technicolor postcards

Sisiversary. Craft commune. Pageants.

Last year I went to inspired and it changed my creative life. I found confidence in my art and ideas. I seriously walked away from the experience so on art high. Drunk and stumbling on creativity:) So, many ideas swimming.... and the people I met. To find others like me. Taking time from the ordinary to fill up with inspiration and take it home. It is amazing to me to see all that my friends have done and BE  in art. My inspired girls. My life is so richer with meeting them. So wish we could have a craft commune:) Little cozy cottages  (mine would be a little air-streamer similar to this one inspired by this:)

 And create all day long:)  But in reality our little blogs suffice and with the click of enter we keep in touch. Thank you girls and so sorry I have been so naughty about keeping up-I promise I will be better:)

I decided not to go to inspired this year, I wish I could but just didn't happen. The cost was the main reason and I am also about trying something different. Really craving a road trip. And  have been keeping my eyes open for something else... And reading my friend Sandy's blog the other night. I saw that Creative girl was going to this.... and I signed up:) without second guessing. And I love the location. Franklin TN. is beautiful. I went there about five years ago with a friend of mine named Maria. She's one of those girls, who in a million years I would never guess we would strike up a friendship. We worked together at Dillard's when I lived in Tallahassee. One of my cosmetic gigs. And Maria was the Diva of the Cosmetics Department with the  much coveted position of  Counter Manager of Chanel. The other girls warned me of her. She's the intimidator and Don't get on Maria's bad side. Well to make long story short this Minnesota nice girl broke her ice. We had so much in common. Mostly Superficial, but oh but fun:) We both had a love affair with Chanel since our youth. She loved the modern, I the classic. She had been to Paris:) And we spent many of downtime talking and then I found out behind her facade  was a pretty intense girl. And funny as F*#k one  too. I never looked at MC Hammer pants the same:) since then.

 And through Maria, I got to experience one of the most interesting kind of traumatizing experiences. She had me go along with her and her Husband on there Pageant circuit through Kentucky and Tennessee. Yes she did pageants. I am in general so against them, they kind of turn my stomach. But she insisted they were all  about judging on natural beauty and talent. Oh so not what the contestants and above all the parents were thinking. So, we packed up her white escalade and  headed  near the mason-dixon line with a car full of trophy's. Once Arriving at the first venue. I was like what have I got myself into.  100's Jon Benet Ramsey esque children. So, as  special judge with a few other local ones. I did the un-thinkable at every pageant.  I voted for the girl who had natural beauty and talent. Girls with barely there make-up. I was bound and determined if I had to do this, I would vote for the "underdogs" real beauty. And wow Thank god Maria's husband was around to be my body guard:). Because I was  the most hated woman by the pageant mothers.  I was the swing Vote:) And I got a lot of the judges to vote with me too.

By the last pageant in Franklin, Tenn. I was so wishing, I could just stay at the Hotel and do some sightseeing. I will always be grateful for Franklin and its natural beauty. I promised myself that I would come back under better circumstances:)

The morning before the last pageant, I remember taking a morning walk and having a cup of coffee on the terrace. Beautiful visual landscape memories of that morning. Thank God I had that.  Later that day I would be nearly accosted by this poor teenage girl, who had entered three times in the region. Bound and determined to win. She didn't. I felt so bad when she came up to me very  angry and in tears saying, "why don't you like me, I should of won." what do you say to that?  I just let her go off on me. Whoa. Never again. So, my short career as a pageant judge ended. And not much soon after, Maria left pageants.  Wonder why? Hmmm:)

So, now it will be nice to go back there for something more up my alley:)  I have been so inspired by Sis Tv since I web stepped there.  

Oldie- but goodie layout. 

Happy Saturday Girls.

 

Lived in.

On my way home from my Mom's, I made a pit stop at IKEA. Needed a little shopping distraction. Leisurely toured the showroom. Note to self:  weekdays are the best time to go.  And to  come home with some killer  goodies.... and my favorites. Some fabric to make some wall art. So, will show that this weekend. It will be interesting to see how that goes:)

 And I came across this lovely book. So, full of real Swedish Homes in all there lived in, eclectic decor. I have been obsessing lately with decorating our apartment. Trying to get out of the mindset "once we have a House." mentality. I love our apartment, it is home and darn it I want to decorate!!! I have been finding so much inspiration on Apartment therapy, but super overwhelmed by the whole  decorating on a budget. Then Beloved Houses! caught my eye. And reassured me that it is not about money, but style.

