My friend Kristen finally got around to decorating for the holiday… or maybe more for the “season”??? Either way, my pumpkins with her handmade carved flowerpot look pretty great together!!! Festive yet reserved… just like my friend Kristen!!!

Looks like my combo “wedding & baby shower” gift was much appreciated… which I kinda expected for a purple pottery fan!!! Congratulations to Allison & Michael as they await the birth of their new baby any day now!!!

Fall fun with family & friends last weekend at Christ Orchard in Elmwood, Illinois. Spent the day playing in the field searching for the coolest pumpkins & gourds. Playing with my Cousin Kim… and my “very first art fair friends” Rosene & Gerry! It’s always fun to get out of the City to play out in the farmlands… I think it’s quickly becoming an annual adventure!!!

Last night in class we had an amazing assortment of OREO cookies from China. Unique flavors & combos… like sesame, lavender, grape, peach, raspberry, matcha & birthday cake. Like most “imported” OREOs, they seemed a bit drier, crisper, “flour-ier” & not nearly as sweet & sugary! The sesame one was almost buttery & savory?! And as always… matcha is a “hit or miss” flavor! Special thanks to Tiffany for this gift of OREOs… including the Birthday flavor!!! – IFKYK

Yesterday was full of clouds & crashing waves. Today… not so much. Just clear skies with a gentle breeze along the lakefront. Nothing too surprising…. just another beautiful sunrise!

The surprising part was when I was out on the Montrose “hook” shooting my photos, when a guy rode past on his bike. He looked familiar, but I had no clue. It wasn’t until he rode back the other way… stopped… got off his bike… and walked over. Turns it was my friend Rebecca’s husband Ryan… who I haven’t seen for a couple years! So strange running into a friend way out there on the lake at that time of the morning… with basically no one else out there?! Turns out Ryan has started biking more in the mornings after being “inspired” by my own sunrise biking addiction! So good to see you Ryan… keep on pedaling!!!

Have I mentioned lately that I have the BEST friends & followers???

I mean… look what Tracy brought me at ART IN THE BARN… an amazing OREO keeper!!! Complete with a sleeve of OREO cookies inside! And oh but wait there’s more… brought it back all the way from Munich, Germany for me!!! The best I say… THE BEST!!!

Just another stamped vase fulfilling its destiny! Showing off the flowers so nicely. Special thanks to my art fair friend Maria who surprised me with the beautiful pink hydrangeas & lavender hosta blooms fresh from her garden!

Celebrated the Fourth of July again this year with some of my “adopted family” of friends from college. They live in a small little town in central Illinois called Chenoa. They have the best “Norman Rockwell-esque” holiday celebrations in town. Including the annual “House Decorating Contest”. My friends won 2nd Place!!! But in my completely “non-biased” opinion… they shoulda won FIRST!!! They lost out to the house that won last year too… with just a couple patriotic inflatables… probably “Made in China!” Nothing as cool as all of the handmade, hand-painted & cool decorated efforts that my friends put in for their first entry ever! They even had Rosie hand-painting the stairs!!!

Celebrating a little Floral Friday with some beautiful flowers that my friend Rhonda grew in her yard, took some cuttings & now displaying them in my vases all over her house! A little floral collaboration in the making!!! And that yellow peony?… c’mon already… gorgeous!!!

Last weekend after the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour, I made a quick visit to the Weisman Art Museum with my friends Sarah & Jules. A very cool building designed by architect Frank Gehry… along with one of his glass fish sculptures inside! Also good to see a large ceramic piece by Jun Kaneko up-close. A fun museum stop before heading home… even if it was tough to get a photo of the building from the bridge! HA!!!