Stolen Time, Vol. III

It's been a hard lesson for me, but I've learned you don't always have to be strong and independent. I've been going through a hard time and have been leaning on my family for the first time in my life. And I've been learning how valuable family is. The lessons of the past few weeks have been profound.

I felt optimistic last weekend as I got ready to see my family. I needed to bask in their love. My family accepts me the way I am, they treat me as if I am perfect and never demand change of me. I smiled as I looked out the window of my shower.

Just a few short weeks ago, these trees were covered in snow. I just can't rush through my life any more. Nature deserves to be admired, and I am a willing admirer.

On the way to my family's home, I stopped at a local church. The fence of the church was covered with toys. I added a couple of my toys as a token and prayed for freedom. I felt a pang at letting go of these toys, then I quickly remembered that everything we put out there comes back.

SNL really spoiled me. She went out of her way to cheer me up and I could never thank her enough. We went to Sushi Rock for lunch. Yum!

As my readers know, I am always fascinated by light fixtures. Dig this one from Sushi Rock. Isn't it amazing? I want it!

After lunch we browsed at Crate and Barrel. This tea pot tempted me greatly. Love the simplicity of it. Of course, I didn't buy. I'm still in my paring down mode.

These mango bowls are gorgeous. But overpriced.Beautiful cased glass vases.

And look at these mesh lamps! Simply gorgeous. When I win the lottery, I'll take three of these!

We stopped at Lowe's. As my readers know, I am not into the whole cute thing. I've vowed that I won't have prints or figures of birds or deer, I find them a little cliche. But... I guess I should never say never. These birds from Lowe's just might change my mind. Aren't they cute? And at $5.99 reasonably priced.

SNL and I were feeling creative. We both have the decorating bug. We found a branch that we are planning to spray paint blue.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Here's the evidence of what I said earlier. What we let go of, comes back. We don't need to feel sad when we let stuff go. Something always replaces it. SNL gave me an Ugly Doll named Peaco. Another in a long line of thoughtful gifts from her. Isn't he adorable? Fits right in my place.

Yep. It was another good day.

Stolen Time, Vol. II

I've been pretending to be a tourist in my neighborhood. During one of my "vacations" I discovered a gallery called The Pop Shop. What a treat!  The work of an artist collective called Apollonova was hanging on the walls. Fascinating! How wonderful it must be to be part of an artist collective. I photographed a few of the pieces. I was stunned by their diversity and their edginess. Hope you enjoy!

Wonder what this is? A flying uterus? I could write a pithy review of this, but won't. Suffice it to say - I dig it.

This reminds me of one of my own paintings. I love when that happens, makes me feel a kinship with the artist. See my painting here.

This one is my personal favorite! I adore it. Maybe it's because the girl's hair is orange and I just can't seem to get enough of orange lately. I am stunned by the dichotomies in this painting. The girl seems to possess an innocence tempered by wisdom that comes too quickly. She seems purposeful and yet lost. Of course these are only my perceptions, I would never presume to know an artist's intent. I'd love to have tea with this artist to discuss this painting.

The guy who was minding the shop was a sweetie and an artist in his own right. His name is Jeff Hulligan. This is one of his illustrations. I had a great time talking to him. Artists are my people. I am never so happy as when I am talking with artists. There is a chemistry and clicking of personalities that mere words could never describe. It's a feeling. Just like art.  I thought of Kim when I saw this. And even mentioned her chick wall to him. She'd make a great addition don't you think?

I would love to have my paintings displayed at the Pop Shop and will be sending a submission to the owner, now to decide which ones. I'll keep you posted. And here's my shameless plug. All of my paintings are on sale and I am now taking paypal. To see more of my paintings, click here. Please drop me an email if you'd like to buy a painting for your home. All of my work includes high energy vibrations, guaranteed to raise the energy of any environment.

The Never-Ending Saga of Stuff

It's a little passe to say that a lot has been going on in my life. Everyone I talk to says the same thing. Life is complex and lessons accelerated. In the blogosphere, you can tell how busy a person is just by the frequency of their blogs. And usually when they are taking a break, something profound is happening.

So I've been spring cleaning because I may be moving. I've said many times, I'm not anti-stuff, I love reading people's blogs and seeing what stuff they like and what they bought. I adore watching people adorn their homes. But I just feel like I don't want much stuff. I've been purging and purging. And still there is so much stuff. One thing I know about stuff - there is always plenty of it. I don't fear getting rid of it, it comes back. I am continually facing the question of how much stuff I need and I have come to a conclusion. Not much.

Here are some things I sold.

Sold. I adore the white vintage Italian bowl. I hope its new owner will love it as much. The bowl to its right is made of banana leaves and is also vintage.

Sold. I will probably regret selling that orange vase. I adore it. Oh well, at least I still have its image. Takes up a lot less room.

Sold. I actually made a profit on this lamp! I had been intending to make the shade into a hanging lamp but had to face facts. I never will. I decided to get rid of all those projects that I have been procrastinating about. So freeing.

Sold Oh my. I love those pink salad forks. Ce la vie.



Sold. Vintage pillows. The white pillow is vinyl.




On the fence. Thinking of selling my pink Mikasa tea set. Not sure.

Tempting. How sick is this? I am selling stuff and at the same time looking at stuff! I love this bowl. But didn't buy, even though it was only $5.99.

Tempting. Saw this lamp at Ten Thousand Villages. Love it. But didn't buy.

Stolen Time

The other day I had the guilty pleasure of time for myself. So I pretended to be a tourist in my city. Here are some of the images I collected. I hope you enjoy them. Beauty is everywhere I look.

