Hello New Job!

 

What a summer. I got a job!!!! So I've said goodbye to my old job with Numéro in the warehouse district of Peoria and hello to a design position with Blick Art Materials in Galesburg. As much as I enjoyed my old job, I'm adjusting nicely to the security, plus the 401K and benefits aren't too shabby either. I'm proud to work for a company that supports artists, and products I can truly get behind. I've got some more writing and illustration projects which I will post on soon. What exciting things happened to you this summer?

Impromptu Life and Luna Moth Wings

 

Lately I've been taking a breather and planning my work schedule as I see fit, which has been a bit nice to say the least. I went for a short nature walk on my parents' farm and found this tattered luna moth wing. A luna moth features prominently in one of my stories and they seem so other worldly to me.

 

While working at home my mom showed up on my doorstep and offered to take me to get a haircut, lunch and a little impromptu thrifting. How could I refuse, we went to two of our usual jaunts and they did not disappoint. All in all I think I spent under $12. You can see all my wears in my Etsy shop! coleblk.etsy.com

 

I even found this, its from the 40s or 50s, the backing is a butterfly wing and the the glass is painted on the inside with an island scene.

Thrift Stores Are the Bacon of Shopping...

Sorry for my absence, my cousin Carrie and I went on a thrifting road trip and it did not disappoint. We laughed our way through Springfield, the Quad Cities, and Galesburg, IL. We were led on some wild goose chases and experienced lots of bargains, screaming babies, chatty hotel neighbors, one man motorcycle wheelie popping fist pumping shows, PMS ice cream outings, Gumbo Ya-Ya, would-be yogurt bandits, singing horrible 90s music, Bad Girl Video and Fat Cat's Tattoo lounge, a license plate that said WHO AM U, drive-in movies, paying in pennies, forgetting to eat lunch, and Willy Wonka saying "tell me how you're going to try and eat a salad." It was a magical journey.

  

The Sangamon Antique Mall in Springfield, lotsa junking fun.

The Route 66 Drive-In, I highly recommend this!! We saw Fast & Furious 6 (bleh) and Star Trek Into Darkness (woohoo!!!!)

 

Coasting through small towns scouting out garage sales, that is the best way to get deals.

 

Totally misleading, don't always trust the signs, they had a wooden tv table painted like a watermelon for $20. No thank you! Where's the quarter table?!? 

 

Oh heck yeah, ice cream, cures everything...except diabetes.

 

My haul! Lots of fun treasures! I've already listed some in my shop, coleblk.etsy.com. If you want to check out some of Carrie's treasures, check out swankyladyvintage.etsy.com. 

Always remember: "Thrift stores are the BACON of shopping, antique stores are the STEAK!"

Memorable Days

 

It's been a doozy of a month, for those of you who do not know, I was laid off from my job a few weeks ago and Numéro magazine is coming to a close after 7 years. It's sad to see it go, I've been through several waves of emotion over the last few weeks but overall I'm excited for what lies ahead, but I wouldn't have traded all of the priceless experience and relationships that I've formed over my time there. I updated my portfolio site, check it out!! www.NicoleBlackburn.com. This past weekend Carrie and I from Swanky Lady Vintage did some trip planning for our ultimate thrifting road trip coming up next week! I made yet another recipe from the orange book, Tuna and Artichoke pasta  - seriously delicious, and Carrie made nutty hummus! 

 

Memorial Day I woke up early and joined my dad for Mass in old St. Patrick's Cemetery, the oldest still in use Catholic church in Illinois. Very small but very cool. Our hearts go out to all those who have lived and died for our spiritual and physical freedoms! Dad also surprised me and took me for breakfast at the Jubilee Cafe where most of the patrons have white hair and the waitress has teased hair and long fake nails and there's a case of pies when you walk in the door.

 

It has been the wettest year, storming or deluging every day for like a week and there's more to come. But the flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping like crazy. Mom had me down for dinner and cooked corn on the cob, burgers, potatoes and deviled eggs! 

Life Lately

 

The weather has been gorgeous, this weekend I took a nap with the windows open. Ah bliss. You need to take a step back once in a while and just enjoy the day. I've been so busy lately with design projects and branding that it was nice to step away from the computer a bit over the weekend. 

 

My best friend Liz graduated from nursing school and had a graduation party on her and her fiancé's farm, so picturesque. I'm so stinking proud of her!

 

Star Trek Into Darkness opened and my friend Becky and I went to the midnight showing on Wednesday. Holy cow! I wanna see it ten more times. I could write a term paper here about it but I will spare my non-Trek readers from that. All I can say is that you definitely don't have to be a hard core fan to enjoy it but if you are there are so many little things that they threw in there for us. And I kinda want to kidnap Benedict Cumberbatch and hide him in my dreams. He's such a fantastic actor I could go on and on and on...

 

Somedays you just gotta watch Sherlock and eat ice cream. 

Oh man. Siamese Cats and Peanut Noodles

"Oh man." Those were the only words that came out of my mouth in between stuffing it with this dish. Spicy Chinese Peanut noodles. This recipe is super easy and amazingly delicious (another recipe from the orange book, thank you Renee). I ended up making this for dinner because I saw a bottle of cider vinegar in my cabinet and couldn't remember what I bought it for. Then I saw the peanut butter and pasta and my memory miraculously returned. And it contains garlic and cilantro, any argument against this dish is invalid...if you have a peanut allergy just skip this post. Also if you are distracted by the two felines, you should be because they are cute. But don't get too attached, they just sold this week and are destined to become a Mother's Day gift for someone in North Dakota! Happy Friday.

Sharks, Salmon, and Spiced Carrots

 

Saturday I had an impromptu visit to Goodwill where I picked up this 99 cent treasure. Jaws is one of my favorite movies and I could not resist this tourist trap impulse buy. I will be using it for eating ice cream...yes I eat ice cream from cups and mugs. Unlike bowls, mugs have handles so your fingers do not freeze off while trying to enjoy your creamy load of fantasticness.

 

Tonight I tried a new way of cooking salmon, it was good but not great. Even in a sealed foil packet the salmon was drier than usual. I may try to make some sort of salmon spread that I found on foodily to rescue the leftovers.

 

To accompany the salmon I made spiced sautéed carrots; they were better than the salmon and had an unexpected flavor. Spiced with cumin and cinnamon, they were smoky and mildly sweet, I may add a touch more salt and garlic the next time around. They were very light on the oil. I'm all about adding more vegetables to my diet, especially carrots. What is your favorite vegetable recipe? Please share it and perhaps I will try it and feature it!