Recent Work

Here are a couple of paintings I recently finished for a client.



I also have another BIG project in the works. I'll tell you about it real soon, but not yet...because I'm mean.

Don't you just love surprises?

xo

nessa dee

Hello, Monday!

This morning I’m…

::Frustrated with the problems I've been having with my blog. Even my programmer husband couldn't figure it out. I don't know what to do. It's become a huge time suck to get one post done, and I hate having ugly blog posts and a messed up header. GRRRRR!!

:: Enjoying the gorgeous colors that are surrounding my house at the moment. Our unusually warm February temperatures have resulted in and early show of spring.


The purple mountain laurels are my absolute favorite. I didn’t even know they were blooming until I walked outside and caught a whiff of grape Kool-aid. They smell exactly like that sugary sweet childhood drink. A treat for the senses!

:: Trying to put the finishing touches on Audrie’s room.

We spent Saturday cleaning it, getting rid of old clothes and unused toys, and trying to rid one little girl of her hoarding tendencies. We also found a cute new accessory for her room, as well as had a lot of fun with spray paint.

I’ll show you more soon, but we are in the process of moving a larger bed into her room, so we’re not quite finished.

:: I’m also loving the little additions of spring color that I’m adding to the home. I bought these pretty little kill-proof plants at Ikea, just to add a touch of green to the breakfast room…

I’d show them to you set up on my table, but I’m finally getting to putting the final coat of paint on the banquette, and my table is sitting in front of my back door at the moment.

:: We are anxiously counting down the days until mid March. We have two weeks to find out some BIG news. Which reminds me that I have not shared some BIG news with you. I will, but not yet. I’ll make you sweat it out for a few days. Until then…

Happy Monday!

xo

nessa dee

Rodeo

It's an annual tradition with their PaPa Jack!

xo
nessa dee

Wooooo Hooooo!

I can finally move back into my studio!

I'm so excited that I just had to share!

xo

nessa dee

Finnanigans

Let's start off the week with a laugh, why don't we?

Finn: Mom, how old is Jesus?
Me: Infinity, but he lived on earth over 2,000 years ago.
Finn: But he still has birthdays…
So, God’s birthday is on Sunday?
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Finn: Sometimes when I eat spicy things my tongue tasters die.
Mom: Well, sometimes your taste buds can feel numb if you eat spicy or acidic things.
Finn: Yeah, that happens to my spuds sometimes.
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Finn: Hey, look! It’s the Muppets on Wall Street!
Audrie: Do you mean Sesame Street?
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Audrie, when you’re a teenager, you’ll be able to do flips. When you turn 16 you can do front flips and back flips. Also, when you turn 16, you’ll have a car, and you can drive me and you to the arcade, and to get ice cream, and to the toy store and we can buy lots of toys!
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xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook...

Just a few sketches I hashed out while Audrie was at soccer practice.

xo

nessa dee

Happy Heart Day!

I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love [and goodies!]
xo
nessa dee

Studio Progress

*** I am very frustrated with Blogger right now. I haven't been able to post things from Live Writer for a week now, and even my techie husband can't figure out what's going on. I tried posting this last Wednesday, and since then I've finished installing the floor. We've also been crafting and getting ready for Valentine's Day, but haven't been able to post any of that either. I am posting directly from Blogger, now until I can get the problem figured out. Until then, I'll have to settle for small fuzzy pictures and wonky layouts.***

My studio floor is coming right along. I should be done in an hour or so if I can tear myself away from the computer. I went with Allure resilient floor for it’s durability, ease of installation, and the fact that it’s waterproof. It’s been super easy to put in except when it comes to cutting around trim. That is a huge pain. Sure, cutting a straight line with a box cutter is easy enough, but when it comes to cutting curves, forget it. Let’s just say that there’s going to be some creative solutions with quarter round trim.
I chose an ash grey for two reasons, the first being that I wanted to keep the studio light and bright. The second reason was a result of my ability to overthink everything. We have beautiful dark hand-scraped wood floors which were installed on the entire first floor last year. While cosmetically, getting the same flooring for the studio would have unified the look of the house, the functionality of the wood floor wouldn’t hold up to my many messes. So, I turned to laminate.

When I found the resilient flooring I spent months agonizing over what color to choose. They had some beautiful dark wood-look choices that would have mimicked the downstairs flooring, but here’s where my thoughts got in the way. If in the future we put our house on the market, someone walks in to the studio, sees the similar flooring, notes that it’s not real wood but a cheaper solution, therefore thinks we cut corners. And if we cut corners there, they might think that we’ve opted for cheaper solutions elsewhere in the house. I wanted to make sure that the flooring choice looked deliberate if such a situation might occur. Really, what it boils down to is that I didn’t want someone thinking I was cheap.

That being said, I love the look and can’t wait to move back into my studio with a floor that I can wipe clean with a damp cloth. Hallelujah!
xo
nessa dee

Kids + Camera =

The kids got a hold of the camera a couple of days ago. I found these candid shots when I uploaded my pictures. Did you notice someone’s new ‘do? I took Finn to get a real haircut last week, real meaning that I actually paid someone to do it. He looks so different, but just as cute, in this momma’s opinion.

xo

nessa dee

Remember when…

we went to LA? No? Why not? It’s only been several months since our trip. What’s that, you say? You never saw pictures. Well, who would be so lazy as to never post pictures of their trip? Me? Noooooo. You must be thinking of someone else… someone who’s less organized, who always posts about the boring mundaneness of life, and forgets to document exciting life happenings. Oh, wait a minute…

Well, it’s better late then never, right? Right?

Our trip was lightening fast, and given Audrie’s rehearsal and contest schedule, we didn’t have much time for sightseeing. For a quick trip, though, we sure packed as much as we possibly could do without missing the contest altogether. The first night we went to the observatory up in Hollywood Hills. It was amazing to see LA lit up. There wasn’t one spot on all of the horizon that was not saturated with light. I might have had some fantastic pictures, but I forgot the camera. [GASP!]

The next day after Audrie’s rehearsal, we went to Malibu to get in some beach time. I didn’t make the mistake of forgetting my camera this time. At this point, I will cease with the words and let you enjoy all that the pictures have to say…

After the beach, it was time for some good eats at Malibu Seafood. Yum!

Then a quick trip to the J. Paul Getty Museum, where we only had an hour to peruse the many halls of ancient artifacts, sculptures and paintings.

The next morning, we took a quick trip to the Walt Disney Concert Hall…something I wanted to see while we were there. We almost didn’t go because LA traffic had lived up to its name the night before, and the fears were that we might miss Audrie’s piano contest altogether. Thanks to the coaxing of one determined husband, though, we made our way downtown, and I’m so glad we did. Despite the fact that it was cold and rainy, I think we all thought that the place was worth the visit.

 

I won’t tell you exactly what was going on here, but it might have involved some singing…

We made it back in plenty of time to get ready and catch the bus to the piano festival.

The next morning we flew back to Texas, and that was the end of our trip.

Fast and furious, but exciting nonetheless.

xo

nessa dee