Dream #5- Move to France

My best friend and I in Paris.....
A little courtyard garden in the Marais neighboorhood....... The Parisian version of a farmers market near our apartment.........

Do I really need to tell you what this is? LOL Our favorite waiter at the cafe near our apartment.......
More of Paris......

Fresh shrimp- eyes and all- at the open air market.......

Bon Jour Mon Ami!

This dream #5 is always in my head. I know it sounds crazy, but isn't this blog about my dreams people?

"I want to move to France some day." There, I said it!

I feel so at home when I am there. In fact, when I look at my pictures from our latest trip I actually feel homesick. Once again.... I know, it sounds crazy, but it is true. Now don't laugh at me but I was watching The Hills--yes, I will admit I watch it in moments of utter boredom and during times I wish I was in my early 20's again. Anyhoo....the girls were in Paris and I actually got teary about it. It could be due to PMS, but I can't promise that is the reason, LOL.

My Fathers family is from San Malo, France. It is a fishing town in the north. My great-grandmother and my grandmother used to speak to me in French until I was about 4-5 years old and my great-grandmother passed away. I wish I could have learned more, seen more, through her eyes. Oh why did everyone stop speaking French when she passed away? I could have been so much closer to being fluent! Darn!!!

I may not be great with the language yet but I am willing to learn. I have been told by a few French citizens that my accent is spot on. (That's quite thrilling for me really!) I may not have all the plans laid yet, but I will. It may not happen until my girls are away in college, or married for that matter, but I am going to have them take French lessons this summer just in case it happens sooner. Heck, why not prepare for a dream instead of hoping it will land in your lap?

Well, I must go pick up the girls from school as they have dental appointments today. If you have a dream that seems impossible, why not plan for it's impending possibility today? You just never know what may happen? Bonne chance!

Salut.

A Green Evening

Last night I was green so I made a mosaic in honor of the worst green evening ever.....And yes, I added the cross picture because I was praying very hard in the bathroom.

If you have a weak stomach do not read any further, LOL.

I am home with the stomach flu today. Which is really not like me as I have seriously not thrown up in probably 20 years. Usually it goes through the other end. And if you now me at all, I HATE throwing up more than anything in the world. UGH!!! Thankfully I was home alone last night as I was a total mess and would have scared the girls for sure. It was soooo bad! I am feeling a little better but still sort of weak.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better so I can get to work on more inventory for the store opening downtown. I got word that it will be the first of May, and I can move in in about 3 weeks. Yippea!!

Dream #5- Flower of the Month Club

Every Thursday when I walk into my 'real' job there are two fresh bouquets of flowers waiting to be arranged for our two mammography rooms. The girls get them on Wednesday and leave them for me to arrange as they know I love to do it and they have pretty muched said they don't really know how. Needless to say, I do look forward to doing it. There is something so satisfying about taking a plain looking bouquet and making it look pretty in a vase. It really does make me happy and I truly appreciate that those I work with understand this.

So I got to thinking today that some day when the finances allow I will join a Flower of the Month Club. Just look at those gorgeous flowers that I could have fresh on my doorstep once a month to arrange and smell and thouroughly enjoy on my studio table. I would also buy fresh flowers from our farmers market every Wednesday afternoon to indulge to the fullest. I used to do this when I was single in my tiny little apartment near San Francisco. Something about flowers can just lift my spirit and change my mood.

Is there some sort of eye candy that you wish you could indulge in? Tell me about it. I would love to hear.

Orange Flickr Mosaic

Created in honor of My Tangerine Dreams I decided to make this mosaic of interesting pictures tagged with the color orange (tangerine). Enjoy!

Todays Photo Shoot

Just thought I would share some pictures I took of the girls today. They were laying on my bed watching Nickalodeon and I decided to get my camera out as the light coming through our bedroom window was perfect. They are getting so big!

I also took some pictures of some of my spring bulbs making their way into the world. The first crocus and hycinths are out and my tulips are just about ready. I love this time of year. I can't wait to see what I planted last fall. I can't remember exactly what it was so it will be a surprise. Just love to be surprised like that.

