Enjoying the Little Things

Sometimes the little things make me the happiest. My new measuring cups made me smile this morning as I used them for the first time while making a new apple French toast recipe. I spotted these Russian nesting doll measuring cups somewhere online last year, and thought they were adorable. When I spotted them at SuperTarget yesterday, I was so excited.

Graduation was a few weeks ago, and I've been slowly adjusting to normal life. It kind of feels like maybe I'm just on my 2-week break in between quarters, except I'm not pre-ordering books from Amazon and trying to read the first 3 chapters on my so-called break, which makes me want to do a happy dance. One of the unintended consequences of going back to school is that it made me have an appreciation for my free time. The past few weeks I've had time to try new recipes, I've been experimenting a little with some new jewelry designs, and we just got a new couch and have been brainstorming about redecorating to make our apartment feel more cozy, more us.

Life is good.

Coming Soon: Life After Grad School

Since January I've been working on my capstone project, my final mission to accomplish before graduating in June. The capstone project is a big research study and accompanying paper applying what I've learned over the past few years as I've been working toward a master's degree in web design and development. Even though the last few weeks have been especially busy, there is this underlying excitement brimming as I think about life after grad school.

Before going back to school, the three creative activities I enjoyed the most were making jewelry, blogging, and taking pictures. At the time, I was actively selling my jewelry at art and craft fairs, through a few shops and boutiques, and was swimming along in this wonderful creative current- a place where new ideas came easily, and I saw inspiration everywhere. It seems like the more you practice being creative, the more easily that creative energy swirls around you. Well, once school started, all that energy was used for writing, researching, coding, or creating a website for class, and I the things I enjoyed- sewing, taking pictures, and making jewelry- kind of felt like work, so I cut back on those wonderful, messy, hands-on creative projects.

I'm currently working on my final project, a wonderful dive into web usability for small businesses. I'm currently redesigning a website for a family and wedding portrait photographer, and just completed a 20-person usability assessment study testing about perceptions of value, credibility, and web usability of the photographer's website. This project is definitely one of those challenging and equally amazing experiences. At one point I never imagined how I'd be able to write 50 pages on anything, and now I'm worried that I will have way too many things to say about my topic.

Once I've graduated, I'm looking forward to summertime scooter riding, art-making, and just being, but part of me is trying slow down and savor the experience just a little. Even though I know I will always enjoy learning new things and developing new skills on my own, there is something I appreciate about being in school where I'm often obligated to push myself beyond what I think I have in me. My husband gave me an art desk this Christmas in anticipation of my graduation, so I'm getting excited about dusting off my art supplies soon.

Pinterest Love

Today's favorite find on Pinterest, Words of Wisdom print by Francesca Ramos

My dear friend Sarah encouraged me to sign up for Pinterest a few weeks ago, and I'm in love. If you've never heard of Pinterest, it's a website that allows you to bookmark and save catalogs of photos. I'm constantly perusing blogs and websites, and discover so many inspiring things, so I love that Pinterest allows me to save lovely photos into one giant collection. I've always kept a bulletin board on my wall full of inspiring stuff- pictures and cards and magazine cutouts- so this is like having an inspiration board online. So far, my favorite collection is "lovely words," a grouping of images of posters or graphics or other products with beautiful words and quotes.

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is that it's got a social aspect where you can follow collections of photos of like-minded pinners. If you discover a photo you love, you can click on images that others have posted, and you end up on the web page of the original source. I've found it's a great way to discover new artists and interesting websites.

sunshine

I spent some time today making jewelry, and it felt wonderful. I brought all my supplies out onto our patio, and spent the afternoon creating while basking in the sunshine with a glass of pink lemonade by my side. Although I love photography and collage and experimenting with fabric, jewelry is my one true creative love- the thing I could do for hours and days and years and never get bored.

good things

Coffee + flea market shopping + pedicure + wine + BBQ = best day ever. I took a mini road trip and spent the day with my good friend to celebrate her 30th birthday, which is today, and my birthday, which is this upcoming week. I think summertime birthdays are the best.

