Spring Comes to Birmingham

Here's a photo of the design I painted on our living room wall. I'm still planning on doing a smaller-scale bit of painting in some other parts of the room, but that may not happen any time soon. I'm really pleased with the way this came out. I just drew it free-hand on the wall and filled it in with glossy interior paint.

The splash page I designed for Cigar Box is up while we're working on the site. At the time I didn't know why I was spending so much time on it, but I'm glad I did. It looks pretty sweet, I think. And speaking of websites, Charlie and Evan are brainstorming on PR and promotions for their site launch. I'm so excited. My friend from college Bradley moved to Birmingham this week (hooray!) and I was talking to him last night about my feelings and thoughts on Birmingham. I really enjoy being involved in things here. I think this city has a lot of potential, and is definitely in need of revitalization. It seems feasible, so I'm glad to see young people making things happen here.

Something I'd really like for Birmingham in the next couple of years is the development of an artists' and crafters' community. I want to know what the young designers of the area are creating, and maybe even attend a couple of trunk shows. I find myself feeling a little jealous of communities like Portland and Savannah in that regard. It would also be awesome to have some community gardens, especially downtown. I see a lot of kitchen gardens in Southside, which is totally awesome, but what about folks who live in lofts in the business district? That area could use some greening, in my opinion. I saw a great book on community gardens of SF when we were at City Lights bookstore, but I couldn't think of anyone who'd really appreciate it, so I passed. Please someone become my gardening guru.

On a consumer note, I think we could use more places along the lines of Continental Bakery and Urban Standard. As much as I love them, those spots are a little pricey for my tastes. I would be eternally thankful if I could get up on a Sat. and go to a sweet, cheap(ish) little breakfast place for coffee and a bagel with tomato and cream cheese, or egg and bacon. Really I'm just imagining a Birmingham that's a little more like Portland, Maine, a city that I love, but which has move-preventative winter weather.

Spring is finally here which always puts me in an optimistic mood. I'm finally doing all of the studying for French that I should have been on top of all along. I've got tons more pillows in the works, having thrifted some great sweaters for the purpose. Every time I cross something off my to do list, I feel a massive sense of satisfaction. That's been happening a lot lately. Tonight, for example, I finally compiled and edited an address book with all the info I've got from gmail, my phone, and facebook, so everything is in one place. That one's been on my list forever.

Also in typical Spring fashion, change is afoot. I got a sweet new rocker-ish haircut that I'm enjoying. I'm wearing dresses and sporting a variety of cute jackets instead of the same old peacoat every day. Several friends are looking for new or different living arrangements, (including Devon, so there may soon be another open spot at the Rowe School.) Maybe it's because winter puts me in such a bad mood, but Spring is a really exciting season. As of last week, we've been living here a year, and I think I might be even more psyched to be here now than when we first arrived.