books written for girls

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back

2010-07-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

It's been waaaay too long since I updated here, so let's jump back in...

Things I love about summer finally arriving in Seattle

1. Stone fruit and heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market
2. Watching our garden grow after being sad and cold for so long
3. Wearing sandals!!!

New year, new home

2010-01-11T08:30:00.001-08:00

We've been in our new place for a little over a month now and are still unpacking. Nonetheless, it feels like home already - it helped that we had houseguests right away, so the upstairs and communal areas are pretty well set up. Now it's just going through the boxes from the office and basement and deciding what to keep, donate or toss. We won't talk about the garage just yet, it's too scary out there. Instead, let's look at pictures!

Stockings were actually hung by the chimney this year,
because we now have a fireplace.

Presents under the tree.

Robot on the mantel - he's the house mascot.

Happy New Home

2009-12-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

Things I love about our new house

1. DISHWASHER!
2. The gigantic well-lit basement and its equally large back closet, which is our new pantry.
3. Enough room in the living room for my piano to be upstairs (where hopefully it won't be so neglected).

Missing on Monday

2009-11-23T07:53:00.000-08:00

A few of the many reasons I miss my friend Christine

1. She was the person I called about everything.
2. She was one of the few people who could match my random sense of humor.
3. She accepted me, flaws and all.

Home Sweet Rental Home

2009-11-15T20:05:00.001-08:00

Things I am looking forward to having in our new house

1. Fireplace!
2. A second FULL bathroom
3. Big backyard with a big deck, perfect for entertaining

Sunny day and Spring Hill

2009-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

Things I will order tonight at dinner

1. Vegetable tasting with grilled flatbread - the flatbread is my favorite part of eating at Spring Hill, every time. Like manna from heaven.
2. Three course Dine Around Seattle set menu - such a good deal. I'm thinking hangar steak is in order.
3. Baden-powell cocktail - dry fly gin, bosc pear tonic, soda, lime, shaved ice. Perfect for this sunny fall day; I can pretend it's still summer.

Check out other delightful menu options and information at springhill.com

AFoMFT, GLEE!!! edition

2009-11-11T22:05:00.001-08:00

My favorite things about GLEE (so hard to list only three)

1. Sue Sylvester!!!!! (self-explanatory)
2. Kurt - so confident, adorable and generally thoughtful, especially toward his dad. One of the sweetest characters on TV.
3. Puck and Quinn - such a better match than Finn and Quinn, plus their names don't have that annoying rhyme going on.

Some days are bad, but today is really really good

2009-11-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

Awesome Things I Get To Do Today

1. Pose for new headshots
2. See Coco Before Chanel at Harvard Exit
3. Happy Hour at Poppy

Monday moving misery

2009-11-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

Things I Hate About Moving

1. Packing.
2. Going through junk in the basement.
3. Catching up on overdue shredding of documents - so boring.

Off the wagon

2009-11-06T08:44:00.001-08:00

Wow, that was fast! Yesterday got so busy that I forgot to post. Oh well, I'll still keep posting almost every day this month...

Things I Love To Snack On In The Fall

1. Roasted pumpkin seeds. Last year we roasted a batch with garam masala and they were the best yet, although I'm still a fan of plain old salt and olive oil. Think I might make some today.
2. Steamed cider. I am NOT a fan of apple juice - ick- but I really like hot apple cider in October and November.
3. Stove-popped popcorn. It doesn't take any longer than the microwave and it tastes way better, plus it's fun to watch the tin foil puff up as the kernels pop.

Fall film wish list

2009-11-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Movies I Want To See But Probably Won't Get To For A While Because We're Moving

1. Precious - this looks amazing. Heartbreaking too.
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson + stop-motion animation = YES.
3. Pirate Radio -"A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960's." The plot summary doesn't sound too exciting, but it looks like a really fun movie...

Favorite fall foods

2009-11-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hard to list only three, but here goes:

1. Foraged mushrooms! Matsutake, King Bolete, Lobster and my all-time favorite - chanterelles.
2. Cameo apples
3. Lacinato kale (available year-round, but it tastes better in the fall)

What are your favorite fall foods?

Autumn leaves

2009-11-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Things I Love About Autumn

1. Crunching my feet in leaves on the sidewalk (and it's been a good fall so there are lots!)
2. Soup.
3. Getting to wear my favorite woolly scarves.

The Start of Three Things

2009-11-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

It's been waaayyy too long since I was blogging regularly, so I decided to use NaBloPoMo as a good kick in the pants to help me get started. While I'm easing back into things, I've devised a handy gimmick to guarantee one post a day for the next month - it's my own version of Three Things. Every day I'll post three things: three movies I want to see, three excellent winter squashes, three pictures I took that day. Let's get going!

Since I'm recovering from the flu, today's three things are:

Things I Was Grateful For While I Was Delirious With Fever

1. My awesome husband, who made me homemade wonton soup, fed me NyQuil, bought me magazines, and put in a fresh DVD every time I asked.
2. The comedic stylings of Jason Segal (Freaks and Geeks + HIMYM season 2)
3. Gatorade Fruit Punch - an excellent way to stave off dehydration

MAD Paperball

2009-10-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

New York's Museum of Art and Design held its first annual Paperball last Wednesday and it looks like it was quite the event! The sale catalogue features 47 works of paper art, nearly half of which are dresses and all of which are astoundingly creative. I want one of each and a lovely large house to showcase them in. Just as amazing were the paper centerpieces and elaborate table settings, finished off with a paper flower (I'm guessing party favor). You can see these along with photos of partygoers - including a few who sported paper dresses and accessories - at MAD's Flickr site.

Photo by Alejandro Benchimol / MAD at MAD's Flickr site

Green + orange

2009-10-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Larry's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and provided the perfect opportunity to use this beautiful paper I got over a year ago, I think from Paper Source in Bellevue. The ribbon is May Arts (not sure if this color-way is still available), and I don't remember where I got it - probably Nancy's Sewing Basket in Queen Anne or Lucca in Ballard. This might look like a fancy bow but was really just a way for me to avoid cutting ribbon so the gift recipient can reuse it; when I have extra ribbon length I just tie another bow, and another, until I have the right length on the ends. Then they have a nice long piece to use again, and it looks pretty cute too!

Top Ten Albums of 2008

2008-12-27T22:34:00.000-08:00

This list may not be as representative as years past, because I was so busy this year I didn't listen to as much new music as usual. Also, once Fleet Foxes' Sun Giant EP and self-titled album came out, that was pretty much all I listened to for 3 months straight or so. (Did I mention I love them? Oh, I did? Like here, here, and here? Okay then.) But we still managed to visit Sonic Boom on a regular basis and I did eventually listen to more than one band. We also made it to a fair amount of shows and I'm not gonna lie: how much I love their live performance definitely colors how I feel about a band's album (in fact, there may have to be a special top ten list just for awesome shows). But enough chitchat! On with the list:

Top Ten Albums of 2008

1. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
2. Grand Archives, The Grand Archives
3. Volume 1, She & Him
4. Blame It On Gravity, Old 97s
5. We Brave Bee Stings And All, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
6. Keep Your Eyes Ahead, The Helio Sequence
7. Mingle, The Saturday Knights
8. Glistening Pleasure, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
9. This Gift, Sons & Daughters
10. Narrow Stairs, Death Cab for Cutie

Special Award: Just A Little Lovin', Shelby Lynne
Since it only contains one new song, I don't feel right putting this Dusty Springfield tribute album on the top 10 list. That said, I can't recommend this album strongly enough. Lynne's version of "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" alone is reason to get your hands on it.

It's beginning to look a lot like (a white) Christmas...

2008-12-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

Seattle has been shut down for a week now due to a very rare massive snowfall. Fighting cabin fever, making snowmen, baking, catching up on DVR recordings and complaining about the city's pathetic response to snow and ice have become popular pastimes all over town. We've gotten out a few times this week to go shopping, visit friends within walking distance and play in the snow, and I thought I'd share a few favorite photos...

Winterberries on 41st and Midvale; the poor tree was so weighed down with snow that I'm not sure it will spring back up when this is all gone. But it definitely makes for a pretty picture:

View down one of the many snowy streets in our neighborhood:

With even the main roads not getting plowed often enough, you can imagine how treacherous local streets have gotten. Many residents have made their own "street closed" and "do not enter" signs like this one, duct-taped to someone's trash can:

Someone (or more than one) made a snowman smack in the middle of 45th and Stone Way; the baristas from a nearby Starbucks gave it some character:

As for indoor entertainment, yesterday Larry made a chocolate layer cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. It looked so delicious that Zach wanted a bite too:

We were supposed to go to a friend's house for Christmas Eve dinner but the roads are a little too dicey. It's going to be a quiet Christmas at home, just us and the kitties. Roast chicken for dinner with some red potatoes and zucchini, and that fantastic chocolate cake for dessert.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Forks and Knives (La Fete)

2008-12-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

The summer went by in a flash, fall came and went even faster, and suddenly it's the week before Christmas. Am I getting older or is time moving more quickly? Or maybe it's just that this year has been one of the busiest yet...I'll try to catch up on the past 6 months over the next few posts.

The biggest reason I haven't blogged since June is that we got married in September, so summer was pretty much a blur of wedding planning and preparations. We had a weekend of events so that our families could meet and we'd have plenty of time to spend with everyone, and it was definitely the best part of 2008 for me. The day before the wedding it poured buckets of rain, but our unpredictable Seattle weather came through and by ceremony time we had a gorgeous, sunny day complete with dramatic clouds - perfect for photos!

Our photographer, Della Chen, was AMAZING. She had so many great ideas for fun photos and was also open to any and all crazy ideas we had. Before the ceremony we went to the Ballard Sunday Market for some photos with our favorite vendors. A crazy idea, yes, but one that was perfect for us - the farmers market is such a huge part of our life that we wanted to include it. What came out of that trip were some of my favorite photos and an appreciation for Della's eye - who else would have looked at a parking lot wall (one that I had never noticed in 3 years of weekly trips to the market) and foreseen something so lovely?

Della's fun and laid-back attitude made our perfect day that much better. If you're looking for a wedding photographer (or a photographer for any occasion) I highly recommend her! All the photos you see in this post were taken by her, and if you want to see more of her handiwork you can view the slideshow she created for us.

The aforementioned perfectly cloudy sunny day, at Gas Works Park:

Group photo time!

We met the wonderful MoZo at Seattle Counseling Services' ICON gala, but it turned out we had been enjoying their music at the Ballard Sunday Market for some time without knowing it was them! Moe and Aimee played our cocktail hour and their mix of bluegrass and Americana really livened up the atmosphere. A perfect way to start the evening. (Am I saying "perfect" too much? Too bad. It was!)

Rather than bore you with the menu details, I'll just let you read it below. I do have to say that it was a superb meal and my only regret is that I didn't get to finish my pork belly or doughnuts - I was busy socializing instead of eating. My waist probably thanked me but my taste buds were sad. Our super-cool "ramerliang" logo was designed by our good friends Kristine and Bob at Lynch Design Group; they also did our save-the-dates, invitations, programs and custom mailing labels. (Considering that Larry and I met at Kristine and Bob's stationery store, it was a no-brainer to ask them to design our wedding stationery!)

