lots of love.

***Song of the Moment: undertaker, by M. Ward***

and snuggled up in our cubby bed…

outfit of the day: boyfriends, tight pants, and cowboys.

Loved it.  every minute of it.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Brooklyn-based bands:

***Song of the Moment: Fake Empire, by The National***

I love every little bit of my job.  It takes me to family, old friends, and new adventures.  I have so much to share with you.  Here is just a small offering.

I always learn so much when I go away.

I find that fascinating.

***Song of the Moment:  Today, by Dr. Dog***

I keep waiting for things to slow down… for when I’ll sit down and write a meaningful post, share those pictures with you, reply to those emails, get in touch with that friend I haven’t talked to in so long, workout more regularly, go to Cathedral Park more often, etc etc, blah blah.  I keep waiting for all of these incomparably important busy things to slow to an end and then I’ll take care of all these other things that I really do also care about.

…wait.  …that are also indelibly important things…things that I’m always going to want to get to.

right.  riiiight.  I remember.  I know this place.  I keep coming back here.

I keep coming back here for a reason, I suppose… a great one, that I should be so grateful for—I’m BUSY!!!!  And really, if I think about it—I can only hope it stays this way.  I’m learning that it’s becoming more and more about finding balance.  A balance within me, that extends out to my hands, and beyond my hands, just as it exists in the world.

One of the first ways I’m trying to implement this into my life is by being with W when I’m with W.  I mean, like really being with him.  Road tripping, experiencing Vancouver BC (witnessing Olympic moments firsthand, before the TV footage and even the cameras that shot them), reconnecting, being our most authentically goofy selves, laughing out load (a lot), the tastes, the smells, the friendship     …even if everything stopped:

these are the things that would stay with me forever.

We had a wonderful time in Vancouver.  And even though I was able to focus on all the things that make my heart feel woo wooey,  the things that actually inspire the work… it came too.  I got four new accounts in BC before we headed home.  That’s right, Canada.  In the next few weeks, look out for betsy & iya in these sweet stores:  Riot, Dandelion Emporium, Smoking Lily, and Blushing Boutique.

I am so very lucky and grateful.  Thank you, Canada.

Soooo… stop thinking about it… just do it, you know?  that thing?  those things…  just go and do them.  and do them with every little bitty inch of you.

***Song of the Moment: Tonight by Lykke Li***

We’ll start simply and from the bottom of our hearts.

We made each other laugh SO hard that day (every day) on the trip.  This one was incredible.  While under the rainbow, we just couldn’t stop cracking up.  It was a sort of disbelief at the amount of joy that was (is) pouring from our hearts.

And this one…

…it sort of speaks for itself.

Love this simple idea of Aloha (Hawaiian for hello or goodbye), found here:

“Aloha is the coordination of mind and heart . . . it’s within the individual. It brings you down to yourself. You must think and emote good feelings to others.

Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of doing some decorating consulting and design work for Georgetown University’s Foot & Ankle Center.  During my last visit, we decided that the space was really aching for color pops.  I rounded up some of my favorite paints and put together a collection that I thought would go beautifully against the dark blue walls in the space.

One thing I love about DC and Virginia (my home state) is the warmth and color of the landscape.  There’s a reason they say it’s for lovers– you pretty much can’t beat the Blue Ridge Mountains…  Oh, and DC’s abundant cherry blossoms.  I wanted the paintings to have a cohesiveness while remaining independent.

I loved the idea of cherry blossoms as the through line.  So the cherry blossom was the impetus (along with the right kind of blues), then I kinda went nuts from there.  The top painting is also the bottom painting, flipped around.  It’s the most abstract; it’s my favorite.

This one is huge, 30 x 40 inches.  I painted it horizontally, as seen at the top.  When finished, I played with which angle was my favorite and why.  This vertical version reminds me of a calm creek or stream (also very Virginia) and the sun going down on a summer’s day, with fish jumping and fireflies waving and micro eco-systems thriving.  It reminds me of a place I want to be.

I really should do this more often.

***Song of the Moment: A Sunday Smile, by Beirut***

At the end of the NYC tour, we took a side trip to Norfolk, VA where W’s parents had a special engagement party for us.  It was just perfect.

