Autumn Foliage Part 1

The view from Craggy Gardens, NC. We drove up there last Saturday to catch a glimpse of the autumn foliage before it fades at the higher elevations. If you live anywhere near the Blue Ridge Parkway, I highly suggest you take a day trip! The views are breathtaking and the mountain air feels (and smells) so good!

Testing

I'm in the process of learning how to post some bigger photos on here, so pardon me if things are a bit "messy" for a little while. Technology is really not my thing, but I am a very visual person so large photos are a must!

Charlotte, NC

Daniel and I took a day trip to Charlotte, NC. last weekend. Our main reason for going was to get desks for ourselves at the IKEA there, but we managed to make a couple of other stops as well.

My favorite place was Amelie's French Bakery. I read about it on DesignSponge's city guide for Charlotte and had to go. Their city guides are really useful, esp. if you are just stopping in a place for a little while but want to check out the local scene too.

We picked up some pastries to go and enjoyed some of the best espresso I've ever had before we hit the road for home.

See that smile?

The decor was amazing. I could literally spend hours in there.

Autumn is upon us here in the mountains. I will have some new photos to share soon. I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.

Home!

I'm home from my trip to Alabama and very happy to say that both art shows were a great success! I am so thankful to everyone who came out to see me and my work. The weather was perfect, the turnout was great, and I met my monetary goal for my trip attending Art on the Square alone! Thank you to the organizers of both Art on the Square and the Monte Sano Art Show for all their hard work. I know from personal experience the time and sweat that goes into planning events like these and I really appreciate how wonderful they are EVERY YEAR. I can't wait for next year!

I managed to snap a few photos of my booth setup at AOTS before the crowds got too heavy:

Booth Front

Booth Side

My helpers and sanity savers: my mom and sister. (My sister found those awesome shutters at an estate sale for $5 each, can you believe it? All they needed was a new coat of paint and viola! Perfect earring holders.)

It's too early for photos...And also, I need a third table for this much inventory!

This year was the first year I displayed some of my paintings. I am very glad I took the plunge. I figured since my degree is in painting, it was past due that I put my artwork up for sale. I am happy to announce that I will soon be selling art prints in a new Etsy shop! More details on that to come!

It's good to be home and I hope to have KeelyB open for business within the day or two. The holidays are fast approaching!

Art Show Flyer!

Thanks to my very talented sister for making this for me!
If you are in the north Alabama area, come by and say hello!

Come See Me at the Art Shows in September!!!

Why?
Well, there are two (main) reasons.
1. Some amazing talent shows up for these things, and
2. I will be selling some stuff that I don't sell in the shop!

For example, these really cool leaf pendants will be making an appearance:

The leaves in these babies were made by Mother Nature herself, so no two are alike. They are coated with some kind of wonderful silvery/gold metallic substance that looks really rad with the silver wire, if I do say so myself. I love how delicate they remain, though. You can still see all the veins and beautiful intricacies that Nature puts into her work. I carefully cut and grind the glass to reflect each leaf and its unique shape. I'm proud of these pendants, if you can't tell, and they are even better in person.

So! If you live in North Alabama, or near(ish), you should mark your calendars for the second and third Saturdays in September and come experience these art shows. I made a full post about the shows, here, and that post includes links to the websites which offer more details. I'll be sure to mention the shows at least one more time before I hit the road for Alabama, as well. You know, just in case anyone misses these posts.

Happy Hump Day! Have a lovely rest of the week! My parents are in town this weekend so you probably won't hear from me until next week!

"Immortalized" APC Concert Experience

I just wanted to share this video I found last night, when searching YouTube for footage of the APC Tabernacle show to help me relive my awesome memories. No one was "supposed" to record anything, so I don't know how long this will be up (I hope forever) but I got such a kick out of finding this.

