Chihuly at the Clinton Presidential Library

My bucket list includes seeing a full Dale Chihuly installation one day. I have a bit of an artistic crush on him. That said, I wasn't about to miss the exhibit at the Clinton Library.

What a lovely experience for my eyes. Oh the colors, placement, and movement of the glass. Each creation was elegant and delicate, yet powerful and sturdy. It was delicious to my eyes and spirit.

 A closeup of the chandelier.

Even his signature is cool.

 Spot this bowl in the display above.

The exhibit also included paintings by Chihuly, but the few pictures I took didn't turn out well.

Tell me. What artists move you?

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Sisters in St. Louis

My sister and I are celebrating our birthday month. We decided to get up early last Friday, drive to St. Louis, and go to the Gateway Arch. While Mary has been to St. Louis, I had not. It was the first time to the arch for both of us. The drive is about 5.5 hours each way. 

The first stop was at a mom and pop diner in Corning for breakfast. I have to admit that we were a little excited for a diner breakfast. We were disappointed. Everything was beige, and it tasted just as bland.

 We drove by this abandoned building, and I may or may not have made a u-turn and driven in the wrong direction to get back for this photo.

 Does anyone know what this is? There were two metal boxes on poles near the discarded building. It looks as if there may have been gas pumps between the poles at one time. Maybe the boxes held window cleaner. Any guesses?

Walking up to the arch was pretty exciting for me. The tree lined walk along the Mississippi River was delightful. The temperature was mild, and there was a slight breeze. We couldn't have asked for a better day to spend together.

 The obligatory pictures of the capital and Busch Stadium from the tiny windows at the top of the arch.

Walking away, I had to get another shot with a sunburst. 

We drove through several great neighborhoods. We were surprised to see so many abandoned and burned out buildings. I could envision many of them being renovated into fabulous flats. I could live in this beauty.

 This is a small portion of the Soulard Farmer's Market.

Remember these little boxes from THIS post? We filled more boxes and dropped them in various places on this trip too.

There was a variety of charming shops and homes in the Soulard neighborhood. We deposited a treasure box on the arm of a chair outside this adorable spot.

 The back side of The Porch shop. It's cute on all sides. The flowers on the front and side were lovely.

 The homes had so much charm and character.

We also visited Union Station mall, and the Benton Park neighborhood. Dinner was a stop in Poplar Bluff. It was an enjoyable and silly 23.5 hour trip. (I am NOT posting the video of us dancing in the car on the way home.) Also noteworthy is the fact that neither of us actually died from laughing so hard, but it was touch and go.

Now we are trying to pick a destination for our next outing. We want to stay within a 5-6 hour drive from the Little Rock area.  Any suggestions?


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Unintentional Blogger

Honestly, I don't know what is wrong with me. I set out to be quite intentional about blogging, even if it was just for me, I had hopes of being more purposeful, but I have cycles of discipline and blah-dom. Maybe this is an upswing. I'm feeling the itch to communicate to the masses, or to the five people I hope are still interested in my musings.

I went back to NY last month. It. was. fabulous. Gosh, I like that city. It was especially fun trip time because I got to spend more time with my friend Jerri. She was so busy in October we didn't get to hang out as much as we liked. This time was different. We had lots of good conversation and a bounty of laughter. Whether staying up to 2 a.m. to recover dining room chairs, or bonding with another table over dinner, I had a wonderful time with Jerri.

And the laughter. In one situation we were on our way home after a night in the city, and we were laughing so hard, we half expected to be expelled from the train.

It was a good trip. Here are a few shots.

The Chrysler Building from the Empire State Building.

The Cloisters on the upper west side.

Outside the public library on 5th Avenue.

Fabulous sculpture in the median on Park Avenue between E 52nd and E 53rd.

If there are any readers left. I'm making a commitment to return later in the week. Maybe I'll have something crafty to share, if my week cooperates.

Thanks for stopping by. If you like what you've seen then "like" my page creative confetti (website)  on Facebook, and subscribe on the right. Feel free to pin and share via the green widget to the left. I'd also love to hear from you, so leave a comment or send me an email.

Squeezing September & Overflowing October

Life has been good. 

Scratch that. God has been good, and life has been busy. 

The last few weeks have been a tornado of activity. The next few are slated to be the same, and I like it!

Here's some of what has been going on...

 I went on a mission trip to Seattle to work with The Landing Church. Our group did landscaping and clean up at a local elementary school. We also fed the faculty and staff a yummy lunch from Q'doba.

Andy and Trang Brown moved from Arkansas to the Seattle area earlier this year to start The Landing Church. They are doing a fabulous job of getting to know the people in their area, and showing them that God's love is all about relationship.

