sketches as of late & a mini roadtrip

Been a busy week so very little (to none!) posting. I've been trying really hard to sketch more often, in keeping with my 24 before 25 (which reminds me, I need to do an update on that)...

Lots of flowers lately! Hooray for spring! The poppies were due to my missing Italy a lot this past week...then the little ones below happened today when I was waiting at lunch.

The mini sketchbooks have been getting the most attention lately, since they're the easiest thing to bust out while at work or waiting at a restaurant.

Speaking of restaurants, my littlest sister and I took a quick trip up to Monterey this past week during her spring break.

I'm a sucker for jellyfish! And babygirl looked too cute in front of this painted wall by the wharf.

She needed to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I needed to gorge on Italian food and see the amazing tables by Ariele Alasko at Il Vecchio!

We went to the family dinner night and, unfortunately, arrived kind of late so I only had the chance  to snap a quick (and sadly crummy) photo of our gorgeous table before dinner was served.

It was definitely some of the best Italian food I've had state side! The pasta al pomodoro was fantastic, the pollo arrosto was perfetto and our torta ricotta was incredible! And with a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, it tasted just like home...

It was also just a really great space to hang out in. There's so much attention to detail inside, and it's a great environment for starting up a conversation with the people next to you.

And! As luck would have it, Ariele was actually at the restaurant that night so I got to meet her! So excited! She was so sweet, it was pretty surreal actually meeting her in the actual restaurant she made! Not gonna lie, I was a little starstruck! I wish Monterey was closer, I want to eat there every night!

I was really inspired by the tables so I did a quick sketch based on one of the tables at the restaurant. It's definitely doesn't do justice to the real table but there are a lot of interesting patterns and designs used in the tables and wood work that I'd like to play with more.

On other notes, Livi & Grace is making some big progress this week! I'll be posting photos of those girlies in the next few days....

Until then, a dopo!