abby try again

hello spring...

   Well, it's official. Spring has sprung (well-in my book anyway). No more winter for me-I don't care-I just will not have it. I have a case of the sniffles and stomach cramps which has allowed me to post my new "spring collection" in my etsy shop. I will of course, be previewing it here very shortly.
    In honor of spring I recently aquired some new clothes and have been daydreaming of short sleeves, sandals, and skirts. I am currently awaitng the launch of Bonnie Heart Clyde's new collection. I love her work and am lucky enough to own a shirt of my own! Maybe another soon...? Of  course, always the trendsetter, Mav at port2port has a great fashion post today.
Here is the shop---
    Okay-here they are-in all their glory...

find this one here

and this one here

this one here and here in lime green and brown

this one here

and last one here

the concert was a success....

*Yay Loch Berlin-you guys were awesome! Thanks for setting it all up, Jason.*
My husband's concert was so great. Fun, food, friends, family and music-so nice!
~today I contemplating wether or not I should apply to this. It might be a lot of fun.
Good Sunday to you all. Must. Nap. Now........

Inspiration...

Wow-I need to be posting more because I feel like each time I post I have one million things to write about and I end up forgetting everything I wanted to mention. Okay-trying not to do that today.
   First thing first:
   1. A big huge giant thank you to Natalie of Nebo Peklo for the glorious package I received. I bought one of her paintings and she sent along some nice goodies-look:

I am posting this on flickr with some notes if you are interested in the details...

Okay, you must check out her wonderful blog. I love her work for several reasons. First, she uses the most beautiful color combinations-each time I am surprised by the beauty of them all. Second, she uses the white space in her work to her advantage-my life feels so cluttered at times, I love to look at her work-it calms me. Third, I have never seen anything quite like her style, it is just really simple and stunning. Thanks so much Natalie!
   Tonight is James' Band's first show as "Loch Berlin". Playing in bands since the age of 11, James is used to this but this is still big news around here. I am so happy for James, I love that he is able to have a creative outlet here in Portland. Cross your fingers for him~let's hope all goes well.
    Since my trip home, I have been so inspired. It feels like everything I look at, hear, smell, and touch is so beautiful-so intriguing. I am reminded of a song I learned in primary  (primary=sunday school for Mormon kids)
   "There is beauty all around, when there's love at home
     there is joy in every sound, when there's love at home"
   Ok-that was so cheesey-but I really do feel this way right now!
   So next week I will be debuting new items in my etsy shop. Here are some things that are inspiring my work right now:

This article from the March Martha Stewart Living.  I didn't discover the amazing beauties of dahlias until I moved to Portland. I think they can't survive in the Visalia weather, but they thrive up here. Read this article and look at all of the great colors and shapes-so cool!

  Okay-next up-the art of Paul Klee:

I think I was 11 or twelve when I first saw his work at the SFMOMA-maybe older but I fell in love right away. I love the colors, the shapes, the personality of his work. I feel somewhat connected to this man. His life, too is interesting to me....

   And...another of my Mom's collections....

I love the colors, the Christmas trees and the strangeness of the dolls faces.

So here is a little stamping preview of some of what is to come-(you flickr friends have already seen this)

I hope to be doing a lot of new things this spring-stay tuned.....

make way for spring...

I've been spring cleaning this weekend; I'm clearing out old magazines (really hard for me), old clothes, useless knick knacks, endless piles of paper and-I need to get rid of my "stock". Yes, this is really just a big commercial for my etsy shop-I have several new additions to add, but I really need to get rid of the old stuff. So, this week only-free shipping on all items-and buy a set of cards and get a set of tags-free! Everything that is in the shop now-will be gone after next week-whether or not is sells. I am ready for spring and new ideas!

   I leave you with a few more images from my trip (I am sure you are sick of them by now-but hey-my blog, right)

  ...old beehives sit tucked away in an Exeter Junk Shop garden....

.........Mom's fruit bowl with the Valley ultimate cash crop. I loved growing up near orange groves...

....Mom's latest and coolest collection........

.....driving to Exeter, Ca from Vtown...............

...loving these colors........

...best tea ever! Ginger Peach...from Visalia Coffee Co-my second home....

...blossoms on Main street.....

trip home-part two-san clemente

   This trip was taken for several reasons. First, my father recently retired from the Edison company after 40 years of service, my parents recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, my sister, nephew, father, and brother all had a birthday, my aunt is very ill, and Portland's rain was getting to me. The trip to Disneyland was a gift from my father to all of his children, grandchildren, and their spouses. It was amazing to have the WHOLE family in one place. What great fun and everyone needed a break from reality.
   On Monday we were able to visit my younger sister and celebrate her birthday in her new hometown of San Clemente.

What a gorgeous town! Maci lives literally one block from one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
For her birthday my parents gave Mai some binoculars for her daily strolls on the beach. Here she is checking them out:

I loved seeing her beautiful home. She has so many gorgeous plants just thriving in the climate.Every day for the past month it has been 70-80 degrees-oh so jealous! This shot at her apartment reminds me of something you would see in Greece:

We also spotted these lovely flowering trees and are so curious to find out what they are---any ideas?

We ate breakfast at a cute little crepe place and realxed in the sun. Oh Maci-you are so lucky to live here!

..........................james and dad

.....the best espresso-with one raw sugar and after it's done, water with lemon-so good........

.....she always has the coolest shoes.........

