Support Your Local Art Walk

Once a month several cities hold an art walk. Galleries stay open late and it's a fun opportunity to get to know local artists and where they show their work. My dear friend, Virginia, created an author series featuring head illustrations of Marquez and Bukowski. Her work and those of several others showed at the Hibbleton Gallery in Fullerton.

I had my nails done the night before and couldn't help but notice that the squares reminded me of frames. I like the idea of art outside the frame. Sometimes the best work is not done between the lines, but rather on the edge of it. I encourage you to check out your local art walk for a night on the town that will pique your interest and get you involved in the community. And check out your local nail artist as well. This set was done by Sherri Traweek.

Christmas Come Early

I love reading books. Fortunately for us, blogs can often be as good as book or magazine reading. My friend Colleen  is a pretty good writer, and she happens to make jewelry too. One of her recent posts is called "All My Best Intentions." I love the title and I love the message. Sometimes our best intentions end up differing greatly from the outcome.

I never intended to fall so in love with jewelry, especially the handmade variety. And now that I no longer work with that jewelry, I feel a bit of a void. But I can fill that hole with jewelry blog reading ... and shopping. I think we never intend to fall in love with the things and people we end up loving. It is a mysterious force. When I met Colleen in Oregon, I didn't know we would become friends and about the connection jewelry and writing would establish between us. But I am happy to have found Colleen, her blog, and this post, featuring the necklace above. When I read her post, not only did it get me thinking, but it got me wanting that necklace.

I made my purchase and the package arrived last week along with this gift from Colleen: an old book titled, 'So You're Going to England.' It's really funny, as I never intended to collect old books or come so closely associated with my home away from home, but here I am, receiving these things as gifts and basking in them. The old book smells so delicious and it reminds me of Eliot's line "So you're going abroad and when do you return? Well, that's a useless question, you hardly know when you are coming back, you will find so much to learn." I never intended to quote Eliot for the rest of my life (maybe over-quoting) or memorizing verse, but I think now that is the direction in which I am most certainly headed. And now my best intentions are to return to the land of Eliot someday and hopefully write a book of my own ... and we will see what happens with that.

Colleen wrapped this gift in the perfect vintage paper, including an homage to Harvery Nicoll's. I'm sure her best intentions were to gift me with the most meaningful of presents in a beautiful way. And that she has. But I wanted to write this post so that Colleen would know that that gift was already given to me on the Oregon Coast and the first time I saw her jewelry. It was packaged in a different way, as the best presents are, without wrapping, and by completely falling into place at the right time. The blog posts she and others send out into the world are gifts on their own. It is an extension of the gift of her art. And I am just trying to make the best of being surrounded by such goodness, such truth, such talent, such beauty.

Thank you Colleen, for the gift of your friendship, and your words. They have had nothing but the best effect on me.

Ladies Who Lunch/Launch

This past Sunday I was fortunate enough to attend a beautiful fall lunch at Lidy's home. I insist you check out Lidy's blog, but really nothing can do her home justice. It is just exquisite! And boy did she decorate for fall. I loved every inch of her home. Above are only a few snaps I got, as we got carried away with talking.

Joining us were Jenny, Deb, Tara, and Cheryl. Sharon is the one who brought us all together. This was in fact not a regular lunch date, it was a launch date. We gathered together to really inspire one another when it comes to our stories, experiences, and creativity. We will all be speaking at the next Launch Your Creativity event in April.

To be honest (as I always am here), I wasn't really sure what to speak about at the event since I had just left my job in the crafting industry. I wasn't even sure if I really belonged on this panel anymore. But within minutes of being with these women, I was given a great idea for a speaking topic. And I love it because it will be very me; from the heart and the head; very real.

My lunch friends kept mentioning their affinity for "being real." I thought this was fascinating, because a lot of what happens in publishing is in fact not real. Editors cut words, designers crop photos, stylists arrange. I think a lot of times people say they want something real, but the truth is that they can't take it. And so we all fall back on the pretty, the staged, the polished.

This conversation got me thinking about what "keeping it real" meant to me. And I landed on a very raw conclusion. The reality is that the polish I infuse in all facets of my life is not always my real self. When I am working out or in my pajamas writing I feel my best, but I never look polished doing so. I've said time and time again that I believe in hard work. And hard work is my reality, it is at the core of everything I do. It means staying up late to write this blog post, when in reality I should have fallen asleep half an hour ago. I use lots of concealer to hide those black circles that are really under my eyes daily. It means commuting an hour and a half each way in traffic to get to work at a fabulous magazine. And those nice clothes and designer shoes -- they took me a really long time to earn them and pay for them (in fact, I am still paying for them). So, I hope I have not mislead you with this blog. It is not all pretty instagrams and magazine covers in real life. Oh no. In fact, I usually consider my days to be pretty bland, it's just that I love unearthing those moments that shine, so that is what I try to share with you. I will touch on more of this in my talk come April.

And it's intentional that I have been using the word "polish" a lot, since my new gig in the nail industry is in fact about hard work and art just as much as the craft industry is. Be sure to check out Nails Magazine on Pinterest for more "unreal" photos.

My special thanks to Sharon and Lidy and the rest of these extraordinary women for being honest, poignant, warm, and wonderful listeners. I hope you'll join us and the other speakers this spring at Launch Your Creativity held at Paris in a Cup in Orange, California. See you there!

