illustratoroflittlethings

[illustratoroflittlethings]

Just that!

[illustratoroflittlethings]

Wednesdays are for remembering old travels, faraway places, sweet memories. To take a little break from the mid-week, the mid-month, the gray winter. Wednesdays are for keeping sunshine alive. Wednesdays are for looking at old sketchbooks to travel through time.

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I wish I could just read all weekend, but there are other things to do. Some fun, some not so much.

Regardless, it is nice that the madness of school morning schedule does not dictate the weekend mornings. The cats still wake me up at the same time, but I can linger...

The illustration is a true reading list of mine. I have a bad habit of buying books that I want to read, instead of making a list. In some ways, it is a great motivation for me who loves minimalism and order!

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I wish you a wonderful new year of the rabbit where you have space to dream! This year is supposed to be a gentle and patient, will have room for rest and reflection. I hope that you will have time for these.

The Chinese Lunar New Year does not start till January 23rd, 2023. So, I am a little premature to celebrate it, but I am very excited for it. The Chinese Zodiac is made up of twelve signs, but different from the Western Zodiac, the signs cycle through the years, not months. The Chinese astrology also has five elements (Water, Metal, Wood, Earth and Fire) for each year, so the combinations of sign and element are different every year. 2023 is the Water Rabbit Year and the water represents sensitivity, intuition and inner peace.

I was born on the year of rabbit and have special fondness for it. I truly can not wait for this gentle year.

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Since we came out of the pandemic lockdown and started adding more and more of what we used to do back to our daily lives, time started running faster for me. Turns out, the introvert in me was really enjoying the quiet time… How do you feel?

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.Another iconic food duo from Turkey. Raki, the national Turkish anise flavored drink, and fish. Turkey, being a peninsula, has a strong seafood culture, at least for the regions that are by the sea. A fish meal would start with many small appetizers - meze, go on to the main fish, and finish with delicious dessert and fruit options. I love every part of this meal. A little bit of this and that with meze, the simple but amazing whole grilled fish with some arugula, onion and lemon, and the desserts that are different at each restaurant or home. Of course, raki is a big part of the fish meal, for me. This almost sweet, grape and anise based drink is consumed in an unusual way. You need two glasses. One is for plain water. The other has half raki, half water, which is when this clear liquid turns into cloudy white, dubbed lion’s milk! You take a sip of the raki and then a sip of the water. If you are doing it right, you are not supposed to have a hangover the next day. At least, not much. Raki is a controversial topic in Turkey. After years of monopoly and having one brand, with the privatization of the state owned production company, there are many brands and a lot of taxes. Along with the inflation, it became a luxury item.

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The classic combination of Turkish tea and simit! Turkish tea is often a variety of black tea from the Black Sea region in the north. It is consumed especially at breakfast, but then throughout the day, too. At social gatherings, small shops, offices, tea houses, tea gardens… Turkish simit is a baked good similar to the American bagel. There could be regional differences but the Ankara (where I am from) simit has a crispy crust and sesame seeds on top. The contrast of the chewy crust and the soft inside makes each bite very, very inviting!

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This sweet faced antique doll was at the Victoria and Albert Museum’s fashion section. (I love a good puffy sleeve.)

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Summary of a quick visit to London…

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love the negative space on this color test!

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Weekend was a lot of me time. Repotting baby plants, drawing them, watching tennis (go Nadal!), having coffee with a friend, eating the decadent food that my girls were making. A lot of cat time. Weekend well spent. How was yours?

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Poem number 2.

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Recently, the kitchen provisions have been very inspiring… 🍊

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A sweet little midweek illustration to lighten up the day.

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Starting the new year with a mini collaboration. My 12 year old wrote a poem in class on 13 ways to think about flowers. I did little doodles next to some…

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How pretty is the architecture of this church in Lindsborg?! For @midwestlivingmag

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A little vignette for the St Lucia festival of Lindborg, KS. For @midwestlivingmag