Where are we going?

Going to California in about three weeks. I'll be living in California, by the end of this month. I'll be moving MYSELF, my son, my dogs, my household, to California. By myself.

I can't wait to see what this journey has in store for me.

Just moi

In going about changing my life for the better, I need a springboard to sound off on. This would be that. Since I'm no good at keeping a journal, not for a lack of serious trying, I'm going to give this a shot.

I resolve...

I said I wouldn't do resolutions, but I've been bitten by the bug, so I won't fight it.

1. Only drink Coke when I'm eating out. NO buying any soda for home consumption. This will surely be my toughest challenge. I purchased 12 cans of Coke today, I will admit, and when that's gone, I'm done.

2. To really find my niche. I'm tired of bouncing around from thing to thing. Painting, to digital work, to whatever comes next. Why am I so restless. Why can't I just settle down. I feel like there is so much out there, that I have the chance to learn, that I don't have the time to stick to something. I need more stick-to-it-iveness.

3. Learn how to sew, by hand, and with a machine.

4. Cook. I hate cooking, it's a chore for me. If I didn't have a child who needed to eat three meals a day I don't know what I'd be eating. Probably coke and microwave popcorn every night. I need to start treating my body better. Buy more organic/locally grown foods. Visit farmers markets. Cook seasonal meals. Lots o' veggies.

5. Cut out red meat. This is not a problem for me. Lately I've had a strong physical repulsion at the thought of red meat. Pretty much any meat. It happened one day as I was standing in line at the new Burger King. I usually love their burgers too! I looked up at the menu, and for some reason, pictured a cows face in my head, long eyelashes and all, and then a butcher shop. Ewww, its someone's MUSCLE. I literally walked right out of BK, drove to the commie, picked up some boca burgers, and Noah and I enjoyed every bite! I don't know how Jason will feel about this. I still might be able to handle poultry and fish. No probs with milk/cheese.

6. Get back to yoga/stretching of some sort. I need to pull out my yoga mat and just sit. Not at the computer or tv. Just sit. I can do a mean tree pose, y'all.

7. Learn money stuff. Basically, I married Jason and his way of handling money. This is good in a way, because honestly, I had no way of handling money. It went into my bank accound or CD and there it sat. I married Mr. Money Manager and still have no idea about our finances. I am pretty ashamed of this fact, and it's NOT good, being a military wife. Don't get me wrong, I can handle the basics, and I sure know where to go for help if need be, but I really don't understand. I don't like dealing with it, so I never bothered or cared to learn. It's just something I have to do. I'm no fan of (big) business in general, I think it corrupts people so much of the time, and then the honest people get the shaft. Why am I blathering on about this!? Next!

8. Get organized. Make a trip to the container store, get rid of any clothing I'm hanging on to thinking I may wear it again.

9. When I'm at the gym every day, work HARD. I have a tendency to half ass it a lot of the time. It doesn't help that my bestie and I gab our heads off (everyone at the gym probably knows everything there is to know!) the whole time we're there. I need to get motivated. The beaches of San Diego beckon, and there is no excuse for flab on this mama!

10. Most importantly, find a church to get involved in. I'll attend my dad's church in PA, but once we're in Cali, I'd love to find a good place to go. I'm hoping we get back to Charleston so we can go back to our church down there, but until then... I'd love to start some kind of devotional or something to that effect. I feel very strongly in my faith, I don't feel like that's lacking, but my knowledge base is pathetic and embarrassing. I need to get on this.

So, there you have it. Mind, body, spirit. Here's to a fantastic, memorable 2009. Bring it on!

Be still and know...

Just a little ditty that I whipped up in a fit of creativity and inspiration last evening...
It is now that background on my computer desktop, and it makes me glad. :)

I've been feeling so restless lately, and I need to remember that I am not always in control, nor do I need to be. I need to be able to let go of the things I can not control, and turn then over to God.

I've also been feeling like I don't know where I'm fitting in. Where I belong. I don't feel like I know what I'm good at, what I should pursue... I'm feeling directionless. People say to do what you love, and success will follow. Well, what if you love everything!? Lol! I feel SO overwhelmed by different things I'd love to do, that I'm having trouble starting anything at all. Add real life into the mix, and I'm a hot mess! ;)

How do you focus such scattered, random, eclectic creative energy?

. Boudoir Queen .

Boudoir Queen. Have a look. Shop.
It's amazingly pretty.

Bayou Salvage

I found this cool @$$ shop a little while ago on etsy, and have been wanting to post it forever, and just never seem to get around to it. LYR is a time suck. :)

It's vintage, it's rustic, it's girly... all things I love.

Check out Bayou Salvage.

Flannery O'Connor Earrings

Spanish Moss Scarf.

The Fringe 2 Scarf

Paper Sparrow

I just found the cutest little shop on Etsy called Paper Sparrow. They're having a big birthday sale this week, so hop on over and look around! I bought two dear little prints for myself, and I've still got my eye on a few others. These are the darlings I snagged, a birdcage and an owl!

Girly girl.

Deep down inside, I really am such a girly girl. Those of you who know me realize I rarely dress the part. But really, I have a 15 month old SON. I'll get back to my girly girly ways. Someday. In the meantime, I'm loving just looking at these lovelys that if I actually purchased, Noah would destroy.

