7:30 wake-up, shower

8:15 meditate *sigh* {my goal is to incorporate this  into my every day, but since it’s a new habit it’s taking a little longer to incorporate than I had hoped}

8:40 coffee time visiting with Sean and Riley {napping on his lap}. Had an amazing breakfast of eggs, fried potatoes and bacon {we hardly ever indulge in bacon so it was a treat ~ I would’ve taken a picture but it was eaten before I could}

11:30 check email, do some more travel research online, argue with Sean about what constitutes integrity

12:45 get ready to paint a big painting for my licensing company, which means I needed to set up the dining room table to paint on

1:00 work on painting and while color coats were drying I also felt inspired to work on a commission, and tweet about it and enjoy our very rainy day

5:00 call it a day on the work front, heat up a Trader Joe’s spinach pizza and watch a silly movie with Sean

8:30 read in bed for 30 minutes. goodnight. seriously the earliest I’ve gone to bed in months

....................................................................................................................................................................

Decided to give myself a blogging break yesterday so I’ve posted Friday and Saturday today. One more day to go and I’ll be back here tomorrow with that post, along with some other news. 

hope you all are having a lovely weekend xoxo

7:00 wake-up, enjoy my coffee while finishing up some thank you notes for my packages, watch Olympic highlights on the Today Show, some emailing, tweeting, print and pack one more order to ship out, then get ready for an acting audition, including printing out a headshot and resume

10:00 head out to the Post Office and my audition

10:20 return home because I forgot my wallet on my desk

10:30 back at Post Office to pay and mail more packages

10:40 head to my 10:45 scheduled audition

11:05 arrive late to my audition after being misled by my Iphone map

11:30 leave audition and head home

12:00 more emailing, return the call of an e-course student

12:30 creative time! work some more on designs I began yesterday

2:00 Sean and I record a final video for our "Together" e-course

2:15 format and add the new video to class, email a thank you to all the Together students "mwah!"

3:20 prepare blog post for today and tomorrow {yes, this chronicling of days is taking time, but I’m enjoying it so I’m going to take it all the way through to the end of a complete week}

5:00 nap

5:45 start dinner, a new favorite Coq Au Riesling from one of my most favorite Nigella Lawson cookbooks, Nigella Express. My first time purchasing and cooking oyster mushrooms and I have to say they were delicious in this recipe. 

7:00 watch Pan’s Labyrinth, eat dinner

9:00 watch women’s skiing and  Apolo Ohno race in the Winter Olympics

10:00 goodnight.

7:15 morning begins ~ shower and head straight to the computer

8:00 Open registration for e-course!! email new students, enjoy coffee

9:30 talk with my mom by phone, more emailing, and tweeting

11:30 time to be Creative. It was Creative Thursday after all. Worked on designing an entirely new print for the shop 

3:30 break to thank Sean for the beautiful tulips he brought home and snack on some Salt & Pepper Pistachios that he also brought to me as a gift {he’s a gem} ~ then back to creating

5:00 fulfillment ~ preparing orders for shipping

7:00 work on yesterday’s blog post while tweeting

8:00 have a glass of Cline Zinfandel ~ a favorite red wine in this house

10:00 another early night for us. I’ve been run down for a week so getting these longer nights of sleep has been a very nice, necessity

...............................................................................................................................

This was my first time making the mac & cheese above. I saw it on the Today Show and the ingredients are extremely loose. It’s very good and very light for mac & cheese, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Basically you’ve got the following ingredients in this order. Use your own judgement on quantities.  After making it once, mine needs some tweaking on quantities but I think I’ll definitely be making it again. Also, for those of us managing our time...ahem... a very quick dinner!

Macaroni noodles {I used small penne pasta this time, but I think macaroni would be best}

Boil  noodles, strain and add 1 raw egg to the hot noodles. This is like a carbonara effect.

Add parmesan cheese, quantity to your liking, and toss together

Spread plain Greek yogurt on a plate, quantity to your liking

Add noodles on top of yogurt, add a little salt and pepper if you like and ENJOY!

