Lone Star Artist

Inspiration vs Copy

2012-01-26T14:15:00.005-06:00

All of the intellectual property talk generated by SOPA and the award season gowns made me start thinking about how I'm a big fan of protecting IP but where exactly is the line? I'm not a fan of the exact replicas that appear after a major event where you can get the copy of the gorgeous Oscar gown for $150 bucks but I love seeing how that dress can inspire others to do something similar that's all their own. I have a couple of exceptions that make me feel like I'm walking pretty close to the hypocritical line but there you go. I don't have issues with craft projects where you make your own version of whatever it is. The same with creating your own inspired versions of high end art, design, etc as long as you aren't reselling it but purely for your own individual purposes.

I've attached images of what really got me thinking about this. This is the super fancy Cartier bracelet of my dreams. Gold encrusted with gems that's over the top but still elegant and timeless.

image here

This bracelet is an enamel animal bracelet I saw on Zulily that is probably not timeless and elegant but I love it and find it fun and interesting. It's also a much better price point at $11 and still hits the spot for a fantastic bangle. It's also not trying to be the Cartier bracelet but a fan piece to add to your wardrobe which is perfect for me.

Image from Zulily

As an artist, I try to remember my vision even when inspired by other pieces and artists. I try not to get too close to the original but it can be tough. All I know for sure is I can't wait to get my bracelet and have some fun with all of the accessorizing.

New Shoes: Huspuppies!

2012-01-15T17:09:00.001-06:00

For Christmas I got a gift certificate for the mall along with some Christmas $ from my parents. Both of them were burning a hole in my pocket so Rolland took me to the mall this weekend just to shut me up! I've been seeing some super cute loafers and flats and scoped out the shoe dept at Nordstrom's. I saw these and immediately fell in love. After ponying up an additional $10 bucks these babies were mine! I love the style and the packaging is fantastic. Can't wait to try them out.

Rolland pointed out the only flaw that I can't really reach the bows to tie with the super pregnant belly. I may have to look for work volunteers!

Sunday in the Kitchen

2012-01-15T16:56:00.002-06:00

I spent some time in the kitchen today and made a new batch of spicy rosemary nuts from the Barefoot Contessa. I up the heat factor by using habanero powder instead of chipotle powder. More of the snacks were requested by the husband and his coworkers.

We're having Italian for dinner and I love garlic bread but wanted to find an easy recipe to make the french bread myself. I found this one on food.com and so far it was easy, smelled great and looks good. I won't know until a little later how it tastes. I have high hopes since it really was super easy and could save a lot of $.

Last up for tonight is fried mozzarella balls and tomato dipping sauce as an appetizer prior to spaghetti. I'll have to snap some shots if it works out well. I'd post the recipe for the mozzarella but Pinterest is down.

Even though the baby was going crazy playing earlier, at least that makes it sound more whimsical than just beating the crap out of Mommy's internal organs, and I desperately wanted a nap I'm excited I managed to get some kitchen time in. I've missed my fancy measuring cups and kitchen aid mixer. It's also been fantastic to have a fire in the fireplace and football in the background. Perfect Sunday.

Nursery Pictures

2012-01-14T21:55:00.005-06:00

I finally took some pictures of the nursery. It's pretty much done but I'm thinking of totally reorganizing the baby clothes. The dresser is pretty crowded and the closet is fairly empty so it needs a little balancing. Most everything in the nursery was on sale or something we had with a few exceptions.

This is the corner by the closet door with the cute girl version of the iconic cat clock. The doll is one I made inspired by Lisa Kaus. Both of which use to live in my studio but look great in here. I wanted her to have a few things Mommy made from the very beginning.

The ottoman and glider are two exceptions. The glider was on sale at Potter Barn Kids but was still pricey with the shipping and slip cover. The ottoman was custom made and ordered through a friend. Even being custom, it was 1/2 the price of the matching ottoman from (PBK) and has a lot more interest. It's big enough to act as a table for her when she's older. The picture behind the chair is one of my favorites and I got it on Etsy.

The dresser is an antique that was once my great-grandmother's. Now it's made fancier with knobs from Anthropologie. The two top ones are sparrows in pink, blue and white. The others are pink crystal daisies with gold centers. Love them. The picture above the dresser is a photo taken by Wendy Bix. I was super lucky and won mine via a twitter giveaway but you can pick up your own from her Etsy shop. The bunny box is awesome and I need to get a better shot. My friend Randall bought it for her when we were shopping the Christmas sale at Anthropologie. The retro fan was also moved from my studio to her room. Love the aqua against the pink and white.

Her crib was a PBK sale with sheets and monkey (which won't be in the crib when she is until much older) were shower gifts.

The changing table was a super discount via PBK kids that the husband found fairly early on in the nursery development. The changing pad was a gift from my Mom along with a pad cover. This one in polka dots was a shower gift. Still need to organize the diaper and baby paraphernalia that's squirreled away in the baskets but it's fantastic that the basket holds the all the clutter.

Bookshelf was moved from the studio and is filled with a mix of new and existing items. Her Aunt, a librarian, is building her quite the library with a few additions from friends, grandparents and some of my favorite classic mythology and of course Harry Potter series.

I had a couple of these prints in my studio and am crazy about them and new immediately I wanted them in her nursery. I ordered the bubble gum pic to create the triptych and the husband did a fantastic job of hanging them. The Black Apple has some great series images that could fit into all kinds of themes (which I seriously avoided since I knew I would take it way too far). Her circus images are fantastic.

I hope she likes it and I don't immediately turn her off of pink and all things girly. :O

Baby Shower in Missouri

2012-01-08T18:34:00.003-06:00

My family threw a fantastic baby shower for me in Missouri this weekend. Anita, my sister-in-law, coordinated with my Mom to get it set up with all kinds of tasty goodness and invitations on both sides. Everyone went way beyond in the planning and it was gorgeous. Anita also acted in the role of waitress making sure everyone had everything they needed - she's much nicer than me. I would have self-service all over the ladies.

It was also our last road trip pre-baby delivery. I hadn't had any issues with swelling until the 6 hour drive from here to Springfield. By the end of the day I had definite cankles and it was seriously unattractive and generally unpleasant. No more long road trips until Sophy can ride along outside of the womb. She does seem especially displeased with road maintenance in southern Oklahoma so if someone could get on that it would be great.

Back to the shower. I clearly had a good time since these were the only photos I took. Luckily my sister-in-law, Sandi, is a fantastic photographer and she was all over it with the picture taking. I'll do more photos when she's gone through the 300 she took! It was mostly a family shower and a little mini-reunion for my husband's family and everyone was fabulous. They seemed to have a good time and awed appropriately with all the pinky goodness. This kid is set for a long time!

My plate of goodies

The sagging presents table! Everyone was incredibly generous and I'm a little teary at how happy everyone was to celebrate us and the baby.

I was in love with this mural on the wall at the tea room where we had the shower.

Little festive goodness in the form of vines, twinkling lights and chandelier.

The table that greeted the guests. My Mom had a fantastic idea of having folks address their thank you cards when the came in making it super easy to get those suckers in the mail. She also had everyone wrote a note on little onsies that were clothes pinned to the cake table with miniature pins. Super cute.

Gorgeous cake my Mom made. Dad had to do a little baby decapitation but it was totally worth it in the cuteness that resulted.

Now we're going to get started on washing all the baby clothes and seriously getting ready for her arrival including bag packing. Luckily we bought her outfit for coming home a few weeks ago so the big decisions are all done. :)

2012... the Mayans can suck it

2012-01-03T16:57:00.015-06:00

I'm not all about the resolutions but a new year does seem like a good time to take stock of what's important to you. (At this point, I'm hoping to get it done prior to the end of January and that's looking ify.) What do I want for myself, for my family and for the future in general? So I'm starting my list and see how it goes.

1. Deliver a healthy and happy baby girl. Work out a routine that's good for all 3 of us (and the fur babies)to keep everyone fed, clean, sheltered, etc.

2. Do a better job of keeping connected with friends and family. These are all people I love and care about so I should let them know and do my part in continuing to maintain the relationships.

3. Spend more time in the kitchen and housekeeping in general. I'm not wanting to become a domestic goddess but I'd like to be more aware of what we're eating, keeping the house clean (especially with the new baby) and what we use to keep it clean for everyone's improved health.

4. A little more spinach reading to go along with all of my fiction. I've collected a fair amount of non-fiction that I'm always meaning to get to but I want to make an effort to actually work some in. I recognize this is a little crazy with a new baby but I live in hope.

5. De-clutter, de-clutter and then de-clutter some more. I want to clear out all of the old and make room for new in the house. Also, it keeps everyone a little more settled when the house is clean and relatively clutter free.

6. Making a priority of healthy eating and exercising. Post-baby I want to work hard to get back to the progress I was making in terms of maintaining my weight with steady loss and improved exercise. I never thought it would happen but I miss jogging on the treadmill. I'm pretty happy that I have not overly enjoyed my pregnancy (as Dr.Garner puts it when folks over indulge) and have gained a healthy and realistic amount of weight. I've added in a little more chocolate to my everyday meal plan but also more awareness of snacks and healthier eating which sort of offsets the additional dessert.

