Wedding Necklace

In November we ventured down to Austin for our dear friend's, Suzanne and Jairy, wedding. It was at Springdale Farm and everything was gorgeous. It was perfect for them. You can read more about it on Suzanne's blog. In fact, I had to snag her photo since I forgot to take any during creation. Bad Blogger. Bad. It was tough to contribute being fairly far away but I was incredibly honored when she asked me to make her necklace. She had a pearl necklace she wanted to incorporate and I found some awesome metal flowers and she picked the one below. I think it turned out really well and even more she seemed to love it.

I've got a similar piece mid-creation on my desk and am struggling with the connecting necklace pieces: chains, more pearls, stones, oh my! It's a nice problem to have. :) I've added a few items to my Etsy shop if you want to check out a few Valentine's options. Happy Sunday!

Austin day trip and a Wedding

We had a quick day in Austin last weekend and it was 50/50 in terms of super fan to pain in the ass. We had intended to get there on Friday evening for a rehearsal dinner, we went down for our friends Suzanne and Jairy who got married (woo hoo!), but a giant nail in the tire foiled that plan. We did finally make it to find our room was not what we hoped with an incredibly uncomfortable bed and a questionable pack and play with stains we ignored and covered in blankets.  The weather and wedding was beautiful and I have a few pics on the point and shot but so far it's been crazy busy so these are right now all you're getting are the few pics from my phone. Say what you want about smartphones taking over our lives, but without my iphone I would never have any pics in any kind of a reasonable time frame.

Sophy and Daddy getting ready to head out for breakfast. Sophy is pointing out the view of Austin. I also enjoy this one since you can't see the Movember (or the John Holmes tribute mustache) growth yet. It's for a good cause and all but seriously, hate Movember and Rolland loves how much I hate it. There may have been giggling. I'm sure this will be a thing they will both drive me crazy about when she's older and has expanded her come by it honest family taunting gene.

Snuggling at the Elizabeth Street Cafe which was fantastic! It was on a really lovely street with awesome cafe tables on the patio. I'm already plotting a pea gravel cafe area off our covered patio. As soon as we get gutters and a reasonable plan for backyard decorating. sigh.

She is a big girl and loves her sippy cup. I can't believe she is sitting in high chairs all on her own. Still refusing most food even the fancy glazed donuts.

Rolland's breakfast pho. He could eat pho everyday and be very very happy.

My daily breakfast of ham and cheese croissant and mexican coke. Seriously. Every morning and I love it! When I finally get croissant burn out it will be a sad day.

Fancy french glazed donuts that I wanted to love but they were just meh. They tasted doughy in a not done way vs a tasty uber tender kind of way. The glaze was sweet enough to immediately cause a toothache but was tasty.

Chewbeads are my new favorite thing and permanent go to baby gift. Pretty stylish for a rubber necklace and can entertain Sophy for a fair amount of time. At least to get most of your meal down.

Toy Joy in Austin! Love it and first visit where we could make Sophy purchases. We only selected two items on this visit. R2D2 lights for Daddy and Ice Bat with baby for Sophy. She's a fan.

This chair has dorm room written all over it and will not be coming home with us. Cute photo op though.

Oh my God tasty pizza from heaven! Seriously, this was soooo good I may have eaten all but 2 slices. Everything here looked good and unfortunately I don't remember the name. It was off of 2nd in Austin downtown across from the Wee baby store if that helps. How could you not find it with these clear and explicit directions?

Getting ready for wedding in dress my Mom made. There's also a jacket and super cute pics on the other camera.

Mommy and Sophy at lunch and at the wedding below.

The wedding was at Springdale Farm and totally magical. I made Suzanne's necklace that she wore and totally forgot to take pics. It was a lot of pressure since I wanted it to be perfect and ended up looking great. Her dress was incredible and the entire look was fantastic. They were both gorgeous and super cute.  No words for how happy I am for them and wish them nothing but love and happiness for a lifetime. Thanks for including us in your day!

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

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.

Thankful Day 3

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.

Sublime Gift from Suzanne

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!

Suzanne

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!

