find a way to make your natural tendencies pay

hi guys. happy wednesday.
before anything else happens, look at this smoothie i made.

it's orange-vanilla-watermelon, and it's amazing. you've got to try one.

did you know that the coolness of a place is exactly equal to how many pictures one feels the need to take of it? guess how many pictures i took of idaho? none! (i didn't even bring my camera. sorry idaho, you just lose.) actually i concede that parts of idaho are actually quite beautiful and interesting, but we were in burley; far, far away from those parts. even my dad referred to it multiple times using the word "armpit".
but the reunion was good and family's what matters, right? i got to meet distant relatives i didn't know existed before this weekend, and i learned a lot about my grandparents and my maternal great-grandparents and great-aunts and second cousins and i'm sure people of other combinations of relation. but besides all that, check out this sweet afghan made by my aunt darlene.

and it's all mine! i thought the colors were beautiful and i can't wait to use it to decorate the home i will someday have.

i also learned that my grandma was a painter and also - get this- a SHOEMAKER. how cool is that? she even wrote a book about how to make shoes and my uncle made everyone copies, and i just think it's so rad that my grandma was a totally crafty woman. i'm one of the younger grandkids, so i never knew her very well, but hopefully, maybe i got a little bit of me from her? my aunts and uncles gave me one of her unfinished paintings and told me to finish it. maybe someday i'll summon the guts to do it, but until then it's neat to have something of hers.

does anyone else love cupcakes as much as i do? i don't think so.


i got this little gem for being such a good girl at the dentist's office. i can't eat it yet cause the entire right half of my face including my tastebuds is numb, but i'm sure it's delicious. looks like red velvet to me.

well i know i keep promising pictures and finished things and things, but time never seems to make room for me. i'm in the process of finding a new job and i'm still trying to snap out of vacation mode. there's still those dang bracelets to finish that i'm completely dreading because they're so time consuming and headache inducing and i think i have arthritis but only when i work on them. if you're confused, it's okay. i'm a schizophrenic, and so am i.

but wait! i've got a few shots of tony working on my sewing machine like a cool little man. check out his blog, a picture of my life, for the complete project. plus there's one kindof lame pic from waiting for fireworks in the park on the 4th of july. i don't know why i didn't take any pictures of actual fireworks. i have a lot to learn.
love, kayla

mini update

i am TERRIBLY sorry for how crappy a blogger i am! especially lately. this week's been crazy (in a good way) and i've got one project finished with what seems like gajillions more to go, plus one shared project betwixt the boy and i. pretty much the only reason i haven't done a serious post for a while is because i'm too lazy/distracted to take pictures, and i hate posts without pictures! so, i'm running away to idaho for a quick family reunion weekend that will be gobs of fun, and when i get back i'll update y'all on my fabulous week and 4th and get some PICTURES all up in here.

have a gorgeous weekend!
love, kayla

um...

i was going to say something, but i forgot.

city guide goodness

i had to share this, because it's so amazing and makes me feel like i've been living in a HOLE for the entire time (like my whole life, kinda?) i've lived in salt lake. this is an incredible, detailed guide that's given me a whole list of things to do whenever i say i'm bored and stuck and feeling icky.
i hate that i'm so uninvolved with my surroundings and my community. i know there's a big art community here, but i'm scared to jump in and say hi. maybe if i was actually producing much art these days, or maybe that's exactly what i need to give me back my mojo.
anyway, if any local yayhoos want to hit up the monthly gallery stroll with me, let me know, cause i think that would be fun.

in other news, did anyone see that rainstorm today? yikes. driving home felt like that scene in big fish, where the storm he drives through turns into massive amounts of water.

i'm working on some things, but they're all unfinished so i don't want to show them yet. but i've found that moving in new directions is all at once invigorating and deflating, because i love broadening my self spectrum but i'm also made painfully aware that i'm not automatically amazing at everything. just kidding. but really. it's a good reminder to appreciate the things people do and make even when they look easy, cause they're probably hard! sometimes i get cocky.

and, because i don't want to go to bed without leaving a little eye candy, here is something adorable. (it's also a semi-preview of what i'm a-working on.)

the shop is here, but i think these gnomes are especially precious. i would buy one for myself and have no shame. :)

night, guys.
love, kayla

SO MUCH DEGREES!

hello!
it's very hot today. very very hot. the first thing i did when i got home was peel off my dark wash jeans and black t-shirt (what was i thinking?!) and lay spread-eagle on the floor in my underwear. thank heaven for swamp coolers!

the day has started off less than great. i woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep, and then work, and my body for the last few days has been a little wonky and blah blah blah, i could whine all day. instead of doing that, though, i'm going to try and be productive. maybe some nice, cool, cotton dresses are in order. cotton dresses filled with ice.

p.s. before i go, how adorable is this??

plus all the other ones. LOVE her shop. :)
love, kayla