7. Optimistic and sunny are not words that are generally used to describe me but I'd like to be a little more positive in my approach to the world. I don't want to raise a cynical and jaded baby right from the start so it's kind of exciting to start looking at things from a new perspective.

8. Figure out what makes me happy and do more of that. Fairly straight forward once I decide what I really like vs what's just become a decent routine. Much to my husband's dismay reality TV may stay.

9. Better control on our finances including a real budget. We've already made some pretty good strides here but I see a few more cuts in our future. I watched one of Suze Orman's shows (limited options at 2am) where she told a couple they should pay for their child's college but don't let the child know this is an option. They have to work and show they're serious and at the end just pay off her student loans. I kind of love this approach and want to be in a position to do that.

10. Make more art. Any kind of art. I think this will be a great time to bond with the kiddo once she's old enough to hold a crayon. There were always craft projects in our house and makes you a little handy when you grow up and would love to have that with our daughter. I would also love to work in some art classes/retreat but will need to figure out how that works with the baby and the budget.

11. Budget in some serious travel plans for the family. We both love it and don't do enough but we definitely want to make it a priority and would love to do some RV trips to some national parks. These may be pre-planning for beyond 2012 but it makes me bizarrely happy to read travel books, maps and plan itineraries.

12. Remember to be grateful. No matter how bad the day gets, there is a lot for me to be thankful for everyday. Fantastic husband, baby on the way, great family and we both have good jobs with benefits, etc. It's easy to take it all for granted but I don't want to and I want to do more to give back since we've been seriously blessed.

I'm going to call it a day at a list of 12 since this post has dragged on for nearly a month and already feels crazy ambitious but this year is already pretty awesome as we're now seriously approaching delivery day.

I hope you guys are still working on your resolutions or just have amazing weekend plans!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T08:42:00.003-06:00

I'm most thankful for my husband and our baby (she'll be here soon!) in 2011 and in 2012. I hope 2011 was everything you wanted and 2012 brings you more!

... and without the mustache because the mustache is weird.

Happy New Year!

Reminder from the Universe

2011-12-29T21:10:00.002-06:00

Saw this on Facebook this morning and promptly started to cry. This is more truth than I was prepared to handle at 7:45 this morning but appreciated the universe reminding me of the message.

Italian Charms, French Cut Steel Beads, Texas Studio.. oh my!

2011-12-27T21:17:00.003-06:00

I previously blogged about my love of the Souvenir Necklace from Amy Hanna and I see my obsession continuing.

For Christmas, Suzanne stocked up charms for me from her trip to Italy (along with a gorgeous rosary). I opened the box and felt the bag and new there were serious goodies inside. I've got big plans for these charms

to make a serious connection with these beads.

I've also got some other vintage finds stockpiled that I've already got plans for with all of these goodies. Now, I just have to finish cleaning up my desk and the rest of the studio but this is the perfect motivation.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:49:00.001-06:00

I hope your holiday is filled with family, friends and tasty goodness!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:09:00.004-06:00

Christmas Eve has been very festive and quiet at our house. We went on the hunt for good sales at Anthropologie - sketchy this year - then braved the mall that was shockingly empty to check out The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was fantastic and I got a little snow fix with all the Swedish winter scenes. Also, I want to totally re-do the house in lots of white and grey with a little pale blue just to mix it up. I'm hoping this passes before I take any action that will get me in serious trouble with the husband. While out and about we did a little scenic tour of the fancy neighborhoods and had tasty lunch goodness before heading home with treats from the new Dunkin Donuts in McKinney and settling in with a fire and the puppies.

Now, we're watching the 24 hours of A Christmas Story which we've never ever seen before except every year for 24 hours!

A little festiveness on the square shown here.

Reindeer display that I'm stealing next year from Anthropologie

Me out and about today going a little steampunk. I'm working on desensitizing myself from pictures since it's going to be all pictures all the time with baby. Also, I feel a little bad we didn't take more in utero shots sooner but Mommy was ralphing a lot and looked like death. Frankly, I've just found my make up drawer again in the last two weeks!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas Eve!

I blame Rachel Zoe

2011-12-22T21:42:00.002-06:00

I've been watching lots of reruns of The Rachel Zoe Project since the clothes are really pretty, I like the trips to fashion week and the rest is beyond mindless. I've also been adding in a few new items to my wardrobe that are a little more daring than my usual style especially since there's no hiding an almost 8 month baby belly. A few of these new pieces have included sequins (shown here), more statement pieces of jewelry and a couple of leopard sweaters that I've loved and will definitely keep in rotation post-baby.

And now I'm mixing in this jacket. I've had my eye on a couple I've seen out in the intranets but I didn't want to pay $100 bucks or more for one. I went to Macy's yesterday checking out the sales and saw the jacket was 50% off and covered the belly (mostly). After all was said and done I only spent $45 (Macy's in store math is confusing but always comes out to much less than I expect to pay) and it's actually pretty toasty. They have it online but it's higher than I paid in the store and limited sizes so definitely check out the store if possible. I've got big plans for it with a shopping trip with a friend tomorrow and a fancy brunch on Sunday with a new dress I picked up at Ross (thanks to my friend Mark for pointing out the thriftiness available) for $10 bucks. I'm trying to seriously limit my spending on clothes I may not wear post baby.

It's been a fabulous vacation week and the weekend should be even better.

Souvenir Inspired Necklace

2011-12-21T19:22:00.002-06:00

I made the necklace above after reading Souvenir from Heather Bullard and Amy Hanna's project. I stocked up on the french cut beads and have stockpiled the religious medals so I was set. I had to restring it twice since there was a bead clasp incident on the first one which was fortunate since I used a much thicker gray silk thread the second time.

This seems like a fantastic gift idea for next year. If I start now I'll be done by March!

Steampunk Style Charm Bracelet

2011-12-20T09:25:00.003-06:00

Friday after work, my friend Randall and I decided to have a quick crafting session and I knew what I wanted to make immediately. I had seen a few charm necklaces out in the world the last few months and wanted one for myself. In paring down the studio I'd gathered bits and bobs perfect for my necklace and it was super easy to assemble once I sat down to do it. Here's the pre-version, upclose shots and then the finished version. I love it! It's exactly what I wanted and I have total vindication that my hoarding ways have paid off.

Date Night Outfit

2011-12-19T20:42:00.005-06:00

I went with a version of glam rock a la Rachel Zoe for our big night out which was fantastic and tasty. All women 1/2 way through their 7th month should wear a sequined dress (leggings were a must since this dress is more of a tunic) and with my sparkly Toms I was ready to go. Also, this pic illustrates why I made a hair appt for Weds, seriously in need of a cut and color (checked 3 times with the doctor and it's still ok so I'm just going to break down and do it. It's been almost 10 months since my last color).

This week I'm off from work and have big plans but if I even get through half my list it will be a major accomplishment. I did get a few things done today: getting our small tree up and decorated, it's pretty festive for this year and I'm bracing myself since next year will be all out with the new baby, grocery shopping and some errands. Big things for tomorrow include cleaning the kitchen, getting a massage and maybe working in the studio.

Hope you guys are planning for an awesome countdown week to Christmas!

- Also, I really need to get new blinds for the window by our front door since Maya went nuts when she was younger and left at home while Abby went to the vet. Oy.

Quick Necklace Commissions

2011-12-18T15:51:00.003-06:00

I had a few unexpected sales of some previously made jewelry that I was super excited to move. I had a friend ask for a couple of necklaces for around $15 each for teachers gifts - next year the baby and I are on it as teachers gifts for our niche - and I'm happy with how they turned out. Requests were 1) green in color and design and 2) purple and a little glam.

The green design uses all recycled material with rosary chain, old chain and key. The only new item is the clasp. The purple and glam was fun since larger quartz style seems to be in and coupons/discounts at Michael's had this one coming in right on budget with chain already in my cabinet. I'm hoping my friend, and the teachers, like them.

Now, I'm off to get ready for our Sunday night day night at the fancy steak house and then heading out to look at Christmas lights in the fancier neighborhoods. Tomorrow starts the official first day of my holiday vacation and I can't wait!

Happy Sunday!

Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-11T11:33:00.003-06:00

Christmas party pictures from last night. I got to have fun and spend lots of time sitting which is fantastic at 7.5 months pregnant! The husband was super cute too.

Tasty food at a beautiful house of a friend means lots of fun with no work from us. :)

Journal Pages: Paris

2011-12-10T17:04:00.003-06:00

Paris pages that I can't stop. I've already added some pink scallops to the postcard. It really was like spring time even though it was October (a few years ago) when we visited. So lovely. I need to convince the husband to give it another try.

Smash Journal

2011-12-08T19:32:00.002-06:00

I've been obsessed with journals lately but lacked some motivation but my new Smash Journal has helped me jump start the pages. I love the prompts and working intuitively by just pulling out pieces laying around my files or desk. It was especially great after my fairly crappy day to just play.

First 2 full pages finished in the journal. 2 more in progress for later postings.

