bananais

My name is Ana. I live in a small town right outside of Austin, Texas, and actually commute there for work. I'm a big grammar nerd; my dream profession is becoming an editor for a newspaper or magazine. For now, I'm a bilingual proofreader at an ad agency.

I was born in the wonderful city of Chicago but spent a major portion of my life in Texas (Austin, to be exact!), and it is where I currently reside. It's tough choosing between two beautiful and fun cities, but driving in the Chicago snow tipped the scale.

I used to only swap ATCs on Swap-bot, but I've gotten more and more into other paper crafts swaps.

I studied abroad in Spain for a semester and LOVE all things Spanish. While I was there I explored Paris, Florence, and Rome and apparently looooove those beautiful cities as well. Also, I would like to move to Japan for a few years and immerse myself in their culture.

I love art history. Edgar Degas and Jesus Helguera (Mexican calendar artist) are my favorites. I can appreciate modern artists, too (i.e. Banksy).

Vintage patterns really catch my eye. Vibrant colors are great! Romantic and rustic styles are fantastic, too. My favorite at the moment seem to be the rustic Jim-Holtz–type of design. Favorite colors are: royal blue and bright yellow.

I don't drink caffeine anymore. But I love herbal teas! I've been a vegetarian for a few years now and my body loves me for it.

I married in October 2010 to a man who makes me laugh on a daily basis. Laughter's the best medicine for any foul day. He's training to be an MMA fighter. Ooh la la.... Love is beautiful :)

I like lovey dovey ATC themes, nothing too girly, though. Also, I'm not squeamish about tasteful nudity in ATCs—it's just another form of art! Bold colors are beautiful when paired with the right contrasting/complementary colors.

I work best under pressure, thus I'll always wait 'til the last minute to send my swaps. So please be patient and wait 'til after the deadline to hound me about a swap! And if you don't receive anything from me, PLEASE let me know before rating so I can re-send. :)

Music I love: Mostly female singers (i.e. Adele, Kate Nash, Cat Power, Jaymay, Regina Spektor, Etta James, Lilly Allen, Estelle, Billie Holiday, Madeleine Peyroux, Lauryn Hill, Melody Gardot, etc). John Legend, Juanes, Los Secretos, Pink Martini, Reverend Horton Heat, The Stray Cats...pretty mixed. NO country!

I love reading: art history fiction novels (Chevalier, mainly). Sedaris, Palahniuk, Burroughs, Neruda are great writers in my opinion.

Foreign flicks, especially British, French, and Spanish films. I love Tarantino's work. I heart Almodovar as well. I hate mainstream films. NO Shyamalan! I'm sick of those spoof movies (i.e. Date Movie, Scary Movie 5 or something like that...).

How I Met Your Mother, The Mindy Project, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Workaholics, Awkward., Parenthood, Mad Men, Downton Abbey

Scrapbooking, painting with acrylics, collages. Knitting and hand-embroidery (beginners for both). I'm trying to break in my new sewing machine. I like collages and other paper crafts, too.

I'm not a huge fan of Kawaii. Grape flavoring can go die under a rock somewhere (I like real grapes, though).