Red Shoes blog

Dive bars and dental chairs......

Oh I have been running the gamut these past few days....
going in a million directions as usual....
Radically changing my scenery from day to day.
Saturday night I was in an old dive bar in Canton listening to Blues music from a friend's band,
yesterday I was traveling the flatlands of south eastern Michigan hunting for Vintage treasures, and today I was getting my teeth poked and prodded for an hour and a half in a dental chair.
  Fun, Fun , Fun I tell you.
tomorrow will be the gynecologists office.  So nice.
Was that too much information?
you know how I like to keep it real here.
But I wanted to share with you how important it is to take care of yourself,  because clearly I haven't been doing a good job of that myself!
most of you know about my stomach issues,  so I apologize for repeating myself,  but maybe some of you out there might not know,  and maybe you have the same thing and could benefit from the information.
anyways,  several months to a year ago I started having problems with a lot of acid reflux, and air getting into my stomach making it really hard for me to eat and swallow because I felt like a big bubble was in there...finally it became almost impossible for me to eat comfortably,  it was a chore and a struggle just to do the most basic of thing in life.
then the vomiting began.
in the beginning I went to the Doctor and told them all about my ailments,  they of course prescribed prilosec
without doing any tests,
They also told me I needed to see a psychiatrist
because most of my problems seemed like they were in my head...probably caused by stress and anxiety.
This went on for months.  it was very frustrating. I was losing weight, which of course was a good thing, but I went from a size 18 to a 10 in less than 6 months. losing 52 pounds.
  I basically had to beg for tests to be done...most of the time feeling paranoid that they thought i was some whack job.  the tests came back normal,  so it only made me feel MORE paranoid that maybe it was all in my head!
then one day I came home and actually got sick and
threw up a cupcake that I had eaten 6 hours earlier in the day,  it came out exactly like it had gone in...
looking just like a cupcake.  that did not seem normal to me,..... again,  I apologize for too much information...
I called the Doctor and told her I thought that was weird, and she agreed, and finally ordered some MORE tests that revealed that indeed something was wrong.
my stomach muscles were no longer working to move the food on down to my stomach, and then out through the other side to the intestines.  It's a condition called
gastroparesis.  definitely NOT in my head, or caused by stress or anxiety.  it's something that just happens,  sometimes it's due to Diabetes, or trauma to the stomach in surgery or sometimes it just happens for no reason,  like in my case.
So basically my food just sits there
for HOURS....so I always feel full,  and can only eat small amounts of food,  like soup or crackers,  or little things,  otherwise i get sick.
  They don't have a cure for it,  there really isn't much they can do for me except try to help me with drugs. because it's nerve damage it may or may not get better,  they just don't know.
Now I don't want you to feel sorry for me,  because i am o.k.  I am learning how to adapt and find my way around it...and I love that I lost weight...I can wear some very cute clothes!
But i will admit that it's been a struggle, and it can get depressing at times, or the fatigue can be overwhelming, but I am a STRONG woman and i will not be held back or down.  I just want you to learn from me that you MUST BE PERSISTENT and listen to your heart and do not take any garbage from your doctors.  you need to be your own patient advocate!
Now with that being said, since I have had such crappy luck with mine i totally avoided going until things got really bad....don't do that!
It's been 2 years since I've been to the dentist, and when i went in today it was because I was having so much jaw pain from clenching..after a few x-rays and a nice cleaning they found i have 7 cavities!  now this was a shock because I haven't had a cavity since I was a child!  well evidently the P.H. level had changed in my mouth from getting sick all the time, which in turn caused the cavities.  UGH.
  So again,  learn from me,  don;t wait till it's too late.
  So I am now on a mission to try and take better care of myself,  hopefully tomorrow they won't find any kind of cancer, or lumps......but at least i am going for a change!  SO please
go out and make that appointment, do it NOW!
All right,  off my soapbox as usual, and on to other things....
now that you know about my issues, you can see why I am a little bit slower at getting some things done,  but I
am still working hard behind the scenes,  I spent most of yesterday scouring the lower half of southern michigan looking for goods to replace all that sold on saturday!  we sold a few bigs pieces, so i was on a mission to find goods,  not an easy task, but I was lucky and found some fun things, a gorgeous yellow shelf and some big display pieces, I also have a dresser and a table and chair set in my garage... all of which need to be painted!  i am going to set a goal to try and do some of that this week,  so I will not be around much,  plus we are leaving for vacation on Saturday for a week on the coast in north Carolina!
A much needed week of rest and relaxation.
  So as usual I will leave you with some images from the past couple of days...it's been a whirlwind!

we hit the open road.....nothing but flat lands around us from all sides.....

we traveled for hours ending right down to the edge of lake Erie!  i'd never been there before.

it was a little too chilly to be on the beach...

we lasted about a new york minute

then we headed out and found a great little spot where i
found these sweet little goods