7:45 wake-up ~ the usual morning routine, emails, coffee, a little Today Show

10:00 talk to my health insurance agent

10:30 catch up by phone with a friend who lives in Colorado while I sit in my new favorite chair, wearing my favorite chocolate brown Ugg slippers. Do a load of clothes laundry. Make some tea and keep on talking

1:00 catch up on emails

3:30 review licensing contract

4:00 rest

5:30 work on email announcing the new session of "In the Fish Bowl: Life as an Artist Online"

6:00 blog post for yesterday

6:45 visit with another friend by phone while Sean makes dinner, and Riley the cat observes the dinner making ~ Taco Wednesday

7:45 dinner time, watch some Oprah, be totally annoyed, outraged and in awe to learn of the extent of the John Edwards scandal, and then some more Winter Olympics

10:00 another early night

This would be one of those more boring days for an outside observer, mostly because I can’t share my phone conversations with you here in the blog ~ but actually it was a nice easy and inspiring day. I spoke at length with my friend about teaching both online and in person and I left the conversation full of new ideas. This often happens when I talk with my friends. We inspire each other ~to new ideas and adventures.

6:30 wake-up and go straight to the computer. I felt particularly excited about life yesterday morning, couldn’t sleep and got up earlier than usual. Also started tweeting

7:20 feed the kitties {the photo above is how they look at us when they are not so patiently waiting for food}, take my morning shower

8:15 give Garbo a bath. Always an adventure, giving a cat a bath. Although today she was particularly calm. Calm enough for me to take pictures of her with the Iphone during the bath, have my morning coffee

9:30 leave to take Garbo to the Vet

11:00 leave the vet, stop for a chai latte and a croissant at the Coffee Bean, make some phone calls and head to Outi’s studio 

12:00 visit with Outi and paint a custom mug for a client

2:45 drive back home

3:20 visit with Sean’s brother Kerry and nephew Nicolas, while I give Garbo a second bath {because the visit to the vet stressed her out enough to pee in her cat carrier ~ poor girl}

3:30 visit with Sean and process some personal news I got that wasn’t the best. I add this in here because so often we have our day planned out and then life happens unexpectedly and this very thing can really throw you off sometimes. I feel that the more I sort this time/balance effort out the more I learn to leave space for the moments when you just have to give in and go with the flow. I also tried to take a little afternoon rest, but to no avail because my mind was spinning and I needed to post to the blog

5:30 work on yesterday’s blog post while also watching John Oliver’s Stand-Up special on Comedy Central

7:30 tweeting time

7:50 cook dinner ~ chicken and vegetable stir fry with brown rice. YUM! 

8:30 eat dinner and wind down for the day

10:00 go to sleep early

I know many of you are thinking of doing this for yourself and aside from the time it takes to keep track of your almost every minute, it is worth seeing just where the day goes and as I mentioned in the comments yesterday ~ if anything, it is a really good opportunity to get a more accurate idea about what you can actually accomplish on any given day. I find it helped me be way more realistic about my to do lists. So, if you feel like it, you can play along with me this week either  by sharing your day on your own blog, or keep it more personal. If you do share it on your blog, let me know. I’d love to come visit and see what your typical day is like. 

Here we go ~ welcome to my day! Photos, brought to you by the Iphone and are arranged in order of their appearance during the day.

7:12 Wake-up {morning light is my favorite}

7:12 - 10:10 what I like to call the present day morning routine give or take some of the activities: 

shower {A couple of years ago, I made a habit of taking a shower first thing in the morning, before I do anything else, as a way of always being "ready" for my day. And I do this even when I know I’m not leaving the house that day. As much as working from home allows you to work in pajamas, and the luxury of that is fun to do every once in a while~ I found that it doesn’t really work for me. It’s too important to me to feel together and ready for the day as it evolves.}

spend way too long choosing an outfit for the day

coffee

check emails, and answer some

emailed out a daily painting and posted it on the blog

move my car so Sean could head out to teach class ~ L.A. and it’s street parking. You don’t even want me to go there.

laundry ~ and by laundry I mean linen laundry,  Monday is usually our cleaning day, however this week in anticipation for creating some uninterrupted working time, I actually did some cleaning ahead of time on Sunday this week

