MY GLAMOROUS WEEKEND

A little shop browsing 

A little work

Some seafood salad rolls I made with a side of Summer squash

Discovering the world's best cottage cheese 

(Whoa - exciting!!)

Admiring the custom painted dressing rooms at Lilly Pulitzer

and

last, but not least, celebrating Father's Day with my terrific Dad by making him Chicken Piccata and 

having some of my Mom's homemade cheesecake.

I don't know about you, but sometimes in this age of Facebook, Twitter and blogs, I get the feeling that many seem to be starring in a production all their own. Desperately vying for attention and competing for the envy of their friends (or, should I say "contacts"). It's like people are reality show wannabes. Hungry for attention, eager to show photos or videos of themselves doing everything and nothing, whether or not anyone is really interested. Along with the voracious hunger to be on display there's also a certain measure of trying to portray  their lives as something they may not be or as more exciting than the next persons'. Aspiring for celebrity status. All of these people documenting their every move?? I don't get it. They must either be very confident that their lives are exciting and enviable or they are totally delusional.

I'm the first to admit that people are interesting. I am a born people watcher and I do enjoy the human-story side of things and lifestyle voyeurism to a degree. Personally, I am a fairly private individual and am not keen on showing photos of myself for the heck of it, especially since only 1 out of 50 turns out decently! That's why in the 5 years since I've started this blog I have shown only a few photos of me and try to strike a balance between being open and over-exposing myself. However, I also realize that it's essential, especially in the art/design/blogging business to have a website and make a connection with people, put yourself out there a bit and not remain a complete mystery a 'la the unibomber.  Just as I enjoy reading about other folks, sometimes I need to open up and show a little of my own world. But I ask myself, where do you draw the line between being accessible vs. making people sick from your personal trivia?  The pressure of "sharing" can make you feel like you need to present your life as more exciting than it may actually be and what is exciting to one person may seem pathetic and mundane to another. Kind of like show & tell in school when the next kid made what you shared seem dumb by comparison. What ever happened to being yourself and contentment with reality? Why do so many people feel the need to be a star and be so affected? Well, I am certainly no star with an exciting life, but hey, I am perfectly ok with that. There's great freedom in anonymity and tremendous joy in the simple things. Perhaps there's value, just even living YOUR own life as it is, rather than the life of a person who is a figment of your imagination or someone elses'? Ya think?? When did we start attributing more value to someone's existence based on the numbers in their viewing audience??  

What do YOU think?

Hence, a few pics of my totally un-glamorous but perfectly satisfying weekend. 

I hope that you had a great weekend, too!  

IF CHARLIE BROWN WAS A GIRL......

the tree might look something like this......I can't decide whether to cover the base of my little tree with a blanket - Linus-style - or to leave it alone to enhance the pitiful effect.....what do you think? Cast your vote!!

HAVE A COZY WEEKEND!

THE LITTLE THINGS.......

Here are just a few random snapshots of a few little things in my studio that help keep things cheery for me. For most people, a lavender stapler would not float their boat, but it just makes me smile! It was marked down because few people like the colors I do, which makes me think of the adage,"one man's trash is another man's treasure"! (One of those instances when NOT being mainstream can be to your benefit!) I could be hired for focus groups to predict what the general public would NOT buy, because I usually like the opposite of what big-box retailers sell in volume.

I LOVE plants and flowers. I have a special affinity for miniature ficus trees and found this unique trellis-style ficus at IKEA at an amazing price!

My small-ish inspiration board with a few favorite photos, postcards, etc.

This quote poster is one I created to remember to be thankful, even on the days when things aren't going right. Along with it is a piece of coral brought back from the Florida Keys. I know people say coral is "so passe' ", but I have always loved it and always will. To me, it's underwater sculpture by God. There's also a carved wooden box I gold-leafed and a tole container I painted in stripes.

Me, at work in my studio!

I know some people love to collect things or to own expensive art or antiques. Now, that's not exactly an option for me, but I do enjoy being surrounded by a few objects that make me smile. I couldn't care less about something's provenance or name - I look for color, shape, design or sentimental value. Sometimes it's the colorful stapler I found on clearance for $5 or a photo of a vacation long ago that still brings back great memories. It's just the small things that somehow contribute to making your domain an expression of who you are. But things are only things, and oftentimes it's the least expensive object that may hold the most "cheer-power".

I was thinking about it, the same goes for my actions. I never know when a kind word, opening the door for a mom with a stroller or letting someone in my traffic lane may be just the little pick-me-up that someone needs in their life. We all have these opportunities that come to us every day - I know I am often just too preoccupied with what I am doing or caught up in my own interests to recognize them. Now, I am no Pollyanna. I won't even claim to be. I know the world is not full of goodness - I've lived long enough not to subscribe to that fairytale. I have encountered my share of caustic, small people who relish taking any opportunity to be mean. Who live to get ahead at any cost, to vent their frustration, anger and hurt on innocent people. Purely because those people have the misfortune to be in their path. My first inclination is to want to see these people harshly reprimanded or punished and NOW!! But before I get on my soapbox and try to instruct others on how to become better people, I need to think - what about me? What about my attitude toward these "mean" people? Wouldn't I be just like them if I wish them harm or heartbreak?

Sadly, these people are the losers. Somewhere along the line, they experienced life's inevitable pain and disappointments, got hardened and bitter, and allowed themselves to become "carriers" of evil. In "acting out" they are only compounding their own misery. When they lay their head on the pillow at night, they cannot escape who they really are. You can lie to other people, but you can't really lie to yourself, or it will end up destroying you. When I see this cruelty, this venom, the sheer hideousness of it just motivates me to be the exact opposite and not give place to any of the same in my life. To re-examine my own behavior and seek ways I can show kindness and bring a bit of cheer or hope to those people I encounter each day. Even the bad apples and sour grapes. To go the "extra-mile" with people who just really annoy me. The micro-managers, the nags, the liars.....it's like getting a shot in the arm. I don't know about you, but I want to be one of those people whom others are actually glad to see or hear from. Not a drain, not a source of dread, not someone who just transfers the angst from the wrong done to me to someone else. Even if it's just in the little things I do.......

We do have power - for good or evil, to add another link in the chain of hatred and abuse or to let it stop with us.....

I want to thank those in my life (including many of you who leave me comments and send me emails) who always have something encouraging to say. A smile, a kind word, a hug or kiss, an "atta girl" that lifts me up when I am feeling less than terrific. You know who you are!! Love you!

100th POST AND.........

Nothing spectacular to feature! I am, regretfully, bringing shame on my fellow bloggers! They have all managed to dazzle us with outstanding 100th posts of their own and I will now receive the prize for the under-achiever! LOL. I have never kept silence this long since I started this blog and I apologize. I just haven't had the time the last couple of weeks to do much of anything other than work. Santa is indeed a slave-driver. In the near future, I will be able to share with you some of the fruits of my labors, but for now I have to keep these works under wraps until the people they were intended for get to see them first. And so, I leave you with a photo of me with my current "dazed from deadlines" expression in my best Christmas dress (yes, the Florida sun is bringing out my freckles and aging me prematurely! Yay!) I am heading back to the grindstone (er, drawing-board, in my case). For now, I leave you all with the very best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and/or any and all Holidays you might celebrate!