....the pier felt so regal.....

.....i love that james wears sneakers and jeans to the coast.....

........under the pier was cool and had neat shells........

.......i love you maci-happy birthday!!!!!

trip home-part one-disneyland

the best lollipops in the world....

my mother had one made of each child from here..cheesey but oh so cool, too

couldn't resist photographing the mundane...

look pretty, but I honestly don't care for them....

best viewed at dusk, no?

things in rows are so much more appealing

james and mickey hanging out...

a million snowglobes look better than one...

the penny arcade...this was really a penny!

it was so much fun...more words soon

hello again...

     I'm back from California-and it was a crazy tour involving  family, friends. dining, beaches, Disneyland and even swimming! I need to mail some stuff to a couple of you (you know who you are), answer a million emails, makes cds of all the photos I took of the fam and of course-enjoy Valentine's Day with my husband. So I will get to all of that in the next few days and until then have a great and lovely holiday.

So

(above: country roads near my Visalia, Ca home-I love that color!)

So I've been thinking more and more about Lisa's challenge-to post about why we blog. I have to say that I've put this off for several reasons. Lately it feels as though my blog is morphing into this thing so far detached from my feelings and from myself that it will grow wings and take flight. Let me explain....
  I started this after realizing that I had free wifi (thank you personaltelco project) and some free time. New to Portland I found it hard to connect with people my age here. Maybe that is because I came here to get away from so much. I am young and married-so over the "party" scene-I feel like an old soul if that makes any sense. I missed my enormous family-my wonderfully talented mother and entertaining sisters and a blog was a way for me to let them now how I was doing up here and vice verse. Then something strange started to happen...
  What a great feeling it was to have random strangers posting messages of encouragement to me. I began to form "friendships" and learned so much through other blogs. This also feed my visual appetite-and who doesn't love being a voyeur into someone's artsy crafty life? But now I find myself censoring my posts. I don't want to offend any of my "readers" (how stupid is that) and I have begun to disappear from my online "journal".
  So here it is-my promise to myself to start once again using this as "my journal". If you want to read it-great-if not-that's OK, too. Because really, I blog because I need to write-to express myself-to put something out there.
****
So---
   It was sunny today, yesterday-too. I love it so much, I really am a true Aries. I have thought a lot  lately about how I am actually a woman now. This may sound ridiculous, but it is truly a breakthough for me. Growing up among so many sisters-I always felt like I was very out of place. I wanted to be  pretty, thinner, have longer hair, wear skirts...I felt like I had to be this role-the tomboyish young annoying sister. I know that this was all in my head-I blame no one for this-it is just how I felt for so many years. How nice it has been to be far away from my sisters and experiment with my identity without fear of being judged. Now-I really don't think that most of them even care-but I definitely had a scared little girl inside for some time. It is nice to embrace the feminine now. To be a wife, to feel my age, to want to smell nice and be soft-feels good. I look at James and wonder how I ended up here-and am glad.
   I am so inspired lately. Abigail Percy's jewelry is so beautiful-I really love her pearl rings. Of course you have all probably heard of Whip-Up-it is great, check it out. Every time I visit port2port I think that Mav can somehow magically turn everything into something beautiful...Natalie of Nebo Peklo is posting more and more beauty-check it out.I need to update my blog links soon...there are so many more...
  I have been sketching lately. It feels nice to do something private. I am singing again, too. By myself-when no one is around and it warms my heart. What a huge part of my life it used to be and its absence marked. I hope James and I will collaborate soon. He has a little recording studio in our room now. His band's first show is in a couple weeks. I am so excited and nervous for them. He' s done this a lot-but still-you know.
   I just finished up a huge order and a few small ones.  I have so many new ideas...it will all be turned around soon. Brighter, prettier, more me more spring more color....just wait and see...

ps-may you rest in peace Betty Friedan
Thank you for making things change, thank you for allowing me to live such a happy and fufilling life. Thank you for letting people know that women may choose to live any life they please. Thank you for voicing the concerns of many. Thank you for helping me become a better person......

Surprises are my favorite...

    I came home to this beautiful package yesterday. I was so happy-it totally made my day! Lisa D. from Colorado sent me some more of her amazing alpaca yarn, a magazine with an article about Denyse Schmidt, candies, a yummy crocheted pin, rosaries and other Catholic goodies! She is so sweet-Thank you so much Lisa! You totally made my week :)
   James and I are heading back to California on Thursday. My Dad's retirement celebration is being held at Disneyland next weekend and ALL the kids will be there. Not that my Dad will ever retire fully-he starts his other job in a couple weeks, but you know...We are very excited and I hope we can all get away and have some fun. These past few months haven't been exactly easy-I know my parents could sure use this break!
   I just finished a custom stationary order for a woman who works in radio. It was a lot of fun and I am really happy with the stamp design. I will post the final product soon.
   I am constantly knitting, here are a couple things that I am currently working on.
Remember this sweater from Anthropolgie's winter collection?

Well, I found a blogger who made up a similar pattern (Peony Knits) and here is my progress shot:

   Yeah, boring I know-hopefully I can post a finished shot soon. *Okay-I am trying to link to Peony and cannot-I can't even pull up her blog-so if you're interested please google her-there must be something wrong with my connection...*
   And here is another session of "name that lump" otherwise known as progress shot of my mini-sweater.

  You can find the pattern here.
  Now, I must do laundry, clean the kitchen, and start packing!