Bites of My Life

It's amazing how much I can fit in a day without having work getting in the way. Errands, shopping, lunch with old friends, recipe testing, house cleaning, laundry, meetings, dentist visits, workouts; I could get used to that life...Unfortunately/fortunately this is my last week off. So many delish bites last week in the form of food, vibes and visitors. Time to pack it all in before funemployment is over. 

-No grocery shopping last week meant helping mom clean out her fridge. I don't think she minded.
-I discovered turmeric milk last week. It's a great nighttime drink full of health benefits that do your tummy well while you sleep. 
-This Cashew Butter and Jelly smoothie recipe got slurped up almost everyday for breakfast last week and the recipe is up for you to enjoy!
-Sister and I spent our Wednesday recipe testing scones. We came up with blackberry dark chocolate and (not pictured) grapefruit brown sugar!
-The Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts came to town this week. I made an appearance twice. I'm always more interested in the "culinary arts" portion. 
-It's one of my favorite events of the year, and probably the thing I knew would be easiest to cross off my Spring TDL.
-A salad date with one of my favorite friends to catch up with. We could sit and talk for hours!
-Wallpaper vibes in Pencil Shavings house during a local neighborhood home tour.
-Such a special day for my city and a special day for my besties completing their 3rd Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon! 

Annie

GIVEAWAY: Heart Art

**UPDATE** Claire is now taking orders for custom 5x7 prints! Follow along on Instagram or email  her at clairemartindesigns@gmail.com to order!

I have some pretty great friends, and as you can see, some pretty talented ones too.  Claire is one of my dear friends, she was my freshman roommate and now, a secret artist. She's been holding out on us. 

Claire is an interior design major and has always had an eye for style. With her artsy instincts, she started doing these adorable sketches in her free time. You can't find them anywhere but hiding in her sketch book, so I took the initiative to show off her talent to all of you. 

I've mentioned it before, but I'm pretty fond of Valentine's Day. A day filled with pink and candy and love? I see nothing wrong with that. To share a little love around the holiday I had Claire draw up these Valentine prints to GIVEAWAY to you! I'll be giving away two 5 x 7 prints, so keep reading to find out how you can enter! 

Claire also drew up this adorable sketch that I had to snatch for myself! It's now proudly sitting on my desk and the background on my phone. 

But honestly, how good is she? The girl needs to open an Etsy shop or get a website so we can start buying these. Maybe this post will help push her;)

So, want to be the lucky winner of one of these prints? There are a few ways to enter...

1. Like Take A Bite on Facebook

2. Comment on this post 

2. Comment by tagging two friends on my Instagram

Enter one way or all three, the more ways you enter the better chance you have at winning! Let me know in the comments how you entered. Two winners will be announced Friday at noon! 

Annie

Frame Me

I have a Pinterest board called "Frame Me" dedicated to pictures of art prints and paintings I wish I could frame and instantly hang on my wall! I have a gallery wall in my room at home, but as I'm starting to think how I want to decorate my room for next year, I know I want a lot of art and paintings hung to give off inspiration. I plan to keep my room pretty white and basic, so I want to create a focal point full of color. I recently discovered Evelyn Henson and I can't help but adore her work.

Her work consists of floral paintings, map prints, lucite trays and other darling art prints. She is a young artist who turned her hobby into a career. I've always admired young business women and I'm constantly inspired by girls like Evelyn. 

Meet Evelyn. She first started painting after attempting a picture of a floral bouquet for a Mother's Day gift. She enjoyed it so much she pursued other paintings, studied art history in college and then started selling her work in May of 2013. Since then, she has been featured in Matchbook Magazine, Girls of Lincoln Park, The Abroad Guide and Southern Views Magazine. You can purchase her work from her website or on Etsy. 

My favorite pieces Evelyn does, and what originally made me discover her, are her map prints. She has various cities that she customizes to include notable landmarks of each place. I've been stalking DC bloggers as I anxiously await this summer and came across someone who instagrammed a gallery wall with the DC map print. *hint hint birthday present idea mom!* Above are some of my favorite cities that Evelyn has illustrated. 

Make sure and check out Evelyn's site to see more of her work. Also take a peek at her blog. She posts fun DIYs, tips on styling her paintings, and free printables like these adorable Mother's Day cards.

Annie

all images via www.evelynhenson.com