Gold Mine

The past month has been a blur!

I've been out of town for three of the past four weekends now and I am so glad to be home. It was all wonderful fun; family and sun all over Florida.

One of those weekends was spent down in Tequesta with my dear friend Megan. The show, Next Wave, was a hit and the opening night party was packed with guests. I met some superb new artists and re-met another Gainesville local who happened to win best in show!

The best part of those three days though, aside from just hanging out and catching up with Megan, was driving to the Lighthouse Art Center classrooms and packing my car full to the brim with enamel and supplies.

This isn't even all of the boxes full of enamels gifted to me by Megan and the art center. The family of a local enamelist donated every last bit of her studio to the center when she died, but her supplies were older and every last one of her enamels is leaded. This meant that keeping them at a children's art school wasn't an option, but having them at my house is just fine!

This is the new kiln. I'm pretty sure my old one can fit inside the chamber of this one.

I'm excited to get working, even if I now have to fire outside on our screened porch. See, the old-school kiln requires a 240v outlet, which we have for our dryer on the porch. The leaded enamels also carry a bit of a risk as far as our pets are concerned. I can wear a mask and wash my hands, but they can't avoid getting the fine residue dust on their feet and fur ingesting it when they groom.

So, now I wait for the heat to dial it back a few notches. Working outside at a 1500 degree kiln when it's already 100+ outside isn't very motivating. I think for now I'll try to organize and catalog the couple hundred jars of enamel that are sitting in my spare bedroom, dreaming while I do of all the new creations they'll create.
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Next Wave

My sweet friend Megan moved back home to South Florida after college here at UF a few years ago. She landed the perfect job for her not long after that and has become the Assistant Director of Education at the lovely Lighthouse Art Center, a gallery and school located in her home town of Tequesta.

'Galaxy' dish in blue

Recently Megan sent me the call-to-artists information for a new show that will open at the end of June that features artists under 35. I stalled on it since we were headed to the big cities (Boston and NYC) on vacation just a couple days later. When I returned, I was surprised to find out that the deadline for submission was two days later and got myself in gear to photograph the pieces I planned on submitting. Well, good thing I wasn't relying on creating new work for the show because I would have never had the time, and then would have never had the opportunity to be a part of this exciting exhibit.
The board of directors quickly made their decisions and I was officially notified that all three of my submitted pieces were accepted! The large galaxy dish, sea glass pendant, and sand dollar pendant will be on display from June 24 through September 1.

Collin and I are making the drive down for a two-day stop so that we can visit with Megan and also attend the opening reception for the show on the 24th. The night boasts a micro-brew tasting and an awards ceremony for the artwork in the show. It's been a long, long time since my work was exhibited in a gallery and even longer since I submitted it to a juried show with the potential for an award. I'll be crossing my fingers they fall in love with one of them and that I can go home with a new feather for my cap.
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Big Red

Sold!
Thanks Amber!

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Happy St. Paddy's Day

We'll be spending the day hosting friends for Irish deliciousness and beer cocktails. It's the third annual Teague/McLeod St. Patrick's Day Potluck (has it been three years already?) Check out the party from 2009 and forgive me for being such a slacker last year in 2010, where I didn't take photos.

On the menu this time is guinness slow-cooked brisket, scalloped potatoes, roasted carrots, steamed cabbage with vinegars, and herb bread with Irish butter and herbed cheese. I know friends will be bringing carbomb cupcakes, banoffee pie, colcannon, and lots of beer.

Sláinte my friends!
May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

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Valentine's Love

Sold!
Thanks, Catherine!

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It's a New Day.

source

It's a new Year.


December flew right by and left in its wake a mess of stress, plenty of tears, more fun than I can handle, and precious time with family and friends.
Then just when you're starting to get into it, they're gone.

After GLAM in Gainesville, we traveled down to SRQ for the Atomic Holiday Bazaar. It was fun and profitable (even if not as much as GLAM) and I was so happy to share my craft with our loved ones in the area. I don't know if it would have even been a money making situation if not for so many wonderfully supportive family friends who came down and purchased gifts for the holidays. Lessons were learned and the biggest was that stress does not help anything, and that even if not 100% done to my satisfaction things will turn out great. What matters is your attitude and your grace.
Then we came back to Gainesville for another couple weeks where work ramped up (as usual) and the obligations of the holidays hit me. I worried, worked too late, didn't eat enough and came home exhausted every day. Next xmas, it will be different. I realize now that I just have to have no shame in starting projects far in advance and be strong in saying 'no' when I need a break.
We made it through though, and traveled down to SRQ again just in time for Festivus and Christmas. Friday to Sunday were blocked solidly by family. By the end of it all we were both really really tired of talking about our jobs (which we did with everyone at Thanksgiving, when we were down for GLAM, and then again at Christmas!) and when Collin is going to do grad school. Ask him enough and he won't, okay? But Monday and Tuesday relaxation, friends, and hanging out recharged our batteries enough to get home, work one day and then enjoy our New Year's.

