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Friday, March 30, 2012

UNTIL MONDAY...

Well, I'm so excited again for this weekend! Yet another one of our friends is getting married on Saturday in Abilene, and she's been a childhood friend of mine FOREVER. Her parents are Filipino and my mama is Filipino, so you know...instant connection.

Actually, I had one of my very first sleepovers at her house, and I missed home and cried. My dad had to pick me up soon afterwards...before the night ended, of course. Maybe if I have a girl, she won't be as big a baby as I was! Anyway, I am so excited to see this wedding happen!



You can bet that my husband and I will be out on the dance floor like the two nerds we are! Hope you squeeze a little dancing in, too. It can be with a partner or just by yourself. Don't worry, I do it all the time, too!

Have a good one!!

ROCK

Finally Friday again, my loves! You know what that means...now gather!!

Today's story is about the overcoming of a bit of musical insecurity. Make sure to listen to THIS SONG while reading the story for the full effect, okie dokie? Okay!






























She stared down at the instrument propped in the stand on its usual spot on the rough carpet. He noticed her gazing at it. 

“Wanna play it?” he asked her. 

She kept her eyes on the instrument, wondering if she might accidentally damage it if she tried to awkwardly handle its slender neck and bulky body. 

“It’s okay, you won’t break it,” he laughed, practically reading her mind like he usually did.

He swiftly grasped the handle of the bass and lifted it out of the stand, placing it in her hands. She stared at her small fingers and then looked at his hands as he showed her how to hold the bass, noticing how much enormously larger his hands were compared to hers. 

“Isn’t it going to be hard for me to strum? I mean, look how much bigger your fingers are than mine.”

He got up from the metal chair and turned up the volume on the receiver. 

“This one’s by The Weeks,” he said, nodding his head up and down in unison with the beat. “Hold this chord down and strum,” he told her. “Just like that!”

The chords of the bass were a little hard to handle with her fingers, but she strummed again, beaming as the sound came from the instrument and took it its place with the music.


Growing up in a musical family (my sister teaches music), it's kind of surprising that I can't play anything, really. Give me a paintbrush, and I'm happy! I would love to master an instrument someday, though.

So what about you, my dears? Have you ever played an instrument before? What was your first experience with it? 

Monday, March 26, 2012

OVER THE WEEKEND

How was your weekend? Did you do anything special, or get to relax?

My husband and I made a quick trip back home to Abilene, Texas to celebrate our friends' marriage, and it was such a relief to see family and friends from home. We were actually supposed to leave Friday night, but we were semi-pooped and decided to stay in San Antonio for the night and go on a date to Dough, an amazing pizzeria.

It was a good feeling to finally get on the road the next morning, and the scenery was beautiful. Here's a little preview of what the weekend involved:















































The wait at Dough was an hour, but time flies by with sips of red.














































AH! Finally on the way home! I love the fog when it's not overwhelming...as in, you can't see five feet in front of you. This was the good kind going out of San Antonio.





























You can tell we were getting to Abilene just by the change of climate. It's much drier than San Antonio. I was enthralled by trying to take pictures of bluebonnets along the side of the highway as we were driving.

And of course, you can't forget the cows! There were tons of sheep and llamas as well, but sadly, I missed out on their beauty shots.

It was a super short, but sweet trip, and we are actually going to go straight back next weekend for yet another wedding.  Maybe I'll convince my boy to stop on the side of the road so I can get pictures of those sheep and llamas...

Hope you're having a wonderful Monday morning!

Friday, March 23, 2012

UNTIL MONDAY...


First off, if you'd like to read about weddings and saving yourself a little cash, head over to Daisy's blog at The Story of Daisy Girl to see my guest post on how to have a gorgeous wedding within your budget (it's based on my own wedding from May 2011). Hope you like it!





























(Photo taken by me this morning in our backyard)


What are your plans this weekend? We're going to be packing up and taking a short weekend trip back to Abilene to celebrate one of high school friend's wedding, and we're excited! Love must be in the air!

Speaking of love and marriage, this video (found again via Julia's blog) encapsulates the true essence of love, in my opinion. I cried the first time I saw it...and the second...and of course, the third time when I had my husband watch it with me once he got home. I was blubbering on the side, but he admitted to me that he got that frog in the throat feeling, so there! Love means stuff to men, too.