I like to find things in groupings, so i was on a mission to find vintage planters in springy colors.
i lucked out!

but I also found this sweet little vintage japanese creamer and sugar set with a coffee pot and 3 cups.
adorable!
I also found a cute little wooden shoe form,  i love the number 5 on the side.

and these cute little salt and pepper shakers

I also bought myself a new 70mm macro lens for my camera so i can take super-detailed photos....it will take some getting used to....i really don't know what I am doing actually,  but it's fun so far!
so in the future you can see jewelry RIGHT up close like this...

and this..

or this..

you can also see the fantastic detail on this handstitched and beaded leather belt that i absolutely ADORE down at the shop.  made by local artist Leslie Sapp.

So as you can see I have LOADS to share with you,  but as always I am lacking in time.
I had paperwork and a soccer practice to take my kid to
which kept me from any creative persuits today!
but look how cute they are!




  So after tomorrow's Dr's. appt. I plan on putting my nose to the grindstone and hope to share some more goodies with you before i leave this weekend. wish me luck!
as always,  thanks SO much for reading and being such
sweet people,  you mean the world to me!
xoxo
catherine

Feeling Springy....

  Hi All,  Hope those of you that celebrate had a nice and relaxing Easter!
  I had a nice day with my family,  we had an impromptu brunch with my mom and dad and step mom,  made a ham, and had mimosas (nothing Like a little champagne and orange juice by noon to get you happy quick!)
  My eyeballs are slowly getting back to normal,  not as puffy as the past few days of eating ham,  and all that sodium retention.  OYE!
  ....because I like to multi-task my food as well as everything else in my life!  this is how it went down....
DAY 1.)  Ham, potato salad, deviled eggs, garden salad, and the works
DAY 2.)  ham sandwiches & soup, 
DAY 3.) Ham and cheese quesadillas with fresh mango/peach salsa and rice.
  oh My.  tonight I think I will be ordering chinese food!  enough already!
  Now of course when Easter rolls around it feels like it's officially Spring in these parts,  that is once you get past the 6 inches of snow on the ground from the snowstorm we got the other day,  Oh, and the 35 degree temp....  no, i'm not bitter.
nope,  i know Spring's just RIGHT around the corner!
  So in order to speed things up a bit,  I had to do the big shop over-haul.
  I re-painted that shop wall saturday night right after i closed the doors at six.
  Slapped on old overalls and got down to business!
let me tell you,  painting YELLOW over BLACK is a royal pain in the behind.  Numerous coats of paint folks.
  Didn't get home until 10 p.m.
BUT  I am QUITE happy with the results!
Do you like my springy yellow room?

the walls are a little bare, but I am going to make some new paintings to hang there, not to worry.
think of it in the interim as my Spare, Shaker-style, Amish type room.
utilitarian and simple.
just plants,  some simple garden products and clean space.
Now of course at this time of year I have to head out to my favorite little old school greenhouse.
  It's a tiny little white wood and glass greenhouse with old dirt floors and lovely miniature plants that are unusual.
I picked up a few of my favorite all time  plants,
some lovely myrtle topiaries, some sweet miniature geraniums and baby's tears.

just the addition of green living things makes your soul happy.  I honestly believe no room is complete unless you have some sort if living thing in it.
plants work best in this type situation,  unless of course you're like me,  then you would add a bird or two, a dog, and a hamster, even a goldfish for good measure,  but that's just me.
plants are just fine.  and green goes with EVERYTHING.


now in my opinion nothing pairs better with plants than a good old piece of time-worn furniture,  or rusty basket.  this old seat-less chair is elevated to something lovely just by adding that geranium!

of course the old standard garden cloche is a must have in my book.
the simple clean glass dome looks equally perfect covering a dainty seedling,  (it's original purpose)
or some other lovely little treasure...be creative!


I also have these adorable little rusty wagons in the shop right now  (i only have 2)  that looks so flipping cute holding baby tears,  or even wheatgrass!

and speaking of grass....I am burning my NEW FAVORITE candle,  a new line we just got in,  called "fresh Grass!"  It comes perfectly packaged in an earth-friendly recycled box that is too cute. we also have a million other scents to choose from.

Now I also "springied" up theses other rooms too....(that's a made up word by the way.)
but you know what I mean....
heres the middle room,

kind of spare,  but we are technically in the middle of the change of seasons,  more goods will be coming soon.....
in fact I am ordering more goods today,  one of many things on the list.....
I also changed the Children's room around.
now this place IS NOT spare,  in fact it's so busy and packed with stuff,  it overwhelms that swedish side of me that likes the clean aesthetic.
but I feel like I contained some of the clutter and it works,  I'm happy for the moment.

brought up my tiny little bed...

and switched cabinets to hold baby blankets
and other toys....and adorable hand knit hats...


