Sunday, June 28, 2009

Girlie, cute or fun

I've been meaning to post these somewhat unrelated things for awhile, mostly because I think they are too cute or fun to pass up and not share. Here's a really sweet girlie outfit that would be so fun to wear on a summer date:

Earrings from Ruche


Shirt from Ruche

Skirt from Anthropologie


Shoes from Urban Outfitters

I am really loving this blog that a friend posted on her Facebook feed. How cute!

Need some upbeat girlie music to add to your fun summertime playlist?:
Check out these guys.
or maybe you'll like them.

Though I like My Brightest Diamond's other songs a bit better, I really enjoyed watching this video:


Wednesday, June 24, 2009

New cards

I finally did it, I set some time aside yesterday evening to finish this set of nautical cards :). You can find them here.

On another note, isn't this a cute desktop! Click here to see it. I snatched it up yesterday to use as wallpaper.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Yay!

Happy Friday! :)
image from here.

this is the happiest owl I've ever seen =0)

So I finally revamped my etsy store yesterday, just posted the old cards from months ago. Unfortunately I left half of the other drawings for more cards in Boston, but I'll add more very soon...I feel a little encouraged today, someone added one of my card sets to their Etsy Treasury, check it out Here! yay :)! It's the bottom one on the far left.


I decided that my store also needs a makeover. I'll be spending more time on the store, I miss drawing and I'm slowly figuring out how to manage my time a bit better so that I can do a little more of this and that on the weekends/evenings (cooking, drawing, cleaning, etc.). It's time for a change -- new items to sell, a fresh new look to attract collectors of handmade note cards and general cute stuff. I ordered a simple and fun header/avatar/blog button from here, can't wait to see what it looks like :). Stay tuned!

Monday, June 15, 2009

The future/Rambling

Downtown Houston from our apartment

I can't believe it's already June and tomorrow is my hubby's birthday! This summer is flying by, it's crazy. I think every day goes by faster than the last. A month into his internship and things couldn't be better for Jose, thanks to God, we've been blessed. We're staying in a cozy apartment, thanks to Jose's sister, and at the moment I really can't complain. But because time is flying by, I realize that I really need to figure out what I'm going to do with myself after Jose graduates from law school.

What do I mean by that? Well, I've been going back and forth, I've always been pretty indecisive, but I'm determined to go to art school of some kind (as if that narrows it down!). For awhile, I was so determined to go to culinary school, but then when I think about all of the other things I enjoy doing, I almost get a little sad that I won't be able to develop the other interests, at least academically/professionally. But whatever I decide to do, I know that at one point or another I would like to serve others too. This life isn't my own to live and I wouldn't feel right just pursuing my own interests without acknowledging the suffering that exists in the world.

I don't care much for the corporate world, and I always felt that if I was going to be some kind of professional other than an artist, I would like to be a teacher. So if I go to culinary school, I would like to offer culinary classes for financially struggling single moms who want to cook good meals for their kids but don't have the time. I'd also love to open up a restaurant (whether or not I attend culinary school) and I think it would be very cool if I could somehow dedicate one day a week, or every two weeks, to serving food to those who don't have much in the community (maybe have a free meal night or discount menu?). I still need to work out the details and I'm saying all of this pretty much ignorant of whether or not it'd be affordable, but I know I'd like to do something to this effect.

Oh Oh! And about the restaurant I want to open (if I go to culinary school), I'd like it to also be a music venue... and last night I told Jose that if I decided to just go to art school (to become an illustrator or graphic artist) I would still like to open up a gluten-free bakery/pancake house; maybe I could sell art there? There's already a gluten-free bakery in Austin that I like to visit called Wild Wood and they sell local art there, very fun place. I was able to swing by the place this past week when I went to Austin for a business meeting. The night before, we (the company) went out to eat at another restaurant on South Congress, where they serve a drink called a New Old Fashioned -- when I heard about it, I just knew I had to use it for a restaurant/bakery name!

KIDS! Yes, we'll find a way to squeeze those in too. Eventually we'd also like to adopt, kids and animals, we both feel that if you can afford it and you've got the love to give, then it's the right thing to do. I think I'd like to have 4 or 5 kids total, not sure how many of them will be adopted, we shall see...

I'm very scatterbrained. It's a good thing I like being busy because it sounds like that's what life's gonna be like these next few years :).

Sunday, June 14, 2009

What Counts

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
Psalm 118:8

When I was a little girl, I always had something to say. My mom called it talking back; my teachers called it talking too much.

Whether I was in class, but I just couldn't wait to say something to my friend sitting behind me (which eventually led to a Needs Improvement on my progress report because of how often it happened :P), or I was sitting around the dinner table and my mom would request that I please stop rambling so she could get a word in, I was (am) a motor mouth. My grandfather just laughed about it and told me to become a newscaster :).

Every once in awhile, I would actually say something worthwhile. For instance, one Sunday morning in 4th grade, my mom and I were getting ready for church. I hated wearing dresses; I despised looking too girly (but at the same time, I still had a million and one dolls in my room, go figure). My mom asked me to please dress nicely for church, and I was feeling rather smart that morning (sarcasm) and decided to "talk back" and give her the following response:

But doesn't God not care what we look like on the outside, isn't it what's on the inside that counts the most?

My mom's response? Well, for once she actually didn't reprimand me for "talking back"; I was rather taken back by that, actually. She simply responded with a...

