In These Shoes

“Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.”
―Oprah Winfrey

Canvas of Possibilities

For the longest time I thought I would never get this palette full of paint again. When I started painting as a teenager it was a dark time in my life. As much as it was a saving release for me as a teen, as I got older it was a reminder of a time I'd rather put behind. I picked up my camera and put my brush behind.

Lately I've been shedding a lot of layers and that core is starting to shine again. I'm seeing things in a different light. They say time heals but for me it's wisdom that has helped the most. That and determination. I keep dreaming of setting up my easel in a field and just letting that brush stoke every color within. I thinks it's time to come back to my home away from home. I'm ready to get my palette dirty again and stare at a blank canvas of possibilities.

It's allll about the love! and the story about why I have so many rabbits!

More love please!! If you follow me on instagram then you've seen this image before. Meet my girl Moona. Can you tell I'm obsessed with my animals yet?!?

I  realized I never told the story about my rabbits on here. Or did I? I have such a bad memory.

It's been about a year since we've had them now. One crisp fall afternoon last year Anthony was heading out to practice with a friend. I was in the mood for taking pictures so I went along with him because I knew there was a scenic area around where he was going. When we arrived I got out and started walking toward the outdoor area and saw these rabbits hopping around. I was like woaah, so cute! I noticed the rabbits were white and different variations of tan and realized these were not wild rabbits! As I walked closer, I saw a white rabbit on it's side dead near a tree. Then I noticed the large cage with the door wide open close by. Someone had abandoned them there :((((

I got extremely sad and I even shed a tear or two for the dead bunny (I'm a huge baby when it comes to animals). After I figured out what happened I decided we had to save them. I went to get Anthony and he along with the lady he was practicing with and her neighbor got together to find and catch them. We ended up taking three rabbits home in our car that day. The neighbor reported the fourth rabbit and animal control found her the next day. We went to get her for fear of animal control putting her to rest (little Moona pictured above, glad we went back for her!).

We originally only planned to keep one, Brownie, because when we found him he was sitting next to a tree all ready to give up. He was limping and looked really sad. When Anthony caught him and gave him to me, he snuggled right into me so sweetly and I fell in love with him and knew he was coming home with me. After that I knew this all happened for a reason. 

 (Brownie and Moona. These two bonded quickly and as you can see are attached by the hip to each other, which is why we ended up keeping two)

We got in touch with an animal shelter to find a home for the rest and when we got there they told us they would probably have to kill them because they had mites. They didn't want to risk spreading it to the other animals which we understood. We had just saved them so there was no way we were saving them only for them to die anyways! The shelter gave them shots for the mites and they eventually went away within a week or so (don't worry mites do not spread to humans-we were not in any harm). A friend referred us to an organization called house rabbit network (they are a no kill organization) where they take in rabbits, treat them, and find them foster homes until they get adopted. We got in touch with a lady named Allyson who helped us sooooo much. She bought us food and supplies for them (SO SWEET). We still keep in touch with her! We ended up fostering all four rabbits, two we eventually adopted ourselves and the other two we fostered. Azlan (below) got adopted a few months ago. He was the baby of the bunch and such a funny guy. We miss him!

Little Bobo is still searching for his forever home! People get scared of him at first because he has red eyes but once they see how cute his personality is they love him just as much as we do. This guy is sooo adorable, soo sweet and really smart. Our birds seem to have really taken to him too. They will always sit next to him and sing for hours, especially Pep. If we had room and were more financially stable I think we would keep him too. We have SO much love for him, it's going to be hard to let him go. Love his little brown paws!

So that's why I have so many rabbits...

Stripes

Some wear their stripes heavy on their hearts and others just put them behind and call it a day. 

Turquoise Summer

I have been basically living in this maxi dress and lightweight cotton top all summer. It keeps me cool and breezy and it's soo comfy. The necklace I put together with a pendant I found at my local craft store. I painted the center with my turquoise nail polish! I love the ornate details in it. I'm not big on the evil eye/hand protection theories but I love the symbol of the hand.

Scarves: My favorite Souvenirs

 

I'm not a typical tourist in the sense that I don't care much to bring home those key chains and magnets. Not that there is anything wrong with doing that, I just never gravitated towards them. When I thought about what I brought back with me from my travels, I realized I brought home a whole bunch of scarves! I love scarves! Not just because I wear them on my head but because they are beautiful pieces of fabric with so much personality. I love the bold colors, patterns, and designs. So here is a collection of scarves I brought home from my travels, modeled on my head!

She's got the whole world in her eyes

Thinking of the state of the world today. It's hard not to feel an overwhelming sadness about this planet and it's people.

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Albert Einstein

Feeling like I need to do more to help. I definately want to make this year more proactive in terms of community work and helping those less fortunate. Even more important though cleansing my heart of negative emotions, forgiving more, and creating a more positive world for my children to grow up in.

This photos was inspired by earth day and the project life theme #eyes. Happy earth day!

Moon by day

Today, I am a flower.

"Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul."
Edvard Munch

Today, I am a flower :)

Green

One of my favorite colors! I went out and took a picture in a green scarf, turban style. I feel like a floating head with the black turtle neck but oh well! Green floating head it is!