Setting up...

Well, I've dragged that old teacher's desk out of our storage room and placed it in front of that gorgeous wall of windows in our dining room. Of course, Pete might complain, but we're not set up in there for dining yet anyhow. So when we actually do put our dining table and china cabinet in there, which are patiently waiting in other locations, I'll assess the situation and see if my drawing desk still fits. If not, I'll go to Plan B and possibly C. But for now, it works. And I can spread out my drawing supplies/SCBWI info/journals on the table without having to pack stuff up again.



Yes, it's a plastic chair, but I don't really need anything new right now, unless I see something for a great price. But I'd love to hang up my inspiration board too, perhaps in some sort of temporary fashion so that I can move it if need be. Nice rusty burning barrel in the background, eh? That's Pete's thing. I wish I could get rid of it, but he likes to burn stuff in the middle of the yard in an old barrel. Go figure.



Now I just gotta go back to my parents' house and drag out all my drawing supplies from the garage. Wow, has it been that long since I've done traditional drawings? It's been all computerized work since I left home to be with Pete, so this is both exciting-new and comfortable-old territory.

Craving a Quarter Pounder (with cheese)

I have been bravely resisting all week, eating healthy stuff like healthy soups, lightweight salads, and lean turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread. But the siren call of the grease, salt, and fat is getting stronger and stronger. I've been trying to avoid giving in, because it's obviously horrible for you AND I should be saving that $6 or so, right? And it's red meat, for crying out loud! That stuff does NOT agree with me most days. And you would think my refusal to wear anything but flowy peasant tops because of my currently jibbly-jabbly midsection would convince me to eat healthy and get back on the treadmill, but it's not. I'm not sure why I must have one, but I'm on the verge of getting in the car and going to McDonald's. Like right. about. now.



Oh, and some of these, please? Steaming hot...oh yeah.

UPDATE: I gave in, and it was well worth the $5.49 I spent.

(images by toyohara and groteski)

Weird stick in the yard

This stick was standing upright, jammed into the ground, when I got up yesterday. We had some bad storms move through the area that night, and apparently this branch was thrust into our yard during all the hubbub. I went outside to touch it, and found that it was really shoved into the dirt pretty good. It's still standing out there today, in all this mucky rain, like some sort of alien monument set up for mysterious reasons. Weird.

A place for me

I'm looking to set up an area in my house for my drawing table, pictures, inspiration board, and art supplies. I have a beautiful old teacher's desk that Jeanette gave me a few years ago, and I'd like to put it to use for my work. It's rough and curved and well used, but it's perfect for me. The only thing I need to do is figure out where to put it. I know I'd like to have it in a windowed area, if possible, because I often like to gaze outside and be hit by inspiration.

So now the question is, where? Pete has offered to let me set up my area in his music room, but I just about finished decorating that for him, and would hate to take away his space. There's also our goofy storage room that's right off the living room, but it's drafty, sloped, and has no lighting besides that which comes through the windows. I could set up in our bedroom upstairs, but then I'm away from the activity downstairs, which I prefer to be around. Then there's the sweet spot in the dining room in front of the wall of windows (see above) that I would love to set up shop in front of. But I'm not sure if it'll crowd the room too much and I'll have to move my stuff around too.

Hmmm....

Manhandling my "Life"

Umm, I know you have a lot of mail to deliver, Mr. Postman. And I know that my print came in a cardboard mailer which didn't specify any particular handling instructions. But can you NOT literally fold my print in HALF and shove it in my mailbox? Perhaps walking it to my front door and leaving it at my doorstep, crease-free, is the way to go, eh? It was a lucky thing I heard you pull up and deliver my mail, or that print would have been sitting in my mailbox all day, bent and misshapen. How could you harm such a lovely image? Grrrrr!!!

Okay, I've said my peace.

Sweet baby Jane

She's so beautiful.

Life and Flowers In Square

I've posted more photos in my currently favored square format here and here. Hope you like them. I'll be adding more as time and inspiration permit.