With that said, have a lovely weekend, friends! Go exploring, won't you?

THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Before I start, don't forget THAT I NEED YOUR OPINION, PRETTY PLEASE. :) Thanks so much for your thoughts so far!!

Remember when I promised to show you the entire piece of this sneak peek? It's finally here! 

Soooo, if you haven't heard Quelqu'un ma dit by Carla Bruni, you should definitely listen to it here while you read this little story. If this painting had a soundtrack, this song would be it! Let's get started, shall we? 

It was already in the air—she could feel it. The breeze was crisp and light; the leaves rustled as they pushed one another against the long, strong branches. Those leaves were completely covered in sunlight…they were actually glittering.

She swiveled in her white leather chair away from her desk with its smooth, white surface, toward the open window that allowed the light breeze to escape through the netted screen and flood of sunlight through its worn panes of glass.

It was calling her: the perfect blue sky, the flood of sunlight, and the rush of the breeze.

She breathed a deep and long breath, the kind of breath she had been taught during her first class of yoga, then turned her head toward the ceiling, stretching her tired neck. Her eyes moved from the smooth surface of the white ceiling down to her right, where she surveyed the illustrations supported by the clear thumb tacks on the cork finish. Her head slowly tuned down to the left, and she let her head hang down from her neck, staring at legs crossed Indian style, relaxing in the strength of the stretch. After a moment, she shifted her head back up toward the left, gazing at the sleek, white coffee table housing the scattered artwork, and then lifted her head again toward the right, looking straight up at the ceiling; just where she had started.

The breeze was picking up outside, coaxing her to engage with it. She took a final look outside the glass panes and knew she could no longer keep away from it all. Enlivened at the thought of a break, she pushed her body out of her chair, relishing in the coolness of the tiles under her bare feet. Walking around the hallway and through the sunlight living room, she made her way toward the door. She turned the knob of the heavy wooden door, letting a stream of sunlight and fresh air rush through the opening. She closed her eyes and breathed in again deeply, pushing the air back out through her smiling lips, and stepped out into the first day of Spring.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

I NEED YOUR OPINION, PRETTY PLEASE

This is actually about two things....kindness first, and then I need your opinion. :)

On kindness: I've mentioned it recently, but I want to say again how much your kindness means to me. I never would have thought I would meet so many sweet people through blogging alone, and as cheesy as it sounds, my life feels fuller with the genuine kindness and encouragement you all have shown me. It's daunting at times (or well, for me, almost every day) to pursue what you truly love to do and believe in yourself without being a giant worrywart about the future. I can't believe the outpouring amount of support you all possess. I look like a nerd every time I excitedly check my blog and email and reply back to sweet comments and talk to new friends (such inspirational people--writers, designers, artists, photographers, and others that should be paid comedians, to name a few). You are BEST type of cheerleaders, in my book!

Bekuh, from Secondhand Sundays,  showed a huge amount of support for her readers by offering free ad space for the whole month of April. FREE. As in, "Hey, I'm extremely sweet, and I want to do this for you...you know, help you hurl yourself out there. I'm not asking anything in return. I just want to help you." WHAT. Obviously, she didn't call herself sweet...I had to say it for her! But anyway, of course I blurted out an email to her as fast as my shaking fingers could type, saying, "OMG, you are super AWESOME, and I WANT THIS!!...Please?" :)

End of story: I am so excited to have a sponsorship spot on Bekuh's blog! Sooo here comes part 2:

I'm indecisive. Drives my guy nuts. I tell him, "Loooook AT THIS!! Look look!! Which one do you liiiike better??" He says, without fail, the option that was kind of my second choice....so now I'm all messed up and think it must have been my first choice...?

I'm going to be unbiased now, because I clearly can't make up my mind.

Would you give me your opinion? Which option do you like best to serve as my ad for Bekuh's blog?






























WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE PAINTING YOUR SHIRT

My mother-in-law and I went on a shopping frenzy a while back. You see, we both have a slight addiction...to Ann Taylor. As I've mentioned before, I've been teased (lovingly, so it's okay) about my beeline for boring. No, noooo. Simplicity, I say. Of course, I HAD to do a painting to put in my living room that reminded me of my love:











































































It even gets to be on a hanger, just like an exalted piece of clothing.
























































It's all in the details, my loves.

