post -Holiday Office party

The holiday party is over! This is what I wore...



I did not win a prize but at least I ate a free dinner and got to dress up!

In other news, when we were in VA for Thanksgiving, I spotted some prints at my inlaws house...



Charley Harper!

Polyvore = fun

So, tomorrow is my work holiday party. I have been looking forward to it since I started working there, over 6 months ago!
If I had a ton of money, this is what I would wear...



Holiday Office Party by erinclee

Although I couldn't and wouldn't ever spend $700 on a skirt, even if it WAS covered in sequins!!!! I did buy a new dress for the occasion! Woo hoo!

I hope I win a prize!!

Virginia is for lovers... of mountains

Mike and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley! We had a photo safari on Friday, so here is a tour..



This is a view of downtown Harrisonburg, you can see the Court House, some tall buildings, and lots of JMU housing!



Here is an upclose pic of the Court House. I have only been inside twice- once in high school when our government class got to witness a few court cases which was interesting because one of the defendant's was a previous classmate- yikes. The second time was when I got my marriage license.



Here is a view of the top of JMU. I like JMU because of the red roofs and their colors are purple and gold!



That pointy mountain is Massanutten. It is where some Virginians go skiing and it is where my mom lives! She lives closer to the bottom of the mountain!

Maybe there will be some snow pictures when we travel back to VA for Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Mike and I carved pumpkins on Thursday night. Can you guess which one he carved?




Crowbars up! We dressed up as the Wet Bandits from Home Alone!

Marv!

Harry! I should have taken off my rings to be more in character, but I was very proud of my gold tooth made from a rolo wrapper!

2 more

I finished these two minis the other day, a spider and a baby peanut chair sitting on a peanut chair!
I feel like I have been getting a cold this week, :( so I've been drinking a ton of water, and staying inside with sweatpants on and painting instead of going to a soccer game.

just two penguins hanging out...

snail, flamingo, hen and fish!

is this not the most awesome sweater you have ever seen???

sadly, it is on sale at jcrew and still $90! :o(

Robots!

I finished 4 more mini paintings for artomat. Robots are super fun to paint! I have 2 more finished, but I couldn't get a good picture of them. tear.

In other art news, I have been loving my ceramics class! It has been really fun, but I have yet to glaze anything, I don't know what to do! And I have been thinking of some new ideas for bigger paintings... involving multiple octopuses.. octopi?

5 more done!

Snakes, octopus, snakes and penguins, oh my!

more animals in peanut chairs

More artomat art! I am working faster than I thought I would... although I have barely left my house this weekend! I really like painting the silly cartoon animals (and cactus- my first non-animal).

Ta Da!

I started working on more artomat this week! As of this evening, I have three done!




....Only 47 more to go!! For this batch, I am using animals and other things sitting in chairs- mixing it up a bit. I also finished a knitting project I started a few weeks ago...



I feel like I am ready for fall now!

Peace Out Summer

It is September and back to school!
I am taking another computery class at the local comm. college and a potentially super fun ceramics class at the art center. I am very excited I love school. I am also hopefully starting more artomat soon! I ordered new blocks to paint and I guess they will be coming soon.
Mike and I went on vacation to The Greenbrier in WVa a few weeks ago- it was totally awesome, we had a blast. I was very delighted and inspired by the interior decorating, it has given me some ideas for my own decorating and fashion....





I love the red leather with a green carpet! And this "springy" room is amazing- a pretty seafoam and tons of patterns!



We also did falconry! Very fun.

Post Anniversary Post

We exchanged gifts- cotton gifts!
This is what I got for Mike...






And this is what he got for me!


All the shirts are from etsy. His brown shirt is from smallvictorystudios and the artist that designed it is Justin Richel- he has his own etsy store- talkingpaintings- they are amazing and I want to buy them all!

Mike's green shirt is from MisNopalesArt. I didn't take any of these pictures, I stole them from etsy! Mike wore one shirt yesterday and is currently wearing one, but I didn't get a picture.

The shirt he bought for me is from boygirlparty- maybe the best name I have ever heard! I am planning on wearing it on Friday- casual Friday at work! Hooray!

July already!

This has been a semi-busy summer so far. Mainly busy because I got a job! I design the interior of books. I've only been working about a month but so far it's been pretty fun. But, since it's an 8-5, I haven't been working on art very much. Although I do have to admit to doodling at work. I have decorated my cubicle a tiny bit. I have my "Baby Sasha" pillow monster and 2 family photos!

