Dex hates winter

The subzero temperatures here in Minnesota have easily made my decision to put booties on Dexter when he goes out to go potty. He hates them but has gotten used to them. I'd rather listen to an ornery chiweenie than deal with frostbitten paws. Ugh, we are SO sick of the snow and cold. Spring couldn't get here any sooner.

bell museum of natural history

In October, my mother and I visited the Bell Museum of Natural History. It's located on the U of M campus in Minneapolis. The only reason I even knew about the museum is because my friend told me that his distant relative painted some of the murals in the exhibits. I was eager to check those out.

With only a few small floors to peruse, the museum felt stuffy and collegiate (I mean this in a good way). There was dark wood paneling along the walls, muffling carpet underfoot, and large diorama behind glass windows. It felt like something from an older era.

Within the dioramas, there were several birds, fish, small mammals, and some large mammals. All of which, I believe, are native species to Minnesota. There was a beautiful bald eagle and an impressive male moose there. I was also surprised to see a pack of wolves and a bunch of black bears. Some of the displays were species-specific, and some were scene-specific with multiple species in one diorama. Overall, it was pretty interesting. If you like nature, you'd probably like this museum.

This is a tree painted on glass in front of the background painting. So lovely!

A closer look. Such beautiful brush work.

Beautiful pheasant.

Look at those gorgeous feathers!

I may have liked the background paintings more than the animals.

This was really neat. They suspended the ducks in "water."

The museum did a really nice job of blending the background paintings of the animals
with the actual animals.

I probably would've had more photos of more displays, but I got tired of taking photos and wanted to just look at everything.

There was a kiddo birthday party happening while we were visiting too. Nothing tires you out quicker than a bunch of loud kids and their equally loud shrill-voiced museum guide.

dog fights

When the dogs don't get to go for a walk in the evening, they get a little rowdy. They have to expel some excess energy, especially Dex since he is cooped up all day while I'm away at work. They usually end up fighting (playing, really) more than usual. I attempted to take some photos of their craziness.

First, some serious photos:

Dex, looking out the window. His coat is so odd because he has the spots to be a black and tan, but the black areas are more like grey. Careful with this guy, he sneaks French kisses...

Louie, posing on the zebra rug. He thinks he is the alpha dog and tries to put Dex in his place, but he always ends up jumping in my lap whenever Dex curls a lip at him.

Butt to butt bickering. 

I love the funny faces that showed up with the motion. Louie looks like a strange, blurry cartoon.

Dex looks like a strange, blurry cartoon here.

Fangs! I don't normally allow them to fight on the couch, but I was too preoccupied with the camera.

They got their fighting out of their system for tonight, and are now taking turns chewing up a rawhide bone. While one chews on it, the other stares wistfully at them.

belated obligatory 2012 reflection

In keeping with blog/journal/diary tradition, I am posting about my previous year, since a new one has commenced. Well, 2012 was a big year due to all of the changes that happened. Ever since moving to Minneapolis, life has been moving at a good pace. I'm glad I decided to move here!

I'm not a fan of long-winded paragraphs, so here are the occurrences of note from 2012, in bullets:

• got a design job/left claims job behind
• dropped out of ad school
• won an Andy award with this guy
• moved to a new apartment (and ended up sacrificing a dishwasher for a balcony)
• welcomed two new nieces into our family  (:
• picked up playing piano again
• initiated a search for my birth family (playing the waiting game now)
• went to my first roller derby match! (so much fun!)
• went on my first music video shoot
• traveled to Fargo to be in a friend's wedding
• ate White Castle for the first (and last) time
• made my first book since taking a bookmaking class in college
• got my first paid gig to illustrate
• first discovered and watched all of Six Feet Under

I am a little ashamed to say that my brain is so fuzzy about some things that I had to look at my Facebook timeline to remember 2012. Overall, it was a very productive year. Here's hoping that 2013 will be just as awesome. It's certainly off to a good start. I'm hoping that this year brings more art + design-related opportunities.

Wolfe Park

I recently moved to a new apartment at the end of the summer and Wolfe Park is nearby. This weekend, Louie and I went for a walk around it and took some photos. The weather was beautiful: sunny and not too warm. Overall, this park is amazing, and it beats Loring Park any day. What I love about it is the variety of features - a large grassy hill, an outdoor theatre, a pond and a creek, two play areas for kiddos, and a lovely boardwalk through the woods. There aren't any fountains for Louie to play in (bummer), but he was happy with wandering around in the shallows of the pond.

