Happy Birthday Mom! Today is my mom's birthday and since she's a loyal reader of this blog, I thought it would be fitting to do a little tribute to her here. I'd appreciate it if you left a comment wishing her happy birthday too.
My mom is a fellow "thriftaholic"-- my father was the one who infected us with the antiquing bug but my mom quickly matched his enthusiasm for scouring garage sales, antique malls and thrift stores for items to add to her collections. She used to collect Barbie dolls, angels and Hallmark ornaments. Now she looks for owls, clothing (to wear) and dishware. Her biggest passion is her vintage salt and pepper collection, she has over 300 sets (all miraculously displayed in my parents' kitchen) and has been collecting them for over 15 years. Whenever I visit my parents in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas she is always up for a vintage adventure and we will happily hit all the thrift stores in the county over the course of my stay. She also takes blog photos for me, including the train yard and Lincoln Park Zoo shoots.
I often think of my mom as the Filipino Martha Stewart, by day she's a nurse but in her free time she devotes her time to all things crafty. She's a talented seamstress and can make me a dress just based on a photo of a garment that I desire. Her gift wrapping skills are legendary, her crochet projects used to wear blue ribbons at the Maui State Fair and she also can arrange flowers and create centerpieces out of cut fruit. She also cooks-- her signature dishes are a multi-layered "rainbow" jello dish she brings to holiday parties and Filipino fare like handrolled lumpia (meat-filled eggrolls). Whereas I tend to be a creature of clutter, she is super tidy and organized and has an eye for interior design. In a lot of ways we're opposites but I'm happy she's skilled in areas that I'm not; for example I can always count on her to alter and fix my vintage dresses as I'm terrible at sewing.
I've been lucky that my mom has always encouraged me in my various creative and scholastic endeavors -- her motto has always been "To Live Life Without Regrets." It's definitely something I strive to do in my own life and some day I hope to become as strong of a person as her.Three of these photos are from our May trip to the Philippines (her homeland) and the last photo is from my MFA show opening last year. Unfortunately I don't have any nifty vintage photos of her at the moment as they are at my parents' house and need to be scanned.
Happy Birthday Mom and thank you for always supporting and believing in me! I wouldn't be the person I am today without you.