Post-It Notes...

... make me happy. Especially these, which I think are hi-larious. You can find them all (and more) through KnockKnock. Some of their stuff is kind of cranky, but the ones pictured below make me laugh.
Can't you just picture yourself checking the boxes and happily slapping one of these on someone's computer monitor?
I especially love the little 'P.S.'-type check boxes in the lower right-hand corners.

Color (Hue) Test

Jessica at How About Orange linked to this fun color quiz. And since I blabbered so much about how I love color, I thought I would see how I did. Not too bad! I only missed seven.

World Art Presents: Norman Lewis, Frank Stella, and Barnett Newman

I recently purchased "World Art: The Essential Illustrated Edition" from the Borders Bargain shelf for ~$10. And I love it. It's not as thorough as the book Amy gave me (1,000 Years of Painting), and I wish it were formatted a little better, but overall I really like it.


What's more, it opened my eyes to a lot of artists I've never heard of whose art I love. Mostly Abstract, Abstract Expressionist and Minimalist painters. (Big shock, I know.) (Ooh, and I just discovered this while I was looking for the previous links. Wow. Watch out!! This is a gold mine of discovery.)

I've discovered that color truly moves me. It speaks to me really deeply. I know that sounds all artsy and wierd, but I can't explain how profoundly I was impacted when I saw some of the works pictured below. They almost made my heart ache and left me breathless...but in that really good, "Wow, this is so beautiful it makes me want to cry" kind of way. (Don't be afraid. I'm not actually losing my mind.)
So, here are a few works of some of the painters this bargain book introduced to me.

Norman Lewis

Frank Stella

Barnett Newman

Aren't these incredible?

I recognize that my tastes may differ greatly from yours, but I hope you enjoyed this little snippet of the things I've been discovering of late.

I've still got a list of artists whose vignettes I enjoyed in the book that I am still learning about. More to come!

Tagged by Miss Yessica

Got Tagged by Jessica (at work, not my roomie/cousin).

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes, I do.2. Do you own a gun? Heck no.3. Wax or Shave your body parts? Both.
4. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends on the doc.
5. Real or fake nails? Real.
6. Favorite Christmas song? O, Come All Ye Faithful and O Holy Night
7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? The milk from my cereal.
8. Can you do pushups? Yes, but not very many.
9. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Seriously?? I have no idea how to choose... I have almost 100 pairs of earrings!! It's probably a toss-up between the earrings Happy bought me in July and the red coral earrings I bought in Berlin last May. But I love my glass cocktail ring from Florence, too.
10. Favorite hobby? Painting, photography.
11. Do you have A.D.D.? Sometimes I feel like I really, really do.
12. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? I'm a perfectionist/procrastinator. I'm pretty sure this runs in the family.
13. Middle Name? None.
14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I wonder how much of the extended family are perfectionist/procrastinators... Why didn't my parents give me a middle name (not that I really want one, just wondering their reasons, if any)... I need a new pair of black pants.
15. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Dr. Pepper (as of a few days ago), water (as of a few weeks ago), and juice mixed with sparkling water (since last summer in Germany).
16. Current worry right now? Selling my house.
17. Current hate right now? Selling my house.
18. Favorite place to be? In nature by myself or with someone who doesn't feel the need to talk, because they recognize the difference between quiet meditation and awkward silence.
19. How did you bring in the New Year? I don't remember... how sad. If I was with you, please don't be offended.
20. Like to go? To my new water aerobics class.
21. Hate to go? To the gas station. So depressing.
22. Do you own slippers? No. I threw my only pair away a couple of weeks ago.
23. What color shirt are you wearing? Red.24. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I haven't ever, but it would probably be nice.25. Can you whistle? Sure can.
26. Favorite color? Red or blue.
27. Would you be a pirate? Only if I got to have super short hair, really big earrings, and maintain excellent oral hygeine.
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? I usually don't sing or listen to music while I'm in the shower. It's a very relaxing time for me.
29. Favorite girl's name? I like less common but not crazy-out-there names for girls and boys. And names that can be easily shortened so they don't have really awkward nicknames.
30. Favorite boy's name? see #29
31. What's in your pocket right now? I'm wearing a skirt, so no pockets.
32. Last thing that made you laugh? An e-mail from my coworker with recordings of her former coworkers' out-of-office voice mail messages. Should I be worried???
33. Best bed sheets as a kid? I don't know... they were sheets.
34. Worst injury you've ever had? I've been pretty lucky and haven't had too much. I sprained the bones in the top of my foot during a soccer game once and had to be on crutches for a couple of weeks. That's the worst I can think of.
35. Do you love where you live? Hmmm. Yes, but not enough to stay there.
36. How many TV's do you have in your house? One.
37. Who is your loudest friend? Probably my friend Gena. She has the best laugh, and her voice can carry really far.
38. How many pets do you have? None. Thank heavens.
39. Does someone have a crush on you? Of course! Who wouldn't? :)
40. What is your favorite book? Anthem by Ayn Rand
41. What is your favorite lolly? I don't really eat suckers...
42. Favorite Sports Team? BYU Cougars, of course!!
43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping... ahhhhhh...44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? "You know, self, you should really keep your blackout curtains open. The slow brightening of the morning sky when you do that helps you to be more alert when your alarm goes off." - that's the gist of it.
45. Worst habit? Watching too much t.v.
46. Do you play an instrument? Nope. Wish I did, though. I would love to play the piano, viola or cello, and the guitar.
47. How long does it take you to get to work? Three to five minutes depending on the lights.
48. Plans for the weekend? Singles activity (barn dance, ew), Organ Loft, Bridal Veil Film Fest, General RS Meeting
49. If you could eat anything in the world right this second, what would it be? A huge plate of fresh mango, raspberries, and nectarines.

