Sneak Peek: 'Healing Meals' Illustrated e-Cookbook

YOU GUYS! I am so excited! If you happen to follow me on Facebook, you've already seen bits and pieces of the big news floating around, but here's the official official actual real announcement: on October 21st 'Healing Meals', an e-cookbook written and photographed by the award-winning author, naturopath, food photographer & bodymind chef Kyra de Vreeze and illustrated and designed by me (aaah!) will hit the Etsy shop!

After a long summer filled with writing, styling, drawing, writing, and tasting we're so incredibly proud to present you with the official cover design. Tadaaa!

A Little Bit About 'Healing Meals'

In this book, Kyra highlights one ingredient at a time (broccoli, carrot, eggplant, kombu, romaine, shiitake, and 19 more - all illustrated by yours truly, of course) and shows you how tasty and healthy these vegetables actually are. It includes tips on cooking techniques that will help you get the most nutritional value out of each of them and provides you with a straight-forward list of their individual medicinal benefits.

Did you know the healthiest way to prepare broccoli is by steaming it for 5 minutes? and did you know this technique will boost its wound healing, immune enhancing & detoxifying properties?

'Healing Meals' features ingredients that promote mental clarity, glowing skin, optimal metabolism & healthy joints. there are ingredients that will help heal arthritis, edema, PMS, restlessness, candida, and insomnia. Kyra shows you which ingredient will act as preventative medicine & what it can be used for, as their healing powers are endless.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You don't have time. You have a job. Children. Hobbies. You need to save the world. Go dancing with friends. Watch a bunch of cat videos. We do to. So we made sure you don't need to have forever to make your meals magical. Good food CAN be quick, simple, and tasty at the same time. We promise.

Most recipes featured in ‘Healing Meals’ take a mere 15 minutes to prepare and only need a maximum of 10 easy and affordable ingredients.

So in short: good, healthy food AND a social life. Eat that!

Freelance Illustrations, Inspiration, PersonalAnna Denise FloorOctober 14, 2014Comment

Journal Pages: Nervous Wrecks & Lunatics

September wasn't great, I'm not going to lie. Lots of little things just kept piling on until I could feel stress bunching up not just in my shoulders and neck, but creeping into my toes and fingers. Turns out you can turn 30 and learn a lot about how not to deal with tension, but somehow forget (or actively ignore) ways to release it in a healthy way. Fortunately, you can always count on some Jehova's witnesses to ring your doorbell when the hour is most tense - reminding you to just shut that door and cuddle a cat instead.

This weekend I had another breakdown after we found out some of our winter coats and books had grown some additional fur in the form of mold. My colleague says this house is just bad luck and I'm starting to believe her. Instead of throwing myself a weekend long pity-party as would have been absolutely appropriate I think, I went to the art supply store and got myself some fresh inks, illustrated by exhibit A below.

I remembered this story because that same colleague - I'll just say her name: Ingrid - recently tried to get rid of one of her very own fingertips. I remember this incident very clearly. I felt so sorry for my mom for obviously having the IQ of a doorknob. Fingers clearly look nothing like grass, you poor lady!

Hope you're all having a great start of October so far and I'll be back soon, I promise. Fun updates ahead!

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorOctober 6, 2014Comment

Journal Pages: Stolen Stuff

Last weekend I went to Brussels to visit friends for the first time in almost a year. I hadn't been to the city because somehow I just couldn't deal with it emotionally, but now I felt ready and eager to see my friends, colleagues, and the city again. I almost cried of joy, walking out of the station. Which is surprising, because Brussels train stations smell like piss, mostly. Piss and waffles, to be exact. But you know me, I am nothing if not a little dramatic at times - and drama I would get.

After dinner and drinks, my friends and I were having one last drink. I went to the bathroom for a minute, came back, and my backpack was gone. With everything in it. Money, passport, phone, laptop, creditcards, ipod, books, sunglasses, my favorite clothes, makeup, medication, tickets, art supplies, and my journal. This journal.

