The Sassy Steel Magnolia
  • charisma
  • March1st

    2 Comments

    Last week a friend mentioned how she’d never seen my room and how she wondered what it looked like – how it was decorated – what filled my four walls. It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that sort of statement. I get it more often than not, actually.

    For starters, it’s quite cluttered to be honest. I rent a room in a 3 bedroom duplex where I’ve lived for the past 3 1/2 years. It’s not that I’m a pack rat (ok maybe a little, but that’s what storage units are for) or a hoarder, but more so I have crammed both my bedroom, future library / writing / inspiration room, a few items of a living room, hidden dish wares for a kitchen, and a couple of other odds n ends and such, all in my own mid-sized, rented room. Sounds odd, right? Right. Well, it works.

    But that’s actually reason #2 not a lot of people have seen my bedroom. Reason #1 is because it’s MY room. MY world. It’s private. If I have people over to the house, I prefer to keep them in common areas, i.e. the kitchen, living room, dining room, etc. I never open my whole house up to large groups, or even a small dinner party. I like to keep that part to myself. If I visit someone’s house, I dare not ask to see their bedroom unless I know them quite well. It’s a privacy thing. Almost like asking to see in someone’s secret drawer.

    However, because my friend brought up a very valid point – that our bedrooms are a reflection of ourselves – I have decided to share a few snapshots of things that compose what it is that I call my world. These are the items I see each and every day, what I wake up too, and what I lay my head down to sleep too. So sit back and enjoy a sneak peek into my world.

    *Please keep in mind about the whole multiple room pieces jammed into one room situation. I probably should hold off on actually building my future build-a-home till I have more than one room for storage and display. C’est la vie!

    Believe it or not, this is only a portion of my book collection.

    Knick-knacks are everywhere around my room. They all have a wonderful, symbolic meaning and I smile every time I look around. I also love love love having fresh flowers in my room – this week it’s my favorite flower: Daffodiles! (I got them at Harris Teeter for $2.99 a bundle. Sweet life!)

    I keep most of my jewelry out for display because I seem to collect it like art. (well that and it’s easy for me to grab what I need if running out the door) Most people are surprised to discover I rarely ever pay more than $20 for a piece of jewelry. I have a super top-secret spot where I find all my vintage faves! ;)

    These are a few of my favorite things…. starting from top left:

    • my blue velvet recliner that belonged to my Dad

    • the one of a kind painting Auntie gave me for my college graduation

    • the Rand McNally Old World Map I saved from a trash bin at work – waiting to be framed

    • the first quilt – other than a t-shirt quilt – my Sista Sista ever made

    • a mini-photo collage of my two favorite people :-)

    So there you have it – a little slice of my world. right there on your computer screen. I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek and that it helps paint a clearer picture of who I am. Maybe when I do move into a bigger place and can spread my stuff out a bit more, I’ll post a few more snap shots for you. Thanks for visiting! xox

  • February24th

    1 Comment

    :: Cuba Gallery Things ::

    It seems that any time I do a search on flickr, a photo from Cuba Gallery comes up in my results. I’m so amazed by his photography that I often find myself looking through his flickr stream for hours on end. Once I finally figured out how to do a photo mosaic that shows the source links, I knew a mosaic of his photos must be my first to display on the site. Enjoy!

    1. Nature – Clouds, 2. Cuba Gallery: Italy / Rome / urban / motorbike / orange / street photography, 3. Ocean Landscape, 4. Cuba Gallery: Italy / Amalfi Coast / summer / ocean / house / water / sea / sky / clouds / horizon / flowers / photography, 5. Cuba Gallery: Beach / New Zealand / landscape / wood / clouds / sky / people / pathway / photo / photography, 6. Clouds, 7. Cuba Gallery: Typography / people / Paris / France / walking / photography, 8. Cuba Gallery : Ocean beach landscape, 9. Architecture – Landscape

    -

    *I love these mosaics and might have to start doing a few more of them here and there.

  • December27th

    2 Comments

    Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.

    - Allen Ginsberg

    __

    When you need a little more than a smile or a cup of tea to get your week in motion, the Sassy Starter will be here every Monday to get your wheels turnin’ in a classy – sassy – fabulous sort of way.

    photo credit: weheartit
  • September22nd

    2 Comments

    I instantly fell in love with this song the moment in came on my Michael Buble Pandora station. A lovely little tune that I hope you will enjoy as much as I do. In their first appearance here at The Sassy Steel Magnolia, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Pink Martini.

    My hope is that we’re creating exquisite musical wallpaper which can be turned up or down, and played on almost any occasion, from background music to a love affair to vacuuming around the house.

    -Thomas Lauderdale, Band Leader

    Sit back, get ready to sway a little, smile a lovely smile and enjoy Pink Martini’s

    Hang on Little Tomato

    (if you have trouble viewing this video, please click here)

    • a lovely little Wednesday to each and every one of you •

  • September17th

    1 Comment

    Photobucket

    This week the badge goes out to an insanely talented friend of mine, Christina Mortti and

    You may remember her from my post, I feel pretty., when she did my first ever photo shoot, producing the pictures you see all over my site. I am honored to say I was her first official photo shoot *bragging rights in my eyes, if you will* and since then she has continued on to more photo shoots and grown her portfolio to an incredible array of photographs with people, places and events.

    Like many of you, I’ve been snapped in a ridiculous amount of pictures over the years, most of which you see and almost faint at how heinous they turn out (hello – school pictures grades K-12 I’m talking to you) but when you get in front of the Good Graces camera, you just seem to calm down and take on the attitude of the person behind the lens.

    More than your regular style, smile and shoot types of photos, Christina really captures the livelihood, the beauty and the emotion of the moment.

    Now you may think I’m biased on that, but look through her photos and see for yourself. It’s no easy task to get little kids to be comfortable and act themselves when you’re trying to take pictures of them, now is it? Or even catching those grown ups when they’re  out playing like little kids at heart.

    I have always been passionate about photography and especially love candid photos. I enjoy getting to know my clients and capturing who they really are.

    - Christina Mortti, Good Graces Photography

    Check out more photos from Christina and Good Graces Photography at her Web site and make sure to slide on over to facebook and like Good Graces Photography to stay up to date about what’s going on in her beautiful and charming photography world.

    -•-

    The Mah-velous Magnolia badge will be awarded each Friday to a selected lady {or a few..or fellas..we’ll see!} who has had an impact on my week.  Who knows — maybe you’ll be up next!