Fairhope, Alabama!!

How could you not LOVE a place named Fairhope!!! And it is located on the lovely Mobile bay, you say?? Well I got to stay and play near Mobile bay!! (OK OK I took that one a little too far...) All I have to say is ADORABLE! Dorian said I would love it, and we are basically the same person so it's true I LOVE IT! They have the cutest downtown filled with wrought iron and neat storefronts even, a miniature french quarter. My absolute favorite part was the Fairhope Windmill Market! They are shooting to be the first LEED certified green building in ALABAMA!! (learn more about LEED here) Coming from CA made me realize that the green revolution is huge in CA but is lacking in many other areas! Which has become an exciting thought for Dorian and I. Stay tuned!

Here is just a little sample of the adorable town of Fairhope!

Check out Fairhope Here!

Hay is for Horses! (and other animals too!)

Our new friends! These are some new friends that are visiting Dorian and the crew at Emandal- A Farm on a River. Bo, Sam and Sisco. Bo is very friendly Sisco and Sam are a touch camera shy. So Bo hammed it up for us!

Synchronistic PURPLE!!

I was asked by a dear friend of Dorian's what colors I find myself drawn to. Purple was my answer, along with a few others like lime green and turquoise. But purple has been working it's way into my life recently. I never used to like purple especially pastel purples (which aren't my favorite shades), but recently I've found myself drawn to dark purples, plums, royal violets, any purple that is a cousin of black. Deep and rich.

Now for the exciting part. So one night as I was headed to borrow the local downtown internet in Santa Rosa I had this deep urge to stop at a gas station, my heart began to pick up its pace and the color purple whispered in my head. I really didn't want to stop so I continued downtown. Then after my internet extravaganza as a neared the gas station I could still feel a pull to stop there. So I pulled in.
Dorian and I had taken up buying $3 crossword scratch off tickets not really in the hopes that we would actually win (of course we wanted to win!) but more for the 1 minute of entertainment they provided and which we over dramatized! I entered the store and so as not to look like a compulsive scratch off ticket buyer I instead lurked around the store for 2 minutes before peeking thru the glass counter and seeing a purple striped Bingo scratch-off! That was the one! (I also managed to buy a teal crossword one tee hee)

I then found myself traveling off to see Dorian with my scratch offs in hand. When I finally saw him he had on his purple shirt, and I was wearing my purple tank top! (totally unplanned people we live 2 hours away from each other, and contrary to popular belief we do not plan to match....he barely has a phone to call me!)

So in our usual excessively dramatic way we scratched off the cards. The teal crossword was a bust, and the purple bingo card was looking that way too, until nearly the last scratch! BINGOOOOOOO!!!!! we won $50!! PURPLE PURPLE PURPLE!! Unfortunately I am unable to tell you the story with my eyeballs expanded to maximum proportions, with large and excited gestures... so you will have to imagine... might look something like this though...

Do any of you guys find yourself drawn to colors? Have you ever had an intuitive experience??

YAY ART!!

Hey I made some art! Now it's time for show and tell!! or at least show! BOOM! There it is self portraits yep... all you need is a mirror! Oh yes even though I look perhaps near petrification in my charcoal drawing and that the length of my face is nearer a horse than a human I consider it a success!! I LOVED drawing the face, nose and mouth it's the spaces in between I have to work on.... there isn't much detail for me to work with so they are largely blank. I look rather disgusted in the charcoal form hah! Either way I am proud of myself, especially having had a chance to look back at my drawings from good 'ole Stout, I feel I have made improvements.

Now zee painting! I didn't feel I liked this one completely. There are definitely parts I enjoy like the lips and fingers. Uh, very yummy and full of color (which really is the only way to be!). So after some looking and squinting and turning and looking and walking away and staring and looking again I got it. I really liked the paintings more as separate paintings. Though they match up together my favorite is the bottom one. But both paintings obviously talk with each other but it is in the way it's displayed. The art is currently in my room in a suspended tetris formation where the top portion of the painting is in suspension above and to the left of its counterpart. So now you use your hand and cover the top half of the painting... What do you think??

ps. two consecutive month postings!? yeah that's right!

