Church Lady

Went thrifting in Oakcliff today, and found some AMAZING finds.

But I had to show you this 50's sparkly church hat it was too funny.

P.S.- Dallas Thrifting Tips- best places to go are Oakcliff, Garland, Irving, or farther out in the country. Things are waaayy cheaper and not as picked through.

And no- I didn't buy this hat ; )

The Mr. Cooper

It is common for people to comment that I dress more conservatively than my husband. And it's quite uncommon for the male to be the more radical dresser.

Well occasionally people will make comments to me like- so do you like your husband's hair? I find this quite hilarious when their husband's don't exactly have any style. In my mind I think "....Do you like YOUR husband's hair?" I mean really- yes- I'm a soulful, passionate person. And I must say- American Eagle, White Tennis Shoes, Three-button Polos, Kaki Cargo shorts, etc etc- don't express much soul. I enjoy that my husband has his own style. And I feel lucky as a wife that my husband has any style at all. Let's face it- most men don't actually branch out from their norm. Geoff enjoys fashion, and expression. Colors, Patterns, the variety of cuts and styles- fashion is dang fun. And all I have to say is- I feel sorry for all you women out there who's husbands don't feel so free to dress a little "weird" sometimes. We embrace the weirdness in our home- we live for it even.

Besides- he looks DANG good doin what he does.

Very Festive- 4th of July wear too- look at that salmon/pinkish pinstripe with his Navy bowtie!

Shirt- thrifted from Ahab Bowen (Awesome vintage store in Dallas)

Bowtie, Skinnies, Oxfords- Urban Outfitters.

And P.S.- dressing like this is quite normal to a lot of people ; )

And me being not quite as weird:

My sweet Mimi passed away a year and half ago- and I love this butterfly brooch that got passed down to me. It's even greater because it was hers.

enJOi photography

I have a very talented student who is a photographer. (She also rocks at painting btw) She recently took our yearly anniversary pics which we take every spring to document our year together. I absolutely love her style! She has super creative editing and crazy skills with effects. It's so great to get some uber-artistic, less classic looking photos. Portraits are great to have, but to have straight-up art that documents your life too- rocks my world. And when portraits become outdated (come on our parents all have bluebonnet family pics up that make us shiver), these artworks are much more timeless. Plus Joy just cracks me up. She's got herself an artist soul for sure!

She is very affordable too- and you can contact her through facebook here.

or check out some of her work on her flikr- enjoi photography here.

Here are some of my fav's from our photo-day together. Lots of fisheye, lots of locations, and our favorites are the slow-shutter session we did. We sat in a dark room lighting matches, using flashlights and sitting vvvverrrry still.

Cutest pic of Cozby-EVER!

Blogs & Sites

I added Favorite Blogs/Fav. Foodies/Art Sites to the bottom of the my blog. Check it out- because I'm convinced that I just might have the most coveted list of blogs around!

And I wanted to share another site not listed but that rocks

Burda Style

This is an awesome sight if you are a sewer, or a sewer-wanna-be (like me).

It has super modern patterns and ideas from fellow sewers.

They do need to work on their server however- it can be super slow sometimes.

Veggie Recipes

(Indian Spiced Pita Pizza via VeggieNumNum.com)

By the way- I started posting Vegetarian Recipes if you are interested in eating less meat. I get asked for recipes a lot- so I figured it would be easiest to just send everyone to one place. Most aren't written by me- just ones we have tried and used a lot and love.

www.emeraldeats.blogspot.com

Best Blog Ever

By the way- Geoff has the best film blog ever:

Plastic Pattern People

Oh-and, he's incredibly good looking.

Check it.

Lil Mama

I finished this painting a few months ago and am finally showing it. Oil on Wood. 36"x24"

Definitely one of the most meaningful paintings I have ever made. It's incredibly fulfilling to express something visually that words could never do justice. And this is what this was for me.

I am currently working on another painting that partners with this one.

What do you think it means? What does it say to you/What feeling do you get from it?

2nd year, 2nd summer

Yipee- Schools out again!! It's been a really great year with some awesome students and great memories. Here a just a few:

I ended the year with my National Art Honor Society- Sidewalk Chalk Competition. The theme was "My Generation". I'm the one on the right- I know- I blend right in.


