he was loved

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Charlie Stagg Remembered

I really can’t seem to put my mind to anything lately, as I seem to drift back to our friend Charlie as I go through my day. It’s hard to lose someone that you truly admired and cared for especially when you know you missed a million times to see them. Isn’t that the way life and death is. We always think we have more time. That’s the one thing that really sneaks away from us.

I think at times that Charlie was like many artists…. he knew he was good and was proud of ….

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You were a good man, Charlie

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Charlie Stagg Remembered

It is with such a heavy heart that I post this news, as we have lost someone very special in this world… someone we truly loved knowing and learning from. Charles Stagg, an amazing artist and friend passed away last night.

He fought hard, not just at the end, but all of his life. At least that’s how I feel about him. He fought to LIVE, live each day with passion and vigor. If there’s one thing Richie and I have learned from him and will take with us the rest of our lives it’s to do your life’s work and ….

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out of the boxes

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Master Bedroom Closet

The master bedroom closet renovation has challenged me in many ways. That seems insane to write that… as life has some really big challenges… but a closet, that’s pretty silly. It’s true, but it’s mostly my fault. If you’ve read any of my previous posts you know that I’ve been a cry baby one day and totally driven and ready to get it done another day. I’m happy to say that it’s almost there and that I’m finally out of the boxes and officially “moved in”. If you don’t remember what it looked like before… CLICK HERE.

Good ….

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A new attitude

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Convex Mirrors

I knew it was time to take a break when I started to cry over my bedroom closet.
As a sane person reading this, you know that’s just not normal… or healthy. Full-time renovation takes a toll on those who expect too much, too fast. I’m very hard on myself and often set goals that are unattainable.

When times like these roll around I acknowledge that things are not good and it’s time to change my way of thinking. I needed to stop, breathe, get out of the house and try to see how beautiful things ….

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a day to appreciate them

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pillow box

Yes, the dreaded Valentine’s day is tomorrow and to be honest I feel sorry for most men. I see the sheer panic in their eyes and the anxiety that comes over them as the day approaches. I think it’s too much. It’s that very reason that for most of our relationship I ask that Richie not participate in it. No flowers, no candy, (maybe a card if you just feel like it) but otherwise…. lets not go there. It works out great for us but in many ways I think the day can be fun and stress free. It can ….

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painted rocks

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painted rocks

I had a choice last night…..  I could sit in front of the TV and hunt alligators with my husband, (yes, he thinks he could be a “swamp person”), or I could do something creative and fun with my time. I decided that listening to music and painting would be a much better choice for me. So I did some necessary painting and some “not so necessary” painting. I bet you can guess which one I liked most!

I put my second coat of white paint on one side of the closet shelves so they’ll get good and dry overnight and ….

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closet progress

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Closet Progress

Between butterflies, swarms of black birds, thunderstorms, art openings, and learning how to use my camera I managed to get a lot done on the closet this past weekend. I know this project seems like it’s taking forever and well… that’s because IT IS! It’s almost like building another room inside a room. Complete with dry wall, electricity, new light fixtures, custom shelves, trim, and eventually new doors. I do-not-like-doing-closets, Sam I Am. I do not like green eggs and ham! But I will love it when it’s finished.

I sanded all the sheetrock, textured everything, sealed with a coat of ….

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Nature Sunday

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Paper Butterflies

While the master bedroom closet paint dried I decided to cut out some beautiful butterflies I found online and printed out last week. I’m not sure if it’s because my parents were butterfly FREAKS when I was growing up or what… but I really love them. My parents use to catch them, photograph them, frame them, plan outings around finding them. It was fun and kinda weird. Now here I am grown and probably their age then and I find that I appreciate nature so much “in my older age”. Living in this house of glass makes me appreciate the ….

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Artist and Friend

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Mary Arredondo Art

Today I’m featuring a close friend who is not only incredibly kind and generous, but a wonderful artist who is having an opening tomorrow for his exhibit “Criador Anima Dos”.

Marty Arredondo has been in our lives for as long as I can remember and we share our love of art, home improvement, good food, and we attend our favorite concerts together every chance we get. We’ve rocked out to Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Morrissey, REM, Sigur Ros, Zwan, and many others. When it’s time to buy tickets, he’s always good to go. He got me ….

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Master Bedroom Inspiration

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master bedroom inspiration

While working on the master bedroom this weekend my thoughts repeatedly drift from what I’m working on to how the heck this project is going to come together.  I’m bad about getting ahead of myself …. but when I’m finally done, I want to have everything I need.

I’ve known for over a year now that I wanted to use black and green in the room and gray is always a given because of the beams and woodwork. The stained concrete floors are a dark chocolate brown, which I have no intention of changing. The floors were stained during the original ….

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Estate Sale Finds – Part 2

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small roulette

I can’t really remember the last time I “shopped”. Unless it’s for groceries or something from the fabric/craft store I’m really not that great of a consumer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for lovely things but just don’t like the idea of having the same things that every neighbor on my street has. Having unique items… collected items… whether they be clothing, home decor, or just little metal pieces of junk are much more exciting to me. Richie feels the same way. So naturally estate sales are part of our life and have ….

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Estate Sale Finds – Part I

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fiberglass cone lamp

I’ll spare you another boring post about how slow things are going in the Master Bedroom.  Yes Stacey, we get it… things are moving SLOW!  We really are working like crazy but even renovation slaves need a break for estate sale treasure hunts. You never know what you’ll find.   It’s always a fun mix of things…..

Richie found this great Organic Structure Set.

We had fun putting a few together.  I found them so colorful and decorative that I think I’ll keep a couple around the house. They really remind me of the Eames Hang-It-All racks.

We love old black and ….

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Feels like Monday

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handmade envelope pillows

… and it certainly looks like a Monday back at work. YIKES! My desk is exploding with papers. (thank goodness it’s Tuesday… that gives me a short week!)

Sometimes I feel like I can’t escape the messes. Mess at home… mess at work… and my poor little car hasn’t been washed in months. I know, I know, it’s just a time in life that you “get through”. Change is certain and I always tell myself when I feel overwhelmed, “Will this matter in 5 years”. NO! I’m just whining today. ….

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Art: Charles Stagg

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Charles Stagg DNA Sculpture

After my last post I got to thinking about the whole “glass thing” and how beautiful it makes everything, blah, blah, blah… which ended up making me think about somebody really special… somebody who literally LIVES under glass and YES, he is beautiful. Not because of the glass, of course, but because of his beautiful soul and amazing talent as an artist. Charlie Stagg is a friend and we are grateful to not only know and love him but to own two very special works of art. So this post spotlights him, his beautiful glass creation and of course his ….

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In and under glass

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picture under a glass dome

Have you ever noticed how beautiful something looks when it’s in or under glass? A picture is just a picture until you get it under glass and then it’s a work of art. It seems like glass turns everything into something WAY more special. How about wine? Wine in a bottle is just wine and then you pour it into a beautiful glass and suddenly you’re dining in a fancy french bistro and not your kitchen. It’s so great!

So for fun, and because I’m not working on any “renovation” work right now, I took ….

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