My placesetting - Palace Ballroom was awesome and set out all the favors for us. In fact, they did ALL of the set up; we just had to provide clear instructions and get the supplies to them ahead of time. They even printed the menus and table cards for us. We couldn't have asked for a better venue or service (or food). If you're looking for a venue for your next event, give them a call and ask for Alexis - best event planner ever!

Here's what the space looked like when we walked in from cocktail hour - they had it curtained off until dinner time, so it was really fun to see the room open up and watch everyone find their table and seats. We had 8 tables with 8 seats each - maybe the numbers brought extra luck, because everyone seemed to have a great time and get along with their tablemates!

A highlight of the evening, for me at least, was when we caved to peer pressure and had a first dance (which we hadn't intended to do, since dancing isn't something we've ever done together). I'm so glad we did - it was nice to have a few quiet moments on the dance floor while "our song" played. Of course we had to be a little bit silly - and now I have photographic evidence of my husband dancing!

Late night adventures in the kitchen

2008-06-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Mark Bittman's article on Mexican popsicles in Wednesday's New York Times, we decided to make our own variation on Thursday night. We had three limes in need of juicing, as well as a pint of strawberries from the Wallingford farmers market that were super ripe and ready to eat, so we settled on...

Strawberry-lime paletas

1. Clean and hull a pint of strawberries and juice 1-2 limes, depending on size. Set the juice aside.

2. Pop the strawberries in the blender and puree
Before...

...and after.

3. Add one cup of milk and blend.

Sea Breeze Farm on Vashon Island sells real, raw milk at the local farmers markets, and it's the only white milk I've ever willingly drank straight up. So, so delicious and perfect for our paletas. You don't have to use raw milk for these, but I recommend using whole milk.

4. Add 1/4 cup sugar and blend again.

5. Add lime juice to taste - 3 tablespoons was perfect for us.

6. Get your popsicle mold ready, along with something to pour the puree.

7. Pour it in and you're ready to freeze.

8. Find some room in your freezer and freeze the popsicles overnight.

9. Enjoy, either traditionally like me or in your own special way like Larry.

Grow your own...

2008-05-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Vegetables, of course. What did you think I meant?

We went a little crazy this year at the Seattle Tilth Plant Sale and brought home what we thought were about 60 plant starts, but discovered yesterday that several start containers actually held 4 starts. More spinach for us! Our usual combination of store-bought planters and recycled kitty litter buckets was no match for all the plants we had, so we built a raised vegetable bed in the backyard. It took a few days, but it's all planted now and I can't wait to eat fresh salads and veggies all summer long. I just hope the squirrels and rabbits don't get them first!

This picture skips ahead a few steps in the process. Before we started, Larry sketched out the design and then we went to Home Depot for the wood. They'll cut it for you there so you can make the bed any size you like. We chose 5 x 5 - in hindsight we could have gone larger but that would have required even more soil, and this is a good manageable size.

We needed at least 25 cubic feet of soil and wound up with 27: 18 feet of organic top soil, 6 feet of organic compost, and 3 feet of organic steer-gro manure. We layered it in - 3 bags of soil, one bag of compost, one bag of manure. (Yes, the flies did hang around for a while.)

After we put in each set of layers, we raked it to mix. We also put in some fish bone fertilizer after the first round, just to make the soil extra rich.

Once the soil is in and mixed, you're ready to plant! We started with lettuces, since we have a ton. Here you can see we've planted arugula, buttercrunch, merlot, romaine, radicchio, and summer spinach.

Here's the finished bed. On the other half we planted bok choy, napa cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts.

Here's the rest of the garden - like those classy kitty litter buckets? Hey, this is Seattle and we like to recycle. Just drill yourself 7 or so holes in the bottom, rinse it thoroughly and you have a great container for tomatoes, peppers or chard (which is what you see below). There are also some kale, onions and endive that we started from seed in the winter - they're just now starting to thrive.

And the back porch. In the back, broccoli and brussels sprouts started from seed - they take forever to mature, it seems. Then we have sorrel (the tall leafy one), kale, and more peppers, and strawberries on the left.

With all those flowers blooming, maybe we'll actually get to eat some strawberries this summer!

Inspiration in ice cream

2008-05-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

Just got home from Molly Moon's, the new ice cream shop in Wallingford where we went for a celebratory scoop after the show. I'm quite sure that Molly Moon's is destined to be my new favorite indulgence. With flavors like Scout Mint (with crushed Thin Mint cookies), Balsamic Strawberry, Honey Lavender and Cardamom, there's bound to be a flavor for every palate, and every day of the week. They also have homemade waffle cones - ours were so fresh and warm that they melted the bottom scoop of ice cream. And did I mention that the ingredients are organic and locally sourced? So many things to love already, but let's get to the point and talk about how it tasted...

I'll just say that we stopped talking entirely because our mouths were constantly full.

Here's what we had:
Balsamic Strawberry - just the right amount of acid to balance out the cream, and little bits of strawberry throughout
Salted Caramel - perfection, although it tasted a little too salty coming right after the strawberry (but was awesome a few bites later), so maybe best to order it alone or with a more natural pairing like Chocolate or Vivace Coffee
Vivace Coffee - I'm not a huge fan of coffee ice cream, but this could win me over; Larry loved it

Update:
We went again 2 days later (I can see this becoming a problem - it's almost too conveniently located) and would have gone again this afternoon but the line was out the door. Will try again tonight, but in the meantime...

CARDAMOM!!!!! I think it may be my new all-time favorite ice cream flavor. Refreshing and completely satisfying in an almost savory manner. Sooooooooo good, you have to try it!
Chocolate - pure chocolate goodness without being too rich
Raspberry Sorbet - like eating mashed up frozen raspberries, seriously delicious. Not sure if it's a seasonal offering, but I could picture eating this in the middle of winter for a taste of summer.

Visit the website for more details.

An Old-Fashioned Girl

2008-03-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

Illness, work craziness, and wasting time on Facebook have kept me from blogging. Must try to do better...I'll pick up where I left off with Miss Polly Milton.

Once I read An Old-Fashioned Girl, I forgot about all the other Alcott books and just kept rereading it; in fact, I still read it at least once a year. I probably love it so much because Polly becomes a music teacher; I remember wanting to live in a cozy apartment like hers with a cat and a piano (apparently I was 13 going on 70). Anyways, An Old-Fashioned Girl follows the friendship between sweet country girl Polly Milton and the wealthy Shaw family, in particular their daughter Fanny. Polly comes for a lengthy visit to the city when she's young, I believe around 12 or so. At first she's not treated very well because she dresses simply and doesn't want to flirt with the boys at school. But in the end she wins over the Shaw family and their circle of acquaintances. She teaches them to be happy with their lives regardless of how much money they have and to take pleasure in living an honest life. And of course there are plenty of fun childhood adventures to be had along the way, but I don't want to give away too many details...

Polly comes back to town as a young adult and sets up her apartment for teaching piano and voice lessons, and continues to be a positive influence in nearly everyone's life. You'd think this would get annoying, since Polly (and Alcott's writing style) can be kind of preachy, but it doesn't really; it's just a perfect piece of escapism literature for a rainy day.

Probably the most random thing I remember about An Old-Fashioned Girl is that it's where I first learned about macaroons:

"The hour was soon over; and when Fan had taken a music lesson in another room, while Polly looked on, it was time for recess. The younger girls walked up and down the court, arm in arm, eating bread and butter; others stayed in the school-room to read and gossip; but Belle, Trix, and Fanny went to lunch at a fashionable ice-cream saloon near by, and Polly meekly followed, not daring to hint at the ginger-bread grandma had put in her pocket for luncheon. So the honest, brown cookies crumbled away in obscurity, while Polly tried to satisfy her hearty appetite on one ice and three macaroons."

Now I grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska, and though there may have been macaroons in the midwest, I certainly never saw any as a child. This "one ice and three macaroons" business was all very exotic to me. These days I'd be totally content to eat macaroons for lunch, but I don't think three would be nearly enough!

But back to the review: if Beth was your favorite character from Little Women, if you enjoy reading about what young girls wore to balls back in the day, if you fantasize about tiny pre-war apartments with cats and birds and whistling teakettles, give An Old-Fashioned Girl a try. Much like those "honest, brown cookies" of gingerbread, it's pure literary comfort food.

Now this might be enough for lunch...

macaroons available from Pierre Herme

Books actually written for girls

2008-02-19T00:14:00.000-08:00

We had our friends Erma and Lance over last night for a belated Chinese New Year dinner, and Erma asked how I came up with the name for my blog, since I don't seem to ever write about books written for girls. The name was taken from a Camera Obscura song that I like a lot, but given the blog's name it's not surprising that I get a lot of hits looking for...wait for it...books written for girls. So I've decided to start a regular feature on my favorite books for girls, and we'll start with one of the classics - Louisa May Alcott.

Back in September I wrote about our visit to Boston and Concord, where we toured Orchard House. I won't go into Louisa May's history since there are so many great resources online and elsewhere; let's just get to the good stuff. Keep in mind I'm going off of my memory here, so if I've remembered something incorrectly feel free to politely remind me. (Marmee wouldn't have it any other way!)

Little Women is probably the best-known of all Alcott's works, and was based on her own upbringing in Concord. Set during the Civil War, it tells the story of the four March sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy) and their many adventures. They often get into scrapes in their daily lives, but usually learn a valuable lesson from them, and also through advice given by their mother Marmee and the guidebooks she gives them(most likely Pilgrim's Progress). There's also a handsome neighbor boy, Laurie that I think every girl who reads the book falls for at some point. A true classic.

Little Men is the follow-up to Little Women. It tells the story of Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer (who she marries at the end of Little Women), and the school for boys that they open together. Again, the students learn to correct their faults and become productive members of society, after having their fair share of struggles. Not quite as fun as the first book, but still highly satisfying since the characters from Little Women all drop in.

I have to admit that I don't remember reading Jo's Boys, so technically I shouldn't include it in my favorites. It's considered the final book in the Little Women trilogy, though, so if you're looking for a great birthday gift why not get all three?

There are three more Alcott books that I'd like to include, but I think they need their own post - I have a lot to say about Miss Polly Milton.

Notes from a caucus

2008-02-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

We went to our district caucus this afternoon to participate in the democratic process and support our candidate. Also, we knew if we didn't go today then our vote wouldn't count; although there are still county/city resolutions to vote on in the primary and the Republican nominees are chosen in the primary, the Democrats choose presidential nominees at the caucus. I don't usually talk politics on my blog, but I suppose I've outed myself as a Democrat by talking about the caucus. Oh well!

The turnout at our caucus (at Hamilton Middle School) was HUGE. I caucused in 2004 and all of the precincts fit into the main auditorium; we then split up by precinct into classrooms. When we arrived today, there wasn't nearly enough room for everyone in the auditorium. Instead, we were sent to the west gym where our precinct and 2 others were meeting; other precincts were spread throughout the school. In 2004 there were maybe 30 people in my precinct at the caucus - today there were over 100. Between our precinct and the 2 others, the west gym was packed. It looked like all of the other rooms were full too; it seems like people are definitely excited about voting this year, which is pretty cool. Living on the west coast, it often seems like the news channels are calling the winner before we've even made it to the voting booth, so it's nice to feel like our votes count this time.

