a little less Texaco

Though my green thumbs aren't too experienced- (somehow I ALWAYS kill flowers,) I get a little giddy at any garden shop, as gardening reminds me of my childhood in Connecticut. My mom and I used to make several trips to Salem Country Gardens, our local nursery, and wade through aisle after aisle of plants and flowers. The aroma was overwhelming, yet inviting and comforting. I'd always look forward to strolling the grounds, running from massive bees, and making a trip to the over-sized cooler near the checkout counter where they kept several flavors of Stewart's specialty sodas- my flavors of choice were typically Key Lime and Orange N' Cream.

When we'd finally arrive at home with our station wagon full of dirt, mulch, and a wide variety of flowers, my Mom would spend the better half of the weekend precisely planting the flowers. My mom is a planner- undoubtedly. And in this case, a plant-planner.... And, the planning was well-worth it.

During the Spring in Summer I'd be off riding my bike playing "cars" with my neighborhood friends, performing made up skits, swimming, singing Disney songs and chewing my body weight in Bubble Tape. On the days my mom was working in the yard I'd quickly pedal home, insanely excited to see what new flowers she'd planted. She'd put flowers around the light posts near our driveway, in the flower boxes and hanging pots off the front and back porch. How I loved reaping the benefits of her creativity.

Our house was always beautiful- in fact, it is impossible for my mom to not have a beautiful home. No matter where she's lived- in a 4 bedroom house in New England, or a tiny little apt. in Lynchburg, Virginia, and now her NC home, she's always worked her magic to make it "home".

My mom isn't a beer drinker. However, once she's worked in the yard all day, somehow the combination of sun and dirt insists she reward herself with a frosty beer (and it HAS to be in the bottle). I love this quirk of hers.


So...Nothing against Texaco, but the view from our balcony was begging for a little more ambiance than the glow of the neon star from the Texaco sign across the street- So, Ted and I made our first plant purchases this past weekend.


Among this Spring's line-up are Pansies, Gerbera Daisies, Alyssum and Violas.



Ted plans on building a 2-tiered plant table for the balcony as to display our lovely pots we found for a steal at the Salvage Warehouse. Our balcony is sunny in the morning, and in the shade all afternoon..which, doesn't help the fact that we picked all "Full Sun" flowers...but, whatever. They'll grow. Hopefully.



I spent a few hours this afternoon "plant-planning," as my mom would do. I didn't have much to choose from as far as variety goes, so I planned with what I had. I tried to balance out the colors and sizes of flowers, while trying to make them not look too organized or boring and repetitive.



Nonetheless, my gardening experience was relaxing and refreshing, and helped to slightly shield our view from the nearby Texaco.


Though my sun and dirt afternoon did not insist a beer upon me, I made myself a beautiful lunch of Salmon and salad. This, of course, was not in honor of my mother because she despises the smell of and all things Salmon. It was delicious- and, she can't smell my Salmon from 400 miles away!

So, here's to Spring, soda in glass bottles, having a plan, photosynthesis, beer, dirt, and a little less Texaco.

long live the postal service

I love the Post Office. I love the Post Office almost as much as I love airports. There's excitement to be found in being surrounded by packages that will, in 2-7 days, arrive at completely new, and foreign destination.

Boxes of donated clothes can start small town Idaho and make their way to a village in Africa...or, after browsing Ebay and Etsy for that perfect something to go with your other perfect something, that something arrives at your home to fulfill it's perfect purpose- all thanks to The Postal Service.

People usually complain about the lines at the Post Office, and, in turn, have started conducting their postage needs online. This is easier- yes. This is more convenient- yes. I understand waiting in a line if you're on your 30 minute lunch break, or have 2 kids pulling at your pant legs can be frustrating and inconvenient; but, you miss out on seeing people wrapping up last-minute belated birthday presents for their friends and care packages for their husbands in Iraq. You miss out on the comedy that is watching anyone try and use that roll of postal tape (that stuff is so dang sticky!)

Each letter and package represents a story.

Sometimes, it's an unfortunate story in the form of a bill or a "my sympathies" card.

Sometimes it's a good story in the form of a "Hey, I miss you" letter, or a "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!" or "It's a BOY!" package.

The letters and packages are assembled, postage paid, and off they go, traveling, maybe, to places we've never even visited ourselves. I overheard an elderly man speaking with the postage machine attendant at our Post Office, asking details on how to go about sending a huge slew of boxes to Nigeria. Something told me this man had never once been to Nigeria- but, his boxes were going there! How exiting!

I bring all of this up to say my week was a little brighter this week, with thanks to The Postal Service and Ted's mom, DeLane. She sent us a thoughtful little surprise. Ted received a big fat bar of Dark Chocolate from Trader Joe's, and I received these adorable Nick & Nora Sock Monkey slippers to shield my feet from our cold concrete floors. They've been keeping me company while Ted has been working unbearably long hours this week. Thanks, DeLane!

So my friends, here's to stamps, waiting in line, mail trucks, dark chocolate, and or course- Sock Monkeys. Life will always be better with Sock Monkeys.

say "yes" to these dresses...

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, I had my first opportunity to work alongside John Bamber, of John Bamber Photography, and Laura Lambert, of Motion Picture Co., on a Boutique Couture Prom Fashions photo shoot. The beautiful dresses are some of the latest fashions from Emily of Boutique Couture, and the awesome space for the photo shoot was courtesy of the Loose Cannon in downtown Chattanooga, TN. I absolutely loved the finished concrete floors in the space- made for great reflections in the photographs.

I certainly lucked out having my first assignment to be photographing gorgeous models- Christy, Lila, and Tiffany. This photo shoot was a learning experience in lighting and composition- and I loved every minute of it. Here's some shots from the shoot. I can't wait to learn more!

gimme some sugar

Ah, yes...Winter.

