Amazing Etsy Photographers -- jbeaudet.etsy.com

The etsy shop jbeaudet.etsy.com caught my eye recently. The owner also has a blog, beaudetart.blogspot.com. I think the reason these particular pieces caught my eye is for the greenish-blue color in all of them. Very appealing to me. There are many other pieces over in the shop, so be sure to check them out."Solitude"

"Once Upon a Dream"

"In a Daze"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- urbandesign.etsy.com

The etsy shop urbandesign.etsy.com has a lot of wonderful pieces for sale. The artist also has a website maleahmatthews.com and a blog urbandj.blogspot.com. Her photography subjects remind me of my own work--barns, scenic plants (weeds), trees, and old abandoned things. "Until the Morning" is definitely one of my favorites--it evokes some fond memory for me about spring-time and childhood and our farm. "Sun Kissed" actually does the same thing because I used to lay out in the pasture and look up at the sky through the dandelions and grass. There is a lot more to look at over at her shop and I highly recommend it."Until the Morning"

"Sun Kissed"

"Alone"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- barefootposse.etsy.com

This time, I'm featuring the lovely shop barefootposse.etsy.com. The owner also has a blog, barefootposse.blogspot.com. She's a an artist living in Texas, so you know she has my vote. I really enjoy the vintage quality of her work. The turquoise sky is amazing in "The Wind Whisperer," and "Reckless Abandon" looks like a still from the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre which adds a definite element of interest to the image. You should definitely take a look at her other work--it is all so very wonderful."The Wind Whisperer"

"Reckless Abandon"

"Ponder in Yellow"

Five weeks to go, but holy cow...

I've been feeling SO good here lately--like I can take on the world, but all at once this baby has me feeling nauseous again, with woozy spells, achy belly...it's like a time warp back to about six months ago. I feel so guilty for taking it easy because I have so much that I want to do to this house, the blog, The Gallivanting Girl, everything--but instead I find myself laying on my left side on the couch because that's apparently the only way she and I are both comfortable.

I know I shouldn't feel bad about relaxing for the baby's sake, it's just hard to slow down. Then again, if I was to keep going I'm sure I'd be in the hospital with premature labor and I definitely do NOT want that. So...if you don't hear from me for a bit it's because I'm listening to the wants of this little girl inside me and taking it as easy as possible. Soon enough I'll be a mommy and life will change again.

I'm going to lay down now. Wish me luck.

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- billycurrie.etsy.com

Another inspiring photography shop on etsy is billycurrie.etsy.com, you can also find him at billycurrie.co.uk. His wonderful use of contrast really drew me to his work. You see such dark darks and very vivid whites in all of his monochromatic pieces. I especially like the visual interest of the horizon line in "Boardwalk" and the forgotten feeling in "Wizard of Oz." He has a lot of wonderful images in his shop and I highly suggest you venture over there and take a look.

"Wizard of Oz"

"Misty Bank"

"Boardwalk"

I took myself to the movies...

I'd wanted to go and see "Julie & Julia" since I first saw the trailer--I've always had an affinity for Julia Child since we share the name and she reminds me somewhat of my grandmother in personality. Overall it was a good movie, I laughed out loud which is always a sign that it was a hit with me. I came out of the theater feeling like I could take on the world--which I always appreciate as well. Uplifting/inspiring movies are my favorites. This one being a true story of two women succeeding with their goals/dreams made it even better. I can only hope that my business will become a successful venture and that I will have lived my dream life someday.