After hours and hours of waiting and finally being able to leave a statement at the police station, I went to spend the night at my friend D's house. It's a crazy feeling to have nothing on you but the clothes on your back. If you're expecting me to say it felt 'liberating' - wrong blog, dude. I felt absolutely lost and emotional about someone else touching MY stuff with their dirty hands. I told you it would get dramatic.

Fortunately I watched a lot of Disney when I was little and this story ends well, with a knight in shining armor and fruit smoothies.

When Jochem came to pick me up the next day (he drove all the way down here), he had good news: the police had called him to tell him they had found most of my personal belongings in a little park next to the police station, a few blocks from where my backpack had been stolen. Those personal belongings included my journal! We went out for smoothies to celebrate, drove home, and I collapsed and lived happily ever after.

The End.

Brussels, Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorSeptember 17, 2014 Comments

Journal Pages: Up in the Clouds

I've been feeling better (my flu has a great work ethos and only grabs me on weekends and holidays) and I have been traveling for work quite a lot. It's been busy but good. There are a lot of moments in my life right now where I take a big breath in and feel insanely happy and blessed to be where I am at. My life is made out of pretty amazing stuff and I'm enjoying every bit of it.

Journal Pages, Travel, PersonalAnna Denise FloorSeptember 10, 2014 Comment

Journal Pages: I Gave You Fever

It's been full on fall here in Holland this week and fall means flu and phlegm. I know, I know. You live for these kinds of blog posts. Fortunately, over-sharing is my middle name. Also, that's how Mr. Floor got the flu. We're like communists, sharing everything even if it makes no sense and it takes away your will to live.

In any case, these were again done in watercolors and Copic markers and I had real trouble getting the colors just right, but I just couldn't be bothered.

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorSeptember 6, 2014Comment

Keeping a Travel Journal: Art Supplies & Tips

Keeping an illustrated travel journal of your journey can be incredibly rewarding and romantic. It is an amazing souvenir and the process of creating will help you be more attentive to the little things and big sights you'll see on your trip. You'll remember and appreciate everything around you that much more.

It can also be hard and annoying. Why would you spend all this time drawing and sitting around when there's so much to do and see? Why carry around a notebook and paints and pens, when you can just bring your phone and take a quick snapshot?

Good point and this is why I believe in having a good travel-ready journal kit with you wherever you go.

My Travel Journal Kit

a set of Caran d'Ache gouaches
a small box of Winsor & Newton watercolors with a small brush
my journal (I currently use an A5 cloth-bound hardcover journal from Seawhite of Brighton)
some watercolor postcards (most brilliant invention ever) from CASS art
a few Bic mechanical pencils (those cheap, plastic ones)
Micron pens (I prefer the 0.5 width)
a tiny plastic bottle of water (33 cl). We got this one from an airline, I drank the fancy water and refilled it.

The kit fitted comfortably in my small backpack and weighed next to nothing.

Top Travel Journal Tips

Draw a little every day - and don't forget to bring your kit! It'll help you to quickly get into a habit of observing the world around you more closely.
Take your time and make sure your travel companion knows what he or she is in for! Nothing is worse than feeling rushed when you feel like drawing, so discuss this in advance. Jochem usually brings a book to read (or occasionally joins me by doing some drawing or writing of his own!), but you can also just agree to meet each other again in an hour or so. Finding a comfortable drawing spot on a terrace of a wine bar usually helps, too.
Just pick something to draw, anything. In the picture above I'm drawing one small part of a gorgeous old Roman ruin. It had much better parts and the view of the ocean on the other side was no doubt better as well, but I picked this bit of wall because, well, there was a bench in front of it and there weren't a million tourists around taking selfies. Looking back at the postcard I drew there, I remember the whole place, not just the wall, so mission accomplished, I think.
Write down in your journal what you did that day if you really didn't have time to draw (or just didn't feel like it). It'll help you remember - plus it'll make your trip seem that much longer.
Be flexible. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. And always bring along a headlamp when you go camping in a tiny dark little tent and you want to be artistic after sundown. You sexy thang!

Need More?

