Mid-Afternoon Update

I decided I didn't have enough projects going so I'm starting on a necklace I've had in my mind for a while. This pic shows the madness that is my desk this afternoon. Clearly I thrive in chaos! :) My new favorite thing is peeking through which is my sigg bottle. This one is my favorite for home. I've really tried to give up the bottled water and filtered water in these bottles is actually pretty yummy.

I had to run an errand this morning and was able to listen to the Diane Rehm show. Today's show was about a guy who raised Akitas in Japan. As the owner of an akita I was hooked! This book sounds awesome and it's definitely being sent in the next round of Amazon purchases. Checkout her show online if you've got a chance. I've included a pic of Maya in case you need some inspiration. She's just too sweet - I'm not bias at all!

In Progress

This is my studio work top as it stands at 1:01 am (cst) and I'm considering trying to sleep again but it's probably hopeless. I've reached the tired but not sleepy stage and these couple of projects are helping my mind to race since they clearly need something but I'm not sure what and I can't move on to all the jewelry projects I want to work on until I clear at least a little space.

I am, however, thrilled to have found a product called "bangle bling" in the $1.00 bin at Michaels. I picked up about 7 packages: gold, silver and mixed colors. They're tiny sequin like things that I think have the perfect vintagey sparkly bling quality (similar to vintage swaravoski but nowhere near as pricey) that I'm convinced all pieces need. All was not well at Michaels as I was horrified to discover that they don't carry crepe paper. This is inconceivable (yes, this word means exactly what I think it does!) to me so that's my quest for tomorrow.

My other comfort, besides bizarre craft finds, is Abby who is never very far away. She's such a sweet girl, to me anyway, and is just a giant snuggle bug - except to the UPS guy (another cutie!) who she's convinced is storming the house with every delivery and requires her to go into full attack mode. He delivered something fairly late last week and we happened to be home. Abby got away from me and made it to the porch. He smiled the biggest smile and said he'd always wondered what she looked like since she always "talked to him" when he had something to drop off. Seriously, how cute is that? She sounds like a 500 pound ferocious beast with her hackles up and the "don't mess with my house" growl and bark but he just looks at as chatting. That is clearly a sign of the holiday spirit at work people.

Tomorrow, I hope to have pics of all the german dolls Rolland and I finally got settled. We did a little bit of eBay craziness and I think I've cornered the market on vintage white german dolls. I do become slightly obsessed with the idea that if I love something I need to have hundreds of that thing just in case catastrophe strikes and they're no longer available. Yes, this is a storage problem and I'm seeking help; mostly at IKEA. :)

New Year ... almost

We've made it back from our Missouri road trip in time to head north once again. This time to visit my fam in Kansas and ring in the New Year with them. Luckily, I've taken the week off to get packed and then rest up but Rolland has to work Monday and Tuesday so we're not heading out until the crack of dawn on Weds. so not much change from our typical routine. :)

I've got my to do list already for tomorrow and have slotted in lots of art time to get some fun things started. I've also started working on a goals sheet for next year (it's in excel and everything! Not sure when I became that girl but nonetheless I'm risking total nerdom & keeping it). So far it seems doable and not overly ambitious but we'll see how it goes come Jan. 15th!

I hope Santa was good to you and everyone's ready for the New Year whether it's a book, bath and early bedtime (my idea of heaven any day of the week) or a huge blowout bash be sure to make the most of those last minutes of 2008!

P.S. for all the other sci-fi/fantasy readers out there I've been devouring the Nightside series by Simon Green and can't get enough! I'm seriously ticked that I've been blowing off the Amazon recommendation for years on this one! After this I do feel like I need to do some "spinach reading". Any recommendations on books I should checkout that are good for me? :)

Wow, Christmas is almost here!

This year has really gotten away from me. I mean, I am totally wheels off in my shopping, wrapping, decorating, etc. We didn't even put up the big tree! I do have baby trees scattered throughout the house and two in the studio but the big tree just seemed like a lot to bother with when it's just us. I finished up shopping for gifts I had to give today... uhm, this morning! Seriously, I don't know what it is with this year but it definitely got the best of me. I  have big plans for next year though!

