jaunty plume

 I had the pleasure of creating these illustrations for a fine lady with a jaunty plume.

Please welcome Pound Ridge Plume.

In the early evening, she carefully crafted and hosted readings from her salon with raspberry red walls.

The next day she took a moment to admire her secretary and personal affects.

The window was open and the birds were chirping quite a cacophony which she found one part pleasant and the other annoying.

She closed the window to listen to her own thoughts and rearranged the objects while she tidied up.

She knew that it was time to write and to work.

 

The words poured out from her fingers onto the screen.

Then she decided after several hours had lapsed from staring at the screen of her lap top to call it a day.

She knew that it was time to prepare a meal for her family and to give thanks for another splendid day.

Her jaunty plume would anxiously await her return.

monday motivation - cultivate change

Just a little monday motivation for you to inspire you to "float on, dear one, towards your newest possibility."

It is true, "Nobody likes a rut, except, perhaps, a seed."

Do you take time to explore and try something different?

Are you setting an example that you would like to follow?

Do you offer to help, more?

What about going out on a limb and consider a bit of change in your life?

 

Very often in order to grow and to cultivate change, we need to start with tending to our heart's needs.
We can be our own best friends and give ourselves time to write our own heart a letter, buy a gift for ourselves.  I think when we set goals or cultivate a change, we deserve a kiss or a charm.

Waxing Poetic has lots of goodies to motivate one, or at least to plant a little seed of change.

"Everything is up to you."

sunday summer salad

Try this lovely salad from smitten kitchen.

 During the Summer, I just love salads.

The truth is that I love them all year.

Washing lettuce can be very therapeutic.

olympics in us

 Do you have the Olympics in you?

After seeing the parade of Athletes last night, I am feeling incredibly proud of all the Athletes who are there representing their country.  Will you be there or be watching from home?  I guess we all have a bit of the olympics in each of us.

dog-in-the-window

As we drove many miles and stopped to re-fuel along the way I noticed some funny dogs at rest stops and in many a window.  How fun for a dog to travel with the family which made me miss my buddy Bentley all the more.  Happy Friday to each of you.  Go ahead and roll that window down and have a great weekend.

howdy

 Howdy, I am back after a pleasant but long drive.  We drove down to Kentucky to visit family and there is something so wonderful about seeing family, farm land and wide open spaces.
It was hot.  So much hotter than I remember growing up.

Even though this artist painted these images from an aerial perspective - there is such an appreciation for the patchwork of fields and water that make up this land.  

Driving also gives one a chance to meet various people along the way and greet them with a "hey" or a "howdy."  

landscape paintings of kentucky by lynn dunbar

summer wildflowers

Nothing beats a beautiful bouquet of summer wildflowers from the garden or on canvas by one of my favorite artists Lulie Wallace.  Remember to make a summer bouquet with wild flowers.  I passed a field of Queen Anne's Lace the other day and it made me think of my childhood and picking those lacy flowers for my Mom.  I shall be taking a wee blog break to smell the summer flowers and enjoy time with my family and hard working husband who is taking a few days off.  Happy Summer.  Back soon.

funny friends

Our funny son is home from Africa and he has lots of fun stories that he is sharing with us.  He makes us laugh so much.  Here he is with his sister at our first lunch together which was pizza at one of our favorite spots.  We are in hopes his baggage will be arriving soon as it was lost in transit.  I am a little anxious to get to the laundry as we leave for a family trip soon.

Be back soon, taking a break for some family time.  Enjoy life, laughter and love.

summer house friends

For some, Summer time usually means sharing summer houses with family and friends.

A "Summer House schedule" helps everyone to keep track of what needs to be done.

Having a fully stocked cleaning bucket and supplies at the ready also helps.

Do you have plans to visit friends with Summer Homes?

Thanks for all your kind wishes, my son is home now.

After a long day of flight delays and cancelled flights he plodded in at 3 in the morning and I literally thought I was dreaming.

illustrations for Sheridan Road Magazine

far-away friends

 My son returns home today after a wonderful trip to Africa.  He shall be a sophomore in college and this trip was part of an ROTC program called CULP.  He applied last year all by himself for this trip and the good news came last Christmas that he would be traveling to Tanzania.  He taught 3 classes of English a day to students.  They played basketball, soccer and other games to connect with the students.

 Part of the programs philosophy is to create a classroom as they travel, learning along the way.

He went on a Safari, toured Africa, a trip to Zanzibar where he stayed in a tropical spot and he told me the flowers were incredible.  He told me he is bringing saffron.

 Visiting historic ruins as a group and learning about the culture, the history directly from the native people.

Here is a shot of the classroom.  Pretty simple compared to our classrooms in America.  We kept in contact via e-mail and he told me each time how honored to be a part of this trip.  I cannot wait to see him and to hear all about his trip, his new far-away friends and to see what souvenirs he brings home.

walking friends

My dog Bentley is one of my very good walking friends and each day he loves nothing better than to go for a good walk.  Lately, I have been making an effort to walk more and been averaging around 15 miles per week and have partnered with my neighbor who also loves to walk.