I made a little zine about how to keep a journal on the road. It's not huge, but it's got some good tips and fun illustrations! You can buy it here, in my Etsy shop.

Travel, Journal Pages, Personal, TutorialsAnna Denise FloorSeptember 2, 2014Comment

Journal Pages: Adult Life is Awesome

Because I love paying my bills and I did not throw a tantrum like a two year old, like, at all.

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorAugust 22, 2014Comment

Bits & Bobs

I would actually never say 'bits and bobs', but in preparation of our move to London I'm trying to catch up on British slang. Obviously, this will most likely turn out to be a disaster in which I say mostly Irish or Australian things in entirely wrong contexts with a terrible faux-British accent (one person actually said my British accent sounded like a drunk American trying to speak French, but hey - I happen to like Americans who at least try to speak French so whatevs, brah) and lose more friends than make them, but failure is the key to success, no?

Anyhow! Here are some bits:

© Anna Denise Floor & Kyra de Vreeze - Click to enlarge

I'M WORKING ON A COOKBOOK with the talented and inspirational Kyra de Vreeze!!!
We're keeping most of it a secret, but it's going to be an e-book, in English, available online starting sometime late September. The book will feature quick, easy, and tasty recipes (99% vegan & gluten free), tons of information on health benefits and nutritional values, plus plenty of essential culinary inspiration. All of the recipes and photography are done by Kyra, who has written three amazing books (two of which I have and use often) on food as finger-licking medicine. I am working on the accompanying illustrations and layout, which means I get to draw food all day! Yay!

I'm also working on a private project - ILLUSTRATING A CHILDREN'S BOOK written by my brother's father-in-law. It's a time consuming process as I am determined to make the backgrounds look amazing and well, that means I spend most of my free time drawing leaves. It's a miracle I still know what those look like. Obviously, they look like multi-colored stripes. We'll first just print copies of the book for ourselves, but if there's demand - who knows!

And now for some bobs!

Loved this podcast about the history of color. Took me right back to my art history education! Worth a listen.
Fascinated by Sarah Glidden's blog post on panel process. Glidden (who you may know from her graphic novel How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less or other pieces of graphic journalism) shares her working process with us and it's just amazing. So much thought and attention goes into each frame - it's humbling.
I thought this post on 5 ways to improve your coloring by Melanie Gillman on Illustration Friday may interest you. Pretty post AND very useful!

So, that's all for today, but fret not - I've also been working on a boatload of new journal pages that I'll share with you soon. (If you wonder why I'm so productive these days, it's because I've developed a cocaine habit, obviously. No, I kid. I'm way too cheap to maintain those kinds of habits. It's vacation, folks, vacation. It's the cocaine of the people who are scared of drugs, haven't you heard?)

Happy weekend, all!

Freelance Illustrations, Inspiration, Instagram, PersonalAnna Denise FloorAugust 16, 2014Comment

The Pencil Vendor (NSFW)

Yes, this happened. I remember everyone else (my parents, neighbors) was much more upset about the whole thing than I was. I just thought the man was a little cray-cray.

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorJuly 3, 2014Comment

Rock Star Status

I think I can safely say that I am now famous. I did two interviews in one month AND I was recognized by a fan in my local supermarket! Actually, that was my sister-in-law, and I went up to her as she didn't even see me, but she DID recognize me and talk to me. But the interviews happened! They're both in Dutch, so sorry everyone else.

Gratitude @ Allihoppa
I did an interview with Annelies from Allihoppa. I share my thoughts on drawing, form and function, on my process, and gratitude. If you speak Dutch, I definitely recommend following the Annelies' blog as it's filled with DIY tips, interior design inspiration, interviews, and craft!

Life & Work @ 101 Woonideeën
I also was interviewed for a new feature on the 101 Woonideeën blog, where Etsy makers talk about and show the spaces they live and work in! All of the lovely photos in that interview and this blog post were made by the talented Riley Salyards from Swift & Roe. I talk about my work, our house and the million things I bought off of Etsy that fill my house (I call it 'investing').

In addition to the amazing photos Riley took of my house and Miso she took some really nice photos of the studio and me at work.