Humboldt Mansion

2011-11-26T21:23:00.005-06:00

My sister-in-law, Anita, has the best shopping spots in Springfield and we found this little treasure after she read about it in the paper. It's at the Humboldt Mansion which has lots of events and she's now got a few shops with some fantastic goodies as seen in the pictures below. I tried to show some restraint after a larger previous purchase (another post) and settled for some vintage ornaments and some paper ribbon. You can see some more fantastic pictures on Common Ground. If you're in the area (Springfield, Missouri) I highly recommend a visit. I'm going to have to start planning visits around her few weeks a year that she opens.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T21:20:00.004-06:00

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving at my parents house. We got their early afternoon Weds and headed out this morning to Missouri for more family and shopping. A wonderful trip to Kansas and I have a few pictures to prove it. There are more but I got tired. :)

I continue to have lots to be grateful for but haven't had a lot of time to blog about all the grateful goodness. I'm adding all of these people to the list plus turkey and chocolate.

Thankful Day 18

2011-11-18T09:21:00.003-06:00

I missed a few days there but thankfully this is my blog and I can just move it along and act as if nothing happened!

I'm thankful I just saw the post that my favorite antique store is open this week with a vintage ornament sale!

Also, that my hubby is fantastic and has no issues with visiting said antique store even though he kind of hates that sort of thing. This is why I'm thankful for him everyday.

Thankful Day 13

2011-11-13T20:05:00.002-06:00

I'm thankful for cable and wireless internet that helps keep up my food porn obsession by watching cooking channel, food tv and searching Amazon, while watching said food porn, for some new favorite cookbooks and inspiration. Upcoming this week I plan to attempt some crock pot cooking, making squash dumplings a la Alton Brown and my favorite pumpkin bread from the Eureka, KS church cookbook I've had since getting married (thanks Grandma Criswell!) - also, they have a shockingly good website. Excellent Sunday evening.

Thankful Day 12

2011-11-12T20:07:00.002-06:00

Today's random thankfulness goes out to Behr paint for making paint with primer that made it easier to paint the nursery.

Behr is in now way paying/sponsoring this post but if they wanted to that would be ok as well.

Thankful Day 11

2011-11-11T20:03:00.002-06:00

I'm thankful for this post that made me feel like I'm not the only one who had doubt and fear issues about infertility and pregnancy.

Thankful Day 10

2011-11-10T08:04:00.001-06:00

I'm thankful for my nephew Hudson (his parents are kind of awesome too) who is an incredible little spirit and I love him like crazy.

Happy Birthday Hudson!

Thankful Day 8 & 9

2011-11-09T08:53:00.002-06:00

I missed yesterday's post since I had a horrible allergy attack. I went home then straight to bed which is what I was grateful for yesterday. A cozy bed. Ours has this duvet but not done in such an artful image. Please insert rumbled blankets and dog fur to maintain the appropriate glamor. Although I'd rather have the dog fur than a very tidy house.

image via Dwell

Thankful today for my Mom and it also happens to be her birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!

She loves antiques and is ridiculously excited about the new grandchild which is awesome for everyone. Have a fantastic day and I love you!

Thankful Day 7

2011-11-07T17:45:00.002-06:00

I'm thankful that I saw this on my windshield tonight when I left work. It reminded me that email was probably not the most important thing I did today and I'm grateful for the reminder.

Thankful Day 6

2011-11-06T20:48:00.002-06:00

I'm thankful for these guys. Every day. They are incredibly sweet and love us more than we can possibly know. I'm grateful they came into our lives and we've been able to give them a good home with lots of pets, treats and snuggle time.

Thankful Day 5

2011-11-05T22:31:00.002-05:00

Continuing with the odd clothing theme I'm thankful for Old Navy leggings and their ability to stretch to fantastical new heights. I'm hoping 3 pair will get me through February!

Thankful Day 4

2011-11-04T15:22:00.002-05:00

Today I searched deep for my thankfulness and came up with Target and their awesome designer partnerships which meant I picked up this hat at lunch time.

Thankful Day 3

2011-11-03T20:19:00.004-05:00

I'm thankful to have these people in my life.... and a few others but I don't have great pics of them. :)

I'll get to see them this weekend for our cookbook gathering and I'm super excited to have Suzanne stay with us for some extended girl time. It's her visit up here since I saw her in Austin this summer and I can't wait. Seriously everyone needs a Suzanne, a Yuri and a Bo in their life.

Thankful Day 2

2011-11-02T19:20:00.003-05:00

Today I'm thankful for butter. Yep, butter.

Most comfort foods include yummy tasty butter so when I'm missing my Grandma I can now make her chocolate sheet cake recipe my Mom sent me. When I think of my favorite food from my Mom it's chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes (yep, starch with a side of starch but it's tasty) and nothing makes mashed potatoes yummier than butter. We made sugar cookies for Christmas covered in smooth royal icing that I still can't duplicate but when I taste remind me of growing up. Grilled cheese toasty with melted butter for when you're sick and the basis for the all time favorite comfort cookie chocolate chip. The Barefoot Contessa has it right by adding a stick of butter to every recipe.

Thankful Challenge

2011-11-01T08:58:00.006-05:00

I think I'm going to try and take on the "Thankful Challenge" from Carrots 'N' Cake. I need something to kick my butt back to the blogosphere and not focus on a baby focus for every update (although she really is at the top of the grateful list). So today's thankful item is for the "cold front" heading to Texas.

I love myself some cold weather with windows open, reading on the patio, sweaters... the list is endless.

Happy Hallween!

2011-10-31T16:14:00.001-05:00

My friend Sean and I at the office today. Guess which is which? :)

First Doll Purchase

2011-10-10T09:40:00.002-05:00

After promptly confirming that the baby is a girl I immediately decided she needed this

the Tokidoki Barbie Doll which her Daddy has emphatically stated is not appropriate for a good long while, if ever, and will have to stay with Mommy in her studio for a while. There are worse hardships.

Fantasy NYC Vacay

2011-09-29T17:58:00.003-05:00

image via a blind flaneur

I wish I was there although it's for good reasons I'm not. I'm strangely concerned about flying and being pregnant although everyone assures me I'm crazy I don't really care. Also, those fancy nurseries won't pay for themselves and there are some fancy nursery items I have my eye on but...

I am slightly jonesing for NYC. I had never been then went a million times (or 5) in a 4 month period and I was hooked. I became a city junkie. I loved the crowds, the noise, the restaurants, the shopping, all of it. Even the husband doesn't mind and there's tasty food options and good walking so he avoids boredom.

I think our weekend would kick off with Time Warner Center and Bouchon followed by a walk in the park with lots of picture opportunities. We've never really explored anything north of that area so this might be the time. Next, a day down in Soho which wouldn't be complete without a visit to Balthazar's and Pearl River. I think a little more exploration of the East Side and Chinatown would also work into the mix. I'm sure we'd also work in a significant amount of baby shopping and general wandering.

I think I may combine my new love of journaling (OMG Teesha Moore's videos are fantastic and how did I miss them?!) and the fantasy vacation. More gushing to come in a future post.

Happy Thursday!

Neighbors

2011-09-24T21:09:00.001-05:00

... and this is why I love our neighborhood in McKinney. My neighbors one block from our house.

I also love the halftone app the husband showed me on my phone. Greatness.

Here If You Need Me: Book Recommendation

2011-09-20T19:24:00.003-05:00

In my new role as shut in I haven't done much besides lay in bed and watch TV but I did manage to get a little readying in and this has been my favorite so far.

It's Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup and it's fantastic. I love the spiritual journey she takes but also the humor and humanity she brings to all of her stories. It was exactly what I needed at the time and I can't recommend it enough.

Now that I'm not regularly throwing up and can manage to walk from the kitchen to the bedroom without being exhausted I'm hoping to get in some baking. Nothing says fall like baking during football. That and soup making but we'll start small with some pumpkin bread.

Also, regular blogging would be nice. I've missed it.

Where the hell have I been?

2011-09-18T12:46:00.003-05:00

Mostly I've been laying in bed at home doing a whole lot of nothing but obsessing about things like this.

Image courtesy of QuinnleesBoutique

Note: not our baby... but we hope to have one very similar sometime towards the end of February.

The process has definitely been, well, a process to get here. After trying for a while (I'm 38 and we've been married for 16 years so there you go) we decided to get serious and after a year of IUI and fertility drugs that meant IVF. For me, it really wasn't a taxing process other than being really tired and acting as a human pin cushion. Seriously, 11 weeks of shots in the ass will take a toll on anyone. And that was really the only downside. In fact, several folks - including my husband - have all pointed out that I seem much more mellow and calm. But it's a roller coaster of ups and downs which can take a toll. So, I've purposefully just taken a break from everything but doing a lot of nothing and relaxing. Thank God for Bravo and reality TV! Yay, The Rachel Zoe Project and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are back.

And after everything, we got pregnant and are now at 17 weeks and early indicators are she's a girl baby (not that this was ever the real question as much as the sex of the baby) but we'll have a more definitive sono in a couple of weeks. I do continue to worry about everything, Rolland can verify this, but am trying to just let it go and enjoy the process. Of course this includes finally tackling the guest bathroom remodel and completely flipping the studio and guest room so the guest room will now be the nursery and the studio will combine with the guest room. It's good that I've spent months resting up!