In the meantime, I've had some gorgeous girlies enter my life and just had to share. The lovely bottle beauty was made by the fabulous and lovely Maija and she is going to be the queen of the doll head collection I've got going on the shelf by my work desk. The other lovely little girl was made for me by Kecia in an exchange we did a while back. I just love this piece! Kecia creates pieces with these dolls like no one else!

Finally, pics are here!

We've been incredibly busy lately but we've had requests for photos of the new patio. If you're related to us and want to see every tiny detail you can check out the complete set of pics here. Otherwise, I've just included some highlights. :)

Woo hoo, Christmas is here!

I know because the annual 12 Days of Christmas exchange has officially started the countdown. Check out the lovely pressies all wrapped and just ready to open! Alas, a few more days until the paper can fly. :)

Puppies post day care

We're doing some back porch/patio re-modeling and the puppies had to go to puppy day care while the guys did some construction since they lost free reign of the yard and the puppy door. I think the day care was successful since they were pretty played out for the drive home!

This is also how I've felt most of the day. I think the last few days of running wild with no work have caught up with me and I've crashed on the couch in front of the fire and thought of all the things I should be working on but I'm giving myself a pass since this is what lists are for! I have made significant progress on cleaning up the studio and getting it back into working shape. I also made this fun little Christmas collage that made it's way into charms for a swap. I like to think that he's just looking for Santa to put the girl for him under the Christmas tree.

Spice Girl

Christmas came early out our house! I've had my eye on one of these sculptures that we saw once at the Nasher store and I've gone in every time we're at the mall just to see if it was back on display. But always out of luck. Tonight, they had a grouping of them as a window display and I just fell in love with this one. Who wouldn't?! Creepy doll head, crown, Queen Elizabeth, oh my! The sales associate was asking if we wanted the details and was explaining the history of the dolls coming from Germany (I'm familiar with this process :) ) and how the artist put it's together, etc and Rolland just said "Sold". I almost fell over. He truly is one of the best husbands ever! Now, she's all mine. Swing by and visit. She greets guests in the entry way!

Charms are on their way!

One of the exchanges I'm in includes swapping soldered Christmas charms. I think this little basket of charms is really sweet. I hope they make it safely and people like their charms.

I had lots of trouble sleeping so I've been up since 3 am. It seemed like the perfect time to play with glass and solder so I've been busy on a few new projects but now, I'm thinking a nap might be nice!

Studio Cheer

I've got the studio trees up and I love them! Every year I put the trees up and then like how they look so much I don't want to take them down until Easter! This year I added the china doll parts which my husband says makes them extra creepy. I'm ignoring him and adding them anyway. The smaller tree is also dressed in all vintage ornaments which I find super cute.

We have managed to get in a movie so far for the holiday break. We saw the new James Bond. The movie was decent and heavy on the M so even better. Judi Dench rocks. The new theme song - fairly awful. I usually love the opening sequence but I kind of hated this one. There weren't any especially good previews either so if you get down to the wire you're aren't missing anything here.

Now I'm off to watch some TV before heading to bed early.

Happy Thanksgiving

Everyone needs one of these for their studio. Maya is super cute and only one of the many things I'm grateful for this day. I hope you are surrounded by people that love you and you too have lots of good things for which to be grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Angel Necklace

I've been working on this piece for a while now. It started out as an experiment with patina-ing solder and then it was a hunt for the right chain and beads. I worked on stringing the beads in Omaha but felt like it needed more umph so I found some gorgeous sterling chain in a bead store, also in Omaha, (paid way more than I should've but I love it) and finally put all the pieces together. It's really simple construction but when I wear the necklace it's got the perfect amount of heft.

It's been a while since I pimped out a book here but I just started The Time Traveler's Wife

and I think everyone on the planet has known about it but me. I found it on the Doctor Who boards... yes I know, giant nerd, but it sounded good so I picked it up a while ago but just started. So far I'm incredibly hooked and have been loving it. In case you were looking for a traveling novel or a gift for a reader this one is my latest pic.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Thanksgiving-eve!

