Art Sunday

I gave my friend Barb, a gift of a 'Girls Night' out at Vine Gogh Artist Bar & Studio for Christmas, and it was a great way to welcome in the New Year and have a fun girlfriend date.  We arrived on Sunday morning to claim our spot and check out the art on the walls.  Every event has a painting in mind that you register ahead of time for. We choose the Broadway Stroll, which was one of their most popular offerings.  You prepay $30 for a class, and when you arrive your paint, an easel and an apron are ready for you.  

We arrived early to get settled, check out future paintings, and grab a Mimosa. 

The dreaded white canvas!

A glass of champagne and orange juice is a great way to calm the nerves and make the experience less intimidating!

Our instructor, a recent Art School graduate, was great and broke down the elements of the painting into sections so it was totally doable.

We divided our canvas into zones, so it was much less intimidating!

This a before and after, so you can see how easy it is...

A few extra touches make the painting come to life!

Barb and I with our 'masterpieces!'

I like to call this my Laundry room Art, or guest room or stairwell art...!  It's so much fun, and the best thing  is that you come home with a finished painting!  I think this would be a great business building activity too!

Life Comes at You Fast! New Year 2014

"Life Comes At You Fast!"  I love this line from the Nationwide Commercial. Here it is, already February and lots of things have fallen through the cracks of life!  This was the year that I was going to resuscitate my poor neglected blog, exercise an hour a day and be more organized at home and with my business.  I guess you could say that we are all a work in progress...

New Year's weekend found us at out favorite relaxation spot in the world, Manzanita Beach.  We spent some lovely time with our great friends, the Johnson's, and welcomed in the New Year with the little parade down Laneda Ave. that has become a tradition in our little town. As part of our Christmas present, Barb and Mark brought us some fun attire to wear in the parade.  Rick received a 'Glowhawk', and I was given a Tule and Glowstick skirt, wand, and Tiara to dazzle in the cold night.  After my midnight debut was over, I was glad to hand off my wand and Tiara to a very excited little girl who was passing by, and no doubt wondering who these crazy adults were!

On New Year's morning, we headed down to the beach about 10:30 AM to see the brave souls who were assembling to take part in the annual Manzanita Polar Plunge.

Our friend Mark surprised us by stripping down and diving into the ocean to welcome in 2014.  At the sound of the conch shell, about 300 brave souls ran into the waves, while the rest of us slackers stood by.

 The not so brave, cheered and mumbled about giving it a go the following year, after a total body makeover and 500 hours at the gym- which we were going to promptly join as soon as we returned home!

The Coast is full of surprises, and you never know what fun characters you'll run into on the beach!   The local recycle center, CARTM,  is a wild and crazy place, sort of the community center for our little beach town. They host many activities, one of the most popular being the annual Trashion Show. Below is an
example of what you can do with plastic and still look Glam!

How lucky we are to live in such an amazing place!