things by anna

knotty

2010-02-23T15:23:00.002-06:00

bookplates

2010-02-22T10:00:00.003-06:00

hello all, just wanted to give you a look at what i've been doing. bookplates for sale! check out prices at www.annaradley.com.

kisses!

lily

2010-01-04T11:47:00.001-06:00

meet rachel's kitty, lily. she's a sweet thing.

update

2009-10-20T10:01:00.007-05:00

i've done a little reformatting in lieu of my website that will be up in the next couple weeks. once it has been uploaded, i'll probably start transitioning to use it as my blog. i'll let you know where to look when it's done.

here's something for you while you wait. it's from a picture out of a hotel room in hanoi, vietnam.

diamonds

2009-10-19T15:25:00.001-05:00

patterns are fun things to do when you don't feel like thinking.

umbrella

2009-10-12T16:20:00.001-05:00

it's been really rainy out.

bottle tree

2009-09-29T09:22:00.002-05:00

From a photo taken at Shangri La in Orange, Texas. If you are in the area, you should definitely visit this place. It is really nice.

flowers

2009-09-28T11:19:00.000-05:00

I saw this simple flower arrangement at a restaurant recently and thought it was really sweet.

a wedding gift

2009-08-22T14:11:00.004-05:00

my friend christopher (we'll pretend you don't know him) was married last weekend. i gave the happy newlyweds this as a gift...

we grew up going to this church together, and that's where we became friends, so i thought this was appropriate subject matter. congratulations, christopher and melissa!

pineapple

2009-08-10T10:55:00.003-05:00

what a delicious fruit!

sorry

2009-07-07T09:56:00.003-05:00

i apologize for not updating recently, but work has kept me away. when i have the spare time to be doing something like drawing, instead i am reading the very interesting: "Headfirst: HTML with CSS & XHTML," refreshing myself on the ways of web-writing. otherwise, guilt will set in.

here's a little something for you peeps though, to get something new at the top of my page. it's a drawing from the side of the house that i lived in, from a picture taken long before i lived there (i walked right by it for 2 years on my way to class).

yellow chairs

2009-06-05T20:59:00.000-05:00

lots of buttons

2009-06-03T10:29:00.003-05:00

as an intense form of procrastination, i sorted buttons recently. into colors. it was insane.

a thai coin

2009-06-02T09:39:00.001-05:00

just a little something that i thought was pretty. and i was getting sick of that dexter fruit bowl.

dexter house fruit bowls

2009-04-07T10:09:00.004-05:00

on a road trip to southwest texas, there were votive candles purchased at a supermarket near the border in presidio. that was such an interesting and unforgettable experience. we were definitely in foreign territory. somehow i got to bring home the candles, maybe because i picked them out (clearly it was me, because there is a saint on a horse on one and a variety of small animals on the other). they have since faded, because they are sitting on my front porch.

every time i see the candles on the table at the dexter house, which if i'm not mistaken were purchased at the HEB on oltorf & congress, i am reminded of that morning, driving around the border, searching for firewood.

clark gable

2009-04-05T23:06:00.003-05:00

maybe doesn't look like clark gable, but you get the idea. this is the top of my dresser.

lime blooms

2009-03-14T08:46:00.001-05:00

navasota windows

2009-03-06T18:09:00.002-06:00

heeeeeey navasota posse, HEY!

do you remember them singing that during basketball games? navasota was frickin' intimidating. they all looked like adults against some scrawny, little pip-squeaks.

however, they have a nice, old, traditional, small-town downtown. these are some windows from one of the buildings.

white poppies

2009-03-05T13:51:00.007-06:00

clare likes to see the goldfish in the courtyard of the hotel san jose on our way back from joe's coffee shop. these little poppies by the reflecting pond are so floppy and friendly looking that i had to draw them, so i brought a camera one day.

i've explained to clare how the hairy, little pods open up into flowers, and it's so fun to see her get excited about a pod that opened up overnight that wasn't there the day before...

eggs

2009-03-01T17:02:00.002-06:00

anthony's dad and uncle david are raising chickens and rabbits and doing some large scale gardening out on their land in oak hill. i took rosie out there recently to survey some work they were doing and to meet the animals. rosie looooved it. she was running around, acting like a big dog. it was incredibly amusing.

anthony's uncle david gave me two of these eggs right from chicken cage.

kate's cat

2009-02-25T17:58:00.004-06:00

this is a familiar sight to me. it's the view from the catterall's couch (the family that i babysit). when the girls are taking their afternoon nap, i read a book sitting on the couch. i'll sometimes look out the window, because the colors are so nice, especially on a soft, sunny day.

