Fairy Tale Wishes Do Come True . . .

Over the past few months I have had the amazing opportunity to work with the staff of the Henry Carter Hull Library in Clinton, Connecticut to produce a mural for their Children's Room. Lynn Hidek, Barb Loescher, and I brainstormed about ideas to generate a Fairy Tale illustration.

I don't know how many Fairy Tale books I checked out over this period of time, but looking at the work of very talented children's book illustrators helped get the creative juices flowing. My daughters also had the opportunity to have special time with Mommy and read many of these great tales.

The mural needed to be bright and cheery, to capture your attention, and I wanted it to coordinate with the future color scheme of the children's room. The end result can be seen in this blog and on the wall of our library.

I want to thank Lynn and Barb for their patience and for letting me be a part of something so special.

Ahhh . . . Summer At Last!

Well it was a long wet spring and I am so happy that Summer is finally here in Connecticut. I was beginning to think that we had switched coasts and we were living in Seattle, Washington.

Things are brighter and days are just more laid back and fun. There is just a feel and a mindset when you are living in the Summer months. As a kid you were psyched when school got out and the days were filled with hours of playing outside with your friends. I remember my Mom flashing our outside light when it was time for us to come in. Hours of kickball, wiffle ball, and riding our bikes around the neighborhood.

As an adult you cherish those sweet days of sunshine and relaxation, there's nothing better. Here's to building a ton of sand castles with my kids this summer, and enjoying each and every day!!

River Deep, Mountain High

Over the past few years I have been a busy Mom raising my two little girls with my husband. Other parents can understand about the love, the time and the energy all of this takes. Along with being a designer, I am also a stay-at-home Mom which makes for a busy schedule and busy day. Needless to say some of those fun leisure activities I used to do before my kids were born were neglected.

This month it was so sweet to be back in my kayak again. I forgot how much I loved kayaking. It is so peaceful being out on the water, just hearing the sound of my oar cutting the water, and every thought and worry just melts away. I thank my dear sister for this, and look forward to some more kayak adventures with her this summer.



So along with kayaking I used to do some serious mountain biking with friends at Pfizer. I do admit that I have not hit the mountain biking trails again, but the family mini-van did climb a mountain this past week. Now that the kids are bigger, they are coming on the adventures with my husband and I. We braved the auto road excursion to the Summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. This is definitely a white-knuckle drive. I am usually pretty brave with the height thing, speed and all of that, but I wasn't even driving and my hands were sweating. Well, it was worth the ride, 100 mile visibilty and it was a beautiful day.



Ooohhh I love you sister my Oh my, yeah River Deep Mountain High!!! . . . you know it girl, of course it had to be a Tina Turner song!!!

New Mediums for Design

As a graphic designer, designs that I produce take on a variety of communication mediums, print, electronic formats through the internet, and now with new multimedia applications, I have been producing DVD's.

Well as a Mom I have also had to provide creative talents to my children's projects that have come in the form of CAKE. Yes, the past few weeks I replaced my Wacom Graphic Design Tablet for a Wilton Cake Decorating Tool.

In April the girls submitted entries in the 2009 Edible Books Event at our beloved Henry Carter Hull Library.

The beginning of May soon arrived along with two birthday celebrations. Daddy's special birthday surprise was chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, and my oldest daughter had an "Ariel Mermaid Cake" for her birthday celebration.

I certainly appreciate those gifted bakers and food stylists after a month of cake decorating. It was definitely fun, and what I produced for my clients was met with many mmmmhhh's and frosting faces, but I don't think "Ace of Cakes" is in my future.

Gifts of Motherhood

I have had a few jobs in my life, but being a parent has been the most challenging as well as the most rewarding. There are some days that I try and get through each moment, which can sometimes be a struggle. But there are also those wonderful days when I know I am so blessed for what I have and for having the opportunity to be at home with my girls.

Friday was one of those days. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the girls and our friends took a field trip to the Ray of Light Farm in East Haddam, CT. What a great day to be outside. Watching my children marvel at the animals was pure joy. Now that they are getting bigger it is no nice to see them bond with one another and enjoy each other's company. The photograph and that Friday were indeed one of those special gifts of motherhood.

A Hint of Spring

I don't know what it is about Spring that some how life and everything just feels a whole lot better. Maybe its the hope of the new season bringing warmth and spots of color to our bland surroundings. The opportunity to be outside and take in the fresh air.


The winter seemed so very long this year with its cold temperatures and frequent snow storms. Today was one of those fabulous days to be outside and take in everything Spring had to offer.

Can't think of a better way I'd rather spend my afternoon than hanging out with my 3 year old, and playing hopscotch outside and capturing some visions of Spring with the digital cameras. My daughter took the daffodil shot above. (Not too shabby) I think our dog quite enjoyed popping all of the bubbles that were made this afternoon too!

I am looking forward to warmer temperatures and more frequent days just like these. Over the next few months I plan to take some more photos of the garden, and some "Field Trip Destinations". For now, I am going to enjoy every minute of these days as they come.

Road Trip

What is it about the idea of a Road Trip that seems so much fun. ROAD TRIP!!!!!! As a student in college it was always fun to get off campus and be on a journey that wasn't related to classes, etc. it was just about being with friends and having an adventure. As I grew older these journeys became longer with the assistance of air travel, but I tell you once I got to my destination and got into my automobile . . . good times.

Now it has been great to share a good road trip with my partner, aka husband, and we have introduced our girls to the Road Trip. Thanks to new automobile technology it makes long road trips a little more easier and pleasant when traveling with little ones.

Here are some of my fond memories that have made the top 5.

5.) Spring Break with my girlfriends from Ithaca College Ithaca, NY to Myrtle Beach, SC. Bon voyage Happy Holiday Motel. Junior Year, 1991.

4.) Recent family road trip to Maine with the girlies. Sweet as pie both ways. February, 2009.

3.) Road trip to Bethel, Maine with my hubby, good times even when it was 105 degrees in Maine. The kayaking adventure on the Androscoggin River was the highlight of the journey. Summer, 2002.

2.) Driving through the Nevada and Arizona desert with my gal Susan in a convertible. Vegas, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Valley of Fire, and the one lone restaurant that we stopped for lunch. Heck it was like being Thelma & Louise, and whatever radio station we listened to had the best tunes, Winter, 2003.

1.) Week in San Francisco and Sausalito, May, 2001. Once I landed at the airport I immediately picked up my mustang convertible and off I went. I pretty much adventured on my own though my friend put me up on his boat for the week in Sausalito. The May weather was perfect and because of that, having the convertible was absolutely amazing, the sites and the smells of spring. Driving through wine country, driving up Mount Tamalpais, hiking through Meir Woods, and just driving over the Golden Gate each day was just incredible!!!