Cats in the Cradle

I recently posted my "30 Before 30" Bucket List (see tabs above). And I guess that topic has been on my mind a lot, perhaps that funk I've been in. But whatever the reason, I've been reflecting and realized I need to take life by its bullhorns and live. Had a long conversation with my mom on the phone this morning (she is by far one of the most influential people I've ever met. I wish she'd write a book to share her wisdom with the world).

Life is short and as far as we know, we only get one shot. So live it, and live it to your fullest. She reminded me of the song Cats in the Cradle. I'd never actually listened to the verses before and realized it's a sad reminder that life can pass you by. You don't realize this time of your life is important because you are so enveloped in a routine or your career...And by the time you do realize it, that time has passed. Whether it be children, a spouse or just yourself, time is limited. Don't wake up 25 years from now realizing you missed out on living life.

And ps, Harry Chapin has some good songs! I just added him to my playlist on Spotify. Love the interwebs!

Cat's in the Cradle

by Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking before I knew it and as he grew
He said, "I’m gonna be like you, Dad,
You know I’m gonna be like you"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man in the moon When you comin home, dad, I don’t know when, But we'll get together then, Son, You know we'll have a good time then.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on lets play
can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do" He said "Thats okay"
And then he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said "I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m going to be like him"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin home, dad, I dont know when, But we'll get together then, Son, You know we'll have a good time then.

Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin home, Son, I dont know when, But we'll get together then, Dad, You know we'll have a good time then.

I’ve long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day........
I said "I'd like to see you if you don’t mind"
He said "I'd love to Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobs a hassle, and the kids have the flu.
But It's sure nice talking to you, Dad,
It's been sure nice talking to you........"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me,
My boy was just like me..............


And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin home, Son, I dont know when, But we'll get together then, Dad We're gonna have a good time then.

One Million Bones Project

Lately, I have been in a funk, snarky even. Perhaps it's the change in seasons (however I adore autumn) or perhaps it's me going through an "I'm almost 30 life crisis". I decided it's the latter.
So, to combat this disease I got drunk at a bar while watching a horrible football game. No really, I did. But I also came up with a bucket list of sorts to accomplish before I turn 30. It's called my "30 BEFORE 30" Bucket List. (I will go into more details about a few other items later).

One of the items was to participate in some sort of art installation or activist project. There happens to be one right up my alley in Chicago this weekend! (I may or may not have planned that just so I could cross something off the list...)

ONE MILLION BONES PROJECT
October 15-16 10am-4pm
LillStreet Art Center - Register HERE

One million bones- made by artists, activists, and students- will flood our nation's capital in spring of 2013. One Million Bones is a collaborative art installation designed to recognize the millions of victims and survivors who have been killed or displaced by ongoing genocides and mass atrocities in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burma.

Making bones? BONES!! Freaking awesome! I plan to be there Sunday to create my contribution. Who wants to join me?!?

I couldn't resist...

I've been away, doing very important things like surfing pinterest, watching hulu, and getting stranded in iowa. (seriously, the effing car wouldn't budge. 600 smackers and 1 personal day later I'm back in Chicago surfing pinterest and reading newly found inappropriately awesome blogs like thebloggess.com ).

And I couldn't resist.

Kudos to Barb "Ray-o-Sunshine" for this gem.

Wedding Crossword Program!

The wedding program - often one of the last things on a bride's to-do list. In this case, it was the groom's responsibility. He was a smart one and enlisted the help of my husband who crafted a beautiful arrangement a mere 2 days before the ceremony.


Picture this: You arrive early to a wedding and are seated next to the amazingly attractive cousin of bride. You are desperately wishing you had something to spark conversation and avoid awkwardly introducing yourself or using some horrible one liner. Remember that pencil you were given with the program? Open up your program, ooo and ahh at the wonderful design...


Now turn it over to the back and take a look at the crossword puzzle! I think it's an adorable way for guests to mingle while waiting for the ceremony to start! You never know who's going to have the answer to 13 Across: Color of Bride's car.

Lifesize Wedding Painting

So I just realized that I have about 2 weeks left to finish this wedding painting before we have to package it up, stuff it in the car and drive 8 hours to Nebraska for the nuptials! I used to work on this mainly on the weekends when I'd have the most natural light coming in the windows, but now it's crunch time, folks. I'm guessing it's about 75% finished now, but the last 25% will contain those perfectionist-finishing touches that I cannot escape.

Once the background was finished, we took the 3 boards apart so it would be easier to paint because clumsy me knocked it over and bent the hinges. But it ended up being easier to paint, especially the bottom section. It has now taken over my dining room table.


In school, I used to LOVE creating folds in fabric, but back then I was using either oil paints or chalk/oil pastels which allow for easy blending. This time I was fighting with using acrylic paints which dry extremely fast. But somehow the jeans turned out quite nicely, despite a few profanities that were thrown around.

Here's the most recent photo (sorry it's poor quality, it was from my phone). His shorts were difficult because of the small detail, so I ended up using some colored pencils for the lines and small shading. I am really happy extremely thrilled by how fast and well the technique worked! Only a few things to finish! What do you think??

July in Review

So, my last post was nearly a month ago. Yikes, sorry y'all. Lots has happened since then. How about a quick recap?

1. Weddings - Was able to travel back to Iowa/Nebraska to see 4 of my friends tie the knot! Cathy + Adam in Fremont, Nebraska and Liz +Brian in Ames, Iowa! In Nebraska we were able to spend time with our family and in Ames we felt like we were back in college at ISU! Good times!


2. Chicago Cubs! 2 of our friends came to visit for a wild weekend in the city. We got AMAZING seats to watch the Cubbies sweep the Astros! We were also part of an engagement surprise for 2 of our other friends!

3. RAGBRAI XXXIX - I was only able to be there 3 days (riding 2 days) this year. It was horribly hot, but we always manage to have a good time! It was my first experience with Team Blonde as well! Fun team, I can't wait to ride with them in the future!


The next post will be the progress of the wedding cut-out. I am about 75% finished and it's really coming together! Less than a month left to totally finish it!

'Tis Wedding Season!

We don't design wedding invitations very often. In fact, the only other one we've designed was our own! But this year my husband set out to design his little sister's wedding invitation. And I think it turned out pretty darn awesome!

The original idea was to have it all be a folded postcard with a tear-away RSVP postcard at the bottom, but ideas changed, time flew by and the end result is slightly different, but still amazing! What do you think?