Autumn into Winter

I still have pumpkins by my front door and an autumn garland hanging in my window. Almost all the leaves have fallen from our trees but mine is the only house on our street that's still missing Christmas lights and bouncy snowmen dancing on the lawn.

 

Hello winter. Many years ago I loved winter just as much as autumn. I loved the deep evergreens, dark crimson and winter white hues kissed with glittery silver and gold. I loved this season so much that my wedding was in December, in a small candlelit church lined with trees draped with tiny white fairy lights.

 

Image source here.

 

The Winter Moon

Its the sweet sultry taste of winter on my lips,
the shadow of the pale moonlight on my eyes,
and behind the thin drapes of midnight clouds,
amidst the stars shining bright and clear,
smiles the radiance of the winter moon.
If I had seen heaven,
I would admit I had seen it,
hiding shyly behind the curtains of the night,
the winter moon at zenith, smiles down at me.
Its this breeze blowing gently,
mixing the scent of the winter with the moon,
and I stay awake,
my heart filled to the brim with love,
appreciating the splendour of the winter moon!

 

Amatulla Mohammadi

 

Winter makes me want to curl up and shut the rest of the world out. Where I try to squeeze every bit of magic out of autumn I find I often walk through winter in a fuzzy haze. Although winter holds it's own kind of magic there is an underlying unease about it that I find bittersweet.

 

Image source here.

 

My natural instinct is to hibernate and turn inward. My senses get overloaded and it seems to get worse each year....with each birthday :)

 

So before I can no longer avoid the holiday frenzy and madness I'm going to enjoy the very last traces of Autumn 2012. I'm leaving the leaves on my lawn, I don't care how many times my neighbor comes out with his leaf blower and blows them back over to me.

 

I've had my nose in a book the last couple of weeks. I just reread Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches and I'm about to start book two of her trilogy, Shadow of Night. I read that a movie might possibly be in the works and I'm hoping they do it right. Now all I need is that cozy witch's cottage, a mug of hot cocoa with tons of whipped cream of course and just a dusting of snow on my pumpkins under a bewitching winter moon.

 

Cottage from movie The Holiday

 

I hope you're having a lovely week whether you've already embraced winter's bliss or still hanging on to autumn just a little bit longer.

 

Happy December

  

 

pleasant surprises

The moment when you catch yourself doing things completely different from the way you used to is always a surprise. Even when the change is deliberate. It can still sneak up on you and catch you off guard and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact it's a very good thing.

Summer break used to mean sleeping in until half the morning was nearly gone. Staying up until the wee hours of the dawn was always more natural for me. It was my time to play and dream. I relished the quite of the night, the escape from the summer sun and the dread of facing the painful reality that my marriage was not the fairytale it used to be.

Apparently my fairytale was to have more twists and turns than I expected and now I find myself in a curious place where happily ever after might be within my reach as long as I'm willing to stay on this crazy ride. I can't deny that it's both thrilling and stomach turning.

The biggest surprise is that I keep getting back on.

I started getting up early with my husband so we could spend time together before he went off to work. Sometimes we even go for a walk or a run. Until recently I would end up just doing chores or getting ready to do errands after he left. I still didn't have the desire to dabble in anything creative, both in my studio or in blogland. Putting energy into my relationship left my creative well nearly empty and I was too tired to care.

Then something started to happen in those early morning hours alone. Although the urge to create wasn't hitting me just yet I found I was starting to enjoy just being around my stuff. Touching bottles of paint, rearranging supplies, wiping dust off my brushes. It was a start.

Enough that I was able to push myself to come up with the shoe challenge and with that I found my way back to blogging again. I realized this is the most I've blogged in a long while and I'm actually enjoying it.

Another pleasant surprise.

A few days ago I came across a little treasure at the library. While looking for books to add to my summer reading list one caught my eye as I was on my way out the door. The minute I saw the cover and title I knew I had to pick it up. The description sounded magical and the first page got me hooked instantly. I knew I had to share it with a kindred spirit.

The Night Circus came out last fall, nearly the exact same moment my world blew up. Maybe that's the reason I haven't heard about it because there's no way I would have missed it under nornal circumstances. Perhaps you have read it too.

I'm still working my way through the book as I'm also reading a few other ones at the same time but I'm just loving it. I think anyone that loves beautiful visuals would be inspired by this tale and that's why I hope many of you will read it too. Because this fall I have my own surprise for you.