The home brews were definitely one of the highlights.  It was a family effort and a complete surprise to us.  When they gave us a beer to toast with, I took a triple take at my FACE on the front of it.  From the fresh taste of the beer to the quirky, perfect handmade labels, they did a brilliant job and we all had so much fun.

Introducing to the world: “WILBET HEFEWEIZEN: Simply the best hefeweizen in all the Ports.  Handcrafted award-winning chemistry results in a golden unfiltered wheat beer that is truly vibrant and clearly superb.  Ever since Wilbet introduced Hefeweizen to America in 1999, ours has been the standard by which all are judged.”

The other side of the beer read: “Brewed and bottled with love in Portsmouth, VA in celebration of the engagement of Will and Betsy.  Winner of 2001 KISS Gold Medal Award and 2009 Gold Ring Beer Cup.  Best enjoyed on a breezy summer day in the company of good friends and family.”

…So so true.  In fact, I could use one of those cold brews, RIGHT NOW!

Have beautiful cold-beer filled weekends!

***Song of the Moment: The Waves, Los Super Elegantes***

Sight 1: Beauty, admiration, respect and pure love.

My big sister, Ashlyn, in a cafe doing the things we do best—drinking coffee and enjoying one another’s company.  There are few things as lovely as the strength and comfort I find in my big sis.  New York could not have happened without her.

Smell: Nighttime in NYC.  It truly never quits.

After ending a full day’s work, there was nothing like being able to sit down for a nice dinner at midnight.

Taste: Darn good food.

Sight 2: Curiosity.

Nighttime dinners at local celebrity gossip joint, Balthazar.

(In this shot, I’m wearing these wooden hoop earrings in crackled ivory, btw.  You can buy them in my shop by clicking the link or the picture!)

Sound: Michael Jackson gasps.

While setting up for the show on the day he died, the buzz disseminated the puck building and a sense of disbelief, nostalgia and warmth flooded the ballroom floor.  For the rest of the evening (and the remainder of the week) from the in-house DJ to the parties and the bouncing cars on the streets, it seemed the entire city would hear nothing else.

Touch: The passing on of the jewels.

For those of you who run your own crazy booths at your own crazy shows, I’m sure you can relate to the feeling of every small victory that takes place the moment one of your babies (i.e. whatever you make) leaves your hands to head to another home.  I have cheerleaders who do herkies in my head every time I make a sale.  Losing jewelry weight feels so. darn. good.

This weekend is full of fun, sun, socials, ice cream, and holding hands.  Do it!!

***Song of the Moment: Two Weeks, by Grizzly Bear***

What The Pop! Is a DIY music video festival, based in the heart of Humboldt County, CA. The one day festival will showcase the little music and video gems that wither away unappreciated whether on Youtube or in a shoebox under your bed—the song that was recorded in the wee hours of the morning on a 4-track in a bedroom, or that a band pieced together on their computer in the garage, the video that some kids shot last summer on their mums camera, or some band filmed in the streets of themselves dancing in giant papier-mâché animal heads—this is the venue for them.

We have a panel of judges who will pick videos for each of the many diverse categories–the winners will be presented with a stunning lo-fi, DIY prize on the night of the festival. Bands will play, videos will be on a big screen, and delicious food and drinks will be on sale, all for one night only at the Arcata Playhouse, Arcata, CA. July 11th 2009.

Tickets for What The Pop! Music Video Festival are available at the door or you may reserve them by emailing us at whatthepop@gmail.com. $10 General, $8 Students, $5 small kids.

There is still time to enter a video in What The Pop!, just email whatthepop@gmail.com and we will send you an entry form. It’s free to enter.

The regulations are…the music in your video must be an original recording, not a cover and we’ll need a copy of the music video in DVD format. That’s it! Just send us your DVD and completed application form and you are in the festival. The clock is ticking though, What The Pop! is on July 11th, so we need those videos ASAP! Any questions just drop us an email.

Visit us at www.myspace.com/whatthepopmusicvideofestival for more information.

***Song of the Moment: I Went With Some Friends to See the Flaming Lips, by Benji Hughes***

(don’t I have a cute outfit on too!!  It’s all thrift store finds with a minnie mouse feel!)