Our weekend in pictures

We had a long, fun weekend. How about you? {Okay, so the entire weekend wasn't fun. Malayna was acting like a crazy person on Friday afternoon. We had a barbecue for the Fourth, and people were splashing in the pool. Splashing in the pool?! What were they thinking? Apparently she doesn't like being splashed, and it set her off. She was a grump for pretty much the entire afternoon. Fun!}

{Coloring outside after swimming.}

{Neighborhood parade on the Fourth.}

{Day trip to Tyler Arboretum
in Media, PA.}

{Hatching an egg is hard work!}

{Pushing daddy. The hammocks are an exhibit
at Tyler called "Hanging Out."
We could've spent all day here!}

{Fake-sleeping.}

{View from the hammock.}

{She did this over and over and over and over. And over.}

New ideas

{idea #1}

It turns out I really WAS inspired by my trip to Chanticleer! I haven't really had the urge to create anything new so far this summer, but last night I felt the need to get a few ideas down on paper {er, I mean, on computer}.

I think I'll offer these as desk clocks, or maybe even 8" wall clocks. I haven't played around with these designs, so I may need to do some tweaking before I print them.

{idea #2}

I know the bird thing has been done {over and over and over}, but this idea has been in my head for a while and I had to get it out! I don't usually like following design trends. However, I have quite a few bird feeders around the yard, so bird-watching is a daily thing around here. Do you think I need to make the birds the correct colors? In other words, if I use a cardinal, should it be red? Should the orioles be orange and the sparrows brown?

Sometimes I feel like I'm creating designs in a vacuum since I work from home, so I welcome your opinions! What do you think? Do you like the colors? Would you like to see other colors? I don't usually THINK about the colors I use - I just go by instinct and what I think feels right for the design. However, I realize I may be a little more adventurous with colors in my home than most people are. Would you put these somewhere in your own home? Or maybe in your office? Any other thoughts about the designs?

Inspiring

If you live in the Philadelphia area, get in your car right now and head over to Chanticleer - a "pleasure garden" located on the Main Line in Wayne, PA. Oh, my. What a beautiful, inspiring place!

I visited Chanticleer on Sunday with my friend Wendy, and even though it was hot and humid, the trip was so worth it. This is the kind of place that gets my creative juices flowing. I came home feeling so inspired and full of ideas. Of course, I have lots of ideas for my own garden now, but views like this also inspire my artwork.


I love how the group of evergreens at the bottom of the hill are lined up and create a sort of horizontal line, which relates to the horizontal lines the stone steps make in the foreground. The other trees and shrubs are vertical lines of varying heights. I like the pop of purplish red on the left, and see it repeated in the centers of the flowers on the right. Do you see it?


And this? Sigh. I wish there were a place I could visit everyday that looked, sounded and smelled like this. We crossed this little stream and sat on a bench under trees with just the sound of the water trickling and the birds chirping. It was kind of hidden, and Wendy and I talked about how we wished there were a little stream near us where Malayna and Aidan could explore. We both remembered times when we were kids, playing in streams, finding little frogs, looking at stones and exploring. Kids {and adults!} need activities like that - totally unstructured and free.


There were drinking fountains throughout the gardens, each one a little work of art. The brochure said they were created by employees! In fact, the fountains, furniture and other structures were all created by employees. Sounds like a dream job to me! When you took a drink from the fountain above, the water would drain where the wood and stone meet. It would then trickle down the valleys in the stone and into the bushes. It was so beautifully made and so carefully thought out.


Tucked into the gardens were little boxes on posts, inside of which were plant lists for that particular garden. These were also works of art, each one different, and each related to the theme of its garden. The one above was for the Asian garden - can you see the little hand on the right? When you lift the hand the door opens. You can't really tell from the photo, but the words "plant list" are made of clay. Even the bathroom signs were made of clay letters.

Can you see the people in the background of this photo? They were sitting on benches made of stone and slate. Chairs and benches were placed throughout the gardens, and we took advantage of them - especially when they were situated under big shade trees. There are two green chairs in the photo below, in front of a little pond. Those grasses in the foreground made me want to lie down and take a nap!

