June Highlights

Summer is in full swing and is going by fast.  Where did June go? Well, as I take a look at photos, it's telling what summer has been for me thus far. With daughters who are at ages to spread their wings and fly, that is what they're doing. I am so proud of them, I could squeal. Working and traveling is the theme for Summer 2014, and I couldn't be happier--or more tired at times!

My older daughter flew to London in early June to study abroad and intern through Auburn University.  She is enjoying working at the Ritz Carlton in the HR department and is learning so much. We will meet her over there in August!

I am painting and drawing like crazy.  Rediscovering the discipline of drawing has improved my painting in beautiful ways--like being able to accomplish one more naturally, logically, easily. Below are just a few things done in June.

And go by Studio 100 Gallery Northside of the square in downtown Huntsville to see some of my latest paintings of Huntsville scenes. Below are details of the three that are there...

 Several artists were invited to a fellow artist's home to paint together.  What a treat this always is! Her place is so beautiful in the summer, and she takes such talented effort to stage still lifes all around her property for us to set up and paint. So wonderful! So grateful to be among such talented artists.

And June is my birthday month! OUR birthday month.  Most of you know I'm blessed to be an identical twin with my sis, Claire Kayser who lives in Chicago with her family. I snuck down to the beach for a couple of days to kick off our birthday celebration. Always a treat to be with her! We will gather again in Tuscany in 9 weeks! We teach each September there. Interested in going? Read more...

In between travels I am painting still and teaching.  Teaching is so fulfilling, especially teaching private, intense one-on-one sessions. 

My younger daughter is very accomplished thus far in her 17 years in fashion design. In preparing to consider a school for her, we sent her to NYC to do a summer program at Parsons The New School for Design. I'm jealous. Celebrating my birthday and getting her acclimated was a joy! I am relishing in all that she is learning about design AND life in a big city, meeting people form all over the world who are artists just like her. Below are shots of beautiful SoHo and West Village where the school is.

Below is Le Pain where I had my birthday breakfast.  Love that place!

By far one the greatest highlights of my birthday was seeing Michael Carson's artwork just a few blocks from where I was staying.  Sexy, visceral, mysterious, joyous--all feelings encompassing his work. To stand before them--visual ecstasy.  Truly.

Cappuccino at The Butcher's Daughter in SoHo.

So there are the highlights, but the month ended in sadness that has left me mourning the loss of a great young man in our Auburn family.  Philip Lutzenkirchen's tragic death stunned us all.  Tears for me as I learned about it my last day in New York walking down the busy sidewalk. My heart has led me to express my sorrow in the only way I know how--through my art....

Below is a quick sketch below of an image that I wanted to paint back in 2010--that score after that amazing one-handed catch he made.  I didn't paint it due to regulations.  But Philip gave me his blessing to do it and expressed such honor in my wanting to paint him. The only time I was in his presence was on an elevator in Montgomery at the hotel where the team stays the night before home games. Three players were on the elevator with some of us, and I could only suspect that THAT was Philip Lutzenkirchen.  As the players exited before us after that typical "elevator silence," Philip said, "You all have a great night." Such a simple gesture, but so telling of the man he was.  Another girl on the elevator confirmed that that was him when the doors closed again. A sweet memory.  His legacy must live on as he was the embodiment of a true Auburn man. Christian man...Never to be forgotten! #RIP43 

Time and our precious God heals and blesses. Life gives us so much! Beauty lives on and we must add to it with the gifts we each have. I wish you a very loving and joyous summer. I'll check back in soon...

Enjoyed NYC!

We're home!  We had such a wonderful time in New York City!  The trip was inspired by my 12 year old Sarah for her 12th birthday that was last September.  Each of my daughters here brought a guest, and our time was blessed as we made lots of fun memories.

After a long, unexpected flight situation where we were stuck in Harrisburg, PA Airport, Scott and Allison decided to entertain the bunch for a song.  We bonded with our flight group!

Finally arriving in the Big Apple!

Our large group! 

First stop on the first day: Chinatown!

They wheeled and dealed and got lots of fake stuff!

After we "did" Chinatown, we headed to SOHO to look around.   Steph made the connection of this store and "...beau brummel baby" from Billy Joel's song.  That was cool!

I wanted to revisit some of the spots that Todd and I had been while there in 2002.  Like, The Cupping Room--a nice, intimate place where we ate to get away from the cold.  We had been there that time in February. Brrr!

And these 2 buldings had been our view that time in 02 from our window at the SOHO Grand.  I did a large painting of this scene.  I forgot who now owns the painting.  Is it you, Brad?  It was cool seeing it again and for my girls to see too. :)

Caroline feeling fashionable in her new hat!

Then a highlight of mine--dining at Il Cantinori--serving fine Tuscan cuisine.

  My girls and me after dinner at Il Cantinori.  Very good!

These are the beautiful gals I took standing in Times Square.  We filled our time with subway deciphering, shopping, subway deciphering, sight-seeing, subway deciphering, people-watching :), subway deciphering and FUN! (Just as we mastered the subway, it was time to come home. Ha!)

We walked down 5th Avenue for the high-falutin' shopping.  We came upon St. Patrick's Cathedral under renovation/maintenance.  Still beautiful!

Hi-class lady walking into Saks.  The door was so heavy and hard to open that I ended up helping her in.  She was nice on the inside too, appreciating my help.  I noticed a little Southern-ness is so out of the ordinary with some New Yorkers. ;)

The Prada bags.

The artful perfume bottles.

