|
Where is my mind today, you ask? Well, this is the last work day that stands between me and my mini-vacation, so you better believe my mind is far from my desk! In fact, it’s already on a lovely beach in Turks & Caicos like this one :
And pretty soon I’ll be donning something like this :
And my brain will most definitely be doing this :
Ah, vacation. It’s good for the soul! I have some great posts lined up for you while I’m gone – so see you on the flip side!     
This is one of my favorite weeks in the Moments of Pretty series yet! My sister is in town for the weekend and we are having a grand time – grateful for her visit and the beautiful summer weather. 1. We played tourist last weekend while Cory’s dad and step-mom were in town at Garden of the Gods – it never really gets old. 2. Our first free sandwiches from Which Wich for our 14er ascent. 3. One of the smells of summer – fresh basil. We are now stocked on pesto til summer 2013. 4. Another smell of summer – Colorado peaches. AKA Liquid gold. 5. Some early morning quiet on the porch, a great way to start the day. 6. Some awesome summer sandals from Target, that are cat-approved. 7. Spending some quality time writing, but at this point, most of it is getting scratched out. Bummer. 8. Rocks rock. – (Find me on instagram : @bellatheball)
(Gungor, as photographed by Jeremy Cowart) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEoEQ5Z-2bk] This is the first track off the album Gungor released last September – but really, the whole album is phenomenal. It’s one of those that I could sit and listen to in it’s entirety, just to listen. And there are not many albums I can say that about. The whole thing tells an incredible story – the songs don’t really live in isolation from each other – and I think that makes it a true work of art. I think if I could only listen to one thing forever, it would be these guys. Michael and Lisa Gungor are such beautiful people, and they really think about what they create, which I love – check out their song stories for this album on their blog. Not to mention, they came and taught a class while I was in school and it forever changed my perspective on creativity & faith. I think everyone has a band/album that completely cuts them open (in the best way) – and Gungor’s “Ghost Upon the Earth” is definitely it for me. Gets me every single time. And I love them for it!
A serendipitous follow-up to this post.
When Cory and I headed out to hike Mt. Beirstadt on July 4th, this was the last thing I was expecting. I’ve dreamed since moving to Colorado about the alpine wildflowers and their peak-season glory…and though I’m no authority, I can’t imagine it getting much better than this. Flowers. Everywhere.
Oh, my photographs definitely don’t seem to do any justice to how stunning this was. So many brilliant colors and shapes and sizes. I love how much inspiration can come from just examining the tiniest flowers (these blue ones below were maybe the size of a pencil eraser, and I’m probably being generous).
And perhaps my favorite part is how persistent these little guys are – the alpine tundra takes years and years and years to grow, and these gorgeous flowers pop out of the rocks like champions. Gives you hope that something lovely can come of something rough, right?
Those little succulent-looking plants were my favorite, the shape is perfect and they were covered with the sweetest white blooms. Apparently the first week of July is a great week to be at 14,000 feet. I guess I supposed with the weather we’d been having, that most of the flowers would have bloomed ahead of schedule, but maybe they were just waiting for me to visit. At least, that’s what I’ll tell myself.
I’m amazed that, when you’re thinking surely things can’t possibly get much more difficult, if you take your eyes off your own feet for a few seconds, suddenly there’s plenty of pretty to be found all around you. Sad to say I missed most of this on the way up and couldn’t stop to appreciate it until the way down – but it was there all along. So small you could miss them if you blinked. Life is full of surprises!
Today we’re going to talk inspiration & organization! Two of my favorite things. Last weekend, I re-organized and refreshed my inspiration board that hangs above my piano – I’ve had this thing for as long as I can remember and through the years it has seen many iterations (from a cow collection, to an unhealthy obsession with The Lord of the Rings – wait, is there such a thing? – and many more til it became what it is today). I started with a plain cork board (see above) and during one rotation I decided to add a thin coat of some leftover wall paint. So now it’s white. Ish.
My first step when starting with a blank inspiration board is to cull through all my files and photos and pick out my absolute favorites. I’m one of those that doesn’t necessarily stick with a theme or a color scheme, which I suppose makes my final product a bit of a mess, but I find that’s kind of the point for me. Creativity is messy! Above, we have an assortment of photos/etc that I created myself (top), a few things that motivate me and remind me that I can do impossible things (bottom left), and some postcards & notes I’ve collected from friends. Obviously, I can’t read them when they’re pinned down, but remembering where & who they came from is what does it for me.
Then there’s other people’s awesome art (you can find links to most of these on my Pinterest boards) but I’ll just mention the ones that won’t be there // 1, is a gift from the amazing S.Rochelle Photography // 2, is classic Monet that I clipped from a calendar // 4, is the 2012 Brumley & Wells valentine watercolor (swoon) a la Annie Brooks.
I start with the largest pieces that will anchor the smaller pieces. I just spread them out so that they are appealing and balanced. Then I fill in with the smaller pieces, and voila!
And there you have it! It’s really super simple, but I love looking up at it while I’m sitting at my piano – it reminds me of all sorts of beautiful things, which is an important thing when you’re trying to make beautiful things yourself! So, how do you organize your inspiration? I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who hasn’t forsaken physical inspiration collections for Pinterest (speaking of, check out my boards here) although it is awesome in it’s own right. Please share! I’d love to hear or see what’s been inspiring you lately! |
|
.png){kind=small}
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
I have those sandals in blue and I love them!!! 🙂 Your moments of pretty pictures make me miss random things… this week it is the peaches! They don’t really have fresh peaches here
P.S. Eat an extra peach for me!!!
That can definitely be arranged! 😉
Fresh basil, peaches, summiting a 14er…. Sounds like an excellent summer. Cheers.
we are definitely making the most of it! living in a place with four seasons, it is sometimes hard to appreciate the season you’re in instead of rushing on to the next one in your head. trying to live in the moment! 🙂