I spent the day helping in a classroom. That is where I met THE MOST AMAZING kindergarten teacher EVAH! Mrs. Menon has the enthusiasm of a brand new teacher - even after more than a decade in the classroom. She struck a beautiful harmony between discipline and fun, and her communication skills were a joy to witness. Mrs. Menon used words that were above her students, but then she would follow up by repeating her instructions with a synonym of the hard word. Why wait to expand a child's vocabulary? 

Their brains are sponges, they can take it.

I enjoyed the art instillation that decorated downtown.

The flowers at Pike's Place Market overwhelmed my happy senses.

Another project we accomplished was to serve the homeless population downtown. We packed duffle bags with socks, blankets, hygiene products, and a Bible. My group met Mike and Trish. We bought their lunch, and talked with one another. I sat next to Trish in the dirty parking lot between a car and a concrete wall and let her tell me her story.We prayed for them before we left. I'm still praying for them. 

This is the famous Gum Wall at Pike's Place Market.

A view of Puget sound from the top of an apartment building.

When I returned from Seattle I got to do a senior photo shoot with this BEAUTIFUL young lady.

Anna was is such a doll. We had a lot of fun at this horse ranch.

She even makes an old shed look good.

What a beauty.

I also started working at a pumpkin patch on the weekends. The Hicks family are a blast. They make me laugh. 

I am overwhelmed with God's provision and opportunities. I am blessed.

Next I'm off to NYC to see my crazy friend Jerri. I'll be there in less than 48 hours and I'm shaking with excitement. She may find me living in her basement refusing to come home. If I do make it back, I have a couple of more photo shoots lined up and a few more activities on the calendar.

Stay tuned. I'll let you know how it goes.

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Summer Iced Tea Party

My niece Caitie is part of a trio of best friends that have been together since baby-doll age. These three young women are extraordinary examples of fun-loving, Jesus girls. 

After spending over a decade together, they will be separating next month. Two will go to different universities, and one will join the military before heading to college. 

Caitie asked if we could have a tea party before everyone leaves. Of course it had to be an iced tea party, because who drinks hot tea in the summer in the South?

Our menu included sweet tea- regular and raspberry, zucchini and goat cheese tarts, and sugar cookies. We also served flower shaped cucumber and pink, cream cheese sandwiches, and mini, bite-sized apple & peach pies. 

DECORATING TIP: Add fresh flowers to a tea pot then stack on a plate and candle holder for a darling centerpiece. 

Mini pies stacked on plates and tea cups.

PARTY TIP: Print guest's initials on clear stickers and use as drink markers. You can also use a flower vase as a decanter, and don't forget adorable, paper straws.

Christmas ornaments were used to dress up a blah light fixture.

PARTY DECORATING TIP: Use four dollar store doilies and scrapbook paper to make medallions. I hung three in the kitchen for a festive look. Double the doilies if they are too thin.

DECORATING TIP: Dip dollar store silk flowers in water with food coloring. This will tone down the brightness of the flower. They still looked inexpensive, but these flowers were plopped in a tea pot behind a glass door as background dressing.

We had a "Miss Tea Party" pageant. Everyone was a contestant and had to answer a ridiculous interview question as if it were a real situation. 

PARTY TIP: Make pageant sashes by printing titles on clear, full-sheet stickers and adorn them with stick-on pearls and rhinestones. One page of jeweled accents decorated all six sashes and cost $1.00 at Michaels.

 PARTY TIP: Make a scepter out of a sturdy, cardboard tube from a large roll of aluminum foil. Glue finials to each end and spray paint the whole thing with silver, glitter spray. Once the scepter is dry, add a pink, acrylic drawer pull to finish the look.

I filled tiny jars with sugar scrub as a party favor for each guest. These adorable little jars were bought at a flea market for 25¢ each! 

(Sugar scrub recipe found HERE.)

PARTY TIP: Print monograms on clear stickers and put onto pails with matching tulle for party favor packaging. The pails held the homemade sugar scrub.

Of course we had to have chocolate. The bars were wrapped in paper that matched our color scheme.

We also gave each girl a wire-bound journal wrapped in tissue paper and tulle. 

PARTY TIP: Use a vintage quilt to cover a table for a gorgeous shabby chic accent. I covered the coffee table with this beautiful pink quilt.

Here are the gorgeous guests with their Miss Tea Party titles. Such fun!

While I'm not in the picture, I was voted "Miss Silly", but that's because we didn't have a "Miss Laugh So Hard You Pass Out" title.

We also had a "photo booth" set up in the bathroom. Sure it seemed like an odd choice, but the counter was perfect for holding all the props. The girls also liked having the large mirror to try out the props before they posed. The shower curtain was a perfectly plain backdrop for the photos. I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time.

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon.


Thanks for stopping by. If you like what you've seen then give my page a "like" creative confetti (website) on Facebook, and subscribe on the right. Feel free to pin and share via the widget to the left. I'd also love to hear from you, so leave a comment or send me an email.