dressing up!

Its been a fun weekend starting with Halloween on Friday, where Sierra had either the cheapest costume as a "bloody patient," which cost only an old pair of pajamas and $2 worth of fake blood from Walmart:

Or the most expensive, if you count the over $600 cast on her arm, which was what inspired the costume in the first place. Also, in our house, even the dog dresses up, much to Lady's dismay:

But it calms her down, albeit from shame I think, so she can be around the neighbor boys without jumping or barking. They came over dressed as Ghost Rider and Spiderman. It just proves no matter how dangerous the costume is supposed to be, when they're little, it's cute no matter what!

Even P-O, the exchange student I placed in Lone Oak from Belgium had fun on his first American Halloween! He was very excited to carve pumpkins for the first time ever, and dress up for the day, which he told me only young children do back home.

Now that its all over, its time to start thinking about the holiday season that is fast approaching! I am hard at work designing holiday ornaments and finishing three custom paintings that have to be in the mail this week. Stay tuned for pics this week of my newest work!! In the meantime, happy fall!

Drink of the Week

It's raining and gloomy here. I can't take pictures of all the new jewelry I made this week. Which is too bad, because I have some great new stuff. Keep an eye out next week! I will also be having a sale (details announced tomorrow) to coincide with the FAM Back to School Fling. The Fling is and event sponsered by the Fabulous Artistic Moms (FAM), specifically a fun back to school treasure hunt. Visit various FAM stores on Etsy and look for the hidden owl in each shop. You can win FAM bucks, good for merchandise in participating FAM shops (including mine)! For more details, visit the FAM blog.



Sierra is just now finally recovering from her Brown Recluse bites, of which she managed to get not one, but two, this week on her arm. For those of who who don't know, Kentucky, specifically this part apparently, is lousy with these nasty spiders. We have both been bitten on a few occasions since our move here in 2005. I got a crash course in what not to do when bitten when I almost lost my leg to one a month after moving here. Needless to say, we're experts now, and Sierra is fine. But it has been a long week. Our new kitten, Tramp, also went missing, but is found again and also fine.



In addition to all the other activity around here lately, Lea, the exchange student from Germany I found a host family for, arrives Tuesday. We are very excited to meet her and show her around. In the spirit of friendship, my drink recipe of the week is one I created for my lovliest of friends, Andrea, or Dre:



Behold, the most refreshing and tasty of all martinis, and sure to be your favorite too!

Fruit Punch Martini (aka Dre-tini)

1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz triple sec
1 1/2 oz Rose's Watermelon Mixer
splash grenadine
splash cherry juice from maraschino cherries
Shake over ice, strain into chilled martini glass.
Garnish with a orange slice and maraschino cherry.

To chill a martini glass, fill with ice and water before making drink. Dump out right before straining drink into glass. Enjoy!! xoxo

Artist of the Week-Lola Akinmade

Lola Akinmade originally attracted my attention with this 100X100 pixel entry for The Grid:

This delightful woman takes earthy, emotional, and stunningly beautiful photography from her travels around the globe. Her website is as down to earth and beautiful as she is. The muted, earth colors, and simple design are an immediate tell of her style in general. See?

After all my attention and focus lately on international travel, and exchange students, this site really appeals to me, and her photojournalism hits home. Her photography makes the everyday life of her subjects convey a beauty and story well beyond the image that is captured in the moment. Each subject has a story, an emotion, that shines through and captures the hearts of the viewer. Here is a small sample, from her trip to Nigeria in 2007:

I can't help but love this artist and her work!! Go check it out for yourself!

Lola Akinmade http://www.lemurworks.com/lola/

xoxo

Host an exchange student!!

I am exhausted. I spent all weekend in Chicago for a training/ meeting for my new job, and now I am on standby at O'Hare, really hoping I will have a ride when I get to Nashville. But I learned alot abouut this new job, and I am totally stoked! For those of you who don't know, I recently got a job for a non-profit exchange student agency called the Center for Cultural Interchange. The agency has been in the business of helping exchange students find host families both here and abroad since 1985, and has slowly grown to be on of the largest, and most certainly the best, exchange student agency since then. I learned a ton, and am ready to help people open their hearts, families, and lives to an exchange student, and really, a whole new culture! Doesn't that sound fun?

Learn more at CCI's website: http://www.cci-exchange.com/, or email me at daydreamartist76@yahoo.com

xoxo