hello, hello, paris

^^ I must have the best publicist ever because my HELLO, PARIS book is featured in Parents & Newborns magazine this month. And it's the biggest honor to be featured next to a Babylit book, only my favorite board book series. I honestly feel like someone else wrote these books and I'm just their No.1 fan because this couldn't possibly be something that I did. Will the real author please stand up, because this would make a lot more sense in my head? ^^

open sesame! book deal

I feel incredibly lucky to announce that I've sold another book, Open Sesame!, in a two-book deal to Penguin/Grosset & Dunlap. Think Press Here, but with magic tricks! I have to give a big thank you to my little brother, Jett, who helped inspire this book. We read all the Harry Potter books together earlier this year and called each other every night to talk about them--our own personal book club! It was through these chats that the idea for this book came to be. And Thank you to my wonderful agent, Michelle Witte, and my once-again editor, Eve Adler.

illustration rejects

I have FINISHED editing my very last book--hooray!!! There were, I swear, a hundred outtakes for each book and lots of illustrations were sadly cut. But I've kept them all and am posting a few of the rejects here. To see more illustrations, head over to my website, ashleyevanson.com.

To pre-order the Hello, World books, click here.

is this the real life? is this just fantasy?

^^ Can it be true?! Are these books really on Amazon for pre-order?! My HELLO, WORLD book series will be released October 20 from Penguin and I'm having an out-of-body experience over here. They're releasing four books in one season: Paris, London, San Francisco, and New York, and in the words of my agent Michelle, "The crashing noise you just heard was Ashley collapsing from exhaustion." Haha it's slightly true, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

P.S. A big thanks to Johnny, my momma, and my babies for being so forgiving while I work. I hope their early memories of me are of us reading these books together and not me hunched over a computer in my smelly sweats with dirty dishes piled up around me. (It's a very glamorous lifestyle.) ^^

new york, new york

New York, New York

I go through a lot of drafts working on my children's book series, which is normal with any editing process. But it's still hard because I really like some of the art and it will never get used. This piece was a draft for the NYC Colors book and I thought I'd share it as a sort of preview to the books coming out this fall. (Unless, of course, this is against the rules and my agent has me take it down...)

© 2015 Ashley Evanson, All Rights Reserved

happy weekend

^^ Flora ^^

Happy weekend! And thank you, Labor Day, for making it come one day quicker.

ashleyevanson.com

© 2014 Ashley Evanson, All Rights Reserved

new illustration website!

^^ Thank you to everyone for the love and congrats on my upcoming books. I have such rockstar friends that sure know how to make a person feel good.

So, in addition to my children's books, I've been illustrating in my free time (and nap time, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner time), and finally have something to show for it--my new illustration website! My agent suggested I create one, making this whole publishing process even crazier and exciting. After hours of trying to figure out how to create a website and wanting to pull my hair out, it's finally up and live. And now that it is, I'm kind of horrified that someone will look at it and actually contact me. I still have no idea what I'm doing and I'm scared people will figure that out, too. I need my safety blanket of anonymity! ^^

Take a looksie at ashleyevanson.com

some very big news!

^^ I have been keeping a secret for some time now and I'm so excited to finally be sharing it! I feel so lucky to announce that I will be publishing a children's book series with Penguin Random House! There's not a set release date, but we predict they'll hit bookshelves by winter 2015. 

I feel so grateful for my husband, Johnny, who has come home many times to a disastrous house, no food, piles of laundry, and found me glued to the computer working on my books. Not to mention our poor kids who have learned quite well to fend for themselves. [On a side note: my neglect has produced some fantastic photos for my "what motherhood is REALLY like" posts.]

I feel like I've been guided through this whole process and kind of stumbled upon the right websites, emailed the right people at the right time, and really lucked out with finding the perfect agency who helped me land this book deal. I don't typically get spiritual on my blog, but I would be wrong not to acknowledge my Heavenly Fathered who I know had a hand in this and I feel so grateful for his love and guidance.

Anyway, I'll continue to update my blog on the progress of my books, and I've actually got another project in the works that I hope I'll be announcing later next week. Good things are happening! ^^

prima ballerina

^^ Prima Ballerina ^^

Want to know something cheesy? So many nights I dream that I'm a ballerina and can do a thousand pirouettes in a row without falling. And then I wake up and I'm sad because I can barely touch my toes. But this little ballerina makes me happy.

© 2014 Ashley Evanson, All Rights Reserved

masquerade

^^ Masquerade ^^

This illustration came from my lifelong desire to either throw or attend an over-the-top masquerade ball. Anyone want to host so I can invite myself?