My girls are off for spring break all next week and Paul will not be home for atleast another week. So more single mom time. My brother took the girls to the park so I could get a little break and then he said he would keep them overnight tomorrow night when he has his daughter Ali for the night.

Happy Easter!

Artful Blogging

So this is what I have been reading while on my breaks at work. It is so gorgeous and being new to blogging I thought it would be fun to get some insider information and learn a little bit about some other bloggers that are artists also. Thought I would share it here today in case any of my other blogger friends were interested in a good read and pretty pictures.

I love a good creative magazine. I subscribe to Somerset Studio and always end up buying other Somerset publications. I also get Vanity Fair that my best friend got me as a little surprise gift after our Europe trip. I did not know much about this magazine until I was stuck in our apartment in Florence, Italy sick as a dog and that was one of the mags from the plane that we pilfered. It not only has great fashion editorials, but I also really enjoy the articles. I read it from cover to cover every month. I also get Cottage Living and my mom shares Country Living with me. Those two are great for ideas for the home. And being that I live in a cottage it gives me ideas for my tiny home. The other magazine I like is 'O'. I don't subscribe to it but I have been known to buy it once in a while at the grocery store. A few others I enjoy- Dwell, Domino, and Real Simple.

Now if you want to meet a magazine hoard (sometimes I call her a magazine Ho, lol) you need to meet my bestest friend since 6th grade that gifted me the Vanity Fair. She has stacks of magazines all over the house. I could hole up in her house for days and not finish all the magazines she subscribes to. LOL She is a magazine expert actually and could probably tell you the best ones and the cheapest way to get them. Now that is a funny little quirk about her. Got to love it.

Not much in the way of creating today due to the "real job", but I do have a great quote for you to ponder-

"Slow down and enjoy life. Its not only the scenery you miss by going too fast- you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." Eddie Cantor

This seems more crucial as I get older and the years are flying by more quickly. My dad is 74 years old and he says that a year feels like a month to him now. So put it all in perspective, taste what you are eating, smell what you are breathing, and love those that are in front of you.

Ciao!

Cafe Yumm is Yummy!

My brother introduced me to this wonderful organic and healthy fast cafe that just opened here in our town. And you guessed it, it is called Cafe Yumm.

http://www.cafeyumm.com/index.html

We ordered the original bowl and then my brother got some tostitoes scoop chips and we dipped and ate and dipped and ate. It was so yummy and filling and healthy. I could eat it every day.
Unfortunately, for anyone outside of Oregon you will be sad to hear that there are not any franchises for you yet. But let me tell you- it is sooooo soooooo yummy! I did not think that such healthy food could taste oh so good. If you get the chance you must try it. I have a feeling it is a franchise that will catch on and it may come to your town soon. Keep your eye out for it. Oh, and did I mention he paid for lunch too? BONUS

I got a lot accomplished today. Not any housework, but lots of other stuff. Made me think of this quote before the day even really started-

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So.... get on your way! -Dr. Seuss-

1) Sent out some etsy orders- I have been pretty steady with sales over there lately. Paid some bills- my Macys bill had to be called in as I got a late charge that needed to be reversed- I ended up in India at 6:30pm. So strange that you end up on the other side of the world to pay a local bill?
2) Went to my awesome local scrapbook store- Scrapbooking Outside of the Box --http://www.bendcommunity.com/scrapbookingoutsidetheboxenter.html. She has such a great inventory and is a very talented scrapbooker. I always drool the minute I walk in the door and see all the gorgeous papers. I am a paper addict and have not allowed myself to buy any paper for atleast 9 months so I felt I deserved a little stumble back into my addiction today. Plus, it always gets my creative juices flowing.
3) Then off to Lowes for some hardware for a few creations. Bruno gets to join me in the store there and is always Mr. Popular. It takes a while to get out of there as everyone wants to say hi to the cutest french bulldog in the world.
4) Then over to Michaels to return some awful floam. Have you ever bought this stuff? I HATE IT! I will never, ever buy it again. Returned it because it was a sticky mess. Yeah, just what a mom needs is more stickiness on my children, sheesh.

