GOODBYE AUGUST, HELLO SEPTEMBER

Where have I been... Holy Moly has it been to long. Please excuse my absence an realize I am working hard to be back here more on a full-time level. I miss this place so much but there have been may steps along the way to get me closer to being here more. I’m really close, an will be posting more frequently soon. I don’t want to ramble, but for those curious, and if you see me on IG you know this all already but… we bought a house at the beginning of the year that had a major overhaul which was done in late April, so we (me and the kiddos) move in. Then in May, my better half moved in with us, so we started tackling the merging our two separate homes down to one (that’s surely tricky when you have one furniture collector, one art collector, and two small hoarders ((sorry babe we have the gene a little)) new space. Mind you we’re now on to decorating but have a lot of fun pieces we are trying to blend into our home but some may still need to go ta-ta. My kiddos returned home from their Summer month to the East Coast with grandparents and family to then jump back in an start school. Which school… oh school… it’s been an adventure adjustment for sure, as one kid loves it and the other is not wanting to go. We attended an awesome wedding last month (August), a couple friends had a new baby (Yay!) that month too, an tun there’s the daily work, life, just on the go stuff… but maybe, just maybe we can catch our breath before we’re into the Holidays. September!!! When did Fall sneak up on us?! I’m not to sure where the year goes. It seems like it was just the new year a day ago, and now it’s past half the year… J mentioned to me even today that when we’re kids it seems to take so long for the year to go by, but as adults there isn’t enough time. Why is that? Man, I wish I didn’t have to grow up at times. How nice would it be to enjoy a Summer break or a shot day at school over a full day at work. Well not to continue the ramblings but just a quick “hi, hello! I miss this space!” Much love and happy Thursday sweet friends.

HOME SWEET HOME

Sorry for the quietness around these parts, but we've been visiting family and soaking up the sun some. This photo is of my home sweet home on the Cape in Massachusetts, an those 4 people in the middle are my kiddos, mom an brother. Being at the beach is probably one of our favorite places to relax an explore together an so far we've had a wonderful vacation. I hope you are having a fabulous day, an make sure to relax in any way you see fit. Happy Tuesday sweet friends :)

THESE TWO...

These two are quite the characters. An most days they are the best of friends. Like all kids they have their moments, an disagree about things, don't we all, but non the less they make me so incredibly happy that I can't imagine my life before them. They're silly smiling faces, and the way the feed off each other at times, is pure entertainment to sit back and watch. Today we are celebrating their birthdays with a trip to the Omaha Zoo. Wish us luck, and as long as we all survive a few hours in the car together, it should be a great day! I'm not to sure where the times gone, and how they grew up so quickly on me, but I'm enjoying these days with my motley little crew more than ever. Happy weekend sweet friends!

DIY : COMIC BOOK BIRTHDAY GIFT WRAP

That guy I like celebrates his birthday today. He's 30, which is kinda a big deal I do believe, so I wanted to show him I cared by putting a bit of extra effort into his gifts and gift wrap. There's a theme going on here though he doesn't know this quite yet. But if you know me, you'd know I love wrapping presents. The idea of the overall final result, that pretty wrapped gift when presenting it to the giftee, it just makes my heart smile. My guy is pretty special an over all amazing guy, but to nicely put it, he's also a big geek, which I love. Comic books couldn't be more appropriate for the occasion, so I took a few older ones I had stashed away and put them to good us. He already saw a photo of the picture above an he seemed to like it. So yay me, extra girlfriend points. I hope you have a wonderful birthday handsome and enjoy all your gifts!