Now with all of this spring cleaning,  and going through all of those old photos of the Shop "before"
(as shown in last weeks post),  I came across these old photos from before I even had my shop, and only did Home shows.
this was after I had kids and no longer had my work in galleries.
Before kids I used to actually crank out the art work and had my dolls and other stuff in several galleries across the country,  believe it or not.
  back in the old days,  when I was highly motivated.
Well,  for any of you out there that enjoys creative
things and making stuff for fun.  Home shows are a GREAT way to sell your goods.
  We would get a group of artist friends together and send out invitations,  clear out the majority of our own personal things and "decorate" with goods.
we'd have food and drink,  and people would mosey around and look at things, mingle and SHOP.
it was a lot of fun,  and a great way to develop a client list.
  SO I will leave you with some photos of those old days.
I would always incorporate the old with the new,  the garden with the vintage and the Art...infused in between...much like I do now  ;)
hope you like!



*****************************

****************************

****************************

allrighty then,  thanks AGAIN, for taking that little trip down memory lane,  and for helping me think springy thoughts!
this is indeed my favorite time of year, every little patch of green brings with it so much promise and hope.
hope you get a little "green" in your life today!
it makes a WORLD of difference!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
c.




 

In the beginning.......

Yesterday I spent most of the day in front of the computer looking through piles and piles of old photos burning discs to send off to an editor of a magazine...
I am so excited to be included in another magazine this summer!  I will let you know more details when it gets a little closer!
  but while I was looking through these photos I came across pictures of my shop BEFORE I did the big remodel.
I don't think I have shared these photos with ANYONE before,  and looking back,  sheesh!  it makes me tired just thinking about all of the hard work we put in to this little place!
  My children were LITTLE at the time,   my daughter only a year old,

and one year olds ARE WILD!  well,  at least this one was. she came out from the womb running,  and never stopped.


at least my sweet 6 year son at the time was nice and sedate...sweet boy.

oh,  and at the SAME time i started the remodel, and opening up a NEW BUSINESS, I decided to buy a Puppy.
can someone say "insane"?


Truthfully I spent MANY long nights down at the store,  by myself,  in the Dark,  downtown,  until midnight or later....
so i wanted a little company from my pint-sized guard dog.  :)
  The place was REALLY scary before,  i'm not kidding.
It sat vacant for around 6+ years or more.  the previous shop owner just walked out the door and closed it behind her,   leaving ALL of her stuff and junk, never looking back!
  She even left an ENTIRE OLD REFRIGERATOR FULL OF FOOD
here, yes, for 6+ years.
  The place in it's hey-day was a great interior design firm, with lovely wall paper, and carpet treatments,and furnishings....  but over time you could see where she eventually had some sort of descent into some dark place.  it was really sad.  There was also some sort of black magic and scary devil worship stuff happening here too....which was frightening.  the whole place had this very bad vibe attached to it that clung to your bones.
There were branches and wasps nests hanging from the ceiling, stained carpets with cat crap and filth all over them,  food, and trash scattered everywhere,  not to mention tons and tons of wallpaper and MOLD.
it was honestly overwhelming,  but we got down to business, and hired this sweet little man to start hauling out trash, and tearing down walls in the basement.
  the VERY first thing I did was get a DOOR to close off the basement.  it was wide open,  and seriously,  you could feel evil coming from down there.  it was all painted black....filled with garbage,  and tons of MASSIVE spiders.
  we did this native american smudge......it's where you burn a sage bundle and walk around pointing it at every different corner in the home saying some words trying to expel the bad ju-ju.
  I should have hired a priest,  but the sage worked,  and was MUCH cheaper! ;)
  So...are you ready to see some photos?
I will show you all of the before's first,  then show you some of the afters,  which you know are always changing!
here is the entry to the shop, come on in,

  Ian will let you in!, Now once you get past the horrible blue door, you will see  it was painted this horrible brilliant gold, kind of smeared on really.


molly might hate me for using these photos, but hey, I had to tell a story!  Isn't she cute?!
then if you look over to the left you can see the lovely
brown splatter paint explosion that happened over there.
it also had these branch/log window treatments with animal pelts as drapes,  oh and a fossilized cat turd on the windowsill.  so nice.