I'm not sure how the rest of our district turned out, but in the west gym there was a total of 19 delegates for Obama and 3 for Clinton. In our precinct there were 106 people present. At the second tally, 12 were for Clinton and 94 were for Obama; the delegates were split 1 for Clinton, 6 for Obama. The other 2 precincts were split Clinton 1, Obama 6 and Clinton 1, Obama 7. The Obama love definitely seemed to be flowing. Granted, our neighborhood is one of the most liberal in the state, so we'll have to wait until tonight to see how the rest of Washington thinks, or even the rest of Seattle for that matter. But it certainly looks like Obama could be the big winner today.

Click here for dispatches from other caucuses around the state (though mostly in the Seattle area).

The healing power of music

2008-01-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

Stupid flu. I had to go home early from school today, cancel my lessons and the worst part: Larry had to sell our Decemberists tickets because I'm too sick to go. We had tickets for tonight and tomorrow. I better get well by tomorrow because I am GOING to that show!

The only bright spot in this cloud of illness is my new harmonica. I'm teaching the kidlets about free-reed aerophones and it turns out the harmonica is a prime example (along with the accordion, which is too cost-prohibitive for casual experimentation), so I thought I'd give it a try. So far I've only succeeding in scaring the cats, but it's pretty awesome. Last night I figured out how to play "When The Saints Go Marching In," "Happy Birthday," and "Hey Jude," although Larry pretended he couldn't understand what I was playing on that last one. For 4 bucks it's a pretty good little instrument, and an excellent way to annoy your family/housemates/pets. Then again, at that price you can just buy one for everyone in the house and play together. I just had a vision of Zach and Nigel wearing conductor's caps, overalls and little steel-toed boots, playing the harmonica down by the train tracks. Maybe it's the cold medicine...but until that actually happens, here's a different musical cat to entertain you.

And one more classic, because I'm sick and Bugs Bunny always makes me feel better!

The Cops on NPR

2008-01-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Seattle band The Cops (with fellow Nebraskan Mike Jaworski on lead vocals) are in today's NPR "Song of the Day" feature! See the story here.

Fleet Foxes signed to Sub Pop!

2008-01-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

Oh happy day! Fleet Foxes announced today that they've officially signed with Sub Pop. I can't think of another group that deserves it more - they work hard and sound amazing, and really, what more can you ask for in a band? Take my advice and visit their MySpace page for their upcoming tour schedule...you'll want to catch them this time around. Then when they become hugely popular you'll be able to reminisce about how you saw them back when, and how it was so much better than before they started playing the Paramount (or whatever large theater with terrible sound your city has), et cetera et cetera. Plus you will LOVE them as much as I do. Trust me!

Top Ten (plus a few more) Songs of 2007

2007-12-29T23:22:00.000-08:00

Because some of the year's best songs didn't make it onto the year's best albums. (Then again, some did.) In no particular order:

"White Winter Hymnal," Fleet Foxes
TIE: "My Favorite Book" & "Take Me To The Riot," Stars
"A Sunday Smile," Beirut
"45," The Saturday Knights
"I Feel It All," Feist
"Here Comes One," Lavender Diamond
"Pull Shapes," The Pipettes
"Energy," The Apples In Stereo
"Black Wave/Bad Vibrations," The Arcade Fire
"Station Grey," Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter
"Scythian Empires," Andrew Bird
"Be Easy," Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings
"Only Lovers Left Alive," The Long Blondes
"All The Old Showstoppers," The New Pornographers

Top Ten Albums of 2007

2007-12-29T22:23:00.000-08:00

Drumroll, please...

1. In Our Bedroom After The War, Stars
2. The Reminder, Feist
3. The Flying Club Cup, Beirut
4. 100 Days, 100 Nights, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
5. Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
6. New Magnetic Wonder, The Apples In Stereo
7. Music From The Motion Picture Once
8. Armchair Apocrypha, Andrew Bird
9. Imagine Our Love, Lavender Diamond
10. Challengers, The New Pornographers

Favorite song that's not on an album yet: "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes (I love these guys!). Visit their MySpace page to hear it, or watch the video below for a live version (it's the second song). Hmm...I may have to include a top ten songs of 2007 just to give them their due.

Live through this...

2007-11-27T22:58:00.000-08:00

I know it's been ages since I posted...life kind of exploded in October when two new teaching gigs and opera rehearsals began all at the same time. Most days I work from 8:30 - 5 and then rehearse from 7-10, which doesn't leave much time for anything else! Things will be slowing down next week after the opera ends and school concerts are done, so hopefully I'll get back to posting more regularly. In the meantime, I thought I'd share this video of one of my favorite groups singing one of my favorite songs. Stars has a new album out, In Our Bedroom After The War, and it just might be my favorite album of 2007. In any case it's certainly as brilliant as their other releases. This song, "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" from Set Yourself On Fire, still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Enjoy.

Eva Cassidy - autumn leaves

2007-10-18T23:38:00.001-07:00

The annual autumn windstorms arrived today, and over the next few days will be taking the leaves off the trees; with the leaves go the beautiful fall colors. We lucked out this year, having much more sun than usual in September and October and much less wind (or at least it has seemed that way). Normally the leaves start to change and then 2 weeks in there's a big storm that knocks them all down before you really get to enjoy them. This year, however, I've been able to see trees turn from green to yellow to orange to red to burgundy, and in some cases (my favorite) bright fuchsia. Walking around Green Lake between 4:30 and 6:00 has become an almost daily ritual, because it's then that the setting sun shines amber on the water and the trees start to look like a painting. On Tuesday my friend Jenny pointed out a graceful tree with bright red leaves, its branches sloping gently toward the ground. "It makes me think of a little girl saying, 'Look at my pretty new dress!'" she said, and she was right. Halfway around the lake, one group of tall trees with slender branches are all yellow, save one small swath of green at the very top of each. Looking across from that point you can see the rows of trees leading up to the stadium; their colors gradate from gold to red and back again. Another set of trees by the community center has red, orange and burgundy leaves that appear to be floating on the air rather than their branches. Just past the Bathhouse Theater are my favorite trees that change each season. As they lose their green leaves they start displaying bright red berries; these berries will be virtually the only spot of bright color around the lake come December. Right now they look perfectly in flux, just like the rest of the trees. Did I mention that I love this time of year?

I'll be out for a walk around the lake tomorrow, trying to catch the colors one last time before the gray of winter sets in. Then there will be other excitements: Halloween, steamed cider, lots and lots of braised meats, holiday specials on TV, not to mention the buckets of Swiss Miss hot cocoa to be consumed. (Yes, most of my winter joys are food-related. Aren't yours?) But for this weekend, I'll be keeping my eyes toward the sky, looking for the sun and saying goodbye to all those beautiful fall colors.

Have I got a deal for you!

2007-10-14T01:06:00.000-07:00

In my last post a few months ago I promised to give the scoop on affordable cards printed by small manufacturers. I'm finally making good on that promise, so without further ado here are some of my favorites:

Great Arrow Graphics is based in Buffalo, New York and produces a huge variety of hand silkscreened cards, created in their own studio. Okay, maybe they're not such a small company now, but they were when they started and they've stayed true to their vision. Plus they have such a large selection that you can usually find a good card for everyone on your list. Cards typically cost $2.25 - $3.95.

Saturn Press is another of my favorite card lines, but they don't have an official website or even an email. They print on Swans Island, Maine using antique letterpresses, and their images tend toward the vintage/nostalgic/whimsical end of the spectrum. You can visit If The Birds Knew to see some images from past and present cards, but if you want to find them you'll have to do a little digging around your town; the various Paper Source chains also occasionally keep them in stock. Cards range from $2.50 - $3.50.

B Designs is another New England letterpress line; they sell individual cards and boxed sets both online and in stores across the country. Their tiny size cards are perfect for thank you notes or holiday cards, and their collection of images ranges from classic (cherry blossom) to wonderfully weird (a frog conductor). Individual cards range from $2.00-$3.00 depending on the retail markup.

Seltzer is a newish line created and printed in Queens, using recycled paper and vegetable-based inks. Their cards are sometimes quirky, sometimes sweet, and they also have hilarious wrapping paper. Cards typically run $3.25 or so.

My newest favorite card line is fomato, because the cards are simultaneously so bizarre and adorable. The only downside is that I can't figure out where they're printed, because every card has a different location ("Riscani, Moldova." "Ermeton-sur-Biert, Belgium"). I need to email them and ask, but in the meantime I just can't stop myself from buying them. Just look at this card to see why - they're awesome! We have a hard time finding fomato cards in Seattle, but Black Ink in Boston carries them so every time we visit we stock up. Cards are usually around $3.00.

Now I know the downside of sharing your favorite line is that it might not feel so special anymore, but on the other hand if it's too special they might not sell enough to keep printing! So I'm sharing these (particularly the lesser known lines) in the hopes that sustained business will keep them producing wonderful cards. What's your favorite small card line? Leave a comment and let me (and everyone else) know.

Slahw me dahhhhn...

2007-09-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't usually use my blog to make fun of young and mostly innocent ingenues, but Lainey really hits the nail on the head with her critique of Emmy Rossum's new video. I just don't get it--IMDB says that Emmy was born in New York, yet in this video she totally sounds like she's trying to be the younger crowd's Enya. Watch for yourself, but be warned: you probably won't get through it with a straight face.

Here's the link.

Now get it out of your head by following up with this totally awesome video from Flight of the Conchords...you'll be so glad you did!

Good times never seemed so good...

2007-09-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

We got back from Boston last night and I'm still recovering, but I have to write while I remember the trip.

We got in Saturday morning at 6:30, after a flight with a screaming child. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep, so after a stop at Dunkin' Donuts (for Larry) and Diesel Cafe (for me) we went back to his sister Linda's place and crashed for a while. The rest of the day was perfectly lazy; we bummed around Harvard Square and stopped in at some of our favorite shops from the last visit. We also got hot chocolate from Burdick's, which is really the most insanely chocolatey hot chocolate you will ever drink. Love it! That night we went to S & S Deli for dinner and rented Stranger than Fiction, which if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend.

Sunday morning we had brunch in the South End and took a stroll through the Public Garden, where Make Way for Ducklings was set. On the way there we walked along Newbury Street where all the fancy shops are, and Larry saw A-Rod pushing a stroller. We wanted to ask him why he wasn't getting ready for the game but refrained. I guess he wanted to do some pre-game shopping.

Sunday night was the reason for our visit: after 3 years, Larry finally got into the lottery and was able to get tickets to a Red Sox/Yankees game. We chose the last Red Sox/Yankees match-up of the season, and were really excited when we found out that Curt Schilling would be pitching against Roger Clemens. It was an authentic Red Sox experience - we lost in the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded, by one run. Heartbreaking. But it was still a very exciting game, and definitely worth the whirlwind trip. I loved being in the ballpark, eating a Fenway frank, hearing all the Boston accents and cheering along with the crowd. I even got the chance to properly boo that traitor Johnny Damon.

