"New home" cake

I made this cake for a friend who just moved into a new home. Though it's called the "Yellow Birthday cake" from Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook and famous Boston-based Flour Bakery, I thought it was perfect for this special occasion. It's very easy to make and the frosting is terrific to work with. Plus, it tastes delicious.

Knitted bulldogs

For Christmas, I knitted bulldogs for my three girls. The pattern came from Knit Your Own Dog by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne. The book has some great-looking "pedigree pooches" that you can make. The toughest part of the project was putting the dogs together, especially I think, because of their funny faces (check out the authors' blog for some extra help in sewing up the bulldogs). I like the way they came out—each one a little different from the other even though I followed the same pattern.

Merry Christmas

A bird in my studio

I recently found this birdcage in a shop in Concord, MA, called Nesting on Main. It was made by a local artist.

Holiday baking

Every year a good friend has a cookie swap for the December holidays. I made tiny shortbread cookies from an old Christmas Cookie book by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The dough is easy to work with and they taste great.

Thanksgiving in NYC

Our holiday in New York City was terrific...so many fun things to do and see. Right when we got there on Wednesday afternoon, I went to the Original Art exhibit at the Society of Illustrators. The best in children's book illustration is showcased every November at the SI. This is the 31st year of the show. It was such a treat to study the illustrations rendered in their original media (as opposed to the printed version in a book). I got to spend a couple of hours looking at the pictures and then reading the books they were selected from.

This year, illustrations from 150 books were chosen. Below are some of my favorites.

Melissa Sweet, Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade


I kept bumping into shopping bags decorated with Melissa's fabulous illustrations from her book.


Chris Raschaka, A Ball for Daisy


Kevin Henkes, Little White Rabbit


Rebecca Gibbon, Celebritrees, Historic and Famous Trees of the World


Sarah McMenemy, Tillie the Incredible Swede


Christine Danvier, Miss Lina's Ballerina's

We took the girls to the Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle hotel to have a drink, but more importantly to see the beautifully painted walls. The whimsical murals show scenes of Central Park. Ludwig Bemelmans, creator of Madeline, was commissioned to paint the murals in 1955. In exchange for the work, he earned a year and a half stay at the hotel for himself and his family. The bar was dark but I took a few photos anyway.






The Big Balloon Blow Up takes place in and around the Natural History museum. It was jam packed. Once my family saw a couple of the balloons, they ditched me. I got stuck in a crowd that moved one block in just under an hour. It was fun to see the balloons up close, but I'm not sure I would go again.


Most of the balloons were held down with lots and lots of weighted bags.



It took me awhile to figure out that I was looking at a foot...


...of the Wimpy Kid.


The Aflac duck wasn't tied down, not sure how that worked.

On Thanksgiving day, we walked from midtown to Greenwich Village (the weather was beautiful) and had dinner at Market Table. It's a small, cozy restaurant. We got a good view into the bustling kitchen. The turkey dinner was delicious. The dessert was even better: pear and cranberry bread pudding with mascarpone gelato.


I was dragged into FAO Schwartz kicking and screaming. But I have to admit there were some unique toys.

Like the build-You-Own Crayola box of crayons station...


...and the Barbie Foosball.


The Build-Your-Own Muppet workshop was the most exciting.



You can pick from three different puppet bodies and then choose from a menu of different eyes, noses, hair, and outfits. So cool.

For lunch on Saturday we went to the Momufuko Noodle Bar on the Lower East side. We didn't have noodle bowls. We had their famous fried chicken meal that included two whole fried chickens—one southern style and one Korean style. It came with mu shu pancakes, long spicy peppers, baby carrots, red ball radishes, shiso leaves, bibb lettuce, and four different sauces. Soooooo good. You need to make a reservation ahead of time.



The only downside of the trip was that the doggies didn't come. Thank goodness they could keep each other company.

Studio closed

Last weekend we got about two inches of snow but the storm brought down many trees and electrical wires. We lost power for four days so we closed up the house and escaped to a hotel. Mabel and Wilbur loved it from the moment they got into the car.


The lobby was elegant.



Look at the view!



Sunlight drenched the room all day long.




Wish we didn't have to leave.