Sherri's (Never A Dull Moment) World

Oceanic Car

This car REALLY caught my eye today in a local parking lot:

  and

and
If I didn't own a Little Red Hot, I would have to seriously consider buying this car. :)

While She Was Here...

 
I picked up Natasha from the train station last week:

 
We picked up my mom and we went out to lunch:

 
We ate lunch at Olive Garden, which has our favorite lunch combo.... soup, salad & all-you-can-eat breadsticks (YUM!):

 
Both Natasha & I ordered the Zuppa Tuscana:

 
While my mom had the Minestrone:

 
Afterwards, we did a little shopping.  We thought these were fun at Pier One:

 
So many choices.... which one looks best?

 

Hmmmm...

 
Ooh La Laaaaa!

 
Which one could I get the most use out of?

 

 We thought we would buy a couple of masks since they were so lovely. But then we looked at the price tags and decided we should keep on walking (Yikes! They were $35-$65 each!)...

 
Oh well. We have fun just being together. :)

 

The Bellagio - Daytime

While we were in sunny Las Vegas, it was on my list to see Dale Chihuly's work at The Bellagio Hotel & Casino. The Bellagio is a magnificent hotel known for elaborate art sculptures and a spectacular water fountain show, featured in many movies like "Oceans Eleven".

Who is Dale Chihuly? He is a Seattle artist famous for his blown glass. He has created glass masterpieces for exhibits and locations around the world. He was commissioned to design and create a blown glass arrangement to fill the ceiling above The Bellagio lobby: 

According to Chihuly, they built the entire 70' x 30' ceiling, full-scale, at his Seattle studio. When the final product, named "Fiori Di Como", was installed-- it contained over two thousand hand-blown glass "flowers". WOW!

Next to the lobby was a lovely atrium that is redecorated each season of the year. While we were there, it featured a garden-theme with hot air balloons floating above...

Everything was colorful and larger than life. It was amazing!

Flowers were mixed in with garden insects, garden tools and even a garden snail:

 
Floral bumblebees hovered above your head as they prepared to land on gigantic glass flowers:

Bill and I were snapping photos like crazy...

It was a visual treat...

We eventually made it back inside to gaze at that lovely blown glass ceiling one more time:

It was oh so beautiful....

I adore blown glass. (sigh!)

"Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" - A Movie Review

Bill & I just returned from a mini-vacation on the peninsula. We had SUCH a great time! We tooks gobs of photos (which means a few blog stories are on their way). Let's just say that it involved many of my favorite things: a ride on a ferry, a rustic cabin with a waterfront view, walks on the beach, a trek through a wildlife game reserve, good food, good books, and even a trip to the movies!

So let me start with the easiest one to blog about... the movie! We drove into Port Angeles to find their local movie theater:

 

Bill let me choose.... So I picked this one:

We settled into our seats and waited for the movie to unfold:

I loved it! It was about a 22 year old nerd (played by Michael Cera) who plays his guitar in a band and has a crush on a girl he met at a party. Little does he know that in order to date her, he will have to fight her seven evil exes (as in ex-boyfriends). It was witty, it was artistic, and very unique. I loved the graphic design of several key movie scenes (like when he kisses her, there are graphic hearts exploding from the kiss). I loved the fight scenes that were depicted as arcade games, showing Scott Pilgrim's point totals and when & where he "leveled up". I loved little pop-up boxes that listed weird and funny facts about his friends. I loved the loud music in the battle of the bands and his crazy 17-year old Asian girlfriend (that he hadn't quite broken up with after he met the cool girl). This movie is QUIRKY, full of EYE CANDY, and lots of FUN!!!  On the Rodgers movie rating scale, I give it a solid "8.5" for pure cinematic originality.

If you take your son or daughter to see it, your "coolness factor" will go WAY UP. Trust me.
 
 

A Perfect Day {Part 1}

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of summer...

It was time for the annual Anacortes Arts & Crafts Festival!

I saw this mirror and fell in love... but I had to walk away as it was over $300 (Olvera Design):

Dog and Pup Studios were back-- I stopped at their booth last summer and loved all of their blown glass creations:

Last year I bought a beautiful mobile; this year I bought a glass ball filled with sand and beach treasures (see lower right of photo):

 

Someone caught me playing with it before I bought it:

I met this handsome man and asked him to join me for lunch...

We chatted over chips & salsa at El Jinete:

I ordered a "Margarita Solo" with cranberry and lime... it was divine!  We continued to walk through the street vendors and I spotted this octopus! I absolutely HAD to have it...

It was a creation from Wugbug Clothing Company. It was simply meant to be.... mine.

We passed my favorite shop corner (I love the artwork):

And we stopped to watch the activities at the kid's craft area:

 

I stopped at the face painting table... (you can bet that I will bring Elijah here in a couple of summers)

 

(sigh!) I had the best time! I am already looking forward to next year's festival. :)

Babies

I started reading "Eat Pray Love" last night by Elizabeth Gilbert. I noticed this book about a year ago but was not drawn to it enough to buy it. Now that it is coming out as a movie with Julia Roberts, I thought maybe I would reconsider the book before I invest in a movie ticket. You know the cliche' that "the book is always better than the movie"? I happen to believe it is true.

