Flying High

Last night I attended the BlogLove event here in Charm City at Load of Fun Studio, put on by the lovely Kristin and Chris Ann from LoveFeast.  As you know, I was a bit nervous (and so very thankful for that glass of wine handed to me on arrival!).  But in the end I saw a few people I had met before and adore (like Miss Donna from Relevant), and even met a few people that I thought were absolutely fascinating.  I'm thinking I may be getting the hang of this meeting new people thing (well, except for the rambling I tend to do).

Moi, Donna, and Ashley

We watched Mara Neimanis (who owns In Flight Theater) perform some artistic and interpretive trapeze, as well as a couple of her students who worked together on a single swing.  It was really interesting to see someone so passionate about their art, how they feel sort of lost without it.  I am considering taking some aerial classes once my body is healed up.  

 These are the students, Mara didn't capture on film except as a blur because of my itsy bitsy little camera and trying to film quickly w/o flash!

Joe Squared (voted Baltimore's best pizza) provided pizzas and risottos.  So delicious I was in heaven.  And then as a sweet finish, Golden West Cafe provided to die for banana cupcakes (like a sweet banana bread really) with cream cheese frosting.  So good, I politely asked to grab one for G.  He was very appreciative!  

There were swag bags, with some local treats.  I am absolutely in LOVE with this necklace made by a local artist who uses vintage tins to make jewelry.  I am going to  have to check her out....her store Studio C is super close to Clementine's and Zeke's Coffee!  I was torn about her jewelry because I love old tins so much (I would probably hoard them to just hold stuff if I weren't terrified of hoarding), but I think it's an awesome way to preserve some beautiful pieces.  You can also check her out on etsy, here.  I'm wearing my necklace today actually (photos later). 

Unrelated to the swag, I had won my choice of item from Our Daily Chocolate (one of the girls I think is amazing, who I met at Relevant) from BowMania a while back.  I finally remembered to e-mail Ashley and say I would love a silk hair rosette, and if she could, would she bring it to BlogLove.  I then promptly forgot about e-mailing her until she showed up with it last night.  Needless to say it was love at first site.  Ashley also provided a pair of earrings to each attendee last night!  

Urban Halo provided each of us a gift card to purchase one of their headbands.  I'm torn on which one to get, I'm especially loving some of the bright and bold patterns.  With all the neutrals I wear I need something to pump it up!

And then I got super lucky and was drawn to win one of the new Gussy clutches that she collaborated with Kristen and Chris Ann on.  Super cute and will come in handy when I want a bag I can throw on my wrist with a few items and not worry about it.  I love clutches, but so many of mine are hard to hold when I'm mingling!

The whole night was amazing and about finding your passion and making it a bigger part of your life.  It has given me a push to really start creating more.  I have so many files on my computer of tutorials of things I want to make, from pillows to curtains to jewelry, etc.  And the silly part is that other than items that require sewing, all of them would be simple to do and extremely satisfying.  And on top of that I have my own list of things I want to do/make for our home.  I had bought a canvas way back in May for our anniversary to paint a poem on, but it never got made.  I finally shared another idea I had for it with G and he said he thought it was even better than the poem, that it would be perfect for our home (and it will be coming up soon on the blog, I want it done by the middle of next week).  I think with all the stresses of moving to a place that didn't feel like home and then having all my marital issues finally come to a head I just kind of let the part of me that loves to create kind of hide away.  I had too much on my plate, and felt incredibly inadequate in so much that I just sort of gave up. 

So my biggest goal for while G is gone is to really knock more and more off the things to make list.  Of course it's a never ending list as I'm always adding to it.  But it will be nice to really start feeling more me,  to get back in touch with my very artistic side.  The night was exactly what I needed and I am so happy I went!