Moustache Nubbin Visits the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

My husband had the week off, so today we went to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.
I learned that there is a difference between an art museum and an art gallery... a gallery only buys art from living artists. As I understand it, the Albright Knox started as a museum, but is now a gallery.  I also found out that this gallery was built in 1905...before Canada was recognized as a country!

I brought a Moustache Nubbin along to take pictures with the art (Flat-Stanley style!). I had originally thought about bringing Hal, but I wanted something that could easily fit in my purse and not make me look like a crazy lady carrying around a stuffed animal. Nubbins are less conspicuous than sweater monsters.

This large sculpture in front of the gallery is made from canoes!

My husband suggested that I title this photo "Everyone Wants A Nubbin"!

Yup...that's a Picasso back there!

...And a Mondrian!...

...And a Matisse!
The artist/art teacher in me is flailing a bit. I've taught children about these artists and seen their work in books and online, but I got to see some in person!

Mayday Underground (Spring 2015)

New Monster Monday: Rainbow Cyclops

Rainbow sweaters have been hard for me to come by lately.  I particularly love how bright the colors are in this one! It's perfect for spring!

Good Friday...

A blessed Good Friday to you.

One of the church kids made this and gave it to me last Sunday (Palm Sunday).  It's a cross made from a palm leaf.

(Warning...I'm going to get all "Christian-y" here. If you read my blog just for the fun monsters, that's fine. If "religion" freaks you out, you can skip this if you want. But this is a big part of who I am and I'm not going to hide it.)

I'm trying to be mindful of what today means.  "Good Friday".  When I was little, growing up in a Christian household, I always wondered why it was called "Good" Friday. It was the day Jesus died, so wasn't that bad? But as I grew up I understood more of why it was good. 

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—

though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

(Romans 5:6-8 ESV)

It was good because Christ died for us as an ultimate sacrifice for our sin. Back in the Old Testament, they sacrificed animals who were flawless, "without spot or blemish". But they had to do it all the time. Jesus was our once-and-for-all sacrifice...flawless, spotless... sinless.

But the best part is that Jesus didn't stay dead.  He rose from the dead on the third day.

I feel like there is so much to be said and explain. I grew up learning all the "Christian-ese" language and learning the Bible verses, so it's hard for me to step back and see if my words could make sense to someone who isn't a Christian or has never read the Bible.  My best answer is to go ahead and read it. (I'd start with the New Testament. The book of John is usually what is recommended to start with.)
 Those who seek Him will find Him. I'm not one of those people who will try to ram my beliefs down your throat or argue with you if you're not interested. 

God is sinless and just and Holy, but God is also Love. He loves the sinner and wants to see them turn away from their sin. I may be a Christian, but I am still a sinner.  The difference is that I am constantly repenting of my sins and realize that I can't do it on my own. I realize that I need Jesus.

And the reality is...we all need Him.

Fashion Finds: Torrid Deals

My mom works at a school and had this week off due to Spring Break. So she and my dad came out to visit and go out to lunch on Tuesday. During lunch, mom had mentioned that she's never been to the Galleria Mall in Buffalo, so we decided to have a spur-of-the-moment mother-daughter shopping trip (while dad hung out at my house, since he's not big on malls or shopping).  My favorite store to go to at the Galleria is the plus-size women's clothing store, "Torrid", since there isn't one in any of the malls around 

Rochester (which is where I usually go to shop, since I'm more familiar with Rochester). 

I've been looking for a good coat for a while now that fits and flatters my plus-size frame. I've been wearing my husband's old wool coat for the past couple winters, and I can't button it up comfortably. I was searching for coats online back in January when there were some sales, but any coat I liked was either out of stock, or out of my price range.  And I just don't like ordering clothes online.  I need to try clothes on. But any coats I'd tried on at other stores were always too tight in the shoulders.  I knew I needed to look at a specialty plus-size women's clothing store like Torrid.

So I was excited to find this coat on the clearance rack! I tried it on, and was able to button it up, and put my arms forward without it feeling too tight! The best part was that it was marked down! The original price was over $100, and it was marked down to around $50!

Torrid was also having a "Buy One, get the Second for 50% off" sale, so I decided to try on some dresses. My mom picked out this butterfly print one for me. I've decided that it's going to be my "Easter dress" this year.

This dress is comfy and looks good with my "wear a dress with jeans" style. I was trying to decide which dress to get, and mom insisted on buying one of them for me so I could get both! The stripey dress had a small tear in the seam of the skirt (easily fixable), so mom got them to discount it 40%!

I am usually really thrifty and typically buy my clothes at thrift stores (and occasionally Target and Old Navy), so buying something from Torrid was a major splurge for me!