So, this is a biography of a woman in her 40s (check! I am in my 40s) who likes to travel (check! I like to travel) and is trying to find herself (check! I think I have been trying to find myself for the last couple of decades).  In the first chapter of the book, Elizabeth (the author) is explaining what led to her "search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia". She hints of a breakdown in her marriage and how she had the self-realization that she did not want to have a baby or be a mother (which may or may not have contributed to the end of the marriage). I put the book down for a moment to consider her statement. I IMMEDIATELY felt the opposite. I could not imagine myself NOT wanting to have a baby or to be a mother. Regardless of the fact that I married my high school boyfriend and had three babies before I was 25--if I had the chance to reconsider my life and/or the timing of events, I would do it the same ALL OVER AGAIN. I would want babies and I would want to be a mother. It is innate for me to love and care for something. [And I LOVE my 'somethings'.]

Today, I think I was subliminally continuing this thread throughout my day. Though I am very happy that my own kids are grown up and out of the house... I am in love with another baby. His name is Elijah and he is my son's baby: (P.S. I stole this picture from Angela)

 
  
This spring, an independent movie called "Babies" was showing at select movie theaters. I missed it here but I am patiently waiting for it to come out on DVD. It compares the early lives of four babies on different continents: (Tell me who can resist  the faces of babies??)

 

And I recently stumbled across the blog of a new mother who is on maternity leave from her career. She is not only in love with her new baby, but she wonders what her baby girl is dreaming about while she naps. She (the mother) creates these wonderful scenes with fabric and props around her sleeping baby, photographs them, and then posts them on her blog as  Mila's Daydreams . I adore her imagination and her photography! These images will be priceless in their future... (Of course, I wish I had thought of doing this with my babies!)

What exactly do I love about babies? Well, for starters-- how babies smell right after a bath. A baby's face while it is sleeping. The toothless grin of a baby. The wiggliness of a baby when you are trying to change a diaper. A baby laughing. A baby playing with toys. A baby that holds its hands out to you when you reach for it. A baby's hands holding onto your fingers when it learns how to walk on its tippy-toes. A baby holding a teddy bear. The way a baby rests its head on your shoulder when it is sleeping. A baby sucking its thumb. All of those things are priceless moments when it is YOUR BABY.

(sigh!) I [heart] babies.

It's Summertime...

SUMMER is my favorite season of the year.

Besides the sunshine, there are a lot of wonderful things associated with summer...

My butterfly bushes are blooming:

Starbucks is making passion tea lemonades (with a shot of raspberry) for me:

You can count on some random summer reading sprawled on the couch or coffee table:

My garden is in bloom:

In the late afternoon, I bring in freshly-collected eggs from my chickens:

I picked up some lavender and blueberry bush starts today for a side garden:

 
 And I am trying to decide where to put a new piece of art I bought in N. Carolina:

 This matted print is entitled "Signs of Summer" by Lorri Honeycutt. She owns the most delightful gallery in Carolina Beach, N.C. called Big World Photo.  She has a collection of miniature figurines that she poses on objects of different scales and photographs them. In my print, she has mini construction dudes setting up beach umbrellas (=drink umbrellas) from a mini-flabbed truck on a real beach. I love that!

And I [heart] summer! 
 

 

10 Things I Love Right Now...

1. The intoxicating smell of honeysuckle in my front yard...

2. Babysitting Baby Elijah... he is 8 months old now!

 
 3. Running my car through the carwash...

4. Treating myself to a summer pedicure (No, it isn't black nail polish-- it is metallic green!):

5. I cracked yesterday and bought my new favorite cookie, these delicious fudge drop shortbread rounds made fresh in Safeway's bakery (mmmmmmmmm!):

6. I have a new piece of art hanging in my kitchen :)...

 
7. Bill has been packing my lunch for me this summer-- he fills this cute container with cheese & crackers, makes me a mystery juice in my thermos and adds a delicious dessert (this time, Godiva dark chocolate pearls). Yes, he is THE MAN!

8.  I planted stargazer lily bulbs last summer and this year they are HUGE!

 

9. Bill & I are both on our computers right now, and we have a rerun of "The Office" on in the background. It is the episode when Pam & Jim get married. I LOVE this episode!!

10. And at the end of this episode, the cast replicates that famous wedding party shown on YouTube that danced into the church with this song playing....It makes me happy whenever I hear Chris Brown's "Forever".

Life is good! :)
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Using My Scrapbook Stash...

Two weeks ago, I signed up for an online class from a U.K. scrapbooker named Shimelle:

For only $15, Shimelle sends wonderful ideas 3x each week to my email inbox on how to use my scrapbooking STASH.  Hence the class title, "Something From Almost Nothing".  She has an ongoing project that you can make now or later (for me, that is LATER as I have a bit going on right now). For the other classmates, she has a forum for posting comments, chatting about your stash or posting things you have made with your personal stash. She is still adding people to the class if you are interested...