 

Oh you gotta love Ikea. And there book. Real. homes with so much charecter. Old and new. And those Swedes you gotta love them and there    style.  Makes me proud to have my tiny 1/4 swedish heritage:) 

 

And this room. Oh my I can see myself lounging in this chair and paging through that stack of old magazines (LIFE of course).  And that ORANGE.  So, calming. Did you know that orange is one of the most  serene colors? Buddhist monks agree:)  I heard that somewhere? can't recall at this point.  

What color is calm to you?

Back home.

I have been away for about four days. Spending time with my Mom. I am so grateful for her small but Big steps towards recovery. Ah the gratitude I feel to have her coming back from where she was 3 weeks ago. It is all about taking each day at time. And my admiration for my Step-dad is immense right now. What a remarkable man he is and I could of never asked for a better Husband for my Mommy.

Thank you everyone for your kind e-mails. It means the world to me. truly.  More tomorrow. Need to r&r:) with Ahmed.

Farewell Domino.

I am still greiving over Blueprint and now this.... last night I received in the mail the (last) March issue of  Domino Mag. There is just nothing like a magazine you love. Paging through it for the first time (I always look back to front the first time. Then the second look is about making mental ear marks of things that caught my eye. Then the third is dissection. The fourth look through is digestion). Yes reading magazines is art form for me and a long love affair. I have confessed many times I AM ONE MAGAZINE OBSESSED GIRL. Seriously I would choose a good magazine over a last meal if I was on death row. 

Since I could read, I have adored magazines. Old and new alike. They are so a part of my creative process and construction even. My collages are made out of my large stash of old life magazines. And the new ones are constant inspiration. And with the news that Domino now is no more. I am so dissapointed. Whats going on?  Yes I know that the web has taken a huge chunk out of readership. And now I am feeling a little guilty about A-gCa. Oh but he's so small:)  so, we must do our  part... 

Support Paper Magazines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

subscribe to them. e-mail them, let them know how much you love them. Share them with friends. Make art from them. 

post about them. etc. Keep them in print.

Domino you will be missed. 

Must have Monday- Photography.

For a little fun. On Mondays I will have Must Have. Objects of affection. affordable or not:)

oh these German lovely's. A timeless design in digital with a lofty  price!

M8.2- silver .  Realistically a lomo for now will do. the diana f version in all it's plastic goodness.

Reading Babbette Hines most recent book love letters lost and saw Photo booth.  Can't wait until it arrives....

for more photo booth love check hula seventy (sidebar) of course  and this and this old post of mine (my one and only mini book finished-2007. oh my need to get working on somemore:) 

Have a fab Monday:)

Good Morning.

Last night. I did something remarkable. I prepared myself for the next day. I used to be religious about that. Lately my mornings has been a train wreck. No morning pages. No coffee brewing. Just jumping in the shower and going. Not a good start for me, especially because I love mornings.  A good sensible breakfast of oatmeal, sprinkle of  almonds and brown sugar. Yummy. Oh and my low-fat yogurt smoothie too. 

I went to my open window (yes open even in winter, gotta love radiator heat). Had breakfast this morning, while the coffee brewed. And took this with a big glass of water. Enjoyed the brisk air. Wishing  a little that the trees had some green (like in the picture above from summer). But, I am quite content with the sunshine.

Then the coffee was brewed and filled my most recent favorite starbucks coffee mug full with decaf. I like decaf.  Too much caffeine does me no good. 

and went back to my window. And started writing my morning pages. 3 longhand anything goes pages. It kind of turned out to be a list. Of  a little randoms.

1. to have the day off.

2. Be able to work on all the projects and pages I have swirling on the mind.

3. buy a new anti aging moisturizer. 4. quit smoking again.

5.  Take my yoga dvd out of the plastic and start doing it in the morning. 

6. Buy some goodies from uppercase and red velvet art:)

7. I wish I would of signed up for Inspired, so kicking myself.

8. Wish that I would receive some e-mail repsonses from prospective interviews for A-gCA. 

9. Have to write back to one of the interviewee's I am super excited about:) Hint: She adores sigur ros!!!

10. Can't wait until Sunday. My day off.

11. Send my Mom her valentine card.

12. Spring fever and really want to start working on my book again.

13. Wanting to have a pedicure something fierce. 

14. so much gratitude.

15. Finally sticking to my plans from last night.

Night update:) I stuck to my plans today:) thank you for all your sweet comments yesterday Sandy, Deb and Cameron:) Have a good night:) More tomorrow:)

My View.

O.K.  I am feeling rather feisty today.  This might not be a pretty post. Here goes...  I have been feeling so stuck. Stuck in fear. Stuck in grief. Stuck in old habits. Stuck in the daily grind of  boring blah in my' fell into career out of  financial neccessity sorta job.'

My View is clouded.