10:10 ~ 10:55 Finished my cleaning duty for the day by cleaning the kitchen

10:55 ~ 11:15 Finish getting ready for my "artist’s date" with Christine and Swirly or as I like to call them the Christines

11:15 ~ 12:00 Drive to meet the Christines and get lost

12:00 ~ 3:30 Artist date visiting an amazing creative store called The French General, have lunch and coffee {once again}, sweet baby Henry was also there, walk along Sunset Blvd on the east side of L.A. in Silverlake and finally visit the store Reform School. Remind myself that even though I always have so much "work" to do. These kinds of meetings are also part of my "work", as they are vital for inspiration, perspective and new knowledge as a creative business owner and let’s not forget some of the best parts of life, quite frankly.

3:30 ~ 4:45 drive home, stop to photograph the Hollywood sign and tweet about it: something like "keep following your dreams people" also took a quick stop to pick up a cupcake treat for me and for Sean

4:45 ~ 5:15 visit with Sean and catch up on our day

5:15 ~ 5:45 cat nap

5:45 ~ 6:30 write and post this very blog experiment as well as sort through Iphone photos to share in this very blog post 

6:30 ~ 7:15 change into yoga clothes, drive to class and stop by the bank to make a deposit

7:15 catch my breath for a moment and take notes of the day for this very blog post :)

7:30 ~ 9:00 yoga class

9:00 ~ 9:20 visit with my yoga teacher and friend Leslie to talk about inspiring moments of the Winter Olympics and tell her about this very blog experiement ~ hi Leslie!

9:30 ~ 10:00 stop by Walgreens and drive home

10:00 ~ 12:00 time with Sean including watching the end of the Ice Dancing competition

Quick announcement ~ after repeated requests for another session of "In the Fish Bowl" ~ I’ve decided to lead a third round of this e-course beginning on Creative Thursday, March 4 2010.

Registration is opening this Thursday, February 25th @ 8 am PST.

Click here to learn more and register {on this Thursday} And I think this makes me official now: Testimonials!! :)

See you "In the Fish Bowl"

Inspired by my most recent, wonderful, group of e-course students~ A question I have been asked countless times:

"What does a typical day and/or week look like for you?"

Ok. So here’s what I’ve got planned for this week: I thought it might be fun if I just go ahead and answer this question right here on the blog for all of you, and also for me. 

Honestly, sometimes I wonder exactly where my days and weeks go. 

My thought is that I will post a short record of each day and it’s events the day after. So, for example today’s events Monday, February 22 will post here tomorrow and so on for the entire week unless 

a) we all get bored of this little activity sooner than that.

b) the recording of daily events begins to take up way too much time ;)

I have to say, I’ve put together a collection of images for you from today, and so far I’m enjoying this. Then again, today was an especially fun day ~ the rest of the week, might well be boring. Either way you’ll get to see how it goes down here at Creative Thursday ~ and hopefully it will inspire you a little, as well as give us both an honest look at how much of my time goes to creativity, versus business, versus personal time and so on...

I know I’ve often wondered and do wonder the very same thing about people out in the world whose work and lives I follow. What does their typical day really and truly look like?

So I hope you’ll enjoy this experiment on this last week of February!

3 x 3 in.

Well you should. You just should.

Can I just tell you how many Unicorns I drew as a little girl? A LOT. 

I honestly can’t believe it’s taken me this long to paint one as a daily painting. I don’t know... but I’m feeling a resurgence of the Unicorn?! It’s been about twenty years, so that sounds about right.

I have something completely different planned for the blog this week...be back in a bit to share more with you.

{click here to buy original}

Oh yes, I did ~ 

design my own fabric inspired by what I’m calling my "bunnies in bodysuits" series 

I’ve had this fabric for a week now, waiting to share this with you until I actually made something with it ~ but I’m just too darn excited.

This is my second ever fabric design and I’m in love.

One of my creative goals for 2010 is to explore pattern designing, because a} left over from my interior design days; my love for fabrics and b} I get so inspired by exceptional pattern designers out in the world like my friends Helen and Lizzy and Betz.  I’m still not entirely sure where this will lead, but as with everything I’m sure it will reveal itself.

wishing you a very happy Friday and weekend!! xoxo

It’s been fun having a little dog in the house again.