The song is "The Noose", one of my personal favorites. At 0:20 you can hear me scream like a fangirl. The guy recording must have been right next to me, cause the view through his phone is exactly the one I had from where I stood, and you can even hear me singing at the beginning. I wasn't totally sure it was me at first, but my friends Nia and Steve confirmed it has to be. So enjoy! But don't listen to me, listen to Maynard : )

September Art Shows!

Art on the Square
Sept. 10, 2011
Downtown Athens, AL.
(click the link for more details)

The Monte Sano Art Show
Sept. 17, 2011 (yes I noticed the typo on their banner)
Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, AL.
(click the link above for more information)

---
I hope you can come to at least one of these awesome shows to stop by and see me! Both of these shows are juried, and have an amazing amount of talent on display. I am so proud to be part of them again this year!

A Perfect Circle Recap (my reason for lack of posting)

My apologies for the lack of posting lately.

I spent the whole of last week distracted by the A Perfect Circle concert that we attended in Atlanta on Wednesday. The first half of the week was in anticipation of the event, and the latter half was spent recovering from the trip.

Atlanta is supposed to be a 4 hour trip for us, but lets just say the traffic gods had other plans. The trip was well worth it over all, but exhausting nonetheless.

Daniel and I met one of our very best friends and her boyfriend in Atlanta for the show. A Perfect Circle performed at The Tabernacle, which is an old church turned music venue. It is, by far, the best venue I have ever been to! There is not a bad seat in the house. I highly recommend anyone within a days drive to Atlanta see a show there. You won't regret it.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn downtown, which is literally right around the corner from the Tabernacle. I was expecting to have to walk a few blocks based on the map of downtown that we had, but I could literally see the Tabernacle from our hotel window. I took some photos with my phone, but wouldn't you know that they won't upload properly to my computer! Drat. I can highly recommend the hotel as well. It's pricey, but on the reasonable end of anything you can find downtown. The staff was super friendly, the other hotel guests were happy, and they have a continental breakfast that includes a waffle maker! That waffle was as big as my plate...I could only eat half! So yeah.

Ok, back to the concert. The performance was amazing. I am a huge Maynard fan, as anyone who knows me at all will tell you. I've seen Tool in concert twice, and was thrilled to see APC. My only complaint (as are the complaints of many who saw them tour this time around) was that the set list included all of eMotive, which is my least favorite album by them. I could get into the reasons why I am not a huge fan of eMotive, but I'll spare you the details. I'm not here to write a full concert review anyway. Overall, I am happy with the experience, and they DID play some other songs off their other albums, and one brand spankin' new song debuted on this tour, called By and Down. A recording of it can be found here, if you are interested in hearing it. I can't wait for a studio version of it to come out!

I hope everyone's week is off to an awesome start. Expect more posts from me on a more regular basis, as I've some things to share with you!

Juxtapositions

I wandered down to the water this morning. I couldn't help but try and catch a photo of a sight I found to be very amusing: ducks hanging out on an old inner tube that has been tied to the dock and forgotten about:

Of course, they fled as soon as I approached. Little did they know I came bearing gifts of bread. I managed to snap this shot before they were all off of the raft though, which I came to find out is actually called Big Mable. I find it nice, in a way, to realize how nature will appropriate things when she pleases. That raft had obviously been there long enough to be incorporated into the ducks' environment and no longer deemed a human "threat".

While I realize this appropriation can be a good thing, I also realize it can be dangerous. In the same way our feathered friends might make use of the things careless humans leave behind, they can also become entangled in things like fishing wire. We live an existence of opposites. Juxtapositions.

Once I was down to the deck, a little lady came up to say hi. She wasn't with the other ducks and was actually quite friendly. She got the bread all to herself (well, except for a few pesky fishes who attempted to snatch it away from her). I really enjoy how quirky ducks are. It was peaceful on the lake with just her this morning.

More Randomness

I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! I know I did! We made another trip down to Alabama to visit family and had way too much fun, as usual. Sadly I left my camera at home so there are no photos to share, but I'll leave you with a painting I finished last week instead.