I started to get busy real quick with that place and painted one wall red.

and just so Molly won't feel bad,  I'll add a very scary picture of me to the mix,  in shorts no less.
nice.
now we will walk down the hall and see the lovely dark nasty carpet, and the plastic wall treatment that runs the entire length of the hall

my friend Angie helped me to peel some of this horrible stuff off the walls,  it took forever,  So in my true
patient fashion,  I started RIpping off chunks, which in turn tore off the drywall!

but in the end it all worked out for the best,  because when i saw the gaping drywall holes,  I had an Ah-ha moment, and that was the birth of the mosaic wall project....which took 4 months to complete. basically curing me of EVER wanting to do mosaics again.
i'm over it now.
now if you walk on down the hall a little bit, you can see the future site of the bath and body room.
at this point it's the devil/angel mural room, with some strange paint jobs that I can't even come close to describing what style they were trying to capture.

this was by far the grossest and scariest room.

if you click on the picture to enlarge it,  you can see the painting of the devil. we set about painting this ceiling as fast as we could, we couldn't stand even being in that room, because his eyes followed you everywhere.
  the funny thing was,  when I climbed up on the ladder and went to slap my first coat of paint on his face, at the EXACT same moment a LOUD motorcycle fired up it's engine outside, sounding like a HUGE growl and scared the crap out of Molly and me.
  the other strange thing (but in a good way) was that it only took ONE coat of white paint to cover the devil's face,  but it took 3, that's THREE coats of white paint to cover over the angels face...it kept bleeding through!  I took that as a good sign.  I was meant to be here.
  Now across this room was my future little rustic room,  that can actually go both ways,  rustic in the fall and winter,  and springy-summery in that time of the season.....without ever having to change the paint!
the paint is that versatile....it's a beautiful orange
(harvest moon, by Benjamin Moore) on one wall and a nice green (coriander seed, By Behr paints) on the others,  with white as a buffer.
look what it was before,  definitely NOT versatile,  again,  don't know what they were going for here.



walk on back a little bit further and you will see the last of the rooms,  this is the future site of my little children's room,  definitely NOT child-friendly then....

what it doesn't show is that the window was actually broken out and the ceiling collapsed.
all in all,  this only really gives you just a GLIMPSE of what it was like, to experience it,  was a WHOLE other thing.  something I will never forget.
   The feeling of accomplishment and happiness that i felt after completely it is/was amazing.
The entire feeling of the place completely changed.
You could actually feel the heavy weight of the place become lighter.
People often just stop by here to come in and feel better,  it has that cheeriness to it.  oh,  if they only knew!  ;)
before I used to RUN,  and I mean run out of here,  always looking back....afraid something might be lurking....now I spend hours here alone at night with no problem. Of course Pearl is by my side,  i'm not completely chicken-proof!
  So,  am I boring you yet?
I will leave you with these last images....
these are the afters.....some old,  some new.
hope you like them!
Come in!


here is the front room/entry way
(ignore the holiday message please)


floors have been sanded a nice honey gold...
over here is that splatter painted room now.....
(it will be painted a sunny yellow tommorow!)

still keeping my red wall!  gotta have one of those ALWAYS!

lets walk on down the hallway shall we?
look at my lovely green linoleum floor we had put in,  and there's that mosaic wall I was telling you about.
filled with years and years of treasures I have been collecting.



here's my current bath and body room,  nice and clean...free of devils.....


it's also looked like this before

or this.....

or even this...

my sweet little birds live in this room, they chirp and sing their little hearts out here,  nothing to be afraid of now!
and across the room in the "rustic/spring room"
here it's always changing too!
here's Fall


or this scenario

it's always changing,
but sunny and bright is the forecast now...so I would be moving into these palettes...same room...

or this

further on down the hall we have the ever-sunny children's room....gone are the dark walls and broken windows....replaced by nothing but sweet goods to warm the little soul

at times there may be something like this (not now unfortunately)
or the room may look like this perhaps

but currently stuffed to the gills like this

lastly I have my garden room....gone is the dark floral wallpaper and depressing window treatments

serene space.
  So on that note,  I will leave you all,  thanks for traveling down memory lane with me and looking at all of the changes this little shop has made in the 4 years
i have been open!  I look forward to bringing you more exciting changes and pictures soon.
Just remember, If I can do this,  So can you,  all it takes is a HUGE amount of drive and ambition, a dream, and  a heart that will never let you think you can't do it!   There is nothing in this world that can stop you from accomplishing anything!
  have a great day! AND a great weekend!
xoxoxoxox
Catherine

 









 

Number pillows!

 

Well Allrighty then,  finally got another thing scratched off the ole mile long to-do list!
  here is a small batch of Number pillows......

I only have a few made and loaded up to the website,  so it's a first come first serve kind of thing....sorry.  wish I could become a factory and crank them out,  but I have a little A.D.D. problem and get bored VERY easily.  so I will be making more certainly,  but it will be a little while from now!  ;)
  I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday!
I woke up to a nice little breakfast from my sweet Ian.
I love that he cooks on Sunday morning!  He made a nice crispy batch of homemade waffles!  YUM.
   you know you're totally loved when your spouse can add cream and sweeten your coffee so perfectly to your taste,  just like you like it...maybe even better.
  Amazing how those things can happen over time.
So on that note,  gonna make this a short one, (which is a TOTAL miracle in itself),  but i'm going to go spend some quality time with my people.
.....that is until the fights start breaking out!  ;)
talk soon!
xoxoxoxo
C.
 

