look a little closer blog

This post was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers – Katie Soloker! She did a post about “things that make her smile” and asked others to do the same. I’ve also had a long  week (I think many did!) and think that sharing reasons to smile or be happy is a fantastic idea. So here are mine…

1. Silly Halloween costumes and apartment “Mascots” (btw, Goosie is kicking it in Dysart!)

2. The open roads of Iowa – and realizing I miss them -

3. Midnight trains to Montauk to watch the sunrise…

…and using this shell to protect my eyes…

4. Pretending to be birds…

…and imagining dancing on these clouds.

5. Pretty waterfalls…

…and climbing them to find rainbows.

6. Survivaballs

7. Kids and their puppies – and willingness to share them

8. All the colors of this life….

…and being able to capture them in photos, art, and our imaginations.
There are so many talented artists and photographers and I love seeing people’s lives through their eyes.

So what makes you smile or happy?

It’s Friday and sunny, so let’s spread the happiness today!
I hope you have a fantastic weekend filled with all the things you love.
…and that you can get some rest.

Last night there was a sky of cotton candy.

I was on the Highline as I watched it fade away…

between the lines and over the river.

The sky was wispy and dreamy, as the sun made room for the moon.

At sunset I said goodbye to 25.
At sunrise I said hello to 26.

Today is flowery!

Today is a day of radiance!

Today is my birthday!
I’m thankful for all the kindness and pretty things I have that make me smile.

And I’m thankful for all of my friends that came to celebrate with me!

A wise person (thank you, wise person) recently introduced me to SARK, who’s an incredibly brave and free spirited artist that shares her life through her work! Her work was the inspiration for another one of my favorites, Sabrina Ward Harrison. Both of them have inspired me to release my emotions through my art.

At my birthday dinner, I gave everyone their birthday from this 2004 daily calendar. We also picked out different messages for each other. It was fun passing them around and seeing what words of inspiration they had for their day, and what people wanted to say to each other (keep in mind, most of you were strangers!)

April 7, 2004 was a “day of radiance!”
I think this still applies.

So here’s to being 26 and everything it will bring

• Colorful lists!
• An organized desk
• Trains that come on time (and being okay with the ones that are late!)
  
• Park days with kites and bubbles
• Smiles
• Laughs
• Spontaneity
• Sunshine
• Color!
• Art!
  
• Kitty snuggles
• Hugs
• Kisses
• Singing
• Uncoordinated dancing
• Future snowball fights
• Falling into piles of leaves
• Longer hair
  
• Accepting changes; even those random gray hairs!
• And of course, lots of love and figuring out what that means to me.

As we all have our own birthdays, I wish you each colorful lists of all the things you love!

xo!

Mother nature can’t make up her mind on the weather!

Snow, sun, sleet, rain, and today gray and dreary!

I’ve seen all of it in the past 48 hours! Luckily I made it out of Tulsa before the snow got worse. Yesterday, I left Tulsa at 6:00 am and only had 15 minutes to make my connection in Detroit. In that 15 minutes I sprinted from one terminal to another, wiped out on the escalator, went to the wrong gate, and barely made my flight. (I am seriously the worst traveler!)

Now I’m back in the office. Lots of clicking of keys and catching up to to do, but I have a little time to write about the trip.

Most people ask, “why in the world would you go to Oklahoma?” I must admit that OK would not be my ideal travel destination, but since one of my best girls lives there, I’ve come to love it.

Here are the reasons why I love Oklahoma! (there are lots of them!)

**
*O~pen skies with floating balloons on gray days…*

…and blue, cloudless skies…

…for pretty driving…

*K~ids and their puppies…(1:1 ratio)*

…and their willingness to share…

…for stories on NYC…

…curious puppies…

…and at times even a little sleepy…

…just like the Donaho’s…

*L~ovely mountain treasures found on hikes*

…like berries…

…bark grooves…

…pink flowers…

…fluffy moss patches…

…tiny bones…

…big skulls..

…golden straw in ditches…

…backyard waterfalls…

…shadows from Georgia’s first mountain visit…

…and capturing moments of serenity…

*A~ntlers*

…for painting…

*H~orses that are wild, beautiful… *

…and friendly…

*O~ld tilted houses*


*M~oonshine and the shining moon over a sunset* (just kidding, I didn’t have any moonshine!)

*A~rt days on a sunny patio with Georgia and Mary*

…creating a collage for Mary’s classroom…

…and catching sun with Georgia…

There are many reasons to like Oklahoma and it’s strange beauty. But my favorite moment of all…

Sharing a laugh with Georgia.

xoxo

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love butterflies.

