All day today... I kept thinking it was Sunday. Partly because my hubby is on vacation... and so it still feels like the weekend to me... and partly because we chose to do things today that are normally Sunday type of activities for us.

For lunch... we went to Winning Coffee Co... which is one of my favorite places to go. We got a most excellent Peruvian coffee, as well as Quiche for me and a beef and green chile sandwich for him. Bradley... of Bradley's Books was there... and we had a great time perusing his vast selection of books while we sipped our coffee (and got a couple great books!).

Afterwards... we headed up to Barnes and Noble where we spent several hours enjoying a small mocha... and looking at a huge selection of books and magazines. I love to go and get ideas for artwork... crafts... all kinds of projects. One of the artists whose work I came upon is Takato Yamamoto... and a portion of one of his art pieces is shown below...fabulous stuff...

For my photo for the day project today, I chose to alter a Polaroid shot of the gates to Old Towne here in Albuquerque. I altered the color slightly, and tried to give it sort of a glowing effect. I wanted the photo to feel as magical as the place... (shown below)

And tonight I am finishing up an art piece to mail out to a New York City gallery tomorrow. I have printed off one of my square format photos, and used a transfer technique to mount it to a small 6x6 inch framed canvas. I have painted the sides, and plan to speckle the print slightly with paint for a cohesive, yet rustic look.

I love days like this.... photography... art... books... good food... good coffee... good company... and inspiration!

*photos by Elaine A. Russell