Today....

Yay for today!

yay interj. used as an exclamation of pleasure, approval, elation, or victory.

i woke up this morning feeling good about today...

do you remember that feeling that you get to buy back to school supplies? picking out your favorite crayola markers, and the 300+ count of crayola crayons...and the pretty new art box to keep them in? the smell of the fresh crayons when you open the box for the first time? choosing the folders that will hold your papers, hoping that lisa frank that the cute puppies and kitties come in 5 different variations for each your class? just so exciting!

i have that kind of anticipation about today.

nothing is too different today. but, it is filled with sewing, and cleaning, and organizing. i also have my first upholstery class tonight.

i am excited to get my studio in order. its hard for me to keep my madness in order. i know that this is a room in the house that belongs to me. and i love it...

the problem is that its hard for me to find time to be in there...and its hard to keep all my supplies in order. so...i bought bookshelves and bins and containers and baskets.... this should do it. i never put anything away because then, i forget that i have it. ive always been the one to spread everything out to see what i have, but that also gets things i lost, i suppose. either way,

organization+beautiful studio=inspiring space

i cant wait to claim the space back to create.

i have also had some hard conversations with the girls this last few weeks that has been heartbreaking parenting. it makes me realize how sad it is how fast real life hits kids in the face. explanations to follow...

so pretty...

I came across this room today, and fell in love.

Another Day is Done...

Today was a pretty uneventful day, but i was thankful for it anyway...

some days, i like to be lazy. i feel that on days that i have lots to do and feel accomplished, i also feel that those are days that i miss out on the girls. i have always had troubles with this. i need to learn balance in my life. i am an indulger...with an obsessive personality. i need to find a way to have days that i can cross things off my to do list, while spending ample time with my family. i will have a week or two when i am highly productive. the house stays clean, the laundry is caught up, and the dishes never sit in the sink. having this all done, i get to spend time in my studio. then there is the other side of me. the lazy side...everything gets backed up....i get embarrassed.

on the positive side, i got two more salon chairs done, dropped off, and two more picked up. the recovering process has been a long time coming, and it just feels good to have that off my shoulders. its amazing how much it changes the look of the salon to have fresh chairs.

i am signing up to take an upholstery class too. i am excited for this. it always is a confidence booster to learn a new skill. i have this little dream.... it would be wonderful someday to own my own boutique. i would sell furniture i have rescued, repainted, and reupholstered, giving it new life. home furnishings, such as handmade pillows, decorations from my collections, and have local artists' goods as well. pottery, paintings, photography, along with personal accessories. i would love this. a little homemade heaven.

we visited borders tonight. i have decided to try and take up reading again. i read so many childrens books in a day, i think its time to do the same for me. i picked up a book called 'Good without God'. i heard it was a good read, so we will see. what i really wanted to do was pick up a copy of Rhoad Dahl's the BFG, and pretend i was a kid again.

now im sitting with Bottlerocket on my chaise contemplating what to do next. cuddle with the kitty and a good book, or make a pot of coffee and get to work on some more chairs?

I have figured out what is essential to a properly written blog...

the answer is a laptop.

i heart blogging...

i think it started in third grade when i was given a Lisa Frank dolphin motif diary for a birthday. since then, i have found it integral to my well being when i can write in my diary. now instead of keeping it private, because it used to be filled with trivial secrets like first kisses and current crushes, i believe that life, being more substantial, is something i would like to share with people. and i have come to learn that handwriting takes to long for me... i will be honest, because i am so involved with making my handwriting 'look pretty' sometimes my ADD makes me loose focus on what i sat down to write about in the first place. so, i have found that a blog makes it all possible. maybe no one will read it.....maybe people will think im crazy.....maybe people will realize that i lack basic vocabulary and punctuation skills....and that i always over use the 'dot dot dots'...

but, anyway....

i used to sit in an uncomfortable wooden chair at an antique desk that my legs wouldnt fit under because the computer sat under there. i would have like to sit and think and contemplate, but i was too distracted by the mess in front of me to accomplish anything productive. but, now i have a laptop. i know that this may be a staple in your home by now, but its new to me! now, i can sit on the comfort of my sofa, or at the island in the kitchen with a cup of coffee....or even upstairs curled up in my bed...or in the basement.... uh...maze...ing.

now i just need some suggestions on blog aesthetics. part of the reason i love sifting through blogs is that i am amazed how much time an effort people put into making it look 'just right'. the properly placed photos...information box...banner.....paired with the painstaking process of compiling just the right set list of music to create the perfect mood for readers. it all adds to up to something just as wonderful to me then the words it contains. maybe its my obsession with the way things look. if i ever had to choose between blindness or deafness.....please take my ears. my eyes are always hungry...

