Picture Moments at the Beach

I took this dreamy calm picture with my old iPhone 4 at Myrtle beach.  It is so strange how a rickety old fence, a bit of sand and tiny yellow flowers can bring back a happy calm memory.

The reality is I probably looked really crazy walking around the beach snapping away at everything that catches my eye trying to capture the moment.

Happiness is a choice.

This photo is not the whole "picture" of what I was looking at. There was probably a big ugly garbage can right outside of frame. I choose to focus in, edit out all the distractions and see this tiny corner of happiness at the beach.

Life is a lot like this. I have had to discipline myself to just glance at the news headlines to be informed of world events. But I cannot let the negativity of the world distract me from the good and the beautiful things that happy everyday.

Thank you for reading

Sunset on The Cape Fear River

I took this picture with my iphone on the bank of the Cape Fear River while the sun was setting. The light was so beautiful over the brown (LOL!) flowing ripples of water. Muddy bottom equals muddy water.

In the background is a train trestle. All the times I have visited the river I have never hear or seen a train pass over. 

In the foreground, you can see the mud from the recent severe flooding that occurred in the area. The water rose up to the bottom of the train trestle. Incredible to see.

Despite the it's muddy scars, there is still beauty to be found and nature moves on. Time did not stop and life moved on.

Disappointments and setbacks happen in life, but how we recover and response to those stressful, frustrating, or sad passing moments defines our lives.

Rise Up. Refocus. Lessons learned. Keep flowing forward through life.

Thank you for reading. 

Thomasina

Live Life Like An Ocean Wave

Myrtle Beach SC  Nikon Cool Pix L120

 I have realized that to live the most peaceful life I can in stressful situations, I had to be a flexible and flowing as an ocean wave moving back and forth towards land.

It is important to evaluate the situation and decide calmly to work hard on the things I can change and to let flow around me the things I cannot change. The ocean waves do not become angry at the rocks blocking it's way on the beach. It will slowly erode the surface of the rock over a long period of time or the rock with dislodge and float away in the currents.

I have had to be honest with myself about what I direction I am taking in life, career and my art. Forcing myself to settle has never be the path to a peaceful mind and spirit. I have learned the hard way to step out on faith and follow my dreams and goals. What you fear will master you.

Ocean waves have to encounter many obstacles while flowing towards the shore. Each barrier is met with power and grace at the same time. I want to be calm, graceful, faithful and powerful against all negative situations that life throws at me. Stressing out about anything does not lead to good health or positive productivity.

I always get the biggest laugh when I watch the seagulls and sandpipers stand with their tiny bird legs in the water searching for food totally unintimidated by the crashing waves. The birds are watchful of the rhythm of the waters but they do not let the size and force of the waves stop them from reaching their goals.

Flow forward in all things.

Peace

Thank you for reading

Thomasina

Dogwood Trees Are Blooming

Dogwood

I had a wonderful time this morning photographing the gorgeous flowers in my backyard. Thankfully I was able to take pictures of the dogwood trees before their delicate white blooms fade and fall to the ground. It seems these flowers bloom quickly and just a quickly disappear.

What a wonderful sunny cool Spring day to be outside exploring my overgrown backyard. I had so much fun grabbing close ups of every flower I could find. Creative. Happy. Relaxed. Energized.

A beach trip would have been wonderful but it was nice to stay home and appreciate the things that surround me daily.

Camellias

My yard has two hardy camellia bushes that have stood the test of unpredictable Winter/Spring cold then hot temperatures. I was afraid the frost would ruin the flowers and buds but once again these flowers set an example to me to stand strong against the harshness of life and bloom ANYWAY.


I hope you are having a happy, creative and productive day.

Thank you for reading

Thomasina

Spring is here! Time To Bloom

Azaleas beginning to bloom.

 Hello Everyone!

 

Long time no blog. I am back now just in time for Spring. Thank God winter is over. Now it is time to enjoy the beautiful budding flowers and sprouts of green. I definitely feel happier during the Spring and Summer months. Sunshine and blue skies - my life's motto.

 

 

Love how everything is coming up green.
 