We got some extra entertainment in the bottom of the seventh inning, when some crazy fan ran onto the field! He ran to second base and tried to high-five Eric Hinske (who had just hit a double), then he stole and put on Robinson Cano's cap! He was doing a pretty good job outrunning security and I know I wasn't the only one cheering him on, because it was hilarious. Finally someone tackled him and they started to cart him off the field, when he tried to escape AGAIN. He didn't succeed, but it was awesome to watch. Soxy Lady has some video of the guy, and a much better recap of the game than I could hope to provide, so I suggest you visit her site. I totally agree with her complaint about people who don't deserve to go to a game at Fenway. The people in our row got up so many times that we wondered why they bothered paying for seats!

Although it was tough to watch the Sox lose after flying 3,000 miles to see them, it was completely worth it and now I'm hoping we'll get picked in the lottery for playoff tickets...

As we were leaving Fenway, vendors were selling funny t-shirts that mostly made fun of the Yankees. My two favorites were "A-Rod: Mr. April, Miss October" and "Derek Jeter Drinks Wine Coolers." I love Boston!

Yesterday we drove to Concord to visit Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women. Yes, I'm a total dork and I don't care who knows it. The tour was really fun, but the introductory video was a little weird - they had an actress who played Louisa, which was bizarre in itself, but then she kept talking about herself in both past and present tense. Creepy! One cool thing I didn't know was that Louisa's sister May was an accomplished artist who had several paintings shown at the Paris Salon. Their parents let May draw all over the house, and in her bedroom there are drawings all over the walls and windowsills. She probably would have been just as famous as Louisa, but she died 6 weeks after having her daugher Lulu. Of course now I have the urge to read Little Women again and try to find the similarities between the Marches and the Alcotts. Outside the house, a local club maintains a garden just like the one described in the book (chapter 10):

"The garden had to be put in order, and each sister had a quarter of the little plot to do what she liked with. Hannah used to say, "I'd know which each of them gardings belonged to, ef I see 'em in Chiny," and so she might, for the girls' tastes differed as much as their characters. Meg's had roses and heliotrope, myrtle, and a little orange tree in it. Jo's bed was never alike two seasons, for she was always trying experiments. This year it was to be a plantation of sun flowers, the seeds of which cheerful land aspiring plant were to feed Aunt Cockle-top and her family of chicks. Beth had old-fashioned fragrant flowers in her garden, sweet peas and mignonette, larkspur, pinks, pansies, and southernwood, with chickweed for the birds and catnip for the pussies. Amy had a bower in hers, rather small and earwiggy, but very pretty to look at, with honeysuckle and morning-glories hanging their colored horns and bells in graceful wreaths all over it, tall white lilies, delicate ferns, and as many brilliant, picturesque plants as would consent to blossom there."

We also visited the Old North Bridge, one of the first battle sites in the Revolutionary War. One thing I really love about New England is how much of our nation's history is still there in the architecture and landscape. Also, it's just plain beautiful. I do have to say that Concord appears to win the prize for most commemorative plaques per square mile. Besides Louisa May Alcott, Concord was home to Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville and others that I'm forgetting. Add to that the Colonial and Revolutionary historical events, and you have yourself a lot of plaques.

Emerson's house was closed the day we visited Concord, but we'll save it for the next visit. I hope there will be many more visits, because Boston (and New England in general) is just a fun place to be. And I have photographic evidence to prove it.

Yawkey Way, outside Fenway Park

In our seats, section 18 of the grandstand

Curt Schilling warming up

The Old North Bridge in Concord

View from the bridge

Concord School of Philosophy
(founded by Bronson Alcott, on the grounds of Orchard House)

Weekends away

2007-09-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

I finally turned 30 last weekend! I say "finally" because once you're 29, really, you're so close that what's the point? Better to just be 30 and be done with the twenties. Happily my birthday fell on a Saturday this year so I got to celebrate all weekend long, first with a dinner at The Pink Door with our good friends Kristine and Bob, and then on Sunday night with a surprise birthday dinner at Cremant, organized by a very sneaky Larry. It was my first ever surprise party, and a great way to kick off my next year.

We spent Labor Day weekend at Bumbershoot, seeing so many bands I can't remember them all. Fortunately Larry made an Excel spreadsheet to use as our personal schedule - his nerdiness comes in really handy sometimes. So here's who we saw:

Saturday:
Carrie Akre
Crowded House
The Shins
The Saturday Knights
Menomena
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Gogol Bordello

Sunday:
The Watson Twins
Art Brut
Stars of Track and Field
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Kings of Leon
The Apples in Stereo
Zap Mama
Devendra Banhart

Monday:
Smoosh
Fleet Foxes
Andrew Bird
The Damnwells
The Frames
Steve Earle

Larry got us tickets to the KEXP Lounge, so we got to see several of the bands there. It was nice because it was a smaller room, the bands often played acoustic sets, and it was cool inside. I can tell I'm getting older because the first thing I wanted to do whenever we got to a different stage was find a place to sit! But come on, it's 3 days of non-stop shows - I had to pace myself, right? (at least that's the story I'm sticking to...)

My two favorite acts of the weekend would have to be Rodrigo y Gabriela and Fleet Foxes. Rodrigo y Gabriela are an acoustic guitar duo, but the way they use their instruments would make you think they have an entire band up there. Gabriela uses her guitar like a percussion instrument while Rodrigo's amazing fingerwork goes up and down the frets faster than you could imagine. I've never heard two musicians play tighter in rhythm! It was mesmerizing to watch. Fleet Foxes are a Seattle band that's been around for a while, but I hadn't heard them till Bumbershoot. They play 70's inspired/influenced rock with lush 3-part harmonies, and I just love their songs. In fact, I think they might be my new favorite band. Not that anyone could ever supplant the Decemberists, but there's always room for more great music...

Other extra fun shows, in no particular order: The Saturday Knights, Crowded House, The Shins, The Watson Twins, The Apples in Stereo, Art Brut, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Smoosh, Steve Earle, Andrew Bird. All in all, a fabulous weekend.

This coming weekend promises to be equally exciting. We're headed to Boston to watch a Red Sox/Yankees game at Fenway Park!!! Look for me on the highlight reel - I'll be the one getting arrested for rushing the field to hug David Ortiz. We might also go to Concord to visit Walden Pond and Louisa May Alcott's house (Larry's not the only nerd in this relationship), and of course there will be some good eating involved, because when is there not?

A few of my favorite things, sturgeon moon* edition

2007-08-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ben & Jerry's new Creme Brulee ice cream
morning walks around Green Lake
purple nail polish
Flight of the Conchords (still)
lunar eclipses

*Aug. 28, 6:35 a.m. EDT - The Full Sturgeon Moon, when this large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water like Lake Champlain is most readily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

Maybe he should have sung "Clocks" instead...

2007-08-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Kendra for pointing out this awesome local story! I used to live in Wallingford, just 2 blocks from Changes, but back then I preferred to sing karaoke up the street at Goldies. Who knew "Yellow" could trigger such blind rage? Or should I say it made her see red...hee!

Link to Seattle Post-Intelligencer article and related content here.

Karaoke singer attacked after starting song
Woman punches man on stage

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER

It could have been the Coldplay song "Yellow" that upset the patron of a Wallingford neighborhood bar. Or perhaps it was the karaoke singer who belted it out.

Employees at Changes, on North 45th Street, said they don't know, but the ensuing melee just past 1 a.m. Thursday was one unlike anything seen at the bar before.

As soon as the man on stage started singing about the stars in his best Chris Martin impersonation, the woman reportedly said: "Oh, no, not that song. I can't stand that song!"

Witnesses said her distaste for Coldplay quickly took a violent turn, and she leaped at the would-be crooner, shouting expletives and telling him that his singing "sucked," while expressing the same opinion of the song, according to a Seattle police report.
She pushed the man and punched him, all in an effort to stop his singing.

Other patrons went to the singer's aid and hauled the 21-year-old woman outside.

"It took three or four of us to hold her down," said Robert Willmette, one of the bartenders at Changes.

The woman, Willmette said, "went crazy" when she got outside, punching him twice in the face, and throwing blows at the others gathered around her.

But the person who drew most of the music critic's ire was an off-duty Seattle police officer. The off-duty officer identified herself as a cop, gave her badge number and had another patron call 911 to request help for an officer.

The response was fast and overwhelming, with both patrol officers and Gang Unit detectives converging on the normally tame neighborhood bar.

"They blocked the whole street off," Willmette said.

According to the police report, the woman's rage only grew when the uniformed officers arrived.

The officers took the woman, whom Willmette described as "a little hippie girl," to the ground, but she was still able to head butt the off-duty officer several times before she was handcuffed.

After treatment for injuries she suffered in the scuffle, the woman was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of assault. She was also held on a warrant issued for a previous theft charge.

The off-duty officer also went to the hospital, for treatment of several cuts, scrapes and bruises.

Later Thursday morning, bar employees were shaking their heads over the woman's bizarre behavior.

According to the night bartender's notes, she had just one drink -- a single shot of Jägermeister.

She didn't appear to be one of the regulars who flock to the bar for its karaoke nights on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Most are regulars who come for the pleasure of the singing, and the police are rarely needed.
"She was just crazy," Willmette said.

Thank you for coming to the St. Croix County Fair

2007-07-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

We just got back from my family reunion in Baldwin, Wisconsin. It was a lot of fun to see all my aunts, uncles and cousins, and Larry got to meet them for the first time. This is probably a good time to mention that we got engaged about a month ago, so everyone was asking him lots of questions, congratulating us, etc. And of course they all loved him, because really, who doesn't like Larry?

My cousin Jennah was showing her horse at the county fair, so we went over on Saturday and Sunday to watch her and check out the fair. Larry had never been to a county fair, and I hadn't been to one in several years, so we had to go through ALL of the buildings (even the smelly ones), see the exhibits and eat lots of fair food. We took my cousins Brooke and Luke along on Sunday and checked out the rides and games. Word of advice--never ride the Tilt-a-Whirl directly after eating a corndog and deep-fried cheese curds. Trust me on this!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the fair:

Deep fried cheese curds, a Wisconsin specialty

Jennah and Izzy

SO cute!

Brooke and Luke on the Tilt-a-Whirl

Aww, so dainty.

The best slogan ever

It's a slow news day

2007-07-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

This summer is the speediest yet--how did it get to be the end of July? This is how I know I'm getting older...not only does EVERY month seem to go by with lightning quick speed, but I think I've written "how did it get to be (insert time of year here) already" in at least 4 other blog posts. Those of you who know me won't be surprised that I'm repeating myself, but this is excessive even by my standards. Oh well--another pleasure of getting older is that I just don't care enough to stop doing it.

I don't really have anything else interesting to say until next week, so I'll end here with a few fun photos that I've been wanting to put up for a while.

My very first lattice crust pie (pre-oven)--strawberry rhubarb with homemade crust, thank you very much. Although the real thanks must go to Christine for her foolproof pie crust recipe.

Larry is always finding new ways to amuse himself on the long (carpool) commute home.

Unbelievably, Zach likes to sleep this way...

...and Nigel just wants to be left alone.

Goodbye, Bubbles

2007-07-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Beverly Sills passed away this week at the age of 78. Not only was she an amazing singer who introduced opera to much of mainstream America, she also directed the New York City Opera for several years and later became chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera. She will most definitely be missed. You can read her New York Times obituary here.