By the way, my photos don't even begin to do this place justice. You must go and see for yourself! I'm already planning my next visit…

Photo Friday

Ahhh, summer. From my backyard:

{Look at those colors!}

{The hydrangeas threaten to take over the patio.}

{Vegetable and herb garden:
lettuce, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, parsley and basil.
I think I need a bigger space!}

{Squash.}

{Tomatoes.}

{Seashells and stones from the beach.}

{Strawberry plant from a friend.}

The beach

{Malayna and daddy.}

{Malayna and mommy.}

{With her new friend Julie.}

We had a fantastic vacation in Cape May! The weather was perfect - sunny, breezy on the beach an practically no humidity. We've been taking Malayna to the beach since she was 6 months old, and since then she has stayed far away from the ocean. Not this year - she loved it! We were able to spend hours and hours on the beach RELAXING while Malayna found new friends to play with. Needless to say, we didn't want to come home.

{Swimming in the hotel pool.}

{Jack and Malayna on the boats in Ocean City.}

{Silly faces.}
{Mom-mom and Pop-pop and the kids.}

My parents and cousin Sean came down for part of the week and stayed in a nearby hotel. We were able to use the hotel's pool, which was a big hit for Malayna. My brother David, his wife Maria and their two kids Jack and Davyn also came down for a few days and stayed in the hotel. Tuesday night we all went to the Ocean City boardwalk. Honestly, I could do without the boardwalk - it's just too crowded. Plus, one of the reasons I love Cape May is because there's nothing to do. But it's become a yearly trip while we're on vacation, so I can't go against tradition. All Malayna wants to do while we're there is ride the boats and the carousel. She's a cheap date.

{"I want to wear no shirt like Aidan!"}

Aidan, Wendy and Daniel came down on Thursday and stayed over. There were two sets of bunkbeds in Malayna's room, so they slept in there - it was their first time having a sleepover with a friend. The four of us {me, Jimmy, Wendy and Daniel} sat in the living room that night listening to the two of them talk and laugh together. We had to go in twice to tell them to quiet down and go to sleep. Jimmy went in the second time and had to break up an argument about nocturnal animals.

{Mmmmm. Ice cream.}

{…more ice cream,}

{…and more.}

{I will not smile because a strange man is taking my picture.}

{Ahhhh. The beach.}

Photo Friday

I think I'll retire the Inside 264 posts - my house is only so big! Now that summer is here we'll be out and about more, so calling these posts "Photo Friday" makes more sense.

A storm passed through here on Tuesday night and knocked our power out from 8:30 that night until about 3:00 Wednesday afternoon. We don't have central air, so when Malayna's air conditioner went off Tuesday night she immediately woke up. She was scared and crying so we brought her downstairs. We thought the power would come back on after a little while, so we weren't trying to get her to go back to sleep right away. Malayna, Jimmy and I made paper fans and colored for a little while. It was so hot - we were just coming out of a heat wave with temperatures up near 100 and stifling humidity. The house was still hot, and we couldn't open the windows too much because of the rain and the 60-mph winds. Thank goodness our trees are gone!

{shadows on the ceiling}

After a while we realized that the power may not go on anytime soon, so we tried to get to sleep. First we all laid on the living room floor, but Luco was panting like crazy. Malayna couldn't sleep. Then she and I went up to her sauna, I mean room, but it started thundering and she was scared {never was before!}. Finally, we came back downstairs and she and Jimmy slept on the sofa while I slept on the floor. Between Luco's panting, Jimmy's snoring, and sweating, I think I got about 2 hours sleep that night.

{crafting by candlelight}

It was kind of nice not to have electricity the next day and having to come up with things that didn't involve the TV or the computer. I spent a while in the pool just listening to the radio {with batteries} and reading a book. Just as I was packing the food in our fridge into coolers to take to my parents' house, the power came back on. Do you know how good that air conditioning felt?!

Tomorrow we leave for a week-long vacation in Cape May, NJ. We go every year at this time - me, Jimmy, Malayna, Luco, my mom and dad and my cousin Sean. This year Aidan and his parents are coming to visit and stay over one night. He and Malayna will sleep in her room on bunkbeds. Should be interesting!

