Something You're Listening To

I am a great lover of music, all kinds.  There are certain genres that I do listen to more than others, but since I was a little girl I have had my ear open to a variety of sounds.  This is something that I definitely owe to my parents.  They loved music too.  One of my favorite songs as a little girl and still has a dear spot in my heart is Ramsey Lewis and Earth, Wind, & Fire's "Sun Goddess." You can find that on my beloved iPod, along with several other artists, including but not limited to Santana, Louis Armstrong (as noted above in the photo), Cesaria Evora, Cee Lo Green, Michael Jackson, Jay Z, Adele, Ella Fitzgerald, Andre Bocelli, Amos Lee, Rolling Stones, Sade, Jill Scott, and so on.  I can get lost in music!

Money

So I think that everyone has the lovely money jar.... and I am no exception to the rule.  This classic is where I grab the kids lunch money in pinch, grab some change for the toll or donate.  One of the best things is saving all the change and depositing it in my kids savings account.  

Something You Ate

So lately I have put my "only in moderation" diet on hold and have indulged more often than I would like to admit.  The one thing I have kept up with is making sure that I hit the elliptical machine 5 to 6 days out of the week.  So my weight loss has been stagnant.  I have hit my goal weight earlier in the year, but thought I would challenge myself to lose an additional 10 pounds.  So after this weekend, I told myself that I would go back to my lifestyle change of eating smarter and not forgetting to treat myself on occasion. Today, I snacked on one of my favorite treats a Gala apple. So sweet and so refreshing.

Night

With tonight being the Oscars... wasn't sure if I'd remember to capture an image of the night sky.  But in all honesty, I am glad that I had a chance to post this.... My favorite piece of art is Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night." For an art project a few years back one of our assignments was to reproduce a Van Gogh.  It was actually a watercolor class and that was the trick to reproduce the depth of color and texture that was originally an oil painting.  I thought it was an ideal time to capture my favorite work of all time. It is on a smaller scale than the original by Van Gogh, but I am proud of what I was able to accomplish with it being a watercolor.  This is also a tribute to a great lady, my former art teacher Claire Weist whom taught me so much about watercolors and myself as an artist.  She is in the hospital and my spirit and wishes of a speedy recovery goes out to her at this time. 

Green

Green.... this is actually my favorite color.  I love all shades of it from the deepest emeralds, to bright limes and the yellow and blue hued versions.  To me it is a simple of earth and of life.  It is symbolic of nature.  When it came time to capture an image for this challenge, I decided to go with what nature herself offers best... the simplicity of a green leaf.  The leaf is often a backdrop with spring, summer and fall flora but without it as a this majestic backdrop, the colors of the blooms just wouldn't pop in the same way.  As simple as this leaf may be, the way a leaf actually gets it's green color is so scientific that only mother nature can produce the best formula.  With the close of this challenge drawing near, I am excited to welcome Spring next month and longing for beautiful green grasses and the green buds on trees and plants as they spring to life for the upcoming year.

Inside Your Bathroom Cabinet

Inside my bathroom cabinet? Hmmmm..... well that is definitely a private peek.  So what do you gather from it? To put it simple, I brush my teeth and wash my face, I believe in hygiene! I am actually a big believer in taking care of my skin.  I have several face products to keep my skin as healthy as possible.  Another key thing, I shop at Target (hence the Up and Up products) and use Neutrogena to cleanse my skin.  What you don't see is all of the Loreal Youth Code products, I do use their entire line and I totally love it.

Your Shoes

Probably every girls favorite, right? This particular pair are one of my go to shoes simply because they are flats and in a sparkly zebra print.  Who can beat that? And it always gets the famous DSW question... "Where did you get your shoes?" Well I can't lie, I owe these to Target.  How could I pass up spending just $15 on a stylish pair of flats that can go with any outfit? Keep them right next to my $200 boots and the like.  It was a cool find and an even better buy.

Where You Work

So where do I work? At home, I am blessed to be an artist working from home.  I do all of my editing and creating on my beloved laptop.  I also do all of my research looking for potential show opportunities to display and sell my work.  I also do all of my blogging and writing as well from home.  As a mom, it is great because I am there for my kids and have flexibility in my schedule so I can deliver artwork and the like whenever possible.

A Fave Photo Of You

There's nothing quite like have the best "bestie" around, and this photo is a favorite of mine (and actually her too).  This image was taken about three years ago, a point in our lives when we were feeling really good about ourselves. It isn't that we don't feel great about ourselves today, but we were in our ideal shape and the atmosphere was great because we are at our college reunion.  It was great time.  Last year she got married and we both had vowed to get to that weight and look just like we did in the picture, and we were pretty successful.  Today we do feel as great as the image and probably a little better.  I personally believe that is because the older you get, the more confident you become in yourself and your abilities (would never want to revisit my twenties at all).  So like a fine wine, we are truly getting better with age.  But love to look at this picture to remind myself to always be as confident as the girl looking back at me in that picture.  