She's come.

She's gone.

Maybe, if you're like me, She's also left you with some dry, dull skin that wants nothing to do the with short skirts and tank tops that the recent warm weather has invited.

Maybe you don't have $25 to spend on a tiny tub of sugar scrub from Bath & Body Works...and possibly, you can't stand the overwhelming stench of their chemically injected beauty products, anyway.

Fear me, Xerosis. Ladies & gentlemen, I have a natural, economical, eco-friendly solution to the worries of Winter. I mentioned on Facebook a few weeks ago that I started to make my own body scrubs and had quite a few people ask me for the recipe. My advice is to use what you already have, but if you'd like to make the initial investment in the ingredients, they'll last quite a while!

So, as promised- here's the recipe! Now, let's get started:



Organic Exfoliating Sugar Scrub
Shopping List:

-Sugar in the Raw- Brown Sugar-1 box
** I don't use white or light brown sugar. The bigger the sugar crystals the better..you want it to really exfoliate!
-LIGHT Olive Oil-1 small bottle
**very important that it be LIGHT. Also, any other light oil will work. Basically anything light, and derived from nature will do the trick

-Any scented pure organic extract or scented oil- 1 small bottle
**ex: Vanilla, Lemon, Almond, Mint, etc. Just get something you like the smell of from the baking section of your grocery store
**you can combine scents, too! I've done Vanilla-Almond, and it smells like heaven. Get creative. I'm going to try something with lavender oil or mint next.

-Honey-1 small bottle



Directions:

1. Pour 1 cup of brown sugar in a medium sized bowl

2. Now add light olive oil to the sugar, a little at a time while stirring. You'll know when there's enough oil when all the sugar is coated.

3. Add honey, 1 tablespoon at a time. Should take about 3-4 tablespoons, depending on how much sugar is used.

4. Get creative with your extracts & oils, and blend. REMEMBER: a little goes a long way!

5. TASTE IT! How awesome is it that you're making something to put ON your body, that you can also put IN your body?

6. Place in covered container. I use wide lipped small Ball Jars. They work well for storage and are easy to clean & reuse!

**Oils will naturally fall to the bottom of the jar, so give a good mix before use. A wide wooden tongue depressor works wonders for this.

**I wouldn't use it on my face. Works exceptionally well on hands and other non-face parts.


So, here's to wooden spoons, natural remedies, SUGAR!, saving moolah, and smooth, glowing skin.

mom jeans update

So, the Park Road Montessori logo went over really well; however, for their budget, they needed something with the maximum of 3 colors. I went ahead and edited the logo a bit, and used a palette of 3 earthy greens- with attempts to create a more gender neutral logo, as well. Take a look!

mom jeans

Today, along with cooking up some delicious spicy Turkey Chili, I flexed my Adobe Illustrator muscle and designed a logo.

My nephew, Colsen (part Kindergartner, part Superhero,) attends Park Road Montessori in Charlotte, NC. His school is in need of a new logo design, so- I thought I'd give it a try.

In the list of specifications, the school was asking that the logo reflect the following:

-The Environment/Nature
-Love
-Peace
-Community/Togetherness

I spent this morning browsing the Internet for inspiration for the logo. I researched everything from kids' bedspreads & rugs, to sneakers & playground equipment, searching for patterns and colors that were vibrant and fun.


I found some colors that I loved:

-Rugs from Crate & Barrel's Children's St0re: The Land of Nod



Next, I decided to create a nature utopia, where the leaves were big and bright, and the environment was inviting. The parks in Charlotte during Spring and Summer were also an inspiration for this design. Like a park in the springtime, these children grow and flourish in school (especially this school. Colsen is a stinkin' genius!) So, I tried to envision what Colsen would describe about the park in the Spring/Summertime.

I began with the circle (representing community/togetherness), worked my way to the tree and added some leaves (environment), then decided to add some friendly creatures (nature), threw in some whimsical shapes (love), and before I knew it, it looked like a day in the park (peace).

I couldn't find a font that worked for the look I was creating, so I made the letters (time consuming!), but very fun.

Here's my final product!:



The winning logo will be used to advertise the school through car magnets, tshirts, etc. Even if my design isn't the winning logo, I can walk away from this project feeling accomplished, and somehow, a little bit more appreciative that Spring is just around the corner!

So, here's to The Alphabet, growing, lunchboxes, counting, Ice Pops, "paste", scraped knees, carpools, learning, field trips, and all things Crayola.

mix it up

When Ted and I began assembling the "must haves" of our kitchen, I had my eyes set on the prize of a beautiful orange KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

She was beautiful, and shiny, and the color of a perfectly ripened orange, and full of baking bliss potential..; however, was boggled by the price, and realized paying our mortgage was far more important these days.

So, the search began for a substitute, and, like many times in life, I found just what I needed at a thrift store.

One Saturday while our brother Adam and our friend Jon were in town, we spent the day rescuing treasures from our local Salvage Warehouse and nearby thrift shops. While digging through the seemingly endless piles of rusty memorabilia, Ted found this Rocket Shaped Retro Sunbeam mixer stashed away, just waiting to be in our home.

It look a little elbow grease to get her clean and ready for work, but I must say, we've already become rather good friends. Our first project together was to cure Ted's craving for Chocolate-Chocolate Cake, and my lil' Sunbeam worked like a charm. She was quiet, and smooth, and powerful, and...beautiful.



Now that I've already grown so much in love with my mixer, I must say a brand new shiny KitchenAid mixer would never have been the right fit for me. This little something with history, past experience, and a vintage vibe is definitely the perfect company for my baking journeys.

So, here's to donating, finding, rescuing, and mixing.