I wrote a post last week with my to-do list on it. One of those was to write a goal sheet for myself and my business--I came up with 100 goals--I would've kept going but a hundred was a nice sound number to stop at for the time being. Here's the list:

1. Start Eating Better.
2. Buy Local vs. using corporations--Farmer's Markets vs. Walmart.
3. Buy more fresh foods vs. processed.
4. Keep moving forward with my blog.
5. Use gallivants, find small towns, photograph constantly, interview people, find fixer-uppers, blog about all of it.
6. Clip Coupons.
7. Exercise and be more active.
8. Can and freeze more produce next summer.
9. By a printer that I can use to sell my digital work on etsy.
10. Buy Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop when I can afford it.
11. Own a herd of registered Brown Swiss.
12. Have a small herd of dairy goats.
13. Buy more chickens, some Muscovy ducks, and a batch of geese to raise and sell from.
14. Try my hand at heritage hogs and hair sheep.
15. Learn how to sew, knit, and crochet.
16. Enter my work in a Juried Art Show.
17. Sell my work at an Art Festival or Art Fair.
18. Sell excess produce/livestock at a Farmer's Market.
19. Start fixing up furniture to sell online.
20. Have my art, house, or myself featured in a magazine, blog, or book.
21. Write a book and have it published.
22. Raise a healthy, happy kid.
23. Be a good mom.
24. Read at least a book a month.
25. Do something creative at least once a week.
26. Re-vamp my wardrobe, image, and style to be the person I've always wanted to be.
27. Create a farm-stay/internship program on my farm.
28. Learn all that I can about homesteading, agritourism, organics, self-sufficiency, and all sorts of other subjects that interest me.
29. Join the Greene County Historical Society.
30. Join the Local Growers Co-op.
31. Join some kind of art organization.
32. Go to at least an auction a month (weather permitting).
33. Go on at least a gallivant a week (weather permitting).
34. Take a bee-keeping course and own my own hive.
35. Take at least a hundred photographs a week.
36. Raise some turkeys.
37. Travel all over the country on extended gallivants.
38. Attend the Junk Gypsy Prom in Warrenton, Texas.
39. Go to the Farm Chicks show in Washington State.
40. Go to the Country Living show in Ohio.
41. Make a home out of this house.
42. Become as self-sufficient as possible.
43. Become more organized.
44. Have my own printmaking studio with press and supplies.
45. Learn how to screen print and how to use a letterpress.
46. Someday have the ability to have a larger studio space.
47. Build a couple more livestock barns for our farm.
48. Own a large-breed puppy (most likely a mutt).
49. Go to one of the "big-time" thoroughbred sales.
50. Own a couple broodmares bred to high-end studs.
51. Go back to college and get my Bachelor's and Master's in Fine Arts.
52. Give art workshops/lessons from home.
53. Buy a potter's wheel and kiln.
54. Fill my house with work from etsy artists that I admire.
55. Encourage creativity in my kid from an early age.
56. Encourage a love of agriculture, art, nature, and auctions in my kid at an early age.
57. Balance motherhood, The Gallivanting Girl, and my life effectively.
58. Try new foods often.
59. Learn something new every month.
60. Grow a kitchen herb garden next year.
61. Keep adding to my library.
62. Go to as many summer festivals as possible.
63. Make a point to go to yard sales in the summer.
64. Write stories often.
65. Research subjects and people I find interesting.
66. Keep an idea notebook with me always.
67. Continue to keep a journal.
68. Get a chaise lounge and use it for a reading area in my bedroom.
69. Be a good wife to my wonderful husband.
70. Build a light table for my studio.
71. Find a decent drawing table for my studio.
72. Buy a bigger self-healing cutting mat.
73. Learn Yoga and Pilate's.
74. Have six-pack abs (hey, a girl can dream).
75. Have legs that I can confidently wear shorts with.
76. Have an amazing nature collection.
77. Put a huge front porch on our house.
78. Finish our attic into a usable room.
79. Make a conscious effort to recycle.
80. Learn how to make glass bottles into drinking glasses.
81. Take a glass-blowing class.
82. Put a huge stone wall out by the road (that looks like English fences).
83. Have cattle crossings at the entrances to the drives.
84. Widen the driveway to make it even between the rows of trees.
85. Buy an aluminum stock-trailer.
86. Buy a full-size pickup to pull the trailer.
87. Own a Mac computer.
88. Buy more land.
89. Create our own version of Egenolf Lake.
90. Create a patio/outdoor area on the south side of our house.
91. Meet some of the artists, bloggers, and writers that I admire.
92. Learn calligraphy.
93. Get a non-carsick truck dog.
94. Try to write out Grandma's novel that she wrote pieces of.
95. Start a women's club.
96. Learn to feel comfortable in my own skin.
97. Have a column in a newspaper.
98. Become a well-known artist.
99. Always do what I love.
100. Make my husband, family, friends, and especially myself proud of me.