 

This photograph is a lesson in you can't believe everything you see. It looks like just a peaceful shady green corner of my yard. In fact, it is next to a busy street and drive way. Photographers frame and crop images in a way to compose a picture that is not the actual reality of the real place, situation or even a person.

 

Always remember "there is more than meets the eye". In my beach photo landscapes ,I have cropped out so many trash cans, random people walking by and drainage pipes it is hilarious.

 

 

A daffodil that is truly a survivor.
 

 

This flower (some people think of it as a weed LOL!) is a daffodil with the strongest will to survive I have ever encountered with any plant in my yard. I remember this seeing this flower's beautiful buttery yellow bell blooms since my childhood. It has fought back against being trampled, cut down over and over with the lawn mower, and harsh weather conditions for many years but magically appears alive and strong year after year.

 

 

This year has been a stressful time for me and America so I took inspiration and strength from not only seeing the daffodil spring back at the beginning of Spring but this time it looks even more lush and strong than it has in many years. This plant is growing completely alone but decided to return and be beautiful every year.

 

Be Persistent.

 

 

Be Consistent.

 

 

Be strong.

 

 

Rise Up.

 

Thank you for reading. More blogs are coming.

 

Thomasina

 



Seeking Peace In Troubled Times

Myrtle Beach    May 2016

Hello Everyone!

I have missed talking to you so much. A lot has happened over the past couple of days and I wanted to say a few words of encouragement and peace to help us all get through this stressful time in the USA.

In recent days, I think I have experienced every single emotion dealing with the results of the election. Now I am at a point where my mind has cleared and I want to take positive action to move forward in life.

I did not like how the shock, horror and stress affected my mind, body and spirit. I acknowledged and faced every single emotion and started myself on the path to healing. Having gone through dark times in my life in the past, I know better than to let the darkness become a way of thinking and living.

Some days I had to push myself to put one foot in front of the other. But I was determined to keep moving. I took a lot of comfort in reaching out to family and friends. Communication was key to starting on the path towards feeling positive about life and my country. Realizing I was not the only person feeling stressed and sad was comforting and enlightening.

The world did not come to an end. The sun still came up,  people got up to go to work and time moved on never stopping. The normal day to day routines became so precious to me as a guide back to feeling unafraid.

I had to decide with all my being, I was not going to be angry and afraid everyday for the next four years and beyond. I know I will survive and thrive. My ancestors endured so much more than what is going on now and they powered forward with persistence and dignity.

To seek peace, I take the time to be extremely aware of the negative outside forces that are in a constant battle to steal my peace of mind. I do not follow or trust the news organizations as much as I did before the election. Self care is extremely important now. Eating healthy, exercise, meditation, and moving forward with my goals and dreams with positive actions.

If you are not coping well with these stressful, please ask for help. Don't suffer alone.

I have hope for America. This is a blessed and beautiful country full of amazing good people. I choose to believe in a positive path forward in life. There will be ups and downs but America is strong because this great nation is made up of strong resilient people.

Thank you for reading.

Thomasina

Find Your Peace

Myrtle Beach SC    Nikon Coolpix L120

Lately I have been appreciating the peaceful moments in my life. We can all get caught up in the stressful and hectic moments but every single day we need to take time for peace and calm.

In my peaceful moments, I find my inspiration which leads to my creativity. When I do not connect with my creativity, I instantly feel like life is more stressful and my mood darkens.

Finding your peace is also very important to your health. Take the time to stop during your day to breathe and focus your thoughts. Are your thoughts productive? Are you seeking peace in your thoughts and actions?

Life will definitely have it's stressful moments but how you react throughout the day will decide whether or not you find a way back to peace. Search for constructive, productive solutions to overcome the stress in your life. Can you prevent the stressful situation before it happens? I try to be as proactive as I can in life. Anticipate what you will need and bring those items with you will alleviate random problems that pop up during the day.

If I allow clutter to creep up and takeover in my surroundings, I feel my stress level rising until I do a "organize, clear out and put back in it's place session".

As you may know from reading my blog and my twitter the beach is a very important part of my life. I try to escape to the beach as much as I possibly can. Pictures of the beach on every wall (LOL!), road trips, creating art and writing are all ways I actively pursue my peace.

