A quick catch-up & some early winter favourites.

daily magic

Dec 13

Oh, hi! It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Let’s catch up right under here and then carry on like life tends to do, shall we? We shall.

Leia.

I’ll dive right in, okay? Leia, the sweetest and strongest girl-cat you’ll ever meet, hasn’t been feeling all that well and - what’s more - was very good at hiding it. A gut feeling and one quick trip to the vet later, the verdict was in: kidney failure. Major kidney failure, to be perfectly honest with you AND myself. Bad news whenever you get it, but all the more when you get it during what usually is your favourite time of year, along with the busiest. Long story short; the last month or so has been me, juggling tons of work, vet appointments (with more to come), a reluctant cat who’s not really a fan of those appointments and the (pretty expensive) meds she has to take daily now, stressing about that same cat not eating (the new expensive, kidney-friendly food) well, the other one picking up on all of this and upping the naughty behaviour (and stealing all the food Leia doesn’t want to eat. Honestly. Strummer would be a better patient) and coming to terms with the fact that I’ll have to let her go a lot earlier than I was hoping to, more than occasionally blaming myself for not noticing her illness sooner. Logically, this whole thing is something that’s been on my mind every day, and will be for the foreseeable future, influencing my life quite a bit while it’s happening. The amount of brackets should illustrate quite clearly that I’m experiencing it as ‘a lot’, no? But, hey, I’m just taking it day by day, as is she. Sometimes we’re good, sometimes we’re bad. And at least I’m lucky that - unlike most cats - Leia has become even more cuddly instead of hiding away because she’s not well, which at least makes it easier to enjoy the time I have left with her. And - yup - now I’m crying, haha. On to something else!

the Christmas Commissions & the future.

While a whole lot more straining than other years because of all the above, I’m REALLY happy with the work I did on this year’s Christmas commissions. They once again pushed me to really grow as an artist, and I can’t wait to show you the results on my Instagram page soon! With all that’s happened, however, along with steering this little business in an ever-growing direction, I’m not really sure I’ll be continuing the tradition of making personalised Christmas cards next year. I have a lot to think about in the run-up to 2025, and that’s exactly what I’ll do these last few weeks of the year, while I take a step back from drawing (with the exception of all your sweet webshop orders, of course) and focus on the holidays and the new year. Keep your eyes peeled for a couple of changes and newsflashes. Regarding portrait work, as well as other Spells and Pencils staples.

current favourites.

To end this post on a happy note; some early winter favourites that have been making my day, lately!

the Aristocats sweater I treated myself with a couple of weeks ago. Never grow up, you guys. Nobody really wants to, anyway.
the hermit-mode I’ve been in due to busy-ness and Leia. I actually quite prefer some quiet time to myself, occasionally, and am quickly out of practice when it comes to going out. Something that became painfully clear last weekend, haha.
the cold, crispy air in the morning, because it wakes me right up and makes me feel alive, I dunno. I’m weird like that.
the early sunsets, because they tend to relax me a lot sooner than when it’s light out. Once again: I’m weird like that.
my winter watchlist on Letterboxd.
me, perfecting my red lipstick skills for no one but myself.
the Wicked soundtrack and belting out Defying Gravity like I can hit every (yes, every) note.
my parents and sister having nearly an entire card of screening passes to our local cinema left at the end of the year (my card is usually empty before Summer even ends, oops), practically forcing them to go see every film currently playing and taking me with them. Love that for me.
an apartment full of Christmas lights and candles and cosiness.
having the time to pick up running again.
chocolate. Lots of it. These ones in particular.