Thanks Annelies, Riley, Monique, and Ingrid for making me feel like a rock star!

Home, Personal, InterviewsAnna Denise FloorJune 23, 2014#etsythuis #allihoppa #101woonideeenComment

Journal Pages: Hair, Kittens, and Comics

I've been feeling tremendously inspired these past few weeks. Inspired to read, inspired to work, inspired to draw, inspired to... cuddle with my new kitten MISO! AAAHHH!!!

This last weekend, the Stripdagen Haarlem took place in... Haarlem, a gorgeous town not far from Amsterdam. I'll devote a separate post to some of the artists I saw, discovered, and rediscovered while browsing the many booths and exhibitions, but it was a lovely day and I'm still riding the wave of creative energy it gave me.

What inspires you? Who inspire you (right now)? I'd love to know!

Inspiration, Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorJune 3, 2014 Comment

Journal Pages: Manflu & Nature

Oh hai. What's up? Cool, cool. Me? Oh, well, it looks like I've got manflu, so I'm not sure I'll make it. Thanks for reading my last words, in case these are indeed them. You see, I was in Berlin last week, and my boss was there too, and he had the manflu, and then I got sick. I may actually be on the mend (and in London!), but probably not. It's probably lethal, as most cases of manflu are.

Anyhow. I had this whole fun weekend planned with dates, parties, and dinners, but alas. Every time I try to be Little Miss Social, I either get some kind of semi-terminal illness, or all of my two friends are busy (or don't pick up their phones, probably because they don't recognize my phone number). This weekend it was the former, though, so we took it easy. Bed, park, bed. Bed, garden, bed. We picked up a few plants from my dad and stepmom's garden (Mr. Floor did the digging, I did the pointing) and relocated them to our garden. The fern in particular is very special to me, as it's been in the family for as long as I can remember, was specifically mentioned as an exception in both the deed when my parents sold their house, as well as in the notary agreement when they got divorced. Pretty funny stuff, as far as divorces go.

Utrecht, Personal, Journal PagesAnna Denise FloorMay 20, 2014Comment

Journal Page: Are You an Illustrator?

I usually don't really have any issues with calling myself an 'artist' or 'illustrator'. It even says so on this site, doesn't it? And it's on my Twitter profile! Yet, when I was surrounded by about 20 "real" illustrators, I didn't really know what to answer. Funny how that works.

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorMay 19, 2014Comment

Picturing April

Set du Jet

I try not to complain about traveling lots for work, because to be honest - I love it. Sure, I don't always get to see much of the city I'm in, and I often miss Mr. Floor terribly, but I'm working my dream job, and I've got amazing colleagues who will put up with me dragging them along for a 2 hour walk along the Thames after working hours. I did feed her Indian food afterwards, that helped.

Lines

Married life is amazing. I know people often say getting married didn't change anything for them from when they were dating, but I disagree. Of course, I wouldn't really know, since Mr. Floor and I have been married for much longer than we had been dating before we decided to get married, but still. I feel connected, protected, loved. It feels very special that the one person I care about and admire most in this world, chose to go on this journey with me, and promised me, my family, the state, everyone, that they'd be there for me always -and vice versa. We've entered into a pact together, it's us now, no matter what this crazy adventure will turn out to be. I don't necessarily think getting married is the only way to make that pact, but it's what we did, and it's awesome. It also a great comfort to me when we're both busy with work and traveling, and it makes those shared moments together even sweeter. Like, we're building something here. This month was full of those sweet moments, like when we went to the Kröller-Muller Museum together, biking around the national park, playing in the sculpture garden. Or that day we spent in the sun, sipping coffee, reading books.

Nothing To Do

If you had gone to college with me, and had been so fortunate as to have been invited up to my room, you'd have noticed one thing, immediately: I keep lists. I used to have three big to do lists taped on the inside of my dorm room. One for study tasks, one for 'private' tasks, and one for long term dreams and goals. I was a very serious student and I guess being able to get up from my desk and cross a task of my list made me less anxious, but I don't feel like I'm very serious adult (heh, adult), and I still keep lists, just a lot less visible. Anyhow, we were going on vacation, and I finished every tiny little to do off my list and it felt awesome. You see what I did there? Turned this mundane and slightly OCD event into a story. And that's how blogging is done, y'all. Booyah (do people still say that? Probably not, eh?)!