I've been cautiously avoiding thoughts of fall because I wasn't ready to deal with reminders that the last one was not so pleasant. It killed me because fall is my favorite time of the year. The thought that I could enjoy it somehow by looking forward to something different was yet another surprise. This one came with the help of that same kindred spirit.

That makes three amazing surprises.

I'm going to trust that my muse will stay a little longer this time and hope she might sprinkle me with more than a handful of glittery fairy magic again. The kind that whispers of a mysterious night circus, thrilling illusions and visions of black and white. Stay tuned.

awwww....

How adorable is this? Olympic Figure Skating Champion Kristi Yamaguchi is currently making the rounds to promote her new childrens book.

From Kristi Yamaguchi's website:

Poppy the Pig has big dreams—lots of them!

But following her dreams isn’t always easy, and whenever Poppy thinks it might be time to give up, her family reminds her to "Dream Big!" While on a "pig's day out," she has so much fun ice skating that she doesn't even notice those around her who think pigs can't skate…and without even knowing it, she achieves her dream while doing something she loves!

In this funny and inspiring tale that's perfect for a family read-aloud, Poppy realizes she can succeed at anything as long as she believes in herself and has fun doing it!

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Dream Big Little Pig will go to support the Always Dream Foundation and its early childhood literacy initiative.

what to post?

Well it seems that I'm at a loss for something interesting to post. I've been busy taking care of house stuff that needs taking care of. In between the repairs and sorting and filing I catch occasional whispers in the distance. A whistful voice. Calling.

It's my little bloggy....Come and post something new it says. But nothing seems to come to me. Inspiration hovers close by but just far enough beyond my reach.
I think I'm stuck.

I've been escaping in books lately and maybe that's it. My brain is on a book binge. A dear friend recently recommended Water For Elephants and I absolutely loved it. Had no clue it was made into a movie coming out next month! Now I can't wait to see it. The trailers look amazing.

I'm also reading Bel Ami, the classic by Guy de Maupassant. And yes I know Robert Pattinson is in the film version too. That's how I came across the book. There's no release date for the movie yet although it seems to be done. I have to admit Robert Pattinson looks perfect for the part!

Another movie I'd love to see is Jane Eyre. This newest version stars Mia Wasikowska (Alice from Alice in Wonderland). It looks beautiful, dark and haunting, just how I remember the book.

And just so I don't get too dark and serious I picked up and started reading Larceny and Lace at the used book store this weekend. I confess I have a fondness for chick lit. Especially one with a paranormal/witchy/vintage/mystery twist. Pure fluff but oh so fun.

Don't forget there are more adorable embellished bags to see. Click on the March Artful Bags link on the top of the right sidebar. And if you haven't tried the Artful Bag Challenge yet there's lots of time left to play this month. I'll be back with more art soon...I hope.

Hope you're having a great week so far.

surprise....a midweek giveaway

So there I was last night. Rummaging around my studio. Organizing this and that...I've been in an organizing sort of a mood lately. Have you? I think we all tend to do that in January, that's why all the shops bring out the organizing stuff right after Christmas.

And I can never just sort and file, especially when it comes to books and magazines. I'll stop and look through old issues. Read favorite articles and discover ones I missed the first, second and third time around.

I only discovered Where Women Create two years ago (I know...where have I been?) It was this very magazine that opened up a whole new world of living an artful life for me. It inspired me to set up my very own place for creating. One that would proudly say I am creative, love art and this is what I'm all about. It literally changed my life.

Most of you probably know that all of the Stampington magazines are pricey. Almost all are $14.99 so I only get them from JoAnns when I have a coupon for at least 40% off. They are my one splurge because I will go through them over and over and over again.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I somehow  purchased two copies of the 2010 May/June/July issue! And it's taken me this long to realize it. Oh what state my poor brain must have been in to have done that...

So anywhoo, I thought I would share the extra copy with one of you. I am rather obsessive about my magazines so it is in excellent condition. And if you would like a chance to win it just leave a comment and tell me where you like to create. Do you have an entire studio room, dinning room corner, bedroom, dinning table, hutch, roll away cart? Anything and anywhere...I'd love to hear! My studio is our tiny dinning room. You can see it here if you like but it's changed a bit since I did the post for
Where Bloggers Create back in June.

