Rear Window

I took this view this afternoon from my childhood bedroom window.  This is my parents' backyard covering in several inches of snow.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Jones Family!

Ballet

There are so many wonderful things happening in this photo! 1. My favorite ballet teacher EVER, Clarence is teaching this class 2. This is the main studio at Steeple Arts which is housed in an old church (built 1912) and has been a studio for 60 years or so now 3. This is where I took ballet during 4th, 5th and 6th grade. 4. This is where my Aunt Kathy took ballet as well and her photos are still on the wall 5. All of my favorite students from Birmingham Ballet are in this photo and I miss them all so much 6. One of my favorite dancers and people in all the world Natalie is in this photo...you can not miss her...she's wearing HOT PINK as only Natalie can! 7. This is just a classic ballet photo and there are so many special things about it...what's not to love?!?! =)

No Vacancy

Just an interesting sign outside the tavern in Jeffersonville.

Serenity

I really liked the shadows over the snow and the rocks exposed out of the white and the trees contrasting against it all on the way to the studio today. There's something a little poignant about it all. This was the only title I found appropriate.

Looking though

When I go into the city, I drive to Peekskill and take the train in from there. Its a small town along the Hudson River. On the river, there is a sculpture of what looks like a rusty dome with white pipes coming out of it. One day, before getting on the train I decided to walk down and see what this sculpture is. I was able to walk inside the dome where I discovered the white pipes are actually all different kaleidoscopes. This view is looking through one of them.

Dream

What are your dreams and what will it take to accomplish them? Just a thought on everyone's mind I know lately and luckily I had a picture to coordinate with the sentiment!

Cookie monsters

Tonight was the Cobalt Studios annual Christmas cookie party. Don't worry, its not as much like Faux Thanksgiving. Here is the table before the guests arrived and brought their cookies to add to the pile.

The Laugh

This is what its all about! My friend Mark (seen here howling - as he always does...I feel like everyone in the world should meet Mark and laugh with him...it will change you) and my friend Natalie have both had tough times this past fall...but here we are...laughing our backsides off anyway! These are two of the most petite, delightful humans in the world and I am honored to have had the joy of dancing with both of them before! (sorry about the poor pixel quality but this was an Iphone shot and we will just have to make do...but the spirit of these two is all over the place) I promise better photo next time! =)

True Colors

Of the Season!

I love all of these colors and I thought this would be a fun view today! The title comes from my obsession with GLEE and their version of "True Colors" that recently aired! Hope you are all seeing and believing in the True Colors of the Season.

Now THAT'S a Christmas tree!

Went to the city today and stopped by Rockefeller Center for only one reason.

Woody

If you haven't noticed, the Cobalt house is full of random stuff. Sitting on the floor of the great room is a piece of wood, possibly found outside in this state. Its position on the floor under a lamp helps accent its many changes in terrain. I thought it made an interesting picture.

Christmas Mode

If shopping in NYC does not get you in the mood for Christmas I don't know what will! Taken right before Thanksgiving and oddly enough I have seen this same photo (taken by others) on some of my favorite fashion blogs lately...guess noone can resist the Bergdorf Goodman Windows and a shinny star hanging over the bright lights of a NYC street! Happy Holidays...I am ready!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I understand how some people feel about Christmas trees. I can't blame them. I think they should be full and large and full of life and cheer. But I still find this funny in its own wonderful way.

My friends enjoy a little bit of irony. I can't blame them, its needed sometimes. I enjoy a little bit of irony sometimes too. While I was in Illinois, my friends in the house decided they wanted a Christmas tree and chose to make it a "Charlie Brown tree." Amy ventured into the woods on our own property and returned with this young spruce. You can't see it too well, but the angel at the top of the tree is causing its crowning branch to comically bend over.

Whatever is going on in your life, remember to find something that makes you smile, even if its the most ridiculous thing you can find.

Differences

Apparently today is all about SNOW on 2views2day...which brings me to the name of my post..differences! Seems to me that people up North and in the Mountains in the West feel like snow is an annoyance! Where as people in the South (where it is very rare) jump for joy, build snowmen, cancel work and school and generally go crazy for snow! Here is the first snow I have ever seen in Alabama in December in my lifetime. While it was not much and did not really stick to the ground...it sure did make this...and many a Southerner happy that day! This is the view from my bedroom window when I woke up Saturday morning! Beautiful!

Six inches

It snowed overnight. We got six inches on the ground and its still here. Snowball fights are inevitable.

Happy Pills

I still have them. Just in case.

Home

This is the house on Main Street where I grew up in Clinton, Illinois. My parents bought the house in 1974 and still live there.

Artifacts

While my dad was cleaning out my grandma's house recently, he cam across this shoe horn. It reads:

United Sample Shoe Co.

2nd Floor Empire Building

Birmingham, Alabama

Peek a Boo

So many magical weird things happening here! Fantasy and fashion at its best! Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Windows!

Illinois: Day 1

This is University Hall at Lincoln College, where I attended for two years. I stopped by the college today after not having seen it in a few years. Not a whole lot has changed.

Stopping through Chicago

I'm back in my hometown of Clinton, IL for the week for my sisters wedding, which is on Saturday. I flew into Chicago and then took the train to Bloomington-Normal where I met my parents. I had a little time in Chicago, so I went to the Richard J. Daley Plaza. Here is Picasso's famed centerpiece of the plaza peeking its head out from around the Christmas tree.

Its after thanksgiving.

Now that its after Thanksgiving and we're now in December, I don't feel guilty about posting this. During redecoration day with Nancy, we got a small Christmas tree to go in my room. The tree is about 18 inches tall and the ornaments are proportional.