Frida Kahlo, an artist I love, and footage of her.

I have long been a fan of Frida Kahlo's painting.

Who is Frida Kahlo you wonder? She is a Mexican painter in the early 20th century who definitely had her own style of painting. She painted a couple murals and married the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. She had many affairs with famous people. She was a beautiful woman and carried herself in a way that you can tell she was aware of this fact. She lived large in the sense that she embraced life despite being in pain.

Kahlo was in a lot of pain for most of her life because she was in a streetcar accident as a young woman in which one of the bars from the center of the car impaled her through her lower abdomen. That accident made her unable to have children (she would lose many babies when she attempted until the doctors told her she should stop harming her body that way), the accident caused her to have numerous operations throughout her life, and made her unable to sit/stand up for long in later life.

I happened across this video that has old footage of her (and some of her with Diego Rivera, the plump, older, man you see her with) while wandering around online and it was exciting for me because I had never seen it before.


I wrote a 20 page paper on her life and art when I was studying Fine Art as a 19 year old. I also have been lucky enough to see an exhibition of her work when I lived in San Diego. It is quite stunning and colourful, as well as some of the imagery being a bit grotesque in nature because she would paint about what she knew; including her hospital stays, operations, and miscarriages.

I just thought I would share about a painter that interests me.

Much love for this product!

I have struggled for years with my wild eyebrows that have hair that grows in odd angles. It doesn't matter the thickness, the hairs point all over the place. I admit to using hairspray (sprayed into hand and applied by fingertip) to control them and have the lay correctly. That is, I used hairspray until I found this product by Avon.

Above: Brow Gel by Avon

This product gets my eyebrows under control! It also doesn't make the eyebrow hair stiff. It lasts all day, is colourless, and even seals the brow pencil to your face a bit so it doesn't wear off as easily. I even wore it out in 90+ degree heat and it kept my eyebrows under control.

I highly recommend it and will not be going back to my hairspray trick as long as Avon makes this product.

Labor Day Weekend Means Spokane Pig's Out At The Park.

Labor Day weekend is coming to a close and for many, this means the end of summer. As for me, I don't count summer as over until the weather cools off and the leaves start to change colour. The forecast for this week is 90+ (F) temps and to me, that means summer is hanging around for a while. I do admit that the cooler nights are definitely feeling a bit Fall-like though.

I didn't have a Labor Day weekend full of activity but I did get out on Saturday to Spokane's Pig Out At the Park. I met up with some friends and we ate food, listened to music, enjoyed the warm weather (I got a bit sun burnt but do not mind.), and people watched since the event was very crowded. It was a really fun day and I hope that the colder weather doesn't stop the fun of meeting up with people to enjoy days like this.

Above: The crowds were dense. That goofy dressed person was making balloon animals. He was getting mobbed by people at the event.

Above: Spokane Valley electronica music artist James Elvidge performing for the crowd on one of the 3 stages. I quite liked his music and he is worth checking out.

Above: The Riverfront Park Clock Tower with the stage in front of it. Taken from our seats in the beer garden of Pig Out.

Above: The ever stylish Maria.

Above: Night falls and Carbon Leaf takes the stage.

Above: Carbon Leaf onstage. They were quite good when not overdoing the instrument solos.

Now, Labor Day weekend draws to a close. I am a bit saddened by this because it is seen as the end of summer and summer is my favorite season.

I hope that everyone has had a great Labor Day weekend and has many plans for the Fall.

Macro Flowers Type Of Day.

I passed yesterday afternoon taking macro photos of flowers in the yard.

 See More Here

It helped keep me sane yesterday and my mind off things that have been stressing me out lately.

This afternoon I shall be heading to Pig Out At The Park (Yes, awful name for an event.) with my friend Maria. I will be eating some mediocre food, listening to many different types of music, enjoying the warm day, and doing a lot of people watching at this event. I will also try and take a few photos while there.

Summer has reached it's end and I can admit that I am very sad to see it go. I wish it would stay summer and I could get out and enjoy the sun for many more months. The sadness of being a California girl stuck in a colder climate.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the end of summer, or if in the southern hemisphere that you are experiencing warmer days. You southern hemisphere dwellers, I envy you your warming days!

Tiny Bit Of A Break From Fashion.

I am taking a little time off from blogging to figure out what the heck to do with myself. I feel a bit like I am spinning my wheels and not accomplishing all that much. So, I am reading a lot of historical books and taking notes in a research for character in book way. It makes me feel like I am doing something and less like I am hitting a brick wall.

I have also been avoiding being online for very long due to super hot weather which makes it uncomfortable to sit in front of the computer screen. I have been hanging out with my friend Maria and taking photos of pets. For example, here is one of Matilda.

Above: Matilda more seen on Flickr

I am hoping to head down to Pig Out At The Park (horrid name for an event, I know)  this Saturday and take some photos while there. I am feeling the whole "taking photos" thing a lot at the moment. I just need some paying gigs.

As Fall creeps in I hope to get back to blogging a little more regularly. So, keep checking in to see what I am writing about.

Summer activities and distractions.

The Fall fashion magazines are arriving in the mail in all the glorious thickness. I am starting to pour over them and love things that are shown in photos within the covers of the likes of Elle and Vogue.

Sadly, I am tapped out when it comes to money so will not get to indulge in buying any new Fall clothing items this year. It makes em sad since there are things I would love to own but I am also sure I can make it through with the clothing I own at the moment from past years. I do wish I owned more than jeans though but I will make it through with just jeans.

It is funny how being broke really makes a person see how much they already own and how the worry of paying bills trumps buying anything but the essentials. I guess I am one of those people that only spends when I know I have cash coming into my account at a semi-regular basis. This is a good thing and it's time for me to be a bit frugal and not buy things that are unnecessary.

I have been distracting myself from money issues by looking at magazines and online to see what fashion appeals to me this season. I have also been getting out of the house more and trying to amp up my creativity because that is the road to happiness for me.

Above: Flower photo by me (click photo for larger size)

As an example of things I have been doing recently. I spent a day in Manito Park taking flower photos, chatting with my friend Maria, and eating at the park's Manito Park Bench Cafe. It was a wonderful day and I did get a bit sun burnt but it was so worth it. I took many great images while there.

Above: The Japanese Garden's bridge at Manito Park (click photo for bigger size)

I am hoping to incorporate a lot of the flower/nature images I took into the painting I am currently doing. More on that in a future blog post.

Above: Thistle Flower by me (click photo to see bigger size)

Distraction can be a lot of fun and heaven knows many of us need that right now. I will continuing to head out and do fun things at least once a week until life starts to ease up on the economic side.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer and getting excited about the fashion coming out for Fall.

Interesting shoes.

I am a shoe girl. There is just no denying it. I also like footwear that the average person would consider "weird." Guilty as charged! I just love styles that are new and different when it comes to shows.

Above: Short-Edge Wedges by Jeffrey Campbell

Above: Snake-effect leather pumps by Camilla Skovgaard

I also love shoes that have a classic yet new feel to them.

Above: Shearling-lined ankle boots by Burberry

Maybe it is the teenage punk rocker inside me that draws me to the slightly off-center when it comes to footwear? Or maybe I just like shoes that look ultra modern? Whatever the case, I love a shoe that demands attention but can be walked in.