a little zoot zoot at the giza plateau circa 1961.

While we are on the Egypt kick, I couldn't help but not share one of my favorite photos of one of my favorite men, Louis Armstrong, tooting his gold horn for his sweetheart at the Giza Plateau in Egypt of 1961. 

Does this photo make you grin with such happiness or what? I love all things Louis and when you throw Egypt in the mix of things, you've got one heck of a party! I was at Zurchers party store today, getting ready for my birthday next week, and they always have the best playlist jamming through the sound system. Today was all things Louis Armstrong and it put me in the best of moods. 

What a talent Louis Armstrong was. Im sure his wife was so proud. If I had it my way, and could choose a group of people who have passed on to meet, I'd choose Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Billie Holiday and have them all throw me some jazzy beats late one night in a jazz club. I can't explain to you the zone I'd be in... 

one ticket for a magic carpet ride to egypt please,

I would like one ticket for a magic carpet ride to egypt por favor! The Zoo and I have been wrapped up in watching all of The Mummy movies with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. They are secretly some of my favorite movies to watch because it takes me back to the days when they had come out in theaters and I was beyond thrilled.

Egypt is another topic of discussion that I am very well pleased with and totally into. I remember seeing previews for this movie on t.v. and asking my dad all sorts of questions about Egypt. I was fascinated and still am. I even begged for a computer game that was based in Egypt and all about mummies in hieroglyphs, the only reason my parents agreed to buying it for me, was that it was a MATHEMATICS COMPUTER GAME, clearly, I was desperate to consume my spare time with anything Egypt.

What a dream it would be to visit the sand pyramids of Egypt, explore the tombs of mummies that are cursed with spells, visit the City of the Dead, giddy-up on camels, and discover hieroglyphs! Now that sounds magical to me!

The Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City is currently exhibiting Mummies Around the World. The Zoo and I have been dying to go! I love to educate myself on ancient history, I can get pretty caught up into too. So this exhibit is surely a must see!

I'll keep you posted if I am able to go to the exhibit, until then, I'll be dreaming on my magic carpet ride.

oh, the places you'll go...

I have an itch. I've had an itch for years, I believe it's deep in my blood, and thankfully with my luck I've married a boy whose blood boils to travel the world as well. I thought I had a pretty impressive resume, if you will, when I began dating the Zoo telling him my whereabouts outside of America. I had some Caribbean Islands, Cabo, London and Ghana, Africa... and at the age of twenty-two, I think that's pretty awesome to have seen those places, don't you?

Then here comes the zoo, though he is four years older than me, and he's been all over the map! Let's just say, he's a sucker for Mexico. I love to hear stories about his travels and his adventurous side. It makes me want to pick up my bags and jet out, right now. I mean now. I have eyes that are yearning to see the world, ancient parts of the world, where I will stand all amazed. I have too large of a list of places to go, ruins to see, sea's to splash in.

I can't wait to take on these adventurous travels with the one I love, whether we do it while we are young or when we are wiser, it will be experiences that I'd cherish. I can only day dream now. But I will say, my one true love, and one of the most precious memories I hold in my life was my trip to Ghana. I'll never forget those days.

The world is a beautiful place.

i'd like to say it's the pink version of the great gatsby.

I introduce you to the pink version of the Great Gatsby, I give you, The Don Cesar Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida! The first time I saw a photo of this beaut, I knew that I had to have a painting of it, and I knew the only way to have it, was to do it myself and the thought of that was quite a doozy. I knew it would be a challenged but I knew that if it was successful it would be a proud moment in my career.

I've explored new techniques and have fallen in love with creating a base layer of texture with gesso and applying thick layers of oil with a palette knife. It's like icing a cake. I'm really happy that I pushed myself to do this and decided last minute I would paint this subject matter for my final. I cornered myself into having no choice but to finish and accomplish the challenge. I can confidently say, a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this, and I also wanted to punch a hole with my fist through the canvas at one point. But I resisted, and now this painting has become one of my most personal prized possessions. It will definitely be a heirloom in the family.

Does anyone know how to fire proof a painting?

i deserve a gold trophy.

I deserve a trophy. No, I am not tooting my own horn on the looks of these babies, I'm tooting my own horn that I have successfully met all of the deadlines that I needed to meet for the semester and that I PUSHED myself to experiment, explore and improve my painting skills. And the outcome you ask? I couldn't be more pleased. I feel like this semester I put in a ton of hard work and dedication that has resulted in reflecting who I am and my own style. I feel as though I am beginning to find my specialty in painting. I know what hopefully (with fingers crossed) could sell and allow me to make some money, and I know what is secretly passion for me and my guilty pleasures of painting that people wouldn't normally purchase (ex. my portraits and things like that). But I will continue to paint the things that make me blush because it's who I am deep down, what I love and what keeps me giddy and wanting more.

I think I have finally passed the area of viewing painting as a chore and now I view it as something crave and have to do at least an hour a day or I'll go insane! I've always had a love for painting, but now that I have found my niche and I kind of have this attitude that I'm going to do it my way and have fun with what I do, and if it doesn't please others, so be it, and if it does, I'll shout for joy.

This summer is going to be a blast! I can't wait to bring out some old paintings that I treasure but have never gotten around to finishing, and I am so excited to dive into other new things. One being... a southern plantation (if i dare). I just really love the work that I do, and I love the time I spend on it, because I know it's time not wasted.

With five portraits, seven abstracts and one large "great gatsby-like hotel" down, I can confidently say, it's been a really great semester.

The Don Cesar Hotel I'll post in a separate post, for it's become my new prized possession.

kitty cat lions.

If you don't know by now, I'll fill you in on a secret. I absolutely adore cats. My one true love is my kitty cat Cali Q. Robbins who I grew up with and as of a couple of years ago, we had to give her away due to my parent's moving to England for a year or so. I was insanely depressed. Being out at school, I took it hard but was semi-grateful that I didn't have to be home to see the new lady pick her up and out of my arms. She really was like a sister to me.

And as strange as this may sound, I am also strangely grateful that I never will have to experience my Cali girl passing away. To me, knowing she's in great care with her new friend, she's kind of the cat that has more than nine lives and lives on forever. That's how I envision it.

I've also come to realize that majority of this world hates cats and it blows my freaking mind. If people are so amazed and blown away by lion's how can they not adore cats, which to me is just a sweet little kitty cat lion! I remember as a kid, I'd lay my face eye level to the floor and watch Cali Q. walk around, the way she moved was mysterious and lion-like. That was one of my favorite things about Cali.

I think it's a tender mercy that the Zoo and I moved into this charming little bungalow because low and behold, there are about six cats that just roam the streets. Majority have owners who let them explore the town, so I have no ounce of anxiety over whether or not they are stray and in need of a good home. So instead, I get to play with them, and feed them milk and tuna from time to time if they choose to sunbathe in my backyard, which they typically do every day. I do believe I am becoming the main gossip to the cats on the street. Being the new neighbor and all... and the fact that I do handout treats, they are always greeting me at my doorstep when I come home from work. My friends are starting to call me "The Cat Lady." But I'm not. I'm just a sucker for cats, I don't own a litter of them!

This week the kitty cat lions have been extra sweet to me. I think they are aware it's finals week and that I my loose my mind any second now. This photo above was taken this morning when I was greeted coming home from running errands. I think they adore me. Sorry I'm not sorry.