Prague X Art

I tried to come up with a clever name for this bit, like a combination of the word 'Prague' and 'Art' but all I could come up with was 'Partgue' - but that doesn't mean anything at all, so that'd be weird. But yes, we went to Prague!

Not only is Prague one of the prettiest cities I've personally ever been to, it's also filled to the brim with art. Gorgeous art nouveau buildings everywhere. Mosaics for all. Golden cafés with Mucha illustrated menus and Jugendstil silverware. Pubs filled with dreamlike (or nightmarish) cartoons and graffiti. Large canvasses of naked women and poems for sale in a wine bar (65 kronen for a glass of Moravian red, canvasses: price on request). An Italian restaurant with an eclectic art collection (gifts? friends? family?), where well done copies of seventeenth century vanitas paintings are hung alongside Schiele-esque portraits of the maître, the obligatory painting of a crying gypsy boy, and a well done sketch of the Vlatava and it's many bridges. I drew a lot, photographed a bunch, and a week felt like two weeks.

Did you go anywhere over Easter? Let me know in the comments.
Also - follow me on Instagram here (and I may follow you back!).

Inspiration, Instagram, PersonalAnna Denise FloorMay 5, 2014 Comments

Journal Page: Favorites

Click image to enlarge.

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorMay 2, 2014Comment

The Sweater and the Suffering

Every childhood has a trauma, and this one ranks pretty high on my list.
Basically, I was telling Mr. Floor about this sweater last week and because he was of course fascinated by the thrilling and dramatic story behind it, I decided to draw it for you. Yay for you. Enjoy.

Doodles, Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorMay 1, 2014Comment

Journal Pages: Prague Sketches

Last week, Mr. Floor and I went on a weeklong city trip to Prague (Czech Republic)!
The man had never been, and I hadn't been in about seven years and obviously needed a hit of art nouveau art and architecture after having moved out of my old beautiful art nouveau neighborhood of Ixelles in Brussels.

Day 2 in Prague © Anna Denise Floor - Click to enlarge

Prague did not disappoint. Even though one of the main art nouveau landmarks, Grand Hotel Europa was closed, we sought refuge in Cafe Savoy, and drank in the splendor of the Municipal Hall (or Obecni Dum). Mr. Floor also surprised me when treating me to coffee with an amazing view from the Hotel Golden Well.

Day 3 in Prague © Anna Denise Floor - Click to enlarge

We, of course, of course, had to visit the Mucha museum. I am a huge fan, and found the (tiny but full) museum absolutely amazing, although I must say I was a little creeped out by the nationalist work Mucha did as well (this angry girl has been in my nightmares). I also drew some buildings and we found out that Czech food isn't really our 'thing' (very heavy on the meat), but found an amazing Italian restaurant: Trattoria Cicala. The restaurant, filled with an eclectic collection of art and very friendly staff is apparently frequented by the likes of Morgan Freedman and Johnny Depp, which isn't BS - we saw the pictures on our way to the bathroom. BAM! So close to hanging with the famousses, us jet setters, we are. Oh, and now that we're talking food - THIS is the most romantic and surprising place I've ever had dinner. Go there. Do it.

Day 4 & 5 in Prague © Anna Denise Floor - Click to enlarge

Halfway through the week our legs were hurting pretty bad from all the walking, so to remedy the issue - we walked some more! The weather was mostly great, apart from one magnificent thunderstorm, and we scoped out most of the city on foot. Once Pesach was over, we headed over to the old Jewish cemetery. I had seen it on my previous visits, but it didn't fail to impress this time around and we sat for a while, drawing some of the tombstones.