Do you ever find yourself falling so much in love with the decor in a certain place that you vow to run home and decorate your living space the very same way? The little spa where we got our pedicures today had such a whimsical feel- I loved it. It made me want to run home and cut paper butterflies out of bright green, magenta, and royal purple paper and string them up across a corner of my living room.

happiness

Such a lovely weekend.

Ventured all around downtown on my scooter, went on a morning jog with my husband and dogs, and spent some time with some of my favorite people. I enjoyed coffee and mimosas and Arnold Palmers, basked in the sunshine, sat on the side of a grassy hill overlooking downtown Denver, took some pictures, and in general appreciated every minute of this long weekend.

la vita è bella

Yesterday, I brought home a pink Vespa. I've been daydreaming about crusing on my vintage-style scooter to a coffee shop on a lazy Sunday afternoon for years now. Today, I found out that riding a scooter to a coffee shop on a warm, sunny afternoon really is every bit as fun as I imagined- maybe even better. My dream didn't include the exhilaration of feeling the wind on my face or looking straight up and seeing clouds in a bright blue sky.

At some point in early 2010, I declared this the year to finally start replacing daydreaming with doing. It's so easy to think circumstances will be just right not now but someday, using logic to guide us through life. Rather than analyzing every decision from 20 different angles, I'm finally doing all these wonderful things I've always dreamed about- like getting my dream scooter.

still missing seattle

 

I took this photo in Pike Place Market last year when Brandon and I were in Seattle on our honeymoon. We stayed at a hotel within walking distance, and visited the market multiple times that week- mainly to swoon over the beautiful buckets of flowers.

true living

This past weekend, I attended an amazing Sabrina Ward Harrison True Living Project art journaling workshop in Seattle, hosted by Angela Ritchie Ace Camps. I've wanted to do something like this for many years, and my first art workshop certainly exceeded my expectations (and trust me when I say I knew in advance I'd have a wonderful time traveling to Seattle to spend a weekend creating).

It was amazing being surrounded with a group of kind, genuine, and interesting women who seem to share a love for so many of the things I appreciate: seeing beauty everywhere, having large and random collections of art supplies, thrift store shopping, Polaroid cameras. This has done so much to renew my spirit, in ways I can't even put into words right now.

Tomorrow, I head back to class where I'll be learning more about the nature of JavaScript code- but tonight, I will continue savoring the memory of poetry, pink blossoms, and paint on my hands.

happy.

I love how my sweet dog looks so content in this picture. A perfect picture for a day like today.

As soon as I finish typing up this week's paper (I'm about 40% finished and my ability to concentrate is quickly dwindling...), I'm packing my new purple plaid suitcase and getting ready to leave for a weekend trip to Seattle. I'll be participating in a workshop with one of my favorite artists, Sabrina Ward Harrison.

So excited.

new york city weekend

I just returned from spending a long weekend in New York City with my husband. There is so much to see in this city! Our dear friends from college let us stay with them at their sweet little place in Brooklyn. They were amazing hosts, suggesting perfect itineraries and sending us on our way with a Not For Tourists guidebook, which ended up being an amazing resource. The guidebook helped us navigate the subway system, successfully explore different neighborhoods, and made it easy for us to find our way back to their place each night.

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.




Ate cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. ♥




Rented a rowboat in Central Park.




Viewed the city from the top of Rockefeller Center.

create a life of beauty & joy

Earlier this year, I had this realization that I was neglecting the thing I love the most: Art. It was such a huge part of my life when I was doing art shows. Art was my life. Then I started working on my master's degree, and it completely got pushed down on my priority list. There are few things in this world that make me more happy than creating something new. This past year, paint and paper have been replaced by pixels. Although I'm taking some great classes as I work on my degree in web development, computer-based design just doesn't replace the part of me that loves getting out my supplies and browsing through my paper stash and making big art messes.

