Jewelry Shop: Norman Rockwell

Showing posts with label Norman Rockwell. Show all posts

Flag Day

Today is Flag Day

Do you even know what that means?

On June 14, 1777 Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14.

Flag Day was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949.

You can read about Flag Day here.

This is my favorite picture with our flag.

What is yours? (post the link in the comment to share with everyone!)

Mending the Flag by Norman Rockwell

It's snowing..I hate snow. It's pretty at first, but once the salt trucks come around it's ugly, dirty and depressing. Snow gets in the way of plans, no one wants to drive or go to the mall. And when I have every minute of the week scheduled, it throws a lot of things off! I honestly can't remember the last time I built a snowman and even then I'm sure I didn't last long! Coming in for hot chocolate is always the best part of that! I want to learn to ice skate and snowboard. Someday maybe I will!

Grandfather and Snowman

The only exception for snow is Christmas. I think every Christmas should be white. It adds to the excitement and cheer. This Christmas is going to be extra special. Santa will be bringing me Danny on Christmas Eve. It's possible this will be the best Christmas ever!

A Joke

What activity have I taken up over the past two days?

JOGGING.

I know, I know..don't die of laughter please. My mother almost did! I'm just thanking God I don't actually know anyone in this town.

I'm not saying I'm fat but I'm nowhere near what I was when I first moved to North Carolina. And I really don't want to buy a new wardrobe (ok, thats a lie...I always want new clothes!)

Anyway...here's to a new routine. Hopefully I can keep it up!

The Muscleman (1941)

Veterans Day

Imagine my surprise when my Google homepage had a Norman Rockwell inspired painting as the header.

Norman Rockwell had a way of honoring our military that other artists could not capture. He was able to capture the "real America" as simple and complex as She is.

Here are a few of my favorites. In order they are The American Way, Willie Gillis at the USO, and Soldier Reunited with Family

Thank you to all of our Veterans, our fallen heroes and all of our military. Thank you for your courage for doing what others can't or won't do, because of you America is still the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you to all of our heroes.

Til The Boys Come Home

A phone call should never start with “are you sitting down?” Unless, of course, you actually have good news to tell. The first time Danny said that to me, he was calling to tell me he was going to Cherry Point. I was ESTATIC. The second time he said it, he was calling to tell me his future home at Cherry Point will probably be deployed in the spring.

SPRING? March is a spring month! More importantly, March 21st is the first day of spring…and the day we are supposed to be married! Granted, April, May AND June are also spring months. But OF COURSE my mind jumped right to that day. I’ll be honest. I cried. A LOT. What started off as me “being ok,” lead to me (once again) leaning on Katie for support. What started off as a friendship through our blogs has lead to a real friendship, one that I can’t imagine my life without.

What makes our Marines so strong? I don’t think it’s their training. It’s the women that stand behind them. While I, of course, would be a complete mess when Danny deploys…I am a strong enough woman to be able to survive it…just like so many other women have. I am PROUD to say I am a Marine’s fiancé and best friend. I am so unbelievably proud of all the girls who have survived deployments. And “Til the Boys Come Home” I will continue to be proud of each and everyone of them.

New Idea!

I have decided to start a weekly blogging series. I haven’t thought of a witty name, I just know I’m looking forward to writing it!

One of my favorite artists is Norman Rockwell. Every single one of Norman’s paintings speaks to me. But first, some background information!

Norman Rockwell was born in New York City in February of 1894. During the First World War, he tried enlisting in the U.S. Navy, but was refused because he was eight pounds underweight. To make up the difference, he spent one night eating donuts and bananas, and tried again the next day. Norman was given the job of Military Artist. During this time he was discovered by the Saturday Evening Post (he went onto complete 321 covers for them!) During World War Two, he painted The Four Freedoms.

His connection to the military is not why I want to write about him here. His paintings tend to be idealistic and sentimental, which I feel is a great way to view the world. You can almost feel what the characters are feeling, from joy and love to fear and hatred. So many of his paintings explain how I am feeling, without using a single word. Like music and poems, paintings are another way to express yourself.

My goal for this series is to pick a single Norman Rockwell painting every week (or hell, whenever I want!), one that explains how I am thinking and feeling. For now, here's Norman's Triple Self-Portrait. Look closely, can you tell who he's drawing inspiration from? I also love that he's painting himself differently than the way he looks, something that most people do when they look in the mirror themselves!

Fall Always Makes Me Think.

There is something about fall that makes me think a lot. Today I drove out to The Berkshires with Mom to go to the Norman Rockwell museum, and the whole way out I was thinking. This past year has been crazy. I decided to move 800 miles from home, took a crazy trip to Jamaica with my sister, took another amazing roadtrip with the girls to Myrtle Beach,discovered that some people don't deserve my friendship, and (most importantly) fell in love with an amazing man. I found that most of my thoughts revolved around him and our future together. Our relationship is new to me on so many levels. Planning is my strong point and it is driving me nuts that I don't even know where I'll be living come January. What I do know is that I promised him I would go anywhere with him for the next four years.

The museum was great. All forms of art make me cry...opening scenes of musicals always bring a tear to my eye. But this was the first time that paintings have done it. I purchased my favorite print...I can't wait until we have our own place to hang it up!

Today I flipped through a few wedding magazines with Ashley and Lindsey. I want such a basic wedding. I want to marry Danny soon...but I am going to plan for a spring wedding. But my only question is...how the hell do you plans wedding when you don't even know if he can get leave then?!