I Love Rugby -- who knew??

A friend of mine (who was also one of my mission companions) invited me to her rugby match this morning. She plays for BYU, and they played UVU this morning in Orem.

What a fascinating game! It's more interesting than football to me (though I still love football) because it doesn't stop as often, and it seems like there are fewer rules. There is no padding, no helmets, and you can pull people to the ground by their jerseys. The downside? One girl broke her nose today, and another was carried out on a stretcher with a potentially serious neck injury.



Yikes.

Still, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing another game.

Kandinsky

Amy introduced me to the art of Wassily Kandinsky, and one of his paintings has become an all-time favorite of mine.

Farbstudie Quadrate

(The colors are usually brighter than depicted here... more like the one below)
I also like this one, simply entitled Farbstudie.
Some people might find these to be too bold, too visually chaotic to hang in their own homes, but I wouldn't think twice about putting this up in my house (just not in my bedroom, which I prefer to keep more calm and monochromatic-ish) (I know that's not a word. Oh, well).

What do you think? What are your favorite paintings/artists? What kind of art do you put up in your house?

Friday Faves - Museums

I'm starting an ongoing series of randomness on my blog. Each Friday I am going to post about my favorite things in a particular category. The categories are totally random. If you want to know about my favorite _________ (fill in whatever your heart desires), let me know and I'll put it on my list of 'Faves' to post about. I would also love to see comments below with your favorites on that day's topic.
The inaugural Friday Faves is all about my favorite museums. Definitely a difficult decision, but here are those that are, in my opinion, the crème de la crème.

1. The Musée d'Orsay in Paris. LOVE it. Impressionism, photography, furniture, sculpture... it's just amazing. It's converted from an old train station, so the building itself it really beautiful as well. Bonus: it's not so huge that you can't ever get through it. It's completely doable.

2. The Bode Museum in Berlin. I just remember it being so full of light, and the way they displayed their pieces was just breathtaking--the different works of art seemed to interact with each other in a way that doesn't happen in other museums. (This is actually one of the things they are known for, and was apparently quite the revolutionary way of displaying art when they did it.)

3. The Borghese Gallery and Museum in Rome. They had really beautiful works displayed and the grounds were really nice. However, there is a 2-hour time limit (not enough), and it isn't extremely large as far as buildings go, so it did feel a bit crowded when people stopped for too long to look at something (and touch it!!! I about slapped these teenagers that were looking at a statue at the same time as my family, and they just reached out and rubbed it like it was a good luck charm. Seriously, people. Have some respect--if not for the art itself, then for the fact that it's someone else's property.).

Runners-up:

The Pergamon in Berlin. I LOVE the Ishtar gate. What incredible color.

The Louvre in Paris. Enormous and exhausting, yes... but truly worth it (time and again). Maybe if I ever move there I'll get to see the entire thing once and for all.

The Egyptian Museum of Berlin. GREAT pieces here. I was just too exhausted to linger...

Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Wish we would have had more time there.

National Gallery in London. Probably rivals the Borghese for the number three spot, to be honest.