a tail tale

Max spends most of his time these days chasing The Beagle's tail. 

Poor Beagle hasn't had a break.

 

conversations with claire

This past weekend we were so happy to have our friends Claire and Matt [who recently moved to DC] stay with us. Saturday was really one of the best days we've had in a long, long time as all we did was catch-up and lounge around.

Claire and Edgar have one of those special friendships where they love to give each other a hard time. For that reason, despite the fact we ALL talked non-stop this weekend, Edgar chose to, uh, highlight Claire's share of the conversation in his journal. Note a few bubbles have been emptied to protect the innocent :)

diagram of an italian dinner

One of the things that I appreciate the most about Italian cuisine is the freshness of the food and the slow pace at which the dining experience moves along. But, after dealing with delayed and long international flights, the last thing you may want to do is to take your time at the dinner table... you just want to crash. After traveling for almost 24 hours, I decided to dine at the hotel before catching up on sleep in my room. I'm pretty certain dinner took nearly 2.5 hours and I believe this is what may have happened...

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.

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".

note to self: chichi

to the boys

After putting the babies to bed, we've been spending many of our evenings in the shop working on a special memory box for our family. Here's a glimpse into our process.

the basketball diaries

Tuesday: Louie and I got our butts kicked playing basketball at the Rec Center.

Wednesday: Prepared and seeking revenge, we returned to the Rec Center, only to find the court was already reserved for a dog-training class. Bummer.

getting to know max + miles

Our boys may not be able to talk yet, but in their first five weeks we've gotten to know their body language quite well...especially in the middle of the night.

This is a cheat sheet we've set up for future babysitters in an effort to help them better decipher and respond to the boys' ever-changing moods. Good luck there!

Click HERE to see a larger version.

roots

Suzanne and I watched Roots this past winter. I was deeply touched by the scene in the movie where Omoro Kinte raises his baby Kunta Kinte in the starriest night and says: "Behold... the only thing greater than yourself."

No way I could ever do that with two... only if I grab them by the legs I guess.

pokey grows up and out

Scattered throughout our studio on tiny bits of paper are Edgar's attempts to give Pokey a makeover. You see, Pokey has had the same cartoon persona for quite some time...but as he ages [and grows more three-dimensional in the process] we think so should his look on paper. This incarnation, in particular, is from last week when Pokey wasn't feeling so hot. Poor beagle.

royal wedding at reilly's

Oh well...since Reilly was not able to see the Royal Wedding in person, she decided to have the girls over and have a Royal Wedding Party. She was very meticulous about all the arrangements and details of her party that morning, but it seems Ally Mae (our neighbor's dog) did not meet Reilly's dress code.

By the way, only 4 Royal Wedding Hat Prints left!

sketchworthy service : cole @ wal-mart #3658

It's sad to say, but it isn't all that often you leave a big box store these days saying, "Wow, that was some incredible customer service!" Saturday we experienced the exception to this rule. While looking at goldfish in Wal-Mart, we were greeted by Cole, as sales-associate who was both very knowledgeable about fish [thank goodness or we'd have some belly-up] and extremely courteous. Cole took his time answering our many questions and made sure we had everything we needed to prep our new tank prior to leaving the store. He seemed personally invested in the success of our new project. A very refreshing experience!

About this series : Having both spent our fair share of time employed in customer service, we really value meeting people working with the public who seem to genuinely care about their jobs and the people they come in contact with. We find that it's these individuals, not necessarily their products, that make us repeat customers. Occasionally we highlight these fine folks as we encounter them, believing excellent work should be noted, valued and appreciated.

sketchworthy service: jeremy @ new garden nursery

For quite some time I've wanted to purchase a couple of Dwarf English Boxwoods for our yard. A few weeks ago I visited New Garden Landscaping and Nursery and, much to my surprise, all the shrubs were half-off...bingo! [I was probably the only person looking for plants in the middle of winter, but that's besides the point.]

As I searched the nursery in the bitter cold, Jeremy Warren stopped what he was working on and asked if I needed any help finding anything. I asked his advice on how to take care of my new shrubs and could tell he took pleasure talking about the plants. And, because he noticed how much I liked my little shrubs, he took time to show me another stash of english boxwoods under a tarp and picked the ones he thought looked good.

This all sounds like a pretty good customer service, but Jeremy went above and beyond. When he asked “Is there anything else I can help you with?” he showed true sincerity. Not only was he glad to help me, he wanted to make sure I had all the information I needed before heading home.

Jeremy made me feel welcome…as if I was in my own yard. What a cool guy!

Learn more about this series here.

what makes a celebrity cool?

I have never been too much into celebrities and their whereabouts, period.

I guess this is because I perceive many celebrities to lack the quality that I most appreciate and admire in a person: humbleness. There are, however, a few famous folks who have gained my respect and admiration...not simply for their skills and accomplishments, but for the amazing down-to-earth humility that characterizes their personalities.

Sir Anthony Hopkins, Miguel Bosé and Chris Martin are among my favorites. I wish I could meet them sometime over a couple of beers and confirm my suspicions.

How about you? Who would you like to share a drink with? Why?

your thoughts matter

We are really excited by the increasing amount of comments we've received in the past few weeks. It's thrilling to see all the different places these thoughts come from, the diversity of perspectives and the ways in which ideas sometimes overlap.

We recognize a blog is nothing without its readers. We appreciate you and encourage you to always share your thoughts. They keep us inspired!