Tutu Romantico
Ok, so this is pretty over the top,
but I love it!

Simply Subtle
The color on this original is gorj. Plus, at $20,
how can you go wrong??


Miss Olive Eugenia headband.
Just another fabulosity from Chelsea.

French Ruffle Tea Top
Lovelove.

Victorian Chain Tank
More love.

White Whisper Fluff
Adorable!!

My fall look book.

I wish.

I'm totally LOVING J.Crew's fall line. If any execs from the company happen upon this blog, feel free to send me gift cards. Gads of gift cards.

Here are a few of my favorite inspirations.

Dream ruffle herringbone cardigan

Sequin argyle cardigan

Pima cotton V-neck cardigan

Velvet École jacket

Tartine crewneck sweater

Oh, my deer! Part deux...

So, I've mentioned the lovely and sweet Chelsea Petaja and her darling blog before, but now that she's a married lady, she must be completely inspired! She's come up with a line of FABULOUS hair accessories using flowers and feathers and pins and buttons and brooches and everything wonderful. I'm smitten with her new work, and am hoping for a fancy occasion to come my way so I have an excuse to order one. To me, they scream 1940's glamour, and I am a HUGE fan of that era. As Chelsea says, "they'll take you from Damsell to Dame!" Love it! Two of my personal faves are...

{Miss Rosie}

{Miss Scarlet}

I didn't post this before because it was a gift for my cousin Amanda, but Chels also made me a custom apron. Amanda is a pretty girly-girl, but her future hubs, Tony, is a very manly-hunter-man, and has somehow gotten my dear cousin to become a deer hunter. Not my dish, but whatever works for her :) Anywho, of course I had to go to Oh, my deer! and have her create a sweet little ditty for Amanda. Here are the pictures. Now listen, as wonderous as the pictures are, they don't do the real apron justice! Thanks again, friend!

Lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove.

New.

Just some new pieces I did.
Each piece is a little 4x6, India ink on paper.
I love them :)

Tea?

1) I never tire of rummaging through etsy, in search of delicious new items to want and/or need. I feel I should be paid handsomely for all the work I do. ;)

2) My latest obsession has been my Mango Ceylon tea from Republic of Tea. Actually, I've been lovin' this tea since my college days. Ah, yes, good old Kutztown U.

The point of my writing is that I was on the hunt for a cute tea cup, when I discovered this shop. The seller is Esther Coombs www.esthercoombs.com, located across the pond in London. I fell in love immediately. Who would have thought!? Here's a little clip from her shop announcement, which I loved.

"All the ceramic items, photos and imagery are found or purchased at second hand and charity shops, boot fairs and flea markets. I want to mix the old treasure and narratives these items possess with the new story I layer onto them. It's also a little bit good for the world to use these discarded items of others, re-invent and renew them to fill our homes anew. I believe that special things created with care have the potential to add to your home and personal story and get swept up in your life long possessions, become a little bit of who we are."

Anyway, doodling on china? Love it!

Sommerset Arch Tea Cup

You are a miracle

I made this funky little plaque a couple months ago, and it makes me happy every time I see. I thought about adding it to my new etsy shop, which I haven't officially opened yet, but I like it too much. It sits up on the china cabinet, and makes me smile when I see it.

Ode to the bicycle...

I've been talking about getting a bike for ages. We keep saying "Lets go get one this weekend," and we never get around to it. It would be so fun to cruise around the ghetto hood with Noah on the back, happy and smiling (that's what it looks like in my head, anyway.) Especially in San Diego. I've been looking on craigslist for used ones, checking out Mystic Cycle Centre to see what they have, and scouring the internet for good deals.

My top pick, I think, is the Jamis Earth Cruiser, which everyone that owns one seems to adore. I also want a basket on the front, in which I can put random things like my phone, bags, flowers, and Chester. I first fell in love with this gorgeous thang in Charleston at the Charleston Bicycle Company. It's been a love affair ever since. :) Love.

Cute, right?

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. ~H.G. Wells

A bicycle does get you there and more.... And there is always the thin edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs become dogs again and snap at your raincoat; potholes become personal. And getting there is all the fun. ~Bill Emerson, "On Bicycling," Saturday Evening Post, 29 July 1967

The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community. ~Ann Strong

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~Ernest Hemingway

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world. ~Grant Petersen

The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. ~Christopher Morley

The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green

Doodles & Penelopea

I've been playing around with my inks and watercolors, and am quickly becoming an addict! In a good way, or course! Here are some doodles from my sketchbook. I found this great old teach yourself Hindi book, and I've been using the pages of that to doodle some traditional Indian motifs and add a little inspirational saying. I've got loads of 'em here, I won't post them all, but I might put them up in my etsy store. After I open it. My days seriously need to be longer than 24 hours. I just run out of time for everything I want to do!







One another note...
One of my favorite bloggies to visit is the Penelopea blog. Those girlies always have something fab to look at, amazing eye candy, and lotsa personality to boot. I stalk their blog at least once a day, sniffing around for something new (ahem, Alexandra!) and their latest post, life in vivid color, did the trick. Go check it out!