hold on

I started playing with new colors this weekend and really fell in love with a new combination. Something different from my usual raspberry, green and aquamarine.

A recent conversation I had inspired this piece. While trying to diffuse another case of  household melodrama I commented that I sometimes feel like I'm up on a tightrope trying not to drop my cupcake.

The minute I said that I thought how fun it would be to actually paint it.

Of course just the idea of painting this averted any and all drama and now when I think I might start stressing out over something I close my eyes, take a deep breath and tell myself to hold on. So the next time you feel like you're up on that tightrope just hold on and don't drop your cupcake!

"Hold On" is available in my Etsy shop.

Thank you for sharing your favorite tv shows on my last post! It's great to see so many of you also addicted to Once Upon A Time. What do you suppose happened to Katherine?

what are you watching?

I have been watching way too much TV lately. It's not something I normally do a lot but we have actually been watching a couple of shows together as a family. Big change from how it used to be which was my son and I watching one thing and my husband either away in another room watching something else or just somewhere else all together. He's really trying hard now.

So last week we decided to check out Alcatraz and caught up on all the episodes. And we also decided to check out Grimm. Now we're addicted to both. Plus I've been watching Once Upon A Time since it started last October. I'm still trying to figure out which fairy tale character the mysterious writer is suppose to be.

Anyone else follow these shows? What are you watching out there? What cancelled show do you really miss? One of the episodes of Grimm had Jamie Ray Newman who was on Eastwick about a year ago. You know I really liked that show. It was an updated version of the movie (and book by John Updike) The Witches of Eastwick. But it was cancelled after about 12 or so episodes. I still keep hoping they would bring it back. Don't you hate it when you get hooked on a new show and it gets cancelled before it even has a chance to really develop? Drives me nuts sometimes.

That's it for a quickie post today. I hope you had a lovely Valentines day.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. Ricki Jill's comment made me think of guilty pleasure shows I like too. This season it's The Voice and I just discovered a show on Animal Planet called My Cat From Hell. It's like a kitty version of Dog Whisperer. Thank goodness I've never had a cat with problems like those!

strong hearts

I saw an interview with Jane Fonda a few weeks ago. She was talking about the many lessons she learned throughout her life and how she was able to get through some of the more painful parts. At age 74 she seems finally content to be living what she calls her 'third act' or the third half of her life.

She also said something that I will always remember and that was that you can be strongest in the areas where you are broken. The parts of your life that have been the most painful can also be the ones with the most important lessons. Lessons that can make those same places your strongest ones.

We all have areas in our lives that break in different ways but the trickiest one to heal is probably a broken heart. It can be little breaks or really big unbearable ones. I believe that each day you learn to appreciate the fact that you can choose to be stronger and wiser. You can choose to focus on the positive and you learn to have a different perspective which can keep you moving forward. I know it's always easier said than done. Some days it feels like you've taken two steps forward and four steps back. Life is funny that way isn't it? But you owe it to yourself to keep moving forward.

FORWARD is my word for this year.

This Valentines Day I want to honor all the strong hearts out there. Whether your heart is physically mending from illness or healing in an emotional way. My own heart is still mending but I'm also learning to be grateful that it's stronger than it has been in a long time. Sometimes I think it might even have wings.

I hope your heart is healthy and strong in every way.

I hope you can find sweet moments of bliss everyday.

Have a beautiful and magical Valentines Day.

sweets

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Anyone have a big Superbowl party? We are not huge football fans at my house. Soccer and hockey seems to be the preferred sport by the hubby so we spent most of the day out and about and got home to see the half time show and the second part of the game.

We decided to hit Costco thinking it might be pretty empty with everyone home getting ready to watch the game. Wrong. Everyone was at Costco! Maybe it was the extra tasty samples they were giving out.

I did see something that caught my eye and I wish I took a picture of it to share with you but it was so crowded that I decided to skip it. Anyway they had the most adorable package of mini frosted cupcakes. Has anyone else seen these? I think they were chocolate with pink frosting and I guess they're featuring them for Valentines Day. Sooo cute. All I could think of was how I would love to get them for myself next month for my birthday!

So now I have mini cupcakes on the brain. This is just a pic I found on the web since I don't have one of the ones from Costco. I also discovered a new gourmet cupcake shop that opened here in our downtown. There was one a few blocks away from me but they closed over a year ago and maybe that's a good thing. This new one is a few miles away so I would at least have to drive there. It's called Vanilla Bean and they feature yummy flavors like Death by Chocolate, Raspberry Beret and Chai Tea Latte. I'm still being good about eating healthy and working out so I think I deserve a sweet treat once in a while right?

How about a cupcake quiz? What kind of cupcake are you? I like to take these now and then and the last time I took one I think I was a chocolate fudge cupcake. Here's one I just took from Betty Crocker and this time I'm a peanut butter and jelly cupcake!

Take the cupcake quiz.

So what kind of cupcake are you?

Do you have a favorite flavor?

What would be your ultimate cupcake?

Just a bit of frosting or more frosting than cake?

I love vanilla, chocolate, lemon and mocha so my ultimate one might be a mix of all those flavors that's sinfully delicious but absolutely 0 calories. And that would include the mile high frosting too!

I'm enjoying having my muse back after being gone for far too long. I'm going to work on learning to let my art go this year so I have "Wondermoon" and "Follow Your Bliss" listed in my Etsy shop right now.

Have a simply sweet and delicious day.

pink stockings

Do you fly in your dreams? Have you ever dreamt about floating among the stars and the clouds and looking down at the little houses below?

I love flying dreams and when I have them everything seems to make sense.

Of course I can fly! I just have to remember to do this and this....

Sometimes I dream about flying on a broomstick.

Just push off with my heels and up I go!

I remember the feeling being so real and in that moment between dreaming and waking up I think I can remember the delicious secret to flying. "It's so easy" I would say to myself.

They say flying dreams, especially happy ones can mean you feel good about a situation in your life or that you were able to rise above a challenge. Or they can also mean you feel determined to reach a goal. I know there are lots of different ways to interpret flying dreams, each of them equally fascinating.

Whatever it is you dream about it's really important not to forget them. Sometimes stuff happens and we need to spend time on the ground to sort things out but you have to believe that you have the power to take flight. No matter how scary it might feel or how many times you get knocked down.

When you're ready to let go and follow your bliss make sure to put on your pinkest stockings and your yummiest prettiest skirt. It's always a good idea to be ready for all the fabulousness that's waiting for you out there!

Happy February. Have a beautiful week.