Do you have any walking friends?  I hope you feel inspired to walk with one friend or two and see the positive effects of walking which is so good for you.  I feel inspired to walk more and to keep a sketch diary of the walkers I pass.  Everyone says hello and seems to have regular walking friends.  Find a track or path and ask a friend to walk today.

artwork found here by Silke Lefler.

monday motivation - friends

 One of my dear blog friends, Joyce was inspired to create porcelain baskets full of cherries for her friends.  She sent me these images and gave me permission to share with each of you.  I thought this was a lovely thing to do for friends.

This week, I am feeling motivated by friends and it is the little things they do to motivate us and to make us feel special.  I will be back shortly with the winner of the Cherries painting.  Liz Floyd selected the winner, via random number generator, number 45.  The winner is Trina from A country Farmhouse.

a bowl of cherries - painting giveaway

Eizabeth Floyd -bowl full of cherries painting 4 x 6

Last Sunday evening, we had our neighbors for dinner and they brought the loveliest bowl full of fresh cherries with a note ~"life is a bowl full of cherries" with neighbors like you.

Elizabeth Floyd - silver cup with twin cherries painting 4 x 6

 A fortunate dose of double serendipity, a wonderful artist Elizabeth Floyd contacted me the very next day to give-away one of her lovely paintings with cherries.

Please visit Elizabeth, she has a wonderful site, a blog, a shop, a newsletter and a baby girl that will melt your heart.  Her paintings are exquisite.  They have an old world charm yet a freshness of heart.

I love connecting with other artists and mothers and bloggers.

A bowl full of cherries.
You decide upon one ornately framed.

 A silver mint julep cup with 2 cherries
( simply framed.)

Then I happened to find this wonderful silver dish from Silver Magpies, filled with cherries.  I think the universe has a way of always giving me signals.
I could not believe how similar the silver and cherrie still lives are so I reached out to Silver Magpie to ask her permission to share these wonderful images of her silver.

I read that the French who sailed from Normandy filled their pockets with cherries and when they arrived in Michigan, they planted the stone seeds along the shore.

Think of this post as planting a few seeds to connect with others and to fill your life and your bowls with cherries!


Leave a comment, which painting would you like to win.
Elizabeth will select a winner randomly.
Thank-you Elizabeth for such a lovely gift.

Winner is no. 45, Trina from A Country Farmhouse.
I do not count my comments in the selection.

summer porch

 Welcome to my summer porch.  Have a seat and a cool beverage.

 In the evening, I light up a strand of sparkly lights.

 These are my new pillows from the marvelous new shop, maisonette in Hastings-on-Hudson.

The solid backing is a gorgeous green.

 The wonderful shop owner Maria made this lumbar pillow for me which I love.

 Here is a sneak inside the shoppe, maisonette.

It just opened a few weeks ago and I am so delighted to have a store like this nearby.

 My daughter fell in love with these comfy paisley chairs.  We have our eye on a few other items to add to our own maison.

summer braids

My daughter swims everyday and when I pick her up from swim practice, she usually sports a new braid.  This one is called the "Katniss Everdeen" braid from Hunger Games.  Sorry for the dark and mysterious photo.  I keep spotting braids everywhere from accessories to home decor.  Do you love summer braids and how a movie can inspire a new do?

knock knock

pve design home illustration, knock knock series

I thought it might be fun to capture a home and have you play a round of "knock knock" - "guess who"~  If you know what blogger lives here, leave a comment and if you are right, then you will win a set of pve design notes from my etsy pve shop.  If you would like to submit a home for me to illustrate - feel free to contact me directly here and click on contact.

monday motivation - Grandma's

 

Both of my Grandmother's were equally inspiring to me as is the artist Grandma Moses.  She did not begin to paint until she could no longer do needlework due to arthritis.

This is one of my favorite works by Grandma Moses.  How marvelous that she found something to stay vertical....such as painting to motivate her to live to 101.  I am always motivated by others who say "If not now, when?"

Do you have a Grandma in your life that has motivated you to always try new things and to never be afraid to try?   We are after all works in progress at any age or stage in our lives.  I love thinking about learning new things that can be so motivational to a long life.  I am not a Grandma yet, but I can hardly wait for the day!

summer designs

 I am bringing back some summer prints that I designed and offering my design services for print and or pattern design.   These designs were printed on silk and cotton.

 Can you imagine wearing a shirtdress in this or swim trunks for a little boy?

 Fresh as a daisy print would be a sweet bikini and cover-up ensemble.

Starfish in soft pales certainly would be sweet as wallpaper in a summer house.

If you need a print, feel free to contact me, I am adding this to my print design service in September and accepting new orders now.

summer salon

I wanted to share with you some artwork that I created for a lovely client who is about to launch her blog.  This is just one of the illustrations that I did.  She has not yet launched her blog but when she is ready, I will make the introduction.

Most women can appreciate the need to book an appointment at a salon but what about a few women meeting over the summer in a salon setting to meet, read, share a cup of tea or perhaps a glass of chilled wine.  How many of you are in a book group that takes the summer off or do you continue to meet?
Love to know what you are reading now?

alone time

   I enjoyed a "red velvet" ice cream cone the other day alone.  

Oh, it was heavenly.  I must admit I felt a tad bit of guilt. 

I bought some new sunscreen at the pharmacy too.
I did all of it alone.
Nobody told me to hurry up.
Nobody.

Followed by a bike ride was the perfect alone time for me.  

Do you allow yourself to take time alone?

Nothing like a little alone time to be ready to take on the world.

artist found here.