30 August 2011

Inspiration Board - Romeo + Juliet

This inspiration board is heavily influenced by Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. A mix of black & white with pops of red & turquoise, religious iconography, and a mix of soft femininity & hard urban style.



17 August 2011

Color Board - Mellow Yellows

This board should also be called "Wishlist Wednesday" because there is not a thing on this board that I would turn down. Beautiful, simple, mellow. Enjoy your Wednesday!

16 August 2011

Art Update

Thursday evening I will be out on the Piazza at Gervasi Vineyard with a small table of art for sale, taking commissions, and working on art with a wood fire pizza and glass of wine by my side.

Thought I would show you my most current piece that I just finished, featuring Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine.

Enjoy!


09 August 2011

Color Board - Turquoise & Coral

As we head into late summer and signs of autumn are apparent, I find myself being drawn to this lovely mix of warm and cool colors. I am dying to try an ombré effect on my nails with essie's meet me at sunset into a deep brown/red shade. Christina Hendricks is always flawless. And how pretty would that cowl be with a brown trench?

{Top Row-wallpaper & wainscoting, abstract painting, cowl with button & essie nail polish; Bottom Row-weathered paint, turquoise and gold necklace, red coral bullet earrings & Christina Hendricks in InStyle UK}


06 August 2011

Move, Eat, Learn

Have you ever been somewhere, ate something, or learned something life-changing?

I didn't expect to be posting this morning, but I found these three videos and I fell instantly in love. If ever there was a post I wanted my readers to respond to, it would be this one. Take about three minutes and watch all of them.



{Film credit: Rick Mereki}

Aren't they beautiful & inspiring? I'm really partial to the "Learn" video but that's probably the teacher in me.

Have you been to any of those places filmed? Learned any of those things he's trying? How about eaten any of those dishes?

Yes? Please share! No? Tell me the best memory of where you have "moved" "learned" or "ate".

05 August 2011

Take Nothing For Granted - Part II

It seems surreal that I would have to make another post like this, about taking nothing for granted. But last night around dinner I got a phone call from one of my brother's friends explaining that he had been in a bicycle accident and wasn't wearing a helmet.

According to the friend, things were okay and he was just going to need some stitches. But they had to call and ambulance and he was being taken to a local hospital.

I dreaded having to make another phone call to my mother explaining that another one of her loved ones was being driven to the hospital for a head injury.

Unfortunately my brother was in worse shape than my dad had been. In fact, he is still in the hospital with two skull fractures, a shoulder fracture, eight stitches, and a lot of bumps and bruises. He will stay in ICU until they feel he is safe to go home.

It was so hard to see my brother in that state last night. This morning I went in and sat with him. He seems to be in much better condition and really wants to get out of there. However, because of the location of the fractures, they need to keep monitoring him to make sure no complications occur.

With that being said, I am so grateful that he is ultimately alright and nothing more serious happened. Like I said before, take absolutely nothing for granted. Tell your family & friends you love them. And if you are a bike rider, please please PLEASE wear a helmet.

04 August 2011

Almost Finished

Sometimes I get a commission offer from friends, family, or word-of-mouth. The most recent project has been painting a friend of the family's brother's house. I hadn't done a watercolor of a house in a long, long time so I was a little nervous. Overall I am satisfied with how it is looking.

Here is a sneak peek!


Things I Love Thursday - August 4, 2011

How are you today?

I'm not going to lie, the weather here in NE Ohio has been less than desirable. Hot, muggy, and overcast. It's been hard to be motivated to do much of anything. But with the warm weather and rain, my garden has been abundant and I am able to make fresh tomato sauce and salsa. It's the little things that keep us going, right?

So here they are. The things making me happy this week!


Life & Style
◦ Lush Cosmetic's Flying Fox body wash & perfume. The subtle earthy jasmine scent has made the last few days so much more pleasant.

◦ Making fresh salsa & enjoying it on Trader Joe's Pita Bite Crackers. So tasty! {My Salsa Recipe: 1 clove garlic, 1 green pepper, 1/4 red onion, 3 medium tomatoes, cilantro, salt & pepper.}

◦ Purchasing locally grown flowers at the Gervasi Vineyards Farmer's Market week to week and keeping my kitchen bright and fresh. {Which reminds me, if you are local, please stop out there Wednesday's 4pm-7pm--the grounds, host, and vendors are lovely and well worth the visit!}

Television
◦ As embarassing as this is, I am excited that the new season of Jersey Shore is on tonight. Lame, I know. But I'm excited to see how they fare in Florence, Italy.

Art & Culture
Interesting, heart-breaking, lovely. James Mollison's Photos of Children's Bedrooms. View these on full-screen if you can.

◦ One of my favorite artists', Swoon, is creating an interactive public work of art in New Orleans. Musical architecture, doesn't that just sound fantastic and dreamy? {Not to mention her paper cut-outs and woodblock prints are gorgeous.}

Internet
◦ I love my blog and the community of bloggers I have found through Blogger & Twitter. Thank you so much for the support & inspiration!

◦ So proud {and a little jealous} of my friend Casandra Armour who is now an author over at HelloGiggles.

◦ Creating a Pintrest account. I'm already addicted!

Music
Tristan Prettyman has always managed to put in words what I feel in my heart. She's so talented and a beautiful person, inside & out. I found this song today and have played it pretty much non-stop all afternoon.


So tell me, what are you in love with this week?

02 August 2011

Photographs From The Weekend /// Columbus, Ohio











Got back from Columbus last night. We had a really great time and made it around to some of our favorite places & also got to explore some new locations.

For the first time we ate at Thurman's Cafe. {We ended up calling the trip the Unofficial Food Network Tour, because we also stopped at Schmidt's. I love their cream puffs!} The burgers were huge! I ate the Rad Shroom burger which was very, very tasty. Sauteed mushrooms, horseradish cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion & pickle. Nick got the Macedonian and didn't even offer a bite, so I know it was good. They were some serious burgers though, I couldn't even finish mine!

We also visited the Ohio State Fair. We typically hit up the Wayne County fair during late summer, but we thought we'd check out the State Fair this year. It was... a fair. I'm always amazed at the people that are drawn to county/state fairs. The fairs bring out all kinds of interesting people. Anyways, I thought it was worth the trip & we got a bagful of reading material about Ohio tourism & agriculture. Two things I've become very interested in during the last year.

Also made a stop to Homage. It is probably the best place in Ohio to get graphic tee's that rep your city or school. I picked up a retro looking Billie Jean King tee {I realize this has nothing to do with my city or school, but it was fun} and Nick purchased a new Golden Flashes shirt. The retail store has an awesome sales floor that reminds me of a 1970's locker room/little boy's dream room. Old metal lockers, posters, pennants, sports memorabilia & a sweet arcade game.

{Speaking of Ohio & graphic tees, my brother picked up the Windians shirt by Fresh Brewed Tees. They also have some really great Ohio related shirts & they donate $1 of every sale to charity!}