There is a lovely little green-covered arbor next to the larger playground. Aside from the kiddos playing there, it would be a lovely place to read a book.

A view of the dock that extends into the pond.

Louie, venturing out into the pond. There were a lot of sunnies swimming around.

Lots of ducks in the pond. They swam over to me when we were on the dock. I suspect they're used to getting fed there.

Another view from the path around the pond.

There's a sweet little bubbling inlet from the creek to the pond.

Lovely tree.

View of the wooden boardwalk through the woods that wraps around the pond.

View of the pond from the boardwalk, through the trees. Feels like you're up north somewhere, rather than in the busy metro.

A happy dog after an hour of wandering around the park.

adios, loring park

Today is my last day in this (my first Minneapolis) apartment. It's been a great run here in Loring Park, but I'm looking forward to a new apartment and a better street parking situation. I think what I will miss most about this neighborhood is the park itself. It's such a friendly, well-maintained bit of greenery and a nice visual break from the angular downtown skyline. Luckily, my new apartment is also very close to a large park. Louie will be happy about that.

I took a walk the other day to take photos of some things around the neighborhood that I want to remember. Naturally, it was one of the hotter, humid days - summer is leaving the city with a vengeance!

The custom "Loring Park" neighborhood street signs.

The view of the downtown skyline from the doggy poop area next to the apartment building.

The lovely eastern sunshine from the bedroom windows. My plants will be in mourning.

The little ramshackle garden of a neighboring building.

The gorgeous yellow brick mansion on the corner (complete with rooftop deck!).

The geometric topiary garden a few blocks away.

The dandelion-like fountain in Loring Park.

Louie will miss the dandelion fountain too.

The lovely little circular garden in Loring Park.

The walking bridge across Lyndale & Hennepin that connects Loring Park to the Sculpture Garden.

My Labor Day weekend will be comprised of carrying furniture and boxes up 3 flights of stairs, unpacking boxes, and getting acquainted with a new 'hood. My plans aren't quite up to par with, say, going to a remote cabin for some R&R, but by the end of the weekend, I hope to have a great sense of accomplishment and lots of empty boxes!

ashley barlow, artist

As mentioned in a previous post, I happily went to the Uptown Art Fair a few weekends ago, and was impressed by many of the artists and artisans that were there. Here's another artist that caught my eye.

Ashley Barlow creates these fun, quirky collages with materials from old magazines and other mixed media. I think a lot of her collages have these interesting narratives within them that are open to interpretation. The placement of the human figures and their surroundings all tell a story. She uses bright colors and textures to help make the compositions pop. I especially like that the collages feel really casual and simple (but as we all know, 'simple' is really hard to do!). I bought a print of one of her collages, and am waiting to get a nice frame for it (You can check out her Etsy shop here). And as always, I'm happy to support handmade! :)

Here are a few samples of her work:

All images are the property of Ashley Barlow.

nicole houff, photographer

I went to the Loring Park Art Festival and the Uptown Art Fair last weekend, and was pleasantly surprised at the variety of art there. I was also glad to realize that a lot of it was actually what I would define as 'art.' I've been to many craft sales and 'art fairs' in my life and I'm used to seeing more crafty stuff like outdoorsy wall hangings with phrases about fishing and knitted cozies. So, kudos, vendors and artists at the art fairs last weekend - you done good.

One artist who caught my eye was photographer, Nicole Houff. She had some cheeky photos of Barbie dolls. They are so much more fun than photos of sunsets and streams caught in motion! I like that she infuses some humor and sarcasm into her work, especially with Barbie dolls (I loved Barbies as a kiddo).

You can see more work and buy prints from her Etsy store. I purchased one of her prints and am happy to support a local artist and the handmade market!

Here are a few of her photos:

"Oktoberfest Barbie"

"Cowboy Ken"

"Dirty Laundry Barbie"

All photos are the property of Nicole Houff.

Purcell-Cutts House

Last week I visited the Purcell-Cutts house with the fam. It's a sweet little Prairie School house available for tours through the MIA near Lake of the Isles.

Great curb appeal.

Beautiful mural over the hearth.

Intricate wood design by George Elmslie.

"Gray Days & Gold"

The formal area of the house. It's very open.

Art glass "Peek a Boo" in the doorway.

Sweet little kid's bed.

We had to wear booties inside the house. The MIA treats it as a museum.

Cool stencil work.