Claes Oldenburg sculpture.

One of many of the beautiful churches in the area.

I love to experiment with angles.

The sky was amazing.

I am always attracted to light fixtures.

These onion domes were part of the detritus behind a homeless shelter! Aren't they amazing? I could see them used as art in a very large loft.




I stopped into a local florist's shop, called Vase to Vase. The owner was very friendly and talked to me about his business and he let me play with arranging his gorgeous vases! What could be better?

It was a good day.

All images by Peggy. For more of my photography, please see my city and sky set at flickr. (link)

The State of Things

Image from Better Homes and Garden Decorating, Spring 2008. This is the current inspiration for my place. I adore the pink and orange with large amounts of white. During my recent illness, I was too weak to read so I stared at this picture. As I recovered, I began thinking about things. Just how many things do I need? Can I live with less money if it means more freedom?

I won't lie. I love objects, especially pottery. I love reading blogs and seeing how people adorn their homes. I am not anti-stuff, just anti-clutter. When faced with major life dilemmas, things become less important to me. Increasingly, I find that things don't make me happy. The thrill of the pursuit is short-lived. I do want my place to be cute, but the truth is I am happier with fewer things.

Lately I've had to take a break because, like many creative people, I felt saturated. I needed the break to decide where I want my life to go, including my creativity. One thing has become clear (or maybe clearer) for me. I want a simple life. I've been clearing out stuff because I may be moving. Whenever I am feeling the need to soul search, I always return to simplicity. A friend recently told me I live like a church mouse, I found that to be a compliment. I want to use a smaller footprint, to leave less of an impact on the environment, but that's a topic for another post.

Here's how my apartment looks today.

I know the rug is too small. I would like a large faux sheepskin rug. I would also love a sectional, then I wouldn't need a chair. Alas, neither is in the budget. And it's best to travel light for now.

I adore pillows. The exercise ball provides fun extra seating as do my several ottomans.



It's humble, but gorgeous textiles provide luxury.

The bowl was a gift. It is vintage and made of banana leaves!

I am loving blue pottery.



I want a new lamp, but opted to just pull this one out of my closet. I would like to turn this shade into a hanging lamp.

I would really like to have a red or shocking pink candelabra. I adore this one from Urban Outfitters, but at $48.00 it's too steep. (I know, I know. I'm cheap.)

Maybe I'll find a candelabra at a junk store that I can spray paint. Just what I need. Another project to procrastinate about.

It's a pleasure to wash dishes

Image from flickr user kozyndan.

I actually washed the dishes today! Of course I didn't look anywhere near this chic, but I was so grateful to be able to stand long enough to wash dishes. I have been flat on my back for almost five days. Funny the things we take for granted. I've listened to the work of Thich Nhat Hanh many times, and I've known it intellectually. But today, I felt it.

My body is sending a rather potent message, and I have some decisions to make. I would love to have a newer, larger apartment and new furniture. But at what cost? Do things sometimes imprison us in souless jobs that rob our lives? I have been craving a new fab lamp. But do I really need it?

Green on White

As I wrote about ugly vases below I thought,"On no! Kim and Jo at Desire to Inspire are starting to rub off on me!"

I swear - I am never getting a peacock chair! And I admit it, I'm glad I got rid of all my college-dorm-ruined-hand-me-down wicker furniture.

But. A poster of Al Green in a peacock chair. Now, that would be groovy.

I mean look at him. He is the coolest. Image Lost in Tyme via Desire to Inspire. I think he fits my current vibe. And girls, don't listen to this record. It'll ruin you. Mortal man will never be good enough again.

When Sears Gives You Shit .... Make Art

I was about to write a boring, angry diatribe about Sears. Truth is, you don't feel like hearing it and neither do I. I don't know how I missed the Ty Pennington vases at Sears! Don't bother clicking. They are out, and like I said, I had a bad experience. Apparently the collection was popular, and I'm glad about that. They are beautiful. The one in the middle is my favorite. I haven't been to Sears since I was a kid, and it was these vases that drew me back.

When I got to Sears (40 miles round trip at $3.25 per gallon), all they had left was the large one. I bought it. The sales clerk threw it in a bag on the counter, literally. (This was only one example of the poor service I received, as I said I'm not writing about it.) I gasped! She handed me the bag, did not offer to wrap it. My heart ached at the indifference shown to this thing of beauty. I checked the vase, yep. Cracked. I stood there and wrapped it myself, lovingly. It was the last one, and it's an orphan. It's coming home with me.

By the time I got it home, it really was broken. Oh and BTW - the candle I bought was shit too. I pulled out the super glue.


It was not to be. The glue was stuck to pens, and stuck shut. Maybe this is cosmic. Maybe the vase found its neck suffocating and it can breathe easier now. Maybe I can make art out of this.

If you will notice in the top frame, the poor thing never even got its tag off. Oh well, it's art now. So I photographed this installation and then dismantled it. Cool. Always wanted to do that. Sleeve inspired by image from Muci Muci (see previous post.) I have been attempting to embrace imperfection lately. Maybe I'll just go with what the vase chose to become. I found an ugly brown vase in the laundry room and decided to play with it. Probably won't keep it. But I was on a roll and having fun.

Hmm. You could probably have an entire collection of ugly, orphan and broken vases.

I have not revealed the sources in order to protect the innocent (although these vases have all appeared on this blog at one point). I don't want to offend, but these are some ugly vases. But for some reason they are so ugly, they are cute. Thanks, Sears, for being so inspirational, but I won't be back.