Another opera singer, the French soprano Regine Crespin, passed away today at the age of 80. You can read her obituary here. My favorite story about her is this tidit (from the NYT obit):

"Recalling her performances at the Met with the powerhouse tenor Franco Corelli in 'Tosca' and Massenet’s 'Werther,' she said he was convinced that eating raw garlic before a performance was good for the voice. But when they sang duets, Corelli would regularly burp. She learned to adjust, Ms. Crespin said."

Further proof that opera singers are a crazy bunch... (and I say this as a member of that bunch, though I don't think I could stomach raw garlic!)

Blah blah blah.

2007-07-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since my last post and may be a bit before I have time to write another "real" post, meaning one where I don't just whine about how I'm too busy to post. But seriously, between choir rehearsals 3 days a week, teaching my harmony class once a week, out-of-town guests and the summer barrage of sporting events, I have had almost no spare time. And the spare time I have had was devoted to reading my book club book, which by the way I heartily recommend--it's Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time, about the Great American Dust Bowl. Don't be fooled by the 300 page length, which I thought would be an easy summer read. It's incredibly dense but fascinating and you won't want to skip a paragraph, so don't be like me and only give yourself a week to read it, or you will find yourself staying up late and getting up early to ensure that you finish it before everyone comes over because how embarassing would it be to not finish the book when you're the host?!?

Ahem.

Anyways, I have some fun things I really want to write about, like our AMAZING culinary experience at The Herbfarm or the fabulous Feist show we went to a week and a half ago. Plus I have a couple of delicious summer recipes to share. So stay tuned...hopefully next week I'll find some time to sit down and write something worth reading!

My new favorite show

2007-06-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

HBO has a new series, Flight of the Conchords and it is AWESOME. If you missed the premiere, they'll be playing it throughout the week, or you can see clips from the show at their website. To get the feel of the episode, watch the clips in this order:

Hot Women
Most Beautiful Girl
Band Meeting with Murray
Robots Video
I'm not Crying

You won't get to see the whole episode online, but most of it is there and it's AWESOME. (Did I say that already?) Here's one of my favorite clips to get you started:

"I could make that!"

2007-06-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

I was in a stationery shop the other day when I overheard another customer snidely whisper, "I could make that myself!" to her friend. It wasn't the first time I've heard that comment and probably won't be the last, but I'm always surprised by it--I mean, unless you're going to complain directly to the sales associate or manager, it's a good idea to save your comments until you've left the store!

With the prevalence of rubber stamp and card making supply stores (Impress, Paper Source, etc.) it's not surprising that the DIY attitude is becoming more and more common. And I can certainly understand someone thinking that they could make a card themselves, especially if they're looking at something that's been made with a rubber stamp, or is comprised mainly of layered papers, or looks "handmade"; these kinds of cards can be pretty easy to execute. Plus, sometimes it's just more fun to create something yourself and play with beautiful papers. But it often seems like when people say that they could make a card themselves, they're usually also commenting on the price of the card and how it's not worth the marked price. So I thought I'd do a price breakdown, based on some common card making items available at Paper Source. Here's what I found:

1 pack of 20 A-2 size cards in curry: $5.25
2 packs of A-2 envelopes (10 in each pack for $3.25) in gravel : $6.50
1 brocade rubber stamp that I thought was cute: $8.50
1 ink pad in ruby red: $5.10
Total before tax & shipping (or gas to get there): $25.35

Now, if I break down that cost per card, it gets really cheap--around $1.27 a card. Perfect if I need to make my own invitations or a bunch of thank-you notes (which I have done before and had a lot of fun with it). But I have to remember that this estimate doesn't include the value of my time spent making the cards. Plus, I would die of boredom if I had to use 20 of the exact same card for anything other than invitations or thank-you notes; I only buy 6 or 8 packs of stationery for this very reason. And if you only need one card, it's a pretty hefty investment to make it yourself. That $6.00 card is starting to look reasonable by comparison.

On the flip side, let's look at a typical manufacturer's cost in getting a card to market. They have to spend the time coming up with a viable design; print it themselves or take it to a printer; in most cases buy cello sleeves and spend time stuffing cards into the sleeves; print and mail catalogs that they hope will inspire retailers to buy their product; rent or own some amount of space to house their product in; and buy the boxes to ship that product. For all of this work, they will in most cases be making less than half of what you're paying for that card, because each store has plenty of their own overhead costs (rent, utilities, employees, etc.) that need to be covered by the retail markup. No wonder so many card and stationery designers have day jobs and sell their product as a side venture--it's a difficult category in which to turn a profit.

Of course, my sympathy for manufacturers disappears rapidly when I see a card that is poorly designed or executed, or even worse, a blatant rip-off of another line. But that's a topic for another post. My point is, just like with most things, you get what you pay for. If you're paying top dollar for a card like those made by You Send Me, it's because each little bead, sequin and/or piece of glitter has been placed just so on that card. The paper used is a heavy card stock, often with a (more expensive) pearlized sheen. The designs are adorable, whimsical and fresh. Plus you get a protective glassine sleeve and a beautiful opalescent envelope to mail it it. You can tell that they have taken the time to create a quality product, and it has cost them a sizable amount of money to make it, so it will cost you more to buy it. Compare that to many of the mass produced cards on the market, which are printed on thin paper with even thinner envelopes. Another factor is where the card was printed; many of the more expensive cards are printed by small manufacturers in the US, while larger lines print overseas in huge print runs. Look at the "Printed in..." on the back of a chain store card next time you're out, and you'll see what I mean.

This isn't to say that only expensive cards are worth buying; there are lots of elegant, fun, witty, beautiful, etc. cards that can be found for around $3.00 or in some cases even less. A future post will be devoted to affordable cards that are still cute and in most cases made by small companies, so stay tuned. In the meantime, whether you buy all your cards or make your own, remember to support your local card shop!

The laziest post ever.

2007-06-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Since I started my blog last year, I've been keeping track of bizarre search terms that lead to my site. I've been waiting for the right time to post, and I decided today is the day, mainly because I'm too lazy to write anything original. So here, listed in descending order of bizarreness, are some of the craziest search terms around.

1. long fingernail slave (I think this definitely has to be the weirdest...not only do I not blog about those kinds of things, but my blog didn't show up until something like the 14th page of Google--how long was this person researching their incredibly random topic?!?)
2. stinky garbage girl (so...confused...eewww.)
3. poo (you write one whiny post about the person who puts their dog poo in your garbage can, and wham! you're on the "poo" search engine list for life!)
4. chocolate pudding dessert named chocolate fatso (the person searching was from Grinnell, Iowa--doesn't "chocolate fatso" just sound like a Midwestern dessert?)
5. dance ramer (awesome.)
6. Kristen couch (I know I spend a lot of time on the couch, but come on now!)
7. mailing address for Christopher Guest (yes, because not only do I have his address in my Filofax but I've posted it for the whole world to see...)
8. Theo chocolate sucks (actually it rules--it's delicious, and if you take the factory tour they give you TONS of free chocolate. I think the person who typed this in sucks!)
9. kill the groove (um, you better not. Sophie Ellis Bextor will mess you UP.)
10. dressed in yellow she says hello come sit next to me you fine fellow (considering that I posted the entire lyrics to this rap I'm not surprised at this one.)

Happy weekend!

The annual Father's Day dilemma

2007-06-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Every year, it's the same old selection of Father's Day cards. Golf clubs, neckties, fishing reels and martini glasses comprise nearly half of all the available cards. At least another 10% is wasted on Canada geese or other waterfowl, usually accompanied by some hokey quote. 10% more are specifically created for the little ones to give Daddy, another 10% are addressed to the "World's Best Dad," and an additional 10% is given over to the "For the Father of my Children" market. That doesn't leave too many for the rest of us to choose from. So what do you do if you're a grown-up kid or just hate cheesy cards? Here are a few of my favorite solutions:

"Stone Repeat Father's Day" from Egg Press (card is taller than shown in above image), $6.00 + shipping, available here or check out their list of retailers.

"Lawnmower" from Two Piglets, app. $4.50, find a local retailer here.

When in doubt, a beautiful blank card is always a good option. "Two Leaves" from B Designs, sold with their Woodland Collection ($25.00 for 10 notes, + shipping) here or find a store near you.

The dinner club

2007-05-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday night (5/19) we got together with 7 other friends for a special dinner at Cremant, a newish (it turned one in March) French restaurant in Madrona. Before I even get to the dinner part, I just have to say what a sweet neighborhood Madrona is--there are several cute shops and restaurants along the main strip, but it doesn't feel gentrified yet. Case in point--the ad for the Madrona Farmer's Market, which takes place in the Grocery Outlet parking lot. Love it! But back to Cremant. We had booked the Salon du Jardin for our dinner, which we figured was a private room in the back of the restaurant. Well, it was, but it turned out to be completely private--we were instructed to walk outside and around back, where we saw the door for our room. It's separate from the rest of the restaurant, with a door to the kitchen. I will confess that I was really excited when I saw that we had our own restroom.

We had decided ahead of time that we would let the chef choose our menu, so we had no idea what the evening would hold. We started with aperitifs, a kir royale for me and cremant (French sparkling wine from outside the Champagne region) for Larry. As the group settled in with our drinks, the host brought out a plate of cured meats, a pot of house-made rillettes (!), and 2 pots of a delicious spread made with albacore tuna, roasted fennel, olives and eggplant. You mixed it all together and then spread it on your bread--so good. Not as good as the rillettes, mind you, but then I might be just a wee bit biased since rillettes are one of my absolute favorite treats and are usually hard to find.

Our next course consisted of 2 huge platters of endive salad with walnuts and Roquefort, and a plate of 6 roasted marrow bones. I had never had marrow before, and when I first saw it I felt a little nervous, but the taste was incredible. We were instructed to spread some marrow on a bit of bread and then sprinkle some fleur du sel over it. The marrow was so smooth, like butter but even more rich, and the salt added the perfect contrast. The salad had a great tangy bite to it, and paired beautifully with a Vouvray white wine. It was so good that toward the end of the course when we saw the waitress start to take people's plates away, Larry and I quickly loaded our plates up with more salad so we could keep eating! (Yes, we are gluttons.)

The third course arrived just as everyone was finishing their wine; it was cote de boeuf and a potato gratin. The host poured us Vacqueyras, a Rhone red wine, and we started in. The beef had been braised but was still rare--again, something I normally wouldn't have tried, but it was AMAZING. There was a great crust on the outside and lovely pink, tender meat on the inside. This dish may well have converted me to rare meat. The gratin was rich and creamy, a perfect match for the beef. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record with the "this paired beautifully..." and the "what a perfect match..." but it's true. There's a lot to be said for putting yourself in the hands of the chef; they know what dishes will go well together (and what wines to pair), they can plan a meal that will leave you satisfied but not stuffed, they can serve you the best of what's available that night, and you get to sit back and be surprised. Of course, there are some surprises you might not want--before we went Larry had requested that we not be served steak tartare or veal--but it's fun to put yourself in the chef's hands every once in a while. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now, but try it some time!

For dessert the host brought out one of each dessert on the menu: creme brulee, chocolate mousse, rice pudding, and plums that had been soaked in Armagnac. Each dessert was delicious (the plums surprisingly so), but the creme brulee was my favorite. I really wanted to order one just for myself, but I refrained. We were all amazed at what a perfect evening it had been, and started talking about where the next dinner club would be.