What does a girl do? STOP BITCHING AND COMPLAINING.  DO SOMETHING.  Just one little good thing  for yourself each day.  So, tomorrow I will wake up. Start the day with not just best intentions. BUT FOLLOW through. 

Take the cloud out of lifes view a little bit tomorrow..  

That is my big plan.  Be the Master of my view.  This is what I love about life, that each morning is a 2nd chance at living the best one can. 

Ok the post wasn't that ugly after all:)  (short,but not ugly)  do you have any plans for tomorrow? Is there something you want to start? Or finish that would make your life's view a little clearer?  have a wonderful night friends.

Mrs. O.

I adore Michelle. She has captured my love of first ladies heart:) again. No Mrs. kennedy your still my favorite, but Mrs. Obama is giving you some major competition.  And the other Morning I was coming up with ideas for layouts over my morning coffee.  I did a little googling on the ol computer and came across this fabulous site. 

  ( Click here - http://www.mrs-o.org/)

Oh it is filled with so much day to day  fashion goodness and much more for this very fabulous first lady. And the stunning image I came across there.  The artist who did this beautiful screen print is a senior high school student  from Minnesota who found the inspiration from a Annie Leibovitz portrait that was featured in Paris Match. Oh my I am blown away by her talent. And she is selling the image on Etsy

 

Oh Mrs. O is such a real breath of fresh of air.  And got me a daydreaming.....

What if I was first lady?  I would make the President take me on a State visits to France twice a year.  And make the secret service sit all day with me at a Paris cafe, while I sat people watching, reading and journaling:) I would get a private Tour of the louvre and visit the chanel store late at night with  France's  first lady:) Carla (yes we would be on a  first name basis). But back in DC.... I would spend a obscene amount of time at the Smithsonian and  anything historic. I would still have a blog. I would give the tours of the White House. In the private quarters of the White House  there would be a studio!!! And our apartments would  be re- decorated with the help of Domino magazine:) My Official white house designer would be Milly. I would wear white gloves. And of course all my accessories would be Kate Spade. I would go on road trips to see this amazing america and meet awesome people along the way.  Just a  name a few... oh what fun.

Happy Thursday. 

Ready Made and leave it to the professional.

Last April I came back from Inspired Artist  workshop creatively charged , but glad to be back home. And when I walked in the Apartment door from the trip, I found this....

I almost passed out. I know Ahmed was trying to help by doing some laundry while I was gone and accidentally left the bleach open . It tragically  tipped over and sat for about 24 hours unattended. This what  was left a disturbingly  warped " apparition" of a white buffalo or crazy horse:)  Seriously I know my wood floors are not in the best shape, but I love them still. And this was a eye sore in a heavily trafficked spot. And being the attention detailed girl that I am. It drove me nuts.... and my sweet land lady was  not too pleased either. So, it sat and then Master Carpenter  Marcus came to save the day...

Beautiful. You would never know it was there. Marcus  knows what he is doing. I am so glad I didn't take matters into my own hands:)

I have a new appreciation for the art form of correction:) So, for all  my local readers, if you need any  repair, restoration and speciality work. Marcus does it all. He specializes in Historic Homes and buildings. He has a true appreciation for History, a grand wealth of knowledge  and a vast amount of experience.  

Here is the  Harrison Ford like  cool (master) carpenter  Marcus's  information:

(and he made these  business cards out of thin paper wood, cool.)

And I have found new magazine Love. Ready Made- Instructions for everyday Life.

 Magazine for people who like to make stuff. A very well designed mag.  And it has been around for about 4 years. Where have I been?  Well it least we found each other now:) The recent issue is fabulous!!!  

Happy Monday to all.

birthday visit.

Have been away from my Mom for about 3 days, but it felt like a million. Even though we live 3 hours away, under normal circumstances it is oK. Not right now.  I want to be there every moment.  Hold her hand. Let her rest her head on my shoulder. Sit by her as she takes a nap.  Today I got to do that. It was her 60th birthday.  I didn't buy her any gifts, but I brought some pictures she has been wanting. We'll have a birthday celebration once she is out of the hospital and done with rehabilitation. 

I brought these...

My mom was a stay at home Mom and she documented my every move. My day to day rituals. And this was my favorite thing to do. Look out the screen door and watch the birdies outside and talk to them.

Last summer we were sitting talking and she told me that this is one of her fondest memories. And when she is stressed out or worried. She thinks about this.... it calms her.  So, for her Birthday I thought this would be the perfect gift.  A good memory. Her smile and tears when she saw the pictures confirmed it. Happy Birthday Mommy. 

Thank you Sweet friends for your kind words during this difficult time.