Rock Wall

I have been in St. Louis for quite some time now, visiting my family. I went on a late night walk with my mother. We were walking around the neighborhood that she grew up in, South St. Louis. We would come to a spot in the neighborhood and there would be a story that was associated with that location, the corner mailbox that she dropped a twenty dollar bill in, instead of a letter, the house that her seventh grade crush lived in. We came upon the most beautiful rock wall I had ever seen, and although I had walked in the neighborhood before, I completely passed over it. This wall was not only beautiful, it too had a story. The first owner of the house was a man that was a member of the Italian mafia. The wall was built with steel inside so that if there was ever a drive by that happened when his children were playing outside, the children would still be safe. I went back the next and this is what I captured.

Hello Beautiful

I just stumbled upon this creature in my grandmother's back yard.

It's been soooo Long

I have not forgotten you, my blog, my favorite blog, of all my blogs. I will return, to you.

Breakfast or Was it Lunch?

Beaded Tent

The start of something big! I hope to have my whole room filled with beaded strings some day. So far, there are three.

Picturing Childhood

This is the photo exhibit at the Nelson right now, Hide & Seek - Picturing Childhood. When I was looking through the exhibit I found this photograph, pictured below, taken by Wendy Ewald. When I took photography in high school, we had to study a photographer and take photographs as they would. I actually choose Wendy and did a series with Ellen. This is what we came up with. I didn't fix the photograph for long enough. It is starting to brown.

Crocheting

This is the first hat that I crocheted. I had no idea what was to come from this red yarn. Result = Hat.

Margaret Wertheim Crochets the Coral Reef

This is Holly. Holly is my dear friend, mentor, and employer. This is her on Skype, getting rather excited. (It was the first time we Skyped.)














After hearing about my hat creation, she suggested that I listen to this Ted Talk. I had never seen this project, but am excited to take part.

In. spir. a. tion!

Elizabeth Gilbert : Nurturing Creativity



I love TED and I am so glad that there are Ideas Worth Spreading. Recently, I was talking to my dear friend Monina Velarde and she led me to this TED talk. I first was introduced to Elizabeth Gilbert through Eat, Pray, Love, her memoir that documents her self exploratory journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia.

I was a nanny for a wonderful family after graduation. I nannied two beautiful children who introduced me to many wonderful things that I never explored in my childhood, among them baseball and musical instruments. These two children had two rockstar* parents who created an environment to foster their childrens' dreams, not their dreams for their own children.

While I was dusting their bookshelf, one of my favorite things to look at in other peoples' homes, I found Eat, Pray, Love, and Oh, The Places That You'll Go!, another post itself. I opened Eat, Pray, Love to a random page, and happened to fall upon my favorite chapter within the book.

I reread the book, gaining much from it. I started in India then moved to Indonesia, but skipped Italy. When Monina called me to suggest that I listen to this talk, she told me she had just finished Italy. Monina:Italy + Jessica:India&Indonesia = a fully read/reread Eat, Pray, Love & two inspired young women.

*synonyms: awesome, amazing, supportive

hacer:

hacer: to make, create, cause, do, imagine, or behave
what a beautiful verb! so many possibilities.