People will see me and cry

The PS 22 Chorus does it again... And check out Jennifer Hudson 2.0! I am so in love with these kids - and their an inspirational teacher.

My dream office

Dreaming of a new house and a new home office... Would love a place with a guest house/MIL quarters or pool cabana that I could convert into my private studio and office. I love the clean organization and use of my favorite light blue in this office done by West Elm... And I really love that door. I would replace the chair with this one. Then my office would match my redesigned website!

Sunday Zen

Image copyright Bloom Creatives 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Don't listen to this nonsense about summer ending on Labor Day. The calendar says it doesn't end for another week plus, and my thermometer says it will last much, much longer than that... Sail away on these precious warm days while you can...

"Once, there was a tree..."

"...and she loved a little boy." Found via Spike Jonze's neat little blog We Love You So, this is the original 1973 animated version of Shel Silverstein's classic "The Giving Tree," narrated by the author himself.

Shel was a master poet and lyricist and a personal favorite of mine since a family friend gifted me a copy of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" as a child. I still have those dog-eared pages on my bookshelf.

Janet Jackson talks Michael

Image courtesy Harper's Bazaar

The normally super-private Janet Jackson sat down with Harper's Bazaar for the new issue (on newsstands this week) and talked a little food, a little fashion, and a lot family -- particularly her big brother Michael.

While she doesn't comment on his death or the events surrounding it -- she's secluded herself completely from media coverage -- she does paint a picture of a fun, loving sibling relationship. There's nothing earth-shattering in this article, but it's a nice read from an enigmatic woman who rarely gets personal.

The Poison Pear

Image copyright John Foley 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Had a photoshoot (in front of the camera this time) in a funky furniture store earlier this week. This store has room after room after room of beautiful, one-off pieces that look like they came straight from an old hacienda. (If you're in the Phoenix area, check out Urban Southwest off Camelback and 10th Pl.) This is the result of our evening.

Summer loving

Photo copyright Bloom Creatives 2009. All Rights Reserved.

My vacation to my favorite beach in the world was lovely, thank you. I love this stretch of beach, so quiet and picturesque. I found a new-to-me walk to take and turtles waiting to have their pictures snapped and sea oats bobbing in the breeze.

This is the unofficial last weekend of summer for many, but here in Arizona we'll enjoy summer through most of October. It's still over 100 degrees during the day and will be for quite some time - with no cool Gulf breezes to comfort us. These are the days I venture outside only in the wee hours of the morning or just to hop into my air conditioned car. Even the neighborhood stray cats do little more than lounge under our bushes, picking off the occasional lizard for sustenance.

Perhaps I should head back...