As I sit here writing this post, I am wearing the outfit pictured above. These leather jeans are like butter (butttaaaahhhhh….). And the cashmere tunic sweater is perfect-o. Such is the problem of a fashion blogger – how do you continue to wear newbies in the real world and not your very favorite pieces? How to you mix it up to keep it all fresh?
I guess keep doing what I am doing as long as it is fun? I must be a fashion role model for someone out there.
<3
Where am I? I am back at work at Chittenango Middle School, teaching 8th grade Studio in Art, Art-8, and helping fifty kids a day with homework in two study halls. My outfit of the day (#ootd) pictures have been hit or miss. Not sure whether or not to resume taking them. Katy C. and I have been so busy prepping lessons and organizing stuff – I only have a few pictures to share (even though we’ve been back at it for two weeks now).
Meanwhile, my artwork is going places. I am exhibiting encaustic baseball paintings and horseshoe paintings during the month of September 2019 at Half Moon Bakery & Bistro (6500 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville, NY 13078).
And last night I delivered six encaustic angel paintings from the Futura series to a new restaurant called 317 (317 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, New York) before heading to the Italian Festival, which is taking place in front of City Hall this weekend. These paintings will be up in a group pairing along with other artists’ work (indefinitely, as of now). 317 provides an incredibly intimate dining experience right in the heart of downtown Syracuse adjacent to the Onondaga Historical Association.
Finally, my twelve Japanese-inspired fan encaustic paintings are still available for sale at Kasai Ramen (218 Walton Street, Syracuse, NY 13202) until September 16, 2019.
P.S. I started designing bracelets! I’ll be ready to launch that experience very soon – stay tuned! The jewelry thing is my current passion and focus artistically. The universe has been doing a great job of taking care of everything else. Thank you, universe! Life is good! <3
As of today, I am back at work. Here are my most recent summer on-location #ootd pictures.
It was the summer of my dreams – beautiful weather, incredible people, creative juices flowing…. It was and is everything I could possibly desire.
So, not really a conclusion. It’s just another beginning. A renaissance! Today is a continuation of a fun, blessed life. I just had to get up a lot earlier and spend less time with my cat. #catsnamedpablo (yes, that’s a thing). <3
Location #ootd part II: with friends and family
Here are some of my Instagram photographs taken outside of the classroom. Summer rocks! So grateful for time off of work, for time to enjoy the sunshine. And for time to bask in the creation of art, and in the appreciation of it. #blessed <3
Catching up on blogging – there is a new feature on word press – maybe not so new; I only just discovered it – that I can program when the blog articles are posted. So, now I can write a bunch on the weekends and post throughout the week, which is genius!
It has been a whirlwind autumn – exercising, meditating, socializing, art business-ing, shopping, lol. So much to do! I have attended art shows that I did not post about due to their fleeting nature – those pop-up shows offer no opportunity to generate customers after the fact and I simply could not post in real time. I am just not that organized, unfortunately.
I was invited to join a group holiday art show. I will investigate that more today to see if I have anything that will fit the space. I’ll keep you posted.
Here are my most recent outfits of the day at work. You can see the progression of the plaster pig sculptures behind me. They are finished bar three. Students painted them, added details and finalized the last component, which had them finding a location and photographing the pig in a composition. I will post those pictures soon!
All of my students bring the school I-Pads to class. Some have taken to photographing or videoing their progress on art projects and it is really fun to see that progression. We are always in the now and tend to forget the immediate past on the way to the journey. This is such an amazing way to witness their own incremental learning. I love it! In the earlier #ootd pics you saw the beginning stages – how students wrapped bottles with paper towel and tape and they just looked like blobs. A little leap of faith later and these sculptures became badges of honor. I love it when students take pride in their work. It is just the greatest gift a teacher can receive.
Here is my new favorite outfit! I love this Rachel Zoe top so much – I bought it in white too! And adding spandex to jeans is the most brilliant concept the fashion world has ever known. These 7 For All Mankind cropped ankle jeans are so spectacular. They totally move with me like a second skin. My most recent purchase. Lately, every time I buy something, I say to myself – okay, after this you don’t really need anything else. LOL! Needless to say, that thought is fleeting.
I also recently acquired these BCBGMaxAzria silk velvet cargo pants in teal – one of the major colors this season. They are amazing in every way! Soft, elastic waist, cropped so that they did not need hemming… OMG! Love!!! <3
And the Sloan fit pant from Banana Republic – I bought them in both garnet and charcoal. The red ones were on some ridiculous sale because they were the last pair and happened to be in my size. I think they ended up being only $20!
Here are the rest of my #ootd pics since school resumed. Some are weekend shots. I really love all my Rachel Zoe tops. The fabrication is top notch. I buy them on-line as no stores in Syracuse, New York carry her. Same goes for Trina Turk. Actually, shopping on-line is the way I prefer acquiring my wardrobe. Sometimes I try on BCBG and other stuff while at Lord & Taylor. I spent a couple hours in there trying on jeans last week so that I could ascertain my size and the best fit. Turns out I am a standard size 2 across the board in Hudson, Joe’s Jeans and 7 For All Mankind (0 in Banana and XS or XXS in BCBG depending on the cut). Yes!!!!! And…I love it when something comes in the mail and it is a perfect fit. It is just like magic! Because, of course, fashion is magical.
Here are my most recent outfits of the day. We take a bunch of photos every day in order to get one decent one out of the bunch. Google photos has been animating the lot to produce these hilarious gifs. You can see how far away Katy is when she takes the pic. We do that to insure I can get my body to fit into the square dimension of Instagram. Should I begin to add these silly things to my Instagram account every so often – just because they are sooo stupid funny or are they just stupid? I have lost perspective.
These Karl Lagerfeld Paris boots are in heavy rotation right now. They are 2 1/2″ heel – over the knee boots in both blue and black suede. I couldn’t decide which color to get, and you know that meant I had to have both of them. So comfortable, so amazing! They go with everything in my closet. It is incredible how a new item makes everything else that’s old appear fresh again. Karl Lagerfeld Paris definitely gets the Tashionista seal of approval. <3 <3 <3
I allowed myself to fall into the trap of disappointment once again, an energy that I would gladly trade for anything else in the world, lol. The problem always lies when I forget to stay present, when I imagine a particular future then become attached to it to the point that when it doesn’t manifest I have this wonky misery. Like, I bring it on myself, and can even make myself sick over it until finally I arrive at the place I belong, in the present moment (yes!) where nothing has really changed at all.
This funk doesn’t happen often. I am usually so la-la-la positive, so when I fall out of that, I fall kind of hard. Like migraine headache hard. But I take solace in aesthetics. In the beauty of the world – the love I have for friends, family and pets; the incredible feeling I have when I hike around Green Lakes; the delight I take in listening to live local bands (I am a first-class groupie!); the exquisite artwork my students are creating; the smell of beeswax when I am working on encaustic paintings; the satisfaction of seeing my own art on the walls of a restaurant; and, of course, fashion.
I just love fashion. It’s fun to put myself together for work, to put my best stilettoed foot forward. I wore a lot of skirts and dresses in the past two weeks. The weather in Syracuse, New York has been magnificent!
Life is a fun dream, isn’t it? Even the perceived bad is really good in disguise and it allows me to have faith in the knowledge that whatever happens is for the best. The universe is my best friend and ultimately, my life is a romantic comedy. Thank you, Almighty, for putting me in situations that bring me closer to my wishes/prayers/dreams every day. I trust you. <3