Now, I have to apologize that the blog may be taken over with tons of pictures like the above and decorating/remodeling images.

Summer Lovin'

2011-06-08T07:07:00.003-05:00

Past summers have most likely been fairly hellacious for my husband as I spend mid-May through October bitching about how hot it is here. I have vowed this summer will be different and I will embrace all things that are good about summer. So far that has included:

1. Kaftans: My favorite has been from World Market

2. Reading, reading and more reading. So far I've finished the Twilight Series, the latest Sookie Stackhouse, read this fantastic book called Spellcast that I can't recommend enough, and am working my way through the books stacked on the nightstand.

3. Have not complained about the heat once. Seriously, this is miraculous.

4. Watching all the fantastic summer programming and looking forward to others starting: White Collar, Burn Notice, Eureka, Haven and all things Real Housewife on Bravo.

5. Cooking: I'm trying to avoid the oven which is tricky since I want to work my way through some of my baking books but with the heat (of which I'm just mentioning but I'm not complaining about) it's much better to not turn on the oven and just cook it all outside. The husband has cooked some tasty goodness on the grill.

6. Travel: So far this has been a bit of a summer wish list but we've got a trip to Austin next week planned and there are several minor road trips I've got my eye on so again with the wish list. And if I eek summer into September I have a trip to NYC planned with a friend and I can't wait!

Ok, I'm packing it in at the top 6 since I've been working on this post for a couple of weeks and it's sad how little progress I've made. More summer to-do items include:
more studio time, playing with the digital camera and my light box to figure it all out, have a garage sale, clean out my studio, update studio space in the garage and work on some home improvement projects. Good thing summer is a fairly decent amount of time in Texas!

What are your summer plans?

Random Catch Up

2011-05-24T07:22:00.002-05:00

One would think with a super new fancy 5 minute commute you'd get all the time in the world back but so far that's only true in the morning, which don't get me wrong is fantastic. But, my days have started stretching out fairly long into the evening so my plan for taking over the kitchen every night and pulling a Donna Reed has not worked out. Luckily, the husband is terrific and hasn't complained once and has even handled dinner. I'm not giving up the kitchen dream and plan to get back on the bandwagon post Memorial Day.

I'm also behind in the blogging but I'm slowly going through my pictures that have seriously accumulated on the camera. This one is a favorite wall pic I snapped in Vegas. Louis Vuitton was everywhere including a new 3 story store in Aria. I was overcome with the need for purchasing fine leather goods but resisted the astronomical prices. We did wonder about the woman purchasing 5 bags at once. I hope they ship!

Still finalizing my plans for summer vacation, working on serious summer to do list as summer and are working on making friends, or at least not being hated enemies. We'll see how it goes.

Heading to the office, happy Tuesday!

Vegas Baby!

2011-05-15T22:11:00.002-05:00

We've come to Vegas for a long weekend with tasty food and excellent shopping. It's the last night and I've borrowed the hubby's iPad for a quick check in. I'm also working on my list for things i want to do this summer. It's already long but I'm open to suggestions!

Happy Sunday!

Super Fancy Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T22:44:00.002-05:00

I have the wedding and all the appropriate accompaniments on the DVR but haven't settled in to watch. It seems like a Sunday morning kind of thing.

Inspired by all the super fancy outfits and pictures I made these pieces with some gorgeous quartz (pink and silver). The pink has gold plated findings and is strung on pink silk thread. The silver is all sterling with some matching earrings.

They'll be perfect for all of our formal occasions - or our trip to Vegas in a couple of weeks.

Lame Friday Update

2011-04-22T20:35:00.003-05:00

This is another gemstone necklace I made a week or so ago. I'm loving the simple necklaces and how the stones warm up through the day. Admittedly, these stones are a little bigger than usual and it got a little heavy by the end of the day. I still love it and can't wait to figure out how to layer it with a few more pieces since it may be too subtle on it's own. :)

This one I finished this week and it has a matching pair of earrings. The rosary connector is a locket which also happens to be connected to a locket just in case you might need a few options for carrying favorite photos around. This one should eventually make it's way into the Etsy shop but I've been busy and kind of lazy.

I'm a little overwhelmed at my 22 item to do list for this weekend and I just remembered I need to add grocery shopping to it. Ugh. I think it's time to curl up in bed and read until tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival 2011

2011-04-17T19:18:00.008-05:00

The husband knows it's a little rocky at work right now so to take my mind off of it he volunteered to take me to the Fort Worth Main Street Art Festival. I've gone a few times before and it's always fabulous. I always want to move afterwards to a place that has tons of wall space and square footage for gallery walls.

Me as a happy art camper. I even dressed in a reasonable fashion with white t-shirt (usually wear black and bake in the sun), sunscreen in lotion and make-up along with hat to protect head from sunburn along with forehead and nose.

I saw these pieces and immediately wished for an extra $10k hanging around so I could take one, or two, home with me. These were incredible in person. The artist is Aaron Hequembourg and I'm already planning to start an art piggy bank for one of his pieces along with that house that was previously mentioned. I'd need it since some of them are huge.

This little guy, which was pretty large as well, is adorable and has such a great expression especially for a metal sculpture. I think this one would fit in the backyard but not necessarily the car.

You can have one of these fabulous sculptures for a measly $25k and a huge truck for transport. The pieces had more than a few folks mesmerized.

I fell hard for these pieces. The artist, Micheal Paul Cole, creates a plaster background on a wood canvas and mounts a photograph (not digital but actual film and dark room image) on the piece. He also made the frame out of maple. In fact, I loved this one so much it's now hanging on my living room wall!

I got a few more pieces that I'll have to put in future posts since they're unframed prints and it's dark to take an image at this point. Also, I'd like them to be framed to truly show them off. I also picked up a few gifts. Buying directly from the artist is my favorite way to shop. People get one of a kind gifts and I get to support artists I really admire and respect who are trying to make a living doing what they love. Puppies, unicorns and glitter for everyone!

And because the husband is such a sport, I took him for burgers over at Tim Love's Love Shack.

Burger with what I believe to be the perfect bottom bun with a finger hold for adding condiments.

Burger Love... sigh. Seriously, this place was fabulous and the outside setting is gorgeous. The sky was the perfect Texas blue sky with a breeze and mild temps. Heaven on a patio. If you find yourself in Fort Worth with a burger hankering run over to try it out. I promise, it's fantastic!

In case you didn't believe me, blue skies. The red (neon), white building and blue sky are the perfect red, white, and blue combo.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.

Back in the Saddle

2011-04-13T21:20:00.003-05:00

source

It's been a rough few weeks but I'm finally on the mend. I had been having a lot of issues as I start new meds, stop some old ones and then hope for the best. In the process of it all I started feeling incredibly exhausted. It went on for a few weeks then a couple of weeks ago, on a Friday, I got the full on cough and sinus congestion. Hubby wanted to take me to the doctor right away but I felt stupid seeing as how I was sick for only a few days but finally on Monday we went... pneumonia and a sinus infection so not so silly. A full week at home doing nothing but napping and taking meds finally got me back to the land of the living and then another week and a half and I'm starting to feel pretty good. I've even managed some fun jewelry projects and a little baking.

Hopefully, I'll be back to regular blogging and I'm working on a summer project list. I'm determined to embrace the summer, even the heat here in Texas, and have fun a la summer vacation!

Hope everyone's having a great week and I am off to snuggle with the family and watch lots of reality TV.

Latest Books

2011-03-20T22:21:00.002-05:00

In case anyone's interested, and you're a fan of urban fantasy (if you're not, please don't tell me), here's a quick list of a few favorites I read in the last couple of weeks.

I just finished reading Jim Butcher's anthology of short stories in the Harry Dresden series Side Jobs. Serious greatness. Plus, I'm now super excited and totally nervous (i.e. slightly dreading) the release of Ghost Story coming out in a few months.

Patricia Briggs and the Mercy Thompson series may be my favorite right now. I love Mercy and am a big fan of where the series is headed.

I love the Hollows series but the last couple of books haven't been my favorites. This one was similar and I'm not sure I like the direction of the series. It's not a big enough issue to stop reading (in part because I have a series book monkey on my back) but I'm hoping they eventually get back to somewhere I want it to go.

My comments on Late Eclipses are the exact opposite. I love where this series is headed and Tobey Daye becomes a more compelling character with each book. The amount of research that must go into the this series is a little staggering but I'm completely appreciative and these books are fantastic.

Rob Thurman rocks the Cal Leandros series and this was no exception. Loved it and was ready for more way too quickly. I'm pretty sure I read this in one day and drove the hubby nuts. Her dedication also made me all teary eyed before I even started.

Ok, I'm done and would've posted all the new books coming out that are exciting the book monkey but I'm tired and doing all the links would push me to the edge. May be later this week. Hope everyone had a terrific weekend.

Pretties and a small post

2011-03-15T17:01:00.002-05:00

The studio clean up is going pretty well. I'm actually at a point where I can see pretty things like this again. Once it's all back in order, I'll post pics. In this case, no before images will be shown.

