAGE CREDIT

ARTIST // APAK STUDIO

Do you know of the husband an wife duo knows as Apak Studio? I would hope so, but if not Aaron & Ayumi Piland are the talented artist behind the work featured today. Their mystical creations, painted from colorful gouache & acrylics explore a utopian land all their own. I love their little characters, which in their more recent works I love how it slightly depicts their little family of 3. To cute! See more of their amazing work by popping over to their studio, an shop below. Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!

APAK STUDIO

WEBSITE  //  SHOP  //  INSTAGRAM USER >> @APAKSTUDIO

 

RACHAEL LUST / 2014 HOOPER OF THE YEAR / GROOVE VIDEO

So tell me you've seen this girl, Rachael Lust. A friend recently shared a link to her online and well, if you haven't seen her, you need to watch the video below. This 26 year old mama is the 2014 Hooper of the year. It sounds silly thinking about hula hooping as a child, which I was horrible at and then seeing something like this girls talents. I am kinda in awe and maybe have watched this video more than a far share of times, but it's quite impressive to say the least. Who knew a plastic hula hoop, the right moves and some dedication could result in this. Enjoy & Happy Friday!


RACHAEL LUST
via YOUTUBE  /  FACEBOOK

*Music in video is "Groove" by Oiki

COLOR PALETTE 62 : COCO ESCRIBANO

Loving this illustration and color palette thanks to artist, Coco Escribano. To see more work by Coco, please click on the link below. Enjoy!

IMAGE SOURCE

#SANDIDOODLES / FLOWERS ARE ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA

I've been working on exploring my own hand lettering. An though, by no means, am I a professional calligrapher, I still like to dabble in the arts of lettering. I see it as a challenge, and personally for me, it's another form of illustration, which is what my background is in. It's shapes, lines, thick and thin markings, all things make up a completed illustration. I like using pens, though they can be a bit scary an unforgiving some, this way I can't erase errors an have to force myself to continue practicing. I go through a bit of paper this way, but it's worth the continued efforts. I've found picking words or quotes is a good place to start so like others I've done this was a recent one from a few nights prior. To see more of my work there are a few links below or come visit me on IG an peek thru my work under the hashtag #sandidoodles. Enjoy! :)

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More doodles and artwork via Pinterest >> HERE 
More #sandidoodles via IG (Instgram) >> HERE
Doodles shared on my prior blog (AdaLou) >> HERE

ARTIST // DAN MORA

I'm really loving these illustrations by character artists & designer, Dan Mora. His digital creations are beyond outstanding and the fine detailing is unreal. The rendering on the batman piece below showcases some of talents, but this is just a small offering of his work an his other illustrations also wow me. Please click on the link below to view more of Dan's portfolio. Enjoy!


DAN MORA >> VISIT HIS PERSONAL SITE 

WHERE'S THERE 10 : NEW YORK

So we got to pass thru New York for a day an a night this Summer. An from what I remember it was beautiful. We did a lot in a short time frame an only were in Brooklyn but it seemed like it had so much more to offer, and I would love to explore it more. Someday I'll go back to peek around a bit. Do you live in NY or have visited there before? What was your favorite must see while there? Happy mid week, sweet friends!

IMAGE CREDIT : PHOTO BY MARK TIERNEY