Handwriting

Handwriting is truly a lost art form... I love getting mail that is actually personal, a handwritten note from someone you love.  My daughter's school is actually considering removing penmanship from the list of courses.  I am shocked, are we truly at the point in our history that everything is typewritten? I hope not.  So when you get a chance leave a little note in your own words and own hand for someone you love or care about.

Something You Hate To Do

There's a longer list of things that I hate to do, but there is one that I have to do several times a day, every day and that is washing the dishes.  There is not another task that ages and dries my hands out more than this task.  Also since I have an older home and a very small kitchen, I am not one of the lucky ones that are blessed with a Dishwasher.  I am the household appliance, that is the dishwasher.  New house... will definitely have the new appliance.  However, until then.... this is "something I hate to do."

Drink

Drink.... the ideal drink for me is a glass of water.  It's nature's perfect beverage.  Love it dearly.  Most of my friends know me for truly loving a nice cup of coffee, but I indulge in multiple glasses of water every day in comparison to my daily, single cup of coffee.  So love the crisp, refreshing taste and feel of a glass of water.  Delicious.

Time

Time.... something we either have too little or too much of.  It never seems to fit the day.  For me, it was never enough hours in the day.  The image above is a long exposure shot that allowed me to repeat the time of 7:34 throughout the image.  I thought it was also a cool feature that 3 plus 4 does truly equal 7.  So there is a lot of harmony in that, eh?

Something New

Something new.... well I haven't actually went out and purchased anything for myself lately outside of my antique market find, which I already posted about.  However, my sister did give me this beautiful hand blown glass pumpkin for Christmas.  I just love it.  I am a collector of colored glass and this fits perfectly in my collection.  What I love so much about this piece is the glass curl that cascades down the side of the pumpkin.  Just exquisite.  A stunning piece.

Phone

Well what can I possibly say about today's challenge?  The phone.  Some may question what would we do without them and others may yearn for the simplicity of the times before.  I probably fall somewhere in between.  I love my phone, it is simply my go to device in front my iPad and iPod (will be getting the iPhone soon) because everything is there.  I can google when I want, make a phone call and set up my calendar.  I can ring out someone purchase of one of my fine art prints.... it is simply the best thing around.  But there are days when I look back at simpler times and wish that I was not so connected.  Be able to get off the grid so to speak.  But I can choose that option by simply pressing the power button, eh?

Heart

So today's subject falls totally in line with the day.... "heart." So typical since it is Valentine's Day.  For some of you, this is a day that you agonize and other you over anticipate.  The truth of the matter is that you should show and give love every day.  You should not need a special day to remind someone that you do.  They should wake up every day feeling it.  However, the occasional surprise or gesture of "just because" can be quite special and heart warming.  As a mother, the best valentine that I can receive are the ones straight from the heart of my children.  Above is an example of that love... a beautifully decorated heart from my son.  I will say, hand made wins hands down all the time.  When you take the time to make something special for someone special, it melts your heart and gets bonus points all the time.

Blue

I thought the theme for today was quite ironic.  The subject "blue" the day before Valentine's Day.  I guess that is the mood of some the day before the national day of love.  I will admit that I was once one of those ladies hoping that the special person in my life would remember to give me a Valentine or my mood would have been quite blue.  My blue subject matter is one of my favorite acquisitions a lovely blue bottle that I got from a rummage sale.  Probably not worth a thing, but I just love blue glass and the ornate glass struck a cord with me and I added it to my collection of miscellaneous finds that you can see throughout my home.

Inside Your Closet

I am not the type of girl who has this gorgeous walk-in closet, my home was built into the 1940's and it is tiny.  It is a hodge-podge of colors (mostly black) and styles.  I tend to gravitate towards, bright bold classic colors, gray or black.  But my closet is jam packed and tight.  And there is where I am a typical girl.... I have a bunch of clothes (all are not housed in this location).

Makes You Happy

I am truly a typical girl.... one of the things that "makes me happy" is indeed a new purse.  This one is not so new, a birthday present from a few months back.  But I love getting a new purse.  What is it about purses and shoes that women love so much? It is simple, you never have to worry about trying to fit into one.  The size you choose is always a perfect fit.  Whether it fits your personality, mood for the day, an event, or activity.... you will never hold your breath trying it on (you may hold your breath when you swipe your credit card purchasing your new purse, but that's a different story).