Girls Weekend in New York

I still haven't caught up from the busyness that was March. April has also been fairly packed with the to do list and social stuff which is fun but I think I'm wearing out a little. This weekend has been spent mostly doing nothing despite the good intentions. Next week, back to the "to do" lists. In the mean time, here are a few pics of the girls weekend in New York. It was greatness and I think I could spend time there pretty regularly.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This Valentine's Day was perfect and incredibly low key. I woke up early and did a little housekeeping while Rolland snoozed. Then, a massage and biscuits & gravy. Yummy. We did snacks and are watching the Olympics tonight so it's been lovely.

I'm also playing catch up on the pics and blog updates so these are a few pics of what I did last weekend. Suzanne hosted the be babes & bbq for our monthly girls (& Yuri) gathering.

This is Suzanne (the blonde) & Elizabeth being completely adorable while we grill. They also have a fabulous, in addition to their day jobs as fantastic designers, gig creating super cute silk screens. You can check it out here.



Yuri doing a fabulous job at the bbq.



It was a great gathering with some super tasty food. Pics of that as soon as I can find them on the desktop.

Hoping everyone is having a fabulous Valentine's Day.

Xmas gift

My friend Suzanne is a graphic designer who is incredibly talented. She's actually pretty terrific all around and definitely knows what I like. I got back to my desk from lunch and I had a bag of goodies including this amazing stamp she designed for me. I love it! It came with the perfect pink stamp pad.



In addition to the stamp, she also included this lovely that I can't wait to have some studio time to play.

Marfa

I just got back from a super quick road trip to Marfa, Texas. Suzanne, who is an incredible graphic designer and artist, had a friend getting married in Marfa and wanted a road trip buddy so I quickly volunteered. Travel, Cracker Barrel and artsy desert town? I'm in!

We hit the road early Sat morning and after an unexpected detour to Midland to the AT&T store we made it to Marfa in record time (well, I did get two warnings from two different officers but no ticket, no foul!). We stayed at the fabulous Thunderbird Hotel and had super tasty pizza at Pizza Foundation. Seriously, super tasty with a lovely patio so if you go for a few days you may need to check this out a couple of times to just make sure you get all the tasty goodness in you can.

After the pizza goodness we checked out the town a little, scoped out the wedding location and then got cleaned up and headed back out. The wedding was at the Marfa Mystery Lights viewing area which is off the highway and incredibly beautiful. We got there a little before sunset so we saw all the phases of the light on the desert. The ceremony was awesome and fun with the perfect blend of romance and funny. Greatness. We all stuck around until we got our fill of the super cool mystery lights then headed for the reception back in town at Padre's. Padre's is a bar and the home of the most tasty burger I think I've ever had. I may have to return a few times just to verify!

The next morning we got a quick breakfast in the hotel lounge and hit the highway for home. We took the detour to visit the Prada installation near Valentine. Super cool and worth the extra hour. After that not much to see. Luckily you can't miss a Sonic or a Dairy Queen when road tripping through Texas so we were well supplied! You can check all of our trip pics out here.

First Time Ever!

For the first time since I purchased my camera the memory card is empty! I've gone through and finally gotten the photos in the right folders and processed some of the images into usable sizes. I still need to go through all the New Orleans photos and share those with the ladies from the trip. In the mean time, I'm planning to fill the card back up starting in a few hours since I'll be in Chicago!

The trip was questionable yesterday after I came home more tired than I have ever been in my life. The husband was skeptical about our weekend plans. But today, I feel refreshed and ready to hit the windy city. I do have some puppy guilt about taking them to be boarded since we can't pick them up until Tuesday am. Holiday on Monday and all. We found a place that looks awesome so they can have their own puppy door in and out so that helps a little. Still would rather be able to have them home on Monday.

Anyway, I've added some random photos from the card to share until I can get back to the art pics and new Chicago additions.

These are pics of a commissioned piece from my friend Suzanne. It was a birthday gift to her friend Elizabeth who is a fellow graphic designer. They have an awesome business together where they screen print on organic onesies, tees, etc. Seriously, if you need an incredible shower gift check out Sutecchi




This was a birdbath that was in my Mom's yard for years and I topped it with a St. Francis statue I got in Mexico on a family trip. I love them together and it feels very relic like. I love the faded blue on the pots. This photo is also old enough that you can see the old fence we replaced in November!



