la isla del encanto

we just got back from visiting puerto rico with our dear friends. it is most definitely a testament to good friendship when you can spend 9 days together with a 9 month old to boot cramped in at least 1 crappy car and come out on the other side pretty much unscathed...minus a few backseat driving episodes between spousal units. katy and i discovered that most melt downs can be cured by funneling organic O's into mouths. but truly, when we arrived back in houston, texas i was inclined to say, "hey, why don't we go grab some dinner!"
we snorkeled and hiked, stayed on the mainland and a small island, ate plátanos in every possible form - including fried and stuffed with meat (!), and we swam with phosphoresence so that we looked like glow sticks gliding through dark water.  but as usual, my photos indicate none of the places or touristy things we did, only the colors and textures that caught my eye. there is no "and here we are at fort san felipe del morro." i wasn't kidding when i said i take pictures of sidewalks.

i just loved that these were sloppily numbered (and backwards at that!)

old san juan is full of fabulous colors juxtaposed against bricked streets. nothing is particularly new or fancy but it's a feast for the eyes for one chica who LOVES color.

these looked like huge bullet holes through a steel door, but what a great texture that i could see using as a background for a collage.

and if i loved a boy named miguel, i would totally spray paint his name on this beautifully textured wall. it makes it feel like a an old love, a true love.

the last night we stayed at a place called the gallery inn. i don't even know how to give words to this quirky-medusa's garden-eccentric-eyes everywhere-fantastic place. we were greeted by these 4 heads peering down at us over the entry gate. i took at least 100 pictures in this place. here's one more - kind of melancholy...an empty baby carriage in a darkened corner.

so while i might not have thought to pick puerto rico as a vacation destination, we had a wonderful time, great food, great friends, and the best travel baby in the universe. our husbands did a great job planning this trip, and we are already looking forward to whale watching...maybe baja? we did learn a few valuable lessons: 1) stay in as few places as possible when traveling with baby and all his accoutrements. 2) don't rent a jeep cherokee sport with baby - even though i used to drive one. 3) web photos can be deceiving. 4) get a hammock in the shade with a view on our next beach vacation.

oh yum!

i just finished a custom order of cupcakes for someone, and i love making them. this rainy week has brought my garden a lot of juice that will lead to good color, but i needed a little punch inside too. and the cupcakes gave me just what i needed! they make me so happy, sewing them. and even happier thinking about someone smiling as they open it and hold the little felty. or at least i hope they smile...

would you?

more custom cupcakes like this little plate full on my etsy shop!

mini flea!

well all fleas are mini, but this one is something you've surely never seen! remember to come by my sister's house for her mini design flea where she and some of her design blog friends will sell their very chic homegoods.  perhaps an even greater incentive to come is to support the forge. it's a foundation in 3rd ward that supports kids who need great role models, fun activities, and good love. my sister decided to give 50% of her earnings to help the founders with their own mini home makeover. they give so much of themselves and their home to others that linsey felt inspired to give something to them. there will also be an opportunity to put your pennies in a jar to send a kid in need to camp this summer. so come on out, rain or shine!

exchange

i've been thinking about this for some time. this idea of intersecting lives and crossing boundaries. we all live in our own little part of the world to which we become accustomed (be it under a freeway, in a 2 room shotgun, or a 20 room mansion). and unless you stay inside all day, doing a whole lot of nothing and talking to no one, your life intersects with peoples' about whom you know nothing about...even if it's only through media like books, news, or internet.
i drove to 3rd ward the other day in my yuppy car to a meeting at project row houses - an organization you should know about if you don't already. i had caleb with me, who is the best meeting baby EVER, and i observed the people who were doing the work in my neighborhood as i drove out. although my neighborhood is somewhat diverse as neighborhoods go, it is largely middle class and white. most of the laborers, however, are working to lower class, black or hispanic. most of them probably live in places like 3rd ward. i thought about how everyday for 4 years i drove to south houston to teach kids whose parents were mostly painters, housekeepers, contractors, etc. in other words, they came to places like my neighborhood to work while i went to theirs. and no matter how uncomfortable i am with some of the implications of that, i know enough to recognize that we are teaching the kids in the hopes that they can one day move OUT of their neighborhood. or at least out of the cycle of poverty and lack of higher education.
driving that day it suddenly struck me as so...ironic (channel alanis) that we work in each others neighborhoods, but that we don't live in the neighborhoods in which we work. some of us because we can't afford to and some of us because we don't want to. it also struck me that people who work as housekeepers or child care takers probably know so much more about their employers' lives than the other way around. as in they fold their underwear. scrape their dirt. come to their intimate abodes and feed their children. i want to acknowledge that there are so many conversations about race, class, education...that could come from my observations.  i have my own thoughts about each topic and more, and i am in no way intending to judge this observed "exchange," but it has most certainly wormed its way into my consciousness over the years. maybe the main point is to notice. notice others and how our lives intersect with so many who aren't like us and have different experiences just as relevant as ours. maybe if we notice more we will open the walls of our hearts more and begin to live with "loving kindness and compassion," in the words of my greatest spiritual teacher. in order to do that though, we must also begin to tackle the great inequities in our society and world - a topic so uncomfortable for those who have gotten so comfortable.  so first just notice...then maybe the rest will unfold.

who needs fleas?!?!?

what do this:

and this:

have in common?

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click here for details!

take #2

based on some great feedback and my own determination to give this piece a little more depth, i went back to cloud machine (which i really think i'll call made with love) and made some improvements. check out the original on my june 10th post and tell me which you like better!  there is all willy nilly a line from perhaps my favorite ee cummings poem straggling down the collage. can you make it out? a little sorpresa for you if you can! just leave it in the comment box and i will draw a name.

btw - all of my digital collages are available for purchase on my etsy shop. 

cloud machine

the latest digital collage

there are so many things you can't do digitally that you can do by hand, and vice versa. i don't think you'll see it on this lower res image, but there is some nice subtle stuff going on the background with layers and scratching up the surface with a thin pencil shape. i think it needs more, but i don't know what....

any suggestions?