I love the succulent from this post so much that I decided to paint it. Our walls are pretty bare, esp. for an artist living here, so I'm working on fixing that. However, most of my paintings will end up being for sale at the Monte Sano Art Show and Art on the Square in September (my thinking is that I can always make more, right? AND buy other peoples' art with my potential earnings). I kind of like the idea of art rotating out...

I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of things here at home. I blame the visit to Bama. I spent a whole weekend with people I love, visiting and chatting and catching up; and now find myself alone for most of the day. Sometimes it is a hard routine to fall back into. I'm working on getting through it (spent all day yesterday "deep cleaning" the kitchen to make it feel more like a place I want to cook in)...cleaning generates creativity, sometimes, if I'm in the right mood. It's funny what can trigger the creative spark...seemingly mundane household activities really do it for me. Haha.

Well, the week is halfway over. I hope you all are feeling much more productive than I am!

Laurel Falls Hike

Downstream

Upstream

Daniel and I went hiking out near Laurel Falls, TN. on Sunday. It was really beautiful out there. I am sad to report that we didn't make it all the way out to the falls (next time!) due to mud and improper shoes on our part, but the scenery we did see was still amazing. I snapped a few photos of the creek as it ran along a rock face out in the woods. We hiked a total of 2 miles so I still feel pretty good about the exercise we did get.

If you click the Laurel Falls link above, it will take you to a website with info. on how to get there/what to expect out of the hike, etc. The path is part of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia all the way to Maine. I feel so lucky to live in such a vibrant hiking community. I'll be sure to share more trails with you as we check them out.

Bostons

The dogs are being especially cute today so I had to snap some photos. Everyone loves dog photos, right?

Phoebe posing for her close-up. She loves getting her picture taken.

Phoebe with her cute face on.

Have a wonderful weekend!
-K

Slinky Chain Dangle Earrings

With Peridot

With Sapphire

Simple. Elegant. Light-weight. Dress them up or wear them with jeans and a t-shirt! And probably the most affordable pieces of jewelry I've made in a long time.

Both of these can be found in the StudioFinn shop as we speak!

Mythical Feather Earrings

The first of the earrings are showing up in the StudioFinn shop today. You can find the Mythical Feather Earrings here.

In Memoriam

"The Birdman"

My friend Tim passed away yesterday. He was the freest soul I've ever had the pleasure of encountering on this earth, and my heart aches that he is gone. But I am happy his suffering is over, and I know a soul such as his is in a better place now. His departing on the Summer Solstice is no coincidence either, I know.

Fly on, Tim, you are free now.
Your spirit will never be forgotten.

XOXO

My "Official" Weight Loss Plan

Before I share my plan with you, I feel like since this is the internet and very public, that I need to state a brief disclaimer: In no way am I a doctor or any kind of health professional. I am not suggesting that you do what I do, or do what you read here. I don't even know how well my plan will work at this point, but I want to blog about it. This is about documenting my journey, not telling others what to do or giving weight loss advice. However, if you are ever in need of some moral support, please do drop me a line...I'll do the best I can to brighten your day.
*End Disclaimer*

My "Official" Weight Loss Plan
(Subject to change, of course, esp. as I get in better shape)

• Consume 1200 to 1550 calories per day (tracking them on SparkPeople.com)
  
• Limit sugar and fat: no soda, no junk food
• Drink 8 full glasses of water each day
  
• Burn at least 750 calories per week (also tracking this on SparkPeople.com)
  
• Walk 5 miles per week (if I manage this I burn well over 750 calories)
• Strength training 3 times per week
• Overall: Lose 2 lbs. per week
  

I've started a Health Journal as well. I have found that working on it really helps me on the days I need some motivation or find myself in a funk. I've shared a few images here just to keep this post from being all text.