FOR TOMORROW...

Two things:



















1. As promised, my first guest post will be up tomorrow, woo wee! I'll make a small post tomorrow to direct you to it once it's up, if you'd like to see. :)






























2. Remember this? This project of mine is taking a taaad bit longer than I had hoped for...as in 1**#@$5434 hours longer. You know that feeling? Procrastination prevails!

ANYWAY, I thought it was be nice to at least show you one of the entire images on Friday....which I just wrote a short story for yesterday! So yes, tomorrow's story time will have a different type of art. Don't worry though! I still have tons of black and white line drawings waiting for you.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYANN FORD

I came across Elizabeth Stanley's jaw-dropping home yesterday (she has mad design skills!), and as I was trying to find a source for the photography credits, I happily discovered Ryann Ford, the photographer herself! Ryann was more than willing to let me show her awesome photography, and she was sweet as can be. True Texan style, if you ask me. Her photos of Elizabeth Stanley's home are just a snippet of many of her incredible works, so you should definitely check out her blog to blow your mind further.

Do you SEE what I mean when I say Ryann's photos are incredible?




























































































































































































































































I'm going to try to lift my jaw up from the floor where it plummeted.

Wanna hear a little more about Ryann? Psst...I totally got this from her website's about page:

My name is Ryann Ford and I’m a photographer.  I grew up in a tiny town in the mountains of Southern California.  We didn’t even have a stoplight.  The first real photo I ever took was with my dad’s Pentax Spotmatic from Vietnam when I was 12.  I curled my hair and put on red lipstick, set the camera up on a tripod and took glamour shots of me and my dog. 

After graduating from Brooks Institute of Photography, I landed the most unbelievable job on earth with Resorts and Great Hotels magazine, photographing hotels all over the world and eating as much free room service as I could.

After a few years of living like a gypsy, I decided to pack up and move to Austin.  My Chihuahua, Mr. Big, and I were determined to drive Route 66 all the way (or at least to Oklahoma City).  At one point in New Mexico, the road turned to dirt and we had to stop and move tortoises out of the way to get through.  After arriving in Austin, I fell in love with the city and bought a bumper sticker that said “I’m not from Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.”  Now I spend my days taking pictures of pretty places, yummy food, and cool people for clients like Better Homes and Gardens, The New York Times and Texas Monthly.  When I’m not taking pictures, I can be found shopping at J.Crew or hanging out in the backyard with my chickens.


Are you inspired as much as I am? I do hope so!

Have a lovely day, my dears. :)

Friday, March 16, 2012

UNTIL MONDAY...






























Photo taken by my guy in Kauai

Have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday, yes?

WONDER

Hellooo!! Happy Friday, everyone!

First off, I have to say huge thanks to Holly at HvH Interiors for featuring my work on her blog. I can't begin to express how much all of the support and encouragement that I've received from both Holly and of course you, my sweet readers, means to me. It's people like you, with your kindness and positivity, that make me want to pursue and move forward with my work. Thank you so much, truly.

Ahem. Before I get caught up and emotional, let's gather and sit down for story time, shall we? Today's illustration + story is partially about confusion, but also finding your way around something, whatever it may be. This one's titled "Wonder."































“I really have no idea what to do,” she quietly told him. She had said it almost under her breath, realizing she was saying it to herself. She wondered if he had even heard her.

He spun around in his chair, energetically scooting across the cool tiles toward her white desk. She stared into his light blue eyes, noticing the golden flecks of green and brown. 

“Why don’t you use your light-table today?” he asked her. “Just play with the markers for a while. You don’t even have to think about anything else at the moment.”

His constant effervescence and drive never failed to fill her with encouragement. After all, he was the driving force behind all this…her number one fan.

Her number two fan lay curled up in a relaxed ball at her feet, deeply snoring as she breathed in and out through her nostrils. The furry companion was completely enjoying the soft cushioning of the white mat and the heat of the sunbeam through the window. She stared at the small dog, bending down to pet her sleek black and white fur.

“Don’t get distracted,” he reminded her. “Remember to work with purpose.”