I really wish creativity was more of an everyday, planned, timed, slotted, and slated sort of thing. Instead, it's more like the weather, constantly changing, moving, and sometimes difficult to pin down. But it's always beautiful in whatever form it takes. And when I'm able to unfurl my humble kite—whether in the form of a paint brush, pen, or camera—and it's strong enough to withstand the unpredictable turbulence of my creativity, I am truly, truly blessed.

Happy birthday, Amelia!

My niece is turning five today. Isn't she lovely?

Mismatched punch bowl sets

I've always wanted one of those classic, pretty cut glass punch bowl sets, but never got around to getting one. They tend to be pricey, and I always wanted more than 8 cups with my set, since I have a large family and lots of friends who like punch.



My solution was to buy a few punch bowl sets at a local resale shop and just mix and match them. One set cost $10 and came with 16 cups, one which broke on the way home, and the other set cost $15 and came with 8 cups. I bought both sets and supplemented with five additional cups that were on clearance (about 10¢ each) and another five cups that I happened to have at home, ordered from eBay a while ago (the sixth cup had broken en route during delivery anyhow).

So now I have two pretty punch bowls and 32 mismatched glasses. That should be more than enough to serve my guests, and if a few break, it won't be a big deal. This has always been my philosophy at home, where you will have a hard time finding a set of matching cups or dishes in my cupboards. Besides my china, nothing matches, and I prefer it that way. And it also allows me to buy random dishes that I find and add them to my collection.

Fun with Flowers and Textures

I've been playing with my pictures, instead of saving them as lo res images for uploading to Flickr. Bad, bad Chris! But I had some fun. I'm new at this so the results are perhaps not the greatest, but they please me to no end. See the tulips here. And I promise I'll be posting pix of the rest of the flowers soon.

A fond and heartfelt thanks to Char for imparting her texturizing wisdom to me.

UPDATE: See all the finished flowers in square here.

Monday, Monday

I've been busy mowing the lawn and running errands today, but my consolation prize was to take oodles of flower pictures afterward, which I am uploading to my computer as I write this. The highlights will appear on vivid and the rest on Flickr.



In the meantime, here's a pic of the shoes I wore on Mother's Day, since I haven't posted shoe pix in a while.

Happy Mother's Day

A happy, happy day to all you moms, including my own mother, Pete's mother, Sam (and Mani's mom, shown here with mine and Henry), Nic, Jeanette, Jackie, my cousins' wives, my aunts, my friends, and anyone else I hold close to my heart. Here's to you—and your endless patience and love!

Capiz Shell Floral Pendant Lamp from Target

I think this pendant lamp from Target is absolutely gorgeous. And I don't think it'd be bad to mix and match modern with traditional in my home—I do it all the time and I don't care. I definitely want to get a chandelier someday for our dining room if we buy this house, so I'm keeping my options open. So very lovely!

Wedding photo

I figure it's about time to select a wedding photo to enlarge and frame for our home, now that the decorating stage is underway. My favorite is this one (featured on the right side of my blog), with my nieces and nephew holding the train of my dress as Pete and I head for our carriage, newly married and very happy. It's available in black and white and color, so it's a matter of choosing that and the size (I'm thinking 11 x 14 or 16 x 20). I'd like to display it over the entertainment center we got for free that will eventually be moved in here. Then I think I'll put all the frame smaller family and friend photos on top of the entertainment center, surrounding the large wedding photo as a sort of collage. Both Sam and my parents have something similar displayed (Sam's pix are on her fireplace mantel and my parents' pix are on a dresser) and I really like it.

Pet bed from Ikea

Spanky has fallen in love with this pet bed from Ikea, even though it was meant for the cats. Oh well, at least he fits in it. Adora tried to sit in it in the car on the way home from the store and practically broke it.



I threw in one of these cushions for extra coziness too.

Framed handmade paper

I saved the beautiful handmade paper that wrapped the shower gift from Georgia last summer, always intending to do something with it. Last weekend I decided to go ahead and frame it as a little work of art, since it's truly gorgeous and deserves to be preserved. I think it turned out nicely, although I'd like to get a nicer frame someday when I have a little more money to spend. It looks great in my house, and it reminds me of Georgia and our summer of wedded bliss last year.

Cat bed

Being in an Ikea-crazy frame of mind lately, I have been browsing blogs that discuss ways to hack (modify) Ikea stuff. I came across this pet bed idea, which uses a doll bed for a cat's sleeping quarters. Hilarious! I would make one but don't think my cats would use it. They're the type to sleep in old cardboard boxes or piles of dirty laundry, rather than the pricey pet beds I have bought in the past. But what a cute idea, eh?



(images from ikea hacker)

A quirky Ikea buy

I bought this stuffed pillow/toy dog called Fabler Katt at Ikea on Tuesday. Not sure why, since I don't have kids, but I thought it'd look cute on our daybed, and the girls will enjoy playing with it when they sleep over. It's very cute and matches my red quilt, although I think the curlicue black hairs are a bit strange. Maybe that's why I like it?

Rain, rain, go away

I was so spoiled by the last several days of endless sunshine, and now it's raining again. Right after I bought my patio set, too. Sigh....

Happy birthday, dad!

My dad is 65 today. I took him out for lunch, and before that, while he was at my house, he planted the ginkgo trees we used for our wedding ceremony (in place of our unity candles). Spanky and Adora frolicked in the yard while he looked around at our trees (he's a certified arborist) and I watched from the kitchen window while washing dishes. It was such a happy afternoon, and I was glad I had the opportunity to spend time with him.

He feels weird about being 65, but has such a rosy outlook on life that he's able to get past it. His upbeat spirit has been rubbing off on me lately, which has been a very good thing. At lunch we commiserated about previous horrid jobs (mine newly ended) and how life is too short to be miserable for so long and for so little. We parted ways soon after lunch, but I'm sure we'll meet up again for another meal.

So happy birthday to the most laid back, kind, and interesting guy in the world!

Painted floors

Now that the dining room floor is 99% done (happy dance), Pete and I are talking paint colors. I mentioned that I thought a robin's egg-type blue floor would be pretty and very cottagey, which is exactly the style of house we live in (it's the Skywater Cottage from the 1928 Sears Catalog).

So when I brought paint chips home yesterday and had them fanned out on our floor, he seemed startled by the colors. He said, "Wow, those are blue. I thought you meant aqua or green." Huh? Robin's egg blue is pretty much just that—a very vivid, pretty blue.



I've mentioned this to a few people, and not many give me the kind of reaction I'm hoping for. It ranges from "Huh, really?" to "Okaaay...". Maybe I'm making a big mistake, but when I googled "blue painted floor," I got lots of pretty and fairly numerous results.






I would love a pretty white floor, but it would get dirty and dingy pretty fast in my house. At least the blue would "age" well.



And I like the idea of patterns painted on the floor, too, but Pete doesn't seem so crazy about it. Maybe if I show him these pix?









Sometimes I think it's because I'm an artist and people just don't "get me." But other times I think I've got really weird or bad taste. Maybe it's a mix of the two. But the blue color I'm thinking of is so happy and lively and bright, that I'd hate to use anything else in that room and darken its cheerful and sunny aura.

Happy

I find myself in a really positive state of mind lately, and it's odd, but extremely nice. Kind of like a new dress that you can't wait to wear and like to dance around in, yet it feels new and alien and different than the "normal" you. I take the utmost joy in picking flowers in my backyard, savoring the taste of a chocolate bar, snuggling in some freshly-laundered linens, and having a great conversation with someone. That's how relaxed and just plain happy I feel these days.

I also think it's odd that I'm so happy now that I'm unemployed, but I think it's because I've been slowly finding my way down a few new paths, as well as because I'm away from an extremely stressful and depressing job. The children's book writer and illustrator seminar I went to on Saturday really opened my eyes and heart. She emphasized how an artist should always have a place in their home to create, and how they shouldn't apologize for what they are or what they see or what they make. She encouraged us to go for our dreams and just try. If the work doesn't come to you, then make your own work. I was so excited when I called Pete to tell him all about it. The teacher was wonderful, and she filled me with so much hope and potential. I feel like I can pursue my love of illustration, photography, and children's literature during a time when I would have been stuck in a bad job, doing something I cared little for, and not getting anywhere. When I think of my life a few months ago, I shudder at all the misery. Not that unemployment is a cake walk, but I didn't realize how utterly miserable I was before, and I guess it takes being truly happy to realize how unhappy you once were.

On the same day as my seminar, I also found out I'm getting another freelance project at the end of the month from my usual client. This fills me with so much joy and excitement. I'm hoping to carry that energy into new pursuits, new freelance contacts, and new projects. And I guess a lot of the enthusiasm comes from the continued remodeling of my home, which has been a long time coming. I'm actually able to walk around in my kitchen, to open my sliding screen door, to turn on my porch light and see who's at the door, all things I couldn't do only a matter of a week ago. You tend to take such mundane things for granted, but when they're not there, boy, do you feel the effects. When home is pretty and cozy and happy, so am I.

Thoughts of the future come to mind, things I'll be doing during the next six months, year, five years, and so on. The growth of my family, hobbies, work, and marriage...life seems so full of purpose and potential that I can hardly contain myself. I'm thrilled to be getting in touch with my long-postponed artistic career, and thoroughly enjoy puttering around my house, fixing things, finding great flea market finds, and relaxing with my animals.

I think this pretty dress suits me just fine.

Patio set score at Ikea

Jen and I hit the Bolingbrook Ikea today, and we were like kids in a candy store. Kids without tons of cash to spend, but the prices are excellent and there's soooo much to choose from.

I finally found my patio set, or at least part of it. This table caught my eye and it was love at first sight. Great price, sturdy construction, and look—two leaves for extra seating!


There were several styles of chairs that went with the table, including a bench and big arm chairs. I figured these folding chairs were a nice compromise (and the cheapest solution). I hate spending lots of money on something if I don't have to, and the chairs seemed nice and comfy. But it turns out they're out of stock and you can't order them.


So I'm probably going back to get these tomorrow. They're a nice mid-level chair, and you can adjust the back five different ways. And when I sat in them, I felt so comfy.



There are only 17 in stock now, and most people buy four or more when buying a set. So back to Ikea I go, bright and early tomorrow, to finish off my patio set. Now to find those lovely Italian lights to hang....

Major hangover

I've been out of commission for a few days due to a major hangover. Our party was a success on Sunday (my absence from blogland was due to much cleaning and planning), and I sampled some of the spirits on tap, especially some wine. Now, I didn't have my first drink of wine til 2:30-3, with a big pizza lunch, and only had four glasses (with more food) from that point til almost 11. Yet I woke up feeling like absolute crud, starting at 2:30 that morning. I knew I was in trouble when I kept drinking bottle after bottle of water and not hitting the bathroom.

Ugh...no wine for Chris for a loooooong time.

(image from ehow.com)

Simple Human trash can

Is it weird to be in love with your garbage can? I saved up coupons and money, and I finally got a nice steel trash can for our kitchen. It matches our appliances and looks trés chic! I suffered through beat-up, stained plastic garbage cans for the last four years and thought it was time to upgrade. I wish we could have gotten a larger one, although this is the same size as our last can. Dang, those metal cans are expensive! The biggest and fanciest models went up to $170!

Anyhow, I love it so much that I find myself looking for excuses to throw stuff away.

Plant Ferry's Seeds

A pretty alternative to the Vintage Hawaiian Prints that I really, really like. Love the colors in this one.