{Malayna got a haircut for the shore - she had about 6 inches cut off!}

{Why do so many kids around this age make goofy faces for pictures?}

I'll probably post some photos through the week, so check back on Monday! Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Old friends

{D'Arcy, Shani, Michelle, Michelle, Kim, me, Patrice and Lorie}

My 20-year high school reunion was Friday night. It was sort of weird to see all these grown women that I remember as teenage girls. Most of us look pretty much the same {apparently I do - I probably didn't even have to wear a name tag}, but there were a few women who looked completely unfamiliar. Someone brought our yearbooks from the four years we spent at Nazareth Academy, and I had to consult the last one several times Friday night to remind myself who certain people were. A few women look totally different and I would've never known them had I run into them on the street.

It was so good to see old friends. A handful of us still keep in touch and see each other often - mostly at our children's birthday parties.

There was a small group of us who rode the the el and the bus together to school every day. We were all from the Philadelphia neighborhoods below the Northeast {where our school was located} - neighborhoods like Kensington, Port Richmond, Fishtown and Bridesburg. Some people had a negative view of our working-class neighborhoods. A few girls we went to school with were afraid of us because of the neighborhood we grew up in {which we thought a little ridiculous!}. I can remember talking with someone in high school about taking the el - she had never ridden the el and thought that we were so brave for riding it to school each day! Our neighborhoods were much closer to Center City than those in Northeast Philadelphia, and most of us had spent our childhoods riding buses and the el - we didn't think it was a big deal.

I can remember seeing photos of the Northeast girls' houses and backyards. Backyards! We had a cement backyard that was about six feet square. They had trees and gardens. We rode the bus to school. They drove cars.

Needless to say, the el- and bus-riding group of us stuck together through high school - I guess you could call us a clique. Before reading the definition of that word, I thought it was a bad thing. Clique: an exclusive group of people who share common interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity. A clique is a subset of individuals from a larger group, who are more closely identified with one another than the remaining members of the group, and who exchange something among themselves, such as friendship, affection, or information.
Doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Seeing them on Friday reminded me how much I miss them. It was like no time had passed since 1988.

Some more photos from our reunion are here.

Failed

-6 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

What a surprise!

Stuff

{new magnet}

Part of the website update is finished. I uploaded all the new magnets - they are quite different than the magnets I used to make. See them here. I always forget how long a website updates takes. I thought I'd be finished by today, but there are lots more products to add - 8" clocks, more desk and 10" clocks and more cards. For each product, I have to edit the photo, write a description {which usually turns out to be the same basic description with minor changes}, upload the photos and text and then check the site to be sure it worked. Hmmm. Must be why I don't update too frequently!

Yesterday Malayna and I went to Ross to look for an outfit for my 20-year reunion. {No luck, by the way.} I tried on four different dresses, and with each one she exclaimed, "Oh, mommy, you look sooooo pretty!" I thanked her each time, and then she said, "Mommy, sometimes you look so pretty that I can't even talk." How cute is that? I have my own personal self-esteem booster.

Tonight is my reunion, so I'll be back Monday with a report and maybe some photos {with smaller hair!}.

Have a good weekend.

20-Year Reunion

{Hair.}

Oh, my. How did we get this old? Tomorrow is my 20-year high school reunion. I went to high school in the 80s - which explains the hair in the photo above. It was taken at my house before we went to the Electric Playground. {Nice name, huh?}

EP was a dance club in Northeast Philly for high school kids. My parents would usually drive us there in our van {they weren't called minivans then}, drop us off and pick us up at the end of the night. We would all pile into the back of the van and sit on the floor. We usually picked up a friend or two while at EP, and my parents would drive them home, too. I know what you're thinking - "Wow! Your parents were so nice to drive everyone home!" Yes, they were. But the reason for driving everyone home was to keep an eye on me. They didn't want me taking the bus home or getting a ride with someone they didn't know. I wonder if I'll be doing the same thing for Malayna in 12 years or so?

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night!

Show recap and some news

Thank you to all who came out to the Arts in the Park. I was happy to see all of you and so glad that yesterday was a gorgeous day. I had a wonderful time and sold lots of work!