SANDI DOODLES : BOTANICAL TATTOO

A little under two years ago, I decided to get my first ever tattoo. Now it wasn't that I didn't want a tattoo before this, because I surely did, but it's that I really wanted something that spoke to me. There's nothing wrong with going and picking something off a wall, or printing out an image you find online that you may like, but for me, I want something original that spoke to me... So with my first tattoo, I hand lettered my children's names, which I really love how this piece came out. So fast forward to last week and I finally got around to getting my second tattoo (above & below). I find simple line work very aesthetically pleasing. If you've seen my artwork, my personal style reflects this. I had seen a few botanical pieces out there and really wanted my new piece to be a floral arrangement, and to have some meaning behind it too. It took me a bit, but I illustrated elements I loved to create this larger piece. One of my favorite flowers is the Ranunculus (the largest flower in my piece), I also like Lily of the Valley, Marsh Marigolds, Lady's Thumb, Geissorhiza, you'll see all of these in here, also there's raspberries (yum) and the Massachusetts (my home/birth state) state bird, the chickadee. So overall though this piece is like every other botanical looking piece, it's non the less entwined with things about me which I love. Does your tattoo speak to you or have some meaning behind it?

And a big thank you to my tattoo artist, Mikey Wheeler down at Mercy Seat in KC, Missouri. If you are local looking for a tattoo I highly recommend Mikey. Though he illustrated a piece I provided, his work (photo below of doodles) is beyond amazing and I'll certainly have him design me a another piece in his own style someday soon.
 

LIFE : THE COMEDIAN

Life's been very busy over here lately as I am juggling a bit more than a bit… but all in all life is good, adventurous and filled with lots of laughs these days. This photo above, was from our weekend outing. We went to see Mr. Peabody & Sherman (which was great btw) and then hit up the local McDonalds (that's right I feed my kids fast food at times) to snatch ourselves some Mr. Peabody toys in honor of the movie. Meal time is a constant adventure (if you have children (picky eaters to be more precise) then you exactly what I mean) and though it wasn't going as smoothly as it could have been, we still managed to make it thru it with a few laughs along the way. This girl, if you meet her in person, if you can't tell from the above photo, you'd quickly realize she's the comedian of our little clan. An in all honesty, I personally love it! I hope she always stays this silly, as she's always doing her best to make others smile thru humorous endeavors. The weeks almost to a middle point, but I hope it's been great so far. Best! :)

THE COUNTDOWNS ON

Are you ready for Christmas? The countdowns on. And could you guess that these two little people over yonder are beyond excited this holiday season, which makes my holidays that much more enjoyable. I can't wait to see these faces in a few days after Santa arrives with some gifts they have been dreaming of. These photos I took as we waited to see Santa, and though there was all this hype about "I'm gonna tell him all that I want" when getting up to see the big man, the little voices changed a bit, and the faces of awe and excitement left them a little speechless (an a wee bit nervous) about what they had initially come there to ask. Good thing mom double checked the Santa wish lists before hand an I'm pretty sure they'll be pleasantly surprised come Christmas day. :)

SANDI DOODLES : HAND LETTERED HAPPY BIRTHDAY

So my little brother just celebrated a birthday this past week. An since I have been trying to practice my hand lettering skills and thought it would be fun to letter a little something special with him in mind. You may see more of my doodles over on my prior blog or if you follow me via IG I've hash tagged all of them with #sandidoodles Need help with a doodle? Email me an let's chat, I'd love to draw you a little something special. Happy Friday. Happy weekend!


Sandi Doodles via IG (Instgram) >> HERE
Doodles shared on my prior blog >> HERE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER

I love this photo! It's from earlier this past Summer, on the Cape in Massachusetts, where I grew up and where my family all still resides. My brother and I had taken a trip to the beach an walked about for a bit to explore. This beach is beyond amazing. The marks in the sand from where the water hit, the clouds and blue sky above, the color of the rocks covered in algae. Everything about this photo I just love. And that guy in the photo, on the rock, well that's my younger brother Steven. Today's his birthday. An I'm proud of him every day, but especially today as he decided to celebrate his birthday on a new adventure, somewhere sunny, somewhere new he's never been to before, exploring the great outdoors, an creating his own special memories on this day. I hope your birthday vacation is going well little brother, much love and missing you always.