Day 6 in Prague © Anna Denise Floor - Click to enlarge

On our final day (well, last full day, we flew back the day after), we had breakfast at Café Louvre (pretentious, and the food wasn't great, but the interior is nice), spent all day looking at art in the Veletrnzi Palace (part of the National Gallery), drinking coffee and sketching in the awesome museum cafe, Café Jedna.

I'm sure I've missed a ton of things we did in this post, but since we mostly walked around all the sights and parks, I didn't do any more drawing than this.

Do you draw a lot on your trips? How long will you spend on each session? What tools did you bring? I may actually do a separate post on this, so I'd love your input!

City Guide, Inspiration, Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorApril 29, 2014 Comments

Journal Page: Sunday Sun

Last weekend was a fun one with lots of books (reviews to come!), terribly romantic walks, perhaps a tad too much alcohol, too little yoga, and some great music.

If you're looking for a sunny soundtrack to your life this spring and summer, may I definitely recommend Sunday Sun. Some of my favorite songs are 'Sunday Sun', 'Highly Respected Rebel', and 'Ordinary Love' - but to be honest, almost all of their songs are absolutely charming, fun, with a slight Beach Boys vibe to them.

What are your favorite books and albums right now? Please share in the comments!

Journal Pages, Inspiration, PersonalAnna Denise FloorApril 18, 2014Comment

Journal Page: An Oddly Colored Birthday

Look what I did! I colored that stuff in by hand! Aren't you all excited? Yeah, so was I, actually, until I tried to scan this baby. Above: photograph, with realistic looking colors. Below: scan, with shitty colors that I got tired of trying to fix in Photoshop. Now, either my photoshop skills are deteriorating (hah! right), or my scanner is in need of replacement after a mere ten years of service. Yah, they don't make those things like they used to no more, do they? Now get off my lawn.

Anyhow, this was a little while ago. Because I was in New York for my birthday, of course Mr. Floor has to turn around and go to New York for work on his birthday as well. Always trying to one-up me, that one, un-bah-lie-vah-bah! ;-) In retaliation, I obviously proceeded to throw my own birthday party for my family on his very birthday, so I got gifts and attention on his birthday and was in NYC for mine. Having my cake and eating it, so to say, if only I ate cake. Nah, in truth, I was kind of sad and lonely and it was awesome to have them there. Awww...

Journal Pages, PersonalAnna Denise FloorApril 14, 2014Comment

Picturing March

Yellow and Green or Black and Blue?

March was a productive month for me (on Instagram, at least). I snapped pictures of pretty much everything from the view from the top of the stairs coming down from the bedroom one morning to my beautifully crafted (really) lunch. Behind those pretty pictures, however, much less romantic stories can be told, as I recently plummeted down those stairs to something that wasn't death, but was definitely painful, and the pretty little lunch box nearly bankrupted me (€15,-? Un-bah-lie-vah-bah!)

It's Alive (for now)!

You know how I am with plants right? Or rather, how plants are with me. I give them all my love and attention, and they die on me. I'm not going to say that this time around that won't happen, but with capable help (Mr. Floor), I am perhaps going to admit that gardening is kind of a lot of fun.

All Play and No Work?

Ha, far from it. Even though you wouldn't say so from my Instagram feed, March was actually kind of stressful. Both Jochem and I were away for work a lot and I think we saw each other a total of 5 days this month. Fortunately, we managed to grab a coffee at Blackbirds in Utrecht this month (very hip and happening), and we got some much needed family time in, because MY BROTHER GOT MARRIED!!! Yay!

The Mothership

For my 30th birthday, I went to hang out at the Mothership, aka Etsy HQ in Brooklyn. Ok, maybe that wasn't the reason, I went there for work, but it still was pretty awesome. My colleagues threw me a smashing party, and I got lots of work done and met colleagues I had previously only seen via Google Hangout. Also, I had about 2 hours to stroll around Brooklyn before heading back, and came by these pretty doors!

And that's all folks! Was your month as busy and colorful as mine?
Let me know in the comments, or follow me on Instagram (and I may follow you back!).

Etsy, Instagram, Personal, UtrechtAnna Denise FloorApril 7, 2014 Comments

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