I got this on a trip back home to Missouri last fall - and it doesn't matter how long we live in Texas, back home will always mean Missouri - and I love him. He hangs above my dresser with my growing rosary collection (some are in the studio) and a few favorite necklaces. Originally I had planned to hang him in the kitchen but he never made it.

Necklace I re-worked. It had been strung on a cord with swarovski beads but it was too fussy for me (shocking I know!) so now it's back to simple chain with clasp. Much better for layering.

Happy Tuesday! I'm off to catch up on junk TV before Rolland makes it home. He doesn't complain too often but if I can get it out of the way so he doesn't even have to tolerate it, even better!

Quick Weekend Update

2011-03-13T19:12:00.002-05:00

So far the weekend has been pretty good but busy. I did a local market on Saturday with a friend basically selling jewelry I like but don't really wear anymore and a few quick pieces I made last week. Had a fairly decent take rate and discovered everyone loves a set! Earrings, earrings, earrings. Now I know for next time!

I've been loving the chunky necklaces I'm seeing everywhere and decided to use some of my splurge finds. These are large amethyst stones and a silver clasp I got a couple of years ago in Omaha. Wired together a la silver 20 gauge wire and now I've got a lovely necklace of my own. Awesome for spring and summer but I think it will look terrific mixed in with a lot of the gray pieces I own.

I'm also working on a spring cleaning of the studio which is only slightly less of a disaster now. I can't complain too much since hubby's tackling the garage. :o

Happy Sunday Guys!

Baking and Stuff

2011-03-03T20:57:00.003-06:00

I've been doing a lot of this lately.

I find it incredibly relaxing to bake and have the house smell yummy. There's a reason I love Julie & Julia so much - Nora Ephron really got it right that it's such a comfort to know mixing eggs and chocolate will thicken. It really is a law of the universe. It's reassuring to know if you follow instructions, have a little patience and a really good mixing bowl that lovely baked goods will emerge. This is not always true for the rest of the outside world. I prefer to stay all hermit like in the house.

Except for last weekend. I went to the Bishop Arts District with a friend to check out what's new. We found this incredible shop (I saw it on Unique Eats on the cooking channel) that I couldn't believe was in Dallas.

I highly recommend a visit. They let you sample everything and really know their stuff. A chocolate and foodie lover's paradise.

A nice view of downtown and the Pegasus way off in the distance.

Love the Belmont Hotel perched high up on the hill. I'm dying to try Smoke right next door.

I've got big plans for some bread baking this weekend.

Valentine's Pretties

2011-02-15T21:27:00.002-06:00

As previously mentioned I kind of sucked on the Christmas gifts so here are a few Valentine's make goods.

This one is a necklace I made for a super sweet friend of mine. I couldn't resist the "Queen Bee".

I've had this collage on my desk for a long time and finally finished adding pieces parts.

The collage made its way into this charm and I love the close up. I want to think I was channeling Frida Kahlo without the color and amazing talent but it's my moment of delusion so there you go.

Baking and Soldering

2011-02-13T21:09:00.004-06:00

I've become a huge fan of the show "Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag" on the OWN network so I did a little baking this weekend. Although to be clear, I don't really need much of a push to do any baking!

These were cookies I made over the holidays and froze the dough. This is the absolute best way to insure an easy option for much needed baked goods in an emergency. I thawed them over a few days then rolled them and baked them today. They're the Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies from one of the cookie editions of Martha Stewart Living. Super tasty and the touch of chipotle powder to the mixture you roll the cookies in is awesome. I think they're the perfect "take to the office for Valentine's treat".

Muffins from one of my favorite baking books. I made the blueberry muffins but had to swap out most of the sour cream for yogurt and it's a pretty tasty substitution. After Rolland nicely ran out to get more sour cream, I made another batch for him with cherries instead of blueberries. He declared these tasty as well.

And finally for dinner, homemade pizza. I've been making the crust for years which is super easy. The sauce my dad actually taught me forever ago and it's still a favorite. Rolland, not a fan but that's the beauty of homemade pizza, everybody can make it to order.

During all of the cooking frenzy, I made 5 charms. 3 are for Valentine's gifts (I was a big failure at Christmas so folks are getting Valentine's gifts!) and two others just 'cause I had enough stuff on my desk to work on a few more and more sparkles are always great.

I hope everyone had a terrific Valentine's eve and have plans for a sweet and romantic day tomorrow.

For the love of pink

2011-02-11T10:16:00.001-06:00

I'm over at the day job's blog today sharing my love of pink! There are some very pretty pictures over there. :)

A Faux Vintage Assembley

2011-02-08T20:18:00.003-06:00

On Sunday I wanted to do a little jewelry making without a major production. I dug through the bead drawer and found these yummy gumball looking stones. I decided to use links from vintage chain that I just can't seem to get enough of it (here and here).

I had a few beads leftover and thought this little guy needed something really pretty to show him off.

Oddly, the hubby didn't hate it and called it "Egyptian Looking". I think he's on to something there.

Most Recent Snowfall

2011-02-06T16:44:00.000-06:00

Cirque Came to Town

2011-02-05T16:43:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we ventured out to Ikea and saw the cirque folks were all set up. I love Cirque du Soleil and we've checked out all of their Vegas offerings except Elvis - next time - and even the hubby loves it. He drove all around the baseball field in Frisco so I could snap some shots. He's a keeper!

Good thing we ventured out, we ended up iced/snowed in all week! Pics in the next post.

New Foodie Favorite

2011-01-22T11:52:00.003-06:00

Extra Virgin on the Cooking Channel has to be one of my new favorite foodie shows. I kind of love Debi Mazar anyway, such amazing style, so watching her cook with her husband at their house in LA is greatness. They're kind of hilarious but serious about food which is also greatness. I mean they built a pizza oven in their backyard (new summer project for hubby?!) incorporating tiles from Italy. Also, the food looked amazing.

Speaking of food, I'm to a lunch date with the hubby.

Blah

2011-01-19T21:58:00.004-06:00

(image wikipedia)

This has been the kind of week I've had, also, I love to work in the Greek myths when I can just to make sure all the schooling hasn't gone to waste. Seriously, I can not wait for the weekend and some random fun. Also, I'm beating myself up for not going running tonight even if I have made it to the gym 3 days in a row and want nothing more than to snuggle into bed and sleep for a day but instead came home and worked for a few hours.

The good parts of the week are that I've got 3 pieces almost ready for additions to the etsy shop and all the Christmas stuff should be cleared out of the garage so I can get back to my soldering and torch area. Jewelry fun goodness will ensue! I'm also thinking about redoing some of the garage/workshop space so it's more inspirational and studio like. I think it can take my mind of the 110 heat while holding a soldering iron in July. Well, it will be inspiring at least.

I am showing restraint and not adding whining as a tag and appreciate you guys letting me just wallow for an entire post. Now, I'm definitely heading to bed. The puppies have the right idea.

Snow!

2011-01-14T21:19:00.003-06:00

We had all kinds of fun playing in the snow last weekend and it's actually been cold enough all week that it hasn't all melted. Seriously, I was in winter heaven. I don't think we're getting more snow but cold and rain work as a back up for a long weekend of cooking, playing in the studio and a little football in front of a fire.

Sublime Gift from Suzanne

2011-01-12T20:36:00.003-06:00

My friend Suzanne and I love the patterns from Sublime Stitching but I had no idea she had spent a large chunk of time becoming an embroidery whiz! I found out when I opened my Christmas gift to see this beauty. She even made the scarf!

I love it and now with the cold temps it's perfect for bundling up and snuggling. Also, the pink and the image are beyond awesome. Seriously, thoughtful homemade gifts rock!

New Friends

2011-01-11T21:18:00.002-06:00

One of the reasons I love living out in the suburbs (ignoring the commuting issues for the moment) is because it reminds me of growing up in a small town with lots of naturey goodness everywhere. Even though we're only 20 or so miles from Dallas proper (urban sprawl actually has major shopping in about 5 minutes) we still have lots of small town charm.

These guys are one of my favorites. One of our routes home takes us by a large plot of land with a barn and an older house where these cuties live. The hubby noticed a new addition and took my to see him/her last weekend. They ran right up to the fence and I wished I had snacks for them. Next time I'm thinking of sneaking some apples. They were super sweet and the little guy was ready to play but a slightly camera shy.

Clog Obsession

2011-01-07T19:38:00.003-06:00

Yeah, it's not every day that you type out that headline! But, I have in fact been obsessing about clogs lately. I wanted to find some that were comfortable and didn't look like I might start taking up weaving (not that there's anything wrong with that). I also didn't want to spend a large amount of money. Surfing around I found these.

Turns out they are surprisingly comfortable! Super excited about the purchase but the husband informed me that he could hear me coming with the first step. Note to self to remove shoes in case of any super sleuthing that may come up.

Works in Progress

2011-01-04T21:44:00.002-06:00

I snapped a few pics of my current works in progress scattered around my desk. They are so clear and crisp because I was too lazy to get the good camera and just used my phone. :)

This one is going to be put under glass as a new shrine. I just decided on a few more finishing touches then it's glass cutting and soldering to finish.