As you can see it is quite the varied list, but it's a list I plan on accomplishing a lot of in the coming years. If you don't have goals what do you have to live for, right? It never hurts to dream--that's for sure.

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- aliciabock.etsy.com

And now to feature a somewhat hero of mine. This artist has inspired me since I found etsy. Her work is beautiful and I always seem to be in awe when I look around her shop. I can only hope that someday my shop may see a smidge of the success that hers has. Her name is Alicia Bock, and her shop can be found at aliciabock.etsy.com. She has a website aliciabock.com, and also a blog bloom-grow-love.blogspot.com. I hope her work inspires you as much as it does me."Wise"

"Love Letters"

"Joie de Vivre"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- moonflowers.etsy.com

Yet another beautiful shop, moonflowers.etsy.com whose owner also authors the blog moonflowerimages.blogspot.com, is a new found favorite of mine. "The Brightness of Morning"--which just sold recently is particularly lovely for the use of light and shadow. I also like the memories and vintage feel brought on by "Pony Rides." This shop is definitely worth a gander.

"Pony Rides"

"Queene Anne"

"The Brightness of Morning"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- imageXimage.etsy.com

The etsy shop imageXimage.etsy.com has a lot of wonderful work available for sale. The colors and textures in "Palmy Skies" gives it a surreal quality, and the simplicity of "Simply Blue" catches your eye immediately. Please give this shop a look around, won't you?"Simply Blue""Perspective 2""Palmy Skies"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- knowingphotography.etsy.com

A relatively new shop on etsy knowingphotography.etsy.com, is bound to become a top seller eventually. My favorite thing about her listing is that in the descriptions she adds a quote from a piece of literature which helps give the viewer an idea of what she was thinking in the process of making the photograph. "The Path"

"Graceful Strength"

"Brown Eyes"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- susannahtucker.etsy.com

Susannah Tucker has a lovely etsy shop at susannahtucker.etsy.com. She also is the author of the blog susannahtucker.blogspot.com. I truly enjoy her nostalgic effect that she uses on "The Golden Days" and just the softness she captures in the light of "Hello, you." After perusing her shop I can vow that I'm a fan of her work for sure."The Golden Days"

"The End of the Beautiful Day"

"Hello, you"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- squidart.etsy.com

Yet another amazing etsy shop squidart.etsy.com. She also has a blog squidart.wordpress.com. I really enjoy the simplicity of her photographs--the focus being often on one subject. It draws attention to common objects giving them the spotlight and I like that a lot. Please go check out the other photographs she has in her shop."The Typewriter"

"Some Things Last Forever"

"Moose Love"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- jhartphotography.etsy.com

The etsy shop jhartphotography.etsy.com has a somewhat dark element to the photographs, but a very beautiful darkness. There is an aged quality and what looks to be a hidden story behind each image. The artist also has a website at melpomenesmusings.com where you can view more of her work."Forest"

"Dragonfly"

"Baby's Breath"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- paulpresnail.etsy.com

Beautiful photographs abound in the etsy shop paulpresnail.etsy.com. His black and white images are haunting and his pumpkin image is very simple but striking because of the bright color that pops from the background. His other works are lovely too and I highly recommend venturing over to his shop and having a look around."Great Pumpkin"

"Any Way the Wind Blows"

"Row Boats"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- bomobob.etsy.com

Another outstanding shop: bomobob.etsy.com. He also has a blog: bomobob.blogspot.com. I really enjoy the textures and use of light and dark in his images. There are some that use focus and blur to establish visual interest. Very nice photographs that I'd love to hang on my wall. Please be sure to check out the others in his shop.