I have an infatuation.... perhaps two.

1. Flowers. I can't stop looking at them, it really is a bit disgusting. My friends were even noticing my not so covert ogles at flowers as the strode by at the farmers market. They thought it very lude... what can I say they are amazing, beautiful and colorful.
So I did the only thing I could think of. I went down to Petaluma to the heirloom seed bank to get some Non-GMO flowers because lets face it July is a tad late to be planting delicious food plants and the garden area is currently occupied by 4 baby goats who would thoroughly enjoy a garden... for approximately 4 seconds! So Zinnias it was! (check out this AMAZING seed company Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds!) And .....maybe a few other flowers...or 3 types of Zinnias: Giants of CA, Envy, and Bright Jewel Cactus Flowered. Giant Asters, some Poppies, Bachelor's Buttons, Bells of Ireland, and whatever other wonderfully colored (in my case dark purples and blues and a splash of lime green!) flowers I thought I could eek into the growing season! I then went and grabbed a bag of organic potting soil and a 7 inch deep wine box and sowed my seeds!
2. a man! He's a strapping young lad from the south! Just what every girl wants right?! A southern gentleman! Well, he is all of that and one of the most conscious and caring human beings I know. Meet Dorian! This was from a recent one night camping adventure to MacKerricher State Park! Which was terrific by the way

That's all for not but I shall be back soon with updated art and photos because I know you are like me and only really look at the pictures!

a small photographic infatuation

I happen to have a small infatuation with photographing old and dilapidated vehicles. Maybe one of these days I can work out one of these photos and actually have it printed. I'm starting to believe my creative hobbies should become creative jobbies?! But really how many times have I had that thought... Maybe not jobbies but just the fact that I need to do them more, because they are in fact so enjoyable. I have been at a few thrift stores lately and I have found myself holding a developing tank and just the other day there was an enlarger. Something may be speaking to me. Stay tuned and see what develops!
I have been aware of some serious feelings of creativity lately, I keep seeing beautiful charcoal drawings and paintings in my fanciful little head. Here's a little photo of a sketch for a self portrait painting as well. (there is paint on it too now!) So to take heed to those feelings I took a little trip to some art supply stores I ended up with the old giant pad of drawing paper and gigantic clip-board some charcoal sticks and a kneaded eraser. Sounds like my first drawing class at good ole' Stout. I still remember my first drawing class met at 8 am and we would literally sit for 3 hours and draw. There was always someone in class doing head bobs! Myself included, that's what you get for having a drawing class at 8am in a dimly lit studio! I am excited to go home and look at some of my old work! YAY FOR ART!!!

The bike commuter BUZZ!

I think I just got my dream job! And I didn't even know it was looking for me! I am a VERY PROUD and EXCITED new employee of REI Santa Rosa! I don't think it ever crossed my mind that I would be so happy working retail!!? Its only been about 3 days of training and I am in amazement of the company as a whole and the people I get to work with! Crazy huh?

Well now that I got that out of my system, I was informed that May is bike to work month and specifically May 13 is bike to work day!! So naturally I piped up and exclaimed that I wanted to be on a team at work!! One of my admins then got very excited, but I had to burst her bubble with the fact that I didn't have a bike! whoops! Talk about thinking before speaking.... She tried her best but her extra bike wasn't ready to ride. So downstairs on the sales floor at REI I found my new love, the Novara Buzz V we pulled it off the rack and no adjustments were needed, it fit like Cinderella's glass slipper! And did I mention it was a steal! My crew outfit me with a light, helmet, lock, and pump kit to make sure I wouldn't run into any situations on my new commute!! Heck I even rode to the grocery store yesterday! And the clerk at Trader Joe's didn't think I could fit all my merch into my back pack! He wasn't aware of my super talent of volume estimation and my skills in packing!

If you can people get on your bikes and ride!! I think I need a little bell, a mirror and an under seat pouch for my tire patch kit/tire levers/multi tool. And a sweet commuter backpack! This job is just too fun!