NAHS Field Trip to the Dallas World Aquarium- Geoff got to come and help "chaperone" which was a lot of fun.

Tape Murals- this was the NAHS big project/focus for the year. We did the sign-language hands first -spelling Heath-our school name. Then after visiting the aquarium we did the animal-surrealism ones which are just hilarious to me. My kids are super random and I love it.
This is a pic one of my student snapped of me while sitting and chatting at my desk. It's great teaching- but even greater getting to know my students individually. Oh- and see the mess on my desk- yep- there is Always one of those : )
Homecoming parade- NAHS Float- funny participating in things I certainly didn't attend when I was in highschool. Also funny sponsoring a club- considering I never took part in any in highschool.

I was super sad this year to see some of my Seniors go that I've had for two years. But it's also exciting to see what they do with themselves!

And as for me- well I'm going to be doing a lot of painting and yoga with myself : ) Along with having a whole summer with Geoff- no school.work- just play.

Nothing wrong with a little self love....right?

#1.2 - The Spinto Band - Oh Mandy by lablogotheque

African Prints and My bday

Loooovving me some african prints lately- aren't these awesome??

Today Cait and I went to this fabric warehouse off of Walnut and I got some stinking amazing African print fabrics. I'm planning on a dress (my first) and another skirt.

A few pics from my birthday dinner at Enos. Me and the hubbs and me and Cait. (ya-phone camara pics..not soo fancy)

And not the best photo of it- but I did make this peter-pan shirt I'm wearing. My mom brought over several boxes of vintage fabric she got from my grandma's attic. It's the most fun ever looking through it all, and that's what I used for the shirt.

before I start any new projects however, Ill be reading this:

birthday flowers and pot paintin

It's finally my golden year. I turned 25 on the 25th. Geoff got me these awesome yellow daffodils (as well as that awesome owl paper puppet card!) and my sweet f-in-law brought roses. I loove having fresh flowers in my home- it just makes me happy! Especially if they're yellow.

So last month my students had to make a small craft item for this auction we have in our district. So we decorated flower pots. The daffodils are in the pot that I painted. You can do designs on a regular terra-cotta pot with tape and then spray paint. This also works with glass jars, cans, etc.

Fun project to make a something dull a little more aesthetic : )

Wood u be mine.

So I made this rockin valentine for my valentine.

and he also got me a cupig one with those awesome sunflowers : )

Geoff and I had a great and chill Monday night Valentines Day. Surprise Candle lit dinner, good music, and love of course.

Sewing, my new Addiction!

So- thanks to the many snow days we were locked up inside- I have started sewing! One of my good friends Caitlin sewed her own wedding dress, which was totally incredible. And I have been itching to make something. With her advice- I started winging it. If you can actually sew really well- you might not want to take a look at my hems,but it works for me. And the idea that I can make something one day and wear it the next...so stinkin exciting to me!My Friend Caitlin- So she not only designed, and HAND-sewed this dress, but silk-painted the flowers on the side. She is too cool for school, it's a fact.

So the first thing I made was this shirt, using an old shirt as a pattern, and changing it here and there. I used some vintage floral fabric I had and some vintage lace I got off a pillowcase. Pretty nifty. The lace goes all the way around on the back too.

The second thing I made is this skirt out of some Joel Dewberry fabric I bought a couple years ago and haven't done anything with. It has tree branches on it. I'm totally in love with this skirt. It has that marshmellowy bottom that I love. Okay- so I didn't have any interfacing so the top is a little thin and ghetto. But i don't care- I MADE IT! With all it's pleating and pockets, lining and zipper...I feel I conquered enough mountains for the interfacing not to count.

Right now I'm workin on another skirt in some flannel I bought, a shirt in some wild santa-fe western fabric, and a cardigan. Taught myself to make buttonholes last night- so even though I'm sloppy- I'm proud of my wimpy skills : )

My mom just gave my this pattern-making book from the 60's that is pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen. Plus it has all these amazing 60's,70's dress designs in it. If only I could just quit my day job and paint and sew.

I'm also obsessed with and want to be this mom . I have a LOOOooong way to go in sewing skills- but I can dream...

She & Him

love this video.
and yes- we all want to be her.

She & Him - Don't Look Back from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Christmas2010