look a little closer blog

I have had the most amazing past few days. I was in Kansas City with some of the coolest people in the world – AND some of my best girls from college – for Brittanie’s wedding. I haven’t seen some of the girls in 2-3 years, but we picked up exactly where we left off. It was absolutely incredible!

Before Ms. Bagby could become Mrs. Baker, we had many fun things to do!
Starting with her underwear tree bachlorette party!

…and a fun cocktail hour…

…where Britt was able to give Jesse a quick squish…

…before we took her out for the rest of the night!

We went to an interesting part of KC and had our own private party!

After dancing, we drank special cocktails. I think this was “the blushing bride..”

After a day of rest, it was time for the practice round!

The church had pretty windows!

We went to the rehearsal dinner which had awesome southern food!
And pretty swans by the lake. The little ring bearer and I admired them together!

After the dinner, it was time to mingle with Brittanie’s Atlanta crew back at the house.
…but not before we revisited a college tradition of each bringing a bottle of vino!

Atlanta and Iowa crews hanging out!
One of the coolest things was meeting all of Brittanie’s other friends and family since our days at Iowa.

We all got along “swimmingly!”
This pool was awesome!
(this whole “space” thing seriously makes me consider moving back to the midwest!)

We woke up to the big day and had a catch up time with Brittanie.

We finally got ready and we all looked beautiful!

Brittanie kept her dress a secret the whole time. The only things we knew were that it was lace, that it was vintage, and she said it looked like it came from a sepia tone photo.

We waited and all cried when we saw her!
She was so beautiful.

The flower girl said she looked like a princess, I agree.

Some quick photos while waiting for the trolly!

Off to the wedding!

We make a pit-stop downtown to take some photos with the couple!

I don’t have photos of the wedding itself, but it was amazing. I lit the candles and read the petitions. Kristin, Brittanie’s friend from Atlanta, sang the Lords Prayer and gave everyone chills. Brittanie and Jesse were surrounded by their friends and it was an absolutely perfect wedding.

The night ended with all of us dancing on a rooftop in downtown Kansas City.

BFFs!!

We all threw popcorn while they skipped off to their honeymoon.

I was thrilled to be part of their wedding as the candle lighter and petition reader!
THANK YOU so much and CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

High school sweethearts, best friends, and an awesome couple — they have reminded me that fairy tales do exist!

….flock together…

like all of my awesome, colorful friends; I like eclectic, colorful birds!

did i mention swamp birds are my favorite? ~ especially the snowy egret.

I’m pretty sure in another life, I was a bird.

i love all animals and nature.
this weekend i saw lots of both!

**
saturday morning i was greeted by a pigeon and squirrel..

a really curious one.

i think he strayed from his friends.
there were so many squirrels – they must have been having a nut gathering.

i saw some fun shadows on my walk to meet amy.

we met up and went to the park…
where she told me the names of the different types of birds.

hello mr. bluejay!

and ms. chickadee! (there were lots of people out resting!)

ms. chickadee decided to say hello to the red wing blackbird…
or maybe she was saying bye bye blackbird…;)

this little birdy said hello while i rested on the bench.
(we didn’t know what kind he was…)

maybe he wanted to say hello to the bird on my bag.

after we watched the birds, we decided to walk around.
but not before i pointed some love to the trees…

we walked in the Shakespeare garden…

…and by the castle..

where we saw mother goose protecting her eggs.

**
it was a beautiful day!
it was so colorful and bright..
almost like the Columbus circle station.

hope you had a lovely, beautiful, bright, colorful holiday weekend!!

I’ve been carrying my bunnies around with me.

I added some to the train…

…Union square…

…and some random house in the east village..

I have lots of bunnies left!

Some days are awesome and you can’t help but smile, but sometimes there are days you just need to know you are loved. I think little reminders help.

I made some bunnies to help remind New Yorkers that they are loved. Like my butterflies, I’ll be leaving these bunnies in random spots.