The unasked-for makeover.  That was so funny!  I was walking around waiting for 2 of my girls to finish up in Saks and one lady at one make-up counter said something like, "...our concealer...your face really nice for make-up."  She was foreign, of course, eliminating the verb.  I politely declined.  I headed closer to the door, wishing we could leave, near another make-up counter, and "Louisa" convinced me that I needed to try that concealer, and I thought, "What the hell.  These ladies must be dying to make me over, and it will mean sitting for a while.  I'll do it!"  Oh it felt so good.  Smelled so good.  I was thinking how I probably needed to pluck my eyebrows, and even other places, but finally didn't care.  I let her have her way, and she went all out and did my entire face.  I was ready for evening!  This shot was taken from a cab hitting pot holes, so it's a little unsharp, but gives an idea of what my make-up looked like.  Louisa was so sweet!  and from the Dominican.

Sarah and Caroline M. on the subway...We had 2 Carolines with us.

That evening we went down to NOHO to see my friend and designer Robert Pendleton who designs with Loris Diran who owns his own boutique.  Beautiful clothes!  We could have loved and cherished lots of pieces in there, but they were a tiny bit out of our price range. Oh, and right next door to their boutique is a cool apartment building where Anne Hathaway lives.  Cool...

I'm so proud of Robert who has been in NYC for almost 20 years.  That's about right because one of the last times I bumped into Robert was right before my wedding at Victoria's Secret where I was buying honeymoon items and he, some silk pajamas before going to NYC. ;)  I will be married 20 years next April.  And I wonder if he still has his pajamas....

The Tagliolini at Bianci's--the little Italian restaurant in Nolita. Mmmm!

One of our favorite things we did on our trip was see the Model as Muse Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  If you are interested at all in fashion, you have got to go see this!  We totally ate it up. ;)

Audrey's coat in the movie Funny Face.  They had clips from the movie playing on a huge screen there behind the mannequins.  Each era was portrayed through writings, magazines, mannequins and amazing photographs as well as music.  Fantastic!

And I loved seeing the Van Goghs, the Monets, the Seurats, the Gaugains, the Pissaros, the Degas' in the Impressionism area!

This a shot of Van Gogh's sunflowers.  By the way--all of these shots are shot with my iPhone. 

And it finally happened.  Fashion-loving Catherine was spotted and asked to pose for this shoe advertisement.  It will possibly be published as a "taken from the streets-type" thing in Pastry Shoes' upcoming flyer.  She was acting like she was hailing a cab.  We were laughing so hard, saying, "Work it, Catherine!"

Then it was Rockefeller Center.  We had lunch in the cafe that is actually where people skate in the wintertime.  Thank you, Carl for paying for our lunch!

On down in NOHO...Fashion shot in front of a graffiti wall.

Caroline resting, and her personal photographer in the mirror. :)

We found this cool area and this lady selling vintage jewelry.  Oh, the girls went crazy!

We walked and walked and walked.  I told the girls to STOP, that it's time for a cappuccno!  Thankfully, Dean & Deluca's came to the rescue.  We were walking all over the place to find the Top Shop that Catherine wanted to find.  We had looked the day before in Manhattan, and it was not there.  But we finally finally finally found it in SOHO.

The clothes were okay, but Catherine was in heaven.  I had a hard time with them since they were SO 80s, but kind of updated to today.  I couldn't see it, so I just sat around and waited for the girls.  I did try on some round sunglasses that we all decided looked awful on me.  

Later, I was about to make a call to round up the girls, and I reached into my back pocket and didn't feel my phone.  I started to look in my purse.  No phone.  Oh no!  Looked again in my purse.  Oh my God!  I couldn't find my iPhone.  The dreaded thing--it was like losing a child!  This store is 3 floors...  

(an actual screenshot of my iPhone)

I thought I was going to have to run the upmteen blocks down to Dean & Deluca's.  But I decdided to retrace each little step.  Panic.  Panic, but don't look stupid.  I was trying to tell Sarah to stay put, I was going to hunt it down.  I remembered I had sat in the shoe section.  I run up the escalator to the second floor dodging racks of clothes, and then decide to head to the counter.  The ladies there looked ready for some crazy person to come running calling their iPhone, and there I was.  During the panic, I calmed myself when I remembered I had a Passcode on it, making it useless to anyone if they found it or stole it.  Whew!  As I approached the counter, I asked, "Has anyone seen an iPhone?"  And they slowly nodded and grinned, and said "Did it have ___" And I said, "Jesus on it!"  And they laughed and said they had it, and that it had already been taken to security.  Big sighhhhhhhhh!  Aw.  Thank you, God!  Big lesson to have a passcode.  I almost took it off during the trip because it can be such a pain in the neck to deal with, but in that dreaded moment, it is a life saver.  And I can recommend a screensaver too. ;)  Sorry, but I had to share my biggest panicky moment on the entire trip!  Oh, and my bruise isn't too bad where the subway door closed on me...

And being our last night, we headed to Little Italy for our dinner.

Guess which building...

We went to the top!  I had never done the Empire State Building, and the views were awesome!  There is my favorite building--the Chrysler building lit up in all its glory!  

I was relishing my last morning with my Starbucks.  And this is a shot of the Wellington Hotel where we stayed.  Not fancy, but clean (mostly), quiet, spacious and amazing location!

Eric from Haiti who drove all 5 of us in his very nice and clean suburban.  I highly recommend him and plan to look him up when I go back!

About to land in Nashville.  Storm clouds that produced the wild ride before landing. 

I am happy to be home safely and that we had such a great trip!  Praise God for watching over us and providing a fantastic time!