So Much to Entertain

Have you all seen Pride and Prejudice? The one with Kiera Knightly and Matthew McFayden that came out a couple years ago? Well, if not then you need to Netflix it right now, or OnDemand it or old-fashioned Blockbuster it-- whatever it is you do, get your hands on it and watch it because it is one of the best love stories ever and this film has a gorgeous score and amazing scenery. Just beautiful. Anyhow, there's a scene in which Jane is trying to convince her sister that she is over the boy who jilted her months earlier and she tells her that "London is so diverting. There's so much to entertain." Well that's what my life is like right now. There is just so much going on and so much I want to do and take advantage of and experience this summer. That is, aside from the 102 degree weather.
First, I want to share our newest addition. And no, I'm not expecting. In fact, I purposely have stopped drinking the water because every girl I know it seems is having a baby. Anyhow, D and I were exploring a local furniture store a few weeks ago and stumbled across this artist's work. Not only were the pieces affordable, but D and I both really liked the work without either one of us launching into a sales pitch to persuade the other.

Unfortunately this photo isn't great, but I wanted to share right away. So that's our new painting leaning on our mantle next to an antique mirror that came with D and a black ceramic lantern I picked up in Cabo. There's also a sunset photo of the Catalina foothills in Tucson, AZ and a vintage photo of an estate on the edge of a cliff I picked up at an estate sale. I love it (the painting) in my living room, I think the blue and aqua play off the pumpkin walls well and there's just a touch orange to pop off the canvas.
Okay, very quickly, because I absolutely must go to bed- I've got school tomorrow, people! I wanted to share some little projects I've been working on. In an effort to make art-making a daily practice, I've been trying to complete some type of little project each day. So a couple nights ago I was curious to try a transfer/collage technique I had been tossing around in my brain. This is the result- it's about 5 x 7 inches and again not the greatest picture, but it's better than asking you to imagine, isn't it? (I'm having to rely on my iphone because I've got some iPhoto/camera issues going on.)

I'm pressing it right now to hopefully correct the warp that took place. The second collage I will share with you tomorrow.

Wonderful Wednesday

So I wanted to share this collage created by my extremely talented friend, C. She asked me questions about what I wanted to have or achieve in the coming year and in my life over all. You can see her notes from our phone conversation in the center, written on notebook paper. Then she created this collage. I believe this was one of a few different creativity exercises she was working on at the time, about a year ago. Every time I see this image on my computer screen, I smile, I'm inspired and I am reminded of how lucky I am to have such a great friend who is also immensely talented. She's probably thinking, "Iris that thing took 20 minutes, it was just an exercise!" But I've seen other work she's done and I know her talent runs deep. I just love it... perhaps I should ask her to make another, hmmm...



Also wanted to share a couple quick pics from yesterday because it rained! Yay!! Now, if you live in Seattle or Portland or even Houston, that may not be a big deal. But when your grass is more brown than green and becoming crunchier by the minute despite your watering efforts before 9am and after 8 pm, it's a big deal. We really needed it, and I hope it filled up our aquifer a little.



And one of my favorite things in the whole world is a super fresh tomato mozarella salad. I always thought they were good, but my time in Italy cemented my love for this super simple, but delicious dish. If you've never made it, I'll give you the secret... the best, freshest ingredients you can find. When your food is really clean and simple, the ingredients make all the difference in the world. All you need is bright red tomatoes, mozarella cheese (fresh is best, usually in a ball), fresh basil, some extra virgin olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar and a bit of salt and fresh ground pepper. Deeelish! As you can see, D couldn't even wait for me to take the picture before digging in!