New Day New Post

I'm feeling much better about the world and my general state of well-being. Well, except for the part where I whacked myself in the head with the car door while trying to load the puppies in the car for doggie day care - seriously, clumsiest person on the planet. But even that doesn't have me down. Today's the last day of work before the holiday week and I plan to spend tomorrow with the puppies in the new studio. I've got tons of pics to show of the new construction on the patio, arty goodness and finally Silver Bella updates, whew! Big plans people, big plans!

But, in the mean time, I wanted to share a quick link with you in case you've been looking for a special way to give for the holidays. Kelly Rae Roberts has an incredibly inspiring story on her blog today. Check it out and if you have the means, give a little something to start the holiday season.

Pre-holiday blahs

Today has been a little off all day. I woke up with such high hopes of fun shopping, art in the afternoon and maybe a little time in the kitchen. After a few necessary weekend errands that seemed to take up most of the day we ended up getting almost nothing accomplished. I've also been checking work email - just to drive myself crazy with all that needs to get done that I'm not doing - now I find that it's almost bed time and a perfectly good Saturday is down the drain.

I try to normally be fairly cheerful and perky (a state my husband would fail to recognize) when I post since I feel like the inter-webs provide plenty of non-positive thought and general cynicism that I want to avoid spreading into the world but tonight I'm pretty cranky and just not up to spreading good cheer. I'm hoping this long rambling purge of discontent will help me wake up on the right side of the bed with a much better attitude.

If not, I was successful in finding tasty smoked gouda and an aged cheddar with herbs and onion. If I have to, I'll drown myself in dairy.

Drawer of Bling

I'm back from Omaha and get settled into daily living again. I had a great time at Silver Bella and loved meeting all the ladies. The event really helped get me into the spirit of the holidays. I'm thinking there could be decorations going up pre-Thanksgiving! One of the best things about the Bella event was it's location in a hotel directly across the street from the Old Market downtown. it didn't take long for all of us to hit the streets and stock up on the goodies.

I found the Second Chance antique store on day one and visited 3 times! This accounts for my new drawer of bling. This store was awesome with a little bit of everything! I added to my lusterware collection, picked up a ton of old photos and, of course, I stocked up on all things that sparkle! These are going to make some really lovely new pieces. I know what I'm working this weekend!

Happy Wednesday guys! It's almost the weekend and gorgeous pre-winter weather (hopefully!).

Silver Bella

I made it! Silver Bella registration and name tag are in hand and I've finally got a list of my classes. I guessed mostly right. :)

Downtown Omaha is lovely and they have two independent bookstores that I've managed to find! There are lots of fun little shops and a couple of super cool galleries. Strangely, one of my favorite purchases from the gallery is a pair of socks. They are really cute.

It was kind of rainy and overcast this afternoon so it was perfect for the coffee shop I found tucked away in... wait for it, a bank. Yep, it's a combo bank and coffee house. I did hesitate for fear hot chocolate had now reached the point of requiring loan papers but no problems. Cozied up in a chair and waited out the rain with a book perfect afternoon!

I would also like to encourage antique and vintage clothing lovers to visit Second Chance. The store was ready for the Silver Bella ladies with tons of paper products, gorgeous rhinestones and everything else our heart desired. I even found a few things I had know idea I needed until now. But a few new lusterware pieces are mind. Suitcase logistics are to be worried about later.

Now, I'm off in search of food. It was beer braised pot roast for lunch with an incredibly tasty smoked gouda soup. Now I'm thinking a sandwich and chili would make my night!

Packing, Packing and more Packing

I finally got all of my presents wrapped and packaged ready for mailing. The ugly doll pretty much sums up how I've felt this week. It's been insanely busy at work and I've just now started packing for my Silver Bella trip which has been made remarkably more challenging by the lack of class list. It didn't occur to me to keep my list that I made when I signed up thinking I would get a confirmation, registration information or something but nope nothing. I'm packing based on the classes I think I signed up for with a little extra stuff. I'll see how it goes.