4 x 4 in.

Creative doorways are open and ideas are springing forth {literally}

And I for one, am going to run with it on this beautiful Tuesday....back to creating...

{click here to buy original}

3 x 3 in.

Well you should. You just should.

Am absolutely, 100% completely enamored with this fellow. I’m even imagining this as a super large painting?

{click here to buy original}

Today is the day for flowers {told you I’m sucker for flowers, especially given to me by my man} 

Today is also the day for cheese and chocolate fondue!

and LOVE, love, love, LOVE

I’m sending some to you {the "LOVE" and the virtual flowers that is, not the fondue ~ I don’t think it would travel well via the internets}

There’s this really fun blogging, what do we call this? "event" mashup going on that I believe may have been born out of tweeting? All I know is that I was on twitter when I saw Victoria begin to put this blog it forward together and speaking of inspired ~ I wanted to play! I said "I’m in"! Yesterday Hiriji {I didn’t realize our art was side by side in the Love book, we participated in last year ~ that’s a lovely coincidence} from the beautiful blog heartfish, kicked off our group and now today, I’m up ~  it’s my day to share with you "What inspires me".

As any artist knows this is a question you get asked often. In all the interviews I’ve done where I’ve had this question to answer "What inspires you?" my answer is almost always some form of  ~ what is around me every day. 

Inspiration is one of those "things" and by "things" I mean it’s conceptual. You can’t pin it down. You don’t know when and where it will strike but if you stay open, you’ll begin to see it everywhere. 

Since I work from home, and am well let’s just say~{aside from the recent onslaught of cultural adventures I’ve been sharing on twitter} I’m  home a lot ~and that’s where inspiration finds me. I will say that living in such a dynamic city such as Los Angeles with a wonderful creative circle of friends in driving distance {depending upon traffic ;)} also provides endless sources of inspiration should my immediate environment ever be tapped out. 

In all my blogging over the last few years, I don’t think I’ve ever written a post dedicated entirely to what inspires me. So here goes ~ a pictorial, a slice of my life and what’s inspiring me today, brought to you courtesy of you guessed it, something else that inspires me daily right now ~CameraBag on the Iphone.

1. my "Inspiration" file box

2. my sunburst yellow J.Crew cords accompanied brightly colored knee socks

3. the color yellow and my chest of drawers

4. black and white fabric on my newly re-upholstered vintage chair that I’m sitting in right now :)

5. I’m a sucker for fresh flowers

6. and gorgeous L.A. skies, especially at dusk

7. Sean and our morning chats over coffee 

8. the amazing, thoughtful {& I mean above and beyond thoughtful} creative people in my life, near and far like  like Maya

9. like Swirly, and her collection of chickens that I covet every time I visit her

10. like Lisa

11. cats who nap & cat naps

12. art supplies just waiting to be used

13. our garden

14. Anything Anthropologie and anything LOVE

15. Inspiring books especially about people who’ve broken through and realized their dreams

16. Art and creations, my own and those I collect from more wonderful friends like Heather, Outi and Amber

17. I’m also a sucker for all things "twinkly lights"

18. and well, if you follow this blog, then you already know how I feel about my Iphone

Tomorrow Sarah at Cursive Design will be taking it from here~ who I wish I could make a grand introduction too but I’ve only just "met" her  through this mashup ~ one of the best parts of "blog it forward" ~ the chance to meet new and inspiring bloggers!!!

sending some inspiration your way on this Creative Thursday! 

I painted today! Exploring with new characters and new color schemes. There are just a few tiny valentines left as I type this, and you can find them over at the shop.

an early happy Valentine wish to you!

What better way to return to JOY than with one of my all time, stands the test of time, favorite childhood cake recipes?

More thanks to you, for all the love you’ve shown me, not only on the previous post, but especially over the last month. Somewhere between loss and birthdays it is time again to jump into life and savor every minute of it, and that includes savoring cake! I’m writing to you on a beautiful Wednesday morning, especially excited because as soon as I hit the "publish" button on this post I am off to paint. So I will keep it brief and leave you with a recipe today? How’s that sound. I love to cook, actually, and have been meaning to start sharing some favorite recipes with you. I know I have found some great ones recently by searching online, and I’m ready to add mine into the mix. 