I'll leave this post up for a few days and pick a random winner Saturday night. There are wonderful and inspiring spaces in this issue as always and if you happened to miss it or have never checked out WWC here's your chance to get one for free!

Now if you haven't checked on the January Artful Bags  in a while, I urge you to go and see (button is on the top right sidebar). There are some really beautiful paper purses being posted....And I'm still working on the art/tech project with my brother (7 down and 3 more to go), but found that it works better if I take a break and work on my own stuff too. I am also getting ready to celebrate my one year blog anniversary on the 22nd and I have a little something planned for that as well.

Hope you are all enjoying the middle of your week!



dreaming of white and a monday treat

Happy Monday everyone, or what's left of it (it's almost 2pm here in my Tomato Land). I finally had a chance to sit down and read my new copy of the September Romantic Homes. It's such a wonderful treat.

This issue is filled with rooms done in an elegant white palette.

I love color and touches of rich dark wood. But whenever I see an all white room like this, filled with vintage treasures and just a pop of color here and there, I start entertaining thoughts of redoing a room in white.

I love all the details here. The carved chair, princess dresser, the vintage chandelier lamp and my favorite, the tall narrow plantation shutters in the back.

I also love the faded shabbiness of this old hutch. I'd love to have this in my creative space to fill with paint and ribbons of all shades. It's lovely to dream. Then I realize that an all white room/house could never work for me. Maybe it's the thought of having to do extra cleaning that scares me!

I love to move our stuff around and redecorate for the different seasons. I finally decided that I don't have a specific style but a mish mash of different ones. I mainly like to decorate around stuff I love that mean alot to me. We have lots of well loved hand me downs, stuff I pick up at antique and thrift shops and fun themed stuff depending on what I'm currently inspired by. When the 2nd Harry Potter movie came out my son and I absolutely fell in love with the Weasley's house, the Burrow. So my kitchen and dinning room had a very cozy higgledy-piggledy English cottage look, complete with faux painted brick walls and a scattering of owls.

Right now I already have a few touches of Fall out, even a few Halloween crows because I just can't wait anymore. Do you have a particular decorating style? I think I would call mine 'early casual bohemian vintage artsy whimsical cat'! Oh and guess what? I just happen to have 2 of this issue of Romantic Homes and if you tell me what you call your decorating style in a comment I'll do a random number thingy in a few days and send one out to you!

Wait....I almost forgot. I was inspired by another blogger who would add something she was grateful for at the end of each post. I love the idea. So today I'm grateful for:

A lazy summer afternoon eating over ripe plums with my son.

♥

surprise sunflowers and a summer breeze

Sometimes I feel like I live in a different time zone in the summer. My son and I sleep in so we always end up staying up much later. Meals are later too. While I was doing the dishes after a late Sunday dinner I looked out the window and saw these over the fence popping out of my neighbor's yard.

I think I actually squealed. I dried my hands, grabbed my camera and took a quick pic. Sorry it's a bit blurry but I had to use the zoom and I was already standing on my tippy toes. Sunflowers! It look like these were over 10 feet tall! That's their patio umbrella on the right.I never knew these delightful things were growing in my neighborhood! I can't believe I never noticed them before.

Then I noticed something that hadn't been around in a while. It was cool and refreshing. Crisp with a hint of the scent of over dried grass. So welcome after another 100 degree day. It teased me a little and if I close my eyes I can pretend Fall is just around the corner.

The Delta breeze. A cool wind that sweeps in from the American River about a 1/2 mile from my house. Sacramento is known for very hot summers. We get consecutive 100+ temps that doesn't let up for over 2 weeks sometimes. But this year is unusually cooler. It actually cools down in the evening and tonight we got an extra special treat with the lovely Delta breeze. I love to listen to all my windchimes when they catch a good gust here and there. My poor mini Japanese maple tree isn't too happy about the heat either and I think I almost heard a sigh when the breeze rolled in.

LaLou, our neighbor's kitty always comes running when she hears me out here. She's such a sweetheart though she doesn't care much for my Luna. LaLou holds a special place in my heart because she was the one who helped me through my sadness after I lost my sweet Kushka last December. We got Luna a little later. I always wished I could keep LaLou but she has her own human next door and she practically lives in my yard anyway. BTW, her real name is Buddy. I call her LaLou because when she meows it sounds like 'laaalooo'!

