tough times

I'm going through a bad news spell right now. Life is like this. Sometimes all you see is struggle and strife all around you and then the next week- poof. . . it blows over and the sun comes out. I'm ready for a little sun. Until then I am going to try to focus on lighter, sillier times.

I don't even know these people, but they make me feel like the world isn't so bad after all. For all my dear friends who are trying to sail through stormy seas, if it helps at all, I find that eating poorly and shopping richly helps occupy you until the tempest subsides.

just monday

Because on Mondays, I really need a good laugh:

You gotta love his enthusiasm. And now to another little matter. . .

Dear Miguel-

After this weekend, I feel that I owe you some sort of apology. It is true that in the past my patience for you has been somewhat lacking. I am prone to making rash judgements and jumping to conclusions. For this I am sorry. It is something I grapple with continually.

I first realized my err when I found out that you weren't able to mow for a week or so because your mower was broken. I hope the repair bill didn't cost too much. I was further shamed when you complimented my work with the succulents I was planting in the pilaster pots. I was a little startled when you appeared behind me and said , "Es muy bueno, Aprrrillll. Muy bueno." I turned to see you standing there in your Home Depot cap and secondhand glasses with a wide white smile on your brown face. I didn't know you wore glasses.

I hope I wasn't over bearing with my questions about how your family is doing. I felt awkward facing you after my unjustified judgements. You further solidified my new opinion of you when you replied that your son is "crecimiento mismo de la grasa y muy lindo". In my book, any man who brags how cute his kids are, must be principled and decent.

In the future, I will cut you more slack when you miss a week. I will inquire more about your personal life. I can see that it makes you happy to talk about your wife and son. In short, I will try to reserve my judgments to corrupt politicians and people at the DMV.

Sincerely,

Mrs. M

P.S. Please don't mention to any one that you saw me drinking a Red Bull and eating a Reese's peanut butter cup while I was planting. Nobody really needs to know.

design sunday

I discovered a new artist. Not that she is new to the art world, just new to me. Her work is whimsical, girly and decidedly French. Her children's illustrations are reminiscent of the 1960's, which I find delightful.

Check out her website and read her bio. Scroll through her gallery. It's like taking a mini vacation to France.

Kristine Lombardi

In case you were wondering, the Top Rock Star launch had to be postponed, so for all of you who are yet to mention it on your site and be in the running for the fifty dollar gift certificate, you have another month or so. For those of you who already posted about Top Rock Star, sorry for the wait. We are all anxious to get the site up and running.

par-tay

Considering the fact that we were partially comatose and totally out of whack due to traveling on Thom's real birthday, we are celebrating today. We've got a handful of families coming over to watch a movie on our back lawn after the sun goes down. We've got something like 15 pounds of candy for the "concessions stand". We've got popcorn, We've got snow cones. We've got glow sticks and bouncy balls. We're ready.

I made cupcakes instead of a cake this year. It is just easier when you have a lot of people to serve. Besides, I'm partial to cupcakes.

There are several huge advantages to having a boy (faster hair styling, less shoe purchasing and the whole pee factor*) however, cute birthday parties are not one of them. When you have boys, you may be able to get away with cute birthdays for the first two to three years, then things take a sharp turn to the ugly, i.e. Spiderman, Transformers, Pokemon.

I found a loop hole in cupcakes. Boys don't seem to notice if you beautify their birthday cupcakes. Don't try this with an actual birthday cake, from personal experience I can tell you, it doesn't fly.

*There isn't a day that goes by that I don't enjoy the benefits of having a boy when it comes to urinating. This is especially wonderful if you have mysophobia (fear of germs) and public restrooms seem like mine fields. I am all about peeing in the bushes, even outside of Target. Er- I mean Thom. Thom peeing in the bushes, not me. I personally brave the bathrooms with custom crafted paper towel gloves. As a general rule I don't pee outside. I think that would be against the law, right?

artsy fartsy me

I have this thing about buying pre-fab art. I'm not sure where I picked up such a snobby attitude, but I really have very little interest in owning prints. Having said this, I do like limited prints and hand printed pieces, and I do own own set of prints that I bought at Z Gallery that I truly love. But for the most part, I want originals.

The problem is, I also have this thing called a budget. Such an ugly word, budget. Bud-get. Yeez. Anywho, I have semi rectified this situation by painting my own art. Please make no mistake. I am not a gifted artist. But I am crafty in both senses of the word. I have found that it is pretty easy, once you have a concrete idea, to come up with a product you can hang on your wall, at least until you have company over.


Take for example my guest bedroom:


Originally, I wanted a large cast iron sea horse sculpture to go above the bed. First, I couldn't find exactly what I had conjured up in my head, and second, when I did find something I thought would work, it was $2200. Ah- no.

