Apples, Pears and Peas...Oh My!

I'm loving making Leila's food for her!  Its nice to know what is going into her little body.  And so fun!  Clearly you can see that by the pears she partly devoured and partly played with.  One problem is she likes to stick her entire fist in her mouth as she eats...hmmm, singing to her seems to be one distraction for this.  Any other suggestions will be taken.

Every little new experience is so incredible for her.  I love watching the surprise on her face once she sees, smells, eats, hears something new.  It allows me to rediscover it all over again myself and appreciate it in a whole new way.

On tonight's menu, peas and the color green!

Evangeline

Three of my paintings are now hanging at Evangeline in downtown Frederick, MD.  Such a beautiful store...it takes you straight to France the moment you walk in the door with all its vibrant colors and the smell of lavendar.  Its so refreshing to see a local store thrive and pull through these tough economic times, Evangeline has been in business 13 years this Summer!

Anyone interested in purchasing, please contact Evangeline at 301 624 5500

Merci beaucoup!

City Stars

Working on a new oil.  I love the way the lights of a city can contrast against the dark night sky and the stars can look like they are gently dangling, as if each one was purposely placed there.  Just getting started, but I'm loving the color scheme so far...almost exactly how I imagined it.

Also love the colors of the flowers my husband gave me for Valentine's Day.  Still enjoying them, I've cut them down to go into small vases now, they are beautiful:

Letting Spring In

I want to apologize to all my blog followers for the delay in posts this past week.  My computer is down at the moment, hopefully it will be up and running again this week (keeping fingers crossed)!  I have lots of new things I am working on, so I'm anxious to get some photos up for you.

I've completed the painting inspired by the book, Each Peach Pear Plum.  16" x 12" oil on canvas.  I think we are all wishing to be able to open up our windows and let the fresh air in these days!  Leila and I were so thankful for two beautiful days this past week.  We got out, took a few long walks, strolled downtown, got coffee...it was wonderful!  She fell asleep in her stroller at one point, so I just kept on walking...turned into a two hour walk in the fresh air and I felt like a new person.  Come on Spring, we are ready for you!!!

On an other note, Leila is officially eating rice cereal and loving this new mush that has entered her world.  So much so that she has learned to spread it all over her face and laugh out loud at her accomplishment...oh, here comes feeding her naked and baths after each meal :)

I love it.

Happy Valentine's Day

Look at the pretty dress my MeMe and Bapa sent me for Valentine's Day!  It magically arrived in this box with my very own name on it and I was very excited to open it this morning.  Also in the box was a gift for Mama, she said she was going to get something called a "massage" with it.  Not sure what that is, but it sounds like fun! 

Lot's of love to everyone on Valentine's Day :) xo

We are HOME

Leila and I took a road trip to visit her Auntie Julie and cousins this week...she is clearly down for the count now that we are home!  Such a fun trip..we played Star Wars, sang songs, went to the library, ordered Sushi in one night, made Valentines and laughed a lot :)  Leila did a great job in the car too, a 4.5 hour drive...we were quite the brave duo.  Glad to be home though...we both missed Daddy and the dogs.  And I missed painting for a few days. 

BUT, I came home to these fabulous new frames my dad made for me (thanks, Dad!).  Sooo excited to buy material for them and get started on some new projects!

Each Peach Pear Plum

is one of my favorite childhood books.  I was reading it today to Leila and it brought me right back to when I was little.  The illustrations are so sweet, reminds me of being in a little English cottage.  One of my very favorite things is the first day of Spring when it is warm enough to open all the windows and bring the outdoors in.  This illustration reminded me of just that and inspired me to start a new oil today, here we go:

Also finished the leaf painting today!  11 x 14 oil on canvas.  Edges are painted a midnight blue acrylic with polycrylic finish:

Why waste?

Since my husband and I made the decision that I would stay home to raise our daughter, we have learned to save money in ways we would never have thought, had I continued to work.  Simple things, like using every scrap of food to make a casserole just so we aren't wasteful and throwing away perfectly good food.  Or, why not cut dryer sheets in half...hey, you get twice the use out of them.  I love using coupons now, such an easy way to save. 

Its become almost like a game..how resourceful can we be this month?  And, I'm not embarrassed about it at all...in fact, I find it to be quite liberating.  It's my way of contributing in some small way to the whole green movement.  Living in one of the most expensive areas in the nation, I wish I had started this years ago.  I've learned to not take anything for granted and I feel fulfilled by much simpler things in life now.

Today I found a nifty new tool that I can clamp onto the end of my tubes of paint and squeeze every last oz. out!  I can't wait to use it...and all the paint the tube can hold.

Here, my clumpy, colorful paints are displayed.