1.28.2011

restocking the shelves

in between the other bits of my life, i have been painting and playing...
and there are a few new items in my etsy shop!


1.27.2011

indoor garden and stylin' thoughts

a mere $5 can provide such pleasure...

i bought two tulip pots, pulled out some spanish moss, and made terrariums in some big glass vases that i have.
the house is smiling :)











i may have to paint them!

and i am SO incredibly flattered and encouraged!
paula of mindful drawing, who lives in belgium (i just think it is so absolutely COOL that our world is so connected), has given me a stylish blogger award. woo-woo-la-la! thank you, paula!



in the interest of promoting world peace and stylish blogs, i get to share the honors with other bloggers...

  • for having such a personal and almost "retro" quality to her photographs, the first award goes to Amy at LuckyNumber13. I also love, love, love her style of sharing her world and her very worthwhile thoughts.
  • jacilyn at blue china studio captures my heart, particularly with her absolutely charming art, and her sense of natural, simple beauty. 
  • lindsay at banter has a guileless and basic style of her own. she shares real life.
  • now, when someone say "stylish", i generally think of visual qualities... but i'm thinking a bit outside the box with kim of the bodhi chicklet. this woman's brain and sense of humor are absolutely stylin'! i love every word i read; sometimes she waxes poetic, sometimes she is artistic, or contemplative, and sometimes she just makes me blurt out laughing! bahahahaha!
  • and simone of serendipity has a simple, elegant style that lets her gorgeous photography take the spotlight on her blog.

my intention is to pass this award on to bloggers that don't yet have GOBS of readers... but ought to! (although i have no idea about bodhi chicklet, cuz there's no "followers" thingy on her site) and these are the women whose styles are unique and particularly special to me.

i'm also supposed to tell you seven things about myself, but i have waaaaay too many other things to do with my day, so you'll just have to come back another time!

ttfn

1.26.2011

busy, busy, busy...

dearest visitor,
don't give up on me...
life has been wonderfully busy and full.
met an old friend and made a new one up in san francisco; they're visiting from down undah,
substitute teaching,
clothing and feeding and caring for my family,
and i'm trying desperately to avoid the bookkeeping that needs to be done this time of year
because my etsy shop is nearly empty and i want to put wonderful new things there!!!


1.18.2011

no time to say hello, goodbye...

i have spent too much time listening to joelle and katy and kim...
i just soak up such warmth...
if you don't already, i suggest you make a regular date with all the amazing people who sit down to share virtual coffee on tuesdays.

today i'll just take my thoughts on the brilliant conversation with me and ponder as i head off to my day...



see you all next week.

1.14.2011

found on friday

today i found inspiration...
inspiration from carla sonheim's alligator coloring tutorial!

squirrels were on my mind, though, not alligators...





1.10.2011

a grisly start

a new week... and the prompt for this week's sunday creative is

grizzled  adj: streaked or mixed with grey

not grizzly, not grisly (which would easily prompt images of my son's room), and certainly not gristly.

yup, just what i was thinking. there's only one way to go with this...

last winter my husband of soooo many years finally consented to grow a goatee. i don't know why, but i always wanted him to.

and it was grizzled... and my husband looked grizzled... and i thought it was soooo sexy! i understand why he shaved it off last summer (crumbs and scratchy and all), but i miss his grizzled goatee!




"Of all the barbarous middle ages, that
Which is most barbarous is the middle age
Of man! it is—I really scarce know what;
But when we hover between fool and sage,
And don't know justly what we would be at—
A period something like a printed page,
Black letter upon foolscap, while our hair
Grows grizzled, and we are not what we were."
                                 George Gordon Noel Byron

1.06.2011

found on friday

winter passed by...

















winter passed by last night
she must have only tiptoed


















her finespun skirts left threads of lace on the lawn
her necklace scattered tiny diamonds on the road


















and ghosts of her breath clung to the garden gate

1.05.2011

virtual coffee a la road



















if i had had virtual coffee with you yesterday morning, i would have tossed you and my travel mug into the car and sped off on my errands...

you would have told me all about the past few weeks that we've missed each other, who you saw for Christmas, where you went, what you did for NYE... and i would have listened happily as i sipped my warm brew. so glad to be back to my regularly scheduled life and chat with you again.

as i dragged you through targets and old navy and the grocery store, i would have filled you in on much of the same: friends, friends' houses for games, had friends over for games... and how my sons spent so much of their time with their friends. i was glad that they had a chance to really re-connect with their buddies. they are so dadgum busy with school all the time... and i would have babbled about some of my thoughts on getting a REAL job to help pay for this stuff i'm buying, and how i've had some ideas on art teaching and some other inspirations and how i'm trying to let God open and close doors his way and to follow his lead... i would tell you how surprised i am at how He's changed me over the years so that i'm more flexible and open to all kinds of things. it's a genuine relief not to get tweaked over all the "i wants." and how puzzled i am that i'm not annoyed that i have to bring in money because my husband's construction business is so slow.

as we left the stores i would have shared some of the fun thoughts from the little book i picked up again (great one for this "fresh start" time of year) and then i would have hugged you and dropped you off on your doorstep as i took my bags home to unload and started filling out job applications...

Add caption

1.04.2011

shopping around and something cool found

i love this water bottle carrier by lireca.
tres cool...

sunday creative flourishes in the new year!


the prompt for the sunday creative this week is...

flourish verb 1. thrive, prosper 2. to be in a state of activity or production 3. to reach a height of development or influence 4. to make bold and sweeping gestures noun 1. a florid bit of speech or writing 2. an ornamental touch or decorative detail 3. fanfare 4. showiness in doing something

since flowers flourish here in california this time of year, i thought i'd add a few flourishes to some of those that are blooming right now...