The Art of the Moment

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Today is my sister's birthday. She's the other bossy sister in the family (I'll bet you can't guess who the first bossy sister is...;) She's an amazingly talented designer, a great mother and friend. She's generous to a fault and loves to do it up BIG (parties, shopping, life)! Happy Birthday Caroline (aka Le Quida), I love you!

 

Friends

These are amazing people. Talented photographers all, they are colleagues and friends. We spent last Sunday through Wednesday together here in the studio (and various restaurants) brainstorming 2010 for our businesses. We laughed, we cried and we stayed up WAY too late every, single, night. (This is what 3 nights in a row of 2:30 am bedtime will get you.) What a blessing to have a group of people who care about each other and truly want everyone to win. You guys are the best and thanks again!!!

L to R is Amy Carper from Little Rock, Arkansas, Mae and Michael Van Vooren from LA, Moi, Crackle Bingham from Montana and Neville and Lori Stringer from cold and snowy Phliadelphia. Photo by Dixie Waters.

Congratulations Caroline!

My sister, Caroline DeCesare, Interior Designer and owner of DeCesare Design Group, Inc. has just been featured in the Feb/Mar issue of Western Interiors Magazine. She is an amazingly talented designer who knows how to get the job done. I'm so proud of her and wanted to just brag on my little sis! You go girl.

The kitchen was in one of two models that she designed for a Geoffrey Edmunds Homes subdivision at Pinnacle Peak Place in North Scottsdale, AZ. These homes are to die for--stimulate the economy and go buy one today!

The photos of the kitchen were taken by Matthew Millman from San Francisco, another amazing talent. It was a treat to watch him shoot this project.

Other photos from the house--all by Matthew Millman. Love the office--photos in frames are by Yours Truly!

Could you die over this Powder Room?

Dining Nirvana

Living Room--love the plank paneling.

Generosity of Spirit - A Tale of Kindness

This is Ellen S. one of my very favorite clients who has been with me since the Memory Lane days. She has always been a cheerleader and a kind soul who builds others up. When she came in last fall for a photo session with her sister, she noticed a giraffe head hanging upside down in my stairwell outside the studio window and asked the obvious question, "WTHeck?"

Well, the giraffe head had been created by my son, Keaton, who is OBSESSED with The Lion King on Broadway (click here to see slideshow of obsession). He makes costumes and produces full scale shows in the backyard on a daily basis. Keaton is 17 and, as many of you know, suffers with autism. Here he is below with one of his many get-ups--as Rafiki in this photo.

So, the giraffe head was just one of many costumes laying around waiting for his next show. Ellen asked if I had tickets to the upcoming showing of TLKOB at ASU Gammage--which we did and I mentioned how I would love to get Keaton backstage to look at the costumes up close because he so loves the mechanics of how they work, etc. 

Well, this sweet, sweet woman made it her mission to figure out how to get my kid backstage. I don't even know what she had to do or how much time it took her but she DID IT!!! And last night was the most amazing experience---a dream come true for my boy. We watched the show from the 5th row (incredible) and after the show we were met by Ben Lipitz the actor who plays Pumbaa the Warthog!

He was so kind to take us backstage and show us around and the big moment was when he let Keaton step to the darkened stage and belt out the opening number to the show. That opening number is a duet and when Keaton paused, Ben didn't miss a trick, he jumped right in and sang his part---it was just a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I am so grateful to all the people who made this happen. Ellen S. for her determination, Dana McGuinness ASU's PR Manager and Ben Lipitz for taking the time after a very long show to make my boy's LIFE!

It's an amazing world we live in and I'm constantly amazed at the generosity and kindness of others.

Thank you all from me and from Keaton!!!

Love this Girl!

This is A and you've seen her many times if you've ever surfed my website. Well, you've seen her legs on the splash page and she's the genius behind the much-copies lime green wellies. I've known this chica since she was 11 and she could have been the CEO of a Fortune 500 company back then! A is the glue that helps hold my kid's lives together---she is the after school pick-up, the last minute date night enabler and all around Girl Friday. If you are familiar with the scrapbooking product line of 7gypsies, you may know her as Gypsy #6. These were shot at a recent shoot just messing around with my sensei David Hunsaker (aka the guy who taught me studio lighting back in the day).