One of my latest etsy finds from a bead seller in Austin, I'd provide the link if I could find the store - I'll update if I find it. I can't wait to do something fabulous with them but in the meantime I open the bead drawer just get the imagination going.



Enough for now. I've got to get the last minute packing done and then we're off! Deep dish pizza, Field Museum and shopping (they have an actual Dick Blick store!!!) are all on the to do list!

Have a great weekend.

Holy smokes it's been a while

I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon! It's been hectic here as I prepped for my trip to NOLA and then it's been crazy getting back and getting ready to hit Chicago next weekend. I've squeezed in a few art projects and promise a real post soon but just wanted to put up a few pics from New Orleans that may tied you over until I can get through the 100+ I need to go through.

I was obsessed with balconies, foliage and signs this trip so it's a little sneak peek. The other photo is of me and my friend Suzanne, whose b-day we were celebrating, in front of one of my favorite pieces of wall art.

p.s. Rolland couldn't stop making fun of the hat but I loved it! It saved me from sunburn and bad hair.:)

New Orleans

I have some pics I need to post but I would have to walk the gauntlet of fur babies to get it so you'll just have to wait for another entry. :) I'm not without updates however, I am headed to New Orleans Friday evening for a girls weekend and I can't wait. This should also give me a couple of full cards of pics to post! I love NOLA and have been there twice before. Each time I find more things I love from the architecture to the constant motion of the city. This time I won't have the husband, who hated it, walking around with me begrudgingly taking in the sites. He does like the food but as for the rest, not so much.

One reason I'm anxious to wing away for a while is that it's been a difficult period at work. Also, I have been a little blue lately so my friend Suzanne and Rolland - who truly is the best husband ever - urged me to stay an extra day (I was coming back Sunday am) so now I've updated the flight and will be staying until Monday afternoon. That one day can make a huge difference in how many visits to Cafe du Monde I can work in! We've also scoped out a new district I haven't checked out before that has lots of art galleries and studios. Super excited to see this one.

Suzanne also talked me into staying out for a drink last Friday (post the Wolverine viewing we did for our team building - movie was not bad but not as great as I wanted) and I was out until 9:30. I know this sounds incredibly early but if I'm out after dark it's a monumentous occassion! We had an awesome time and Suzanne truly is one of my favorite people. I also got to meet her friend Chris who was super nice.

Since it's now 9:50, it's time to head for bed as we've previously established I'm an incredibly boring person and have a bed time. Although, I did break the bed time rule this week when we saw a Star Trek screening on Monday. Also... it totally rocked! This movie is greatness and I'm encouraging anyone who loves a good action flick to check it out. It's not overly trekkie at all. It's got some good stuff for fans but newbies won't feel left out. I'm encouraging this one for a good date night possiblity since it buys lots of hubby good will (although I'm the big geek in my house).

Happy Wednesday!

Art filled week

It was a lovely art filled week. First I received this lovely ribbon from Maija and it looks gorgeous next to the other sparklies and goes especially well with the collaged spoon as this was another gift from this incredible artist. We did a swap based on our mutual adoration of all things doll part related and I just love it! Perfect colors and image - seriously, I couldn't have imagined a better piece to have as inspiration in the studio.



















Yesterday, Suzanne, Jen and I packed up and headed west to the Main Street Art Festival in Ft. Worth. It was incredible weather with the perfect temp and slightly cloudy so only a tiny sunburn this year. We saw some amazing art including these wind catchers that were spectacular with the most incredible glass. We also found a woman who makes unbelievably intricate etchings on copper and then creates prints from them. Everyone found several pieces that had to come home with us. I think one may have to head into the office with me just to keep some things that are lovely around at all times. It definitely makes the space much more inspirational.




Our next excitement is heading to New Orleans in May for a girls weekend in honor of Suzanne's birthday. Clearly more fun is ready to be had by all!

Lucky Cat Shrine

I made this shrine a while back but never got around to adding the glass and then soldering it. I finally got it done this weekend along with a couple of other pieces (subjects of future blogs!) and took it with me to show my friend Suzanne to get her opinion on the patina color for the solder. Turns out, she loved the patina on another piece and wanted it added to this one. She also wants this one to put in her new apartment! Suzanne has amazing taste so I was incredibly thrilled and honored she wanted one of the shrines in her new place.