One last story...just about everyone ordered tea or an after-dinner drink, and I saw that Chartreuse was on the digestif menu. I've always been curious about Chartreuse--I know it's made by monks and that it's where the name of the color comes from, but before Saturday that was the extent of my knowledge. Since we had already had such an indulgent night, I decided to try it out. It came in a little brandy snifter and was that beautiful shade of green. I raised my glass, took a deep sniff and...nearly burned my nose hairs off! Seriously, it smelled like rubbing alcohol. I took a sip; it tingled all the way down my throat. Don't get me wrong, it tasted pretty good, but it was so spicy--almost like the bite you get from cinnamon oil--and I am a wimp about spicy things. I encouraged everyone else to have a sip, not only so they could smell and taste it, but so that I would have less to drink! It was quite an experience, but it didn't end there. About 10 minutes after we left the restaurant, I realized that I was totally blitzed (don't worry, Larry was driving). I had been fine all through dinner, so it was definitely the Chartreuse. I guess it's not a drink for amateurs!

Next up: Sitka and Spruce, on June 22nd.

And her name was Veronica

2007-05-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

CW announced their fall line-up today, and Veronica Mars was nowhere to be found. While the show never reached the awesome level of Season 1 (isn't that nearly always the case?), it was still entertaining and interesting. But apparently not as interesting as, say, The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll, or Friday Night Smackdown, or a series based on the Gossip Girl books. (which Kristen Bell is reported to be narrating--at least she'll have a new job...) Maybe it's just as well, because in the last season it's been turning into more and more of a teen soap instead of a noir mystery. But still--why do the best shows on TV always get cancelled?!? At least I still have How I Met Your Mother, and Heroes, and Lost, and The Office...and isn't Project Runway starting up again after Shear Genius ends? Hmm...okay, maybe it's better this way. With one less show to watch, maybe I'll stop watching so much television--not likely, but anything's possible. And I can always pop in the V Mars Season 1 DVD for a bit of nostalgia. Misty water-colored memories...

May to Decemberists

2007-05-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

The Decemberists came back to town last Friday and put on an AMAZING show. Those of you who know me are probably thinking that I was predisposed to think that, given my near-obsession with them, and that's true. But still. It was amazing!!! The show began with a darkened hall and a rousing Russian nationalist tune--perhaps in deference to the original Decembrists? In any event, it was a great way to start. I felt like I was listening to the overture at an opera.

As the band came onstage, another beautiful backdrop came down behind them, this time a night scene (I think it was depicting the same village as before) complete with full moon and butterflies. They started the set with The Crane Wife, Parts 1 & 2 and then went into Part 3. Although I love the way the album starts with Part 3 and goes straight into The Island, it was nice to hear the entire cycle in its original order. It seemed like from there they really followed the album for a while, playing The Island, Yankee Bayonet and O Valencia! (maybe not in that exact order, my memory fails me there). Later in the show came Shankill Butchers (with the stage appropriately bathed in blood-red light), The Perfect Crime No. 2 and the show closer When The War Came. In between there were old favorites like Leslie Ann Levine and unreleased gems like Cut 'Em Up, Boy (deemed "too violent" for the album, it featured Chris and Jenny pairing up on the keyboard while Colin put his theater major skills to work. He borrowed someone's cell phone to deliver the last verse that started with, "Listen up, boy..." and I'm still wondering if there was actually a person on the other end of the line.)

Near the end of the set Colin announced that it would be their last song, and the audience was treated to...the vocal stylings of Chris Funk! He launched into his falsetto rendition of The Outfield's Your Love and got the audience to sing along on the chorus: "I just wanna use your love tonight/I don't wanna lose your love tonight." A couple of people in front even whipped out their lighters. It was truly awesome. They ended with an extra-long version of When The War Came, but came out shortly after for an encore, of which the highlight was the crazy audience participation piece Mariners Revenge. I've never had so much fun pretending to be eaten by a whale. (If you're confused right now I recommend that you dash right out and pick up a copy of The Decemberists Handbook DVD from your local record store.)

In the middle of the set Colin took a moment to apologize for the show they gave in the fall, which they felt was "crappy" because he was so sick. Well, I loved that show even though he was sick--like I've said before, the whole beauty of seeing live music is that you never know what you'll get. You just have to go with an open mind and enjoy the moment. So I don't think they needed to apologize, but I wasn't complaining that they wanted to make up for it by playing an extra-long show. It was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect night.

Everyone deserves a second chance...

2007-05-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

That's why I'm rooting for Jeff Weaver to have a better game today. He gave a really candid interview to reporters in New York, chronicled by the Seattle Times here. Basically, he admitted that he's been too much in his head and just needs to get out on the pitcher's mound and follow his gut. You have to respect a guy who owns up to his shortcomings but is still trying. Hopefully things will go better today and he'll get to stay in the rotation.

In other news, today we went to the Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale. We brought home 10 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, bok choy, Swiss chard, basil, thyme and sorrel. I'm going to keep a notebook on how the different varieties of tomatoes do and will post the results throughout the growing season for any other interested gardeners. We got almost all "odd-colored" tomatoes, like Green Zebra, Limmony and Black Plum to name a few. I can't wait to see what cool colors and crazy shapes they turn into.

I'll put up a separate post about the Decemberists show last night, but here's the short version: Best! Show! EVER!!!

Happy Decemberists Eve!

2007-05-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night we're going to see The Decemberists at the Paramount. We saw them back in the fall, but since I'm pretty much obsessed with them Larry got me tickets for Valentine's Day so we can see them again. I've been looking forward to this show for nearly 3 months and it's finally here! I have a feeling it will be the highlight of the weekend, though it has some stiff competition: we'll also be paying a late night visit to SAM's 35-hour marathon grand opening, and going to a discussion/book signing featuring Tim Gunn (eee!). So while I'm not sure what the very best moment will be, I believe I can safely say that this weekend is going to ROCK! Tune in for the full report on Monday...

Pushing pushmepullyou design

2007-04-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite artists is Eleanor Grosch of pushmepullyou design. [Full disclosure: I was introduced to her work by Larry, who worked with her in 2005 to create a poster for a benefit show he organized. I loved the poster she did for the benefit, but she became one of my favorite artists all of her own accord--by which I mean her incredible talent, wit and design sensibility.] She is constantly creating new animal illustrations that are both modern and whimsical, like the city pigeon that I hope to add to our collection soon, along with the mourning dove. Her prints are affordable and way cooler than some tired "masterpiece" poster. Plus she silkscreens all of her work by hand, with an average print run of 50 (each piece is numbered), so you're getting a limited edition piece. But the best part is that you'll have her beautiful print on your wall and it will make you happy every time you look at it. Trust me!

If you're not ready to commit to a print, Eleanor also has a collection of greeting cards and post cards that are just as fun. We got a few cards last year at Bumbershoot and I love them--bright, colorful and A6-sized, which is larger than the average 4-bar note card and therefore quite handy when you want to write a little longer note. And at $10.00 for 6 cards, they're a downright steal. Right now I'm liking the mice a lot, but they're all pretty darn cool. There are lots of other fun things to buy on her site too, but since this blog is about paper I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to visit and see for yourself, but be warned, it's hard to resist.

What does $8.325 million buy?

2007-04-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Apparently, a head-case pitcher who gives up 6 runs in the first 1/3 of the first inning. That's right, at tonight's game Jeff Weaver pitched line drive after line drive, allowing nearly the entire Royals batting order to hit off of him. Now I know he has a history of pitching badly in April, but this has to be a new low. They should take him out of rotation for a while and get him to a good sports psychologist so he can get his confidence back. Because when I start feeling relieved that they put Mateo in, it is NOT a good sign.

So what do you do when it's the bottom of the first inning and you know your team is going to lose? You eat. Tonight was an unparalleled festival of gluttony. Major and minor league hotdogs, a cheeseburger and french fries, warm peanuts, disgusting yet delightful nachos with cheese and salsa, one desperate-attempt-to-warm-up coffee, a souvenir size Sierra Mist, and finally the really-cold-but-still-awesome-7th-inning Dr. Pepper. Mmm. We got to the ballpark early so we could watch batting practice, which was fun--we're usually the ones dashing in halfway through the first inning, so it was nice to be settled and watch all the pre-game rituals. It also meant we didn't have to stand in line as long for food...I think we'll have to remember that trick for next time.

The other highlight (besides watching my favorite player Yuni) was watching Raul Ibanez in left field. He made 3 really sweet catches tonight, one for a very exciting double play. Even on a bad night, it's still fun to be at the ballpark.

Oh for the life of a cat

2007-04-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Other than a brief period from 2:30-3:00 spent whining for their lunch and then eating it, this is what the boys have done today. I have to admit I'm a little jealous.

A few of my favorite things, weekend edition

2007-04-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

homemade ice cream
cocktails at noon on a Saturday
The Namesake--go see it immediately, it is just soooo good. ps. Bring Kleenex.
Rex Lee as Lloyd on Entourage
lying on the couch all morning with the Sunday NY Times
springtime in Seattle

The joy of television

2007-04-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

I love TV. At any moment of the day it's there, waiting to suck you in with a Lifetime movie, classic music video, or syndicated sitcom (of which the best by far is still Golden Girls, thank you very much). But I hate the end of the season, when you're never sure whether or not your new favorite shows will get picked up for another 18 or 24 episodes. Cases in point: Friday Night Lights and Veronica Mars. Now I know V Mars is actually in its 3rd season, but I just started watching it this year. I became obsessed so quickly that seasons 1 & 2 on DVD showed up in my Christmas stocking and were devoured in 2 sleepless, junk-food filled weekends (and a couple of very late weeknights). Sure, there are 5 more episodes to go (indicating that CW might order more for fall), but they are stand-alone mysteries that won't have the same emotional and dramatic arc of a season-long investigation. And there's no guarantee that it will be back in September. Then there's FNL, which I never thought I would be watching so religiously, but it's seriously one of the best shows on TV right now. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are so great as the football coach and his counselor wife. Add to that an adorable romance between the quarterback and the coach's daughter, a fabulous supporting cast that provides intriguing sub-plots every week, and the sheer adrenalin of watching the Dillon Panthers play, and I find myself glued to the couch. How could NBC even think of cancelling it? I just don't understand how TV execs make their decisions these days. Take a show like Studio 60: yes, it's true that despite having a gifted writer and stellar cast, the series had a very uneven season and has often come across as more preachy than funny. But should it really be cancelled to make room for another violent family drama like The Black Donnellys or, when NBC decides that's a dud too, another reality show? Um, NO. Studio 60 has the potential to turn into something great--even with its dull moments, there's still intelligent writing and genuine comedy. It deserves a second chance!

Just as the network season is coming to and end, Bravo is following its Wednesday cash cow slot (aka 10 pm) into the salon with Shear Genius, yet ANOTHER attempt to follow the Project Runway formula. Now I like Top Chef but just couldn't get into Top Design--Todd Oldham put me right to sleep. Shear Genius, however, is luring me back into the land of wooden hosts, celebrity guest judges and lots o'drama, which this time is all about the hair. With real people saying things like, "I AM success" and "If I had just had 20 more feathers it would have been explosive," how can you go wrong? It's so bad it's awesome. If you're looking for a new guilty pleasure, look no more. And even if you're not, you should prepare yourself to be sucked in, because it's only a matter of time before they air the Shear Genius marathon. You know you can't resist...