So far, I've lost almost 3 pounds since joining SparkPeople. I am still under my goal of losing 2 lbs. per week, right now I'm at about half of that actually, but I am ok with that. If there is anything I've figured out about my body, it's that I'm a slow loser. I'm not letting that discourage me. As long as I'm losing something, I'm happy. And I'm already enjoying the increased energy I feel from eating healthy and exercising on a daily basis.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, and to all you dads out there, a belated Happy Father's Day to you! I am so lucky to be able to call my dad one of my best friends. He truly is. We are so much alike that is scares me sometimes (I've inherited his horrible sense of humor, ha!). Proof: His Father's Day card said: Dad, for Father's Day I wanted to get you something personal...(when you open it:) So I farted in this card.

Yep. True story. I wish I had thought to photograph it before I mailed it off to him.

The StudioFinn shop is due for a major earring update this week, so stay tuned for that. I have at least eight pairs of earrings to list for sale in there.

Oh, and I updated my profile picture today. The one that was up there was almost two years old. I hope you like it.

Random Weekend Update

Breakfast this morning: hard boiled egg, coffee (no sugar) with 1 % milk, water, whole wheat blueberry waffle, a smidgen of lemon strawberry preserves from the farmer's market, and vitamins (fish oil, multivitamin, D3, garlic, and cranberry)


I hope everyone had a good weekend. I know I did. A little too good, if you ask me. Daniel and I went out for sushi on Saturday and I didn't think to look up the caloric values for what I ate until after I got home. Talk about a buzzkill. The rolls I like (spicy tuna and shrimp tempura) are loaded with calories. And carbs. I don't know how I had the delusion that any/all sushi was "healthy" food before, but let me just say when we go out for it again...I'm sticky to plain fish and rice. No fancy stuff. At least not for a while. It's realizations like this one that make me think to myself, "Jeeze Keely, no wonder you can't lose weight! You aren't educating yourself on what you put in your body!" Learning can be painful sometimes...kinda like beating your head against a wall. But you get over it. And now I know to look up what I want to eat before I put it in my mouth and avoid the regret in the first place.

We walked 1.2 miles yesterday after the heat of the day died down. And I ate a nice lean breakfast this morning. Doing these things helps me stave off any negative feelings or doubts that I'm not doing enough to shed the pounds. I've also started strength training three days a week, according to the workout plan I have on Spark People. My energy levels are picking up since I've been focused on eating a more overall balanced diet (I was sooo tired on low carb.) and fresh foods, and remembering to take vitamins with breakfast in the morning is helping too. So even though I get that nagging doubt a few times a day, I still feel pretty good about what I'm doing. It really helps that I have a supportive significant other as well.

The Farmer's Market has become a Saturday morning ritual. Farm fresh eggs are just so delicious, and we picked up a few other goodies as well (fresh lettuce, black bean hummus, salsa, the preserves I mentioned for breakfast, and this succulent which I really love). I've been wanting to expand my succulent garden for a while now, and this little guy is the perfect addition. Plus I scored the pot at Ross for a mere $2.99.

I love the rosettes this plant produces. I'm probably going to make a painting of it some time soon. Our walls are so bare, esp. for an artist to be living here.

I've added a few new things to both KeelyB and StudioFinn. Stop by and check them out! Also, have a wonderful week!

StudioFinn Shop Update

Teeny Tiny Twig Post Earrings

Reflecting Pool Dangle Earrings

Tiny Nacre Post Earrings

Floating Reflecting Pool Necklace

---
All of these can be found in the shop.

I've been on a bit of an earring kick this week. I have a couple more earrings in the works as well, including some Teeny Tiny Twig earrings that are oxidized that I really love. I kind of get the feeling that the general population doesn't care for oxidized (darkened) silver as much as I do though, so I've been trying not to use it as much.

In other exciting news, I am now a proud member of the Aspiring Metalsmiths Team on Etsy! Yay! I can't believe I almost forgot to share that! I had the privilege of meeting Clarity, the team's founder, at the Blue Plum Festival here in Johnson City last weekend and she told me all about the team. (click here to see her amazing shop) It's an awesome group of Etsians who work with metal, ranging from the beginner to master metalsmith, who get together online and share tips, stories, etc. I'm really glad to be part of such an awesome and welcoming group.