Yes!


Needless to say, that day I got to wear shorts and a t-shirt to church, which was pretty much what I wore every day growing up in sunny Los Angeles until that age. I was convinced that God had pardoned me for talking back, at least this one time :).

Years later, I eventually became a bible study leader in college precisely because I talked so much. I asked a lot of questions, but some of them weren't as welcome as the others. so it seemed. For lack of a better term, I enjoyed playing the devil's advocate because I felt God gave us all a brain that he wanted us to use. I still feel that way.

I like to question what most consider solid beliefs because I wonder just how solid they are and how much they deviate from Christ's original message, let's just say I think the term "Christian" is misused and abused like crazy. It really makes me sad when I see someone who has totally lost their faith in God, or has never found it to begin with, because of how much the term "Christian" disturbs them, thanks to the ignorant "fan club". I know it hurts God's heart more than mine, but then I wonder if I'm living up to his standards, or if I'm too busy talking back.

I once read a bumper sticker that says "I have no problem with God, it's his fan club I can't stand" -- hence my use of the term above. I have to admit, I thought it was rather funny, but I was also saddened by it. I laughed because of how much truth it holds, but then reflected on the many ways that statment is the reason why so many people have given up on having a relationship with God altogether.

I believe our relationship with God is supposed to be a very personal one. Though I also believe that fellowship with others is important, I think it tends to take center stage too much and lead to a herd mentality. It can get so bad that we no longer question things because when someone responds to a claim with a Well, it's in the bible, we take it as fact instead of researching it ourselves and figuring out how much truth is in that claim. Again, God did give us a brain. I honestly believe most of these claims are founded on someone's misguided/self-imposed legalistic beliefs. When I give a counter response in moments like that, I feel 9 again; figuratively speaking, I'm the one asking why we get so caught up in what we're wearing instead of what God wants to see in us, or what he really wants us to be like.

So this is an issue that's weighing heavy on me, and I'm wondering how much my disappointment with the aforementioned has influenced my own perspective on God. I know that I don't spend as much time getting to know him as I should, and I do believe part of it has to do with the fact that I don't have a "group" to help hold me accountable. But I'm skeptical of groups, like I said.

So here I am again, dusting myself off. Waking up early in the morning, hungry for a real spiritual breakfast; reaching for my devotional and hoping for some hope. Hmm... then I read this: I have always believed in God. But it wasn't until I began devoting myself to His Word that I had something tangible that I could hang on to when times got rough. (From Live on Purpose for Women by J.M. Farro)

Revisiting this again: I don't have a problem with God, it's his fan club I can't stand...

So who do we turn to when times get rough? This is why I find that bumper sticker so sad, because I have to ask myself who we turn to if we live by what that sticker says. I'm not talking about turning to a group of people, God already said people would disappoint us, but I wonder what would happen if all of us turned our eyes away from what everyone else was doing and thinking and rested them on who God really is. Thankfully, we don't have to go through anyone else and their distorted beliefs in order to get to God, we can go directly to him. Unlike everyone else, he isn't pointing fingers -- he just has his hand outstretched, waiting for us to take hold of it and see the scars that prove he's the only intercessor we need.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Fun finds and freebies

I found this really pretty fabric online (I lost the url for the site where I found it! :0/) and thought it would make the perfect background for a fun blog! It took me awhile to figure out I couldn't crop it to make it tileable, but I made it seamless using gimp and now it can be used as a tiled background :).


I love each and every one of these kitchens! I wish that I could have a house just full of kitchens. A bathroom kitchen would be a little odd, though :).

Jinjerjup has some sweet freebies like cute wallpapers and print-outs.

Free colorful seamless patterns from Patterrific.

Really pretty free bohemian backgrounds for your site (you'll have to make them seamless).

Saturday, June 6, 2009

That's it!

Don't you feel sorry for apples sometimes? They seem to be the perfect fruit for snacking on, thanks to the handy skin that makes them easy to transport from place to place without a ziploc. But that poor skin, it touches everything: the kitchen counter at work, the passenger seat, the bottom of our huge tote bag (aka home to random crumbs, gum wrappers, movie ticket stubs and old receipts that have touched so many hands -- and who knows whose hands?!! And if they wash those hands after going to the bathroom?!).

Ok, maybe it's never crossed your mind. But now it has, and I bet you're grossed out! So, altogether now: Jacquueline Dufresne, we applaud you for coming up with the clever Apple Jacket (found here)! You must've also considered the horrible torture that apple skins undergo! Thanks to you, the next time I grab an apple on my way out the door, I can rest assured that I won't be devouring a petri dish disguised as my favorite fruit when it's snack time (nor do I have to waste a paper/plastic bag!). I have to say, I prefer this way of being green rather than having my face take on that color when I think about all the microbes that might be growing on my poor apple's exterior. Ok, ok... so maybe that doesn't happen, but I do think this is a cute and clever idea.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Vintage Thingies Thursday

This week's Vintage Thingies Thursday is hosted by The Colorado Lady. Here are some things I found at the antique store in Austin, from our trip a few weekends ago...

A cute vintage coin purse/make-up bag that was a steal at $2!

Mini orange flower-petal shaped bowls that I use for storing salt or berries or...pretty much anything :). Another steal, this time at $3 for all 3!

These items were purchased at the Austin Antique Mall.


 

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