Blipadee, on the move ...

Blipadee has moved! 

From here on out, I'll be blogging directly on my website.

Under the Sea

Please come visit Blipadee and me in our new spot.  

Thanks!

xo, A

Summer in the City

A tree grows in Queens. Thought I'd share some pics I like from June. 

You'll notice I haven't made it to the beach yet or to the great Jersey pool slide 

with Kristine, but soon!

Melissa (bday girl), Leslie & Alice

Zexter had a birthday this month and we kept to tradition by dining at The Good Fork 

in Red Hook, it's always delicious (and really nice people work there!) 

Plus, we saw a naked man staring down from his window. He wasn't shy.

It's probably for the best that we couldn't quite see it all. We called him Steve.

I bet you're looking. Steve wasn't in any of these windows.

Someone's cute red BMW. I love older cars.

Valentino Park

I recently found (parts of) my sculpey versions of Ruben and Cooper under a table in my studio. 

They need some attention. The cat hair on Ruben is a nice touch ;)

I rarely make it up to Central Park, but we had a job there one day. She was not a part of it.

Pretty impressive and I like that she kept her watch on while performing 

in front of Bethesda Fountain

cute trash truck

I also had a job on Macdougal Street last week. The location was right next to Caffe Reggio.

I rarely hang out in the Village, but I sure did in the 90s. My good friend, Nina worked at 

Reggio. I was down in Soho, waiting tables at Cafe Borgia 2 on Prince Street.

It's nice to see how beautiful it remains and the cappuccino is still terrific!

Back to my neck of the woods, the Gowanus can be quite pretty in the right light.

La Slowteria, near my place, has a lovely back patio. 

This mural has been on Smith Street for as long as I can remember. I'm still charmed by it :)

I ordered a couple more of my bag designs, in the small sizes of Gingham Bear and Lotta Buns.

It would be fun to have some of these manufactured myself to sell in some local shops. 

I love the quality of Society 6 printing, but profit margins for artists is, let's just say, minimal.

Of course, it still feels great when someone buys one of my designs, so please don't hesitate

to visit my Society 6 shop - Allyn Howard

Leslie & me

"Banksy is really a girl"

:::

I'm excited to attend the NJ Society of Children's Book Writer's & Illustrators 

Conference this weekend with my talented friend, Yuko.  

Plus, we'll get to see the ever fabulous Kristine while in town.

I'll share what I've added to my portfolio next week.

Hope you can wait that long ;)

:::

*ps* If by chance you are in Milan, Italy

Go see Melissa Zexter's piece in the Triennale di Milano exhibit.

I'm very excited for her and young Mirabelle, who got to tag along!

Have a super weekend!

xo, A

Mirabelle's Birthday Celebration

Here are Mirabelle and her younger sister, Odille. These two lovely girls are the daughters of my very close friends, Lance and Melissa. They live only a few blocks from me in Brooklyn. Melissa & I also share a work studio in my building. She is an amazing photographer. I will be profiling her work here soon. Her parents, Nancy & Bob Zexter hosted Mirabelle's delightful birthday party at their home in Swansea, Massachusettes!

The Zexter house is located on a public golf course, which is beautifully maintained. Besides seeing players out on the course, there are plenty of bunnies, birds and field mice, too. It is quite a charming place to visit.

Above some amateurs on the field ;) A charity tournament was played on Saturday, the day of the party, making it seem extra festive!

I'm only giving you a sneak peek at their home in this post, because there is much to show. As antique dealers, Bob & Nancy have a very unique home. Above is a mural Nancy painted years ago in one of the bedrooms.

Here Melissa is whipping up the cake batter after a quick swim at the pool that morning. She's wearing the high school t-shirt of her good friend since that time, Leslie Wolf (ie the Woofer ;)

Odille waits patiently, yet looking a bit forlorn here...

After numerous attempts to light all the candles in the breeze, one seems to be enough for Mirabelle to make her wish!

This is Rosie, she's as sweet as she is big!! That's saying a lot, too. She belongs to Phil (Melissa's brother) his wife, Kelly and their kids, Lily and Ethan. Think she's eyeing some cake here.

The Groucho Marx glasses were a big hit, but now it's time for quiet contemplation...

Apparently, Odille was excited about the pinata all week and time was closing in on him here.

I've spared you the violence, but only because I was videotaping the event while Lance held tight to the pinata. Unassuming little children took swipes at his head and body until he crashed to the ground. The candy was snatched up in mere seconds!

Noah was the youngest that day and I found him endlessly entertaining & cute to watch!!

Love this moment above as Odille makes a big bubble :)

It was a perfect little celebration on a sunny Saturday in Swansea!!

Mirabelle loves Playmobil, like most kids here age. I enjoy it myself!

HaPpY bIrThDaY MiRaBeLlE!!!!!!!

I will be posting more on this visit since Bob was kind enough to take my mom & me all around Rhode Island. He and Nancy could not have been more gracious! We both had a wonderful time!! Thank You again :D