We invited friends over to celebrate with way too much tasty food, champagne punch, beers, and fun. Some came over and hung out while others were no-shows and still more were out of town. I was a little disappointed that so few people came, but those who did had fun and I got to end the night watching 200 Cigarettes on TV in my pj's. We were even able to break out the leftovers during the football game (which we won!) on Saturday.
Good times.

And now another year is over, and the new one begun. I've made a few resolutions that are casual and constant (budgeting/saving, eating more healthfully, walking the dog) and a few that are bigger and more unfamiliar (eating lunch every day, drinking more water, reducing stress and my reactions to stress, cutting back on bad habits around June). Many of my tasks on the life list are not yet done and I am certain that by September when my 1001 days are up won't be finished either. Can I edit it this late in the game?? Maybe I'll outline the new resolutions later, maybe I'll keep them to myself as to reduce the pressure. Maybe we have a big resolution/goal that the two of us want to accomplish in the Fall that we're not ready to tell people about yet.

Either way,
Cheers to 2011
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Weekend FTW

I posted this photo of new copper hoop earrings on my facebook page last Thursday night and by Friday afternoon they were sold to my friend in Jacksonville.

Now that's a good sign!

I didn't quite work as much as I planned (aka every day) this past weekend but when Monday came I looked back and felt great. Actually, I felt great Sunday night after getting to bed at 1045, realizing that I accomplished everything I set out to do including taking a nap. It was shorter than I wanted, but it was a nap dammit. A good one.

I got home early from work on Friday and started running a computer clean-up protocol that was desperately needed. I still have a couple steps to finish but our home computer is already working so much better. Saturday morning in fact, Collin was able to stream some live soccer and he said it probably wouldn't have been possible had I not cleaned off so much junk the night before. Friday night I also went to dinner with Laura and Cindy for ladies night at The Top. Can I just ask why everyone is getting rid of their damn portobello sandwiches? It's my go-to favorite thing on so many menus and I am having to switch it up constantly now. Come on. I will say I like the addition of fried pickles to the appetizer selections. Always good. Always. I saw Jay working, said hi, and got us some stiffer drinks than usual to start off the night because Collin was super amazing and offered to drive us and pick us up. The benefits of having a husband spending the night in watching soccer and a friend behind the bar. So, instead of enameling when I got home I just hung out with Collin and we went to bed early.
Saturday we lazed around in bed as long as possible before I got up and went out to work. I also wanted to go to the mall and see if I could find a few things for the both of us. Our closets are sad. Well, my closet is sad and his selection of work shirts is small. Anyway I walked around forever and came home with 3 v-neck t-shirts in various colors and patterns. I am so typical. Someday, I will buy something else, I swear. I also drove out to Fresh Market to get a few pumpkins because they were half the price there as any other grocery store in town. Then I stopped in to Publix for my weekly trip. While I was out, Collin kept watching football (not soccer) and cleaned the house. Did I mention how awesome my husband is? He swept and mopped the house, cleaned the stovetop, cleaned the bathroom, and washed our sheets. BAM! By the time I got home I was exhausted and just really really wanted to take that nap. Too bad our friend Jon was headed over to watch the Bama/LSU game that felt like it was lasting forever. By the time it ended, I couldn't justify a nap so I made dinner and hung out at home with Collin until I could go to sleep early.
Sunday I woke up late, after 12 hours of glorious sleep. I made us a quick breakfast while we puttered around and then I made cookies (half of which I burned) to take over to Laura's house for pumpkin carving and snacks. I carved Jack Skellington into mine. Collin carved Lionel Richie. Good times, happy pumpkins. I just hope they won't rot before Halloween like they did last year. With daytime temps in the high 80's all week, I have little hope. Finally I came home and took a nap. No really, we walked in the door and I took off my shoes and got into bed. We were expecting Gabe and Jenn for dinner and TV watching at 5, and it was 4pm. I had well over half an hour for some delicious daytime sleeping and that's just what I did. Then I got up, made another quick dinner and had fun with our friends until about 7. Then I started enameling, popping in and out of the living room to hang out here and there. I managed to fire 8 pieces even while hanging out. Not as many as I hoped for the whole weekend but some is always better than none.
Satisfied.

Next weekend is The Fest so my brother and many friends will be in town rocking out. I won't see them much but plan on being brunch hostess to all - come cure your hangover with my bacon. After the cooking, back to more enameling work. This time, I mean it. But I won't be too sad if I get less done than my lofty goals planned.
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goal fail

So I said I was going to enamel on Saturday, right?
Well I lied.
Apparently.

