max. (sketch#7)

My beautiful cousin has a darling son, max. He is the cutest one year old around and was the inspiration for my character sketch #7. The art house co op sketchbook is due in about a week- so I'm working hard on the last few!

Cheers to children, a little magical simplicity! 

Sister, sister. (sketch#6)

I thought I might post about another best friend.

My character sketch #6 for The Sketchbook Project was dedicated to my beautiful little sister. Certainly the loveliest nineteen-year-old of my life.

I could go on for decades about how fun, adventurous, considerate, loving, fashionable, and daring she is-

But you simply must meet her to understand. Anyway, a quick update on the project and a little bragging on my best friend.  

Best Friends.

I have a lot of very dear friends. And I have a lot of best friends.

Best friends are such a wonderful thing. They put up with you at your worst and love you at  your best. With one, I have gone down in history as the best rendition of Michael Jackson's "The way you make me feel" that Tostados has ever seen. With one, I have laid on the floor of a dorm room dying from too much fro-yo. With one, I have walked literally a thousand miles. (Okay, so maybe not literally- but that girl DOES have me on the move!) And with so many more, I have laughed, smiled, sang, joked, shared, loved and cried too much to share.

Best friends are like additional sisters. You can never stay mad, because within the hour you will have something too important to discuss (like shoes).

We are lucky to have them. They lift up our spirits and lend shoulders- and clothes. In three weeks I will walk across a platform in a red cap and red gown. I will close the door at Miami and open a new one to the rest of my life.

With best friends by my side, I know that the new journey will not only be great, but magical.

Happy day.

Join me on a new adventure! Once a week I will be posting this question: "Did you have a happy day?" Magical Simplicity runs on smiles- so let's share some good news! Comment here, or on our facebook page (www.facebook.com/MagicalSimplicity) or we can do a little tweeting (www.twitter.com/magicsimplicity). Let's share the magic!

(almost) birthday wish.

Magical Simplicity turns one year old this month. It has been a year filled of love, laughter, tears, happiness, joy, friendships, cupcakes, flowers, and magic. And I have a birthday wish. When I blow out these candles on April 29- I hope to have 100 facebook followers to spread the magic to. So if you are a new reader- Welcome! And if you are an old one- Thank you! Let's share the magic with the world.

www.facebook.com/MagicalSimplicity

Can't wait to celebrate with you! I have some magical things underway for a birthday bash...

Character Sketches #3&4

 

What makes you smile?

What is happiness? I have been asking this question lately, and I decided it is anything that makes you smile. Anything that shows your teeth. Anything that causes a sparkle in your eye. I have attached  a list of those things of mine, but I am most interested in your thoughts.

What makes you smile, my loves? What is your magical simplicity?

Character Sketch #2 - Rachel McAdams

I always leave the first page of a new journal blank. I think it's because I intend to come back, write a summary, or draw something beautiful- and this time I am determined to find the perfect character for my sketch #1.

Anyway, since I skipped page one- Rachel McAdams is technically Character Sketch #2 for the (Art House Co-op) Sketchbook Project.

I have always loved Rachel. I cut my hair over the summer to match her short curly bob. I think she is stunning, fun, and so beautiful. I see every movie that she acts in. (Like your typical helpless romantic) The Notebook is my all-time favorite. Trying to catch this very alive  person- via pencil-  was a challenge.

Her nose especially caused me some trouble. But I had to include her in a character sketchbook. I couldn't still call myself a fan if I didn't try!

The Sketchbook Project

For Christmas, my mother and father gave me a lovely gift. The gift of encouragement. This particular form of encouragement came in the form of a project.

The Sketchbook Project- Limited Edition, is a project sponsored by Art House Co-op. Anyone who was of the mind to sign up could chose a theme and apply for a sketchbook. Then Art House Co-op sent a blank one back to you. We were instructed to fill it up and send it back by April 30th. My sketchbook, and every other sketchbook, will be on display at the Brooklyn Art Museum beginning July of 2012. At least one entry from each will be published in a hardcover book.

It is an inspiring idea, and about time that I spoke of it on Magical Simplicity. Sketching has turned out to be a favorite pastime of mine. Truly magical to create something from a blank page.

Anyway my theme is "character sketchbook." If you're interested in sharing my journey- I shall be posting some of them here.
Cheers!

Happy Friday.

An image from ohjoy,blogs.com.

Happy Friday, friends.

Spring has colored the trees around Oxford with bright pinks, white and yellows. But, like all magic, it only lasts for a moment. I find evidence of floating petals all over my car. Spring is in the air, and those blossoms are paving the way for new life around the world.

So, darlings, happy weekend! I hope that your mood matches the beauty that surrounds us.

Happy, Happy, Happy

Happy, happy, HAPPY first day of Spring!  This is surely the most magical time of the year!

Sunshine smiles.

