Georgia Aquarium

I've said this before, but I have a fascination with aquariums.  They are breathtakingly beautiful and they have a serenity that is hard to come by on land.  The Georgia Aquarium houses 120,000 animals, representing 500 species, in 8.5 million gallons of marine and fresh water; it was the world's largest aquarium when it opened in 2005. 

My favorite sea creature is the sting ray, they glide through the water like a bird glides through the air. Standing 10 inches away from them, I just put my hand against the glass and almost feel the manta ray's silk wings swim by.  Standing in the IMAX of aquarium displays was a whole new experience, just sitting and watching all the animals around me.  Even the dancing jellyfish and the tiniest seahorse, with its tail woven around the seaweed have a genuine beauty. Every time I leave an aquarium I have a new sense of calm around me and can only image a life away from the sun and into the deep dives of the blue ocean.

Rainy Day Art

It's that time of year again, for another adventure and another place to add to my collection!  Last week I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to see Amy, a good girlfriend from college. It's always more fun to share trips with people close to you, having more laughs, a second opinion and a local tour guide. 

On our first day of adventuring in Atlanta, we went to the High Museum of Art, somewhere Amy had been wanting to explore and I, as an artist, am drawn to by nature. We were lucky to see their latest exhibit of Dutch painters including Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring! It was such a beautiful collection of paintings where I could have spent hours staring at the delicate flower still lives or the warm landscapes that make even a blizzard scene look cozy and inviting.

Museums become the keynote of my travels since art lifts my spirits and inspires my creative soul. I hope these beautiful images I collected from the day inspires you and gives you a little taste of the High Museum of Art.

Florida

After every trip, I like to think back and have a quick re-cap.  While it all is happening so fast, it's hard to really soak in everything you've been able to do!  If you know me or have been following on my blog for a while, you are probably aware of my 5 places Resolution, which is where I try my best to go to five new places every year.  Usually they are small cities around the Carolinas, but sometimes I venture further out, to places like Miami!  This year, since I finally became a grown up and have a full-time job, it's become harder to find time to take off on new adventures, so I updated my resolution to "Do 10 Things I've Never Done Before".  But I feel like I managed that in one week on this trip, so hopefully I'll be able to knock even more things off my bucket list in 2013!  But to recap my latest trip, here goes my usual lists:

This was the first time that I'd:

-been to Miami
-held a parrot like a baby

-hand fed a stingray

-gambled at a casino

-eaten key lime pie

-tried dolphin

-fed a flamingo

-seen a killer whale

-been to a dolphin show
-ventured to the top of a lighthouse

Day 1:  travel day
Day 2:  beachside brunch at Latitudes, sun day at Halendale Beach, dinner at the Yard house, fancy margaritas in Fort Lauderdale
Day 3:  walk with Stuart, visit the ancient Spanish Monastery, dinner in Coconut Grove at Greene Street, and evening browsing through shops at Bayside
Day 4:  lunch on Hollywood Boulevard at Big Easy, day at Jungle Island, dinner at Bongos and night at the Hard Rock Casino
Day 5:  visit the Miami Lighthouse and the Miami Seaquarium, dinner by the intercoastal and one last walk down the boardwalk
Day 6:  travel day back home

So as a final farewell to my Florida vacation, here's a selection of my favorite Floridagrams!

South Carolina and Georgia

Mango Jalapeno Butter and Mango Coleslaw with Key Lime Tarter Sauce 

Buy One Get One Margaritas

Greene Street and my first slice of key lime pie!

Bongo's: Cuban Cuisine

Street Art and Stingrays 

Autumn Berries in Blowing Rock

Autumn Berries

I love this color scheme because it touches on all my autumn favorites: the golden orange & the subtle yellow, with bursts of coral and rich reds, then finishing with just a hint of fading green.

If you're not familiar with Kuler, you should really spend a little time playing around on it. It's such an amazing tool for creating professional and personal color schemes!  For more information on Kuler go to Adobe.com or check out my previous blog post here!

But I hope all my fellow designers and crafters can use and enjoy this color scheme I'm sharing!  To get the set, go here and grab it!

You can find all of my color schemes and there posts here!

The Blowing Rock

        Saturday morning we ventured to The Blowing Rock, named after a Chickasaw legend of love and honor, which had breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and was strewn with purple and yellow wildflowers.  Spending the day surrounded by natural beauty decorated in brilliant golden hues in the crisp mountain air was the perfect way relax and take a moment to embrace the grandeur of the season.