Today marks the 1-year anniversary of our “temporary” move into Manhattan. While progress has certainly been made back at our little house on the water, it’s still nowhere near ready for us to go home. So we wait. But while waiting, we’ve had big fun, amazing meals, and some hilarious nights where our minuscule apartment is filled with friends and laughter and “excuse me” is heard a hundred times. We miss home, but we’re honestly having a blast.

So today is dedicated to the city I’ve loved all my life. I went to Etsy (of course) to find an artist who could capture our experience for the last year, and I found the lovely painting above. This is the Upper East Side in spades! Then I realized that I knew of this artist already. This is the sensitive, lovely, heart-squeezing work of Brooklyn-based Kristiana Pärn, A.K.A. KrisBlues. I first came across her paintings at this past year’s Union Square Holiday Market, and I was instantly charmed. My friends and I all bought something (because how could we resist?), and I would have loved to buy more.

Often featuring polar bears, foxes, bunnies, and other creatures, Pärn’s beautifully simple paintings would be at home in any child’s room, but they’re sophisticated enough to hang anywhere. You can buy the beautiful art either as original paintings on wood (I cannot overstate how amazing these are in person) or as fine art prints. Either way, you definitely know someone who needs one of these beauties!

You can follow Pärn on her website, on Instagram, and on Twitter, and you can purchase her work in her Etsy shop.

All images property of Kristiana Pärn/KrisBlues, used with permission.