Can't Kill This One

Not to make excuses (well, not a TON of them at least), but I'm gone a lot.  When I'm out of town for work or other adventures, it's hard to remember that I need to get back at some point soon and take care of living things that are in my home.  Guess I'll wait on getting the dog I've been dreaming of a while now....

On a separate note, in my dining area, I have a 20' high x 12' wide wall, which is so large, if I had any sort of hanging art work on it, the wall would literally swallow it up.  Also, at the very bottom of the wall, I had a few stains from a mishap with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (they don't mention on the packaging that you're not supposed to use it on flat paint.  Had to find that out via a google search of "why are my walls now darker than usual in the spots I just supposedly cleaned with this freaking product!?").

So I needed to find something that would cover up said stains, plus add a little bit of artistic flare to an otherwise boring, but functional wall.  I went on a craiglist hunt and found a link to April James, a local artist, who does faux finishes and murals, among other things.  Upon deeper investigation, her blog has links to other local bloggers that I read myself.  The connection seemed to be a match waiting to happen!  So, after a few email exchanges and a free in-home consultation, April came over and created a piece of artwork that fit perfectly on my entire wall.  Plus, she gave me the one tree that I simply can't kill!

And now, for the photo shoot: