Fluevog Time!

Severo and I had a mini date to Abbot Kinney and the Fluevog Store to try on some shoes and get entered in the Win 10 Years of Free Shoes contest. (See more about that here, on Fluevog).
By the way, this is not a sponsored post. I just adore Fluevogs.

The Tiger print display. Sigh.

I happen to have art that I created in the '80s while a freshman at Otis available on Society6 that coordinates so nicely with that tiger print:

Society6 link for tote

We'll get back to the Tiger stuff.

First, I tried on the X and O print Receptive
Yeah, cute:

Cute, but not an "I must have these now" situation.
Plus not the correct size.

Next up was Cleo. Cleo I could not get over my high instep. No photo.

Then I took off my socks and tried Dede.
I coerced Severo into trying on Chalky for the photo op possibilities.
Plus if he wins the contest, he'll buy me shoes!

Stylin' but WAY too painful for both of us.
The gals in the store had a good laugh at Severo's loud groaning over the pain.
"Now you know what we go through ALL THE TIME!"

My Wishlist and Scorecard:

I didn't try everything because the poor Fluevogists have to run upstairs to get the pairs.
The store is tiny.

Then, on a whim, I tried Sugarsnap:

They are SO CUTE! I am in love!
Why oh why are they on Mini heels?
Why can't they be on the lower Enneagram heels?
I will be obsessing over these for a while.

They have entered my Wishlist, despite the heel height.

And, speaking of Fluevogs, I'm almost finished with an A-Z blogging challenge of Fluevog Art. (Third year).
Mosey on over to Pattern Recognition and take a looksee.
Or check the #fluevogpattern hashtag on Instagram.

Linking with
Patti's Visible Monday
Cherie's Shoe and Tell
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

Meeting With Ostriches

After our poppy gazing at the Antelope Poppy Reserve (story here),
Anita, Nancy, and I visited Quail Run Ostrich Ranch in Lake Hughes.

photo by Anita

This guy in the foreground is very feisty and is used as a "guard" against predators.
Did you know that ostriches can easily kill coyotes, bobcats, and such? No, neither did I!

Check out their feet! If I remember correctly, they kick/claw their victims.

Kinda gives you that Jurrasic Park vibe, right?

The owners gave us a great talk about ostriches "from egg to table", explaining their evolution, physiology, temperament, and their amazing immune system. [I didn't take notes, and don't remember much. Sigh.]

Why is there a wing in the dirt in the photo above?
That ostrich is doing her sexy lady dance!

Shake it!

Here's the male. He's still a teen and a bit awkward. His moves need some work. video by Anita

Photobombed by four birds -- strike a pose! photo by Anita

We all got bottles of the Pure Ostrich Oil.
It's amazing. I've been slathering it on my neck, face, and hands.

Available at the ranch's Gift Shop or from Natures Edge Ostrich Oils

Have you seen an ostrich up close?

Linking with
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
Catherine's #sharealllinkup

BLOOPERS! OUTTAKES!

So I have this very low attendance Link Party happening.
The original theme is/was Foolish Things.
BIG thanks to Shelbee for being the first party guest.

The intention behind my Link Parties is a little different from most Style Blogs.
I want you to go through your old posts to find treasures to link up.
Or your Instagram.
Did you know that you can add an Instagram post? Yes, you can!
(I will add my sad broken coffee mug for you. See below).

How about I change the theme to 
"Bloopers, Outtakes, Happy Accidents, and Foolish Things"?

Let's see what I can find for visuals...
Oh boy...

Bathroom selfies!

Here's what I actually posted:

View this post on Instagram

#stylediary 4.9.19. A rare #bathroomselfie The camera decided this morning that the stepladder "tripod" was much more interesting than me. #bloopers Wearing my first @gudrunsjoden garment. So comfy, 94% Lyocel, 6% Elastane. #iwillwearwhatilike

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray) on Apr 9, 2019 at 2:09pm PDT

Here's the above-mentioned camera blooper (unedited):

This is how EVERYTHING looks when I take off my glasses.

