I dont even know how to begin describing what a fantastic weekend I had.  My husband and I took the first of our usual bi-annual trips to New York City and this trip was by far the most fun.  It seems like April is a good month for great events in the city…last year we saw Cirque Du Soleil perform Corteo on Randalls Island, and this weekend I had the rare and much anticipated opportunity to see Loreena McKennitt perform at Radio City Music Hall.  If you have read my blog for some time, I’ve been listening to her music for 10+ years, and she is the one performer who I had to see live at some point in my life.  She rarely tours since the death of her fiance in 1998 and is in general a very private person. So seeing her was just such am amazing opportunity in more ways than one.  An she sounds AMAZING live, even better than on her albums.  I had my older camera with me in the city and wasnt able to get great shots, and also didnt want to take any pics during the performance to respect her wishes. I also found out that she will have a book out this year regarding her songwriting and travels.

We started our weekend in the city shopping, we had planned go to the Cloisters and make a whole medieval day in the city, but we decided to hit SOHO instead.  Should you ever find yourself in NYC, be sure to hit up Daffy’s.  They carry tons of designer clothes at amazing discounted prices.  I found a bunch of Free People shirts…i was quite excited :)  When we finally finished our shopping, about 6 hours later, we stopped and grabbed a beer before dinner….the beer on an empty stomach, especially when you dont drink beer that often, went right to my head….all i could think of was Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City drunk in Vogue…i was tipsy in NY…ah, fabulous NY :)

We then had dinner at BOLO, one of Bobby Flay’s restraunts.  We usually go to Mesa Grill but wanted to try something new, as the food there is totally different – more geared towards Spanish cusine as opposed to Southwestern…but just as amazing.  The Sangria’s there are world famous, and for a good reason…and the Shellfish and Chicken Piaia is the most celebrated dish there and was equally phenominal.

Then we made our way over to Radio City and finished our evening off with Loreena’s enchanting music.  It was very hard not to smile throughout the whole day :)

Sunday, we went to IKEA and then came back home…..

Now i’m home relaxing, getting some Spring cleaning done and getting back into the swing of things with my Spring collection….i plan on adding new items in shifts on the site as I have a lot of different things i’ve been working on.  I’ve also been sketching in my spare time and will post some pics of what’s been going on inside my Moleskine soon as well.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and an even better week! Spring is here! :) 

Zen Can Be Bittersweet, Canon XTi & Kodak Duaflex

So Buddhism class was just WAY over my head.  I went on Tuesday, followed yet again by another fabulous bagel, but the content of the class was just beyond me.  I have a lot of reading and learning to do on my own before I can attend another session as I had absolutely no clue about what was being discussed. After class, I went and purchsed the Idiot’s Guide To Buddhism (no chuckles please, but it certainly felt appropriate at the time :) and The Essence of Buddhism by Traleg Kyabgon and I have a bunch of other books on my Amazon wish list.  But I still plan on attending the weekly group meditation sessions which have been very relaxing and helpful.  i also set up my own little meditation space in my house and i am in the process of making my own zafu and zabuton (meditation seat and mat)…so all in all the learning process is going well.

I hope to have some new art journal pages posted up soon and some sneak peaks of the other things I have been working on.  My focus lately has been on my photography and trying to hone my skills both behind the lens and in post processing, but im feeling a bit of a shift towards painting again, which is good because it has been a while since i have produced any work on canvas.  I also have a few new sculpture ideas i want to put into production as well.

It looks like my Spring collection won’t be up and ready until the end of the month.  Time has flown by faster that i had imagined and combined with my overall lack of creative energy lately it has taken me longer than expected to get everything ready. But I will be sure to update when it is ready…also for those of you signed up on my mailing list be on the lookout for a coupon in your mailbox soon :)

It’s snowing here today, which at this point in the year is completely unwelcomed. I am craving Spring with all of my being and just want to be able to run outside in the warm air, see the trees covered in lovely green leaves and blossoms, and feel the warm sun on my face.  I hope it is warm and sunny where you are and that you are enjoying this season…..be sure to send some warm weather this way please :)

Meditation, Canon Digital Rebel XTi

Last week I took my first meditation lesson.  After reading the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert I was inspired to learn more about meditation as well as connecting with myself “spiritually”.  I use that word cautiously, as I am not currently on a mission to connect with God or religion, just to learn more about practices better connecting myself -mind and body.  Which is why meditation practice as well as learning more about Buddhism has always seemed very appealing to me.  Yes, I am aware that many consider that Buddhism is a religion, but my overall impression of this faith/practice has leaned more towards a focus on creating a better mind/body awareness, thus creating a more centered & peaceful person…further spiraling into a more centered and peacful world (this assumption may be completely wrong, but is based upon very limited knowledge on the subject)…and besides, I am always one who passionately loves to learn new things…the two – Buddhism & Meditation just seems to go hand in hand. I plan on learning more about many different cultural practices and faiths, but for the past ten years or so, Buddhism has been the one that has peaked my interest, so I figured it would be the best place to start. So last week I found a mediation center that offers free meditation instruction and group meditation sessions and I visted the center to learn more about what programs they have available. The experience was wonderful and I am going back again tomorrow for my first lesson in Buddhism.  The group that offers the sessions is a sect of Tibetan Buddhism, though the meditation that they practice can be done by those who practice any other faith.  I now know how to properly meditate in both sitting and walking meditation(according to the structure of this particular group) and have been working on it all week.

On my way home from my session last week, I stopped into a local little coffee shop that I hadnt been to since college.  I used to work there, and to be surrounded by the smell of fresh ground coffee was pure heaven for a caffine addict :) They also serve the best bagels in the world topped off by thier own home-made cream chesse…needless to say, I indulged, and the bagels were still as fantabulous as I remember them to be.

So between the Buddhism and the bagels I was in my own little state of bliss…..and I am so looking forward to it again this week :)

I would love to hear your experiences regarding meditation and any tips and tricks that you have while you practice it. Also if you are a practicing Buddhist, if you have any reading recomendations or information that you would love to share, I will welcome it all with and open heart and open mind.   

I also found a neat little website online this week from Lime.com with free online meditation rooms.  Just pick a room, turn down the lights and meditate to the stream of relaxing and lovely images that slowly pop up.

If you are curious about Buddhism I found several sites to be helpful: this article is well written and enlightening, info on Shambhala Meditation, and information on Zen Meditation…

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and a realxing and enjoyable week :)