the sweetest time of the year

A Sweet Dani B Squirrel Cookie w/my felted acorns

I am always thankful for my family and friends. Of course the holidays remind us even more how thankful we are for what we have, and offer us a chance to give back to the ones we love.  My bestie Dan...Dani of Sweet Dani B , asked me to collaborate with her this year (as we have done in years past) and be a part of the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend in Brooklyn, NY.  Of course I jumped at the chance to spend the day with her, as well as my other good friend Amanda, an amazing baker (among other things!).  I will be bringing some of my felted acorns, Amanda some of her delicious cookies, and Dan will have her signature gourmet, artistic, one-of-a-kind cookie creations; all packaged and ready to bring fresh smiles to eager faces. As much as I am looking forward to selling some artistic creations to new customers this weekend, I am even more looking forward to the actual hours of the day.  A day to spend, with my good friends, talking and catching up, laughing, and enjoying our time together.  Check out Dan's super sweet blog post in anticipation of the weekend here. 

Special Edition pink & brown ornaments made in Sweet Dani B colors for Saturday!

Hope to see you this Saturday at Renegade ♥

 

hello fleet week

the Intrepid is permanently docked in NYC



This past Memorial Day Weekend my husband Tom and I decided to venture into the city for a day.  As we drove down the West Side Highway we remembered (and saw) that it was Fleet Week.  We decided to park and walk on over to the Hudson River and check it out.  Fleet Week is an annual event and being able to see and actually board some the ships was an incredible experience.  Many of the service men and women were also on hand to talk, meet, and receive thanks from the thousands of visitors.  It was indeed a rare opportunity.

entering the USS WASP



looking down to my right as entering, this ship is huge!

on the flight deck looking up

planes land here!

one of the planes on board with the city skyline

Tom checking things out

note the "give 'em hell" logo

peering off the ship with the city skyline

To all our service men and women...

Thank you for your continued sacrifices, dedication, and service.

spring flower i-phone photo dump

I have been a little off my blogging game lately.  I am still here, just busy and occupied with a million other life happenings...kind of let my blog slip.  With all this beautiful (and very early) warm spring weather we having here in NY, I decided to share with you some of the boomings in my yard.  After last summer's "freak" hurricane and then the devastating snow storm that surprised us here Halloween week...our trees and plantings sure took a hit.  It is however now a breath of fresh air to see all of the new growths, buds, and flowers each day as we take walks around the yard with our dog Mel to explore.  These are from Mel's and my walk yesterday...enjoy this latest i-phone photo dump!

yellow daffs = :)

Our magnolia was hit hard by the storms...but it still blooms strong

These were potted hyacinths I was given and planted in the ground after bloom...

they come back year after year!

weeping cherry makes me smile

worms eye view through the forsythia

Even the stumps in my yard have "growth"...love interesting fungi!

What's growing & blooming around you?

happy love day!

valentine's day window display at Beads of Paradise in NYC

xoxo

vintage valentine's

With Valentine's Day only 3 days away you may be thinking about what you can do that is special and unique for your loved ones?  My sister was home making old fashioned Valentine's with my nieces last night (just like our mom did with us as kids).  We were looking at images of vintage Valentine's this week at work and and really today's commercial imagery just does not compare.  I thought I would share a few of the images with you here.  Why not print some out and make your own homemade Valentine's? Vintage Holiday Crafts has so many great free images to use, just please be sure to read their rules regarding the use of images.
  

all above images courtesy vintageholidaycrafts.com

Here’s another great set of vintage Valentine’s Day cards I found on a Flickr stream. [via]

Happy Love Day

♥

shadow chasers

12/31/2010

1/7/2012

notice the lack of snow...it was almost 60 degrees!

both photos were shot in the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

I took a photo yesterday that was almost identical to one I took almost a year ago.  I didn't realize it at the time.  I take photos of shadows a lot.  It is actually one of the assignments I gave my students when I taught a photography class a few summers ago and I remember having been given the assignment in photo class myself many years ago.  Shadows are made from light and are things we see everyday, but there is something very intriguing about them as a photographer and artist.   Photographers have always paid very close attention to light and many noteworthy photographers have recorded remarkable shadows on film.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Kenneth Josephson

Lee Frielander 

Lee Frielander 

Andre Kertesz

Gilles Peress

Ralph Steiner

Henri Cartier-Bresson

For photo sources/links, please check out my pinterest gallery Shadows

welcome 2012

morning walk 1.1.12

wishing you a 

happy, healthy & peaceful 

2012

♥