I took the photo of the sea horse sculpture that I liked and painted it onto a canvas. It isn't an exact match, but that's what I like about it. It is my own. I didn't want to spend the money to have a huge canvas custom stretched to the size I wanted so I just bought two smaller canvases (on sale at Dick Blick) and painted an anemone on the other canvas. It has a little hidden clown fish in it that makes me smile. I still wish that the canvases were larger, but all in all, I'm happy with the result.

I really enjoy painting. I find it totally relaxing and almost hypnotic. I signed up to take a weekend long class (Sept. 20-21) from Anahata Katkin, owner and founder of Papaya. Check out her work she is amazing. I am hoping to come away with some fabulous pieces that I can be proud to hang on my wall.

I'll tell you another word, uglier than budget. Frugal.

letter of discontent

Because when it comes to confrontation I am a gutless wonder, I post this letter here. More letters to follow.

Dear Miguel-

I feel I need to have a word with you concerning your work, or lack thereof, in the yard. Please understand that when you don't show up to mow the lawn, it doesn't go unnoticed. In fact, it bothers me immensely. It makes me feel, disorganized and mangy every time I go outside.

You may have noticed that I am a wee bit behind on my own yard work. I am aware of this. However, when the lawn is cut, it adds a certain orderliness to the garden which allows me to further procrastinate my chores of weeding and trimming and therefore leaves me more time for crafting and playing.

All I ask is that you show up once a week. Mow and edge. Have a drink from the fridge. Enjoy yourself. If I can do anything else to make your time at our house more pleasurable let me know. Please help me to help you, help me to feel organized.

Sincerely,

Mrs. M

P.S. At this point you may be thinking back to the day when I arrived home from the beach with my swimsuit hiked up to keep it from touching my very sunburned bottom and I tumbled out the the car with bags and towel and boy in tow, and I stumbled over the garden hose loosing my sunglasses and scraping my knees and I crawled around at your feet for a while trying to get my bearing. You may be thinking of this day and saying to yourself, "I don't have to take this woman seriously." Just remember who writes out your pay check. Well- actually my husband does, but I could protest at any time if I wanted to.

loose change

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

-Joe Fox from the movie You've Got Mail

I'm back from vacation, and I must say, I'm really feeling loose and ready for change. Maybe it's the season. Although where we live we don't experience much of a Autumn. This is the one and only time of year, that for a very brief moment, I miss living in Omaha. We lived in Nebraska for three years while Sugar Daddy went to school. If you live in the Mid-West, please don't take offense, but I must say, it is not a joyful place to live. Especially if you are dirt poor, starving students. But the Fall! My word, the Fall in Omaha was sensational. It lasts for exactly three weeks and then the bitter, biting cold rushes in to ruin your life.



But really, I feel ready to shake things up a little. I will be launching my new jewelry line on the 15th. I'm not sure how many pieces I will be able to get done by then. The boy goes back to school tomorrow so I should be able to spend a fair amount of time at my bench over the next week or so. I have gleaned inspiration for my product photos from the pics I have posted here. I have some really old wooden spools that have been kicking around my house for years. I think I'll put them to good use. I am also toying with the idea of using fiber. I think a ball of yarn just screams possibility, don't you?

five

To see more Maui pics, click on the photo above. It will take you to my Flickr page.

Yesterday my little boy turned five. I haven't felt nostaglic about it yet. Once I go down that road I know I'll end up in a little town I like to call "Poor Me" wherein I lament the fact that his babyhood is gone forever and I may never have another baby again. Instead, I am just happy that I have been given five years with the child of my dreams. He is all I ever wanted and didn't know I needed. He is smart, quick witted, funny and quirky. He has so much spunk and fight in him that at times it startles me. I don't know anyone with as much self confidence as he has. Quite frankly, I marvel that he came from my genes.

I can't wait to see what kind of man he becomes. Well- actually I can wait. He is growing up at an alarming rate. I am trying everyday to mentally hold on to snippets of time we spend together so that when he is grown, I can pull up memories and recall the happiness that I feel just being his mom.

Check this out!

Wordle - Maui

home again, home again, giggedy gig

Turns out the flip side is wrought with jet lag and intestinal distress. See you tomorrow. I'll have fun Maui pics.

lau, ana lapule

I've been absolutely drooling over this chandelier for some time now. It would look great in my guest bedroom. I just can't justify spending $1,400 on a light for a room that only gets used a few weeks out of the year.

The quilts I have seen here are absolutely amazing. Quilting was introduced to the women of Hawaii in the 1820’s by visiting missionary women and from these teachings, the women of Hawaii adapted their own techniques. The patterns used represent the bread fruit and other island flora. I would love to buy one. A truly Hawaiian made quilt costs anywhere between $150 to $2000. You can find knocks offs made in China and the Philippines for a lot cheaper, but who wants that? Maybe next trip.

Our plane leaves tonight at ten. I'll catch you all on the flip side.

Lau, ana lapule translates to design Sunday.