Over the past month, I've started focusing on on small projects. At this point in my life, I can't manage 4 hours of my Sunday spent making things but do have are small pockets of time. This past month, I started writing in my journal again, and I've dusted off my camera. I'm traveling to Seattle in April to take part in a weekend art retreat. This is something I've always wanted to do, so to say I'm excited is a huge understatement!

I'm so glad to be welcoming art back into my life.

wine + design

Just recently, a small group of women and I started gathering for a monthly art night. We've held art night just a few times, experimenting with a different medium every month. This month, we worked with stencils- painting t-shirts, baby onesies, tote bags, fabric swatches, and even a pair of blue jeans!

We usually create while partaking in snacks, listening to inspiring music, and sharing a bottle of wine. We're all busy with school, work, and keeping up with life in general, but have discussed how absolutely refreshing it is to get together for art night.

"Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love.
Love as if this is all there is.”
– Mary Anne Radmacher

today's finds

I found this milk crate from Fulton Milk Company while shopping at a newly-discovered antique mall today. I've wanted one of these for a while now and was lucky to stumble upon this beauty. I'm thinking of using it as a wine rack if I can find a good spot in our tiny kitchen.

I love collecting old glass jars and tea cups and saucers, so the photo below are some of the most recent additions to my collection, found at the Salvation Army. My total for all six pieces was $3.18.

photos from home

New pendants added to the Moonwater Designs shop

I just added three new mixed media art collage charms to the Moonwater Designs Shop. Click any of the images below to check them out.

Here's my latest creation, a sun catcher made from a vintage key and an old dog tag from New York State, circa 1932.

Moonwater Designs art auction

Here's a peek at some of the charms I'll be placing on eBay for the auction to raise money for the local Easter Seals Stroke Day Program. My sister and I have been planning on running the Denver Half Marathon to benefit the Easter Seals since early this year- and now the race date is only around 3 weeks away. I'm starting to get excited! We'll be running 13.1 miles, a half-marathon. Before this year, I had never run more than 5 miles- and the last time I had run that distance was when I was 16.

The program we're raising money for provides rehabilitation services, fitness, and cameraderie to stroke survivors. They've got a pool they use for therapy, have brought in therapy dogs, and provide other great activities to help participants grow and become more independent. It's a wonderful program, so I hope you'll consider bidding on some new Moonwater Designs creations! 100% of proceeds from the auction will be donated to Easter Seals.

I decided this morning that it's been far too long since I updated my blog. Where have I been? Much of my time these days is being spent training for a half-marathon taking place in October. I've always thought of artist and athlete as two separate entities, but I'm learning that there's room for both creativity and activity in my life. I've never been a strong runner, so I've always wanted to challenge myself with an organized race of some sort. My sister and I have been talking about running a 5k together for years now, and this talk somehow found us signing up in January to run 13.1 miles in the Denver Half Marathon on October 14.

The course should be spectacular. It starts in front of the beautiful Denver capitol building with the gold dome roof, winds throughout the Denver city skyline you see in photos, goes past a number of major sports venues downtown like Coors Field, and through a handful of parks. In addition to my Ipod- which has been essential to training this summer- one of the things that helps me get through long training runs is taking in the scenery. On the rare occasion that I run inside on a treadmill, I go crazy because I'm lacking visual variety. When I run outside, I distract myself by taking in all the sights- everything from the mix of colors in a beautiful flower bed or the start of a sunset to the unique curve of a tree branch.

Speaking of the half marathon- my sister and I are running to raise money for her workplace, the Easter Seals Day Stroke Program, which provides therapy and cameraderie for stroke survivors. In addition to my regular fundraising, I'm having an online auction starting next week, selling some of my latest jewelry designs to raise money for the program. 100% of proceeds from the auction will go to the Day Stroke Program. More details coming soon!