option G love

*Warning*  this is an incredibly long post about nothing.  so if you have stuff to do,  or basically a life to live, don't proceed.
(just thought I'd share that up front :)
O.k.,  SO No,  Not THAT G.Love
(even though I do love him)
Am I the only person on the planet who didn't know how to make the copyright symbol?
Well,  thank you internet!  isn't it so nice you can google ANything,  and I mean ANYTHING and come up with an answer?
Evidently on the Mac, (which I have......)
all you have to do is push the option button and the letter G and you will miraculously have the copyright symbol appear!  I feel so much better! 
there is a way to do it on a P.C. but You would have to google that one yourselves,  it required a little more ctrl + Alt + button thingeys that I can't remember....you know,  more than 2 things,  so my brain just shut that right out!  (option g's easy!)
I will warn you in advance I will be using this on everything, and I mean everything and not because i'm paranoid,  because i'm over that (for now)  thankyou.
but simply because it's so dang cute and fun!
  It makes me feel so professional,  like I know what
i'm doing!
  So I feel much better about things,  thanks for letting me rant,  and of course being so supportive,
we're all in this together!
  O.k.  So this is what I managed to do this week,  that is of course, before the fevers and sick kids started coming home........  I played with clay.
  Now I have to tell you I usually use the Super sculpey
to work with,  It's MUCH stronger and holds up better,  but I was lazy.  I didn't want to have to paint more than 2 coats on my stuff so I used the regular old white
sculpey,  which of course after I baked them,  and they came out CRACKED,  I was reminded of why I don't use that stuff in the first place.  better to take your time people and do it right!  LEarn from me.
So here is the start of my little girl doll.

look at my cute little © !
  Her body cracked a little bit,  so I used old pages from books and decoupaged her body to reinforce....  kind of like FAUX paper mache.  I honestly hate how it turned out,  but it's a start,  and a lesson learned.
  Now of course she had a mate.....he too popped out of the oven with a few flaws.....
but heck,  we've all got 'em right?  it's o.k.
please tell me it's o.k.

So I had to follow suit and slap paper and glue on his body too,  but of course I had to rush it,  and started painting before the glue completely dried.
Big NO-NO,  unless of course you like the crackle finish.  lesson # 2 learned,  (and also a new technique for when you DO want that crackle finish!)
  I also finished one pillow,

  but in true Catherine
fashion,  I ran out of FUZZ to stuff them, after ONE pillow!
  SO tomorrow I will be buying more fiberfill and finishing them up and uploading them to the site,  hopefully saturday.
I also pulled these out of my TO-DO cabinet

where they've been waiting patiently for me to finish them.  They need wings and feet,  that's IT.
  But I like to draw things out a bit.  you know,  for like a year or so.  I am a phenomenal procrastinator.
But I will tell you,  I cleaned up my studio space and feel REALLY motivated now,  it's such a nice space to be in now.....

Counters are all cleaned,  paint organized.  (That was the BEST $29 spent by the way on the swivel-based paint organizer.)  I can see all of the colors I need right at my fingertips.
Now if you were smart,  you could get it for 40% off with your Michaels coupon...but that's not what I would do.
I would forget mine at home,  clear across town...and pay full price.
  O.K.,  moving on.....So you can see my studio is really just a glorified LAUNDRY ROOM,  because I just love to do that kind of thing while I work on ART and craft projects,
  Which will lead me to my next Topic.
THINGS AND PRODUCTS I AM LOVING THIS WEEK

I want you to know up front I am getting no paid endorsements from these products,  (But I should though because I would seriously do an Ad campaign for them just on the amount of love I have for them.)
  So let's start in the Laundry room/ art studio shall we!
this weeks love is Mrs. Meyer's clean day BASIL scented
fabric softener.

  Ohmigosh.  the smell of this stuff alone makes me want to take a bubble bath in it.
  I might even throw clean clothes on the floor just on purpose to be able to do more laundry it's that good.
  a little bit pricey,  but definitely worth it,  and since I spend little on the other things I will be recommending i figure I can swing it.
  Next up is this NON-toxic tub and tile cleaner
by method.

O.k.,  can I tell you I am always one for supporting creativity on many levels.... case in point, we even take our ARt supplies to the bathtub in the form of bath tub crayons.
  Now I like to support freedom of expression,  but these crayons are MURDER to get off of the walls so I secretly hate them!  and trust me,  my kids will fill up every inch of wallspace possible.
  Enter Method tub and tile.  I literally sprayed this stuff on, and with ONE wipe, i'm serious, one wipe! the crayon was GONE.
no scrubbing, no back braking elbow grease involved!
Which is GREAT because not only do my kids have fun with these crayons but my husband likes to use them too!
  I pulled back the shower curtain one day and found
this scrawled on the wall in RED crayon.

you'll get it if you remember the old movie with Jack Nicholson called "the Shining"
(if you're not familiar,  just flip the words around to see what it spells,* hint * it's the one in red above, it was a scary movie!)
  SO nice of my sweet Ian to do that to me!