By then it was 3pm and I had not had lunch. Can you say famished? Picked up a quick New York Sub and then picked up my kindergartener at school and then to the bus stop for the 1st grader. They go to different schools, in case you were wondering. That is another post all in itself. Came home for a quick clean up- yes, I did take a shower after all of my errands- and then back to my kindergarteners school for a big all school celebration. Which was lots of fun, but now it is time for bed to start all of it over tomorrow. I hope tomorrow includes some creativity. I missed it today.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my looooong post today. I guess it was time to purge my thoughts so maybe I can sleep tonight. Have a blessed night/day.

What I Have Been Busy Doing

This weekend was a very creative one for me. It is funny how it comes and goes. Does it do that for all artist types? I don't seem to be consistently pumping out the creations, but one week I will get a ton done and then it is like my brain is fried and the next week I get next to nothing created. Weird?

So the second picture is one of 20 rings I created yesterday from vintage buttons I got at a Paris flea market back in the fall. I only posted the one to see how it does in my etsy shop and I also wanted to have some for my brick and mortar booth that is set to open May 1st. You can see the ones waiting in the wings in their cute mini cupcake tin in that first image. Painted it tangerine for fun. I think I will use it to display the rings in my store.

The shell frame- did I post this already here? I am losing my mind this morning. With Paul out of town there is a lot more to do around here. Anyhoo...I saw this great shell frame at a thrift store and just knew it needed to be pink! It was sort of ugly when I found it, but the amazing thing is that the picture that was on the inside originally was a picture of the town San Malo, France where my fathers family is from. I took it as a sign that it was meant for me to buy it and make it pretty again. I also copied about 9 of my vintage postcards- all of different holidays- and cut them to fit into the frame so they can be changed out for the season or special holiday.

I also made two journals with vintage postcard images with matching bookmarks made with vintage earrings. Thought they turned out pretty pretty.

And the random picture of that guy above is my brother with my girls. He just moved back into town and my daughters love their Uncle David! Isn't he handsome? He is lots of fun and also a lot of help to me with Paul being out of town. He has had some hard times in his life but things are really looking up for him these days. I am truly enjoying his company, which I would not have been able to say last year or the few years before. I know that sounds sad, but that is another story for another day. Right now, he is happy, healthy and wise. I am very proud of him. This is the beginning of a dream come true for me and my family. I can not tell you how long he has been prayed for by all of us.

So I leave you with a quote today as always-

"Everything starts as somebody's daydream." -Larry Niven-

Do you have a daydream waiting to become a dream realized? Think about it, write it down for future reference. Some day you may make it come true.

A Dream Come True

Last night Paul (my husband) got to race a modified race car at the Bakersfield Speedway in California. He was so excited when I spoke with him while he was on his way to the track. He sounded like a little boy getting ready to go to Disneyland for the first time. This is all he has been talking about for the last month. And to be honest, I sort of tune him out when he talks "race talk". I know, bad wifey.

He has always loved racing, and anything to do with cars. He used to race other guys when he was in High School, and he owned his own, very successful, auto repair shop when we lived in California. I used to go to the Nascar race with him in Napa and I did enjoy that, but it was also in a beautiful part of the country where we stayed in a fancy hotel, went out for fabulous dinners, and did some wine tasting. It sort of meshed our two personalities together. This new interest is at dirt tracks in the middle of no wheresville and I can't seem to force myself to go. Now, if he was driving I would go to watch him realize his dream, but he only drives in Bakersfield, CA and that is a 12 hour drive from our house. If you or your husband is a race fan- this is the same track that Kevin Harvick and Bill Elliott started racing on. So a pretty big deal. Bill Elliott still comes back and races once in a while.

Writing this makes me realize that I need to be more supportive of his dreams. He has been amazingly supportive of me starting my own business so it is my turn to step up to the plate and help him realize his dreams too. I am staying home with the girls while he is 900 miles away for the next two weeks. So that is supportive. I may even go to the local track with him this summer? It would be the right thing to do. Who knows, I may even have fun?

"When you are feeling depreciated, angry or drained, it is a sign that other people are not open to your energy." -Sanaya Roman

I want to remember this quote the next time Paul gets cranky. I want to be open to his dreams as he has been open to mine. I want to get excited for him and support him and even go to the race track with him. I do contribute to his world both positively and negatively. We do live under the same roof after all.