These are a couple of new boxes that I think will need the addition of vintage paper, a few more layers of paint and charcoal as well as a doll head with a rhinestone necklace. Then two new recipe holders will be ready for the etsy shop. I'm hoping to get several pieces done each week and restock the etsy shelves. It's easy to have high hopes on January 4th!

Time for a New Year

2011-01-01T10:04:00.001-06:00

Hope your year is filled with love, laughter, and tasty goodness!

Happy New Year!

Flea Market Finds

2010-12-27T22:07:00.002-06:00

The Friday before Christmas I hit my favorite antique spot in downtown Dallas. Set the tone for what's been an awesome vacation so far.

Here are all of the goodies I picked up and I was beyond excited to get the "Queen Mother" cabinet card for $5.00!

I love these taxidermy animals and can see why the Victorians had so much stuff collected around the house. An era I can definitely get behind.

A cabinet I'd love to try and make room for but unless The Doctor, preferably this doctor, (a la Doctor Who) comes to share his Tardis technology I'm outta luck.

Favorite shopping spot is Country Garden Antiques and I think I may need to check in again before this vacation is over!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T10:39:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Santa brought all the goodies on your list!

Festive Decorating

2010-12-23T20:05:00.003-06:00

Tree in the kitchen.

Vintage tree in the dining room. All the ornaments except church, tree topper and magenta flowers are all yummy vintage ornaments.

Bird tree in the bedroom

Snowmen in the hallway bookcases

Some favorite ornaments on the big tree in living room

Sugar/glitter houses in the dining room

Studio tree

Another studio tree

Glowing Santa from my friend Bo the girl.

Large view of Christmas tree in the living room.

New Camera Goodness

2010-12-19T18:38:00.004-06:00

I have been coveting a Lecia for a few years but it's totally out of my price range. A friend suggested this one as a great affordable option. Hubby found a super awesome deal so for $100 bucks it's mine. I couldn't resist pictures right away so this is the view out my desk window.

One of my favorite things about Dallas is the neon Pegasus that lights up downtown and luckily, it's my view when I'm sitting at my desk (which is almost never) but there you go. Some days I get super lucky and get to see the morning and evening glowy goodness!

The buildings with red roofs off in the distance are the Dallas Farmer's Market barns. Close enough I can easily check it out at lunch.

Time, Time, Time...

2010-12-13T10:35:00.005-06:00

I have a two week vacation coming up and I'm giddy with the possibilities for what I can do with that time. Unfortunately, I'm also terrific about the over booking and over committing leaving myself with little vacation. Here are a few of the things I really want to get done.

1. Reorganize my studio space and garage workshop
2. Play with all my new goodies from Sublime Stitching
3. Start some of the bread recipes from the Tartine Bread book
4. Look at next year's calendar for art events, workshops, shows, etc I'd like to sell at or just attend. This year was supposed to be the year of art and that didn't go so well. I'm just moving it on to next year since it's still a priority. I've already started by booking this class
5. Create more pieces based on my Stephanie Lee's online class
6. I've also got some plans to hang out with some friends I don't see very often: Suzanne, Yuri, Bo the girl (although we do get in a fair amount of girl time :) ) and even Bo the Boy and the old True gang if they're around. Holidays are challenging for schedule synching.
7. Read about a million books I've been collecting: Urban Fantasy, Travel, Cookbooks, and at least my weight in magazines.
8. Go to the day time yoga classes I haven't had time to check out
9. Visit the DMA (Dallas Museum of Art whose website seems to be on the fritz)
10. Sleep in past 6 am!

Any terrific holiday plans you are super excited about?

Unintentional Hiatus

2010-12-04T10:42:00.002-06:00

So I definitely didn't meant to take such a long blogging break but sometimes life gets a away from us. November flew by and I can't believe it's already Christmas time! Luckily, we're on top of it with the trees and outside lights. Most of the shopping is done and I've got two cookie doughs in the freezer with butter thawing. This holiday will be wrangled whether it wants to or not!

Here's a quick update on some of what's been going on. We went back home to Missouri which looks like this in the fall.

I love this picture looking down into the valley. I always forget how beautiful it is back home and then when I visit I want to stay!

We also saw Rolland's family, and Anita makes friends wherever she goes!

The main reason for our visit was my nephew, Hudson's first birthday, here are us kids with my Mom at his party. He was super cute and seemed to have a blast. He is adorable and just such a happy kid. It's awesome, my brother and sis-in-law are definitely aces in the parenting.

Next post, pics of the trees and holiday decorations! Now, I'm off to shower post gym and head into Big D to hang out with my friend Bo (the girl). I haven't seen her for a few weeks and can't wait to catch up! Also, I see a cheeseburger in the near future. :)

I hope you guys are having a fun filled Saturday!

Art from desk clean up

2010-10-24T21:25:00.003-05:00

In trying to clean up my desk I came across this canvas that I had started but never finished. Slowly I've been adding to it over the last 3 days and when I got the blue paint mixed up I had a lot left so now I have 3 boxes drying along with two more canvases. When I get the desk finally cleaned I should end up a lot of finished work.

I'm pretty happy with how this one turned with all the layers and a row of sparkles. I tried to use only materials from my desk so it was all pieces parts that I've tried to use up.

Scot

2010-10-17T18:53:00.003-05:00

Today is my brother's birthday and while I might be biased I think he's fairly awesome.

He and my Dad the day before his wedding.

Snuggling a bunny (mine to be fair) at Starbucks.

He and I at 6th floor museum.

In a few weeks we'll be heading up to Missouri to visit him and his family. It's my nephew's first birthday and while I can't believe my little brother has a baby it's been awesome to watch him grow up and see him with his own family. They're all pretty awesome as well.

Happy Birthday, I love you!

Best Ice Cream

2010-10-10T16:02:00.002-05:00

Lately I've been getting a lot of Border's coupons for 40% and I typically use these to feed my cookbook addiction. My last fix included The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. And it didn't disappoint!

This was in progress

Then the perfect scoop(s).

I added in marshmallows and toasted almonds turning it into Rocky Road. Beyond tasty.

I made Rolland vanilla with actual vanilla beans (go figure) to which he added almonds (untoasted) and dried cherries. But since he was impatient to let his chill I put his in the fancy maker that has the compressor while mine was in the more old school frozen bowl maker. Ice cream turned out great with both so no super fancy equipment really required.

I have a blood orange sorbet recipe that sounds super tasty as well.

Halloween at Canton

2010-10-09T21:48:00.004-05:00

I took an unintentional hiatus on blogging but I've been stocking up on the photos and outings so I should be back in the blogging saddle! So I'll just jump right back in. :)

Since I've signed up for Artsy Mama's swap I've been thinking about all things Halloween.

Turns out, I'm right on schedule according to the dealers in Canton. Here are a few pics of the awesome Halloween merchandising they had going on.

So this one isn't really Halloween but I love the neon arrow pointing to the fudge sign. As if we needed a sign!

My friend Bo (the girl) and I made the trek out to Canton. She's a lifelong DFW girl and had never been before so I felt duty bound to make sure she had the full experience including roast corn and the giant corn dog. We had a terrific time! I highly recommend it most anytime although I try to avoid the hottest months of the summer since the thousands of people crowding into the barns can make it even more sweltering and as I'm a delicate flower it's just not for me.

Next post, best ice cream. Ever!

Mini-road trip

2010-09-16T20:52:00.003-05:00

I'm heading to Kansas tomorrow to pick my Mom and head to northern Kansas. We're going through Kansas City on the way and I plan to pick up some goodies at Dean and Deluca while my Mom wants to check out Victorian Trading Co. From there, we're heading north to spend the night in St. Joseph before hitting the HWY for the HWY 34 sale. I'm a little apprehensive since there seems to be nothing much online about it but hopefully I'll get a chance to use this

which I will be storing in here

Tomorrow will be a long driving day and quite the trip since I'll hit 4 states in one day! I'm trying to be good diet wise but it's a road trip and if I see a Cracker Barrel all bets are off!

Baking Goodness

2010-09-06T21:01:00.002-05:00

I came into a little book gift card windfall and picked this up as part of my loot.

So far, I've made the Chewy Oatmeal cookies, blueberry buckle and pumpkin bread. I was especially excited about the pumpkin bread since my current recipe, which is super yummy, has shortening and I'm trying to avoid it. The cookies came out really weird but tasty. I think they would be better if chilled prior to baking.

Pretty much this has been the extent of my labor this weekend. It's been awesome to take 3 1/2 days to do nothing except relax and do all kinds of odd errands in and around the house. I'm thinking we should all revolt and make these holidays mandatory every week!

Hope you guys had a great weekend.

Cupcakes, Holiday and Oh My!

2010-09-03T18:30:00.003-05:00

I had a baked goods request the other day so I went with the favorite cupcake which is truly just a vehicle for icing. In this case I went with the all time best chocolate cake (recipe on the back of the hershey's cocoa tin) and peanut butter cupcakes. Turns out, the only peanut butter I had was the super crunchy flax seed from Trader Joe's (seriously come to Dallas already!!!) which made them a little dense and dry but still tasty.