Now while you're in that bathtub,  if you are like me you need to use conditioner for your overly-processed,  tired looking hair.
Now I have used everything from the more expensive Salon products to the cheap over the counter no-name brands,  but i ALWAYS come back to this one from pantene
seriously,  it's the best,  if you don't believe me
ask Ann at my shop,  she uses it too!

  Now so you don't think I spend all of my time in the bathroom or doing laundry, Let's move on to the kitchen, because when I am not doing those lovely things,  I am usually EATING.
  Lately these days I am having a love affair with Soup.
mostly this is because of my stomach issues,  but I will save that for another long post.
But really,  I do love soup!
  I love Fresh, Homemade soups, hearty soups,  the stick to your ribs kind.
My favorite all time soup is found at This restaurant
in town called Grizzly peak.  The Cheddar Ale soup!
  I will usually have it AT LEAST once a week,  I am that addicted.  try it if you're local!  YUM.
Now since I can't go in there everyday because it would look weird, and people might talk, I found this lovely soup right on my grocery store shelf at Plum Market.
it's from an English company called Baxters

It's a LUXURY soup.  who knew people made luxury soups!
I've heard of luxury cars,  but soups?  had to try this one.  and YES the Asparagus was good!
But My very favorite of theirs was the "Viccysoise"
that's just fancy talk for "potato leek soup",  but it IS a luxury soup after all, So they have to talk that way.
Absolutely delicous,  I'll be stocking up on that one!
  Now with all of my soup eating and weight loss I have had to buy myself a few new clothes.
My staple in my wardrobe is JEans.  that's all I wear.
in the summer I will wear nothing but white pants,  but at any other time it's jeans, jeans, jeans.
  My absolute favorite jeans of all time,  now don't laugh at me
are the low rise boot cut stretch jeans from KMART.

i'm not kidding, KMART! they are THE BEST jeans.  best fit, best looking faded denim, and great price $19.99.
don't believe me?  3 of my friends went out and bought them and went back and bought several more pairs they are THAT good.
Don't worry,  they don't say kmart on the pant's pocket.
your secret's safe with me.
  I also bought myself a cute little spring coat on sale here it looks great with Jeans....
I love it's snappy green velvet and the perfect
liner in POLKADOTS!

unfortunately it was on sale, so they don't have any more,  but the Boden Spring line is AMAZING,  so check 'em out!
  now lastly, when I am not cleaning,  eating, or shopping, I am being lazy.  that's of course after little people are in bed, mind you and i've almost lost my mind from chasing them.
  we turn on the tube and..........
  We watch Movies,  pretty much every night.
This past weeks hits were
King of California with Michael Douglas.....CUTE.
Dan in real Life with Steve Carrell.....loved that! (him)
and things we lost in the Fire with Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro.....o.k.,  tough movie, wasn't getting the vibe with Halle and David Ducovney,  but Benicio!
  OH MY!
BENICIO DEL TORO!
I do not know what it is about that man,  but I absolutely love him.
  Those eyes,  that emotion,  who knows!
Ian of course just rolls his eyes at me,  thinks he's a total scum bag....and yes,  he makes heroine addiction look very bad,  but I could look past all of that.

really I could...

i mean he can clean himself up right?

and who am I to judge?  I can look a little BAGGED myself!
  i mean the article came out in that little magazine I was telling you about....

do you THINK they could have helped an old girl OUT and PHOTOSHOPPED MY BAGS A BIT?

or at least scheduled it for the afternoon when My coffee had kicked in,  and the fluids had settled down around my ankles? 

they were very kind to me however and gave me a 5 page spread...very nice indeed!

maybe I should take my own photos, that way i will only appear in LOW light....and some serious fakery can go on.

O.k.,   So on that completely narcissistic note,  I am going to put myself to sleep.
have I made you a little sleepy too?
So sorry.
you know how I love to share  ;)
have a WOnderful Weekend everyone!
xoxoxo
c.