So today, I want you to think about how you can encourage the dreams of someone in your life. To take the focus off of your dream and realize that by helping others you are really helping yourself.

Tag I'm It...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9607719

First I need you to check out the artist above from an etsy shop that I found. Is that not the sweetest painting of MY frenchie, LOL? No, it isn't Bruno, but pretty close. I love that the artist captured what I see when Bruno is waiting for a cookie!

So my new etsy friend over at http://dreamsintertwined.blogspot.com/ tagged me and I am supposed to tell 5 things about myself, quirks or oddities, reference my tagger, and then tag 5 more bloggers and let them know they have been tagged by comment or email. I am sure I have more than 5 quirks or oddities so let me just choose some random ones.

1) I do not like pumpkin pie. I know that so many people love it and look forward to it around Thanksgiving. I can't stand it! When I was about 7 or 8 years old I got the stomach flu the day after Thanksgiving and I still can't get past that when it comes to the pumpkin pie. For some reason I have no problem with mashed potatoes though? And since we are on the food thing- I also don't like the metalic taste that pineapple tends to leave on my tongue.

2) I frequently have pajama days if the kids are home from school. They will get dressed, but I will stay in my jammies all day and just change into clean ones when it is time for bed. Only if we are not going anywhere, of course. I love my comfie jammies. I mostly have fleece and flannel for the winter and then will wear boxers and a tank top in the summer.

3) I let my cat up on the kitchen table. Now I know that sounds sort of gross, but my kitchen table is actually my studio/art table. We live in a 800 sq. ft. cottage so I really have no where else I can create until we add on to the house or I actually rent a studio space. Ummm...that will be atleast 2 years from now. We eat at the coffee table in the living room right now. We still all eat together so we figured that it didnt matter where as long as that didn't change. Oh the sacrifices my family has made for my art. LOL So my little kitty girl has her bed on one of the kitchen chairs and every once in a while if she needs some attention she jumps up and watches me create.

4) I don't like to be barefoot unless I am inside and then I have to have my shoes off. I will even take them off when I go into someone elses house. And yes, my toes are painted or I have socks withough holes. I do think of these things. No one is allowed to wear shoes in my house except my husband because he has the oddity of not wanting to be barefoot unless he is in the shower or in bed. LOL. I make him change into his slippers when he comes home though. And yes, we are of the opposites attract group when it comes to couples.

5) I am known to have anxiety attacks on roller coasters that go backwards, but I continue to try and ride them thinking that maybe this is the time I won't have one. For years I wouldn't even get on one and then in my 20's I liked riding them. Well, ever since having children, I have been getting panic attacks on them but only if they go backwards. Weird!

So now I need to do my tagging of others- I only know of 3 people to tag since I am new to the blog world.

-First, I will tag Lori at http://freshpickedwhimsy.typepad.com/. She is also a new blogging/etsy friend that is an extremely talented artist. I am so excited for her new book! Whoo Hoooo Lori!!

-Then Amber at http://thenostalgicnugget.blogspot.com/ Another friend from etsy and etsy vintage. She will have some great answers for us I am sure, LOL She always gets me giggling.

-Now Eddy at http://girleddycreationstation.blogspot.com/ another friend from etsy vintage. She is full of knowledge of the best kind.

-I want to tag Lily/Khris over at http://www.lilylambchop.typepad.com/ but she may have already been tagged. I emailed her to ask.

A Soldiers Angel- with a dream and a prayer

I received this link in an email today from http://www.soldiersangel.org/. I am a member of this fabulous organization that has the message of not letting one soldier go unloved. Isn't that an amazing feat? A dream of one mom come to life. She is an amazing mother and an amazing woman and she truly deserves this prize and recognition for her hard work. If you have 2 minutes today please sign up, read about Patty and the other mothers in this contest and vote through the link below. Help one mom acheive a dream and pass it on.