Tiptoe through the tulips with me...

2007-04-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is in full bloom up at Mount Vernon through April 30th. Now I know you can't actually tiptoe through the tulips or they'd be ruined long before the end of the month, but it seems there is a shocking lack of songs written about tulips so it was the best I could come up with. Christine and I checked the festival out last Friday (more on her trip in my next post), and I think this weekend will be the best time to get out there before petals start dropping off.

This one's for you, Christine!

Tulip Town is totally worth the drive, and the 4 bucks admission. Just be sure to eat lunch before you go, or eat there--no outside food is allowed.

Tulip Town

And it was all yellow...

(I wanna) call it love

2007-03-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for a week or so, as Christine is coming to visit from LA and it looks like she's bringing the sun with her--hooray! But I have to write about the fabulous show we went to on Monday night. Sondre Lerche and The Faces Down played at the Crocodile Cafe, the first time he's headlined Seattle since 2004. (In between he opened for Elvis Costello at the Paramount, but it was just him and his guitar.) I have a soft spot for Sondre because Larry took me to that 2004 show on our first date. So of course I would love him just for being a part of our history, but in addition to that he is one of the best pop singers playing nowadays. His music is so catchy, the rhythm is tight, there are interesting little twists and turns in each song, and did I mention the brilliant lyrics? Like these: Just like in that old movie about Carlotta's spell /I feel obsessed like Scottie felt/ minus the drama and the fraud /I hope I got to get into her way /Out of my way. Truly, he's fantastic.

Now, Sondre's albums are great on their own, but nothing can really compare to seeing him live--especially when he plays with The Faces Down. Morten (bass), Kato (guitar) and Ole (drums) are the most entertaining band I've seen recently. Maybe those Norwegians know something the rest of us don't, because the 4 of them together had soooo much fun onstage Monday night that it was contagious. I found myself grinning like an idiot through most of the show because it was just so fun to watch their antics. They weren't even antics, really; you could just tell they were having a good time. It's refreshing to see a band so lacking in pretension. That's not to say they don't take their music seriously, because they're all obviously very accomplished on their respective instruments. During Monday's show we were treated to several mini jam sessions within individual songs, which is often the best part of going to see live music. You won't hear anything like that just by putting a CD in the stereo. It was especially fascinating to hear them, after having jammed for a few minutes, bring it back around and return to the song. Lots of bands do this, but few do it so well.

We missed the opening act, but I really liked the second singer Willy Mason. He's got a Johnny Cash, Mason Jennings kind of sound and his voice is really quite hypnotic. I felt bad for him because he was sick, but in my opinion it just added to his charm because it enhanced the bluesy, scratchy quality of his voice. I'm definitely going to be adding his album to our collection.

Interestingly enough given my last post, Sondre's playing The Waiting Room in Omaha tonight. Seriously, when did Omaha get so cool?

Update: The Omaha show has been cancelled because they're stuck in a snowstorm. See, this is why I live on the west coast.

Somewhere in middle America

2007-03-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today's NY Times Travel magazine has an article about Omaha, where I spent many of my formative years. It's funny how it never felt like home when I lived there, but now the longer I'm gone the more nostalgic I become about it. I get especially nostalgic when Larry and I start looking at real estate and realize that for the price of a teeny-tiny home in Fremont we could practically have a mansion in Omaha. Then again, I always say that the catch is that we'd have to live there. This article, however, reminded me of all the wonderful things Omaha has to offer, and it's got me longing to go back...to visit. I just don't think I could live in the midwest again after living next to the ocean for so many years, and I'll take a rainy Seattle winter over a snowy Nebraska winter anyday. But for a long weekend in late spring or early fall, Omaha could be a great destination.

In case you're visiting anytime soon, here are a few of my favorite Omaha locales:

The Old Market in downtown Omaha--I could (and did) spend hours sifting through old sheet music at Antiquarium, which is still my favorite used book store anywhere. I also like Ted & Wally's, The Diner, The Underground, and Retro Recycle (although the incense can be a bit much). Christine and I used to eat at Spaghetti Works in the Old Market on a very regular basis. Mmm, spumoni!

Also in the Old Market: Delice European Bakery. I love their chocolate mousse in its own edible chocolate cup, and the fresh fruit tartlets. I also recommend any of their savory pastries for lunch. Yum!

Catch a movie at Dundee Theatre, the very last single-screen movie theater in Omaha. It really is the best.

I love thrift shopping on 24th Street, and at the 84th Street Goodwill. The thrift stores in both Omaha and Lincoln are awesome--not overshopped or overpriced, and you can find great vintage pieces. Although maybe I shouldn't be sharing this information...

See a show at Sokol Hall. Sadly, I wasn't cool enough to know about the great acts that come to Sokol when I was younger, but if I lived there now it would definitely be on my list of favorites. Just a few of their upcoming shows are (local talent) Tilly and the Wall, Aqueduct and Tapes 'N Tapes.

If I think of anything else, I'll add it. If there's anything you think I missed, let me know!

One of my least favorite things (canine edition)

2007-03-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

I love dogs. I plan to have a dog or two someday. What I do not love is the person who, every week on trash day AFTER the trash has been picked up, leaves their stinky dog poo in our empty trash can. It's gotten to the point where I wait for the garbage truck to come, then go out immediately after the trash has been picked up to put the can away before they can strike again. But sometimes I forget, or have to be gone for a while, and then I come home to that stealthily dropped plastic bag in the bottom of my trash can and get angry all over again. I know I'm crossing the line into crotchety-old-man territory, and will soon be angrily waving my morning paper at the neighbor kids while wearing a bathrobe over my white t-shirt, plaid shorts and sandals with socks, but I can't help myself. Other people's dog poo is just gross.

You call this spring?!?

2007-03-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the most perfect kind of spring day--sunny and beautiful, with just enough breeze that you're comfortable, but warm enough to drive with the windows down and wear shorts to play tennis at the park.

This morning it's sunny, but it's 33 degrees outside and there's frost on all of the cars.

Is the Fremont troll punishing us for Missy's impertinence last fall?

I still remember

2007-03-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's a week late, but here's the Bloc Party review:

The evening kicked off with Seattle pop duo Smoosh, who were fabulous as always. Their music just makes me happy, and Chloe can really rock out on the drums. I was a little sad because we arrived in the middle of their set after dinner at Dahlia Lounge (we could have skipped dessert to make it on time, but how can you go to Dahlia and not have their doughnuts?) Fortunately we saw them last fall at the 826 benefit, and since we live here I'm sure we'll get to see them again before the year is over. Up next was Final Fantasy, the name Canadian singer Owen Pallett gives his solo project. He played violin (extremely well) and a little Casio keyboard and sang, while a cute girl made movies on an old-school overhead projector using different colored and cut-out transparencies (just like high school!). I loved it. My favorite movie started with a transparency that had a black and white drawing of a winding path that went over a lake; there was a giant tree that cut through the middle. As the song went on, she put different colors of perfectly cut-out transparency over each part of the drawing until it was all colored in. Then she had a transparency with a drawing of a little man that she floated over the original drawing so it looked like he was walking down the path. It probably doesn't sound as cool as it actually was, but the overall effect was incredibly charming. I should also mention that Owen has a lovely voice, and that his new album is called I Poo Clouds. I'd love to hear the back story behind that title...

Seattle was the first stop on Bloc Party's US tour to promote their new album, and they put on an amazing opening night show. If I were 10 years younger, I would have been down front dancing, but as it was we enjoyed watching the kiddies go crazy from our seats off to the side. (I know I'm still young, but since it was an all-ages show I felt really old next to all the little 15 year-olds...plus I just hate standing for 3-4 hours straight at shows nowadays, so I certainly feel old.) But I digress! Bloc Party's songs combine serious lyrics about modern day London with these incredibly catchy beats. The music was brilliant, their energy level was through the roof, and they looked good onstage.

About halfway through it became clear that the best part of the show for me was watching Russell, and of course Russell's hair. (see pictures below) I had just seen a similar haircut in a Prada ad earlier that day and was totally in love with it. It's the kind of cut that is soooo cool but looks good on noone but the model, you know? But! It looked completely natural on Russell. He was just adorable. I just wanted to give him a hug, he was so cute. I'll stop now since I'm starting to sound like a stalker, but seriously--the hair!!! Anyways, it was Russell's 26th birthday on Sunday, so at one point between songs Kele got the whole crowd to sing Happy Birthday to him; it was a sweet gesture and of course we all sang along. That kind of collective energy is what makes going to live shows so much fun--you just don't have experiences like that sitting at home on your couch! So if Bloc Party is coming to your town, get thee to the box office today and pick up your tickets. It's well worth it, plus you'll get to see Russell's hair for yourself. And you do not want to miss that.

Addendum to AFoMFT, late edition

2007-03-12T00:17:00.000-07:00

Just got home from the Bloc Party show and my official new favorite thing is...

Russell's hair!

(photo by Jenna Decker; see more of her work here.)

(photo by Juliette Robert; see more of her work here.)

I'll post a full review of the show tomorrow, but in the meantime, how cute is Russell's hair???!!??!?

A few of my favorite things, early daylight savings time edition

2007-03-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

NPR made a great point yesterday: if we now only have standard time 5 months out of the year, can it really be called "standard" time? Hm. But on with the list...

Swedish pop music
pink champagne
owls
pushmepullyou design
having Fridays off!

The extremely early bird does not get the worm.

2007-03-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

We're having a yard sale tomorrow to raise money for my good friend Christine and have put out quite a bit of publicity in the papers and online. The sale will be from 9-4, and I specified no early birds, but another friend who is experienced in yard sales warned me that they would show up anyways. Well, I guess she was right. An elderly gentleman just rang our doorbell asking if he could come in and see the books that we would be selling tomorrow. When I said no, he asked if he could come back tonight. I said no again. Then he asked if he could come at 7 tomorrow morning and played the age card to gain sympathy (he's 75). I finally said he could come at 8 and hang around until I get the books set up. Which I know is unfair to the people who will come at 9, and I feel a little bad about that, but I just did't feel like arguing with him. On the bright side, it's nice to know that at least one person will be coming to the sale tomorrow!

Shameless plug for my fabulous mechanic

2007-03-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

If you live in Seattle and are looking for a good mechanic, may I suggest Dr. Don's Automotive in Ballard? They are just awesome. Honest, helpful and downright friendly.

Eew.

2007-03-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

This morning I dropped my car off for an oil change, then took the bus home. On the bus I witnessed something that nobody should ever have to see: public grooming. A man sitting nearby was using a fingernail clipper to trim his chin hairs. On the bus!!!

After a few seconds of appalled staring, I regained my sense of politeness and thereafter stuck to furtive glances in his direction to see if he could possibly be doing what I thought he was doing. (He was.) He appeared to be using the reflection from the bus window for a mirror, as he pulled his chin skin taut with one hand and clipped with the other. Blech. I mean, we all know that natural light is the best light for facial grooming, but come on! Doing it in public is just unnecessary and wrong. I've had this image seared into my corneas for the past hour, so hopefully posting this will clear my brain, much like passing along an earworm helps get it out of your head...

I can't believe it's going to be March next week, or the Andy Rooney post.