“I’ll try my best,” she answered.

She reached to her right for the glass jar housing the markers and then bent to her left to peer under the table and switch on the lamp. She began to glide the markers over the lightly textured paper. She wasn’t quite sure of what this might turn out to be, but then again, she rarely knew. Happily, she realized that she was once again lost in the effortless strokes and movement, and her drawing began to take shape on the crisp paper as the markers bled through.

I'm sure you've been stumped before too, huh? I guess we all have a way of trying to get where we need to be, but the task seems lighter with the smallest touch of positivity and encouragement. As for me, my day seems brighter even when a stranger smiles at me in the grocery store. I think I'm just swayed that way.

Did you notice the hints of green? Hint, hint: Don't forget that it's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! I don't want any of you to get pinched.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

WEDDINGS ON THE BRAIN

So, a fellow blogger is getting married this week!! Cannot say how excited I am for her! She had asked some readers to guest post for her during her honeymoon, and I am so excited to do a post for her. You can probably tell that I usually don't get too much into my personal life on my little space on the internet, but for this post, I'm going to share my wedding experience based on budgeting and creating an entire wedding under $5,000.

If you love to read about weddings and DIY, you should head over and see upcoming post. :) I'll let you know where to go once the ball is rolling. Anyway, I was shooting my little DIY ideas that we had for our wedding, and I thought it would be fun to share the smallest sneak peek (as in only one photo).





























While making the post, I got to thinking...what's your favorite style for a wedding or special occasion? Are you more on the casual and simplistic side, or do you like things elegant and detailed?

I really love seeing the amazing creativity and love put into a wedding, and it's awesome to see differing styles. Of course, the fashion and design are not the main point of a wedding, obviously. THAT is why I'm somehow always the person looking for a Kleenex. Unfortunately, I'm a crier.

Monday, March 12, 2012

PARDON ME

9:30 PM is kind of late for the day's first post, isn't it?
























































(Photo taken on my trusty phone while me husband was wondering if I was listening to him...I was, though...sometimes I can actually multi-task)

If you saw Friday's post, you may remember that I was so exited to go to Midland, Texas. It was a MUCH needed trip! We went to three stops during the trip: Midland, Odessa, and McCamey. If you were wondering, yes, Midland is pretty dry, yes, Odessa, is drier, and yes, McCamey trumps both Midland and Odessa when it comes to being dry and country. McCamey may be the reason why people ask me if I have a horse when they realize I'm from Texas. Just to clarify: no, I don't have a horse. I stink at riding them, actually. All of Texas doesn't look like this, obviously. I used to get bored, hot, and tired with Texas...but now, I'm in love with its own definition of beauty.

Promise I'll be in tomorrow (this time in the morning, as usual). Have a wonderful night, okay? :)

Friday, March 9, 2012

UNTIL MONDAY...






























(Photo hurriedly taken by me on our very first day in Maui)

THE START

Happy Friday, everyone! What are your plans for this weekend? As for us, my guy and I are going to Midland, Texas to see some of our best friends. Just want to say that it. is. ABOUT. TIME. We'll be celebrating my guy's birthday (early), so I know he's very excited! I have to say I'm excited for the food! Our friend is Chinese, and she is an amazing cook. I'll be in the corner eating...joking about the corner, but not about eating! Fortunately we're so past that point of being shy about shoveling amazing food in our mouths.

I'm sure you also have a lot of friends you've been missing for a while. Since college, my friends and I have moved, so we're just spread all over the place. Sigh. That makes it a little difficult to see each other, but the times we do get to reunite, I'm so thankful!

To start your weekend, it's time again for another illustration + story. Wanna peek?































This was truly a new beginning. One year ago, she would never have imagined herself here. This was what she has secretly wanted all along, wasn’t it? She had diligently trained to be someone else, devoting nearly six years of her life to a different calling. Now, with the chance of changing who she would become, she felt afraid. This was all new to her. After all, she hadn’t prepared herself for this.

“We’re in this together,” he had told her. He still lovingly reminded her to this day, even though half a year had passed. “Walk with purpose, baby,” he always told her. “You’re so close.” She knew he was right. She always admired his zeal and driven enthusiasm. She needed to be focused, like he was. Once again, she assured herself, smiling as she thought about him. ‘I can do this,’ she told herself. ‘This is the start.’