http://www.americasfavoritemo...tti-p-3418/


Here is a little bit of the email I received-

Why is it so important for Patti Patton Bader to win? The obvious reason is, she deserves it. The secondary reason is the funds go to the favorite charity of the winner, ah you guessed it, Soldiers' Angels! Also, it provides another level of public awareness for Soldiers' Angels in drawing the attention of more angels and donors. Don't delay, sign up and VOTE FOR PATTI! Soldiers' Angels is now 200,000 angels strong globally and celebrates their 5th anniversary in the month of March. What a great gift this would be. Soldiers' Angels (http://www.soldiersangels.org/) was started by a self-described "ordinary mother" of an ordinary young man turned hero, Sgt. Brandon Varn. Brandon was deployed in Iraq and has since honorably completed his mission and has returned back to his proud and loving family.In the summer of 2003, he wrote home expressing his concern that some soldiers did not receive any mail or support from home. Being a caring and loving mother, she decided not to allow a situation like that to continue. She contacted a few friends and extended family to ask if they would write to a soldier or two. Within a few short months, Soldiers' Angels went from a mother writing a few extra letters to an Internet Community with thousands of angels worldwide.

Dream #4- Family Photo Shoots

I did this photo shoot of my sister and her cute little family last month. But today I decided to do some additional editing and thought I would share what I did. I really loved how they came out. This is another part of my dream- I really would like to take great photos of families and get paid for it. I am using my sisters family as my learning curve and I will rope in some of my friends eventually too. I have just a little cheap digi cam and I am dreaming of getting a digital SLR so I can have more mega pixels for editing.




"Reminding one another of the dream that each of us aspires to may be enough for us to set eachother free." - Antoine De Saint-Esupery

The Artists Way

Have you heard of this book before? I just started reading it yesterday and did my first writing exercise in it this morning. I took a drawing class in college way back in the 90's and my teacher used some of the quotes to start our day. I really enjoyed them and knew that some day I would like to read it. Well, I found it while out treasure hunting and decided it must be time to start it. It fits well with the changes happening in my life right now and the dreams I am aspiring to.

The quote for today that struck me quite strongly and may be the quote of a life time for me:

"Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change." -Ingrid Bengis-

So one of the exercises that you do every morning is just free form write what is on your mind. No punctuation or spell check allowed. Just free your mind of the negative clutter and words so you can focus on what needs to be done and what you want to work on creatively for the day. It helped me today already. I have been able to focus on getting some things done after not feeling "in the mood" to work on my creative stuff all week. It was very helpful to get motivated and stop listening to that negative voice in my head that tells me I can't do it, or I am not good at it. I am sure everyone has this voice, but sometimes mine almost screams at me to the point I can't get anything accomplished or even get out of bed. I am hoping to do some spiritual healing by doing the exercises in this book. I feel the need to free myself of this voice. I feel strong enough to take it on. And I know I need to if I want to accomplish my dreams.

Do you have a negative voice in your head when you are creating? Well, take it on, talk back to it with positive affirmations, tell it to be quiet it is interrupting your creative life and you don't believe it anymore.

Get out there and create no matter what your negative voice is saying.......

New Listings In My Etsy Shop

Just thought I would share some pretties that I listed today. I think these are my favorites since I opened my shop.

I Love a Good Jane Austen Novel/Movie/Website

If you are a Jane Austen lover like myself- please take a moment out of your busy day for a fun quiz and let me know which character you are from the novel Emma.

And if you have any fun Jane Austen links I would love to hear about them. I can't get enough of her novels and the movie adaptations. They take me away to a simpler, beautiful time and place. A little escape from reality if you will. We can all use that once in awhile.

I found this quiz on a new cyber friends blog- http://dreamsintertwined.blogspot.com- and thought I would share it too.

And I will leave you with a quote to ponder:

"Desire, ask, believe, receive." *Stella Terrill Mann*

Happy Monday!

Dream BIG Starring Olivia

This is Olivia. She is very popular in our house. If you do not know her she is the character in a childrens book written by Ian Falconer. She is a girl pig that is a little bit precocious, a bit of a fashionista, loves the opera and ballet, and we love to laugh about her antics in our house. We have a book of quotes that she likes and it is called Dream BIG, starring Olivia. Quite appropriate for my blog don't you know? Todays Olivia quote is:

"If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun."

Katherine Hepburn

Today we need to break some rules. Be it just the regular dont speak with your mouth full, or following design rules in our art. I want you to break a rule. Just don't get arrested or atleast dont get caught if it is unlawful.....LOL!