Beyond Description

Here is me after ZERO sleep for 20 hours, getting ready to leave for the airport at 4 am to go see my friend, buddy, pal, confidant..... Janell:

I look downright loopy. My right eye looks 30x larger than the left...what in the hell is that?

So....
I made it on time to Phila International and made it through TSA easy enough ( no anal probing needed for ass bomb checkage-BONUS!). Two Xanax later I boarded my high flying "bed" to Denver to catch my final flight to Eugene, Oregon. Here is the early morn sun rise after takeoff from Phila.


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Xanax induced sleep, slipper socks, John Mayer-new Battle Studies album (yep, that kind of mood) on Ipod, Vitamin Water and two lil pillows for perfect propping. I was in Denver in no time flat!

Somehow got to Denver 1 hour early (? how does that happen?) and tooled around and found THEE best place to drop some cashola (actually Visa Gift Cards I got for Christmas ;)!

Mosaic Fine Arts and Crafts Gallery in the Denver Airport

I wish I could have scooped up one of these..they are sooo wonderful but alas I was too cheap!

~Mark Brown Robot Assemblage Art~
Look for his books too..he is simply amazing!

~Heart Assemblage~
Kathryn Arnett Recycled
Stacked wood pieces 6+ inches deep wrapped with metal straps- how cool!

~Live with Passion Assemblage Mirror..Yummy! ($400+..eep! Still worth it ;)~

Finally, I settled on a piece that fit on my Visa gift Cards and that made me smile. It truly was a "Dani" item..


Erin Smith Art

So, I left Denver Airport a happy chic-a-dee with my new art in tow.
Got on my lil plane to Eugene and next thing I knew I was on the ground and coming down the escalator to see a super sweet Janell waving and smiling bright. I swear we hugged for 5 minutes. I knew instantly she was everything I had anticipated..A kind genuine soul.

So to shorten this growing post I shall share some of the things I just LOVED about my stay on the Florence, Oregon coast at Miss Janell's beach side abode:


FLORENCE BEACH




Roxy (aka ROX-A-Roni)



Heceta, LIGHTHOUSE & SEALS Swimming and Barking!!!

Truly a busy whirlwind of a trip. Although it rained lightly everyday it was still somehow nice. With temps in the 50's I was smitten b/c I just knew back in NJ it was 30 or below...burr~
Janell was a fantastic hostess. She kept me fed and watered (I constantly skip both necessities when deep into work) and was just an awesome friend.

Myself and Janell in Stone Structure at Top of Cape Perpetua

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The purpose of this trip was to buckle down (ha!) and to throw ideas around about creating fun and unique pieces for Janell's D56 lineup. Department 56 can really create almost anything in reproduction with very lil limitations it seems. That alone opens up a whole new world for Janell. I am soo excited to see what she and the D56 team come up with! Can you imagine? What an exciting time!

We did manage to find sometime to sight see for approx 1 hour where gorgeous coastal views and the sound and site of seals made my heart sing!

Cape Perpetua Overlook

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We drove 2+ hours to meet Jo & Dylan of CBTH and had a wonderful time. Jo served us an awesome lunch of Vegi Lasagna with a tasty Caesar salad.

And for dessert we had was this!:

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How awesome of Jo and Dylan to do something so sweet! We got to meet the whole CBTH clan including the kiddo's and they are just the sweetest family. Big hugs for their kindness and hospitality.

We ate some interesting meals along the way.... This is supposed to be Mongolian Beef from a lil Thai restaurant. However we are so NOT convinced.




We did eat an amazing meal at Sierra's home (Janell' s daughter). She cooked us dinner in a Hot Pot. Hot Pot cooked vegi's and shrimp, bbq pork and sticky rice..YUM!

Can you believe we found this at a local Goodwill...was kind of eerie for me and sad too. These two items were on the shelf right on top of each other.

So, now back to my reality of being back in NJ with what feels like enough work for Martha Stewart's Staff.