It's too nice out here to go back into the house so I visit my little garden in front. I planted this rosemary when we moved here 10 years ago. It's by my 'garden gate' so to speak. I don't really have a gate but it's at the end of the walkway going up to my front door. I was thinking of the line from the movie Practical Magic,  'keep rosemary by your garden gate', when I planted it. It was a tiny little thing. One of those little pots you could get for $2 at Rite Aid. Now it's huge and when I brush up against it I dream of pumpkins and cider, Halloween and Renaissance Faires.

I also have Lambs Ear spreading everywhere. My son and I planted it together when he was around 5. He loves the soft fuzzy texture and every now and then I still catch him playing with the  leaves. I used to find them in his pockets when he was younger whenever I did the laundry which always made me smile.

I have a project waiting on my table so I let the Delta breeze cool me one more time and then back in I go to finish those silly dishes! Maybe Mr. Petunia might surprise me and finish them instead! :)

I found all of these great books at the library last week. I love libraries, don't you? The ones where my mom lives are better than ours and I found all these during my visit. Now I'm inspired to try all sorts of new things. I just decided to try an altered book project for the first time.

I had this old hardcover book and I started gluing a few pages together a few nights ago.

Here's one of the pages I finished which was inspired by an altered book from the Artful Storybook. I also joined a Journaling in July challenge so I'll post the rest of it this week when I'm done.

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I hope you're enjoying lovely summer evenings where you are. How hot does it get in your neck of the woods? Are you a Summer person or do you count down the days to Autumn like I do?

I'm hoping to get up early tomorrow to catch the first batch of apricots at the farmer's market! They've been super sweet this season. Maybe summer's not so bad after all.

magnolia pearl

The current issue of Romantic Homes has a feature on one of my favorite companies. Magnolia Pearl. I've been following them for a few years. Since I first saw an article about them in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion (around '04 I think). If you love vintage lace, tapestries, velvet and rich embellishments Magnolia Pearl has plenty of it. They also have a decorating book out, A Bit of Velvet and a Dash of Lace with lots of excellent photos of their clothing and home decor designs.

Romantic Homes is featuring the custom Airstream trailer owners Robin and John take to their annual antique show. They've completely outfitted it to reflect their very unique style and to me it looks like a modern gypsy wagon. Complete with handmade bed, chandelier and clawfoot bathtub. I did a post a few months ago on Les Verdines, the gypsy wagons by French designer Jeanne Bayol, and how I dream of having my own one day.

Since I also love Airstreams I couldn't help but drool over this one. You can see more at Magnolia Pearl.

Of course you gotta have the matching Rolls Royce to tow it with!

victoria & practical magic

There's a new Victoria Magazine blog party launching this week and although I decided to opt out for now I thought I would share my most favorite issue. I started getting Victoria the first year it launched so I have a huge collection since I kept every single one of them. It's a lovely romantic and nostalgic magazine and although my style has changed a bit since then I still find lots of inspiration from it. I'm glad they brought it back and I still pick up an issue now and then.

I like to keep my magazines nice and neat so almost all my copies look fairly new except for one. I carried it around so much that I eventually had to order an extra copy. That was the October 1998 issue and it was the month the movie Practical Magic came out. Victoria did a story on the house that was created for the movie. By the time I went to see the film I was absolutely in love with the house.

I know I'm not alone because I've seen entire websites and blogs dedicated to the Owens family Victorian mansion. It looked like a wedding cake and the interior was decorated in a very Pottery Barn / Shabby Chic sort of style. This was new back then since films about witches usually had them living in dark and dusty old houses.

The production designer Robin Standeffer still used dark woods but paired it with golden tones, sage and lots of creamy whites. I loved everything about it and for years this was the same palette I used in my house. I tend to get obsessive about  films that inspire me so I actually went and decorated my house in the same style. Even today I have lots of touches from that time because I love that film.

The movie itself never got rave reviews. It's much different from the book it was based on (which I loved as well) but because of all the visuals (house, garden, Sally's shop and the Aunt's fabulous vintage costumes) this is up there with my all time favorites. Twice a year I get into the mood to watch it. October, for my Halloween mood, and Spring, because most of the the film was set in Spring. There's a part in the film when Aidan Quinn's character mentions the date March 8. He used it because it happened to be his real birthday. Well it's also mine! So I always get a kick when I hear it.