I have been liking work also because I have been enjoying dressing up! It is a pretty casual office and technically we are only supposed to wear jeans on Fridays, but I have noticed a ton of people wearing jeans during the week. I have made a deal with myself that I will only wear jeans on Fridays and so far I have been good, although in the winter I can see myself wearing jeans more. In the summer I have been loving skirts and dresses, fun and easy to wear! I have had Mike take a picture of me when I come home so I can post it to wardrobe_remix. I am also keeping up with a pact I made that I will only buy from thrift stores, so far I haven't gotten anything new since December, except a black pair of malindi crocs I bought myself for my birthday. I am not sure how long this pact will go, maybe indefinitely except for very special things. I have been wanting a pair of black boots since last winter, so I might buy those new. Not buying things new has really changed my perspective on new clothes, and buying things in general.

In other news, Tuesday is me and Mike's 2 year anniversary. I think we are going to get fondue for a fancy dinner. I am going to wear my "anniversary dress"- a super colorful dress I found at a thrift store and have been saving for this very special occasion. Also, the traditional 2 year gift is cotton, so I am very anxious to exchange gifts!

Bloomington is so fun in the summer. We've been walking downtown a lot for dinner and walking to the cute little grocery store by our house. Next month we'll be going to the Greenbriar in WVA for a vacation with Mike's parents and sister and brother in law. I am very much looking forward to it! I saw that the Greenbriar recommends "resort casual" clothing, I don't really know what that means, I take it to mean skorts and floral and since I have both of those things, I am ready!

New mini-painting

This painting is VERY mini- only 3 inches! It is cute. I listed it to etsy this morning. I have made a ton of them and Mike is very nicely taking pictures of them for me in the light box he made.

I am 6 months into my new year resolutions! So here are the updates...
Draw more- I have sort of been doing this. I have a lot more ideas in my head that I haven't put on paper yet so I need to get it together!
Start new cardboard canvas painting series (have started sketching ideas!)- There are cardboard paintings all over my house!!
Start working on small scale sculptures- I haven't done much with the sculpting, although I just starting to make Christmas trees out of cardboard for holiday decorations. I still have a 5 lb bag of peanuts in the laundry room! Yikes!
Continue with embroidery- I starting making a pillow for the couch with a pair of old jeans and it will have a little embroidery on it.
Actually open an etsy store and stop being a baby about it- Yes! I have done this.

Other potential resolutions:
Contribute to Wardrobe Remix?- I have been contributing semi-regularly and made a new resolution for myself. I am only going to buy thrift store clothes and stop with the Old Navy and Target clothes. I have only bought one new-new pair of shoes since before Christmas and no new-new clothes. Although I have bought plenty of new-to-me clothes from Goodwills and such. I have saved a ton of money and found some really awesome things that I could never find at Old Navy or Target or mall stores!
Take better care of hands- use more lotion, stop picking and biting nails- I have only been biting my thumb nails so the rest look pretty good. I just lotioned and painted them this morning!
Do more with blog?- blah.

Lately all I have been doing is job searching and trying to clean up the house and looking forward to my bday trip. Mike and I are leaving for Chicago on Friday! Hip-hip-hoooray! I am really, really excited about it.

Kinda 80s Peanut Chair

Another finished mini painting. I am having a lot of fun with this mini paintings, I haven't sketched any out, I am just going for it. Which is kind of unusual for me- I like planning

Today I am working on more of my minis and I am also going to a job fair/open house thingie and then dinner party- exciting.

Big news for Mike and I- we are getting professional hair cuts on Friday!! He had one professional haircut before our wedding two years ago and since then I have been cutting his hair. I just kind of chop off whatever it sticking out, I am not a good hair stylist, so it's time for us to get real hair cuts. I am excited, I love hair cuts!

Metallic Peanut and Two Huge Diamonds!

I think the diamond and peanut trend is going to continue with me for a while- at least for my batch of mini paintings! I have about 15 mini paintings I am working on right now! Super fun! I really like the juxtaposition of shiny gold and metallic paints and image of diamonds with really thin pieces of plywood.

New mini-paintings

I have a bunch of little pieces of plywood sitting around in my art cart- so I have started a series of mini-weirdo paintings. I listed one to etsy today- The lime green chair and rainbow. I have been loving rainbows and diamonds and gold lately- as my paintings show. I think it is because I am happy that it is spring and almost summer, I love the nice weather!

Fun weekend!

Mike's parents visited us this weekend, we had a blast! We ate at a lot of good restaurants, yum. We also went to Indianapolis and went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art!



LOVE sculpture! So cute! I didn't know that the IMA would be so big and nice- it is a really great museum. They also have a really nice garden, we saw a wedding couple taking pictures and I guess getting ready for their big day! It was really cute.
We also played my favorite game, masterpiece and I tried a new recipe, Minty Pea Green Guacamole- it was pretty good.

Green Pea Guacamole:


1 handful mint

juice from 2 limes

1/2 cup lowfat sour cream
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 cup green peas

1 garlic clove

1/2 t curry powder

1/2 t cumin

salt and pepper to taste


Put it all in the food processor and blend!

