Category Archives: Artsy-Tartsy

Crossing it off of The List

Posted on 01.15.2012 | 15 Comments

Today  = More of the same.

I went to Run Club, did laundry, attended a post Baby Dedication Luncheon (Baby Girl is outright adorable), and pre-made some to-go lunch/dinner food for Marcus and I.

Then, and only then, did I get to relax.  Which is to say that I changed for the fourth time today and headed out the door.  Again.

Yes, this routine is officially Totally Normal.  You mean you don’t do four wardrobe changes in a day?

Behold, tonight’s adventure.

The Lion King is a show that has been on Mom’s musical bucket list for a while now.  So when we found out it was coming back into town, we knew it was a Must Do.

It’s kind of funny how when you plan something SO far in advance, you proceed to completely forget about it until suddenly it’s on top of you.

Pros: The puppets were INCREDIBLE.  The people who played the parts of the grass and plants were surprisingly fascinating to watch.  The opening scene (The Circle of Life) was as breathtaking as they say it is.

Cons: The acting was extremely unconvincing.  The lead singers were average.  The theater was filled with small children who were deadly afraid of Scar and did not hesitate to vocalize that.

Considering there is absolutely nothing else like it, I’m SO glad that we got to go.

Plus, Billy drives back to La Crosse tomorrow, so it was nice to be able to spend a little more time together before he goes.  It’s been great having him in town for the last month, but duty grad school calls.

What’s the best musical you’ve seen?  The worst musical you’ve seen?

I know for certain that the worst musical I ever saw was Brigadoon.  Just when you thought that they had wrapped it up, it kept going.  We wandered through those Scottish mists for a long, long time.

→ 15 Comments

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, Going Out, love life

Potpourri!

Posted on 12.16.2010 | 8 Comments

Friends, tonight I’m beyond scatter-brained.

Enter: Potpourri!

In spite of the Excessive Dryness that’s all but destroyed my mitts (we’re talking Lizard skin, the likes of which I’ve never seen before), I’ve been enjoying Excellent Hair for the last week.  If you take nothing else away from this post, do some deep conditioning on the weekends.

Trust me, it helps.

Drugstore Divas: I use the kind sold by Fructis.  It comes in a green tube.

This morning, a co-worker was having a real downer of a day (or more like the culmination of a real downer of a week), so I hopped-to and quickly actioned this sort of arrangement.

You might think it clashes, but 1. You can never go wrong with a single-initial monogram as a design concept. 2. The snowflakes make it seasonal.

In the professional sphere, it’s essential to be able to make fast work of a piece of heavy printer paper and a set of highlighters.  Aesthetic is secondary to spirit.

But when I’m not speed-creating Hallmark originals, aesthetic is everything.

Yes, y’all called it.  It was time for another wallpaper-change on my phone.  Mother nature says no to aqua blue in the winter.

Red berries.  How seasonal.  I should probably be focusing my efforts on finding something tropical for the new year.  But I’m trying to live in the present.

The present means things that Cardinals and Chickadees might feast upon.

No, I’m not attempting to make my phone into a bird feeder.

But if anyone’s looking for an un-tapped market on Etsy, feel free to hit that one.  My gift to you.

After addressing the most important issues of the day, I ventured to Sao Thome.

It’s been a few days and these little squares were singing their siren song to me from the pantry.

I’d love to say that I picked this bar because I’m really fascinated by the region that it originated in.  But really, I had no idea of where Sao Thome was until I checked it out on the little pamphlet-map.  Apparently it’s on the western coast of Africa?

Go figure.

You learn new things every day.

Have you ever rocked the highlighter-card before?

Thursday, 12/16/10: Longest Thursday that felt like a Friday ever?  Or longest Thursday that felt like a Friday ever?

→ 8 Comments

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, technologies, Work

The Joy of Painting

Posted on 10.15.2010 | 7 Comments

Hello, survivors. 

I’ll be the first to admit that this week totally crushed me.  I don’t think I’ve “earned” a weekend in a long time.  Even though that’s kind of akin to “earning” a therapy sesh.

All together now: Do not want.

In the spirit of tying up all of the loose threads this week, I’ll leave you with one last gem.

List of things I did not know until yesterday: Bob Ross is dead. 

For those of you who are unsure as to who Bob Ross is, he was that dude with the fro on PBS who did nature paintings in all of like, 30 minutes or something insane like that.  One minute there would be a black blob on the canvas.  You’d look away or maybe go to refill your snack bowl and when you got back, an entire mountain range would be there. 

Fact: All of his paintings looked equally the same, but it just never gets old.

Unreal.  His little editorial on pollution just kills me.

And because once you pop, you can’t stop, everyone’s favorite…Bob’s trees.

For the record, after you’re done watching these, it’s perfectly acceptable to laugh so hard you cry.

Happy Friday!

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, Fact., Seriously important stuff.

I’m a performing art.

Posted on 06.01.2010 | 1 Comment

Currently, I’m enjoying some vanilla bean gelato topped with cherry pie filling and chocolate chips.  It’s the closest I can come to a Cherry Blossom sundae from Culver’s (I think I’ve mentioned this before!), which would be traditional post-band concert fare.  It’s also perfect migraine-busting fare.  AKA, it is deserved.

