Penelope Illustration • Penelope Dullaghan

Peace out, friends! I’ll see you next week. p.s. New site launching when I return. YAY!!

Next week we are off on our whirlwind road trip to NC to start scouting, playing and discovering where we are going to be living. I’ve road tripped before a lot on my own and with Colin, but never have we traveled a long distance with a toddler in tow. So it should be interesting. [...]

My mom’s garden is where Veda and I like to spend our afternoons. It’s peaceful. My mom’s house is not for sale and therefore things can get messy. Dirt can walk in on baby feet. The same plant can be watered a zillion times. The plastic pool can be set up and rocks thrown into [...]

I don’t know if you keep up with our Illustration Friday blog, but there’s been some good stuff going on lately: An interview with Brian Rea. He’s awesome. The former art director for the New York Times. His interview knocked my socks off. The way he uses his natural drawing style in his work… both [...]

10 ways to feel disconnected: 1) check your email every 2 minutes. 2) keep the ear buds in. 3) always eat lunch by yourself. 4) vigorously monitor the weather (or the traffic report). 5) always order the same thing at a restaurant (or cook same menu at home). 6) categorize people. 7) compare yourself or [...]

Visiting my friend and her kids… watching them in their space… I came home and realized that Veda’s room was still set up for a baby. Just the basics. Crib, changing table, rocking chair. And Veda’s not a baby anymore. It was time for a big girl room. So she and I drove around and [...]

call love this very moment. when your patience is thin and you’re walking too quickly. trying to escape this moment. reaching for the top shelf. breathing shallow on tip toes. call love. get quieter. find that little space at the bottom and just be there for a minute or two. pause yourself. walking around in [...]

An illustration I did a while ago for the Baltimore Sun. I still like it. I thought it fit nicely with IF’s “Swept” topic. Prints for sale here.

It’s always eye-opening (and heart opening!) to live with another family with kids for a few days. To see how they do it. How they deal with the details of everyday life. Their routine. And the little stuff that kind of slips between the cracks of conversation. Things like bathtime and toothbrushing. Or rest time. [...]