i am here

i am here

there isn't time, but here i am

i am being pulled

my leg is pulled, my arm is pulled

but my heart is here

how do i make time?

i must

it's my heart...my soul

the blood that runs through my veins

so i am here

AHHHHHHH....I WON!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!  can you hear me???  i can't believe that i just won a blog contest from one of my favorite blogs of all time....miss mustard seed!!!!!! 

 i just won $100 gift card to Williams Sonoma AND a $50 store credit to stylish patina!!!! 

both miss mustard seed and stylish patina are great girls that have made a BIG name for themselves by doing what they LOVE...finding old things, making them beautiful, and reselling.  i have been subscribed to miss mustard seed for over a year now, and get her daily e-mails telling me what she's been doing...what she found...and her wonderous transformations of cast offs to fabulous.  i love each blog post and read them word for word.  she has become a spokesperson for many companies...posts for HGTV, Cottages and Bungalows magazine, and more.  i have commented on many of her posts that have contests, and just figured that i am a little fish in the big ocean of her huge ocean of little fish, and that i wouldn't ever get "picked"...but I DID!!!! AHHHHHH! so excited!!!!  and stylish patina is such a cool blog that i discovered through miss mustard seed.  she has the same love for "picking" and styling that i love and so can't believe that i am going to be able to "shop" there too!!!!  she's got an etsy shop, as well as an actual store called The Foundry....  so forgive me if it seems i'm bragging or boasting, but i'm beside myself.

veganize me...some of my art on the walls of a new restaurant!

a new restauant is opening at bridgeport, our outdoor mall that is nearby.  it's called native foods cafe, and is a growing chain that is mostly in california and chicago right now.  this is their first restaurant in oregon.  it's a vegan restaurant...a fun, bustling, colorful, happening place.  definitely not stuffy or predjudice against those that aren't vegan.  they say that 75% of their clientele actually aren't vegan, but come to experience a healthy day or night out.  i was hired, along with another artist, to either paint chalkboards or the walls.  she did mainly chalk-art...and a lot of it.  beautiful stuff.  i did their mission statement, which you can see on the wall near the celing...yes, it's high...i was on 18 ft. scafolding...

check out their desserts...mmmm

 i also painted or chalked their juice bar flavors and their native stuff sign, which shows happenings around portland...

my family and i were invited to the vip grand opening last night, where we got to order appetizers, sides, main dishes, and desserts, all free of charge. 

this is the to-die-for butternut squash soup that 3 of the 4 of us had...the kick that was unexpected...dried cranberries in it.  it was soooo good.  

this was the soul bowl my daughter ordered...that's their native chicken...that tastes like chicken, but isn't.

i had the ensalada azteca salad as my main dish...mmmmm good.  avacado, cucumber, jicama salsa, quinoa, romaine, currants, toasted pumpkin seeds, cilantro...mmmm

here's a half eaten portobello and "sausage" burger (hubby couldn't wait 'till i was ready to shoot my camera) with dilled potato salad on the side.

this is their twister wrap, that my kids had another night that i was painting for them.  they were training their chefs and made me a to-go bag filled with yummies.

their official opening is tuesday, and i know they are going to be busy, busy, busy.  we are long over-due for a place like this!  it's nice to go out and feel like you are eating healthy...

the native foods blog is a great one too...check it out here.

here's a Green Bean Casserole from their newsletter for your Thanksgiving feast:

                                                                     1⁄2 cup olive oil

10 sliced shallots

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp olive oil

2-1⁄2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 tbsp flour

1 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup Vegenaise

3⁄4-1lb green beans, washed

1. Heat oil in pan. 2. Add shallots and sauté until lightly brown 3. Remove shallots, saving oil. 4. Add 2 garlic cloves to oil and sauté for 1+ min. Add breadcrumbs.  5. Stir until breadcrumbs absorb the garlic and are slightly toasted. 6. Remove from stove and put aside. 7. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in pan and add mushrooms

