December Journal

The time between Thanksgiving and now just FLEW by. It felt like just last week I was marking down the days to when we got to go to Wisconsin for the holidays.

December was so busy and exhausting and exciting. Todd started off the month by taking all of his finals for the fall semester of school. We didn't give ourselves any time to rest after that because we were on a flight from PDX to Wisconsin.

Todd and I celebrated our anniversary in Milwaukee. We went to the art museum, something we haven't been able to do in a while! I particularly love the folk art, European art, and American art. There are so many artists I can't wait to share about in our weekly Mini Art History lessons. (If you're not watching my stories on Instagram, you need to be.) We finished the night eating the best pasta at Onesto and the creamiest best custard at Kopp's!

Not long after that we were on another flight to Minnesota to attend my first ever book signing event for The Christmas Tree Story! It was such a rollercoaster of emotions; excited, disbelief, fear, gratitude. I got to meet Danny for the first time at his home with his family. Mid-westerners are truly the most inviting people! There was extra time to explore Minneapolis and St. Paul before the actual event that evening. Todd and I drove to Red Balloon Bookshop to see The Christmas Tree Story on shelves. It is a surreal experience to see your illustrations next to your illustration hero's. That night I got to meet so many nice and supportive people. There was live music by the talented Ali Gray and a book reading by Danny.

Once we got back to Wisconsin we jumped headfirst into Christmas celebrations! Cookie making, iceskating, pajama wearing, story reading, coco drinking, and too much chocolate eating.

Unfortunately, we all got hit with the flu immediately following. Thankfully it was an excuse to sleep all day and drink hot broth from a mug. Because no one felt like doing anything our New Year's Eve party consisted of us laying in the living room playing card games in our pajamas. I wasn't even mad about it.

Todd had to fly back to Oregon for the beginning of the new semester, but I stayed behind in Wisconsin for an extra two weeks. I got to spend more one on one time with my sisters and niece and nephews. I can't wait for the day when we all get to live by one another again!

I hope your holiday season was filled with just as much joy. Thank you for your continued support, I am excited to share more art with you in the New Year!

Things I have been loving lately:

- The Lumineers New Album

-The book Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

- The Bad Broadcast podcast hosted by Madi Murphy for some good laughs