the cat's name is sausage. she's apparently between the ages of 16 and 19, but it's unclear because she was adopted from the pound at age 1-3. she's kind of cranky, but she'll get really flirty sometimes. she's bossy about her food. she walks up and hisses at you when she's hungry. sometimes it ticks me off, but most of the time it's just amusing. she makes these weird gurgles that i equate with snoring when she's asleep.

figure no. 2

2009-02-24T10:21:00.003-06:00

this is the second of the pair. he's a fishy.

figurine

2009-02-21T18:18:00.003-06:00

i have a small collection of animal figurines that i'll be posting as a series. this is a part of a pair that i bought at a shop in lumberton, texas.

flowers

2009-02-17T14:18:00.004-06:00

anthony, his dad, and i had an impassioned argument about flowers while shopping at central market. well, maybe it wasn't impassioned, but there were words. the debate was this: the tulip...overrated? my answer: yes.

anthony got me these flowers for valentine's day. surprisingly, they weren't tulips.

goose

2009-02-15T19:37:00.002-06:00

louis gave me a goose candle for christmas. i don't have the heart to burn it.

striped chair

2009-02-13T15:40:00.002-06:00

this drawing really started all of the drawings that i've done on this blog.

my glasses

2009-02-10T13:47:00.002-06:00

are scratched. possibly because i always skip the glasses case part.

ollie in the hallway

2009-02-08T10:21:00.003-06:00

ollie will stop and sit in the weirdest places. yesterday when we came in, he was sitting on the rug in the bathroom just staring at the sink. i guess he just likes floor coverings.

milagros

2009-02-06T20:49:00.004-06:00

i have acquired a little collection of milagros from an assortment of places, and now they live in my kitchen. little miracles.

pattern

2009-01-31T09:58:00.001-06:00

three carrots

2009-01-29T18:20:00.001-06:00

my apologies

2009-01-04T22:45:00.001-06:00

as my computer recently crashed and i have yet to get my adobe creative suite installed again, i haven't updated. also...it's the holidays, people. but in all sincerity, i apologize. things will happen soon enough.

a gaggle of geese

2008-12-09T22:32:00.002-06:00

they sold these ceramic measuring cups last christmas at anthropologie for an absurd amount, so i didn't buy them. instead i found them at an antique store in lumberton, texas in plastic. maybe not quite as classy, but definitely more economically friendly.

super glue

2008-12-05T18:36:00.000-06:00

not a good thing to get stuck on...

turkey

2008-11-30T18:04:00.001-06:00

i hope you had a good thanksgiving. it was good to see you if i did, and i missed you if i didn't.

happy thanksgiving

2008-11-25T12:40:00.001-06:00

from the deer.

chapstick

2008-11-23T14:57:00.002-06:00

what gets me through the winter...

a cursing ferret

2008-11-18T13:19:00.002-06:00

this is one of those animals that i drew several times in a sketch book and decided to put down on paper for my senior design show. i'm not sure why he's using expletives, but it's probably because i like to use expletives.

piglet

2008-11-16T12:17:00.002-06:00

from a picture that carmen took in africa.

garden

2008-11-13T10:36:00.006-06:00

i started enjoying planting things when i lived on elmwood. i had a little patch of space under the staircase there, and i got it cleaned up with the help of my family and started planting things.

then anthony referred me to an article by michael pollan which spurred my interest even more. when i moved into 4306, i decided that i had plenty of space for a garden and should use it.

this weekend my parents helped me to make three raised beds that are growing lettuce, cabbage, spinach, celery, dill, parsley, peas and onions.

i hope that the harvest is good and that i will do my little part in helping our world to take a step toward green. if only the squirrels weren't trying to thwart my efforts. they don't believe in global warming.

sad dog

2008-11-12T11:42:00.005-06:00

these on the graph paper are from my sketch journals. i went through sometime last spring and scanned the more interesting parts of them in the hopes to someday make a book of them...

i'm not sure where this dog came from. maybe just my imagination, but possibly a photo of one of the many dogs in italy. the europeans like their pets.

owlish

2008-11-11T21:48:00.003-06:00

i'm sorry that i post so many pictures of animals. i guess it's thematic...

did you know that there are owls in thailand? i found this out on election night. i'm not sure how that conversation came up, but we researched on the internet and found that there are owls in thailand. who knew?

butterfly

2008-11-10T14:42:00.000-06:00

hummingbird

2008-11-09T15:05:00.000-06:00

giraffes

2008-11-05T10:54:00.004-06:00

my point exactly.

