Beach Vacation

I've been on a much needed breather on Anna Maria Island on the Florida gulf coast. What an amazing place: lush, low-key, not crowded and WARM. The beaches are so powdery. The Island is skinny, so there's a beach side and a bay side. Manatees hang out on the bay side, though I didn't see one. And every night there is a beautiful sunset on the beach side. I feel so fortunate to have stumbled upon this while checking out TripAdvisor.com. No one I know has been there, so it was a shot in the dark. And what a lucky shot! We'll be back for sure.

Not So Secret Addiction

Okay, I can't hold it in any longer..... I am addicted to fashion. I LOVE clothes. Real people clothes, street clothes, vintage clothes. Some of my fondest memories are of my friends and I spending all day trying on vintage clothes at a WONDERFUL shop in Forreston, Texas called Bon Ton. They have a website, but it simply doesn't do them justice. You have to GO there to see what I mean. It is better than any chocolate shop, any bookstore, any jazz club....well, Barbara used to be a jazz singer so there you go. People come from everywhere because she has the best stash around. Movie people, theater people... I haven't been there in ages, but will return soon to rummage through all her treasures. Back then I used to forrage the men's section for gaberdine shirts from the forties to wear with my jeans or go directly to the women's to find curvey dresses from the fifties to wear to work. Sometimes I'd even find a pointy pair of pumps big enough for my feet (not too many size 8 girlies back then). Oh..... heaven......

I also love to spend time watching people and seeing what they wear. Northpark Center, in Dallas, is a really good place for this. I've spent hours (after visiting Antropologie, of course) watching people there.

On that note, I've just discovered a BRILLIANT blog, The Sartorialist, that does this for me in three cities: New York, Milan and Paris. All images in this post can be found on that blog. I am smitten...

New Collage Painting

Well, here she is. She's been trying to get out of my head for a while now. This is how she started out in my sketchbook:

She was in a dream I had before and last night she brought some friends! I can't wait to get them down on paper.

Lambs

Beautiful lambs at the Fort Worth Stock Show this weekend. I could have taken pictures all day. I watched love and care that was put into these beautiful animals. Inspiring.

Cows

Some friends I made while visiting the Fort Worth Stock Show. Each had her own personality.

My Studio

This is where I do most of my work. I call it my studio, but its also the office. Both left and right sides of the brain fire in this place. Its my favorite place to be right now.

New Year New Cards

New cards posted in our Etsy Shop! I decided to include some other photos as cards. Should I also post them in the Photography section on Etsy? The bubble card is a manipulated version of a photo I posted last November. So is the Black Leaves card. Wouldn't the bubbles be nice as wallpaper?

Holiday Wishes

The mountains were so beautiful this Christmas. Lots of snow, lots of animals, two trips to Taos and my favorite bookstore. Here are some photos.

This is the house.

Deer came up to see us.

This is my favorite seat in the house. I could sit here all day.

A New Year's Day walk in the fresh snow.

My cutie and I rest in the snow. He always leaves a big impression. (sorry)

My favorite bookstore. Moby Dickens in Taos, NM. I never walk out empty handed because I always find something interesting there. They have a GREAT art section. And Ruby is a sweet bookstore kitty.

And my snowangel.

So now the Christmas decorations are down, my cup is filled with inspiration and I'm ready to make some things. Where to start????

Its Feeling Like Christmas!

We finally got down to business today and did some Christmas shopping. We bought a lot of things on Etsy. Here are some of our purchases:

This beautiful oil pot is from Cyrus the Potter. It was so hard to narrow it down to just one of his pieces. Isn't it gorgeous? If you check out his shop, you'll see what I mean.

From Yukyuk, Chandrea Collection No. 38 is the name of this little monster. He's one-of-a-kind and his face is hand painted. Again, it was hard to pick just one monster.

I'm SO excited about this awesome T-Shirt from 1Girl1Boy as I have had my eye on it since the summer time! I bought it in a larger size so I can admire it on my little cutie for a long time.

A Trip to the Pound

Its hard to believe that these beautiful dogs were at our local Animal Shelter. They are our babies now! Meet Jackson (top) and Eddie. Sweet, sweet babies. Adopting them was our Christmas present to ourselves this year. We found them through Petfinders. It's a wonderful website! And I'm so happy to have two new friends to share Christmas with.