mo V-Day sweetness

I realize I posted this photo last Valentine's Day, but it's truly my all time favorite Valentine. On earth. In the universe. Among all the galaxies and planetary systems combined. Even including heaven itself. I'm pretty sure you get the idea. My Mouse made it when he was 5 or 6, and it is on permanent display for my viewing pleasure. Especially now that he is taller than me, and belches in my face just to bug me and has hairy armpits. 

I also have been waiting to show you this, because I thought it was so cool! (I only wish I could remember where I found it and who is the talent behind it... so I apologize, unknown talented person... but this definitely rocks!) This is really so simple but makes such a great display. And it gave me a multitude of much needed inspiration. Just think of all the things you could do beyond it with other shapes and items (buttons, coins, cropped photos, etc)!

Happy Saturday and I'll see you tomorrow for V-Day :)

balladeers

This post is dedicated to my middle son Davy and his new band - amazing musicians all. Tonight is their first live performance! I am so excited for them! Davy on vocals, guitar, and mandolin. Jimmy on bass and back up vocals if he feels like it. Henry on violin and back up vocals in case Jimmy bails. Amelia on violin and vocals. So cool. 

This band is very different from Davy's old band. I'm not even sure how to explain it. No screaming teenage angst, head banging, and slick guitar licks. It's a different time now. Acoustic. Woodsy. Passionate. Folky. Not folksy. As in "This Land is Your Land". No. Well crafted. Thoughtful. Meaningful songs that tell stories, rich with emotion. The perfect blend of voice and instrument arrangement. Davy's lyrics are scribbled on his pages straight from his heartstrings. His heart is a well, never running dry of what must be expressed. Jimmy's bass adds richness and depth. Henry and Amelia and their beautiful violins and talent, lift Davy's songs to a whole different level.  

I am so proud of them and what they have created together so far. I cannot wait for them to share it tonight!


*Update: THEY. WERE. FREAKING. AWESOME!!!!!!!

pink Valentiny things

Yup. I've been playing with light and shadows and pink Valentiny things. Pretty fun. Hard to believe Valentine's Day is only 3 days away! I hope all of you are planning to do at least one or two sweeeeet things.

The candy above are actually Dots, made pink and red for Valentine's Day. The pink ones taste good (strawberry). The red ones don't (cherry?). I was hoping they'd be a little more "glowy" but I still like how some of the photos turned out. Especially how a blob of them like up above can turn into something cool like the fun words below.

How Valentiny is that! 

But before we go on, I want to take a minute to say a very heartfelt *thank you* to everyone for their sweet words of kindness regarding my last blog post. So many of you here, on Facebook, and through e-mail, have expressed the most touching sentiments. Thank you for your love and prayers going out to these families that surely need it. 

Now... just look how something like a mountain of beautiful pink Himalayan *salt* crystals in the photo above can turn into something simple and fun and Valentiny like in the heart photo below! How cute is that! Hey, I don't get paid the big bucks for nothing. Someone's got to play with candy and salt around here - sheesh. 

More fun coming - stay tuned :)

heartache

We had a rough weekend. There's really no other way to say it. Watching some dear friends go through tragedy and loss as the result of a terrible car accident. No one's fault, just a fluke at the end of an amazing day. And then feeling helpless, our hearts breaking for our friends. And yet... and yet... witnessing a miracle as a sweet, special girl visiting from all the way across the pond, who should not have survived that accident... did. And as seriously injured as she is... continues to improve. Someone is watching over these good people. Someone is sending their blessings of comfort and peace. Our love and prayers are constantly with you, our dear friends - you know who you are  ❤  

I know when you see this posted here, you may think it strange after what I have just explained. But I received this from my friend Wendy over the weekend and it was the first thing that made me smile and warmed my heart. It's silly and funny, yes, but most of all it's heartwarming and sweet. And besides, the orangutan reminds me of Davy :)   

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

7 things and a rose

This post is because of my dear friend Cindy. I've mentioned her here before. Lovely soul, creative person, music lover, talented photographer, and author of the wonderful blog Quaint Handmade. She was recently awarded the "Kreative Blogger Award" and shared with us 7 unknown facts about herself. It was interesting and most enlightening :) Then she nominated several blogging friends, myself included, to receive this award and share 7 unknown things as well. Thank you Cindy! I told her I am on it. I will try not to disappoint. And the pink rose above is for you my friend. I've been saving it for you since I took the photos of my last rose of the season. I know how much you love pink roses ❤  So here we go:

7 (mostly) unknown things

1. I was on the Art Linkletter show when I was really little

2. during college I studied abroad in Israel for 6 months 

3. my husband and I used to perform as a singing duo

4. I worked as a hair designer for 7 years

5. I once lost 125lbs. (I wish it was still lost)

6. my speed record in my Bug is 125mph

7. if I could do things over... it's probable

I'm gonna think of some really cool things I wish I'd said the second after I click "publish"...

xoxo

music in my head

First off, as you can see, I am still experimenting with light and shadows in my photos. Helpful hint: if I were you, I would get used to it, because I'm having way too much fun to stop just yet :) I love how these photos turned out. This is a Murono glass paperweight that I got in Venice Italy 2 summers ago. You all know how much I love color, and this little gem was just too colorful for me to pass up!

Now. Do you ever get songs stuck in your head? Of course you do. My brain is like a 5 disc CD player but each CD only has one song on it, and it's on automatic shuffle mode, and I have no control whatsoever what song is going to play, or how many times, or when those songs switch to new songs. Sometimes I can have a main song stuck in my head for days on end, with just one other song occasionally shuffling in to taunt me. I know: freak.

Yesterday was classic. It started out with the kindergarten song "Inchworm". Do you remember that one? 

Inchworm, Inchworm, measuring the marigolds

you and your arithmetic will probably go far

Inchworm, Inchworm, measuring the marigolds

won't you please just stop and see how beautiful they are?

Where in heaven's name did that song come from?!?! What file did my brain have to go to and dust off to pick that one out?!?! Driving around town running errands, I thought I would go mad. Oh but it gets better. All of the sudden an Imogene Heap song gets shuffled in. From Inchworm to Imogene Heap? Well, okay. Over, and over, and over. Now, I like Imogene Heap as much as the next person, but her songs are really intense and I can't do them over and over so well. Not to worry! Because "Are We Human?" by the Killers took over. Of course it did. Because this song must be on a CD in my brain that never gets removed. Whenever I have more than a few minutes of silence in my brain and the CD player is miraculously off, I can always count on this song to come on - autopilot. 

I love to share the songs that are driving me nuts. I'm such a giver like that. My family begs me not to but I can't help it. So whether it's "Dust in the Wind" or the theme song from Gilligan's Island, I must spew forth. I live to torment them. I have a secret weapon too. A song that I love, that they all detest. And it's one of those songs that will play on their shuffle for a long, looooooong time once it's been entered into their pointed heads. Remember the song "Brand New Key" by Melanie? The perfect song for maximum torment. The chorus is especially affective :)      

hearts abound

The month of  ❤LOVE❤  is here - happy February! I am a big fan of hearts, and a lover of pink, so I could not help myself... even though I just recently changed the look of my blog, I've been swept away with all the lovely eye candy I've seen lately. My favorite blogs, and Flickr particularly, have had some truly inspiring photos! So I've thrown caution to the wind and broken free from my male infested, burping, farting, testosterone filled world, in my quest for some good old fashioned Valentine charm. I will continue to post lots of fun things in the usual mix.

I've been experimenting in my photography with a light box. Which sounds very technical considering I really don't have a clue what I'm doing. The soapstone hearts you see here are some of my first experiments. The black & white ones turned out great, which I was extremely happy about - and let's not kid ourselves, I also know it was better luck than good management. I'm still trying to get the turquoise ones right. But I had to post hearts today!

I'm also delighted to give you a report on the Hearts For Haiti fundraiser over on Etsy! When I listed my first item they had already raised about $13,000 for Doctors Without Borders. An item of mine sold last night (yay! thank you!), so I stopped over to check on the fundraising details. I was stunned and touched to see that we have now reached nearly $24,000! Bless the Etsians who started Hearts For Haiti. Bless all those who have donated their items. Bless the Doctors Without Borders organization and ALL those working so diligently in rescue efforts. And bless all of you for your generosity in contributing. Wow, wow, wow ❤ 

The month of  ❤LOVE❤  is off to a very good start!!!