Going to the Beauty Pah-lah!

Let me start by saying, I absolutely LUVVVVV this guy. He's funny, smart, and easy to talk to. Why, if he wasn't already involved with someone, I'd probably be tempted to stalk him. Just kidding, of course.

As far as appointments go, there are few (maybe less than that) appointments, no matter what they are for, that I ever look forward to. I hate having my time structured with "must-do" meetings. However, when it comes to the oh-so-revered trip to the stylist, I can hardly wait. If you enjoy having someone run their fingers through your hair, I feel in fairness, I ought to tell you that people line up for this man. He's just that great a stylist and that nice of a guy! Then there's his assistant, she's as fun as he is and she glows from the inside out. Honest, it's the truth! She doesn't even wear makeup. Isn't she pretty?

I have never had awesome hair. Never. But this man has definitely given it a fighting chance. And even better? While I'm captive in his chair, I laugh MORE than I have since the last time I was sitting before him with foil attenae sprouting from my head. My hair and I walk in withered from the world and all its complexities and he and "his PEEPS" go to work restoring spirits. I am not making this up either. You leave a happier person than you walked in and... with a better looking mane! Maybe he should hang a shingle but don't tell him that because I kinda like that it comes naturally and without an added cost. Levity is good for the soul and, apparently, it's been great for my tresses too. I mean, talk about fringe benefits (I honestly couldn't NOT throw in that pun).

Seems I've been talking to them for awhile about taking some pictures but we've never quite gotten around to it. Yesterday, I took the party to them! They weren't expecting it and they were way too busy to spend any time dealing with a photographer so I shot a few of them but, mostly, I got the details that make them and their place special. He loves religious medals (And he knows I do too). Since it had just been his birthday, he had a gift to show me (2 pics down). The rest are simple detail shots I caught while my hair was "curing." I tell you I just love this place and I love them!

Parting is such sweet sorrow!

Thankfully, I'll be back!

Old MacDonald Had A Cow...

In this exercise, I painted the same subject from the previous week (but from a different perspective). The deal this time was to use lots of colors--even some I would never pick myself. This week everyone in the class (25 people) picked a color that I had to include in my painting. It didn't matter if it was just a dot, the main thing was I had to use each color somewhere. Remember, it still needed to be done in 5 minutes! The second painting (Just Us Chickens) wasw also done quickly and is now the 4th painting in the farm series I have somehow, unintentinally, started. Ee-Ii-Ee-Ii-Oooo!

The Cow Who Jumped Over The Moon

I painted my little bovine friend last week. I intended to paint a friendly cow and most likely a girl but I think she's just going to have to be a "he" because somehow "Bessie" isn't feeling like a good fit, namewise, for my hefty range rover.

Occasionally, the woman who conducts the art class I take gives us an assignment to paint with some kind of restriction-- whatever she can think of to mix things up-- it can be to use our fingers as brushes or to paint with your left hand if you're right-handed and vice versa OR to paint without a model, picture, or under drawing. Basically, using only the image as we have it in our heads. Last week, the challenge she gave me was to paint an image from my head using only three colors in, get this, less than five minutes. I was counting my lucky stars (no celestial pun intended) because I figured this challenge would get done, one way or another, without breaking too much of a sweat. So... that was last week. My boy cow was painted fast--in fact, I did make the less than five minute time requirement (with only seconds to spare)-- and then left to dry til the next class.

So fast forward a week... When I checked on him yesterday, he looked a little different than I remembered him and some of the colors had changed slightly after drying. I thought he resembled the moon's surface, texture and hue wise. My brain totally went with it. Before long I was mumbling childhood nursery rhymes and thinking about dishes running away with spoons. So whether it's his countenance that looks like the swiss cheese face on the moon, the colors that look sort of moon surfacey (is that even a word?) or simply his oh-so-implied lunar leap, this guy has earned his title... The Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon!

Branching Out

Not exactly what the FTD florist delivers but I decided to create a bouquet or two. Normally, I paint in less vivid color but... I'm branching out. Get it?

Airing Our Dirty Laundry

I am a mother of four--that's right FOUR--boys! Handsome, funny and almost completely disinterested in clothes. So it should be something of a surprise, and it is, even to me, that... lying awake a few nights ago, I thought of making an embellished "very girl-y" t-shirt completely from a single let's-just-say "no longer used undergarment." I woke up the next morning and decided that I was going to give it a try before the week's events conspired and I simply forgot to try. Of course, first there was the little matter of getting every one to school which at times is the major stresser of my entire day. That done, I still wanted to give it a whirl. I know... I amaze myself sometimes. Mothers of school-age children out there, you know what I'm talking about.

Most of the t-shirts in our arsenal of unusable laundry are wearing the discoloration that comes from constant washing in a mineral-laden water supply but I did manage to find one that was fairly white and still in pretty good shape. Seemed a shame to relegate it to the ragpile anyway so I cut away the sleeves of the shirt that just moments before it was destined for a future of dusting and polishing.

The embellishing material came only from the sleeves which I cut from my too-small and cast-off Fruit of the Loom Tee.

Then I decided to try dye-ing it another color. I was thinking maybe a soft teal but...after a thorough check, I discovered Mother Hubbard's Pantry was completely out of that color dye so, as a second choice, I opted for diluting some red dye. I wanted to get a soft pink. This is what I got instead...

Not necessarily a bad color. Just too pink for my taste.

The neckline was easy--rolled down and stitched. Really, it was that simple.

All I can say is... Thanks to the magic provided by a little bleach, I got to the

soft blush color I was after with one washing! Clorox is definitely my close friend.

Mix & Match (After)

Sadly, the color of the gerber daisies in ALL of these pictures is much more vibrant than it looked in real life and the thistle doesn't show up as well in pictures as it did in reality but here is how it all came together. I was pleased but, best of all, my mom was surprised and I think her friends had fun. Little brown paper packages (of course) filled with chocolates and tied with ribbon and roses were the take home favors. Instead of birthday cake and candles, I had individual cakes which were served on some of my small cake pedestals. I love how these little desserts looked grouped together at all the different heights and I really LOVED surprising my mom and her friends!

Mix & Match (Before)

This week one of my very favorite people in the whole world celebrated her birthday. MY Mom! Easily one of the nicest and most caring women you could ever run across. I know it and there's absolutely NO chance I could ever forget as people tell me that ALL of the time. I promise it's the truth!

She has a fabulous circle of friends. There are ladies she "garden clubs" with, ladies she "book circles" with, lovely women she knows through charities and other women's organizations, friends who share a love of theatre, orchestra and opera plus the women (some solo and some with husbands) whom she and my dad socialize with. But... there's this tiny group of women that get together every time one of them is celebrating a birthday and for this group I decided to throw a birthday luncheon instead of their standard get-together.

I made a tablecloth out of this fabric and used pink bandanas for the napkins. If you don't know me, it won't take long to realize that I'm all about about juxtaposition! Naturally, I liked that the bandana is ultra casual and yet the fabric has a more "dressed-up" feel. They match, but... then again, they don't. Sometimes, my "which one doesn't really completely belong?" approach is more obvious but here I think it's really pretty subtle.
I had a great time doing all of this because it was for someone so special AND because my sweet friend Elizabeth helped with all the behind the scene stuff. Friends now for almost ten years, I think my mom almost thinks of Elizabeth as a daughter too.



The flowers were plentiful and, yes, I realize I went a little overboard but I also think that having too much to work with beats coming up short. I used lots of roses, gerber daisies and thistle. I'll give you the details on the grand finale tomorrow!