Pre-frosting and cool on the wire racks.

Double batch of frosting (not the one found on the back of the cocoa tin) but a double batch does have 6 sticks of butter. You know, just to keep it light.

Frosted. These are the peanut butter designated by a lone peanut on top. I wanted to pipe the icing on but all my icing bags and tips have vanished. A trip to Sur la Table is imminent since I have a coupon and have ambitions to get the piping down. Also, it cuts down on the icing looking like poo.

All packed up and ready to go. The lone cupcake was for a friend who requested no frosting. He prefers things not too sweet but the cake was super moist (hehe) and yummy.

I plan to start working through a few books. This one and this one specifically.

I'm beyond excited about the long weekend. My vacation started at 12:40 today and I immediately grabbed a chai tea, hit the bookstore and grocery store. Back home by 2:30 and watched The Time Traveler's Wife. It got mixed reviews but I loved it. I thought they did a great job translating a fairly complicated idea and feeling from the book to the big screen. Also, I covet that house they bought. Seriously, I would sell a lot of cupcakes for that! Ready to rest up, bake and play in the studio.

Happy Friday!

Wicked!

2010-08-25T08:54:00.002-05:00

On our trip to NYC we saw Wicked which is the musical based on this book. Both of them are awesome! Although someone needs to talk to someone about the bathrooms on the mezzanine level. There 3 stalls, yep 3 for about 500 people. Someone is out of their mind. Luckily we sat right by the door so at intermission, first one in. Yay! Also, they have ginger ale at the concession stand so another big win. It's the little things that make me happy!

Stage pic from Rolland's iphone using hipstamatic. Love that app.

Rolland and I waiting for the show to start. Fabulous! Seriously, it's a great show if for everyone. We loved it as did Rolland's family so that's a pretty good span of age ranges. I'm not sure about the little guys and what they might think is scary.

Us on Broadway after the show.

I didn't really realize we matched until now. Yikes.

Summer Love

2010-08-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

Friday night the hubby and some of my girlfriends and I headed for the fancy new opera house downtown to see Garrison Keillor's Summer Love Tour. It was fabulous! I love Garrison Keillor and this show was very much like a Prairie Home Companion with a little more music and less of the usual skits although it did have the news from Lake Wobegon and Guy Noir.

Here is a truly awful picture of Garrison Keillor. He did have a lovely white linen suit and the trademark red shoes and socks.

Rolland took a pic of us girls. Jen, Bo (the girl) and myself.

Bo and I on our own while Jen tried to brave the line for the bathroom. She gave up as she realized it wrapped around the lobby.

A really terrific night!

New York..again

2010-08-19T21:42:00.002-05:00

I love neon so this required a picture. Also, I took tons of pics of the building. All of the Art Deco buildings are incredible and I love all of them. I hate to play favorites but the Chrysler Building would probably be it. Seriously gorgeous.

Not found in New York but she's cute and I love her.

Hubby with Bear and Lion on the Interpid.

More neon. I'm building a collection of neon and cool signs for my bathroom. What? It's better than velvet Elvis. Almost.

Me and the Bear and Lion on the Intrepid.

This weekend I need to get all of the histamatic images off of the phone. They're all arty and such so more fun to look at.

New York

2010-08-18T20:06:00.004-05:00

We made it there and back again (never thought I'd get to use the Hobbit in a blog post but there you go). It was gorgeous weather so the perfect weekend to go. A little bit of rain but incredibly mild temps. Seriously, if it were like that all the time then fall, winter, spring I would never leave! Here are a few pics. Still need to get pics off of Rolland's camera, my iPhone and Rolland's iPhone plus all the rest of the camera. OY. This should be enough to give you the general idea.

Martha Stewart's building as seen from a harbor boat cruise.

The deck of the Intrepid looking towards the city.

Rolland and his Mom at the NBC studios. I love the neon and his Mom loves the today show. A little something for everyone. I think this was her favorite place to visit in the entire city and on Sunday morning she was even on the today show via camera panning to the audience!

More skyline from the boat cruise. I'm sure this building is something but I have no idea what.

The home of the 9 by Design family. Interesting but fairly unremarkable compared to some of the architecture downtown. It's also right of off West Side highway so incredibly noisy and would make me incredibly nervous with all the kids running in and out but I guess city kids are used to lots of traffic.

Rolland, Anita and their Mom getting ready for takeoff.

Family in Times Square. Definitely a lot to see all around!

Me at High Line Park. Amazing elevated park that is really beautiful. They've also kept a lot of the features from when it was an elevated train area so you can see the tracks worked into the trail and the views of the city are incredible. We went following a visit after Chelsea Market then headed south towards Greenwich Village and Soho. I highly recommend it for strolling.

Rolland in front of his favorite plane... which I can no longer identify but it's definitely his favorite. :)

Rolland in front of the Apple motherland.

Tons more pics to come but all I had time for tonight. Hopefully I can get them all organized this weekend but we have lots of weekend plans including Garrison Keillor, Eat Pray Love and house stuff. We need another vacation!

rosary style

2010-08-11T19:44:00.003-05:00

Since I was on a roll with the rosary I went ahead and whipped up a little rosary style necklace with a Buddha I picked up at Pearl River on my last trip to NYC. Since we're heading back I wanted to get this one created so I have plenty of reason to buy more. Excellent Christmas gifts I think.

Gift Jewelry

2010-08-10T21:59:00.004-05:00

My friend Colleen recently had a baby girl and lately we've talked about all things pink & girly so for her birthday I made this rosary. The pink stone beads have a great mix of color and the quartz crystal adds just a hint of glamour. :) The connector is of St. Patrick (she has a brother named Patrick) with a traditional crucifix at the end. I really hope she likes it.

This one was a going away present for my friend Pamela. She's taking a hiatus to work on her own business (yay!) so I wanted to give her something pretty. The rose stones are a strand I got in Santa Fe and seeing as how she's from New Mexico they fit perfectly. I wire wrapped in between with rough tourmaline stones.

This one I know she loved but I mismeasured and will need to add another couple of stones. Turns out I'm not the only one who dislikes chokers. Ooops.

I'm working on a couple of fun pieces with pics to come later. I think these may stay in my increasingly full jewelry box. Hint: one my hubby described as a Betty Rubble necklace. I'm not sure he meant it as a compliment!

Saturday

2010-08-07T22:13:00.003-05:00

So far it's not super exciting at our house as it's all about the errands. I'm including the new gym regime as an errand. I'm not particularly happy with my trainer who I find it hard to believe has chest and shoulders like that without some kind of unnatural help. He also pushes his "supplement" that he sells at his 2nd gig which I'm finding fairly unprofessional seeing as how I'm paying for his time and all. I guess it's a little like cable in that I pay and still have to watch the commercials. Ugh. At the end of this month, definitely requesting someone else.

I did have good Target fortune although I'm not without Target shopping guilt and found this bag that may be used as it's name suggests "flight bag" for the upcoming NYC trip.

I've already started laying out the outfits and thanks to my friend Yuri, I found this dress I plan to wear for dinner then to Wicked on Friday. And it was over 1/2 off which is mostly why it was such an easy impulse purchase.

I have made a couple of pieces of jewelry for gifts that I'll post tomorrow in case you in no way care about a) my trainer from hell or b) what I wear.

Hope you guys are having a terrific weekend.

Suzanne

2010-08-03T21:06:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of reasons to love my friend Suzanne. Pick me up texts like this on a Tuesday night are just one of them.

Thanks lady, I love you loads and will see you soon!

Cinnamon rolls

2010-08-01T17:23:00.002-05:00

Baked goods I made last weekend. I forgot to take an after picture but they were very popular. Super tasty.

I'd like to get a few things baked today but at 108 outside I'm reluctant to turn on the stove. I did make mushroom curry, brown rice, black bean soup and cauliflower... something I forgot but with Indian spices to go with the curry. I've finally been using the Indian cookbook I bought a few years ago. And Deborah Madison's is a new favorite for vegetarian offerings.

I've also got some art pieces in mind but the heat, not too keep being whiny, really does sap my energy and the couch plus this book are too much of an oasis.

House

2010-07-31T21:53:00.002-05:00

I worked on this piece for a few weeks and it's finally finished and up in our newly painted entry way. I had originally been inspired by this and this.

The roof tiles came to me first so after prepping the large canvas and getting a few base layers on I started with the pebbles. A lot of pebbles were required so I was happy to finally use up some of the supplies I've stashed for a couple of years now.

Next, basic painting and shaping of the house.

I forgot to document the layers in between. The edges of the piece are covered in telephone pages that I glued down then coated in a bunch of layers of paint. I covered all the edges around the frame to finish it off. I like how in a few places the names and numbers peek through. I also liked the texture and color of the old butterscotch dominoes.

I also started adding in some of the fun doodling/graphic elements. My version of a cherry blossom crossed with a dogwood.

Final touches including a door knob and a lot of layers of the charcoal pencil. Now, the piece hangs in the entry way of the house and I kind of love it.

