My lovely and SUUUPER nice friend Dana [seriously, she is one of the nicest girls I know!] asked me to participate in a group show with 4 other artists, that she is co/curating at Vagabond Boutique in Philadelphia. Here are the 4 other ladies I will be showing next to. :)
Katie Henry
Barbara Botting
Emily Geddes
Leah D'Ambrosio
Those of you have happen to be in the vicinity, check it out! Will be on display for a month. :) Below, are my 4 pieces I just sent off!!!

I am swooning over this Eddie Borgo Neclace and gently patting myself on the back and quietly saying... someday...someday... :(

Happy Friday friends! :)
For you: a beautiful photograph to admire, by Irving Penn

My good friend Katie has two ADORABLE girls, Eve & Ruth that I am madly in LOOOOOOOVE with [love, being said in my most bestest opera voice!] A week before I moved out to Salt Lake, I had a lil mini art show in Prospect Park >>> Some of you may remember me talking about it...if not, just click on my flickr button to the side of my blog and it will take you there...ANYHOOO... I just got an email from Katie the other day saying that she was looking through Eve's journal and came across this drawing [below] that Eve had done after the show. HILARIOUS!
Once again, I can't wait to have kids! 8^)

Just found out the other day that I was nominated for a Poppy! + NEAT! + :) The lovely Eva Jorgensen from Sycamore Street Press nominated me! Thanks Eva! Voting for your "favorite handmade artist's blog" ends today! ;)

Want to know what my very favorite FAVORITE book is? Click HERE +++ Hope you all are having a good day...it is snowing right now and that makes me happy :) +++

ooooh la la! These earrings by the label White Metal make my heart jump! Would also love them in brushed gold!!!

In celebration of Australia Day today, Etsy is featuring all their Australian sellers! Here are a couple favorites I just found:

With Wallpaper


Olofs Daughters

Marley and Lockyer

Bed time story for you my friends:

Once upon a time there was a little house that lived in the beautiful land of Norway, and that little house was only about 4" tall. This little house, so small and tiny, rested on some tall blades of grass, so tall that they covered the little house almost completely. One day, a stormy day: yes, stormy and gray...this little house started crying, for you see the house realized it would never be tall and big like all the other houses he had heard about...well, the tall grass listened to little house's cries and sobs. For 7 days straight little house cried. The grass decided to tell little house a secret...into the window of little house, 4 blades of grass whispered something so sacred... Little house smiled, and stopped crying. The gray storm had passed and the sun had come out...About 4 days after the storm Sun maiden looked down one afternoon and saw that little house had not one roof but TWO roofs! OOf! little house has two roofs exclaimed Sun Maiden! Well, more days passed and Sun Maiden looked over her shoulder and saw not two, not three, but now FOUR roofs on little house, and that's not all. Not only did little house 4 roofs but now he was 4 levels taller! little house was no longer a little house but now a big house. And then..one end of a summer day, big house looked down on the grass and smiled. The End >>> good night <<<

The other day I received the sweetest email from a friend! It made my day/weekend! The unexpected thoughtfulness is the best, I want to be more like my friend and be better about acting on thoughts such as "you should call/write so and so" <<< too often I ignore those thoughts.. :/ February is coming up and it is the month of love ::: really EVERY month should be a month of love, no? :) Inspired by my friend, I am going to make it a goal to act on every positive thought that I get for a month... Only good can come from this right? Thought #1 Reply to my friend's thoughtful email in written form. Here is my little card that I made for my friend...

>>> LOVE this look <<< found via Sartorialist

Things are looking up dear friends! I found 5! $50 gold digger coins the other day underneath a toadstool! ha! Chase bank BETTER acknowledge these bad boys!!!!