I did not, in fact, do anything related to enameling on Saturday. Instead I hosted Collin's out of town friend staying with us for the football game after he arrived earlier than I anticipated. When I also realized that the football game would not be on TV I should have decided to stay home and work while listening to it on the radio.
What I did instead was go to a friends house to attempt watching it online through her TV. Too bad we found out after we were all there and the potluck had started that it was not online at all.
So we hung out and ate snacks and chicken legs listening to it on the radio.

I had fun, but if I'm ever going to get this work done, I'm going to have to start declining some invitations from friends eventually.
Sunday didn't happen either after waking up at nearly 11AM, cleaning the house, getting dinner started in the slow cooker, getting a surprise phone call from a friend passing through town who wanted to meet for a late lunch, and then hosting Gabe and Jenn (and Foster pup) for dinner and DVR'd TV premiers.
This weekend was full. And I really needed that early bedtime I gave myself yesterday.

SO!
Tonight, Monday night.
September 27th, 2010.

I will enamel several pieces. Start to finish.
Because I already made plans for Tuesday to hang out and watch an interesting DVD
with Adriane while Collin is out kicking around a soccer ball with his buddies. We went out for ladies night Friday night at The Warehouse and got to talking about religion/creation. A while ago my lovely friend Anna invited me to see a Christian astrophysicist speak about his thoughts on evolution and creation. It was a really interesting discussion and she then secretly went and bought the DVD for sale at the end of the event. I'm pretty sure it will lean towards the intelligent design side of the argument, but I have always felt bad about failing to watch it for so long. Tuesday sounds like a great night for it, especially because when talking it sounds like something that aligns greatly with what Adriane believes. She is in grad school for architecture (serious business) so I told her that I would always love to hang out and watch TV or a DVD while she's doing sketches or models. A lot of work for most people in school requires serious concentration, but thankfully a lot of hers can be done while casually hangin', but now that we're not all in school, it's harder to feel comfortable doing work if the other person has none to do. It will make for a great time for me to sit and finish the pieces I'll be doing tonight.
I've planned an easy dinner and everything!
GOALS. Aren't they great?
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Doggy Date

Just look at these sweet pups hanging out together on Early Girl's dog bed.



We watched over this little gray and white fellow over the past weekend while our friend (and hopefully future neighbor) was out of town. His name is Eli. He is awesome. This pair gets along really well with mostly lazy couch slumbering or bone eating on their daily to-do lists. Throw in some yard running and a few hours of roughhousing and you have happy dogs.

Now that the weather is gorgeous and the time has changed back to where I like it to be (dark mornings, longer evening light) we're going to be making our way to the dog park more often with our girl. Eli and his mom live just a few blocks away so these friends will get to play in a big group.
At least until they both get tired and decide to stop and do nothing except lay in the dirt.


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Springtime Clothes Swap

This spring, before you hit the mall or the web for new warm-weather clothes, why not try having a clothes swap party!?

Last year a small group of girls and I got together at my house to unload all our never-worn items and rifle through each others loot. At the end of the day I kept two dresses, five shirts, a long cardigan and a cute sparkly shrug - all of which I have worn several times in the last year. Some of them have even become favorites that I wear weekly (or more than that thank you).

If you're interested in holding a clothes swap of your own, here are some tips I have after learning from last year.

1. Sort sort sort. Before friends arrive, sort your own items into groups. As the others start to file in, they can go through their own bags and add stuff to the designated area. This saves time and allows people enough space to sort through and really look at the clothes without getting overwhelmed by choices. I even set up a rack with some hangers for particularly pretty shirts and dresses almost as a showcase.

2. Let people try things on. I kicked out Collin and Gabe that day and plan on keeping it a girls-only party again this year. With that many ladies wanting to try on clothes, giving everyone private (or at least semi-private) space is very thoughtful. Lines can form if everyone starts using the bathroom as a dressing room so think of other places you can transform. Hang a sheet to divide off your dining room and use the bedroom for changing too. Every space helps; some of you may already be friends who have no problems trying on clothes with each other but others may be less familiar or have other reasons to want privacy.

3. No even-trades required. The whole point of a clothes swap (if you ask me) is to be generous towards your friends with clothes that you already intend to donate. If you're already going to give it away, there's no need to keep track of how much each person brings or with how much they walk away.

4. Provide snacks. Sure, it's not always your favorite thing to try on clothes after you've eaten but having something to nosh on while you're hanging out and swapping keeps up the blood sugar and the morale. A light drink and something simple are all you need. As the host you can elect to do some of this yourself or you can enlist your friends or suggest a potluck style. Maybe a friend who has no clothes to contribute wants to make muffins instead? Perfect!

5. Donate it all at the end like you said. I have my own personal thrift store to which I like to donate and as the host I volunteer to transport all the leftover clothes there myself after the party. If any of my guests have another organization they would prefer to help, they can certainly take home a big bag of clothes to do so. It's a little extra motivation for people to come out if they only have to transport all their crap once.


Have you ever hosted or attended a clothes swap before? What other tips and suggestions do you have for someone looking to do the same this spring?
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