Springfield

2010-07-28T21:45:00.003-05:00

Turns out Springfield, Missouri is much more interesting than I knew and now has cool art like this in their front yard.

I made Rolland drive by 3 times just to double check that was what we were really seeing then I made him wait while I took several pics (this was the best). I'm still wondering what the hell the crane guy was thinking when putting that together.

Other super cuteness found in Missouri is the cutest nephew ever. And his octobunny that I had no idea would be such a hit. I should've caught on to all the chewing options but missed it entirely. Rolland however know it would be a hit.

I forgot to take a pic of his parents (my brother and sis-in-law). They too are pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

2010-07-25T19:22:00.002-05:00

It's my hubby's birthday today. We celebrated with steak dinner last night, Despicable Me and Chipotle today. It's total excitement at our house but I hope he had a great birthday weekend.

Happy Birthday, I love you!

Road Trip Weekend

2010-07-19T20:04:00.003-05:00

We packed up and hit the road this weekend to visit this super cute little guy. We haven't been able to get to Missouri to see our new nephew, or his parents, and I wanted to get in some snuggle time before he went off to college!

On the way back we went further south to Eureka Springs for a quick stop before heading back west to Texas. I also spent lots of time playing with the hipstamatic app for my iphone. I went a little nuts but I'm loving all these picks.

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Summer so far...

2010-07-11T22:01:00.003-05:00

Has been pretty busy but at least it's enjoyable busy. I've been hanging out with girlfriends and the hubby. The last couple of weeks have been movie heavy but this weekend we worked in a movie and a house project. We went to see the Last Airbender at the fancy theater in Allen. The theater was awesome but the movie wasn't. It was actually fairly horrible. The sliders and reclining seat made up for most of it.

The house project has been painting the entry way and rehanging our bookshelves we have tucked into the entry arch. They were starting to become slightly precarious but after Rolland did some serious planning and a lot of prep in the garage for most of the day they are back in place and sturdy enough to handle the heavy duty paperbacks. The benefit of a Texas summer is the new coat of paint dried in about 5 minutes!

My fabulous new find of the summer has been The Fabulous Beekman Boys

Josh and Brent are in fact the owners of Beekman farm which is a gorgeous farm in New York. The scenery and house are lovely but I'm not sure that the animals and Farmer John aren't my favorites.

Any new summer loves that you've found?

Holiday vacation and a lament about kids nowadays...

2010-07-05T20:08:00.004-05:00

I took advantage of the long weekend with Monday being a holiday to take last Thur & Fri off as well stretching the vacation time into as much as possible. It has been lovely. I spent lots of time with girlfriends, the husband and the puppies. We caught up on movie watching, magazine and book reading but mostly just enjoying not working and not running around like a crazy person. I have also slept past 8am every morning. A fairly big deal for me.

On the 4th of July I actually went to brunch and saw SATC 2 with a girlfriend. Hubby and I had junk food and watched District 9 as fireworks displays around here are a madhouse. Not a traditional 4th but relaxing none the less. But, back to the actual holiday.

I was shocked at how many kids and families were in the mall on the 4th of July. While it's true that I have pretty much always hated the heat and wanted to spend as much time swimming as possible, I loved the summer. Summer was spent mostly in Kansas with my grandparents and cousins. We had lots of large family gatherings over the summer and none were bigger than the 4th of July extravaganza. Fireworks were purchased, often before with a few emergency runs to the stands as the poppers and snakes got low, tons of food was made and all of us kids were outside. Seriously, if we went in for anything but the bathroom or a drink there was an adult somewhere telling us to get back outside.

After a dinner with lots of hotdogs, hamburgers, homemade ice cream and soda we all started getting antsy for the big show. My grandparents had a huge side yard of lawn where we gathered around the edge while my Dad and uncles lit the larger fireworks. As we got older we got to do a few of the bottle rockets but all the really good stuff was reserved for the adults which was fine by me. Once when I was really little I grabbed the wrong end of the punk burning my hand making me slightly nervous about the entire lighting procedure (also, I have never figured out how to work a lighter. Really.) Anyway, I loved sitting in the lawn chairs with my Mom and the rest of the family watching the show. There was some serious hilarity that ensued as grown men were chased down the street by fireworks (true story), fireworks that completely fizzled and some that were dazzling for the fairly low end firework offerings available pre-internet around Eureka, Kansas.

All of this is a fairly lengthy explanation for being incredibly sad at all of the kids that now think celebrating the 4th of July means watching cartoons in the air conditioning. I know I shouldn't be narrow minded in making my relatively idyllic 4th of July memories those that everyone should have but they are what I think of as being quintessentially small town American. Luckily, those folks in Kansas still know how to party.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-06-30T20:10:00.002-05:00

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary! Turns out that by 15 years everyone's pretty content with a nice dinner and then home early. Rolland sent me some gorgeous pink roses to the office. Very sweet.

Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

Note: We are going out tomorrow to a burlesque show just in case you think we're ready for the home!

500

2010-06-27T20:46:00.002-05:00

So I'm wishing I had some kind of incredible brilliance saved up for my 500th post but alas, I got nothing. I have been trying to spend my summer pretending it's actually a summer break: reading, spending time with friends and family, country drives with the husband but truthfully this is something that should be done all the time. But with our schedules and living out in the 'burbs, it's tough.

I have been thinking a lot about what and where I'd really like to be when I grow up. The opinions are definitely divided amongst the polled. A large camp has informed me that there really is no specific path in life and we can pick and choose to do lots of things. Trying them all on for size, wearing the new favorite until another perfect outfit comes along. Intriguing but tough for someone who hasn't met a decision I didn't like. If asked to pick, I'll choose something immediately then move right on to the next. Mostly dessert first and anything pink or sparkly is always a yes. But now, I find myself floundering. The summer seems like exactly the right time to kick back and allow myself some time to ponder. A true luxury.

Next week, back to reality TV, fantasy books, baked goods and oversized art projects.

Addicted

2010-06-25T08:10:00.002-05:00

Yes, I recognize that I have more than a few monkeys on my back: diet cranberry limeades from Sonic, chai tea from Saxby's, Amazon, reality TV, Justified (seriously, are you watching?!), anyway I think you get the idea.

I was planning to be incredibly disappointed in Work of Art Bravo's latest reality show. Contestants compete for a solo show and $$$. I really had no idea how much I would love it. So far, the challenges have been great and there's even a Tim Gunn like mentor as opposed to "I'm a judge not here to help" Tom Colicchio on Top Chef. So far, the last episode with the book illustration challenge has been my favorite. I love watching everyone's thought process and how they develop their piece. And, even if he is a little off his nut, I love Miles. Abdi and Mark are also favorites. Rolland will even watch so fun for the whole family!

Any new favorite things you've found this summer? Not that I need to add to my list, but just in case there's something fabulous I can't miss!

95

2010-06-21T21:43:00.000-05:00

95 was a big year for us. We moved to Texas and got married, although not in Texas. Rolland got a job at Parkland and we settled in to the Lone Star state for 15 years and counting now. Fairly large milestones for most folks. This year will be our 15th wedding anniversary and I think our big plans will include dinner and swimming in our new above ground pool (being put together in the backyard as I type!). Super exciting is how we roll around here!

Anyway, I had sorted a group of rose stone beads I got in Santa Fe. I was sorting by color and saw this enamel number in another pile and decided to make a little piece to commemorate such a big year. Yellow roses for Texas seemed appropriate. I especially like the annealed steel peeking through the clear beads making this otherwise feminine piece look kinda tough.

Happy Monday!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T19:00:00.005-05:00

Dad & I in Eureka Springs the weekend of my brother's wedding. It was a great family weekend with lovely weather and a gorgeous service.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Heaven in Chocolate Sauce

2010-06-17T18:00:00.001-05:00

That's right, profiteroles are tasty bites of heaven covered in chocolate sauce. These particular profiteroles are from the Bouchon cafe in the Time Warner Center in New York but they're fairly available if you keep a sharp eye out when browsing the dessert menu.

These are on my cooking to do list. I've got a tasty vanilla ice cream recipe and fudge sauce is super easy. The pate a choux recipe for the dough is fairly common in my cookbooks (I think I'm going with the Barefoot Contessa's) but I'm a little nervous with the pastry bag but this seems like an easy project to start.

My Mom used to make cream puffs with a similar dough recipe and then fill them with chocolate pudding. So yummy.

Faux Vintage

2010-06-15T19:50:00.003-05:00

So I love me some vintage jewelry but truthfully, finding the good stuff at a reasonable price? Tricky. This is why it's important to snatch up the reasonable "synthetic" aquamarine beads in various sizes and save your 40% off at Michael's coupons. Add in being a pack rat and not throwing away the brass wire you bought years ago to practice wire wrapping and you've got greatness. Not that I brag or anything.

But, I am loving the faux vintage feel of this piece. The beads are actual stone so it's fairly weighty and looks pricey but for much more reasonable prices. The rose and crystal beads at $8 bucks each can bring the price tag up quickly. Enter the coupon and a very sweet husband willing to go through the line with you and you've got beads at a fraction of the original cost.

Now, I just need the perfect outfit to show this baby off!