What could possibly go wrong?

Fine Art Friday #27

Sep 06, 2024

What could POSSIBLY go wrong, friend??

It's April 2010 and my then-boyfriend (and now-husband) and I took a trip to St. Louis with friends to go to a St. Louis Cardinals game with a group of fellow college students.

My idea of what it would be like was this:

Super chill – emphasis on the super chill because finals season was about to erupt – touring St. Louis (maybe hit the arch while we're there? you can't beat an amazing feat of engineering), and relaxing from what was going to be a very BUSY couple of following weeks.

It was like that in no way.

Here's what actually happened. We'll start at the beginning:

📚I agonize over whether or not we should go at ALL. Finals week was coming up (and if you're in college or have ever taken a test, you know this is not a week you mess around). It's stressful going out of town when you could be studying…

🤔I agonize over who we'll be going with (spoiler alert: I knew three people at least on a personal level, and one of them was my now-husband) because I'm very much a 4 on the enneagram, and while I love having deep conversations, small talk can be quite exhausting over the course of an entire weekend. Looking back I would've told 2010 Courtney to not worry so much about this part specifically…

🤷‍♀️I agonize over what to TAKE. I was a poor college kid – and I didn't have much extra spending money after calculating the cost of the tickets (which my now-husband blessedly bought us). Spoiler alert: I didn't have a car in college, and most other college kids just want help with gas money, which I could happily help with.

And then, the fateful trip arrives.

I pack all my things (way more than I actually needed because I had NO IDEA what we were doing, what the weather would be like, and what the entire trip would entail).

It's funny though, because I'm now a very minimalist packer and make BIG PLANS for how I'll utilize the few things I bring in my suitcase… which is especially important when packing for myself and three other tiny humans…

We finally arrive in St. Louis at midnight, slept at a seedy motel with all 15 of us (10/10 would NOT recommend) did some sightseeing where I coincidentally tripped on MANY spots on the sidewalk in St. Louis…

Is it too much to ask for a sidewalk to be reasonably even? I think not.

And FINALLY made it to the game.

Around Inning 3 – I had to use the restroom. I didn't know any of the girls there, but I left my purse there to save our seats while my now-husband graciously walked with me up the many many many stairs to the bathroom and waited outside. I mean hey, it's a new place that I've never been and I'm quite the scaredy-cat.

We were gone maybe 5 minutes and when we came back, our friends were gone.

GONE.

With my purse.

No phone, no wallet, no NOTHING.

And bonus? My now-husband's phone was about to die.

And remember, it's 2010 so cell phone service DOESN'T EVEN WORK IN A STADIUM SETTING.

I knew I had to remain calm and collected…

…so obviously, I started hysterically crying to my now-husband about WHERE HAVE THEY GONE?!

^^Actual footage of me losing my mind because WE WERE LEFT BEHIND.

Cue me typing that and thinking left behind with kirk cameron… this is my brain…

We waited and waited and waited.

Nothing.

My now-husband tried to call all his friends – but if you've ever been in a gigantic stadium you know firsthand how that turned out…

Little did I know, this wouldn't be the most ridiculous part of the trip…

Stay tuned for Part TWO of this adventure (which prominently features me using all the charm I possess and crying to a waiter at a bar (under 21 at the time) to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let us (two college kids with no money and no phones) use your landline to finally get in touch with our parents and sit at the bar while we wait for someone to answer, which will next week along with a preview of this year's holiday collection and upcoming nature collection…

Wondering how this relates to art? IT DOESN'T. Not even a little bit.

But here's the thing: You're reading this. You read all of this. (Thank you.) And you did that because people make time for great stories.

We love a good story. It's just human nature. It's one of the main things covered in ALMOST EVERY sales book I've ever read. We LOVE stories.

If you're anything like me, you have about 5-6 books on your nightstand/kindle you're reading through at any one time, a mix of fiction and non-fiction obviously.

We read stories with more gusto than we read the news. (though, does anyone read the news with gusto these days? Asking for a friend…)

We share stories with each other about our daily lives, the past, hopes and dreams for the future.

Everything has a story.

Stories connect us with others. It's that human connection that we crave so deeply, and stories help us connect with others.

And as I was getting all stirred up by this story I've written, this horrible trip 14 years ago (wow, I'm old), I was thinking about what makes me happy when I'm sad.

It sounds so easy to say, but sometimes it's hard to come up with what makes me happy.

It's not:

🔥5,000 degree weather

🥴feeling crummy

🌳It's being outside and feeling the cool air on my face.

🏖️It's feeling the soft grass beneath my feet.

💐It's imagining our patio clean, full of beautiful florals, a beautiful table setting, and ready to host a fall dinner party with twinkle lights creating the perfect ambiance.

🌊It's hearing the movement of water.

All of those things are so grounding to me. As an artist who's work is deeply connected to creation, it hit me like a ton of 🧱bricks…

I haven't painted nature in ages.

And so, I've got a new collection in the works (amid living life, homeschooling my 4 littles, painting weddings, and painting holiday collection ornaments – YOLO, amirighttttt?), and I can't WAIT to share it with you.

And stay tuned for part two entitled "In Which I Hysterically Beg My Father for Plane Tickets Home at 10 PM."

P.S. Thoughts on the story thus far? Also angry college kids we traveled with for

taking my purse and leaving us behind? Who in the WORLD leaves their purse behind if they're coming back? Questions about the collection launch? I genuinely live for your newsletter responses, so hit reply and let me know.

in case you missed it..

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