morning walk

i really look forward to my morning walks here in the mountains because it's fun to discover plants like these tall, wispy, spikey-stemmed weeds.

and being able to look around while i'm walking up and down these crazy hills helps to serve as a great distraction to that non-stop burning in my choco-thighs-and-hips!  heeheehee

serenity now....

                           

as the clouds roll in amongst the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina,  

treat yourself to a 60-second break and allow the birdies to serenade you.

ahh, yes.....sweet serenity!  xox

little mountain house

i have become quite intrigued by this sweet little house nestled in the mountain trees.
and while i don't know who lives there,  i would imagine that one thing is for certain.....

that such a cute little house surrounded by such tremendous beauty
surely must be filled with lots and lots of love!

{created in my moleskine journal using koi watercolor, pitt pens, 
a waterbrush, and a 5B graphite pencil}

rhodies

the rhododendrons, or "rhodies" as they say, are in full bloom here in the mountains of north carolina.  mother nature has completely outdone herself by giving us delicious pink, purple, and white blossoms.....it's such a blessing to be here to see this!

wishing you a colorful, creative weekend!  xox

new views

for the past month, i've been cleaning, organizing, and trying to keep the house "show ready" while we wait for that special buyer to walk through the door.  our house hasn't sold yet (fingers crossed that it will soon!) and to be honest, while i've been keeping the cobwebs at bay in the house, i think they've set up camp in my head!

so my sweet little dutch boy has brought me up to the mountains for some rest and relaxation!

 there's nothing like a complete change of scenery to clear the cobwebs out of your head, and give you a new boost of inspiration!  i hope you find yourself in one of your favorite inspiration places this weekend!!  enjoy!

autumn bliss

"every leaf speaks bliss to me,
fluttering from the autumn tree"
emily bronte


{wishing you a blissful weekend!  xox}

this summer.....

this summer i have been to the beach......

and to the mountains......

and to the beach again.....


and now i'm back in blogland!
see you next week for "inspiration monday"!
xox

stacked stones

if you happen to find yourself in the mountains (and maybe hiking up grandfather mountain in north carolina), you may come upon a little stream that's surrounded by really large rocks......and on those rocks you might see some sweet little towers of stacked stones that were left by previous hikers.

and then you can draw a little sketch of them in your favorite journal to help you remember all the fun you had that day (and how you somehow managed to get your choco-hips up that mountain, even though you were huffing and puffing the entire way.....).


{supplies:  koi watercolors,  waterbrush, pitt pens, 3B graphite pencil}

inspiration monday

my little dutch sweetie treated me to a weekend getaway to the mountains last week!

but before we left, i packed some of my "essentials" because you never

know where or when inspiration will strike!

when you go to the mountains, there are times when you 

literally have your head in the clouds and you can see the whole world below......

or you can keep your feet safely planted on the ground and wait for mother nature to fill all those bare trees with spring glory.

or.......you can just drive around and count all the places where 

daniel boone supposedly slept (there are so many, they even named a town after him!)

{i'm honored to announce that the very sweet jenny doh has invited me to be a guest curator over at crescendoh this week!  please join me here for great links to great posts all week long!

thank you SO much, jenny!!}

mountain view

my little dutch sweetie treated me to a getaway this past weekend,
so we traded in our seaside view for some fresh mountain air.
to say that the scenery was gorgeous would be an understatement.....

and there were reminders of autumn everywhere.....

along with pure eye candy, mother-nature-style.

and speaking of mother nature, she surprised us with this on saturday morning!

but further down the mountain, it was life as usual.

and with all that mountain inspiration, these little sweeties caught my eye......

so i thought i'd add them to my journal to remind me that there's so much beauty in this world.....
and i'm so blessed to have these opportunities to go out and enjoy it!
(thank you, little dutch sweetie! xox)

{this page was created in my strathmore visual journal for mixed media using
derwent inktense pencils, waterbrush,  micron pens, and a 4B graphite pencil}

{photos of our trip to banner elk, north carolina}

Banner Elk on Dwellable