Holiday Blast from the Past

Here we are at the kids' table. Just me & the boys. My wonderful cousins. Counterclockwise from me...Brett, Allen (see previous posts for our stay at his house in WY), David (who tragically died in a car accident at age 24), Francis, and Brian. Love you guys!

I'm in the process of trying to clear off my hard drive (which is now loaded down with thousands of adorable pictures of Sam) and I came across this pic. When my grandma passed away a few years ago my cousin Brett got the picture cube that was always on her end table. This cube was made of plastic and was falling apart and had pretty much the same pics in it for many years. This is one of those pics. This pic was taken at my grandma's house at our annual family Christmas party. I still remember that plaid skirt I was wearing...it was full length (so 70's) and made of taffeta and had tiny sequins around the hem. I loved it! Unfortunately you can't see my shoes but they were black patent leather with gold buckles on them. So cool. My mom had great taste.

I miss these times. I miss my family and wish that we still lived as close as we used to. Happy Holidays to my amazing family! xoxo

Beautiful Day

We had the most amazing day today. It started off with a gorgeous sunrise (that I am lucky to see every day thanks to Sam's schedule). And the temperature was in the high 60's! Ian, Sam and I went downtown to do some last minute shopping and had a blast just walking around and getting to know our new town. It started raining on our way home and as we got out of the car we noticed the most amazing rainbow. We could actually see both ends. So rare. Here are pics but they don't do it justice, of course.

On another note, I got accepted into Kress Emporium here in town. I thought it was going to be a much longer wait so I feel very fortunate. If you live locally please check out my work there.

Happy Holidays!

Last weekend we drove out to a Christmas tree farm in Leicester to cut down our own tree for the holidays. Sam loved running around in between the trees and I was very impressed with my husband's ability to actually saw a tree down! It was a long drive out and very cold but they offered free hot chocolate so that warmed us up. I kept thinking of my holidays in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles and how different this was. We're country folk now!

Happy Holidays!

New Originals on Etsy

All new originals are now available on Etsy. Prints of these are also available.

Click here to see paintings and prints.

Happy Holidays!!!

Mini Drawings on Etsy

These are perfect for the holidays. The are original drawings that are framed in a square paper mache frame with jute for hanging. Only $20 each. Great stocking stuffers!

Click here to see/purchase drawings.

Whew! It's cold here!

Well, it seems that winter has arrived in Asheville. This is our first real winter in a very long time. I find myself thinking "I'll just put on a really thick sweater and I'll be fine" but then I step outside and run back in for my winter coat. Definitely different than the LA winters that we're used to. But the change is nice too. We had snow flurries today and it was really beautiful.

We're slowly but surely settling into our new house. There are still a few boxes to be unpacked but it feels like our home now. And we love it. And we love Asheville. Yay!

2009 Calendars are here!

My limited edition 2009 calendar is now available on Etsy. There are only 35 copies printed and they sell for $35 each. Click here to purchase a calendar.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We live in Asheville!

Sam loving the fire truck at a local "Farm Day"


Sam on a haystack at "Hey Day"


Sam at the playground

It's been so long since I've posted. Sorry about that. We're staying in a temporary house with no internet access so it's been difficult to find the time to check emails much less blog. But I thought I'd post a quick update. We're closing on a house on Monday in West Asheville. Yay! The process took longer than we thought but we finally did it and we're so excited.

We can't wait to see our stuff again. It's been in storage since early September. We also can't wait to get some different (and warmer) clothes. Being from California we didn't really pack the appropriate clothes to move us into a proper fall and winter. I've been wearing the same jeans every day for the past couple of weeks.

It's raining here now and Ian heard on the radio last night that there was a 100% chance of rain today. We NEVER heard that in LA! Too funny.

Sam is doing great. We go to the botanical gardens everyday and let him run around. He loves it. He also loves our new house. Mostly because it's big and empty right now so he doesn't hear "No, Sam" every 5 minutes.

Once we're settled (hopefully next week) I can frantically start fulfilling orders that have been placed while we've been on the road. Sorry to all out there who have had to wait for their prints. It's my first priority once I get my printer set up.

I'll try to post more once we're settled.

Omaha to Cincy

Sam right after his 1st haircut. Check out that belly!


My mom & Sam eating lunch on the front stoop.

Sorry for the delay in posts. We're at my mom's house in Cincinnati. A week ago today we were in Omaha and had a dreadful night. We got a really gross hotel room after a very long day. Sam woke up at 2:30 am and we could tell he was going to be up a while so we decided just to hit the road. We were on the road by 4:00 am. We couldn't bear another night in a hotel and another day of fast food so we drove straight to Cincinnati.

It's been such a great week. My mom has loved the time with Sam. Ian cut Sam's hair for the 1st time, I've gotten to see some old friends and I'm actually getting a lot of drawing done. They'll be posted soon.

Yesterday we lost electricity for about 18 hours. Hurricane Ike blew through. I've never seen such wind and there is some major wind in LA. The power is still out in parts of Cincy but ours came on this morning. Whew!

My show at Lab 101 opened Saturday night. If any of you out there went I would love to hear how it looks and what the turnout was like.

This coming weekend we're going to Gatlinburg, TN for my cousin Francis' wedding and then on to Asheville for a few days and then back to Cincy until the end of the month.

We're not really missing LA but we sure do miss our friends!

xoxo

Laramie to Omaha

A stop along the way on our scenic drive near Centennial.


