Look Into The Sky

What a fantastic weekend full of out of town friends, flea markets and yummy food! Our good friend from college days, Brad, came down and stayed with us and kept Brett and I laughing with his not so subtle claims that we belong back in Shawnee, his YouTube videos, and a steady stream of one liners. We missed his wife this time but a visit with either of the Carters always leaves Brett and I extremely light-hearted and thankful. They are one of a kind.

photo borrowed from Holly

I got to enjoy Holly and Jenna's company over coffee on Sunday and learned all about the tattoo industry in Canada and got to see some secret projects in the works. I now know three Canadians well enough to call them friends. (Sharing certain details of childbirth takes you to that next level, right?) I was thankful for the time we got but it was certainly not enough. I'm sure Simon missed his Mama while she was gone!

Our third set of friends were in the neighborhood (Kansas City) and made an overnight trip to see us and get a taste of Springfield. So, we took them to a nice sushi restaurant because nothing says Springfield more than Japanese food, right? Ha! I went to high school in California with the Mr. and six years later he and his wife walked into our apartment complex in Seattle and I rented them an apartment! They are good letter writers and we've managed to keep in touch since we've moved away and were glad they made the extra drive to spend some time catching up.

I spent the rest of my Monday evening finishing the last half of Twilight while I rested on the couch. The boys were both taking naps and it was the perfect ending to a four day weekend full of good conversation and lovely people. I am currently scheming to get my hands on the second book in the series so if you're reading this, Jenny, go check your Twitter account!

Totally unrelated to my weekend are these two paintings that I finished a few weeks ago and forgot to post. Three more like them have been at the brick and mortar RVA store since the Art Weekend and have yet to be photographed. They are all going up in the Red Velvet Art update on Thursday evening along with a few other new projects I'm finishing tomorrow.


Brett, Brad and Sebastian ventured out to do some bee whispering while I was visiting with the Canadians. I came home smelling smoke but soon realized it was coming from the bee smoker in the backyard and went out to investigate. Brad got in closer with my camera than I ever would have dared and got some great shots of the process. You can see the rest here.


The very top picture is a testament of restraint and sensibility on my part. I think we took our various friends to five different flea markets and I managed to walk away with only three specific purchases for myself. I also let Sebastian pick out a toy truck and lucked upon a pair of formal dress shoes that he'll need for a wedding he's in next month. Never mind that they were a size too big. Kids grow fast, right? They'd obviously only been worn once before, which is about the number of times he'll wear them before they are too small.

I've got more pictures to share soon so don't be a stranger!