Do you take self-timed photos?
I have a lot is these:

Look! It's Selfie Corner!

Selfies really lend themselves to Bloopers.
Especially when you have a group: Exhibit A. Exhibit B. (or see links below)

So, what have YOU got?
Join in!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

And speaking of joining Link Parties:
Adding to:
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's Share All Linkup
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Wednesday is #Mendsday

I've started a Crazy Quilt Dossier in Noteshelf (visual organizing app).
I'm dividing the quilt into sections and will reminisce about each patch.
We'll see how far I get!

Here is page 1:

Below is the mending. I have no special memories for this dot fabric.
It's a random strikeoff from work, I didn't "design" this dot.

Lots of pins. Must not leave any laying around

Here is page 2:

Here's the Sketchbook Project page

BLOOM!

I'm writing this instead of doing my taxes.
I'm pretending I don't have to do them. La la la la la.

Last Wednesday, I skipped work and went north to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve with Anita and Nancy.
It was INTENSE!

Nancy and Anita -- it was the first visit for both of them.

Like my "hiking boots"? I had to tie down my hat with my scarf -- it was so windy!
Photo by Anita

Photo by Nancy

Anita and Nancy -- strike a pose, girls!

Selfies are hard work.

Anita and Nancy with Bob, a volunteer at the Reserve.
He told us many interesting facts. I don't remember any.

This was only the start of our adventure.
More later!

Linking with Patti's Visible Monday nope, she's on vacation. Lucky! She's back!
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
[2020] Shelbee's On the Edge

BOOM!

BOOM! tunic is made from a scarf, a 3.1 Phillip Lim x Target scarf. 

This is not the first time I've worn this, but it may be the last, until I figure out how to make it less of a walking static nuisance. Maybe the back needs to be cotton?

The big news here is that I'm all excited about the online Procreate (iPad drawing app)  class that I'm taking with Traci Bautista. We're also learning how do do digital art journaling using the Noteshelf app. I think this will help me get my ideas organized.

My first page:

So. Much. Fun!

Today, learning more functions:

Note the consistent color story.
I seem to be stuck in a cobalt/cadmiums situation.
I also can't find my Apple Pencil charger, so I'm finger painting.

I'm posting my Procreate experiments on Instagram as a 100 Day Project:

View this post on Instagram

5.5/100 Today’s second @procreate experiment. Because I’m procrastinating on my teacher duties. #digitalcanvas3 #patterndesign #annembray #100dayproject #findyour100

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray.art) on Apr 7, 2019 at 1:44pm PDT

Linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Shelbee's On the Edge of the Week

The Poppy Geezers

Anita and I decided on Friday to drive up the coast Saturday and rendezvous with Stephan to go look at the poppies. It was a beautiful day and a lovely drive. But let's get to THE POPPIES!

See them? Here we are in the Santa Ynez Valley, approaching our target: Mt. Figueroa.

First stop.

Selfies! Geezers can take selfies too!

"Stephan, go stand in the back."

Yah!

 On to the next photo op.

Mt. Figueroa and oak grove.

Anita brought many accessories. She's a professional poser.

 Next.

"Girls, climb up that hill and I'll take pictures."

"Wait, I'm coming up."

"Go stand by that rock."

Random car photobombing. You can see how narrow the road is.
It got gnarly when large SUVs and trucks drove by.

The view from the hill.

 After a VERY SLOW descent, we posed in a bare spot next to the road.
A lady admonished us to not crush the flowers. We didn't. This was an existing bare spot.

Add caption

Final stop at the end of the road.

Our last spot had a handy posing log. Easier than posing at the Fowler with Silvana.

"That's a wrap."

This is the path that we ascended in part 3.
It was the most crowded area, but nothing compared to the 100,00 people that went to Lake Elsinore.

The return to sea level.

Ahhhh! I had SUCH a poppy hangover yesterday!

Linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness