The Three Muses 'Old & New' & Telluride, CO

{background by Painting With Brushes, eggs by Rian Design}

My sister Kristen in Telluride, CO

vintagesusie out & about & having fun in Telluride

The main street of this little western town

My trip to Colorado was a short 4 days, but my sweet sister managed to stuff as much fun as humanly possible into that short time frame! LOL One of our journeys was to Telluride, an awesome old mining town turned resort town high in the Colorado mountains. One of it's claims to fame is that in June 1889, Butch Cassidy before becoming associated with 'the wild bunch', robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank of $24,000...that was a lot of money for back then right?? Now in the same building is The Appaloosa Trading Company & lucky me, Kristen bought me the coolest boots there ever...I love her, I love them & I love that they're from Telluride! More of my journey to come...don't miss my pics of Ouray's Ice Park, beyond amazing...it's insane! Have fun getting ready for the New Year...I'm rolling around the idea of taking Kai to the Rose Bowl Parade, I have to mull that one over for a while! :)

Lots of Llama Love in Colorado

Whitewater, Colorado

My sister Kristen feeding her llama's in the mountains above Grand Junction.

Her very AWESOME log home...what an amazing view she has!

The vineyard, ready & waiting for the snow to melt to show the first bud of spring.

Lots of Llama Love!!!

In the barn looking out.

Regal & Proud, her llama's are packers.

Face to face...

A smile only a Mother could love....

I had the BESTEST time in Colorado visiting Kristen, John & their furry friends! I fell in love with Grand Junction, mesa's, llama's, jerky & pellet stoves. My holiday has been amazing & I hope all of you are having an amazing holiday too! With the 2010 fast approaching, I'm going to sit back, sip a glass of wine & take the time to reflect on the many blessings this past year has given me. One of them has been the serendipitous great fortune of finding all of you!!! :)

{more pictures to come of course}

Festival of Lights at The Mission Inn in Riverside, CA

Can you believe it...only 2 weeks left before Christmas, where does the time go? In the hours & days between Halloween & New Year's, time just seems to be so fleeting. I take it all in & enjoy & revel in every minute, like a child revels in summer wishing that school would never start.

There is something so magical about this time of year, it makes me feel all things are possible. I love coming home from the shop when it's just starting to get dark & as I turn the corner towards my house, I see the twinkling lights reflecting off the snow creating a path for me through the night.

As I open the door & see my family warm & cozy inside & the glow of the Christmas tree, I feel a sense of joy that only the holiday can bring. My daughter Courtney has been on a cruise with her boyfriend this past week & Grandpa & I have been watching Kai. Last night he was having a hard time falling asleep as Mommy usually sleeps with him. While laying together on his bed I realized he could see the Christmas tree from his room. I told him I was jealous & I wished sooooo that I could see the tree from my bed & how very lucky he was. After a bit he said he thought he could sleep in his bed by himself & while watching the tree sparkle & twinkle, he fell into a sweet sleep...how magical!

I believe in Santa, I believe he lives in the North Pole & that small people help him make all the toys & presents he gives out on Christmas Eve. I believe that reindeer fly & that one small sack can hold all the toys that Santa gives out to all the children around the world. I believe that there's one night during the whole year that nothing bad can happen, that magic, love & hope can actually win. I believe in miracles, the miracle of a baby born in a manger with a shining star showing the world The Way!

It's a Wonderful Life & a Blog Banner for a Friend

{another choice...my 1st 3 column banner}

Have you ever just felt stuck? It's only been snowing for a couple of days now & already I'm experiencing the dreaded 'Cabin Fever'! I feel like I have places to go & people to see, Christmas shopping that needs to be finished, parcels that need to be mailed, wrappings & bows that need to be bought & eggnog that's calling my name at the store, but we're snowed in so here I sit in my robe trying to stay warm & hoping by some miracle {called Robert} that we'll be able to get out today! Trying not to feel sorry for myself, I decided to watch 'It's A Wonderful Life' my favorite Christmas movie & work on a surprise gift for a friend, a personal blog banner. Lucy at ...by the hill has been a sweet blog friend to me. I love her blog & photographs, so this morning I played with them & hope she likes what I came up with. The initial background texture is by 'Playing With Brushes', but all the other layers are from Lucy's blog. Now, with my Holiday Classic over & my banner finished for the moment, I'm reminded that "no man is a failure who has friends" & that the friends & loved ones we have make us the "richest man in town", or woman! Thank you friends for I am so very rich indeed!!!

Christmas & Disneyland

{my family in 1958 at Disneyland}

{me at Disneyland for my 53rd birthday 11/25/09, this was before my daughter told me my birthday buttons looked like pasties...I moved them! LOL}

Growing up in the late 50's, Disneyland was every child's dream. If you were lucky enough to have grown up in southern California it was often more then a dream. If you were really lucky, your parents saved their nickles & dimes & once a year would pack up the kids, throw them in the back of the station wagon {without seat belts} & drive to Anaheim to go to the Happiest Place on Earth & if you were really, really lucky, your Daddy worked there!

{excerpt from a past post}

I was born in Long Beach, CA because my Father joined the Marines right out of his High School in Illinois & was stationed in Oceanside. With the VA Bill he was able to go to college & buy our 1st house, but he worked 2 jobs to support his family & we never went without, a gift. One of his jobs was working at Disneyland as a janitor back when Disneyland & the idea of amusement parks was brand new. My brother & I kept empty mayonnaise jars on our dresser. Every morning when we woke up the jars would be filled to the brim with shiny pennies, nickles & dimes. I would find a Disneyland pen light in my jar, while John might find a pop gun or giant pencil in his & of course we would always get TICKETS! Long after the rides had closed for the night & the smiling, sleepy children & worn out parents left the park, my Father swept Main Street. He cleaned the bathrooms & the shops & arcade that lined the street. He worked through the early morning hours while we were home asleep in our beds & at the end of his shift the work crew would divide up the remnants of abandoned toys & lost change & take them home to their children. Every morning when we awoke it was like Christmas!

{Susie 51 years later at Disneyland with Courtney}

Disneyland has always been the Happiest Place on Earth to me, it still is! So when I leave this earthbound form & finally, truly have my wings, scatter a few of my ashes in the flower beds surrounding Disneyland...I'll be smiling in heaven, wearing my Micky Mouse Ears!!! ;)

Lambs & Ivy Boutique, My Other Home

{texture provided by me & graphics by The Graphic Fairy}

If you've been following along with me for a while, you already know I own a small boutique here in Crestline high atop the mountains of Southern California. My shop is many things to me. It's my home away from home, my art studio, my business, my job & my pride. {I am a woman entrepreneur trying to make it in an economic environment that would intimidate even the most seasoned businessman.}
Don't you love these vintage Christmas ornaments I have in the shop displayed in un-polished sterling silver serving bowls?
I decided to put all my sterling silver out un-polished this season, I'm just loving the pure shabbiness of it all!
My dear friend Lucy of 'by the hill' makes some of the most gorgeous domino pendants! Here is a small sampling of the ones I was working on today at the shop. {we had our 1st snow last night, so it was a lovely day for creating} Yes Lucy, I was proud of myself...I even got my fingertips really dirty!
The pieces below I made just for me, an altered composition book to keep all my consignee's information in & my new pocket, 2010 calender. If I'm going to be using it & looking at it everyday, I want it to be lovely & represent a piece of who I am. I want it to bring me joy, because friends...I believe to find joy in the smallest of things is simply put, the road to a happy life!
Now, I haven't completely conquered this philosophy myself, LOL, but I try everyday to appreciate the gifts in life that I do have. Oh yeah...the whole reason I wrote this post in the 1st place, how do you like the little logo I made in Photoshop for my shop 'Lambs & Ivy'? I wanted to create something in black & white just for fun & then I'll make another 1 in color too...it's good practice for my new acquired Photoshop Super Powers!:) Have a Wonderful Sunday Friends!!!

Joshua Tree National Park

Well, here we are sitting on our double beds watching 'Get Smart' on HBO at the Blythe Motel 6...& it's AWESOME!!! We are soooo excited just to be away from home, to wander like Gypsies do, with no reservations, just the wind at our backs & a final destination of Los Algodones, Mexico.

Today we went through Joshua Tree National Park & it is quite a magnificent place.

The rock formations with their enormous size, remind me of just how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things.

My favorite site today was Cottonwood Springs, a magical oasis in the middle of this wondrous desert.

I have never seen anything quite like it, once down in it you feel transported to some tropical island, the rustle of the birds in the palm fronds & the sound of the wind blowing through the cottonwood trees...like I said, Magical.

And now for the very best part...it was dusk!! We were in the Grand Theater of Life watching one of natures most inspiring shows.

Take it all in, don't take one second for granted & for right now...art can wait!

Paper Dolls, My New OCD!

It all started so innocently. I have always loved paper dolls, as a child one of my favorite memories is when my Mother would get her McCall's magazine issue & I would get my new Betsy McCall paper doll. Carefully I would tear out the page & sit on the floor with my scissors & cut out Betsy or one of her friends & a bevy of cute outfits for her to wear...what a sweet & simple joy. Well, I recently joined an 'Alice in Wonderland' swap & it happens to be for a paper doll. I have never actually created my own paper doll, but I felt I was up to the challenge because of my general knowledge & experience in this area, LOL. OK...I'm hooked!!! I'm in love with making paper dolls! I can't get enough of them. The search for the perfect face or dress or tights is all consuming, everything must wait until I find the perfect pair of wings. So now, at 53, for hours, I sit on the floor with my scissors & obsess & cut out & play with my paper dolls & it is still such a sweet & simple joy! Here are a few of my new creations..I adore them!