I've been incredibly unprepared and not really ready for this getaway. I've somehow missed that there was a blog with all kinds of cool updates and didn't really start hoarding the supplies like I normally do. I had an anxiety attack Monday night thinking it would be like going to school with a 24 pack (or the dreaded 16 pack) of crayons when everyone else has the 48. I know about the 64+ but just felt like that was too much. Even then I had my limits.

The husband has been awesome and we went tonight and got some super cute aprons at Anthropologie. This one and this one. He's fully prepared to deal with my particular freak outs and craziness. At the moment, he's searching the garage for large clips. Seriously cute. Worse comes to worse he's assured me I can hole up in the hotel with my millions of books and magazines and just relax for 3 days and that could potentially make all the difference in the world in my mindset. Yep, he's a keeper. I think he might be ready for my trip and a slight break for him and the puppies. I'm betting he's planning what to watch and meals that require no consideration for anyone else. I think there's steak and a million action movies involved. :) We may hit the new James Bond on Sunday on the way back from the airport.

That's it for the rambling. I'm taking a blog break while in Omaha since I refuse to carry the laptop if I don't have to but I will be twittering from the road so those updates post in the right nav or follow directly on twitter.

Have a great week guys!

Hitting the road

It's almost time for the boys and I to hit the road again. This time we're heading for Omaha to Silver Bella. Hopefully I'll be able to wrangle all my supplies and clothes into one suitcase since it's just me and the animals. Rolland's staying home with the puppies since an over the top girlie weekend is not really his ideal trip. :)

Otherwise, it's been fairly quiet in the Lone Star state. We've enjoyed gorgeous fall weather but I'm ready for winter. Omaha and cold weather will be awesome! I can fully enjoy my Uggs and sweaters. I tried to pull it off here one day last week when it was in the 60's but ended up more than toasty and drove home in my tank top and socks to cool off! Clearly I'm a cold weather kind of girl.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Woo hoo!

I watched the election coverage last night and became more and more hopeful but still tense thinking it could go wrong at any second. Once I heard Charlie Gibson saying they felt comfortable announcing a projected winner I let out a war cry that even my husband sleeping with earplugs could hear! He mumbled good then went back to sleep. Sleeping comfortably knowing change is coming.... or so I like to think. Mostly I think he slept thinking his wife is nuts but either way it's a win!

America we did it!

Halloween

Little late but I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Work, Work, Work

So this is one of the perks of my day gig. I get to meet super cool people like William H. Macy. Sometimes.  Other days I get to make mean faces at people in hopes of eventually getting a project out the door. But today, it was more fun. Mr. Macy was beyond charming and down to earth. He made a point to say something personal or share something personal with everyone.  In my case, he noticed the necklace and I was happy I've almost mastered soldering so no weirdness on the jewelry. Jennifer, who took our picture, made sure he knew I had made it. She was incredibly cute. He also really struggled with the marker choice since I brought "The Cooler" (incredible movie) to be signed and the background is black and there was no silver pen. We finally decided on black marker and he could write on the white suit. He was very happy to not have to sign over his crotch (his words). Chatting with William H. Macy over whether or not he would be signing over his crotch? Priceless. This was definitely the high point of my day. Maybe even better than this. 

He's promoting the movie "The Deal" which he wrote and starred in with Meg Ryan. It sounds like it's going to be lovely and funny so I can't wait to check it out. 

Doll Heads a Plenty

It's been a crazy week and weekend here in the lonestar state. Work was nuts and lots of stuff on the home front to keep us busy all weekend. It would've been nice to go to LA this weekend but as tired as I am already, I just can't imagine it after another weekend of travel. I finally got around to opening my ebay packages one of which included these treasures. Rolland is beyond creeped out but I love them. I can't wait to see where they end up.

Besides some studio straightening the entire house got a scrub down early yesterday. It left us plenty of time to do some fun shopping (new iphone for Rolland) and cute glitter covered pink house for the holidays. I was also able to pick up this cookbook for a song at Sur La Table. It's been on my wish list for a long time. Ever since our trip to Vegas I've had more kitchen inspiration and pulling out the cookbooks. This weekend also found me in front of the stove so now the freezer is stocked with tomato sauce, oatmeal cranberry cookies ready to bake, extra cinnamon roll filling and Irish Soda Bread. This doesn't include the pumpkin bread (with raw seeds on top) on the cake plate and the 3 pans of cinnamon rolls I've got ready to take to work tomorrow.