Without further adieu ~ Galliano cake. Also known as a Harvey Wallbanger Cake. Also known as my most requested birthday cake that I had just last week. These photos below are of my recipe card I have had since I was a child. I probably wrote this recipe down when I was about 7 or 8, and just learning cursive. Not a fan of too much sweet, I usually don’t make the glaze with this cake anymore. I find that sprinkling just a touch of powdered sugar directly on the cake after it has been baked, is PERFECT! And yes, this cake does have booze in it, as all good birthday cakes should.

Enjoy!!!

 
Also, also, also I’m very excited to play in the "blog it forward" blog mash-up that Victoria’s got going. I’m next in the line up and will be back tomorrow with my post about "What Inspires Me"{besides, cake that is} ~ see you then!

I’ve had the photo above sitting out on my desk over the last month, remembering Lulu and now I am also looking at it to remember Jackson. On the heels of a celebratory week, more tears. "Hands Up" I’ve had enough loss for one month.

My ex-husband, my friend,  Art said goodbye to Jackson today. 

When I was in college, I took a trip to New York with the University Art Department. Every year, two of the college art professors would take a group of art students on an in depth, personally guided tour of New York City and it’s art world. It was an amazing trip. It was also on that tour that I first became introduced to and fell in love with a Weimaraner. William Wegman was having a photography show at the Whitney featuring his Weimaraners. Little did I know, that I would soon share my life with one of these beautiful dogs.

Jackson was my first baby. Art and I met him for the first time at 6 weeks old. He was so tiny, so sweet and so, so soft. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing a Weimaraner, especially a puppy then you know  how soft they are,  literally like velvet.

Fourteen years Jackson spent with us. The first eight with Art and I together and the last six with Art, his wife Chi, and their two children. 

As with my recent post on our Lulu girl, how does one even begin to explain fourteen years with Jackson. 

Jackson saw Art and I, especially Art through so, so much. He came into my life as a bright, shiny light when my mom was sick with breast cancer. He would sit in the front passenger seat on my car rides down to visit with her on the weekend, his sweet puppy face staring back at me, letting me know everything was going to be alright. He brought smiles and laughter  to my mom and I, at a time when we needed it most.

The laughter was brought on by just a few things like, oh, he ate "articles of clothing" {and that’s all I’m going to say about that}, shredded down feathered pillows all over our living room, created garbage "art" repeatedly in our kitchen ~ oh yes he did. If you have had the pleasure of spending time with a Weimaraner, than you also know about their high spirit and boundless energy that translates into years of unforgettable shenanigans.

He saw us through a move a cross the country first to Colorado, then on to Los Angeles ~ never happier than on the days he could hike off-leash through the hills of Boulder.  An independent spirit, he was also happiest I think as the only dog in the family, but was gracious and sweet with Lulu when she joined us ~ even on the days when she tried to take his bed when he wasn’t looking, which was pretty much every day. After all she had been through in her early life, Jackson became Lulu’s guardian, her security blanket. She always felt safest when Jackson was there. And in a way, I have now come to realize that Lulu and Jackson were Art and I my security blankets.

They saw us through our divorce, Lulu coming with me and Jackson going with Art. Over the last six years, we have remained in each other’s lives, through the dogs, the last connection of our life spent together. And now that era has come to a close. We presently are and I hope will always be in each other’s lives but it will be going forward from the beginning of a new era.

 We find it interesting that they left within weeks of one another. It’s almost as if all the times we thought we were there for them, they were really there for us. And now, for whatever reason, after years of being by our sides, they had completed their mission, and it was ok for them both to go. 

I contemplated closing the comments on this post. I know many of you come here for joy ~ and it feels like lately my posts have been lopsided towards sadness ~ yet this is an art blog that also follows along in the journey of my life, and my life influences my art.  So closing the comments, would be like saying ~ nope not ok to feel all of this again ~ yet that is going against the very thing that Lulu’s passing taught me ~ that is that it’s ok to feel all of it, that in fact, feeling and embracing ALL of life is the fullest way to live. 

