World II Illustration

I leave my house to go to an adventure by boat. I put on a raincoat, because it's a grey chilly Sunday around here, and play a nice tune on repeat.
What is your Sunday like?

Lego Lunchbox: stir-fry thai chicken with vegetables and rice

Lego lunchbox today:
stir-fry thai chicken with vegetables + basmati rice 
espresso
no dessert 

Stir-fry chicken isn't exactly a meal you would see in my red lego lunchbox. But there are a lot more skilled lego lunchbox owners who can actually prepare stuff like that. I see it like that: red is for newbies, yellow is for pros. Whenever you see the yellow lego brick around the blog be prepared for sophisticated top class recipes. And boring coffee drinks, obviously.
Stir-fry chicken with vegetables didn't sound like a big deal in the beginning. But it is. I tried to make it and failed hard. (Dexter didn't mind and ate the whole thing). It wouldn't be right to give you tips on a recipe I hardly understand but let me tell you this: the easiest way to enjoy stir-fry chicken with veggies is to find someone who can prepare it for you. Or in my case: take a picture of it in a special yellow lego lunchbox.

Perler Bead Coasters DIY

I didn't know how they were called. I didn't know where to find them. I only knew that they were super fun and that, well... I needed them badly. And as all good things in life, I discovered them accidentally - and couldn't believe my luck. I've been playing with them ever since.

And by them I mean perler beads. You might remember playing with them as a kid. Мy best friend introduced them to me when we were in high school and we used to spend sleepless nights making ridiculous jewellery that we loved but actually never wore. Or - you might still be playing with them secretly? At least I do - not so secretly, though.

Perler beads are a lot of fun. I might be hooked. I might have written a whole list of things I'd like to make out of them. I might have used half a jar of in one day. Dexter might have eaten a bead or two out of curiosity. Don't try that at home. Dexter's a professional.

The supplies needed for a set of cute geometric coasters are simple: some beads in your favourite colours, a circle pegboard, parchment paper and an iron.

It's super easy - create a design you like, carefully cover it with parchment paper and iron it for a couple of seconds until the beads fuse together. Once you've done that you might want to put your coasters under a pile of heavy books (don't remove the parchment paper yet) just to make sure they stay completely flat.

Half an hour later you have your perfectly flat super cute geometric coasters - now you only need a fancy drink to put on top. Homemade lemonade is always a good idea.

Аll is love

Dexter and I wake up early on a Sunday. 

Dexter waits impatiently while I make breakfast: freshly squeezed orange juice and a perfectly cut mango (it took me only a million youtube how-to videos to finally get the hang of it). We take a look through the window to check the weather outside and plan our day accordingly. It is sunny today. Perfect for an expedition. 

And by expedition I mean an adventurous walk to the near bakery. We can't live on orange juice and a mango! We need a second breakfast. Something like a muffin or a waffle or a slice of pizza. Dexter doesn't mind - he could eat all three at the same time. 

I put on my magical lilac hat I found a couple of days ago and almost-magical-running-shoes and we are ready to go.  Dexter doesn't have any magical attire. He keeps it real and casual. Although he likes to wear my lilac hat when we're at home and nobody's watching - but let's keep that a secret. 

We meet friends and foes on our way to the bakery: a couple of stray dogs that don't like Dexter very much and keep arguing we should change our route and a cute little black dog who is Dexter's latest love and follows us along. We stop every now and again because Dexter believes he is this close to finding a treasure but - oh well - it is always a false alarm. We haven't lost faith, though - every adventure ends up with a treasure sooner or later.

Our treasure today is a delicious freshly baked croissant from the bakery. We share 50/50. 60/40 even, because Dexter's girlfriend gets some of my share. Ah, love. I do what I can. 

When we get home we are already tired of our little adventure. Dexter falls asleep almost immediately and I hide under a pink blanket with a couple of favourite books. I don't read much today - I just look at pictures or make lists of german words I don't know. I listen to good music, drink sweet tea and... well... I might have a mint chocolate or two. Or half a box of. It's Sunday. I can do that on a Sunday. Right?

Dexter sleeps till late afternoon. I invite him out for a run but he's the laziest dog in the neighbourhood, he can't take more than one adventure a day. So I put on my magical hat and shoes again and go out alone. An 8km run compensates for eight After Eight mint chocolates, that's what my simple math tells me. I'm good at math, you can trust me on this one. 

I feel happy today. I go on expeditions and draw and run and read and take pictures of mangos. I watch an old Bulgarian movie called All is Love (Dexter falls asleep right after the opening title. Not the best company for movies, this one), I laugh to old-fashioned jokes and clumsy romantic scenes. 

I feel happy and loved today.

All is love. And a simple Sunday made wonderful.

* All is love opening title. Enough to put my Dexter to sleep. 

Bear and Fox

There is an old Bulgarian saying that goes like this: "Sun is shining, rain is pouring down, a bear and a fox are getting married". February is far away from shining sun and pouring rain but in my mind I'm picturing the loveliest forest feast under the rainbow. 

I've added new illustrations in my Etsy shop (you can also find these two!). You are more than welcome to take a look here.

Read of the month: February

Things that can instantly make me happy: Bubble tea. A good book. A good run.
A good book about running by one of my favourite authors is such a delight I can almost forget about bubble tea. Almost.
"What I talk about when I talk about running" is not the typical Murakami book. No little people here, no mysteriously disappearing women with uncannily beautiful ears, no raining fish. This is an honest "kind of memoir" as the author himself calls it - about his life and experiences as a runner, as a writer, as a man.
I cannot call myself a runner. I like a good occasional run, I like to beat my own time and distance records. Maybe participate in a half-marathon (or even maybe a whole marathon!) in the near future - but no more than that. Reading the story of a man who has done 25 marathons and an ultramarathon (100km!) was a huge inspiration, especially when this man happens to be a great novelist, too.
This book is not only about running, so you shouldn't be put off by the title. Murakami describes all the physical and mental agonies he has gone through the years, all the little wins and big losses, all small things that matter and big things that don't. It is a great story about all the possible things we can do (doesn't matter if it is a 100km run or a finished novel or something else) when we set our minds right.
If you don't run you might want to give it a try after reading the story. If you do run - you might put an extra kilometre or two on top of your distance record. I know I did.