Malayna and Jimmy even came by, but she spent most of her time there in the moon bounce. Seriously. They got to the festival around 10am, and she was the first one in the bounce. She was then in and out until 1pm when they went home. When she came back around 3:30 they went right back to the bounce until it closed at 5. That's a lot of bouncing.

Check back later this week for a website update. It's been a while! Since my next show isn't until September, I think I'll have a sale. But first I must do some uploading, description-writing and create a new front page for the site. I'll be sure to tell you when it's finished!

Coupon!

I'll be participating in the Arts in the Park juried craft show and festival on Sunday from 10-5. It will be held at High School Park {corner of Montgomery Avenue and High School Road in Elkins Park}. There will be lots of artisans, activities for children, food and live music all day. It's a fun show in a lovely park, and is always well-attended. Present the coupon above for $5 off your purchase of $30 or more!

Hope to see you Sunday!

Great weekend

{Huh? What? Where? I don't see any bunny.}

We had a wonderful, sunny, barbecue-filled Memorial Day weekend. I did lots of gardening and spent most of the weekend outside. See some photos here.

I'll be busy this week getting ready for the Arts in the Park on Sunday. If you're in the area, stop by!

Confidence

Malayna and I went to the bookstore yesterday, and when we were leaving the bathroom there we passed a big mirror. She watched herself walk by and said {with a big smile on her face}, "Look at my pretty self."

How cute is that? Don't you wish you had that kind of confidence again? After thinking about how stinkin' cute that comment was, the next thought that came to mind was, "How much longer will she feel that way about herself?" Honestly, how many of the women you know are completely happy with the way they look?

Here's an interesting article about young girls and body image.

I need sunshine and art

I've been feeling grumpy, annoyed and bored lately. Then yesterday I figured out why: it's been raining and COLD around these parts this past week or so {temperatures in the 50s and 60s - this is MAY!}. Plus, I haven't been in my studio in weeks. Yes, weeks. I've been up there for a small project or two, but haven't spent more than an hour in there since April. I need to change that. I can't change the weather, but I can get my butt upstairs to do some creating.

Jimmy and I work out after Malayna goes to bed, but last night I only did half of the workout so I could spend time with my art. It was so worth it. The minute I walk in the studio door the ideas start flying. I lose track of time and wish that I could add a few more hours to the night.

I don't normally schedule my creative time, but maybe I should. Instead of ignoring my need for creativity every day, I should just walk upstairs and make something. Or just sit in the studio - sometimes that does it for me. Just being around my stuff {paper, beads, color, mess} makes me feel more relaxed and less edgy.

For all you other creative souls out there, do you schedule your art-making time? Or do you just let it happen?

Thrifty

One of my favorite things to do with Malayna these days is to go thrift shopping. Being the pack rat that she is, searching through other people's junk is right up her alley. {I take full blame for passing on the collector gene.}

Yesterday Aidan and Wendy came along to our favorite thrift shop. Wendy really liked it and scored a few great finds, including a big ceramic bowl for about $2. Malayna and I came home with the following things {for a mere $15!}:

{The game "Ants in Your Pants". Played with no pants on, of course.}

{Chutes and Ladders and Spirograph. Remember Spirograph?!
That one's for me.}

{Lots of books.}

{Two large wooden bowls. I'll use these for snacks when we have parties.
We use plastic ones from the Dollar Store now -
I can't wait to get rid of them!}

{Small pitcher for cream.}

Meowers

We've had a little cat hanging around our house lately that Malayna has named Meowers. Jimmy is allergic to cats, so there's no way we can bring her in the house. She {we don't know if it's a female or not, but Malayna says it's a girl} comes in the yard, meows very loudly and walks around looking very cute. Of course, Malayna loves her and the feeling seems to be mutual. Last night I went out on the porch and there she was - curled up on the rocking chair. I felt so badly coming in the house and leaving her out there. I feel like I should feed her some cat food since she's on our porch every day anyway.

What else can I do? Other than putting her in the truck and driving her to the SPCA? Even that isn't really an option I like - they probably have too many cats already and she may just be put to sleep.

What would you do?