Shimelle also has a great blog-- if you are into crafting, you will love it!

I made one item recently that incorporated the concept of only using my STASH: (insert horns blowing here... ) TA DAAAAAAA!

 

It is a magnetic calendar. You start out with a aluminum 12" x 12" sheet that is printed with a generic monthly grid.  You make a monthly title and then you create a bunch of magnets to become the days of the month.  Some are numbered, some are not. It is another project where anything goes!! 

The best part of all was that I didn't have to buy anything to make it (almost, I did run out of magnets). I glued large magnets onto the back of the metal sheet and now it is hanging on the freezer that is in my sewing room (in progress).   Sometimes we all need a little kick in the pants to use what we already have and this was JUST the kick that I needed... :)

Busy...

As for the rest of my week, I have been trapped in a PROJECT FROM HELL. Please don't feel sorry for me-- I planned it myself. And that is the main element in my personal self-destruction. I tend to be full of GREAT ideas. I tend to be an "over-achiever". I tend to want things to be perfect and organized. I tend to take on my magnificent tasks all by myself. And what usually happens is that the mess explodes into something triple in proportion... and I get frustrated. And at some point, I hate my project.

My current project is to change one of the kid's old bedrooms (which was converted into a mini library/storage room) into a Sherri sewing room.

Here is a sneak peek at the "before":

It is "in progress". Peace out.

Ta Daaaaa!

I know I left you hanging...

Here is how my glass piece turned out from CreativiTea--

:)

A Little CreativiTea

Yesterday, I hung out with my girlfriends, Kris and Jennifer. We went to our favorite scrapbooking store and took a class, we went out to lunch, and then we went to this sweet little shop in Fairhaven, known as "CreativiTea".

Y

This shop utilizes a clever business concept-- provide two services under one roof. It is a pottery/glass studio and teahouse in one!

If you are there to bring out your "inner artist", you can select a ceramic piece to paint or glass shapes to turn into your own work of art.  Here is one area with many ceramic pieces to choose from...

If you are going to make a fused glass piece, you can choose from many colors and shapes of glass here...

There are tables and chairs both upstairs and downstairs for creating art and/or socializing over tea and snacks...

Kris selected 2 glass squares to design, using colors that will match rooms in her house. You can choose to have them fused flat or "slumped". For an extra fee, they will take your fused creation and put it in a mold to resemble a shaped piece (ex. rimmed plate, bowl, candle holder).

Jennifer loves sea turtles and has a Hawaiian sea turtle symbol tattooed on her ankle. She brought a postcard with this Hawaiian symbol and transferred the design of the sea turtle to her own glass square.

Unlike Jennifer, I did not come prepared. I had no idea what I was going to make! I walked around and around, looking at everything before I reached a decision. I chose a 8" glass circle and glass pieces in some of my favorite colors (grape, moss green, dark turquoise) to  make this:

I can hardly wait to see what it will look like next week! I think Bill and I should come back here some time... and get a little creative...:)  It was a fun day!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

This is my treasure from the 2009 Anacortes Arts & Crafts Festival.  This is no ordinary street fair-- it is THE STREET FAIR of the region.  It is always scheduled for the first weekend in August, and it is an event that I look forward to all year long.  Sometimes I just can't stand the wait! There are booths of artisans and venders that stretch down the main street of Anacortes, WA for blocks on end.  In any given year, you will see beautiful jewelry, ceramics, blown glass, metal sculpture, photography, watercolor and oil painting, woodworking, garden art, gourmet foods, custom hats and clothing, music and much, much more! It is a rare occasion for me to go home empty-handed.

Bill and I have become experts at street festival shopping. We make sure that we look at everything carefully during our first walk-through. Sometimes we break for lunch and discuss our favorite booths. Then we choose which artisans to return to for our final decisions. Some artists you can negotiate with and others are firm on prices. My favorite booths this year were:

The artists are Darlene and John Johnson from Dog & Pup Studios (Idaho).  I bought my beautiful outdoor mobile here, made of driftwood and turquoise/green blown glass balls.  I loved the blown glass of all different colors and almost bought a desk "beach inside a ball" accessory.

We were fascinated with Sacred Stone Garden Art from California. The artists are a mother & son team, Deborah and Casey Bridges. These unique sculptures are made to be placed outdoors and appear to be purposely eroded.

We also love the jewelry of Elisa Saucy-Davis, who owns "Saucy Jewelry" in Oregon.  We bought silver bracelets from her booth for Natasha & Angela on a previous year. This year we bought Natasha a beautiful silver ring (she loves it!).  We saw wonderful things in so many booths-- if only we were not on a budget! 

Favorite moment: buying my blown glass mobile.

Worst moment: getting scolded by a booth owner for trying to take a picture of her art. Not only did she make a scene but I thought she was going to take my camera!

Funniest moment: we were in a booth admiring metal art where animals were made from welding all kinds of tools and household objects together. An old man said to his wife, "I have this art at home in my garage-- it just isn't assembled yet."