i voted

2008-11-04T10:53:00.006-06:00

it's funny how we're still being rewarded with stickers if we do something good. i would think adults were a little beyond this practice, but it seems that people are into it, because i get the feeling that if you don't have a sticker, you are automatically less cool...

i probably shouldn't be surprised that reward and bribery have their place in making one prone to care about their civic duty. i was on the bus at the beginning of the school year and saw an advertisement from the UT police department reading "Report a crime and receive a free pizza from UTPD." i was appalled by the thought that someone would report a crime for pizza instead of reporting a crime for justice. but maybe that's just me...i like justice and having a voice. i also like pizza.

other than stickers, businesses are giving away free things. starbucks is giving away coffee--and i will be getting some. ben and jerry's is giving away ice cream. free bus rides from cap metro. a krispy kreme doughnut. tattoo removal? basically everything that i need to get by for one election day in austin...

i like to think about why people vote. living in a neighborhood where the majority of the people vote, it's easy to get excited and feel like things might change. then again, i think about the fact that i live on the little island of austin, so it's easy to forget the rest of the state i'm surrounded by. some people get angry, and they vote or they don't vote. some people are just ready to move on from the past. some show up at every election to vote, because they feel they have a civic responsibility. i'm excited about this election because i feel like it's getting so many people involved. everyone from all angles, showing up to vote, because it seems to be important this time. that and plus, they really want a free sticker and cup of coffee...

a little birdie

2008-10-20T14:55:00.001-05:00

cactus

2008-10-15T18:06:00.003-05:00

my cactus may not love the rain as much as i do.

plastic monkeys

2008-10-14T07:45:00.004-05:00

i went to the lake a few months ago with carmen and my parents, just before carmen left for africa. my mom had these plastic monkeys that sit on the rim of your cocktail that i had never seen before, and she was utterly astonished that i said so.

"you've never seen these plastic monkeys?"

her disbelief bordered on disdain.

"we used to love these monkeys when we were little. we would get so excited if we got one on our drink."

"um, well mom, no. i've never seen these plastic monkeys. i think i would remember."

on the way home from the lake, i would find a red monkey in the hidden pocket of my purse. a few hours later while unpacking, i would find a green one at the bottom of my bag. a blue one at the bottom of the leftovers she had packed for us. and a few weeks later, after carmen had left, i found the orange one in my makeup bag.

it's hard to say what makes my mom do things like this. i imagine that she really tickled herself by hiding a full set of plastic monkeys in my luggage. i can't think about it without getting a little tickled myself. she always gets a bigger kick out of her jokes than anyone else does.

ollie cat

2008-10-06T16:43:00.001-05:00

lamp

2008-10-01T18:02:00.003-05:00

i brought carmen's lamp out into the kitchen, and it lights the computer area now. it's got a warm light that makes the kitchen about 300% more cheerful and cozy. it also takes up less space on the desk, allowing for a little more organization and mouse range of motion.

home

2008-09-29T18:47:00.004-05:00

this drawing isn't finished just yet. i'd like to add some faint pecan trees at least to the background, but the house itself is done. it's my home and my family's austin meeting place.

scissors

2008-09-28T10:18:00.005-05:00

there are some stories that are just not appropriate to post on the internet. but i have some good ones about scissors.

right now, i have so many pairs of scissors. a purple pair, a clear pair, two blues, an orange, two pinks, and some straight up metal ones. i'm not sure why i have all of these scissors, but it seems that when i desperately need a pair, none of them are anywhere to be found.

whisk

2008-09-21T16:44:00.007-05:00

the cooking in my kitchen is getting more complex. a blueberry buckle was prepared on friday night from a recipe that alton brown made. it's kind of like a coffee cake with blueberries--minus cinnamon, plus nutmeg. the sugary crumble crust is always my favorite part. there's still some left over if you would like a snack.

greyhounds

2008-09-17T15:28:00.006-05:00

when i was little, my family had a dentist named dr. mattingly. he raised and raced greyhounds in his free time, and he would invite us to visit the puppies, because greyhounds need exposure to people as they are quite timid in general. i have good memories of going to play with the soft-faced little puppies, who would eventually grow to be dogs so fanatical about racing that they, if given the chance, will run themselves to death.

snails

2008-09-14T12:48:00.000-05:00

my house has a rather large colony of snails. i've been collecting their empty shells on an electrical box outside the backdoor, but sometimes i'll come outside and find that one of them has walked away.