(don’t stack on top of one another). 8. Add a touch of salt, which will release some of the water and help them sear nicely. Cook for 4 minutes then add 2 cloves of garlic as the mushrooms start to brown. 9. Cook another minute then add flour and mix well as fl our browns a bit. 10. Add broth and Vegenaise, and stir well. It will start to thicken. 11. Then add the green beans and stir to incorporate. 12. Add half of breadcrumb mixture and half of the crispy shallots and mix well. 13. Garnish with more crispy shallots and the delicious breadcrumb mixture and serve!

and here are TONS of recipes from chef Tonya, the owner and founder:

 http://nativefoods.com/events/recipes.aspx

and here are TONS of youtube videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/NativeFoodsCafe

although not vegan...i just might want to try after all this flavor!

santos, statues, inspiration, and art...

my sister janine aka abigail, stopped by for a few days from montana to take a few misty mawn classes at art & soul when it was in portland...she has gone for the last few years and stays with me those days and we hit the vintage stores and places i think she'd enjoy...

we took a trip into portland where i took her to cargo, a store that is filled with sooo many things from different lands.  what i am most attracted to though are the statues and the santos...

and from across the room, i spied this lovely...she had a sold ticket on her...

i could only imagine how i would love to gaze at her in my home, and how lucky the person is that snatched her up...

 she was originally adorned with this feathered and jeweled crown, but i had to take it off to see what she was all about...

 floating waterlilies...wouldn't they be lovely floating in a pool?  hard to believe they aren't real....

and among the many boxes, toys, and colorful whatnot...mary...ahhh...

so beautiful...

the bead wall...

and i love this santos holding a garland of lettered cards that spells "cards"...

and sis acting silly...we had fun with the masks...

then decided to take her to edgefield, which is one of the mcmenamins around portland.  the brothers mcmenamin buy buildings that are bound to be destroyed or have been abandoned...some just with some cool history, and restore them to all their glory and then some...edgefield was once a "poor farm" and now has a theatre, pub, restaurant, hotel, golf course, concert venue, and more. 

the walls are filled with original art...art everywhere...art on every wall......

on a fuse box...

and just in case you peek inside...a treat.

art on the pipes...in the most unexpected places...

art on every door...

art in every nook and cranny...

you just think...and get inspired...

even the exit sign doesn't stand a chance...

oh how i would love to be one of the artists that gets to paint these lovely walls...

i want to share with you some pictures from my niece, courtney's wedding. courtney just started working as an assistant wedding planner.  boy, does she come up with great ideas!  the company she works for is in northern california called a savvy event.   i flew from oregon to southern california to help out a few days before.  she had collected lots of old wood pieces and rusty this and that from either barns or swap meets or wherever.  it was at the ranch/reservoir of my sister kim's and her husband, bud's friend.  it all came together amazingly.  she didn't know where she wanted anything and we all just helped make vignettes and areas that were so cool.

this area was where everyone would write down on a slip of paper how to keep the love alive. they would then slip the paper in the cubby...

this is my sister painting the labels for the refreshment area.  how cool is this?  she is known for her handwriting and calligraphy...as well as her art.  visit her at her blog.

this is one of the centerpieces for the tables and the table numbers on blocks of wood...she used clippings from the plants for the men's boutenneirs.

everyone picked up a small potted plant with their name and table number to find their place.

 their wedding table...

instead of a cake, they had a smores table.  they had gourmet flavored marshmallows and graham crackers...

it was a huge hit...they had a bon-fire with long sticks...

one of the table scapes...

 ok...is this a lounge or what...hay bales placed in old rusted bed frames...

on the coffee table...she had these old rusted pipes cut and her husband filled them with cement...they became candle sticks...

this is the cupboard that the place card/plants were in...someone else would discard this cupboard...but look what it can become to someone with a vision...

the window in the lounge...

they had a picture her cousin...my niece, miriam painted...a beautiful tree.  everyone placed their thumb print and signature on it...she painted the same amount of limbs as there were people.  if you know someone who would like that for their wedding, let me know and i'll have her get in contact with you.

that's my mama and aunt mary signing it...

the chandelier above where they said their vows...

and they had an amazing blue-grass band playing all night...

courtney and aaron.