The key for all this productivity has been a serious cut back on television, at least on the weekends. We had been spending far too much of our weekend time, pre-Vegas trip, vegging out in front of the tv. We just didn't have much energy left over from the work week but I've set the alarm and made sure we get up pretty close to when we do during the week and most importantly, I try to go to bed earlier to accommodate the alarm. So far so good since I've also been headache free. This has been awesome! I've been reading some headache prevention books and trying to do most of the suggestions including the diet - some days are more successful than others - but it's been a definite improvement in my quality of life.

Fall in Texas

It's almost fall here I can feel it! Well, mostly I'm trying to will it into fall so I'm taking the 70 degree high as a sign to wear boots and sweaters. This week I was supposed to go to LA for a class but work has been crazy since my return and I can't really justify heading out for another 3 days but I'm already thinking of my goodies for Silver Bella! I can't wait for all the girlie fun.

Instead, we're going to do some housekeeping this weekend - I like to fall clean instead of spring clean - and hit the farmer's market. We've been doing pretty well about eating at home since getting back from the trip. All the restaurants were super tasty but I think we have a little bit of restaurant burnout. If it really is fall temps, we're opening the windows and putting on the vegetable soup!

p.s. In case you were wondering about the odd photo, my Pegasus pic is being used on this guide. Not a big deal but I thought it was kind of fun.

Bouchon and turn down service

Tonight was our dinner at Bouchon and it was more than tasty! The restaurant was lovely and very art deco so a perfect atmosphere for a romantic dinner for two. I've included a shot of the eclair that I had yesterday in anticipation of tonight's dinner. All of it was yummy!

We returned back to our hotel to find the turn down service crew had been by and it included a turn down for the bear and lion as well. The lion's tail is not normally this jaunty. :)

Grand Canyon

Finally made it in Vegas so I can post some pics. These are of us at the Grand Canyon yesterday. That is one gorgeous national park! Rolland was much braver than I as he got right up to the edge and made me very nervous. Of course, it wasn't a long way to go for me since I hate heights! I can't make fun of Abby at the vet anymore since I had some serious leg shakes sitting on the rock overlooks. Yikes! I did overcome my issues and scampered over some rocks, down steps, around trees to get the perfect shots. Seriously, if you get a chance a road trip to the Grand Canyon is the perfect decompressing kind of trip. Even my stuffed baby bear and his lion loved it - they didn't have to do much hiking since they were riders in my bag but still. :)

Now, we've made it to the Bellagio where, amazingly, you have to pay for the internet! OY! But, since we're that big of tech nerds, we paid and I've clearly made use of the connection. I'll have more pics soon - including the Bouchon eclair I could eat everyday!

Road Trippin'

We've made it to Flagstaff and changing clothes for colder weather then hitting the road for the Grand Canyon! If you're interested in more play by play you can follow me on Twitter in the sidebar or actual twitter. Photos should be forthcoming tonight!

Last Minute

I finished up my swaps and got all the goodies in the mail. All the clothes and shoes I need to pack up are being piled up over anything that doesn't move - Abby shouldn't lie so still - and after a good night's sleep we'll be on the road heading West. This is our first seriously long road trip so I'm excited and on the verge of seriously over packing but I refuse to acknowledge that this might be the case. Although truthfully, it's slightly Best in Show with the tank tops right now. My husband is frightened that I understand why 7 kimonos could be reasonable.

Pretty Little Felts

This book is awesome! Julie is one of the brilliant and lovely creators of the Art Nest and her new book is wonderful. It's full of projects that convince me I might actually be able to sew and give the perfect gifts for the holidays. Once I get done with all the travel in the next couple of weeks, I think I have my new projects lined up!

B-day Necklace

This is a new piece I made for my friend and former boss Jen. She's kind of outdoorsy and granola-ish in a slightly east coast preppy way. :) She went on vacation to Alaska a couple of months ago and thought the fish beads were a perfect fit with the natural stones. I hope she likes it. I only drew a little blood with the wire this time. :)

P.S. I've uploaded a couple of new charms to the etsy shop if you want to take a look.