Create your peaceful environment everywhere you go. You can do this with pictures, music, creating art whatever make you happy. Be aware of stressful situations and unhappy people. Avoid them whenever you can but if you can't do not allow them to draw you into the drama. Happiness is a choice. Peace is a choice.

Be powerful and knowledgeable in a stressful situation. Do not make the situation worse. Actively seek positive solutions. After I go through a negative experience, I take the time to realize what life lessons I just learned. This is very helpful to stop the cycle of going through the same stress situations over and over.

Finding your peace and being very aware when you are not peaceful will help you have better health and quality of life.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Mermaid Wall Plaque Art From Christmas Mouse

Every since I was a little girl, I have always loved mermaids. I actually read the very sad ending Little Mermaid story from Hans Christian Andersen long before I ever saw the Walt Disney very happy ending animated movie.

 

I think of mermaids as beautiful strong magical free spirited mysterious women who live on both land and sea. The ocean is such a magnificent powerful full of life place, I think it would be incredible to call that huge body of water home.

 

Whenever I am at the beach, I always look for any mermaid anything I can find. I happened upon this mermaid wall plaque at the Christmas Mouse in Myrtle Beach, SC.

 

 The first time I saw this piece on the wall of a staircase in the store, I did not have enough money to get it. So I went home, saved up my money and purchased the mermaid then next time I went back to the beach. You wouldn't believe how excited I was that it was still there on that return trip. The store does not have a lot in backstock for certain items.

 

I am sure you noticed, my mermaid is sitting in a crystal vase I got from Marshalls years ago. For some reason, I do not want to put her up on a wall yet. Hopefully I can find some sort of stand to sit her in.

 

The sea shell fan and her hands are very well done. It can be really hit or miss with mermaid art. There is the tacky, overly sexy, bad design and the good. I am very very picky when it comes to the pieces I add to my collection.

An overhead view of the mermaid plaque sitting down into the vase. Those are some really big shells on her boobies right? LOL!

I was drawn to this piece because it is very well made. The overall composition, the design of her beautiful face and the artistry. I have seen a lot of very bad mermaid art - we are talkin' scary bad art and poor quality. I will be doing a post on a piece of ulgy mermaid art I did buy - I just could resist.

This close up of her hands holding the shell is so well done. As an artist, I know personally, hands are very hard to draw let alone sculpt. For the price I am very happy with the quality of this piece.

Love this very affordable price. There are other stores that have amazing mermaid art but the price point is extremely out of my small budget range. This company Midwest CBK is apparently for retailers only. So your best bet to purchase this or something similar is at the Christmas Mouse or on Amazon.

The design of the facial features of my mermaids is very important to me. I love her serene graceful pose.

I really wonder if the scales and the tail were carved by hand or if this is a mold. It looks like it was carved to me. The material it is made of seems to be more of a kind of resin not a plaster.

I was so glad the "distressing" is very minimal. My other mermaid statue had too much rough distressing for my taste and I am trying to figure out how to paint over some of the gouges in the surface.

The facial expression reminds me of Madonna art.  Eyes gazing off to into the distance calm and meditative.

Here is a full view of the whole piece. It was actually very hard to photograph these plaque for some odd reason. I really do prefer this plaque to stand rather than hanging on a wall.  I probably want to enjoy observing the piece close up than on a wall in the distance.

The plaque measures about 13 inches tall and at it's widest point (the tail) it is about 3inches.

I was really lucky to find her but now I am on the search for black mermaid art. There seems to be a huge void in the market for them. I am writing a mermaid novel and one of my dreams is to have a whole line of multi cultural mermaids in all colors and shapes to represent the beautiful diverse women of the world.

Earrings of the Day - Aeropostale Chandelier Style

I love chandelier style earrings. These Aerpostale are definitely sparkly statement pieces for your ears. Some prefer to save this type of bold style of earrings for evening wear or dressy occasions. I throw caution to the wind when I accessorize and wear any type of jewelry I own anytime I want to. LOL!

The simple lightweight plastic beads surrounded by the pale gold-tone setting with french wire hooks put these earrings in my more "classic" category of my jewelry collection. They go with every single thing in my wardrobe whether dressed up or very casual. I am the kind of girl to wear these earrings out on a date and also wear them with a sweatshirt while running errands. I try to not let my vast "faux bling" collection gather dust and instead be well used often.