 















 

Inspiration points and soap box lectures

  We all find inspiration from others...thats what it's all about,  one idea spurring another.
  I know that when I am stuck and can't find something to motivate me I find sparks of thought from books,  the internet, magazines,  my children's art work,  movies,   ........basically the world around me.
  There is a wealth of knowledge out there,  and I use it.
  I know that no art is a unique thought,  it all comes from something somewhere.
But I think it's truly important to find your own voice
and not to copy.
  That's what makes us all unique.
If everyone was doing the same thing,  how boring would that be?
  This topic was recently brought to my attention and I felt compelled to write about it.
  I have seen people out there blatantly copying my work.  it's not just one person,  it's several. don't think I haven't noticed.
  While I willing put myself out here for the masses, I truly wish to believe in honesty and the power of doing the right thing.
  Maybe I am too Polly-anna-ish to think that people wouldn't do those things,  but that's just the way I am.
  I choose to believe That the majority of people won't rip me off.
but I have to tell you, when I see these things it really makes me question if it's a good Idea to share at all.
  I hope I am not sounding to full of myself, because I really am not trying to be, That's not the point.
  I guess the point is,  BE UNIQUE.
develop your own style.
                       it's important.
I can't tell you how many things look the same to me these days.
I know there are "trends" out there,  but to me a lot
of things look WAY too similar to be exciting.
  Trust me,  it's also hard when your in retail to find  those unique goods,  because basically after awhile it all starts to look the same.
Take for example Target.
I think they are one of the biggest rip-off artists of all time.
  they are able to mass produce items that look
exactly like the small companies that originally made the product in the first place.
  One of the many reasons I don't shop there,  unless of course I need toilet paper.
    So in wrapping up this soap box lecture for the day,
Think about your impact on the creative world.
really push yourselves to the limit to find something no one else has done,  it's what makes this world so exciting in the first place.
plus you will feel so much better about yourself, and that's what's truly important.
honestly.
xoxoxoxooxox
c.

Art For Sale!

  Surprise!
I actually got something done today!
The Prints are now uploaded to my website
You may see them,  and purchase them should you be so inclined right here!
 
 
  hope you like them,  they come in 2 sizes
24" x 32" and 12" x 16"
  They are on actual photographic paper and the color is dead on to the original!
These are Copies of original works of art,
They are copyrighted so please do not reproduce them,  it's against the law, plus it's not nice....but I know you wouldn't do that to me because you're kind people,
but I have to say that, you know the deal.
Have a great day,  I'm off to get coffee
so I can work on some more stuff extra-speedy like!
xoxoxoxo

Spring cleaning!

  I Have been on a total roll this week cleaning and purging.
I think I have had this mental block about my studio for a LOOOOOng time.  never really having the energy to actually tackle it.   I finally couldn't take it any longer,  plus I was sick of working at my kitchen table and leaving a mess so i did it!  Boy what a great feeling that is!  I am So excited about having a nice and sparkling area to work in,  I actually might be able to produce something for a change!
  I'll show you pictures later, i am using my old computer and I can;t upload images from it.
It's an old dog.
  I will admit that this week has been kind of tough, lots of stops and starts.
We had ANOTHER snow day this week.  this is getting crazy!
We are supposed to have another 2-10 inches dumped on us in the next 2 days!
  I haven't been at the shop all week,  and when I am paying someone to be there I really should be prolific at home,  but I spent the majority of the week placing spring orders and seeking out other fun new things.
  I will tell you I am on cloud nine because I found this artist.
I placed my order on tuesday and received the beautiful goods in this morning!  that's FAST. 
  What a blast of spring color her goods have brought to the store!
  I am swooning!

some of the beads are so delicate, and teensy-tiny I can't believe she could actually see them to thread them on the string.
But I am sure she has MUCH younger eyeballs than mine.

we have a nice little selection of necklaces and pretty little earrings...

she uses a lot of vintage elements in her work, 

like adorable little silver rings with vintage papers and images in them.
  It will be hard for me to part with some of these things,  but I will,  for you.....because i am a good sharer.
  I am hoping to have them uploaded to the website in the next couple of days.
  i also will have my posters added to the website in the next day too.  They are being picked up from the printer tonight.  YAY!
  Tonight will be another busy one,  I for one am Cooking for a change,  then we have kindergarten round up this evening at school.
my tiniest person is getting ready to start school in the fall.  somebody grab a tissue please!
  Then I am going to actually sit down and do NOTHING!
I am really looking forward to that!
actually I should be honest and tell you for the past 2 nights I have WATCHED T.V.!
  I never do that.  seriously,  I don't watch anything.
i don't have time for that garbage on T.v.
but the night before last I made the mistake of walking into the family room while Ian was flipping channels and caught a portion of a show on the Sci-fi channel called "ghost Hunters"
  OHMIGOSH!  I was totally HOOKED!  I watched the entire show, Ian of course left the room in disgust saying how fake the show was,  But I was SO scared I literally RAN upstairs like a kid after I turned out the light!
  the Next day I saw that it was on during the DAY,  and I watched it while I was stuffing a PIllow!  that's bad!
  Last night happened to be the season premiere,  so of course I watched THAT one too,  boy-oh boy was that spooky!  i honestly believe in that stuff,  do you?
  I mean i think we have too much energy rolling around in our bodies for this to be just it.
  All I know is this,  I definitely DO NOT want to have any kind of encounter.  I would drop dead on the spot!
  Have any of YOU out there had one?
please tell me,  I LOVE to listen to scary stories...
i'll just be leaving the lights on for awhile!  ;)
  O.k.,  I am off to make chicken Quesadillas!
YUM!
xoxoxo
c.





