"Til We Die. DIE!": A Story of Friendship and the Arts.

Deciding what to get one of your best friends for her wedding is very difficult. Especially when you don't know the groom all that well and they live in a studio apartment smaller than your bedroom. (But infinitely more organized.)

Court is one of the Little Truckers (my highway gang.) Here is a picture of 4 of us at her wedding at the end of March. Isn't she stunning?

You may have heard me talking about an artist named Cathy Nichols. Or you may have clicked on the link to the right. Or you may have been to my house and seen the 5-6 works of hers that I have up. I just love her general style. It's happy and carefree and I love to look at it. It ALWAYS makes me feel good. Plus she sometimes uses scrapbook paper in her works. Long live the paper arts!

One day, shortly after the wedding, while perusing Cathy's blog, I saw that she was starting commissioned paintings. Eureka! That's what I decided to get Court for her wedding! I was SOOOO excited about this idea, that I could barely contain myself. Tristan said she was in as well and we asked Cathy to do it. I bugged Court about getting the photos back from the photographer for weeks. I was more anxious than she was. (The wedding photographer did a GREAT job, the photos are fantastic. If you need a wedding photographer in the DC area, ask Court.)

Finally, we got the photo for Cathy and within a few days, she whipped up this masterpiece: Isn't this SO cute?!?! It's on a 5.5" x 7" block of wood (perfect for Court's house) and the detail is amazing. In particular, Court's necklace, the polka dots and the flowers. Oh, the flowers! They are tiny pieces of paper! Here is a close up (from Cathy's blog):

When Cathy asked what the title should be, she suggested "Four Friends" or something like that. But I opted for the very sentimental "Til We Die. DIE!" Which is something that the usually reserved Tristan yelled one time when talking about how long we'd be friends. Now it's something we say all the time. It's how strong our friendship is.

I love this painting. It's very Cathy, but it's very us and Tristy and I are thrilled with it. I gave it to Court on Friday night, this is her reaction (taped mostly for the benefit of Tristy and Cathy.)

If you like this, visit Cathy's website and Etsy page! She deserves the love!