This spring I gave a bass player one of my butterflies. I walked by today noticed it’s still on his bass. If you’re ever near Grand Central on a Friday morning, listen to this bluegrass band. They are awesome ~ and an enjoyable way to kick off the weekend! They play banjo, a washboard, spoons, and of course, an upright bass!

Here are some phone pics enhanced on Photoshop mobile.

So just remember some bunny loves you!
Xo

what is green?
the grass is green
money is green
jealousy is green
i don’t like green jelly beans
i like lime green sherbet
green is a pretty color
it’s the center of ROY G BIV
apparently, the heart chakra is also green
is love green?
will i find a green glass love? (this is a thoroughly modern millie reference)

Last Friday I participated in my first art installation piece ~ meaning it was up for about two hours before I took it down, leaving only rose petals behind.

If you were anywhere near Strawberry Fields you probably saw a path of streamers…

If you followed it, you were invited to interact and explore my exhibit which represented what “green” meant to me.

It was a path to all the parts of love…(from my point of view)…

…including the bubbly, sparkly parts…

…and the times when it’s a little more tangled.

The piece really represented “self love”, which I have learned is the most important. If you have this, everything else falls into place.

My art piece was only the beginning. A guided mediation was led by Anthony, which encouraged participants to explore “giving” and “receiving” love through touch.

There was music…

dancing and meditation.

It appeared quite peaceful from this point of view…

**
The event itself was new to me. It was really interesting, but fun. You had to let yourself go a bit, but once you did it was refreshing in a way. A bunch of strangers saying hello with a touch of a hand surrounded by the trees. It really provided a break from the city.

There were many people involved, including dancers, artists, healing artists, musicians, and every day people walking by. It was hosted by TREeplays and the ID project.

Concept and Direction by Kristen Schifferdecker of Red Novae.

Thanks for letting me be part of such an interesting experience, and teaching me to let go a bit.

Kristen asked me to create a visual piece for this event tonight. The event itself will be interesting. It’s a combination of meditation, dance, music, movement, and art. She asked me to visually represent the color “Green” , it’s relation to love, and the heart chakra.

After a few weeks of struggling, my final “piece” is actually about my creative process in making it.

It’s a reflection of my thoughts on love, self-love, healing, green, and in the end it’s just bigger and happier exploding book.

The actual installation is difficult to describe, but it will be a heart hanging from a tree…

*the heart*

…Which will be filled with thoughts and flower petals…

*thoughts*

…And underneath it, the petals and notes will fall into a basket and a bouquet of live flowers with be ribbons coming out in six points (the six points of the heart chakra). The idea is that you have to find “self love” before anything else can work.

As I get ready for the installation, it makes me wonder if this is art and how it will relate to the “audience” of this event? Since it’s really just my “self expression”, I may be the only one that can understand it. I suppose we’ll see!

At least it was fun to make!

And I had some great help.

Until she was too tired.

Happy Friday!

Hooray for Wednesday sunshine!

Lately, I’ve been learning about self-love, and have been finding ways to brighten my own spirits for the days the sun isn’t shining!

Like putting hearts on my nails…

Which definitely brighten my keyboard..

Giving myself big hug in the middle of the day! (and thinking of giving Lavi a squish–she literally squeaks like a squeak toy when you squish her)

And encouraging my friends to do the same!

Have you hugged yourself lately?

If not, give yourself a big hug, squish, and feel the love!

xo

p.s. Squishing someone you love is equally as important! So for all my far away friends, I’m sending you a big squish today!

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!

I did a lot of art in Oklahoma.
Antler painting, a collage for Mary’s classroom, paper art, and I started a new painting.

It’s not finished yet, but I’m excited about it!

I also did some journaling and drew a picture of our last night..

I wrote Mary a message on the back and stuck it in a bottle…

Reminding her that some things aren’t complete unless they are together.

Love you girl! No matter how far apart we are!

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