Haven't really had any quality one-on-one craft/make time with myself in awhile [awhile meaning like a week] anyhoo... last night was the first night in a looong time that I got to be alone and make things! I took one of my characters, :::Spoon Wizard::: and turned him into a puppet! See the thing is... one must always be careful about turning their characters into puppets or softies for fear of them getting a voice. About 97% of the time my characters will get a voice or have thoughts....already Spoon Wizard asked me for breakfast in bed this morning! JEESH! Seriously, you cannot BEGIN to imagine all the requests I get from my little friends each and every morning! 8^)

+++ Happy Friday dear friends! +++
my new song that I am RIGHTEOUSLY OBSESSED with right now and have been listening to over and over again is The Rosebud's song "get up get out" Justin Vernon of Bon Iver remix!!!
p.s. isn't this the most darling picture of a mama mountain goat and her lil baby!?!

Beautiful prints by Beauchamping

LOOOOOVE The Middle East's video titled "blood" found via Potty Mouth Mama this is one of my favorites! :)

Zoe & Morgan Foxy Sterling Silver 24ct Gold Plated Stud Earrings >>> sob <<< :(
found via Design Sponge

Vivienne Westwood boots >>>>> double sob <<<<< :( These look like my boot illustrations that I do all the time and have somehow magically come alive!

Victoria Bergsman of Taken By Trees is singing one of my new favorite songs appropriately titled "Anna" :) appropriately being because my name was Anna and back when I was 17 I changed it to Roxana... I prefer the name Roxana/Roxy so much more but I do love the name Anna and if someday I have children, and happen to have a girl, I would like to name her Charlie Anna :)

Jacques Offenbach (born 20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic era and one of the originators of the operetta form. His song Barcarole is one of my favorites....

+ Dear outfit, I love you! + saw this photo in a book [sadly I don't remember which one] at Kinokuniya in Manhattan last week.

A lot of you know that I interned a couple summers ago at Bu and the Duck. An AMAZING children's shop/clothing line in Soho and now on the Upper East side in Manhattan! Well I just got word that their sale started today! All you moms and pops >>> go snatch some awesome items for the chidlets!

>>> HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY ONE!!! <<<


2009 has been quite a year for everyone! Looking back and reflecting, I noticed that sadly...I seemed to do a lot of complaining this year :/ - not something to be proud of, however, moving forward I plan to turn those possible complaining thoughts into ones of positive and productive thoughts, and see things in a different perspective! So...2009 DID NOT turn out as I had imagined and many of you have heard me say over and over again how it trips me out that I am now living in Salt Lake City. The trippage is still continuing! I often find myself asking at least a couple times a week "what on earth am I doing here?" I am sure years from now I will see the reason/s for why I moved to Salt Lake but right now, it is still somewhat a mystery. This past week I was in New York visiting the family that I babysat for 8 years. My old boss's Bill & Kathy flew me out as a Christmas present! That trip was so wonderful and one of my favorite gifts I have ever received and trips I have taken! + I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life! + But there was a weird thing going on in my head while back in New York. Somehow I felt like I was all of a sudden living a double life, having to remind myself every 20 min [seriously] that I am not going back to Brooklyn and getting all cozy on the couch as usual [my older sister is still in the apt.] but rather, flying back to Utah where I have been lucky to make some amazing friends that I was feeling so homesick for, yet...I have only been in Salt Lake for 7 months. These thoughts of a double life have kind of been haunting me...and making me think even harder about what is to come in 2010. Do I stay in Salt Lake or should I move back to New York? I think these feelings are especially strong because I have not quite settled yet or actually interrupted my settling by just up and moving away from New York, I really thought that I was in NY for good! Anyways.. I feel that 2010 is still going to be just as mysterious to me as 2009 was....BUT, I do feel that this year will be soooo much better for me and everyone else than last year! In church yesterday we were given a handout for resolutions to consider for this year. It is long but so worth reading and implementing!

HANDBOOK 2010:

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 200
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each da
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile!

Personality :

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control...Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:

25. Call your family often
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick, Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. God heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come....
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank God for it.
39. Your inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
40. [my own added thought] >>> Neutral expectations of others, and ONLY the BEST from yourself!

Let's all strive to make 2010 one our best years yet!!!! And remember, it is all in our perspective! xo >>> roxy <<<