Pops of Color

Here are the last few flowers from the summer.  As I was pruning back all the bushes in preparation for fall and winter, I found a few still hanging on and decided to bring them inside to enjoy since it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  I know lavender typically doesn't play well with red, but I couldn't help myself. 

In other news, I have located my knitting.  Have a great day!

Vintage Therapy

Hello everyone!  I have found a project...and it's a big one!  I have, for some time, been toying with the idea not buying any more new pieces of furniture (except for maybe a couch).  I know that sounds weird since these are the days of Craigslist where people buy and trade used furniture all over the place.  I'm not talking about not buying used furniture...I'm talking about not buying new furniture. 

Erik and I have a pretty bare living room.  Couch, rocking chair, small mid-century modern swivel chair in need of new upholstery.  And one old side table.

And the only piece that I like is the vintage swivel chair. 

So, I have decided to start buying only the mid-century modern furniture that I like.  Erik doesn't care as long as it's comfortable and doesn't obstruct his television.  Not to mention that bargain shopping for cool vintage furniture is cheaper and makes me happy.  So it's a win win. 

Here are some of my inspiration photos.

Oh, and this little gem.  I might have to ask Erik to build this for me.  Avery is always in my art supplies, and what an awesome cabinet this would be for keeping out curious 2-year-olds! 

Restless...Again

My husband is always content.  No matter what the circumstances, his job, money, life in general, good or bad, he's content.  He accepts what is going on around him, embraces it, and keeps living in that moment.

Not me.

When things are bad, there is a meltdown and when things are good I think about other things that would be even better.  I'm never in the moment.  I am restless right now with the changing of seasons and the completion of projects.  With very few new projects on the horizon and the holidays still so far away, I feel like I need a therapist due to my lack of direction.  This is when I start getting antsy to travel, to paint, to visit art museums on rainy days and to write.  I am more than an artist, wife or mom.  I am a perpetual student of history and art.  I am a wanderer. 

I long to stand in awe of the beauty in this world.

As the fall creeps in I'm sure my restlessness will fade to excitement for the season.  For anniversaries, for pumpkins, for fall leaves, for Picasso exhibits, for twinkle lights, for our first Christmas tree, and seeing Avery's face on Christmas morning.  For the new year, the Trailblazers, for snow, my 30th birthday and for our upcoming vacation.

For now, however, I am restless.

A Painting for Lily

Lily is my new neice as of Cameron Wedding Week (yes, I AM still referring to the wedding a holiday).  Miss Lily needed a big painting for her room, and I oblidged as I am always looking for reasons to paint.  And since it's not that easy to paint with a 2 year old running around, I like having projects that are of the upmost importance to finish.  Like telling an 8 year old you will make her a blue and purple and pink painting of ANYTHING for her bedroom.  You can't let an 8 year old down. 

So here is the finish project, which I am in love with.  I combined acrylics and, believe it or not, puff paint (or demensional fabric paint if you want to get technical).  Hope you like it! 

 

Millions of Peaches...

So, I bought peaches to make a peach crisp, then I put it off for 5 days.  Finally, at 7 o'clock last night, I decided that it was time to use those poor peaches before they went bad.  Peach crisps are super easy.  And this recipe (a combination of my own and online versions) is ridiculously easy. 

It was perfect for a little family, so double the recipe if you are serving four or more.  Enjoy!

4 peaches, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons of butter

Place sliced peaches in a greased baking dish.  Mix all other ingredients in a bowl with your hands until crumbly.  Sprinkle over peaches.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and bubbly.

 

 

Pizza Schmizza

I love pizza!  Any kind really...veggie, pepperoni, hawaiian, you bake, delivered, especially Smokey's Pizza.  Here's the deal, it's not good for you.  But homemade pizza, when done right, can be pretty healthy.  I use low fat mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and loads of fresh veggies.  It's always good.  Even my pickiest eater (my husband) likes it! 

Recently, I was discussing homemade pizza with a friend of mine and we started realizing that it might be cheaper to actually just buy pizza from a restuarant.  I figured this couldn't be true.  What a disservice to humanity that would be!  Right now we either order from one of two places (depending on who wins the argument, me or my husband).  When we order from these pizzerias, the cost is either $10 or $14 for a large pizza. 

So I set out on my mission to prove that healthier is cheaper.  As always, it isn't (otherwise I'd probably buy all organic food).  However, you'll be glad to know that it was only $13.59 for me to make a large pizza (and my large pan is more like an extra large pizza anywhere else).  It would be cheaper if I made my own dough, but I don't.  And I won't. 

So heres to healthy and (fairly) inexpensive alternatives to our favorite foods!

 

 

 

Flowers for the Camerons!

On Saturday, my sister got married.  It was the most beautiful wedding, and everything about their day was flawless.  It was a day full of love, laughter and tears of joy.  I had laid awake the night before the wedding praying over and over for smooth sailing, that everything would go off without a hitch, that my sister would not feel stressed or anxious, and that she would look back on her day with only the most beautiful memories.  God blessed that day in a big way. 

Here are some pictures of the flowers I did for the wedding.  The colors were amazing thanks to my sister's love of all things bright and sunny.  I hope you enjoy the pictures, and know that even though the flowers weren't perfect, they were done in love.  And one other note, the last picture of the cake was entirely my mom all the way down to the flowers on top.  I just wanted to show how awesome it looked!

 

 

 

 

 

Down For the Count(down)

Well, I am officially down for the countdown to my sister's wedding.  It is actually hurting my brain to try and think of blogs while agonizing over a matron-of-honor speech.  So I will update my blog on Sunday. 