My attitude of not restricting myself when it come to what and when I wear my costume jewelry pieces comes from having such a huge varied collection. I don't want to have wasted time and definitely not my money therefore I make a point of wearing something different everyday.

This is an extreme close up view courtesy of my Canon Poweshot A2300 HD that I got at a pawn shop for $20 something dollars. It is a very easy to use point and shoot camera. The A2300 HD is an older Canon model but I also brought the more recent Canon Powershot ELPH 170IS camera.

Now we get to the  markdown sales price part of my blog post. I purchased the earrings for $2.99 with an extra percentage off. A very small price for a very pretty piece of fun jewelry.

The earrings from the back. Very simple. I was impressed with the quality of the earring: no obvious glue showing, assembled very well with decent materials. I love very inexpensive jewelry but I really hate bad quality and poorly made costume jewelry.

No I would not pay $11.00 the regular price for these earrings. I am always shocked at the markup on the prices of costume jewelry. It is totally worth it to wait patiently for things to go on sale.

 You might not be able to find these exact pair of earrings at Aeropostale but you might find something similar.

Here is a post about a pair of chandelier earrings from Express.

Thank you for reading my post!

Thomasina

I Love Sugar - A Fantastic Fun Candy Store In Myrtle Beach, SC

Look! Mermaids! Their tails are made from candy

I don't have enough words to describe how much I love this store. It is I Love Sugar - a candy store in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Fun, colorful, kooky, sweet, happy, huge I could go on and on. I get so much energy and inspiration from bright fun colors and when I walk into this store I can't do anything but smile.

Candy filled tables and very comfortable chairs

It is located on the main "strip" of Myrtle Beach very near the boardwalk. This store is gigantic. The first time I went into the space, mouth just dropped. It is beautifully appointed with all kinds of fun treats to each for children and adults.

Look at how organized everything is. I love how everything has it's place and it does not feel cluttered at all. I don't know how in the world they keep it so neat and clean. The creative merchandise displays and art are an big part of what makes the store so appealing.

If you have been following my blog for a while (and please do on Blogger LOL!) you know I am obsessed with mermaid. I look up and saw this beautiful mermaids and knew this place is going to be one of my favorite places to visit in Myrtle Beach.

 



Hopefully one day I will meet the owner. I would love to ask him where he came up with the store's concept and who designed layout and displays of the store. It is a happy place that kids will love on sight. It is so much fun to watch the kids run around and enjoy the store.

Usually I don't like cement flooring, but it really works in this colorful crazy decor. It actually calms down and centers all the many colors and grounds everything.

 

 

 You can buy the candy in boxes or individual wrapped pieces. But I always get the loose candy sold in the self serve bins that you put into cute clear plastic bags with tongs or a scoop. There is a huge selection of loose candy in several display units around the store. Then you take it to the register and the sales associate will weight it.

It is a little pricy but I always just get a little bit at a time. Also along the store's back wall is a very impressive row of tall jelly bean dispensers. Just be careful not to pull the lever too hard or a huge splash of jelly beans will fall into your bag.

These tables face the street next to a floor to ceiling window. I enjoy people watching especially seeing how people's faces light up and smile when they look in at the all the candy and the bright colors. I was so inspired by this. I want to create things (words and art) that make people smile and laugh.

Mermaids are my spirit mystical beings. When I see a mermaid random somewhere, I think that mermaids find me where ever I am. I was really impressed with how these mermaids were done. I am very picky about mermaid art. I love this concept of photos of women with the candy creations for the mermaid parts.

A very close up shot of the preserved rock candy enclosed in the glass table top. I would love a table like this at home.

The gummy bear table close up. Followed by the M&M table. The tables are not very big in size. They are definitely eye catching. I wish I had thought of this idea.

To top things off there is even a Gelato ice cream counter beside the cash register. All the bases have been covered for any kind of candy you could think of .

I prefer visiting when it is off season and not very crowded. This store is special. You have got to see it for yourself and have fun while you are there.

Thank you for reading my post.

Thomasina