Curiosity and Quiet

Sometimes a little magic happens right outside your door, and all you need is a little curiosity and quiet to find it.

Boy did my girls love finding this!

William Bailey, artist

This summer I discovered an artist whom I absolutely cannot get enough of: William Bailey.

Bailey works from memory (unlike most still life artists who work from models) and he sees his still lifes as Italian cities.  The clean, quiet, calm effect of his delicate precision completely mesmerizes me.

I love learning about artists that are completely new to me.  I'll bring you another artist soon...

Scene from my life

I love this photo.  The composition of the girls, the shed, the fence, the trees...I just love it.  I have been having so much fun playing with various photography apps on my iphone and I highly recommend it.  It is amazing how a random, bland snapshot can become something artistic and beautiful.

Friday photos

These photos were not taken today, but I'm going to try to start posting some of my photos on Fridays to share with everyone.

Today it is rainy and grey here in Richmond, so I thought we could all use a little visual pick-me-up.  Enjoy!

love that smile!

little L really loves her big sister 

 i am free. i can feel the wind in my hair...

 mommy's and P's matching pedis

 new shoes and socks (I love those legs!)

 my attempt at a holiday card photo: P trying to kiss L and L trying to break free

lovin' at the beach

Man I love these girls.

leopard print heels

Recently I've been feeling a little wild.  Yes, you heard me.  Wild.  And so when I saw these, I started thinking that a pair of leopard print heels just may be in my future:

Check out these, too:

Guess where they are from?

Ok, follow the link to find out!

SoulCycle

Go there. Right now, if you can. SoulCycle is life-changing.

It is an indoor cycling studio in New York City, Scarsdale (NY), East Hampton (NY), and Bridgehampton (NY) - with more locations coming soon. And it's amazing.

Seriously, I have been living in Richmond for a year now, and I am still searching for something that is half as motivating and inspiring as this little mecca of soul. While I obviously miss my friends and family in NYC, SoulCycle is on my mind each and every day.

To give you a little taste, watch this video of Stacey Griffith, one of SC's incredible instructors. It's like a dance party on a bike, and I miss it so. Ok, watch this video too (Laurie Cole, another top instructor, is featured in this video, and sadly, I still haven't taken a class with her).

If you need some fun in a rock-star atmosphere combined with a ridiculously hard workout, take a class at SoulCycle.  You won't be sorry.  While I love Stacey's classes, there are plenty of other incredible teachers: Ayana, Melanie, Christine, MB.  Just go.

I will continue my search here for a workout that blows me away in the same way, but who knows?  If I can't find it here in RVA, maybe I'll start teaching...

Get Me Bodied

Good morning, friends! On this Monday morning I thought we could all use a little happiness courtesy of Beyonce.

This literally gives me chills every time I watch it. Enjoy!

Philadelphia's Magic Garden

Have I mentioned that I am a visual person? This place blew my mind:

If you have a chance, I highly recommend a visit (kids love it too!).

Art with the gals

Yesterday I decided the girls and I were going to make some new art for their bedroom walls. After seeing melted crayon paintings all over the web, I realized I had to give it a shot. Ok, so I did most of the actual work, but we all had fun and the girls enjoyed having their own box of 96 brand-spanking new crayons to sort through and play with. With a little help from their mamma, the girls chose the colors for their own painting. P wanted a bunch of colors (we did remove the browns, blacks, and dreary greens!):

L loves purple and blue, so we stuck with those colors (mostly!):

Perhaps as time goes on we will add colors? Who knows?

Happy!

Ok, so I'm having some difficulty getting back into this whole blogging thing and can't figure everything out, but bear with me. (I would like to create a new paragraph beginning with the next line, but for some reason I cannot do it! As I said, bear with me.) Are friends not the best? My hubby was out of town for the weekend and I was home with the girls (whew!), but a friend invited us to her house for dinner on Saturday. Much to my surprise, she and her family (sweet husband and adorable boys!) made it a belated birthday celebration for me (BK, you really shouldn't have!), and it was just so freaking sweet! The kids had a great time and it added such a little shining moment to my weekend. So, yes, friends rock! Thank you guys again for such a fun night and such thoughtful gifts!

P.S. I love my new mug!

I'm back!

That's right. It's been over a year, but with some time to myself now that school has started, I have lots to share. So let's not waste any time. I have rediscovered my passion for art, fashion, literature, design, and this summer I even took some art classes. Here is the painting of which I am most proud:

Who knew, huh? Certainly not me! The watercolor is called "After Thiebaud" since it is a copy (or should I say a personal representation?) of a painting by Wayne Thiebaud. I'm quite proud of it (if you couldn't tell).