I See Pink When I Turn Out The Light

Well, well. This is a big week, my friends. Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day. I bet most of y'all didn't even think about the first two holidays. Oh well! Is it really a big week? No. But Lent is one of my favorite traditions I have ever taken part in, so I'm excited. If you're taking part in Lent as well let me know what you're doing for your ... Lent-ing? (it sounds like a good word to me)

In celebration of the more famous, or infamous depending how you look at it, I have collected a bunch of images from my Outside board on Pinterest for . . . TRAVEL TUESDAY! With a Valentine's theme.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake - Bentonite Hills, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Photo: Joshua Cripps via Flickr

Pinned from: Fly Me There, by Junxx

Pinned from: Cabin Fever, by Barbara Smalley

The Mourne Mountains, Newcastle, Co Down by mcilrathf on Flickr

Monet's Gardens at Giverny by snap713 on Flickr

Pinned from: An Infusion of Lavender by Bonnie Jackson

by Steve McCurry

Pinned from: Adorable by Heather Mettra

Mystical Stairs, Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina; Pinned from Destinations by Jammie Friday

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. – Robert Louis Stevenson

Style Saturday: Lacey Pink Collar

My friend and I went thrifting at the local Salvation Army and she held up this pink blouse to me, insisting that I try it on. I admittedly was skeptical: it seemed too frilly for my taste. When I put it on over my other shirt though I absolutely loved it.

Despite having to cut out the shoulder pads, this is one of my better purchases at a thrift store. Two lessons were learned this day: trust your [stylish] friends and try things on before you dismiss them.

The Owl Necklace is from Wal-Mart

The Skirt is from Forever21

The Shoes are Steve Madden

The Bracelets are American Eagle Outfitters

The Top is Kathy Che

I fell off my pink cloud with a thud. - Elizabeth Taylor

I'm Addic-... I'm Addicted to Shoes (sing along if you know the tune)

I have a problem. I don't think admitting it is helping me get any closer to solving said problem, however. The last time I counted my shoes the number was astronomical. I hadn't added to my collection in some time, but Texarkana seems to be abounding in opportunities to increase my stock. My secret is buying cheap. I'm not a snob by any means when it comes to shoes. They must be unique though to catch my attention, and unlike anything I already have.

During my trip I have acquired 7 new pairs. I will be making a donation to Salvation Army when I get home.

Oh, and I really apologize for the crappy pictures.

Thoughts on shoes: If sex were shoes, I'd wear you out. But I wouldn't wear you out in public. ― Jarod Kintz

To Practice Any Art . . .

In the past 9 or 10 months I have been working on combining flat space with 3-Dimensional space in my art work, which has pushed me to work on developing abstract pieces and works with strong repetition of form. As you saw from my post On To the Bedroom! I recently created a large abstract painting to go in my bedroom. I combined a lot of elements and different applications of the paint to come up with a work that I really enjoy.

Just this past week I completed another abstract work in which I added the element of symbols (in this case: words). I used a line from a poem of mine and translated it into 4 different languages, rewriting the line over and over. I would tell what it says, but, well as I was told recently after receiving a message in Spanish (that utterly confused Google Translate) just enjoy the text for what it is: symbols. Maybe that isn't how that person actually meant it, but what matters more is how I took it (and ran with it, and eventually came to the idea for this piece I am showing you today).

This leads me to my final point before the painting reveal. Let things in your world inspire you. I feel that so many of my peers get caught up in using their internal eye only, putting down only their deep, personal thoughts. Be inspired and stirred up by what is around you! I don't mean making hundreds of propaganda posters for whichever presidential candidate you will vote for this upcoming election . . . but I do believe that when you let the world around you soak in a bit more, that internal eye sees a lot more. It's like stirring up the debris at the bottom of water: maybe you can't see as far down any longer but you can see a lot more that was hidden in that water now. 

I'm actually reminded of a verse, Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. I honestly have no idea what that means and have been pondering it for some time, but was repeating it over and over to myself as I wrote this post. So do what you will with it, and enjoy my painting:

all taped off before the final touches! 

Thought on Inspiration: Do one thing everyday that scares you. ― Eleanor Roosevelt