 

Farm Fresh

Well todays Alternate title could have also been "Cold temps=Hot tempers"  but I am choosing to stay on the sunny side of things and remain "positive".
Let me just say that we are ALL starting to get a little edgy over here being cooped up indoors.
there was nothing but fights today between the kids,  it was getting really aggravating, so we decided to once again pack up everyone and head out into the sunshine to
our new favorite spot Kensington park.
  Everyone loaded up,  you know who riding shotgun...

  The sun was shining, and this time I took my camera!
LOADS of photos to share today!



The kids brought their skates this time and enjoyed a little pond skating.  I of course watched from the perimeter,  I'm no skater. in fact the last time I tried to do it, I embarrassed myself in front of my children and ended up crawling off the ice on my hands and knees.
i'm not kidding.  it was not pretty.
  It kind of looked like this,  but not as cute.

Miss Fiona is still learning, 
every once in a while her older brother can act sweet, for like 5 minutes, and hold her hand to help her skate.


Jackson's a good skater,  plays hockey with his buddies all the time.


we enjoyed this idyllic setting for about Ohhhh say, 10 minutes, then they started carping about the lumps in the ice and the un-even surface.  tears and fits ensued.
I am thinking of plunging myself into the ice, head first by this time.
I choose instead to turn the camera around and start photographing the beauty around me,  maybe they will forget i'm here.


I liked how the sun looked on this patch of rust

and this pretty little leaf....

and of course my favorite model...

*snap!* back to reality!   i could only hide for so long,
we packed up the kids and started to head home,
the car filled with screaming and shouting from disgruntled children,  when LOW and behold, Ian spotted the Kensington FARM!
  We pulled off to check it out,  thankful that MAYBE, just Maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad after all.  We might just actually get lucky and pull a good parenting move and score some points!


  This place turned out to be amazing!
It was SOOOOOO clean, the animals we're well cared for..
we saw cows

and chickens....



pigs...

in fact,  In the barn they actually had a female pig GIVING BIRTH to piglets while we were there!
It was a tad bit gory for Jackson.....But
Fiona was o.k. with it, (she wants to be a vet dontcha know)
It was fascinating to see them cleaning them off and giving them their little shots.
they were so tiny and pink

they had some other ones that were a little bit older,
again,  SO dang CUTE!
look at their little piggy bottoms!  OOOH!
the little curlique tails.  oh my.

they also had sheep,
they too had just given birth days before.


this is a real working farm!

They also had other things like maple syrup being tapped from trees that you could buy.


I am a total geek for documenting this BUt  hey!  it's winter
I am easily entertained!

So we wrapped up our lovely visit to kensington and headed home,  everyone happy for the moment.
  I decided the day called for some farm style fare, and decided to make some comfort food.
Now there is no better way to chase away the cold winter like a big vat of Homemade Mac and cheese!
  So of course I go to the trusty internet and look up a recipe....
I found one i liked
    Ironically it called for Bacon.  go figure.

Hard to eat that stuff after you see how flippen cute they are,  but hey, the recipe told me to, so I had no choice,  please forgive me.  I am a rule follower!

    * 2 slices bacon
    * 8 ounces penne pasta
    * 1 onion, chopped
    * 1 clove garlic, minced
    * 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
    * 2 tablespoons butter
    * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 2 cups milk



DIRECTIONS

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
   2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
   3. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
   4. In a medium skillet saute the chopped onion, and minced garlic. Take off heat and add chopped cooked bacon and set aside.
   5. To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan melt the butter or margarine over low heat. Once melted, add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually add milk and continue stirring until thickened. Stir in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar cheese and stir until melted.
   6. Combine cooked pasta, sauteed vegetables and sauce. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Add the last cup of grated Cheddar cheese to top of mixture.
   7. Bake uncovered in preheated oven until cheese on top is melted and brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.
*******************************************************


OINK!  it was delicious.
of course I had to add a little stuff of my own,  like japanese panko bread crumbs for topping and zesty tillamook cheddar and vermont cheddar,  you know,  the kind of cheese that will put hair on your chest.
  Again,  it's winter,  you need that.
So on that note,  I am going to leave you with these last images of some new goodies we got in the shop,

we have a bunch of different sized letters some big, some small,  great for spelling out fun things...
and a small assortment of numbers....i only have a few of these,  in fact I sold all of the 4's on saturday!
but how fun are they!?

So tomorrow,  everyone is back to school, winter break is finally over and they can get back to where they need to be So I can get some work done!  Oye VAY!
  So that's what i'll be doing this week, and hopefully will have some fun things to show you soon!
Have a great start of the week Y'all!
xoxoxo
c.