Hello... my long lost friend....

So, I have weeks at a time that I feel inspired to write, create, feel, and love....

Then there are weeks at a time where I feel stagnant.

I believe that I have just woken up for a stagnant few weeks. I feel like I loose time...like I wake up a week later, and think...why did I just robot this last week? Why did I not take the time to feel every moment, and cherish every second? How could I let a few weeks of my life slip by unnoticed? These are the moments that I feel disappointed in myself, but its only in the moments of realization of what has happened, can I begin to change. So, good morning world, I am with you again.

Busy Busy Busy

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action. -Mother Teresa

I have been creating a home this past month. Nothing is as satisfying to me that to create a sanctuary from the world for my family. My home is where we can shut out the stresses of the world, and love each other selfishly....
I have been making my home in two ways. One, in the sense of love and commitment and community. And two, a beautiful space to inspire creativity and comfort.
I am so happy that my daughters are finally settled. They have their bedroom, and play area, and backyard, that they know that they won't be leaving anytime soon. Delaney asked me a few months ago if we were going to be moving soon. We have lived in so many place since she has been born, that she has come to expect being unsettled.
Finally, a place. A consistent place. A place she will grow up, begin school, bring her friends, her first boyfriend, and learn to drive...and maybe even leave to start her own life. I want her and Ruby to think of this place forever with fondness for their experiences and their childhood. To remember all those important firsts going through life, and originating here. I am truly proud that Jon and I can provide this for them.
We also have been creating the experience of home through colors, and textures. Each area has a feeling, and a story. The living room is a invigorating blue with dark furniture and splashes of bright raspberry rooted with blacks and whites. There is family pictures and bird silhouettes. This is the place we live, so I wanted to be be calm, but fun...like us. The dining room is a deep peacock blue green. The built in shelving unit's back splash is painted a high gloss black to show off my prized milk glass collection. There is many silhouettes, and soft textures. The kitchen is painted raspberry with a high gloss back splash, and white cabinets adorned with modern nickel hardware. The counters are pewter gray. The window above the sink is flanked with black fabric with white seagull silhouettes. And I love how it all looks with my stainless steel appliances. My basement is my retro hideout. Deep oranges and olive greens, and chocolate browns create a feeling a tried and true space. There is quirky vases and owl statues and my vintage camera collection. My husband bought me a cool shelving unit to showcase these. I love my cameras....from the 1930s to the 1980s...so fun. The upstairs landing is a soothing gray. My studio is a deep jade green. Here I have all my oil paintings from friends. My favorite is my city scape painting done by my friend Andy Morris as a wedding present. It is an abstract view of downtown. And the amazing thing is that he painted it with a paintbrush and melted crayons....it is beautiful and reminds me why I live downtown. Our bedroom is soft gray and has touches of black and yellow. Its a modern space, but there is framed artwork from a shop on etsy of silly birds and owls that lighten the mood. And a beautiful sunburst mirror I got on clearance from Hobby Lobby and painted. I got my hands dirty and painted a canvas for above our bed called 'I felt like I had wings' a painting of plush gray love birds sitting on a branch together....simple, but I love it. Our bathroom upstairs has white wainscoting up 3/4 of the wall and the top area is painted black. I love a black bathroom....and there is a vintage charcoal sketch framed of a 1950's flapper. The girls' room is painted a cool blue with green apple and raspberry accents. Soft and feminine yet fun and energizing. The playroom is painted Melange green....with striped curtains and pom pom fringe I made.....they kind of remind me of a silly circus....
I love my home.... still a long way to go to fill the nooks and crannies....I need some more artwork painted by all of you............
Anyone interested? I would love to have a new piece painted by a friend....
Or even some photography, a silly cross-stitch? A collage? Whatever it is, I would be proud to showcase it in my home...just let me know.

Pictures to follow soon.