Do you have a difficult task ahead or need a change? If you do, keep your chin up! You can do this, you know. :) Be back soon with your weekend photo! Until then, have a beautiful morning. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

YOUR GLASSES ARE HUGE

Since I've been working from home and seeing tons of awesome fashion from all over the world, I've found that I'm beginning to love things because I love them. Not because everyone else does. Fashion can be a little weird at times, but what's interesting if it isn't in the least bit different?

I love simplicity, pops of color, and....biiig glasses. Yes, I love the big sunglasses, but I'm talking about the eyeglasses...the ones that I put on and can still see clearly through when I roll my eyes down without ever having to shift my entire head. Some people have said they're the "nerdy" or "dorky" glasses...that's totally okay with me, because I admit that I'm a nerd myself.

I'm the girl who spent tons of time in the library, loves to go to Starbucks to work on papers and read Entrepreneur magazine for hours, and tries her best to catch her grammatical errors when writing anything, etc. That's totally not to say that I'm a math whiz, science genius, or philosophical genius, by any means! Oh, and of course I love the artistic things a tad bit more than studying, if you know what I mean.

Do you have any nerdy tendencies that you're fine to admit or would just rather keep to yourself? Do you love wearing buggy glasses, or maybe just prefer something a little less discrete?






























As for me, I think I'll be hanging on to my big nerd glasses for a while. 

Monday, March 5, 2012

HUNGRY OVER HERE

Well, it's 11:20 PM over here, and after looking through a bunch of work, I realized that most of the things that have inspired me today revolve around food. Problem, you ask? Not really..maybe...okay, kind of a teensy problem. I'm thinking of raiding the fridge soon. I'll just blame it on the dog or something. Maybe I'll take a late night trip to grab a cake too....

There is this amazing bakery that has awesome vanilla cake with raspberry filling in between the layers, and I'm wishing it were open this late!! This stuff is the goodness of wedding cake. Last time I was there, I was in a craving situation, and my husband caved in and decided to indulge with me. This was in December, and they had ONE cake left with raspberry filling! No, it was not a giant wedding cake just for us. It was a small cake about six inches in diameter, and let me tell you, as they were boxing it up in front of us, I was hurriedly pacing in front of the glass counter like an excited chipmunk just waiting to grab its prize. Oh well...HEB will do well enough! You hear that, cake?? I'm coming for yooou!!

Just as a girl decides that she loves a certain pair of shoes so much that she thinks they deserve a drawing, you can probably tell that this girl loves all kinds of food because she'll happily illustrate such tasty treats:






She'll also add in dorky little sayings to go with her food drawings. 

Hope you ate something delicious today!! Or maybe you're happy with yourself for not giving in to your cravings. 

Well, I'm off to rummage through the kitchen! :)

Friday, March 2, 2012

UNTIL MONDAY...




























Gorgeous photo from Nathalie's blog, found here. Check out her blog for tons of fashion inspiration. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

BRAVE

It's finally Friday! What are your plans this weekend?  As for us, I think my little family (husband + me + Boston Terrier) are going to take it nice and easy. You know, like taking a few long walks in this amazing natural park that we found last weekend that's only about a mile from our house. How did we not know about this until now?? It's eye opening to realize that you can miss the beauty surrounding you, waiting to be explored.

Also, I think we'll head over to the arts district tonight since we've only been there once! It's time to wander around more. Hope you have lots of exploring ahead of you as well. :)

On that note, would you like to hear about a little lady who would also like to explore (but venture out of her comfort zone)? If you answered yes, here's her story:































She had always been told she was beautiful. She would genuinely smile and graciously take the compliment, always returning the favor with a quiet air of kindness. There had come a point in her life in which she decided that she wanted to be her own kind of beautiful—one that no longer yearned for the attention of what most people would consider quietly exquisite. She knew she would have to ready herself for reactions quite different from her former compliments, but she steadied herself and went forward. She had always dreamed of being brave.

Short and sweet. Do you have something in store like her? If so, hope you gain the courage to take the baby steps toward living your dream, as cliché as it sounds. 

Have a beautiful weekend!

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