I’ve always loved them, ever since a child. And once I started painting, they were my favorite thing to paint. In Iowa, I used to face paint at town festivals, and I was always known as the “butterfly girl.” When I got my guitar, the first song I wrote was about butterflies. Three chords. (G, C, D)

G                                   C
Butterflies are my friend (x3)

G                                 C                         D
Butterflies are my friend till the end!

I even took one of my senior pictures with me laying down and butterflies were in my hair.
Yes, I was a little obsessed!

Well, this weekend I decided to bring back the butterflies. My friends moved into this awesome apartment with huge white walls and said I could do an installation on their wall. This will be an ongoing project and I plan on filling the wall with paper art (inspired by the local artist, Katie Sokoler)

**

Here’s the magic of the butterflies…

These butterflies started on the floor…

Since there was a nice open space, I decided to join them…

Arranging….

They made their way to my hair…

And my nose…

And told me to make a wish…

They even surrounded my friend Dani! (she was the only brave one to be part of my photo shoot!)

The butterflies slowly made their way up the wall…

They finally did.

Now my friends will be greeted with these every day!

Ta da!

Enjoy friends! May love flutter by you every day!

Oh my goodness. This has been a chaotic week! I’m so happy it’s Friday!!

At work, I usually try to be the “happiness fairy”

Giving people popping stars if they are stressed…

Sometimes I even send candy messages..

But today I was feeling a little crazed!

But someone brought me a message…

Thank you! It made me feel much better…

And I gave the a message in return!

Hooray for the weekend!
Art!
Music!
Friends!
Happiness!

Have a good weekend!! xo

Yesterday was a stressful day. I’m pretty sure I drove my colleagues crazy with my popping stars, but the day ended on a much better note *literally*! Once a month I volunteer at a nursing home and sing/laugh/forget-the-words-to-their-songs-making-them-mad-but-still-having-fun to the elderly. It’s a really awesome project, but sometimes it can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to learning all the hits from the 1920′s, 30′s, 40′s, and on. Well, last night I had help and it was great! We traded off on the guitar and song leading, and I was able to lead the residents in dancing with the egg shakers. “Left, right, up, down” all to the tune of Sidewalks of New York. Needless to say, volunteering lifted my spirits.

On my way home, I skipped and danced through the snow…

Left little reminders of love… (i gave every car on 96 street a heart!)

Considered sitting in this lovely throne…

But decided I’d rather snuggle with the kitty..

We stayed in and watched the snow globe…

**
On my morning commute, I thanked the guy that made a path..

And the guy with the snow blower! (I have not seen one of these since the cornland!)

Looked at the pretty trees..

And decided to leave more reminders of love..

Happy Friday!

today has been stressful

but i found these in my purse..

and am feeling better.

My childhood best friend, AJ, is visiting me for the weekend.

high school prom..

Well, we’ve had an adventure like the Oregon trail…

To start, he was supposed to be here at 3:35 pm and I was going to get leave work early, sadly his flight was canceled forcing him to wait for 9 hours. During his 9 hour wait period, he hopped from gate to gate trying to get a standby flight until a nice lady told him he had no chance.

You’d think that with having 9 hours to figure out how to pick him up in the zipcar, I’d have planned a route. Actually, I live quite close to LGA, but managed to get lost. In fact, I saw both Yankee Stadium AND the new Citi field.

Here’s my map. The green shows you how simple it would have been to get there. I did the pink. It was ridiculous.

We finally got together after 9 hours and had some drinks..

maybe too many..

and some morning bagels..

took a walk in central park..

saw some people sledding…and…

(from aj’s point of view) – “kim got into sled, asked girl as she was sitting in sled, if she could use the sled”
(from my point of view)- asked lovingly if i could take the sled for a spin..

they let me..

i’m not a good sledder…

we made some new friends..

have had lots of smiles…

and now we are off to see the rest of the city!

i love hearts
i love anything sweet
i love making things

katie’s kiss in your pocket idea was so sweet i had to make my own.

so i did..

i started off with my photoshoot.

lavi even joined me.

lots of kisses.

then i drew on all the hearts into the sequence

to make it my own, i personalized my book a bit..

“for those days your feeling a little blue..”

“i picked a kiss for your pocket– just for you!”

then you can flip through it!

for all the kisses!

and the end.

my valentine also treated me. to some lovely roses.

which are a nice addition to my desk.

Hope you had a lovely valentine’s day!

this weekend was fun.

**

had some fun with the color green.

saw some pretty light..

ate some blood oranges..

walked into the chinese new year.

saw the girlies…but got a little too tipsy..

and i lost my phone!

i bought another..:( but, i have 30 days to return it, so hopefully some miracle happens and my other is returned.

**

i was in a foul mood for awhile, but i made a mess and it cheered me up.

and of course, lavi helped.