Self Portrait

So today's theme was "Self-Portrait" and of course, I don't feel that well.  If you are a parent and your kids will always bring home a cold in addition to homework and good grades.  With this in mind, I decided to have a little fun with my self portrait.... call it the Andy Warhol effect. Just a touch of colors here and there.  Gave myself pink lips, purple eyes, with heart shapes for pupils.  Anyway the bigger point is, when life gives you lemons make lemonade or an Andy Warhol inspired piece.

Front Door

The Front Door... the welcome to my home, the hello before you enter.  Whenever I drive around a neighborhood that I am not that familiar with, this is the one feature that I notice.  The front door makes a statement on a home.  It can say, hello look at me or it can say that you don't really care.  But no matter how ornate or plain, the one thing your door tells you is "home."

Sun

Do you see it? The sun? It's there, peeking behind the clouds.  Was a pretty cloudy day today, had a dusting of snow, but the rays tried to peak through and did my best to capture it.  I do think the contrast of the trees with the blue and white of the sky came out pretty great.

Button

So today's photo of the day is a "button." And I couldn't figure any button better than the one on my iPad.  It is such an awesome creation.... and many thanks and kudos to Steve Jobs and the brilliant staff at Apple.  This one little button opens the door to a beautiful device and all that it beholds.  I use mine for reading and displaying my fine art photography, but you can use it for work, education, gaming, medicine, and so on. 

Dinner

Today's subject is "dinner." Totally forgot until I looked at my plate, but when I thought about it, this makes a statement as well.... that dinner was DELICIOUS! These chicken bones are leftovers from yesterday's Super Bowl dinner.  I made a boat load of Buffalo Wings, Buffalo Shrimp, salad and baked potatoes.  Very yummy indeed. The best complement you can give any chef is a clean plate, so here you go!

10 am

This is normally what my 10 am looks like.... a nice steamy cup of coffee.  I recently welcomed back coffee into my life after a hiatus (forced, actually because of an ulcer) and I am a happy girl.  There is just something special about the warm, steamy goodness of that morning cup that just starts the day. So it became the ideal for my snapshot of 10 am. Enjoy!

Antiquing.....

So, today a had my girls day out.  An enjoyable brunch followed up with rummaging through the Randolph Street Market and looking at all of the pieces that people brought to sell.  As an artist I was hoping to see someone in the art arena and was lucky to see a couple.  They had some difficulty in getting sales, because the true theme of this flea market was the antiques.  There was lots of neat items and tons of jewelry.  My friends and I did not leave empty handed.  An antique camera for Yvette, a vintage Gucci purse for Selika and a beautiful colored glass apothecary jar for me (in my favorite color ... green).  I also purchased a depiction of my alma mater from one of the artists.

The most exciting is getting shots of some cool artifacts and future pieces.  I loved all of the old and collectible housewares, was definitely a fav of mine.  My best shots are below.



A view from the balcony...



Shoppers bargaining and purchasing...



Some of the selection of antique housewares...



Beautiful glass wares...

Books and jewelry... pretty cheap too...

Antique knobs for water spigots...

Antique numbers...

So all in all, a pretty good day spent with pretty great people.  Look forward to working further on some of the images here and coming up with some great pieces.

A Stranger

Initially when I saw this category it was kind of intimidating, but then when I saw the date I knew that I would be out and about.  So it worked out.  Today I went antiquing with a couple of friends, and there were plenty of strangers around.  The focus of the picture is actually the young lady in the background, but the story of the couple in the foreground was so cute that I had to include them.  While I was walking around snapping some shots, I overheard their conversation with a customer and the topic was marriage.  They have been married for 45 or 46 years, neither could remember.  They just knew that they'd never be apart.  How amazing.

Hands

The subject matter today is hands, and whom better to shoot than my daughter who was diligently working on her homework.  She proudly posed her hands so I could use them as my muse for the challenge. Couldn't get any better than knowing that I had a "hand" in creating my children and how proud they make me!

Words

Today's subject matter was "Words." And how wonderful of my husband to bring home a couple of bags of Garrett's Famous Popcorn (so good Oprah recommends it). If you are a Chicagoan, or have visited before, then you are very familiar with the wonderful treat the mixed bag of popcorn can be.  You can't help but eat it.  If you are not from the Chicago area and are ever in town, it is a must on your to do list (right after enjoying Chicago style deep dish pizza).

Your View Today

Here's my view today, shot from home.  I am blessed to live next to a forest (sometimes it can be a curse, i.e. deer eating beautiful summer flowers that you planted), but being in a "tree" city nature is all around you.  Snapped this shot just as the sun is setting on another wonderful day. 

February 2012 ... JUST DO IT!

A fellow friend posted this on Facebook and I thought what the heck! Another daily challenge, yes I know I did not finish the last challenge that came my way, but this one is easier and my schedule is pretty open this month.  So I will give it a whirl.