Happy Tuesday night!

Up, up and away!

A couple of weeks back this was the site greeting us on our commute home. I took this from our open sun roof. There was a balloon festival in Plano and the sky was filled with balloons. It was especially troubling to Maya, our akita, because she's not having anything to do with the hot air balloons. Normally she's completely laid back and sweet (photo showing evidence of said sweetness). She does demand pets but willing to give plenty of kisses in return but with the hot air balloons across the skies she was on full alert barking her ferocious bark and standing on the wall straining towards the balloons - seriously, I think she's sure if she could reach just a little higher she'd get herself a balloon. Apparently, even puppies dream big!

Colonial Crow

So when I saw this post on Jane Wynn's blog I headed to her Etsy shop  fast enough that I think it made one of those Wiley Coyote skidding noises. I was fast enough that I was able to snap it up and now it's all mine! I've worn it several times but today was the first day it ventured into the work world and it got lots of attention! I saw several looks of envy and there were lots of "it's fabulous" comments. Suzanne and I have been in a bit of necklace competition lately and she has declared me the winner. I'm not saying it was this piece but there you go. :)

Alphabet Charms

Finally, a pic of the great charms I received from the alphabet charm swap. I was really happy to be included in the swap and after receiving such great work I was definitely a happy girl! These are just awesome and I can't wait to assemble a charm piece that highlights these pieces.

I've gotten very little art done the last few weeks. Everything has just been really hectic and when I've gotten home I've been hibernating with a book or sleeping. This is the last weekend before our big Vegas trip and it's getting pretty crammed with stuff (including the King Tut exhibit that I can't wait to check out) but I'm determined to get a few things made so we'll see how it goes. I may need to actually chart out my time and make sure I allot art time! I figure since we're driving to Vegas I can take some jewelry supplies with me. My friend Suzanne thinks I'm crazy that hanging out in the Bellagio and making chain is my idea of an ideal vacation! :)

Happy Monday

I didn't get much done this weekend beyond picking up the house, putting up the Halloween village and doing a bunch of reading. I'm re-reading the Southern Vampire novles by Charlaine Harris and they still rock! These are the basis for the new series True Blood on HBO by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and I'm hooked. Sunday's is on the TIVO waiting for us to get home tonight since I missed it yesterday. I was catching up on the books and contemplating an early night but I got sucked (no pun intended!) into the 2nd book and was up until midnight. 5am came a lot sooner than I was prepared for!

This weekend we've got a lot of plans with a work function for hubby on Sat, plus the Cottonwood Arts Festival then Sunday I've got tickets for us to see the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art! I am beside myself excited since I've wanted to go see this exhibit for years. Years! We tried to see it in London but the lines and tickets were both impossible. But this time, Sunday at 8am we're in like Flynn! Then a trip to the Farmer's Market for fruits, veggies and pumpkins for the wagon on the front walk. It's fall and the weather better just catch up to it right now!

I know I owe you guys a bazillion and 1 pics and I'm going to get to it this week right after I watch True Blood and Mad Men...wait, was last week the season finale? If so I have free time, right after watching Feasting on Waves. Not as good as Feasting on Asphalt for me but still pretty awesome! Also, on a slightly non television but food related note, I've made reservations for us at Bouchon when we're in Vegas in two weeks! Woo hoo!

Happy Friday!

This post really turned my Friday around. Yay Will Allen! I hope this inspires you to venture out during this gorgeous fall season to a farmer's market and make a pot of stew, chili, vegetarian lasagna... you get the idea. Also, buy a lovely bunch of flowers for home. I promise your day will brighten immediately when you catch a glimpse of the bright blooms.

Hope you guys have an awesome weekend!

Creative

I'm a member of a charm swapping group and I got my first exchanges which are incredible. I'll need to spend some time this weekend getting some good pics. One of the exchanges was an alphabet exchange and I was able to join to fill in for someone else and am thrilled I got the chance. This is how the charms came to us! I can't wait to get all the charms on a bracelet but I thought the swap hostess went above and beyond with this one. That's just super adorable!