Life's Not Always A Picnic

I haven't been blogging as much recently, and the truth about that is that life hasn't been a picnic as of late. At home there are a lot of issues that have welled up, stressed me out and made me an all around basket case. But who wants to blog about that? Or more accurately, who wants to read about that? I have tried to keep my personal crises as veiled as I can from my blog and the workplace, no matter how hard it is. But here's the thing: when life is not a picnic, I do crave writing. In the past, I have run to this blog to be a place to distract or write or talk about other things as a way to do something, to feel better, to cleanse.  And after Monday, boy do I feel better.

Rita, Deb, Amber, and Sylvia stopped by for a picnic lunch. We had fruit salad, sandwiches, cookies and bubbly (non-alcoholic). Everything was as delicious as it was beautiful. I had never met Deb or Sylvia, but we all just clicked the instant we got together. Deb gifted me with some precious sweater pumpkins. Since fall is my absolute favorite time of year (and it is right around the corner) I was thrilled. I love these creations! And Sylvia gifted me with this stunning cross bracelet. The cross couldn't have been a better choice, because lately it seems like the only thing that has been keeping me sane is my faith. The fact that this was given to me just proves that God is watching out for me, and I thank Sylvia for reminding  me of that.

But the greatest gift of all was this gathering. While my lunch companions were here I completely forgot about the worries that have been plaguing me of late. Their conversations nourished me, as we discussed a lot of things I have wanted to talk about for a while. Their company nourished my soul, reminding me that everyone falls on hard times, but those who make it are those who get back up and keep going. And of course their food nourished me as well, reminding me to eat, something which I haven't been doing a lot of lately with everything on my mind.

Which brings me back to blogging. It is gatherings like this that make me glad I have a blog. Not only can I share about my experiences with these women and their respective blogs, but I also get to reflect on the experience for myself. These girls and I talked about blogging and social media a lot, and one of the questions I had was "do you think blogging will become extinct?" Obviously, we all hoped not, but with the growing popularity of Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, it makes me wonder who actually wants to read the whole story, as it seems like most people just want a picture to look at or 140 words or less to read. And that makes me sad to think, because sometimes life experiences cannot be summarized so succinctly or captured with a filtered photograph. We also talked about the time it takes to be in blogland. Not only are you writing your own posts, but you are reading potentially many of others as well. I myself am guilty of being a lackluster reader lately. Keeping up with blogs and other social media forums can take up lots of time. So much so, that on the weekends I tend to step away.

To me, social media can sometimes feel like work. And maybe that's because for my job, it can be a major part of work. Some days I dont mind putting the work in, but on others it can become tedious. This post is long and I am taking great care to write it, but it is a little sad to think that more people will look at my Instagram or Facebook profile than read this. I realize now that I am working hard at diversifying all of my social platforms, to edit and choose what people will see and think. And the conclusion is that at the end of the day, blogging  is the most personal of them all. It's probably no coincidence then that I first began connecting with Rita and Amber through their blogs. And I am so grateful to the publications I work with that still highlight blogs and bloggers for their contributions.

So, I don't mean to sound like I am complaining about all of the social networking around today. I use them like everybody else does. But I have decided to not use them for stories about "woe is me", (though it can be tempting) and that is a personal choice that works for me, I'm not saying that's what will work for everyone. Everyone's time is valuable. And if you stop by to read this, know that I put ample time into writing it, to share a little bit more about myself than I have been sharing elsewhere. Because blogging is where I choose to run to when life is not always a picnic, and I hope it doesn't go away. But perhaps the greatest reminder to all of us should be: when life is not a picnic, unplug and have an actual one with people whose company you enjoy.

Thank you so much Rita, Amber, Deb and Sylvia, for stopping by, connecting, talking, and letting me write this out.

J'Adore Garance Dore

I have been reading the Sartorialist for a while, and if you know that blog then you most certainly know about Garance Dore. Whereas I came to know about her through her photography, she actually has a background as an illustrator. I love fashion illustration, so I am thrilled to see that Kate Spade has turned some of her sketches into wearable art. Here are my favorites. Happy shopping!

Saturday With Kay

This weekend I trekked down to Riverside on Saturday morning to rise with those treasure hunters who go out early looking for deals. And many deals indeed were found at Kay Ellen's Antique Garden & Art Faire. It was at this beautiful old house in Riverside. Vendors were set up in the front, back, and along the sides. There was AMAZING vintage jewelry! So so much! I really recommend bringing lots of money to splurge on these unique pieces and the other items sold. Can you believe the view? I totally wanted to dive into this pool. It was a gorgeous day! I even got to meet a few readers and sign a few magazines.

Thank you so much Kay Ellen for having me and introducing me to your lovely family and friends! You won't want to miss the next event, so check out Kay Ellen's blog to see when it's happening.

The Gift of Glamour

I've really wanted a classic scarf for a long time, a silk one that can be accessorized beautifully. When I saw that one of my favorite artists was turning her prints into scarves I knew I had to have one. They are a bit pricey, but when you compare them to a designer scarf (and that is the quality these scarves have) they are a worthy investment. My scarf arrived Friday, just in time for my birthday. It is big, bold, made of beautiful silk, and is aptly named "Glamour." For me, it's perfect, because I love the colors (they will pop against most of my clothes) and the images are from Kristina's most cherished prints that honor Chanel and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Oh, and did I mention these are limited edition? So if you want one, you had better snap them up fast!

You must check out this lady's amazing blog. It's one of my faves! These scarves would be an ideal Christmas or holiday gift for the glamour girl in your life.