Jillian and I did the darned thing and it was as perfect as anyone could have hoped.  I whipped out my sharp-as-a-tack bassoon-playing skills and the whole thing was as easy as falling asleep.  Which, I hope to do soon.

Most excitingly, tomorrow is Wednesday.  Please take a moment to love that.  If I could stay awake long enough to not fall asleep on the keyboard, I’d leave y’all more musings, but tonight, my pillow has NEVER looked so good.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, Faves

Uno, dos, tres…quatorze?

Posted on 05.27.2010 | Leave a comment
First off, can I just say that I LOVE knowing that I am not the only human being on the planet who is forced to carry her man’s things while adventuring?

Strength in numbers.

Second, a tidbit I need to share with y’all because every time I tell someone about this I get super-confused responses.

I play the bassoon.  Even Lindsey was like, totally aghast at this.  And she knows most-everything about me.  I’ve been taking lessons for the past two weeks because on June 1st, we’re doing a Mr. Holland’s Opus-style shindig for my high school band director, who is retiring.  In case you were wondering, June 1st in Plymouth has, by proclamation, been named Chip Williams day.  That’s what you learn to expect from the #1 small town in America.  All of that aside, I like playing the bassoon.  Relative to most bassoon players I’m actually good at playing.  And now that I’ve started playing it…again, I’m a little bit more than kind-of horrified at the prospect of having to give it up…again.  So right now I’m at the beginning of the process of determining how to not-have that happen…again.
Third, the other dress arrived today.  And it’s absolutely gorgeous.  It’s the same material as the dress I’m wearing to the reception, but otherwise this dress is 100% not the same at all.  And, most importantly, it fits.  I’ll be wearing it to our engagement party on the 12th :)   And to our rehearsal dinner :)   And, hell, because it’s so freaking pretty, probably a wedding shower or two :)   But, like I promised you all, tomorrow morning you’ll finally get to see what the ladies in my wedding party would have picked for me to wear to the engagement party as well!

And last but not least, the winner of the Tenaciously Yours, Birthday Giveaway is Kt B!  Congratulations lady – you have seven days to send your mailing address to tenaciouslyyourskw at gmail dot com and I’ll ship that lovely mini-skinny your way!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, Faves, Finds, giveaway!, Kat in White

Happy May Day!

Posted on 05.01.2009 | Leave a comment

I remember the elementary school days of yore where on the days leading up to May Day or on the day itself, entire days of class would be dedicated to constructing bizarrely intricate baskets and flower-themed decor out of construction paper.

Today at the Daily, exhausted and hungover from the Party Bus-extravaganza last night, we celebrated by not showering and looking like something horrific that the cat dragged in. Given that most all of us do not remember getting off the bus, this was totally worth it.

Perhaps I will do something civilized tonight.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy

haiku: Part II

Posted on 04.29.2009 | Leave a comment

my lungs are hurting.
codeine cough syrup is the way.
it is not swine flu.

cannot stop rushing
am completely exhausted
when will it all stop?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy

haiku: Part I

Posted on 04.21.2009 | Leave a comment

Some days I want to write but with the massive plan book we’re coming up on in campaigns and the history paper for 5601W that I still haven’t really started yet, I’m thinking about exploring haiku as an expressive format for those days where I’m too tired/mind is scrambled to actually write a coherent post.

exhaustion i hate
group projects procrastinate,
coffee not enough.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy

Of Backsplashes and Accent Walls

Posted on 02.18.2009 | Leave a comment

Marcus and I have been house hunting for the past few weeks. Which has been a great time – we’ve seen some really nice places and some really, incredibly, bad places.

On Friday morning, we’re going back to check out a townhouse that we think could be “the one.” *knock on wood* Which is great, actually. But thinking about this house has unlocked a totally separate mutant part of my brain, which I DID NOT EVEN KNOW EXISTED until this point in time, that fixates solely and specifically on decorating.

For example, did you know that a backsplash is one of the most dramatic and low-cost rennovation options that you can choose for your new space?

Oh, and that’s another thing you should take note of…Rooms aren’t just “rooms” anymore. That’s just trite. Now they’re called “spaces.”

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, nesting

People to Know: Jazz I

Posted on 09.23.2008 | Leave a comment

After three weeks of class, I think its time that you all become acquainted with some of the characters in my Jazz 1 class. They’re really just…too good…and not at all like the individuals I see in the J-School or in HRD classes, though there are a few little gems on that side too.

The Actress and The Actor: This morning she looked at him and said, “I think I look like Mulan today!” (She does not. In fact, Mulan would have never ever popped into my head asa descriptor for her.) Other popular conversation topics involve how much better her voice is than the people that got cast in performances that she didn’t. He usually affirms her by making statements like, “I saw the cast of Fiddler yesterday and they all look like they’re 12. YOU have boobs.” She prefers to wear things that have stripes on them, he always wears sweatpants that he pushes up to his knees.

The Liturgical Dancer: She has the longest hair of anyone that I have ever seen and wears it in a low ponytail that reaches all the way down to her back. And she always wears some baggy t-shirt with the same lycra gaucho pants. I’m not sure what it is about her that makes me think, “Liturgical Dance,” but I think you understand. Google liturgical dance costumes and you’ll understand the vibe. Its pure magic.

As more of them start to come out of the woodwork, don’t worry, you’ll hear.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Artsy-Tartsy, Weird as Hell