I also realized, especially in Lulu’s passing, how much grace and beauty there is in all the cycles of life. And sharing on this this blog of late has been especially helpful in allowing me to move through these cycles with more ease, and with more awareness to notice this gentle harmony in each and every moment of my life. 

And you know I find it fitting to remember Jackson in just this very way. He was a dog of little worry. He lived a life of ease. A happy go lucky little fellow, who lived for a good bowl{s} of food, he always seemed to go with the flow {unless you, and by you I mean Lulu crowded his space} In the times that he would come and sit by your side, his back leaning up against your leg, he seemed to always be saying that "everything is going to be alright".

So in honoring his spirit I will continue to stand by my belief that in life "everything is always going to be alright" As I close out this post, I realize that instead of closing out a celebratory week, I instead continue it. I will celebrate the lives of two beautiful dogs, and the wonderful era that they shared with me.

Oh my goodness!

Now I know why everyone loves that crazy facebook. After a morning of celebrating with Seanie, a phone call with my Mama ~ I just now logged into the online world to find my email and twitter spilling over with birthday wishes. I am feeling the love and all I want to say is THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A great day so far, I’ve put together a little collection of Iphone photos courtesy of the CameraBag which is still enthralling me every day.

And hey, it’s a Creative Thursday birthday, the very best kind!!!!!! 

have a beautiful day and thank you again for all the LOVE you are sending my way. I’m feeling very, very blessed and the more of these birthdays I have, the more I realize that feeling a profound appreciation for your life and the people {and cats ;)} in it is the best gift you can have. xoxoxo

1. flowers from Seanie

2. gifties! 

3. favorite eggs & fried potato breakfast made by Seanie

4. Galliano cake batter, my absolute favorite since I was little {it’s baking right now!} 

5. Garbo’s at the party. She always rolls around like this when she’s feeling happy, and watching her do this always makes me feel happy ~ a regular old HAPPY FEST!

 I’m adding some new vases, and clay characters  to the shop today @ 3pm PST.  Also, if you like the cover to the "I believe in Love" book, I decided to turn it into a 5 x 7 in size print, available through Valentine’s Day. You can find this little bunny in a body suit, right here. See you later at the shop this afternoon!

I’m starting to feel Valentine’s dayeee-ish over here? Meaning you’re likely to be seeing a lot of pink and red on the blog in the coming days. I’m a traditionalist what can I say? I love those colors this time of year. How about you? 

This is my outfit for the bloganista Flickr pool week 2. I call it "lunch with the Christine’s" because it’s what I wore to have a biz ladies lunch with Swirly and Christine last Monday, where we ate at Lemonade {highly, highly recommend to my L.A. friends} and had cupcakes {in my opinion, some of the best ever = red velvet also at Lemonade}

I wanted to share it with you because in it I am wearing my favorite pink sweater made by a company called Ecote´. I believe you can only find their clothing line at Urban Outfitters, but I want to tell you about them, because I simply love their clothes. The chartreuse yellow top I have on in the outfit is also by Ecote´ . The grey skirt - also from Urban’s and the black boots, which you should know have a very fancy, shiny gold lining inside are from Banana Republic 2008.

That’s all for now. I might be back later with a possible surprise for tomorrow ~ how’s that for vague?

I’m teaching again! 3 different classes this time. In June and September look for another "Daily Painting Class" that will focus on "developing a character", "A Book in Day" that I will be teaching with Swirly Pearl aka Christine Mason Miller, and just for the September session "Go Go Gocco", a Gocco Printing Class.

Also Sean is teaching this year too! He will be teaching "Improv for Everyone" in the September session. Highly, highly recommend this class. Then again I am totally biased, not just because he’s my man, but I’ve also taken 15 weeks of Improv class from him.

What can I say, other that it’s going to be FUN and INSPIRING and CREATIVE and did I say FUN?

About the photo above for a second. I chose this one, because it’s a favorite. It was taken at the end of the last class that Christine and I taught, during the September session on the last day of Squam, with Grace who I had the pleasure of having as a student in two of my classes. Something about it captures the best parts of teaching at Squam Art Workshops for me.

Truly, truly look forward to seeing you there! xoxo

{photo via Grace Moore}