© 2014 Ashley Evanson, All Rights Reserved

queen of hearts

^^ Queen of Hearts ^^

Good things are in the works around here! I've recently turned my doodles and daydreams into something tangible, finally learning how to use Illustrator. I'm no pro, but I'm slowly improving and it's fun to see my art come to life. Now if only I had these shades in real life... And happy weekend! 

© 2014 Ashley Evanson, All Rights Reserved

dessert bar contest

I realize I have a pretty sweet job (but never as sweet as your travel job, Ash. Never). Every few months I organize a recipe contest for LDS Living readers to submit their original recipes for a chance to win a spot in our recipe section of the magazine. This contest's theme was dessert bars. We received tons of entries and could only narrow it down to 30. That's right. We had to make and eat 30 different types of desserts. It's a rough life. Well, actually, we all got pretty sick after eating that much sugar, but it was worth it. We have our winners and have already started publishing them. Enjoy!
Strawberry Limeade Bars
Chocolate Orange Bars

pretty party details

I helped throw a bridal shower this week for a friend at work and I was feeling especially crafty. I made this sunflower cupcake display and flower table toppers from the millions of baby food jars I have laying around the house. Please, can someone just give me like $1,000 and let me throw them a party already?! I seriously want to be a professional event planner in another life.

city creek gala

Last night was a dream! I was invited on a special media tour of City Creek before it opens today, and then attended a gala last night to be one of the first shoppers. It. Was. Awesome. You guys, City Creek is the greatest thing to happen to Salt Lake City in a long time.

There was delicious food, live music, and incredible shopping deals. I have to say, I felt pretty lucky to shop in H&M in peace, and I actually found my size of clothing because it hadn't been picked over by the masses yet. Hallelujah. The fountains were designed by the same team who did the Bellagio fountains, so yeah, they're amazing. And it's all just right across the street from the lovely Temple Square.

I've been watching the City Creek building process every since LDS Living moved downtown in 2010 (our building is part of the City Creek complex), and now that it's finally done, I'm afraid my paycheck has just been cut in half, as I'm only a few steps away from spending it all. Oh, well. Yay for City Creek!

This first picture is from Deseret News, and I knew it was me because I couldn't miss the green pants. Johnny saw this picture and said, "Who wears green pants?" Thanks.

unitards premiere

Last night Johnny and I were able to attend the premiere of the new film Unitards. It's being distributed by a company I kinda work with, so I was lucky enough to get some tickets (and a free date night, hooray!). It was a goofy, fun, film--perfect for families or anyone who likes a good, clean movie. 

It was fun meeting the cast, and guess what I learned?! For my Alta Hawks, remember Vice Principle Mr. Spurlock? His son is the redhead  I'm standing next to--cool, huh! He was one of the main characters in the film. Anyway, it was a fun night and I recommend seeing Unitards.

{Poll} Breastfeeding in Public

I wrote this article/poll for LDS Living last week and had no idea the attention it would receive. People are very opinionated on breastfeeding! Here's the article below, but make sure to click on the forwarding link to take the poll and read all of the comments.

{Poll} Breastfeeding in Public

I'm a new mom, and yes, I nurse. But I have mixed feelings about doing it in public.

I am so grateful to be able to give my baby breast milk, and I love that it's healthy, easy, and free. But I'm not so sure about feeding her in public. I understand that it's not indecent exposure; it's a beautiful thing for a mother to feed her child. But I feel so awkward doing it, and I know people around me feel awkward, too. 


I bring this up because we recently had a discussion in the LDS Living office about breastfeeding in public. There is a mother in someone's ward who breastfeeds during sacrament meeting. She is very considerate of others and covers herself, but everyone in the congregation can still hear it, and that bothers some people. 

The Salt Lake Tribune ran an article a few months ago on a mother who was asked to nurse in a more private area while out shopping (she was not wearing a nursing cover). Long story short, she was in the right and other customers will have to accept it in the future. But is it wrong that I kind of feel bad for those other customers? I know it's not pornographic - I'm a nursing mother, I get it. But I also wouldn't want my husband or a teenage son to see another woman's breast. Is that wrong? 

What do you think? Am I totally crazy? Take our poll and leave a comment below. (Click here to take the poll.)

casserole contest at work

Can I just say, my job is the best. For the past couple of weeks I've been organizing a casserole contest at LDS Living and readers have been submitting their best recipes for a chance to be featured in our next issue. We've done it before with cookies and soup--you've probably seen our cookie winner, Lemon Crinkle Cookies, floating around Pinterest. Well, today we finally had our test kitchen and literally served hundreds (maybe even a thousand) sample cups full of a couple dozen casseroles. It was a close call but we have our winner and runner-ups. Stay tuned starting next week for the award-winning recipes! (I made the above picture of a Panini Caprese Casserole submitted by one of our readers. So good!)