I'm Loving!!! Flora Bowley

Right now I'm loving, LOVING, the artist Flora Bowley.  Below is one of her new paintings.  Aren't the colors just amazing?  I truly would love to have such beautiful creative talents.  I would also love one of her beautiful, big canvases on one of my walls.  I visit her blog "Bloom True" quite often just to see if she has any new creations posted.  They just speak to me.  They wow me.  They mesmerize me.  I would love LOVE to take one of her workshops but don't know if I can swing it financially.  But, wow, would I love to be in her presence and learn from her.  For now, I guess I keep checking out her amazing paintings. 

Painting: http://florabowley.typepad.com/blog/

Cake Decorating



Every since my neighbor Mrs. Rader used to bake and decorate amazing cakes for our birthdays and communions, I've always wanted to learn how to decorate fancy cakes myself.  Well, the opportunity has arrived.  Michael's Craft Store is offering Wilton Cake Decorating classes every month.  Isabella and I are planning on taking this class together which should be a fun mother-daughter activity (I hope).  I'm really excited because I've honestly wanted to do this probably since I was about five years old.  We're planning on starting in February if all goes well.  I can't wait!

Cake image:  cakedecoratingideas.free

New Year, New Painting

It's hard to believe it is January.  The holidays were great but lazy since Shane had off too.  We took lots of naps, saw a few movies, played some games and ate lots of good food.  One of the big things I started working on is organizing our office a bit better.  It's always been pretty cluttered because I'm a saver--of sentimental things, like Bella's cute little drawings of us with big belly buttons and little scraps of paper with notes on them.  It's hard to find a place for everything and everything in it's place like they say, when you are a bit of a "collector" in a sense. 

But I want to get it more organized so I can also use it as a painting studio as well since so much of my creating is spread out in the kitchen which makes for a choatic mess at times.  I would actually love a separate room altogether for my painting, but we just don't have any more spare rooms in the house.  So sharing with the office will have to do for now. 

Aside from organization, getting in shape is a top priority this year.  We bought a recumbent exercise bike at the beginning of December and I'm vowing to use it at least five days a week.  So far, so good.  It's near the living room and we got an i-pod so I can listen to music and make it a bit easier to do, unlike when I used to go on the treadmill in the basement, no music, no tv, only staring at the wall and surrounding cobwebs. 

Lastly, here's a recent painting I did that says, "Dream with me."  I"ve always been a daydreamer ever since I can remember and this statement speaks to me as well as the lazy kite on a cheery summer day.  Yes, I'm already looking forward to warmer weather.  Oh, one of the possible resolutions that crossed my mind was to actually accept that I live in Wisconsin and accept that it will be cold and gloomy through March.  Not sure if I'm going to dive into that one though--that's even harder than regular exercising for me!  Anyway, I hope to make it an even better year this year!

Nutcracker

Yesterday we went to the Nutcracker with the Milwaukee Ballet.  I absolutely loved it.  I felt like I was in a dream.  The costumes, the set, the ballerinas and the amazing music.  I kept wanting to close my eyes and get lost in the music, but then I realized I'd miss the show.  We were third row, right behind the orchestra, the best seats I've ever had.  It was my second time there, but our daughter's first.  I was so excited to take her because she's been dancing since she was four.  Well....she liked it but didn't love it she said.  I was a bit disappointed to hear that for sure, but I still think it was a special holiday experience to share with her.  We'll see if next year she has any interest, but I won't push it.  But I sure did love it myself.  I guess the little girl in me who wanted to be a ballerina or an ice skater is still drawn to this.

Photo:  Milwaukee Ballet website

Good Book - The Neighbors are Watching

I just finished The Neighbors are Watching by Debra Ginsberg and, whew, was it interesting.  It is the story of a suburban neighborhood that gets turned upside down after a pregnant seventeen year old moves in with the dad she never knew and his wife who can't handle this surprise.  The chapters jump from household to household and each of them has quite a few skeletons in their closets which really make for some shocking revelations.  Eventually the book turns into a murder mystery and so much is revealed.  It was definitely worth the read, especially if you enjoy drama, mystery and reading about people's little hidden secrets.

Giving Thanks

After Thanksgiving ended, we started a gratitude jar in preparation for the Christmas holiday.  My daughter who is nine sometimes forgets how lucky we are when she compares our lives to friends' at school.  So, I put out one of my canning jars that I use as a vase for flowers in the summer and tied a green ribbon around it and placed it on our breakfast bar.  I cut some of her green and red construction paper into strips that are sitting on the counter right by the jar.  We then started individually writing down things we're thankful for and the three of us will read them on Christmas morning after we open our presents from Santa and each other.  I hope that this becomes a tradtion for us and that we all realize how blessed we are even though things aren't perfect in our family. 

I've put big things on my slips of paper but little things as well--those little things are what make up the sweet moments of our lives.  One of the things I put that I am thankful for is "watching Isabella playing outside in the snow for the first time this year."  Even though she was all alone out there, she looked thrilled to be enjoying our first snowfall of the season.  My heart felt so full just watching her explore and play.  I'm looking forward to all three of us reading the slips of paper on Christmas morning. 

New Painting and One Sold

I just posted a new painting on etsy.  It's an inspirational canvas that says "You are Loved."  At my recent art shows people really seemed to be drawn to paintings with sayings on them, so I've been doing more since I love quotes too.   I also sold a painting called "Kaleidoscope" this weekend.  That one was a vase of  deep, textured roses. 

 It really is exciting to get that e-mail from etsy confirming a sale!