The kitchen was my favorite room. It had creamy white paint and tiles, an enormous Aga stove and that long farmhouse table where they danced around during the tequila lime in the coconut scene. This kitchen is the reason I have so much white dishes and pottery and started collecting bell jars! I still love it and one of these days I'd love to live in an old Victorian with an attic at the very top where I can have my own studio and paint, collage and craft the night away. And maybe sip a midnight margarita or two!

There's a nice post here about this kitchen as well as the production designer, Robin Standeffer.

Update: I can't believe I didn't mention the soundtrack (thanks Angie)! It's my absolute favorite and I have 3 copies as well! I have the original one that came out right before the movie release and the second one because they eventually made changes to the final score. I still love to listen to it in my car. As soon as I hear that opening guitar on 'If You Ever Did Believe' I can picture that big Victorian house in a heartbeat!

finding a creative habit

It feels like I haven't posted in ages. The last 4 posts were either weekly challenges or my latest project so I feel like I haven't really written anything. I have been busy with family stuff but I've also been creating. I try to sneak in at least an hour of creative time each day. I either edit my Mad Tea Party photos, work on another collage or make items for a future surprise.

Which brings me to a book I picked up at the library today while waiting for my car to get an oil change.

A few weeks ago Miel from Miel et Lait recommended the book The Creative Habit by the great dancer Twyla Tharp. Thanks Miel! I started reading the first few pages and already I'm truly inspired. Although Twyla's background is obviously in the world of dance her philosophy can be applied to anyone searching for creative expression.

Twyla suggests that finding that well of creativity comes from developing rituals and routines. Daily repetition that signals your brain to enter into that creative zone. In her case it's a daily cab ride to her gym. It's not the workout at the gym but the cab ride that signals her commitment to the routine. It's the routine that gets her ready for the dance floor where she continues to hone her craft daily.

She uses Mozart as an example. Stating that while he was no doubt phenomenally gifted the fact that he was born to a creative musical family and was around music from day one contributed equally to his succes. Everyone talks about how brilliant Mozart was but never how fiercely focused he was about the practice of creating. He just kept creating. Not all his creations were masterpieces but out of that fierceness came the ones that became the masterpiece.  The point being that his musical genius came from intense hard work paired with being in the right environment. Not necessarily the divine gift the world assumes he was born with.

In fact Twyla's point is that there's no such thing as being 'born' with it. You might have an inclination for certain things, usually something already in your environment. Artistic kids probably have 1 or both artistic or creative parents. But having the inclination doesn't guarantee aptitude without the passion to work very hard at it.

Twyla Tharp's philosophy is to make a habit of creating. Make it part of your routine to sharpen your skills. Whatever your form of expression happens to be. This leads me to begin seeing creativity from a whole new perspective. Rather than creating only when inspiration strikes I'm embracing the idea of creating as part of a daily habit.

In a way I already do this. I'm always playing with Photoshop or sprucing up my creative space or simply daydreaming when I get a few quite moments. Since I'm inspired to create my collages right now I want to make a habit of working on some aspect of it everyday. Whether it's choosing the papers and colors, doodling an outline or actually painting.

Giving myself creative challenges like the paper dresses and weekly collages along with the projects in the Kelley Rae Roberts book are part of the routine too. It gives me a plan to follow on my creative path.

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Of course inspiration  comes easily when one of these arrives in the mail. Here as promised are pics of the package I received from Leanne at From Chaos Comes Happiness. Remember I won the drawing for her 200th post giveaway!

You can see here that Leanne is one creative and thoughtful lady! I love how she labeled each item to go with the message she wrote on the outside of the envelope. And aren't the Get Out of Crankville cards just brilliant! What a wonderful sweet surprise to go along with my movie. Leanne you have definitely inspired me to bloom, create, smile, remember and of course share!

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What the heck. Just for fun I took a cupcake quiz!
Is this my longest post ever?

You Are a Lemon Cupcake

You are spirited and spunky. You embrace life and have a sunny outlook. You're drawn to all sorts of people. You can find something to like about almost anyone. You are like a cupcake because you're cute and happy. You can turn anyone's day around. You love to laugh and have a wickedly funny sense of humor. You enjoy teasing and joking around.

What Flavor Cupcake Are You?

Blogthings: If Quizzes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Take Quizzes