Sammy walking with Ian. This is the first time Sam's been bundled up like this. So cute.


Gorgeous. I swear these are not scans of postcards.




Tony at the ranch.


Sammy & Papa checking out the view.




View from the ranch. Breathtaking.


Paige, Tony, Al & Peg


Paige at her soccer game.

We're in Omaha tonight. We left Laramie this morning and drove about 7 hours to get here. I have to say the drive wasn't nearly as interesting as the drives have been up to now. Nebraska is very beautiful but it doesn't change too much. So we don't have any pics of today.

Yesterday was a great day in Laramie. We went to Paige's soccer game (they won!) and then my cousin Al took us on a scenic drive around Laramie & Centennial. They have some land there with a gorgeous view just waiting for their cabin. It was breathtaking.

We ate Mexican food last night and played Spades with Tony & Paige. Thank you Allen, Peg, Paige & Tony for welcoming us into your home and for an amazing time. We'll miss you!

Cousin Al in Laramie, WY

At the football game


Eating crackers before the game.


Amazing Patrick Doherty sculpture on campus. Loved it.




Sam and Ian dressed for the game.




Paige & Tony in front of another great sculpture.


Tony, Sam & Paige playing this morning.


Cute Sam. It's so dry here that Sam's hair has been stick straight. We think it might be time for his first haircut but I don't know if I can handle it. We'll let him be long-haired hippie baby a little longer. Hopefully we'll hit more humid climates to make those curls come back.

We arrived in Laramie around 4:oo on Friday. I haven't seen my cousin Al in several years and it was so great to see him and his amazing kids Paige and Tony. We all went for a COLD walk into town to the farmer's market and to see his wife Peg and her new office. Al cooked a great meal and we laughed our butts off. Sam is madly in love with both Paige and Tony and wants to share everything with them, including his half-eaten bites of cheese. They got out some of their old toys and he had a blast.

Sam had a very rough night last night. He was up for 4 hours in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. He probably just couldn't wait to see Paige and Tony again.

Today we went to the University of Wyoming football game (Sam's first) but had to leave at half-time to give Sam (and us) a much needed nap.

Everyone went to bed early tonight. We're off to bed soon.

Rocky Mountains, Longmont, Colorado & our anniversary

Moab, UT bright & early before we hit the road.


Elk in Rocky Mountain National Forest. You need a magnifying glass to see them but trust me, they're there and beautiful.


Lake in National Forest


Trying to find a warm spot in the sun to eat my peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Man, it was cold in the mountains. Note that I'm wearing flip-flops!

Okay, we have to back track a little. Thursday was our 4 year wedding anniversary. We got up bright and early, headed out of Moab, UT and off to Denver. It was a very LONG day but beautiful driving. We drove through the Rocky Mountain National Forest and it was gorgeous. We saw lots of elk roaming around.

That night we stayed with Ian's friend Paul who lives in Longmont, CO which is closer to Boulder than Denver and a very cute little town. We arrived around 7:00 pm just in time for yummy homemade split pea soup with crusty olive bread and a tomato and dill salad made from local produce. Heavenly. Sam was having a ball petting their dog Jazz and we let him stay up late. He had some energy to burn after being in the car all day. Next day we took our time getting on the road because we only had a two hour drive to Laramie. We had a nice lunch at a local Brewery and we were on our way.


Paul's gorgeous courtyard

More Grand Canyon & Moab, Utah

We got up bright and early and were on the road by 8:00. We went to the Grand Canyon before we left and it was even more amazing in the morning light. We had a LONG day of driving through Northern Arizona and Utah. Gorgeous scenery. Amazing red rocks and desert. So beautiful. Tomorrow we're headed out to Denver which will be another long day.

Sam is doing great in the car. He mostly reads his books and but also plays with a pair of fake glasses that we found. He's probably imitating us with our glasses. When he gets fussy we put on this CD that his Aunt Jen gave him. It's from a Music Together class and can get pretty annoying (for us) but it instantly calms Sam down and he usually falls asleep soon after the CD is popped in. The songs really get stuck in your head, unfortunately.

So, we're in Moab, UT now. Sam is asleep and Ian is picking up food. We've been going to bed around 9:30. Amazing how sitting on our butts all day long can be so exhausting.

More tomorrow...

Pictures...finally

Following are the captions to the photos above. I tried to get them next to the pics but it didn't work out. I'm too tired to figure it out.

Walking in Parker, AZ trying to tire Sammy out before we hit the road again.
Check out this great sign "Open During Altercations". Love it.

Standing in front of a fantastic old caboose in Desert Center, CA. Man, this place was depressing but love this caboose.

Ian & Sammy in Desert Center. Whew, it was HOT!

After breakfast with the newly engaged Kelly & Peter. Kelly & I were laughing and crying at the same time. I continued crying in the car until we were well on the road. What am I going to do without her?

Self-timed photo right before we closed the door on our house. Goodbye Reynier Avenue.

Liz & Jeff bringing us dinner the night before we left. We sat on the floor and drank beer and had dinner. We'll miss you two so much!

Blogging in our empty house.

After the movers came to take everything away. Ian fell asleep on the floor and Sam was loving all the space and the new toy that his friend Sylvie gave him.

Our friends Heather, Sylvie, Marc, Rachel & Iris the day before we left. We'll miss you! Thanks for everything.