Why I Should Be Banned From the Kitchen
Excerpt from an actual conversation I had with my husband this morning:
Me: Do you want to grill something tonight?
Him: Yeah, how about steak since we had chicken last time.
Me: Ok, what kind?
Him: How about skirt?
Me: No, isn’t that the chewy one?
Him: Ok, whatever, just don’t get a London broil. You know, London broil is the big long one.
Me: No, I’ll get the one with the bone, the one that looks like a steak.
The Lure of Beauty a.k.a. When to Press Pause
This is a pretty important post, so listen up. There's no doubt in my mind that most of us just have way too much stuff. And the thought of cleaning out, paring down, sorting through, and then disposing of it is daunting to say the least. I know this because I was one of those people. I still am, to a degree, but I wrestle with it on a daily basis and I'm conscious of it in a way that feels like the healthy beginning of change, and I've got some great purges to prove it.
Meet Jeter
This is Jeter. Also known as Pecker, Little, Jeet Jeet, Baby Jeet, Bone Bag, and whatever else I choose to call him because he came with a name that my 4-yr old, unfortunately, did not want to change. I love naming animals (actually, I love naming anything) and mine frequently have MANY nicknames because as their personalities emerge, I decide that they need new monikers (my son has a few doozies!). I'm responsible for my sister having a cat named Baba Ghanoush and a dog named Winston (he looked at me and I saw Winston Churchill, what can I say?)
Turn Your Home Upside Down
I have been painting for a very long time. Painting, like every other creative discipline presents its own set of unique challenges and obstacles to overcome. There's understanding color, dealing with the physical application of paint, deciding on your subject matter, and then there's composition. Composition to me is the mac daddy of great painting and I think it's the most difficult to master because, unlike other aspects of painting, it's the hardest to teach. To me, it's definitely more of a feeling and less of a formula. And it can be especially elusive when you've been working on a painting for a while and stop "seeing" it.
Evidence of My Fabulousness
I come to interior design through a side door. Because of this, I think it's important to share the fact that I have been practicing my creativity all of my life. As a working artist I bring a unique perspective to the homes I touch and not a staid, schoolbook formula for how things "should" look. Besides, everyone knows the best ones know how to break the rules. Here are some fun, interesting things you should know about my life-long creative journey.
In the Beginning
It all started when my mother passed away and the task of clearing out her Florida condo was left to me and my sister. Sitting amongst the spray bottles, rubber gloves and garbage bags I remember thinking “Why on earth do we all have so much shit?”
Rules of Engagement
I came to this blog with a bit of trepidation. While I have always been a great storyteller, and I seem to be the kind of person that things just happen to, I am also a very private person who has mixed feelings about sharing her life on such a public stage. But I do understand the rules of engagement here- that in order to share my artistic gift, I must share myself in the process. They are somewhat inseparable. In order for someone to trust me with their most personal oasis (their home) they have to know and be comfortable with me.