Have a happy Cameron Wedding Week!  (Is that not a holiday for everyone?)

Week of Weddings

In the midst of my sister's wedding week, we are also thinking about another wedding...My husband's friend (and the best man at our wedding) is getting married in Cancun.  Since Erik is in the wedding, we just booked our trip for next spring at The Royal in Cancun.  (See unbelievably beautiful picture of our hotel to the left.)  Can't wait!

Summer Nights, Windows Down

Tonight was family night in the Seley house...actually it was family night outside the Seley house, since we decided to take our triangular family on an outing to dinner and Target.  The perfect evening to close out a hot summer day.  We had Mongolian food and then I managed to con my husband into going to the Target across the bridge in Portland just so we'd be near YoCream after shopping.  What an evening with a two year old. (Who decided on a trip to the restaurant's bathroom that she was indeed old enough to go to the bathroom by herself, and that I could wait for her outside the stall.  This was followed by a discussion about how she was too young and small to use the tall potty by herself, and that mommy was most certainly staying with her while she went to the bathroom.  This was followed by about 5 minutes of her deciding that it was worth it to go to the bathroom even if her ridiculous mother wouldn't let her do it alone.)  SHE IS TWO.

I'll set the scene for the ride home:  9:30 p.m., 85 degrees, music up, windows down, stars visible through the open moon roof.  A 30 year old mailman, a 29 year old ArtistWifeMom and a 2-year-old-girl in a 15-year-old's body, driving over the bridge, dancing and letting their hands slice through the thick, warm air of August. 

It was pure love and happiness tucked into a silver 4-Runner on a beautiful summer night.

Dogeared Pages of Eat Pray Love

 

Just got back from seeing Eat Pray Love with Tabitha.  I was forever changed by this book, and liked the movie a lot.  It lacked the parts of the book that were so important to me, the soul searching insight from a regular woman who longed for a greater understand of herself and God.  Excerpts, like this one (which slapped me across the face in one of the biggest "a-ha!" moments of my life) are not translated into the glamour of the big screen because they can't be.  But this will forever be dogeared on my bookshelf.

Like most humanoids, I am burdened with what the Buddhists call the "monkey mind" - the thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch themselves, spit and howl.  From the distant past to the unknowable future, my mind swings wildly through time, touching on dozens of ideas a minute, unharnessed and undisciplined.  This in itself is not necessarily a problem; the problem is the emotional attachment that goes along with the thinking.  Happy thoughts make me happy, but - whoop! - how quickly I swing into obsessive worry, blowing the mood; and then it's the remembrance of an angry moment and I start to get hot and pissed off all over again; and then my mind decides it might be a good time to start feeling sorry for itself, and loneliness follows promptly.  You are, after all, what you think.  Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions. 

The other problem with all this swinging through the vines of thought is that you are never where you are. You are always digging in the past or poking at the future, but rarely do you rest in this moment...If you are looking for union with the divine, this kind of forward/backward whirling is a problem.  There's a reason they call God a presence - because God is here, right now.  In the present is the only place to find Him, and now is the only time. 

An Ode to Angie

I love Angie Lewin's designs.  She a textile and pattern designer currently churning out some of the most stunning mid-century modern throwback designs on the market.  Her work is famous world wide and is featured in many galleries across the UK.  Beautiful patterns featuring abstract flowers, trees, lots of dandelions and rich colors. 

Google her.  You'll be impressed. 

Let Your Kids Play With Dirt!

 

Seriously.  Do it.  It won't kill them.  And it certainly won't kill you.  Avery is ALWAYS in the dirt.  She's still alive and so am I.  Neat freaks:   Get over it!

Maybe it's because we let Avery go outside whenever and where ever it's humanly possible.  Maybe it's because she's seen Erik and I getting our hands dirty in our yard, weeding, planting, or transplanting.  Whatever it is, she loves dirt.  Who can blame her?  It's fun!  So what if I have to give her an extra bath here in there because she's coated herself in mud?  Who cares if I have to sweep off or hose down the patio at least once a day because Avery has transferred dirt by miniature wheelbarrow onto the cement?  What does it matter if I have to rinse out her pool once a week because of all the silt that's settled on the bottom?  It doesn't matter.  It doesn't matter!

These pictures are from a wild day of mixing her milk into mud.  Yes, I had to give her an extra bath, but do you see the joy on her face?  She was so proud to be dirty.  Good for her.  She should be proud. 

Like I said, dirt won't kill you.  But even if it did, this face would bring you back to life.

Here Comes the Bachelorette!

Day two of wedding weekend posts is about...THE BACHELORETTE PARTY!  This one I can't take much credit for, since the beautiful Tabitha Lynn Mahoney (who has been mentioned once or twice on this blog) did a lot of the heavy lifting.  Since I was neck deep in Bridal Shower planning, she, as a dutiful bridemaid, did most of the planning, calling, shopping, etc., to pull off what turned out to be an awesome night!  I helped with the invitation (of course) and mornings of back and forth email brainstorming, but the following pictures are all Miss Mahoney's doing.  Enjoy! 

   

Sweets and Showers

I threw a BIG bridal shower for my sister yesterday with the help of my fantastic mom.  I wanted to do it all myself, but I would have ended up in a mental facility had I tried.  I think we did a pretty good job.  I started out with a 60's floral theme that morphed into a hot pink and lime green theme that morphed into the final "Love Sweet Love" theme, complete with a candy bar, mini cupcakes and guests bringing their favorite recipes to share with the bride.  You can see the hints of 60's flowered wallpaper (used in the invitation), hot pink and lime green (used anywhere and everywhere) and the final theme in the pictures below.  Enjoy!