"Tic Tac Crow"

"Evening Copper"

"Birds of a Feather"

Amazing Etsy Photographers -- sherriconley.etsy.com

The first shop to be featured is sherriconley.etsy.com. I really enjoy her use of silhouettes as in
"Mystify" and I enjoy the textures and softness in her other works. She has wonderful variety of subjects in her shop and it was really hard to choose just three to feature. Please take a look at her shop and see for yourself.

"Mystify"

"Just Us Two"

"Unknown Destiny"

Neat House Tour

One of my secret pleasures is Apartment Therapy because I love looking at the house tours. One in particular that was recently sent to me in an email was Sarah and Hillary's Maximalist Loft via Apartment Therapy Boston

I really like the artwork on the wall, I think I shall try for something similar to that with blues, grays and whites instead of the browns and perhaps a different silhouette instead of the geese.

I am also really liking the giant wooden mustache on the easel. I think that would look amazing hung on the wall--quirky and subtle.

At any rate, there are a lot more great images from the house tour through the link above. This is just what caught my eye, so I suggest you head over to Apartment Therapy and look around for yourself.

Lotta Books!!

I love book sales--I couldn't help myself--5 books for a dollar? Come on. This is what I found:

Single Jack by: Max Brand
Larabee of Big Spring by: Chuck Stanley
The Girl by: Catherine Cookson
Jubilee by: Margaret Walker
Whip Hand by: Dick Francis
Decider by: Dick Francis--which I already had at home (oops).
Come to Grief by: Dick Francis--which I already had at home too (oops).
To the Lighthouse by: Virginia Woolf
Daybreak by: Frank G. Slaughter
So Dear to My Heart by: Sterling North
The Charmed Circle by: Catherine Gaskin
Show World by: Wilton Barnhardt
The Friendly Persuasion by: Jessamyn West
Wrack and Rune by: Charlotte MacLeod
Eight Little Piggies by: Stephen Jay Gould
Wandering Through Winter by: Edwin Way Teale
The Fields of Noon by: Sheila Burnford
My Family and Other Animals by: Gerald Durrell
The Greening of America by: Charles A. Reich
North with the Spring by: Edwin Way Teale
Spoon River Anthology by: Edgar Lee Masters
Ragtime by: E. L. Doctorow
Let it Rot by: Stu Campbell
Heroes, Outlaws & Funny Fellows of American Popular Tales by: Olive Beaupre Miller

At any rate I think I found lots of potentially good books and authors--I'm looking forward to reading them. I love my library collection--friends come over to get books to read--I'm glad I'm known as the 'book girl'--reading is a nice time passer.

The Internet Doesn't Like Me.

So for the past few days the internet has been incredibly contrary. Driving me crazy because I had so much that I wanted to get done. I've got a couple posts ready, SOOO if it will let me load them, then you'll see that I've really been working this week...ha.

This weekend is our town yardsale--which for the small town that it is it's a huge deal. Kind of odd to see so many people flock to our little "burg" when otherwise it's just a quiet little place. I think I'll be heading in to the library sometime today--they have a book sale going on (a quarter a piece or five for a dollar)--so that's my kind of deal!!

Well I need to go feed the livestock and get ready for today.

Busy, Busy Day...

I'm still working on my photographer's posts--I've got a list of about ten (and believe me there's a lot more to come after that ten) of photographers who've caught my eye on etsy. I'll continue to work on them and will probably have the first one ready to post by Friday. I'm really excited about getting to contact these amazing artists and show them all to you.

Other than working on those, I've been working on the nursery--I've got the furniture I painted put back together. I'd like to get some shelves on the wall and the tons of artwork that I want to mat and frame and get ready to hang needs to be sorted. Only seven weeks--not much time--but I couldn't be any more excited about this baby and becoming a mom and my husband becoming a dad.

Blogger for some reason still won't let me upload my photographs off of my computer--hopefully that straightens up soon enough.

My To-Do List For This Week...