I cannot deny this post any longer. It is BEAUTIFUL in Cincinnati, Ohio.  It has been beautiful for two weeks. The sun has been shining. The temperature tops off at about 72 every day. The flowers are blooming, the trees are blossoming, the animals have returned in force. The students are outside, the sandals have come out of the closet, and EVERYONE is smiling.

Sunshine is the world's most magical simplicity. And I am so incredibly happy that it has arrived so soon. Sunshine, smiles and simplicity darlings. Happy spring!

Luck of the Irish

I am an Irish girl- through and through. For my entire life I have believed in leprechauns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. Our household leprechaun is a tricky little devil. Every St. Patrick's day he darts around the house turning our milk green. It's magical. I wish you all the best St. Patrick's day tomorrow- its a holiday for the fair/quickly sunburned, curly haired, dancing Irish all around. Let the celebrations begin!

full moons & sun storms.

They say that the full moon inspires dreamlike events. We know that high tide and low tide can be attributed to the moon.
We know that warewolves come out for the full moon. We sometimes blame bad behavior on the moon's affect on humans.
But today- March 8, 2012- the full moon falls in line with another major event: a solar storm. I don't think there can be any more magical natural event than that.

Born a Butler.

We got wood floors in the upstairs bedrooms. So when I came home for spring break- the daunting task at hand was to deep clean my new bedroom. I found lots of neat stuff: my highschool box consisted of yearbooks, a senior address, a beanie (you mustve gone to Saint Ursula if you know what that is), and AP flash cards. My old planners were lodged into a box of long sleeve tshirts (I knew I had more of those!) I have reintroduced old purses into my wardrobe and found a lot of spare change. Then (and I have no idea where this came from) I found a box of pictures- which lead me to these. Now I know many of you had great childhoods- but I argue that mine was one of the best. I had four best friends born into my family. We held american girl doll derby races on the neighbor's driveway. My mother taught us cartwheels in the front yard. We caught fireflies in the back. My friend Allison and I found a REAL LIFE DINOSAUR EGG (they didn't have the heart to tell us it was a rock). My dad took off our training wheels in the magic circle (magic because it didn't hurt when you fell- I stopped believing this when the circle claimed my two front teeth). Once a year we visited my grandparents in SC- we tubed, knee boarded and front flipped off the boat (not even stopping when you hit your head on the side). It was perfect.

Sometimes I forget how very luck I am to have been born a Butler.

Celebrating Seuss

Happy birthday!!

Today we celebrate a wise man's 108th birthday. Dr. Seuss you brought to our childhood a wacky, eccentric, perfect world where cats wore hats and fish could speak. But- more importantly you brought to us wise words. Words of love, encouragement, self confidence and happiness. Words that still speak to us today.

1. You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
2. Today you are you, that is truer than true, there is no one alive who is youer than you.
3. Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
4. You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose.

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss. May your words live on for eternity. 

Happy Tweets

It seems that today was a good day for everyone. I was tied to Twitter like a newbie as my followers and friends shared the most happy tweets. Below are just a few that brightened my day- and I think may brighten yours.

1. Cute alert: Tim Tebow takes little girl with tumor condition on date fit for a princess
2. Happy national pancake day everyone! 
3. If you have a need to wear sunglasses, just face it, your day is going awesome
4. How rare and wonderful is that flash of a moment when we realize we have discovered a friend.-William E Rothschild
5. High on life
6. This day is so nice. I wanna go on a picnic with someone

Love those happy tweets. What a magical, magical day.

Masked Mardi Gras

As the sun rises on this 21st day of February, we have quite the reason to celebrate.
TODAY is Mardi Gras. A day of excess and cheer. We get a free pass on food, there are drinks all around, diets go out the window, and a mask hides our true identity. At least that's what I hear (:
My celebration consists of cupcakes for breakfast and cookies every hour. (I'm taking that free pass on food very seriously.) There are no drinks on a school night; and my only mask is what you see here. But even in Oxford- Mardi Gras is an utterly magical day. Let the celebrations begin!

Thursday blues

Thank you, Pinterest!

I had a case of the Thursday blues. I write between two morning tests and an afternoon presentation. The sun is hiding. And everything seems a little blue.
But then I remember: my favorite color is blue. My eyes are blue. A Tiffany's box is blue. A butterfly is blue. The sky is blue. The water is blue. The center of a rainbow is blue. How could I forget?! I love the blues! Who wants a cure to the Thursday blues when blue is so perfectly beautiful!

Big on buttons.

Well, yes. Magical Simplicity got another makeover. THIS one is going to be around for a while. My favorite part of the makeover is the new buttons. On the right hand side, as you note- I am sure, are three HUGE buttons. One for facebook, one for twitter, and one for pinterest. These buttons are definitely over-sized when compared to a normal blog site, and that is on purpose.

Though Magical Simplicity is based here, at blogger, each of these social media sites offers a very unique and very important aspect to the overall idea. Magical Simplicity would not be what it is without them. SO, their importance is displayed in their size. At Magical Simplicity, we are big on buttons! Enjoy and explore the world of life's simple magic.