a few goodies!

(last weekend at the San Diego Zoo-Tara exceeding her 2 hour max!!)

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."   -Marcel Proust  (Just discovered this quote in the current O mag. LOVE!!)

*Looking so forward to Father's Day tomorrow!! I planned a few wonderful surprises and gifts. So excited!!
* interested in what's going on over here next week
*thinking of signing up for this class over here if I can manage the time
*just getting around to reading my new camera manual (it was a Mother's Day gift!!!)
* Tara received a beeeeeyooootiful gift of fairy wings...all the way from Australia!! You can only imagine her excitement...flitting around the house:)
*I just discovered Pinterest. OMG!!! Brilliant, fun and...addicting!!!
* I finally figured out how to make a blog badge. I am not sure if it actually works (!!!) but if you read my blog...please consider grabbing one; it's in the upper left side bar.
I hope you all have a wonderful, marvelous weekend full of...goodies of every kind!!

link love

It's been rainy over here and Tara and I have been down with our second bout of the flu in about 3 weeks! Sniffles and sore throats and...general yuckiness!! So it's been hot soup, reading, napping  and cuddling on the couch quite a bit! A few things I have been enjoying lately and want to share with you...

* this blog over here (love her paintings and stories)

* this post by Jen Lemen (How to be Happy -Part II) is sooooo true...every morsel of it! I printed it up and stuck it up where I can read it every single day.

*love this blog full of inspiring goodness + her photography 

*am absolutely going to buy her book when it comes out!

* love this current post by Jen Lee called Some Seasons are for Living  (you can also read my interview with her here)

Hope you enjoy the links...hopefully we will be feeling much better over here soon!

Oh! and thank you to all of you for leaving so many insightful, supportive comments re. my last post. It helps put things into perspective when I get so unbalanced about...well, being balanced!!

b. inspired

(archival print available here!)

Like most of us...I am always on the lookout for inspiration but...you know how it goes! Days get filled up and I get so tired and before you know it...all those projects I wanted to do...just forgotten. Well, these past few days I decided to just...do it! I completed the painting above for my studio...to remind mySELF that being inspired is a conscious choice; one that I can nurture and make space for.

*I bought this little shelf for a steal at the junkie-junk store! It is a heavy piece of wood and I suspect it was handmade for a child. It is just perfect to store and display all my pretties (flowers, buttons, ribbons). It had been sitting in the garage forever and...this is what I did with it...

I removed the door...added a little bit of paint and...here it is...hanging in my studio!

*close-up

*Here's the door I removed ...some paint, pretty patterned paper and a clear doorknob from Home Depot transformed it completely. I had planned on putting it in my studio but Tara loved it so much...I added it to her play area!

*this is an idea that...I think I got from decor8...oh! months ago! I just tied some twine across an empty frame (that I distressed) and hung one of Tara's drawings. You can also use it for photos, biz. cards etc. Isn't it just so cute...and super easy to do!

* a few things that are inspiring me lately...

-this blog here has the most amazing ideas! If only I could sew this well!

- I just found out about this artist and...am going to order her book...right now!

-I have an interview with this amazing woman...posting it next week!

-I want to take this ecourse...when I get some time!

*And I also want to thank Rita Banerji for writing a post about me here!

creative burst!, BYW class and blog love

I have been having a creative burst these past few weeks...I don't know what's going on but I am appreciating, loving and taking full advantage of it!!! I just decoupaged a cabinet (so cute...pics soon!), transformed an old bulletin board into an inspiration board (I even added these fantastic handmade knobs at the bottom  so I can hang a few things)..and my patchwork curtains are coming along too!

Also, I am just loving my BYW class with Holly-I am learning so so much...I can't stand it! We just started this week and already I am thinking about things in a new fresh way. LOVE!

Have been coming across so many amazing blogs out there...inspiring, creative, just over the top beautiful. All of a sudden... I want to rush out and buy fat pink peonies + teal cushions and ...bake an almond cake!

Over here  are mouthwatering recipes and words that fill you up too! I just discovered the eye candy here and here and here. Love these very doable ideas...

(little monster from Speedie Beadie)

Also, I received a little beaded monster from the OWOH giveaway from Speedie Beadie. Thanks Dot! I put it in my studio to remind myself to make friends with all of my monsters...so so important. Our fears and insecurities have so much to teach us.
* I hope you all have a happy happy weekend...whatever you do, whoever you are with:)
** Am going to re-open my Etsy shop soon! Archival prints will be available!

the messiness of life...

(my studio right now)

The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
                -Rumi,
*one of my fave poems!
So many times we try to pretend as if there is no messiness to life. We hide it or push it away...messy thoughts and emotions. Sometimes we compulsively clean our houses to hide the messiness that lives inside of us...Sometimes we shrug it off and go through the motions.  But it takes so much energy to do this-don't you think? It's so much better to just lay it all out and process it and get to the other side. It's part of being human. Lately...life over here has been very ...well, messy! Tara and I have had a bit of the flu bug, a major migraine headache snuck up on me this evening and we are in the really messy process of figuring out our move to Ca! Plus I have been feeling the start of ...burnout! Yikes! But in the midst of all of this whirlwind, I see the gifts of this whole process ...I am slowing down a little, leaving dishes in the sink and the laundry undone. Going to bed a little early and taking hot baths. Lighting candles and turning off the noise.

                                                            (detail of painting above)

Most of all...I am letting my heart speak. It is telling me to step back, slow down and take a deep breath. To lay bare my anger and sadness and joy and vulnerability...write it down, paint it out, speak it out. And I am listening to my heart more and more these days. Vulnerability feels so good! It strengthens me in all my weak places...How about you...are you listening to your heart? What is it telling you?

A few blogs I am loving right now: 

*Kelly Kilmer  -juicy, luscious journal pages chock full of techniques, tips and inspiration. Plus she offers so many amazing journal e-courses..I would sign up for one right this second if I had the time. Am certainly going to bookmark it for later.

*Alyson B. Stanfield's blog on everything creative biz related. I mentioned it the other day but it bears repeating-head over there!

*Art Propelled -if you haven't discovered this blog yet...it is stunning! Artist Robyn Gordon's carvings are elegant, graceful and mysterious...her work speaks of the secrets of Africa. I love visiting this blog...there is always something to learn and Robyn's art and pics are breathtaking...see for yourself!