I've got lofty goals of things I want to accomplish this week--

• Put the nursery back into some semblance of order.
• Wash the newborn clothes and sort the rest of the baby stuff into totes for later.
• Hang artwork and decorate the nursery.
• Write out various posts in advance for this blog--starting with various etsy photographers that I admire--in order for them to okay the use of their work and what I have to say about them before it is posted.
• Post every day this week.
• Clean up the studio yet again--that room gets away from me so easily.
• Finish up the two books that I'm on the brink of completing--The Sun is my Undoing and The Persian Pickle Club.
• Photograph my printmaking pieces and list them on etsy.
• Perhaps, maybe, hopefully, go see Julie & Julia.
• Go down to Vincennes to visit with my previous professors and visit the stockyards and lurk around the library.
• Write down some goals for me, this blog, and The Gallivanting Girl.

I want to make this blog a combination of Cold Antler meets Design Crush meets Yardsale Bloodbath meets Bloom, Grow, Love meets a travel blog unlike any other. Wish me luck and I'll do my best not to just relax and lay in my bed while my baby sucks all the energy from my bones--because believe me that always seems like the most appealing option for my daily activities.

Welcome to Allergy Season.

Every year, around August 20, I become a sneezing, bleary-eyed mess even with allergy medicine. The culprit? Ragweed. And because I'm so very allergic to ragweed I become sensitive to every other scent and allergen in the air. Being pregnant this year I was worried about the effect of medicine on my little fetus. The doctor said I had a few options, gave me some samples, and home I went. Usually my belly is constantly moving with the baby's kicks and jumps, but after I took the allergy meds she stopped. Scared me to death. I decided if it was affecting her enough to change her movement it might be affecting her in some other way as well. I decided I'd rather be uncomfortable and feel her moving instead of comfortable but unsure if she was truly okay or not. So...no allergy meds for me.

What does this mean for me? Well it means I sneeze A LOT during the day, but that I can smile every few minutes when I feel her move. I'm house-bound for the most part (although I do go out to feed the livestock with my husband's respirator that he uses when he tears out the walls in our house). I'd love to be out gallivanting and taking photos all day long, but instead I have been researching other blogs, artists, and people that I've found. That's going to be where my upcoming posts are going to come from. I'm going to write informative, mini-research paper-type posts that will be informative for all of you and that will be helpful in getting me ready for when I can get back out into the real world and interview people in person.

I was going to upload a photo from a previous gallivant, but blogger is giving me trouble today--maybe later I'll add one for spite. Oh how I wish I could be outside. I miss exploring the countryside. If I get too stir-crazy from being stuck inside I might crank up the Air Conditioning in my truck and venture out anyway. If I can find a nice rainy, stormy day when the allergens get knocked down from the air you can bet I'll be back on some dirt road finding the forgotten places that I love.

PS--only seven weeks left and I'll be due--seems like just yesterday I read that test and my life changed completely. Now my husband and I are anxiously awaiting the chance to meet this little rolling ball in my belly.

First actual sale on etsy!!

"Turning Pages" sold on etsy on Sunday--such an amazing feeling to have your dream job still moving in the right direction! Let's hope the good luck streak keeps going. I'll be adding more to my shop really soon--just need to polish up my photos of my work first.

Lots of Goings-On...

First off, I had some pumpkins come ripe early, so I turned them into puree for some later season recipes I have high hopes for.

Fresh cut pumpkins from the patch.

Cutting and scraping out the innards.

Bucket of innards.

Finished Product.

Then my family and friends had a lovely baby shower for me at my house a few weekends ago. We had a wonderful time, but there was a lot of preparation beforehand, and by the time the party was over I was one tired pregnant woman. Of course directly after the shower our green beans were ready to can, so we've spent the last week putting all of them through the canner. We also processed some tomato juice too.

Then last Friday my husband and I were heading to town and went over the culvert bridge down our road and saw the fish below on the edge of the bridge. Incredible gar, huh? Somebody had apparently caught him and then left him to die on the bridge--quite sad really, but I found him so neat that I had to take a photo. Never know what you'll come across when you're riding around with me.

Other than that I just keep getting bigger and bigger. Only nine weeks left and I'll have a brand new life in my arms. It still seems so surreal. I have tons to do with the nursery still, but if that doesn't get done before she comes home it's not the end of the world because I figure she'll be right by my bedside for quite a bit anyhow.