The Real World

A couple spring days off work? Can life get any better!?

I'll be rejoining the real world tomorrow, but I sure enjoyed my long weekend. I spent it 1) shopping, 2) looking at art, 3) spending time with family, 4) reading, and 5) getting a pedicure.

Evan-Piccone Dress now in my closet - I know, I know. It's not exactly what I thought I was looking for, but it really suits me! Plus, black-and-white is oh, so versatile. I can add colored accessories to suit any mood or situation, not to mention this baby is washable and wrinkle-free!

1) My mom, sister and I went shopping for Easter dresses/spring staples on Friday. We all found some springy wardrobe updates, and my sister and I both found Easter dresses. Because the one I found (a really pretty American Living dress) was dry clean only, my mom and I went back out on Saturday, where I found a more user-friendly dress. Yay for dresses that are washable and don't wrinkle! Looking for dresses can be trying, so I am grateful I found more than one option! 

My cousin really enjoyed Jennifer Onofrio's work on display at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. Her work is gorgeous and inspires me, too. Above: The Space Between, 2010, Silver gelatin print with ink, 38 3/4 in. x 27 3/4 in. x 3 1/2 in.

2) On Friday night, my sister and I took my 16-year old cousin Robert to his first First Friday. I felt really good about introducing him to the modern art world. Oddly, enough, there were lots of skulls and skeletons featured in the exhibitions we saw. This was great, because that is one of Robert's favorite art subjects. After we walked around taking in all the art, we treated Robert to dinner at Rosedale Bar-B-Q. Rosedale's been around since 1934, but it was our first time. The meat was divine (especially the pulled pork), although the sauce was a little spicy for me. The baked beans also had a little kick, which I liked. All in all, I think Robert had a good time. It's hard to read teenage boys.  

I felt a great deal of responsibility while sharing art with Robert. My goal is to impress upon people, and especially young people, the value of art in and to our society. If more people grow up learning and believing art is meaningful, then art programs will be valued even when things get tough economically. Maybe. Hopefully.

Easter Eggs!

3) I stayed with my parents over the weekend. I always feel recharged after spending time with them. It's true, there's no place like home. I also saw all my cousins on Easter Sunday. After a really thought-provoking church service, we drove down to my cousins' home in Raymore, MO. They live on Silver Lake, and they know how to throw a party. We had good conversation, a delicious potluck and an Easter egg hunt. Growing up, we always collected candy during our Easter egg hunts, but my cousins fill their eggs with money... Aaaaand, I am still considered a "kid." Maybe I'll be one until I have kids of my own?? Or perhaps until I have a few noticeable wrinkles? 

Enjoyable read.

4) I have made it about a quarter of the way through The Girl Who Played with Fire, the follow-up to Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I am really enjoying the series. It's dark. It's suspenseful. It is filled with intriguing and "human" characters. The first book hinted at Lisbeth Sander's disturbing past, and in the second book we begin to learn how and why Lisbeth is who she is. From reading the book jacket, I know there's another large-scale mystery or two to untangle. As soon as I finish here, I am going back to reading!

5) My mom treated me to a pedicure today. What more can I say? Thanks for the luxury-treatment, Mom! Now, my feet are fit to be seen (but no pics to prove it).

How do you fill your time off of work? What do you do to treat yourself when you have a few days of your own?

Alison :)

Easter Eggs, Round 1??

Easter eggs in a bowl on the stove.

 Getting together with my girlfriends to work on crafty projects is one of my favorite activities of all time. Tonight, my friend Kate and I decorated Easter eggs. We chose to boil our eggs, rather than blow them out. For the base color of the eggs, we used Wilton food coloring, warm water and vinegar. Because a couple of the dyes did not dissolve as completely as they should have, some of the eggs wound up with mottled finishes. This added an unexpected realism to our brightly colored eggs (think robin eggs). After dyeing the eggs, I rolled some of them in a medium-sized silver glitter to add some bling. Dyed eggs would look absolutely stunning if rolled in fine glitter. I also thought it might be fun to paint on some of the eggs with kids’ watercolors. I did it. It WAS fun. Some of the motifs I used were stripes, flowers and lips. I think I could get really lost in painting an egg, if I let myself. I kind of hurried through the watercolor painting tonight, though, because Kate had prepared korma chicken for dinner. It smelled so good it distracted me, and that shows in my final product. But YUM, no regrets. The meal was delish!  

I feel really inspired to paint more eggs. Good thing there’s a little time left before Easter gets here, so I’ll have a chance to make some more. But what am I gonna do with all those eggs when they’re finished!?