And I'm back

I hadn't really meant to be away from blogging for so long but we had family in town and then work was crazy so this is my first time to catch up in over a week. In fact, the week was such a wheels off week that the husband sent me these gorgeous flowers and chocolates as a little pick me up. It worked, I was in fact much perkier. I also had several comments including one in which she said the flowers looked just like me. I'm choosing to believe that's a compliment! :)

I had wanted to get some studio time in but mostly it was a busy weekend. On Saturday some ladies from work and I headed to The Modern in Ft. Worth, they've posed beautifully in front of the reflecting pool, and I loved the building but the main exhibit was not my favorite. I did love these amazing photos they had and some mixed media pieces that tied in with the photos.

We also visited The Kimball and sadly I was mostly left with the impression that they desperately needed more bathrooms! It was interesting to see some of the Impressionists work that typically is only seen in reproductions but the crowds made it almost impossible to see anything or read anything. It was very reminiscent of the Italian paintings room at The Louvre.

Otherwise, the only other thing I've been doing is reading several headache books including changes to my diet. So far so good but some of the choices I have to exclude are sourdough bread (which makes life worth living), chocolate and citrus! Uhm, this could be a problem. I just have to weigh the food option against the full blown migraine. I'm thinking I can reserve the sourdough panini, chocolate cake and lemon drink for a birthday!

Blizzard

This is pretty much sums up the work day. It's just been crazy hectic and I've wanted to do nothing more than come home and play in my studio while watching Battlestar Galactica and listening to the puppies snore. Ah, the sights and sounds of home. 

Instead, I've been increasingly busy and not overwhelmed but disconnected. I feel like I'm working on a million pieces to 10 different puzzles and it's driving me crazy. Typically, I like to rant and rave about my current project but the truth is I love them. They're like my babies and I'm heavily invested in all of them and want them to turn out perfectly. I'm resigned to this not happening but typically I'm really happy with all the effort and most of the product achieved. I love working with the super smart people in teams and having everyone work together to get it done. Now, it's more like a blind assembly line with everyone blindly handing off their portion to the anonymous person next to them. I'm a little fuzzy on next steps but to keep going in and working on the handoffs.

Is this a situation that can be helped with baked goods? 

Bleh Weds

I know that's exactly what you want to see when you visit a blog "bleh" but there you go. It's been crazy busy and chaotic at work with no signs of slowing down in any way. I've had some jewelry ideas that I've been percolating but by dinner and house pick, it's just too late for any studio time.

I did invest in an awesome metalsmithing book that I think will be bedtime reading for tonight. I think some of it might be a little over my head but I'm giving it a go.

Also, I got confirmation for visiting the Neon Graveyard on the Vegas trip. Woo hoo!

Chandeliers Everywhere

I love chandeliers and was thrilled to see this pendant at Michael's. I wanted to keep it simple so I had the black stone beads and just used the annealed steel (I love the black on black scheme with wire and bead) to make the chain and closure. I think I'm getting better at these closures and the wire wrapping. I really have been trying to use some of my existing supplies and just supplementing with a few things here and there. So far so good.

My next plan is to use several pieces to make a charm necklace type thing. It's inspired by Deryn Mentock, Kelly Snelling and Amy Hanna . It's still in the percolating stage so I'll keep you updated as it develops.

Findings

I got some fun goodies in the mail. I love all the yummy silvers, pinks, and greens in addition to the regular chains. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but I think I've got some pendants and charms that are just waiting for these babies. :)

I've just finished reading Kat Richardson's latest book and it was awesome! It's an urban fantasy but she combines folklore, history and fiction beautifully. I highly recommend this one.

Charming

These went out in the mail for the Alphabet Swap I'm participating in and I have to say that it was pretty cute to see all of these little moo cards bagged up and ready to head out. The charms will be posted once everyone receives them but I will give a hint that I had to buy a drill press and enlist the husband's aid in their creation but I think it was worth it.

The weather here is overcast and in the 70's. This is not Texas, it's heaven!