Around Here: January 2019

Hello, friends!  Here's a little bit about life right now:

What are you wearing?

I bought this black kimono for $5 with plans to do something to it. 

But I can't decide what?  Paint it?  Sew something on it?  Embroidery?

What have you bought?

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I just bought the Sweet Sugarbelle Magnetic Stencil Frame.  It's supposed to make stenciling on cookies easier.

I'm looking forward to trying it out!

What are you reading?

One of my resolutions at the beginning of the year was to replace my phone with a book.  Much to my shock, it turns out that I have tons of time to read now.  I've finished five books so far:

• Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine: A Novel -- The story of an awkward and abused young woman coming into her own -- fascinating and well written -- couldn't put it down.
• Bitter Orange -- The story of an awkward young woman told through a combination of current day and memory -- well written with plenty of twists.
• The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (book 1) -- Perfect for picking up and putting down because it's kind of a series of short stories.  I understand that there are many more books in the series and I look forward to reading them.
• Big Magic -- Eh.  I understand why people like this book -- I don't disagree with the content -- but the writing was a little YA for me.
• The Coincidence of Coconut Cake -- I knew how it was going to turn out almost from the beginning, but the pleasure was in the journey.  Cried real tears while reading this book. Twice.  It's a rom com in a well written book.

Looks like I was wasting a lot of time on my phone....

Current art crush?

I really like the work of Mary Zeran.  I've been following her for several years and she creates beautiful colorful collages.

She often posts process photos, which I really appreciate.

So, there you have it!  That's the scoop on life around here at the moment.  If you'd like more behind-the-scenes real life fun, you can always check out my vlog.  I post a new vlog to my YouTube channel every Wednesday!  This is the most recent vlog:

Thanks for stopping by!