From the land of make believe...

I was so excited to post this one! I love it, but I had to wait til the father received it as a gift! One of my lovely Etsy customers commissioned me to create this work of her daughter and husband doing what they love to do! Play hide and seek, prince caspian style!

This type of work is inspired by the beauty and rich imaginative play inspiration of storybook art, surrounding portraits of loved ones doing things they love to do, to preserve memories, and create unique works that will be meaningful to the recipient now and in the passing years.

Hope you like it!

COOOOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I LOVE THIS!!!!

So fun....SO HAPPY!!!! He was my childhood favorite on Sesame Street..I even had this record...

Go to this cool ETSY SHOP Apiecebydenise to see more!

I am not a web designer...

And it's truly taken its toll on my site! Yikes... I have been in a state just trying to get it up and running...

To get rid of my excruciating headache as a result of web woes, I went surfing for cool stuff....

I found these....think I will have to scrape up enough in my playmoney kitty for these.

We are doing away with paper towels and as a result are going through our cloth napkins faster than I can blink...Since my kitchen is red gingham, these are perfect....

Really cute napkins from 'tis sew cute...

Here's the site: www.tissewcute.etsy.com

No Government Shutdown

Breathing a sigh of relief for all the families that, had this played out differently, may not have been able to pay their rent. Or their mortgages. Or feed their kids. Or pay for insurance. Or pay the electric bill. Or the water bill. Or tuition.

I am grateful, but by no means happy that it had the potential to even come to that.

Scribble, scribble

From the sketchbook...

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad doesn't live here. He's in Cleveland, my hometown. I adore Boston, but home is where your heart is, so a big chunk of my heart is still in Cleveland with my dad.

Today, he was tickled because he got to sit and watch an entire day of the Discovery Channel's UFO marathon. It was blissful synchonicity. Someone up there was thinking of him, scheduling that awesomeness on his big day. Had I known earlier, I would have done all I could to plop myself in front of that TV to catch some of it, despite my obligations. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I love and miss you, Dad. Happy Birthday.

Making Myself Scarce!

My family and I decided last week to run away to Cape Cod to disappear from the world.

It was so serene. Windy and sandy, and embracing everything that is not Boston. Don't get me wrong. I adore my city. I am blessed to be in such a beautiful place, so rich with history, education...GOOD FOOD...But you need to escape to a different rhythm to reset your mindset.

We did just that.

I did everything I don't normally do. Like, sleep.
Nap.
Sleep.
Feel the tide pull the sand out from under my feet. Admire the seagulls on the beach rather than in a parking lot.
Stay quiet.
Be present.

I always have to be reminded that when we do all those quiet, rare things, funny synchronistic blessing start cropping up. Problems solve themselves. Things seem less dire. You feel more alive. You pause more and interrupt less. You pause, for nothing in particular other than because you know it is good to do. Your timing suddenly becomes right. I find it odd that while I know this rhythm is good for me. While I know it's healthy and right, I find it hard to maintain it on a daily basis without serious, mind-rattling effort. So I have to return here. This time it took me three days to settle in. Maybe next time it will take me two...

Anyhow, while I mostly lazed about, I did manage to pull out a pencil a couple times, and this is what I did...