lord huron & the coast

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LAST MONTH, Michael (my boss, mentor, creative partner and friend) and I spent a few days in Santa Cruz, immersing ourselves in our newest client—a natural foods store with 7 locations in northern California. Visiting as many stores as we could make it to in 3 short days involved lots of driving and music. Michael always has something new for me to listen to and once again found me my new favorite band. Lord Huron.

So. Much. Beauty. It literally made my heart ache. A feeling I can honestly say I've never in my entire life felt about a place. So yeah, if I could bottle up a feeling and sell it to you it would look and sound something like this...



"Die if I must let my bones turn to dust
I'm the Lord of the lake and I don't want to leave
All who sail off the coast ever more
Will remember the tale of the ghost on the shore

I'm goin' away for a long time"

she is my gift

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THIS YEAR for CHRISTMAS, my mother in law gave me a box. In this box contained bits and pieces of everything paper that I could ever love. How does someone do that for you? Give you a box full of things you can't just go buy in a store? Give you a box full of collections that likely took hundreds of hours hunting for, sitting around for, sifting through and organizing? Give you a box full of things that will stir a soul to know and show itself? I may never fully comprehend any of this. All I can do is humbly thank the universe for finding her—this woman who thinks enough of me to encourage me and support me in every way a mother should do for her own daughter.

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affirmation

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Sometimes you will be reminded you don't have it all figured out.
And you can be ok with this.

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watering globes; the gateway drug to real gardening

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I'VE RECENTLY DISCOVERED the HAPPINESS and peace of gardening. I never thought I'd be one of those people. I never thought it was something I'd "get" or be good at, or even attempt. It always seemed so foreign to me since it wasn't something I grew up with or around, living in apartments most my life.

I can honestly say it's because of these ridiculously cheap watering globes that I am now knee deep in landscaping my yard and filled with sleepless nights, fantasizing about all the beautiful plantings I want to grow and spaces I want to create with them.

In the end (err beginning), watering globes became the gateway drug to real gardening for me. They took the guesswork out of over/under-watering my plants and helped me understand them. Sounds silly, I know. But by giving me the confidence to keep a few house plants alive, I no longer feel intimidated to try and keep other stuff alive. And why not make it pretty stuff too, right?

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Sunday, in the 90 degree heat, Ben and I managed to build a berm in our front yard. It was this big ugly hole left over from 2 trees we cut down last summer. I'm looking forward to planting annabelle hydrangeas and a 'Madame Lemoine' lilac bush there. 

Oh, and as you can see by the before pictures, the yard was a jungle when we bought our house 2 years ago. Overgrown and neglected, we decided to clear it all out and start fresh. So here's how she's coming along. And please (dear God, PLEASE) feel free to share your gardening secrets with me!!

*Ignore the ugly green trim I haven't gotten around to painting yet! Painting is hard.

paris

BEN TOOK ME to Paris for my 37th Birthday. It was my first trip outside of the U.S. and now I finally know what all the fuss is about. What an amazing experience to travel outside my own little world with my best friend, helping me fulfill a childhood dream.

Here's the (tiny) visual recap of our trip. You can see all 300+ photos on my Flickr if you like.

resolutions and art

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THIS PAST MONTH has been good for me. Made a few New Year's resolutions...

• cook dinner every week
• prepare for my first time traveling to Europe (!)
• and lose 20 lbs (I can't believe I just said that one out loud)

Anyways, I like the path I'm on. I've never been really good at personal accountability so it feels good to be committed and focused.

The only negative is that I have a hard time getting it up to make art. I'm not beating myself up about it—I know it's always there, patiently waiting for me to come out and play—but it's just not happening for now.

So even though there's no new art of my own to post, I am excited to share two new pieces I've received from others!

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Meet "Claude de France," a Prickly Plaque made by mixed media, assemblage and collage artist Suzanna Scott. I fell in love with Suzanna's work IMMEDIATELY and knew I had to have this piece. You should check out the rest of Suzanna's shop on Etsy. Her stuff is unbelievably affordable, too!

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And the second piece of art we added to our collection is this amazing painting by Midwest artist Edward G. Kelley. It was a gift from my in-laws who bought Kelley's works at an auction not too long ago. Isn't she breathtaking? All those strokes of mint and mauve against the black. I love it more every time I sit and stare.

Nola wants you to know she loves it, too.

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