A Mirror for Madison

A client requested a large mirror for her daughter's bedroom -

One of those really large mirrors that you lean up against a wall.

She found one on clearance and scored a great deal on it - but the look was not really teenage-girl appropriate.

It was black with gold trim.

Fine for an adult home - but not what she was looking for.

She brought the mirror and asked for a make-over -

the instructions were bright and "girlie" - include fashion, shoes, etc.

I think I accomplished the task.

Dresses, shoes, make-up, handbags, perfume, hairspray . . .

all things girl.

Of course - as usual - photos don't do it justice.

But it should brighten up a bedroom quite nice!

In other news -

we are experiencing rain . . .

rain . . .

and more rain.

I'm a born and raised Oregonian.

I know what rain is -

but I can't take this anymore.

How do you deal with overwhelming gray?

Because right now - all I want to do is crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head.

I want to scream.

I have no patience. I used to tell my kids - my patience was the size of a watermelon and now it is the size of a grain of rice.

Yup - I'm kind of "DONE".

On Sunday - my husband grabbed me and pulled me out of the studio.

The sun had broke through the clouds.

He sat me down in a chair on our deck and we soaked up the warmth.

It only lasted for about 10 minutes - but for that 10 minutes, I felt so much better.

Please, please, please - mother nature - please give us a break with the rain so that we can be reintroduced to the sun.

I have always had a wonderful relationship with Mr. Sun and I would like to reignite it.

I promise not to complain about the heat.

And may I say, Mother Nature . . .Thank you - in advance.

Spring is Springing

After spending some time in the studio painting today, my husband insisted we take a break and go for a walk.

I was not thrilled.

In fact, I was feeling a grumpy and sorry for myself today.

But I let him drag me along.

Mother Nature must have known I was feeling a little down because she really put on a good show for us . . .

Thanks honey, for making me get out side. I would have hated to miss this show.

A Little Bit of Everything . . .

Here is a before and after picture of the new spice cabinet door in its home . . .

 

Before . . .

 And after . . .

 

 

Looking good - and I really love the punched tin backsplash!

A cute picture of my little grandson man.

With that hat, he looks like he is prepping for his upcoming artsy/music career.
A budding Jason Mraz!

Last night I checked something off my 2011 to-do list.

I was a student at a cooking class.

It was oh-so fun.

I have been threatening to take a cooking class for years.

But I spend all of my time fretting about "what?"
What kind of class? What kind of food? What about the price?
Yikes!
That questions can become downright paralying!

I finally decided to just jump in with both feet and sign up for one that interested me.

Part of the frustration is - I know how to cook.

I think of myself as a fairly decent cook.

So I didn't want to waste my money one something that I didn't like or something that I already know how to make.

I looked around at a few websites for my area and finally decided on a pizza making class at Bobs Red Mill.

I have shopped at this place for years. I love their products, I love that they are local, I love their philosophy and approach to food and eating.

I know how to make pizza. I have done it for years.

But I thought - this is something that, although I already do it fairly well - maybe I can learn a few secrets that will make homemade pizza a little better.

Afterall - I don't know about you, but I don't have a pizza oven in my home kitchen! No matter how hard I try, I will never get my oven to reach the temperatures of a pizza oven.

I had so much fun in this class.

We watched - we asked questions - we sampled and sampled and sampled.

And I learned that I already do most everything right.

I learned a few new secrets as well.

But most of all -

in a world where I am always giving to my co-workers, or my children, or my students, or . . .

someone else -

It was really great to be the student. To be able to have someone else "fill my cup" up.

I am already looking for new classes to take.

We are almost into the 4th month of 2011. Have you tried something new or different? If so - what is it? 

Cold Mornings . . .Warm Evenings

I know the calendar says it is officially Spring.

But when we woke up this weekend, we were greeted by some rather chilly temperatures.

The sky was clear (for a while) and we actually saw the sun (oh how I have missed the sun).

We walked out to our front driveway and I was greeted by some beautiful art work.

The frost on one of our cars was formed in a beautiful pattern -

this would be worthy of being framed and hung on a wall.

It didn't appear on any of the other cars around - just the one. 

A little bit of Mother Nature magic. . .

BEAUTIFUL!!!

The feathery pattern was so intricate and depending on the angle that I looked at it, the sunlight reflected and it all glistened.

Good work Mother Nature - good work!

Later - I decided that it was a good day for some warm weekend comfort food.

And something simple -

A pot of soup was the perfect answer to warm the evening.

Sauteing a rainbow of vegetables

Add some white and kidney beans. . .

You gotta have potatoes. . .

Herbs, spice, and everything nice . . .

A perfect meal in a bowl.

A perfect end to the weekend.

Now - Mother Nature. . .

As much as I enjoyed your beautiful display on the car this weekend. . .

as much as I enjoy a hearty bowl of comforting homemade soup . . .

as much as I enjoy curling up with a warm blanket -

I really am done with this winter thing.

Could we move spring along a little faster please? Thank you.