We ate it with tostito scoops. Also, I accidentally used tumeric instead of cumin, and I added a whole bag of frozen peas.

Updated House Tour

On Sunday, Mike and I tried to reorganize our living room. The room is long and narrow, so it's been difficult to maximize it's potential. We are definitely not feng shui at all. Anyway, we tried the couch is a bunch of different positions and ended up putting it where we just had it. The new additions to our room are a very cool floor lamp, a very colorful rug, and more of my art work is up. Here are some pictures...




A few weeks ago my mom and brother came to visit and they brought that very cool "creamsicle-colored" table with them. My mom's boyfriend, Chuck, designs furniture and he very kindly gave us that table! We have really been enjoying it and it fits in really nicely with the rest of our colorful, slightly bizarre stuff!

Happy Mother's Day- yesterday

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so for the mother's in my life, I ordered them gifts from etsy.

I ordered my mom this awesome gocco print from, Elise's etsy shop, argylewhale. She makes the coolest stuff, I love all her artwork. This print is especially awesome because it glows in the dark! In the dark, glowing eyes are revealed. Very cool. And perfect for my mom because her house is surrounded by a forest and she occasionally sees bears and deer and all kinds of woodland creatures. Elise also has a very amusing blog- http://argylewhale.blogspot.com



For Mike's mom, we picked out a spring-time purse. I decided to get her a purse, so then I picked out like 10 purses and had Mike make the final decision. I really like this bag, pretty colors, very nice construction and perfect size! Mike called his mom yesterday and she really liked the bag and used it right away! The purse is from etsy seller, thepickledpepper!




Mike and I also bought a few things for ourselves this weekend- including a floor lamp and rug that I just picked up from the store less than an hour ago! We had been wanting those items for our house since we moved in, almost a year ago! Pictures to follow...

Happy Friday

This has been a nice week. I started being an administrative assistant this week- pretty fun. My last graphic design class was yesterday. AND I finished these two paintings! AND I have some ideas for some new canvas shapes that I am excited about. Yay all around.

Next post- I will reveal what I ordered from etsy for my mom and my mother-in-law for Mother's Day!

New crazy pattern explosion painting!

This is my new painting that I just listed to etsy this morning. Right now it is hanging in my living room. I think my favorite part is the marbled lamp- that was very fun to do.

Fun things from the weekend:
Went to the movies and saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall!
Had a mini-dinner party!
Had my first day of caddie training- Mike is teaching me to be his caddie, so when he goes pro I can be on tv too.
Went to a picnic and played jarts
Ate a lot of cookies and candy- yum.
New pet- a snail for our fishtank! His name is Speedy Claxton and he is super fast!

Orange circus inspired Peanut Chair

I call this circus inspired because I was thinking of those stools that elephants stand on in the circus.
Today I am starting 2 new paintings, one is kind of shaped like an igloo and one is shaped like an egg.

Gold gold gold!

Maybe my flashiest painting yet? I think gold is fun. I painted this painting around Valentine's Day, so I was very inspired by hearts and romance!

New etsy list...

I added this painting to etsy today- I think it is one of my favorite peanut chair paintings, I really like the aqua-color and the spikes!

It was Mike's mom's bday on Monday and we ordered her a present from etsy. This beautiful necklace,

from etsy seller, beadsinthebelfry. I love this necklace!

fun fun weekend!

I had a great weekend- 3 exciting art things..
-I sold two prints to one of Mike's friends who gave them to her sister! Now my prints are living in Seattle!
-Nichol (pillowmonsters.etsy.com) bought my mini set of peanut paintings!
-3 of my paintings are displayed at Sweet Hickory!

And then my mom and Ben were here all weekend and we had a blast. We played Masterpiece, which is very fun with four people. We ate a lot of good food, I made them lentil quesadillas and brownie sundaes. We ate at Bistro et Crepes, yum. We ate at White Castle, yuck, but Ben wanted to go, those little hamburgers are gross and weird. We ate at Snow Lion and got treats from Blu Boy. My mom and Ben and I went thrift shopping all day Saturday and we all found a few good things. I found chartreuse pumps, black shorts, a stripey tank top and a crazy jacket. Ben found the most deals with like a hundred button-up shirts and ties. Here is a picture of us wearing some of our new things.




This week it is back to adding things to etsy and job searching!

Happy Monday

I had a good weekend! It was super lazy, but good.
First.. 3 of my paintings are going to be at Sweet Hickory- a super cute, art and music shop downtown. They will be on display for their opening next Saturday!
Second.. I was supposed to have my "job training" on Saturday, but it was cancelled so I went thrift store shopping. I bought a hot pink cashmere cardigan, black shorts and....




Masterpiece, the Art Auction game!! I had this game when I was little and it IS just as fun as I remembered! Mike and I played last night, however it would be better with more than 2 people, it would make the auctions a little more exciting.