2007-02-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

Seriously, this year is flying by at record speed. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

Last Monday we saw Camera Obscura at Neumo's and they were brilliant. I've missed them the last two times they came to town, so I was excited to finally hear them live. I was a teeny bit sad that they didn't play "Books Written for Girls," but it's pretty slow so maybe it would have been too much of a downer. They did play my favorite-est song of theirs, though, ("Suspended from Class") so I can't complain.

On Valentine's Day we went to the Triple Door for a special Jesse Sykes show. She played some old songs and of course, lots of stuff from the new album which came out last week. Get thee to Sonic Boom and check it out! One thing I love on this album, besides the music, is that in the liner notes where all the musicians are listed, there are hand-clap credits. Now my new goal is to be a hand-clapper for her next record. Jesse, if you're reading this, I'll do it for free as long as I get a credit....

Over the weekend I saw Music and Lyrics. It's worth seeing it for the music video alone, but I will definitely be adding the DVD to my collection when it comes out.

We also celebrated Chinese New Year Saturday, and spent lots of time shopping and cooking for our New Year feast. Saturday night our friends Rod and Shannon came over and we ate: dumplings; ma po doufu; beef with snow peas and oyster sauce; ants climbing trees (bean thread with pork); sweet and sour shrimp; chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, mu shu pork, and roast duck (we bought a whole one from Uwajimaya). For dessert we had ginger and green tea ice creams--yum. Sunday night Missy and Jessie came over and we ate: leftover chinese broccoli and sweet and sour shrimp; sole with mushrooms and rice wine; shrimp with ribbon noodles; vegetarian ma po doufu; vegetarian ants climbing trees; bok choy with garlic. For dessert Missy and Jessie brought puppy chow (I think it's rice chex with peanut butter, chocolate and confectioner's sugar, but I don't want to know the recipe or I'd make it all the time). We'll be eating leftovers all this week, but I don't mind because Larry is an awesome cook so it's all delicious. Plus it means we won't have to cook for a while!

You better not kill the groove...

2007-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to The Imaginary Socialite for reminding me how much I loooove this song and video! You can go to Sophie's website to hear a bit of her new single; the album comes out in a couple of weeks. You know it's going to be dance-tastic.

A sad day for the opera world

2007-02-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Composer Gian Carlo Menotti died today in Italy. He composed many wonderful operas of the 20th century, among them The Medium, one of my favorites. He is probably best known, however, for his sweet, classic Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Amahl premiered on television in 1951 and is still shown at the holidays. You can read Menotti's obituary from the New York Times here; may he rest in peace.

I love that dirty water...

2007-01-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

Larry's sister lives in Boston, so we got to stay there for a few days between Christmas and New Year's. The first day we drove up to Freeport, Maine to visit the gigantic L.L. Bean. Of course we had to take a picture by the giant boot.

On the way there we stopped at the DeLorme headquarters in Yarmouth to visit Eartha, the world's largest globe. I'm still partial to the world's largest buffalo, but we had fun checking Eartha out.

The next day Larry's parents drove up for some family sightseeing fun. [Sidenote--I need to mention that we got coffee the first two days at Diesel Cafe, which had the best coffee I drank on the east coast. If you live in Boston I highly recommend it.] We walked through the Public Garden, which I found out has a fascinating (and well-deserved) monument to ether. We also walked a good chunk of the Freedom Trail...

and visited the Paul Revere House. One thing about the house that I found really interesting was the discolored glass in the windows:

The guide told us that homeowners ordered their glass from England and had it shipped over. The mass-produced glass would often have particles of dust or other imperfections in it, so while the window arrived as clear glass, the individual panes would discolor over time. I think it would be cool to have that happen to your windows--it's like having your own custom stained glass.

The next day, the 30th, we took a tour of Fenway Park. It was exciting to be in the park, although it would be even more exciting if we were at a game. Or if Big Papi was our tour guide. Still, it was fun to learn Red Sox trivia, like that former owners Tom and Jean Yawkey's initials are written in Morse code on the manual scoreboard. Now I'm going to spend every home game looking for them.

By the way, those seats behind us go for $450 a pop, and that's only if your number is chosen after you enter the lottery for them. But the view is amazing...

We had purchased buttons for the First Night celebration, which gets you free admission into a ton of places. So on New Year's Eve we headed first to the New England aquarium, which had free admission till noon. The penguins there are seriously cute. Then it was on to the Old State House, Old Granary Burial Ground, and Otis House Museum (also old, but the word is not featured in the title). We had dinner at Whole Foods, where Larry got a slice of "Manny" pizza--they describe it as "pizza just being pizza." Love it!

Finally, for no other reason than that I think this is a really cute picture, here's one last shot of Boston:

Cheers!

New York classic

2007-01-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

New York cute

2007-01-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

New York Inspiration

2007-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

The First Emperor

2007-01-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first of what will probably be several posts on our trip back east...

Holiday Tree at Lincoln Center

After spending Christmas in Rhode Island and New Year's Eve in Boston, we went back to RI for New Year's dinner with Larry's family. We took the train from Providence to New York on January 2nd, got into Penn Station at 2:45, and were at the hotel by 3. It was fabulous--our hotel was 2 blocks south of Central Park and across the street from Carnegie Hall. We couldn't check in till 4, so we decided to stow our bags and walk to Lincoln Center, to see how far we'd have to travel for the opera that night. It was only 8 blocks away--woo hoo!

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center

On the way back we saw Ethan Hawke and Martha Plimpton at Columbus Circle. They're both performing in The Coast of Utopia right now, so we guessed they were heading to Lincoln Center for call time. We had an early dinner at nearby Cafe Europa and went back to check in and get ready for the opera (!).

The New York Times didn't love The First Emperor, but I did. Here's what I think: the NYT critic is paid to go to operas. His job is to look for errors, missteps, things to criticize--and to commend where he sees fit. I, on the other hand, go to the opera a few times a year (and had never been to the Met before this). I'm going to the opera because I want to be told a story, hear beautiful singing, look at pretty costumes--in short, I want to be entertained. I'm predisposed to like what I see, because I've paid (okay, Larry paid) for the ticket, made an effort to get dressed up for a fun night out, and am excited to see the opera legend Placido Domingo create a role, watch Tan Dun conduct the score he composed, see Emi Wada's beautiful costumes and experience a story directed by the amazing Zhang Yimou. How could it have been anything but a fabulous time?

Granted, the first act was a little s l o w . . .but hey, there was a lot of exposition to get through. The second act moved much more swiftly, and the percussive score (assisted by a HUGE gong downstage left) kept things humming along. My favorite character was the Yin-Yang Master, performed by Wu Hsing-Kuo (who came over from Peking Opera for the occasion). His singing and incredible dance skills completely mesmerized me every time he came onstage. I also thought Michelle DeYoung was great as the shaman, often blurring the line between singing and shrieking. The freakishly long fingernails and crazy costume helped to make her a very scary shaman. Placido Domingo gave a convincing performance as the self-absorbed emperor who decides not to have Gao Jianli killed for deflowering his daughter, because he needs the musician to finish writing China's new national anthem (his obsession with the anthem was pretty funny at times). Of course, Domingo's voice was phenomenal. It was nice to see him tackling a new role and embracing a different style of music--at this point in his career he could easily coast on recordings of old standards. I think it speaks highly of his artistry that he's still challenging himself.

The sets were innovative--lots of brick-like blocks suspended from wire, that continually changed figurations and depicted (at various times) steps, an amphitheater, the Great Wall in progress, the emperor's castle/fortress, and the completed Great Wall. The costumes were just gorgeous--Princess Yueyang's dress at the beginning of Act 2 was probably the prettiest (long robes in two shades of pink), but the chorus costumes in Act 1 and the Yin-Yang Master were cool beyond imagination. They wore double-sided robes, with masks on the back of their heads, and when they turned around they would perform arm movements that made it look like the mask-creature was shimmying and dancing on its own. Seriously creepy, and so cool.

Musically, I think Tan Dun was trying to give the vocal melodies a similar feel to the zither that was often onstage--that would account for the soaring lines, strange leaps and chromaticism that I heard throughout the opera. I thought it worked in its way, and though it did make for some slow moments I didn't think it was painfully slow or boring. It just wasn't the traditional Western operatic style that we're used to, and rightfully so considering it's not a Western story. There was a lovely duet between Gao Jianli and Princess Yueyang, and the slave song/national anthem was quite moving. My favorite musical moment would have to be the Act 2 intro/overture. Tan Dun took one of the motifs (from the slave song, I believe, but I could be wrong) and started changing it up in the orchestra, tweaking intervals here and there for an awesomely strange theme & variation moment. Maybe it comes from singing with the Esos for so long, but I love that stuff! If I were in the orchestra that would definitely be my favorite section to play.

We pre-ordered champagne for intermission and had such a wonderful, decadent time drinking it on the Grand Tier and people-watching. The chandelier/light fixture in the center of the staircase was sooo pretty and sparkly, and around the lobby there were costumes on display (Marc Chagall's Queen of the Night costume for The Magic Flute was very cool). There was also an exhibit going on of modern paintings inspired by opera heroines. I really liked John Currin's Helena, which you can sort of see here (scroll to the bottom, the last thumbnail). All in all, our trip to the Met was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I hope I will get to have many, many more times.

Mocha due avec moi

2007-01-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Since I've been on the east coast this commercial has run on average 10 times a day. I love it more each time I see it!

Shake hands with Santa Claus

2006-12-21T16:35:00.000-08:00

I urge you to visit Larry's blog and read the transcript of his IM interview with Santa. I think the North Pole elves would disagree that Christmas is "the most wonderful time of the year."

A few of my favorite things, holiday edition

2006-12-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

wrapping presents
fun winter coats
baking
over the top light displays
holiday specials on TV
jazz hands

Top Ten Albums of 2006

2006-12-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

It's officially list-making time...to start things off, here are my ten favorite albums (plus a few more) of 2006.

1. The Crane Wife, The Decemberists
2. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case
3. Rabbit Fur Coat, Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
4. Duper Sessions, Sondre Lerche and The Faces Down Quartet
5. The Life Pursuit, Belle and Sebastian
6. Naturally, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings
7. Supply and Demand, Amos Lee
8. Math and Physics Club, Math and Physics Club
9. Robbers and Cowards, Cold War Kids
10. Begin to Hope, Regina Spektor

Honorable Mentions:
Let's Get Out Of This Country, Camera Obscura
Show Your Bones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Alright, Still, Lily Allen
Putting The Days To Bed, The Long Winters

Seems like it's rainin' all the time...

2006-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

This year has definitely been the craziest, weather-wise, since I moved to Seattle 5 years ago. Last night our basement flooded from the torrential downpour of rain, and the lights flickered all night because it was so windy. Still, we were lucky: our cable and electricity stayed on all night. The biggest inconvenience (aside from icky muddy towels and sore backs from mopping) is that we didn't get our paper. Not because the carrier didn't deliver it, but because the power is out at the press, so they can't print. Crazy. Today the weather is so much calmer that it makes the storm seem like it was a bad dream. If things keep up, it will actually be warmer when we're on the east coast next week than it is here.

So I haven't written yet about the Decemberists' show, and now I also have to write about the KEXP benefit show we went to last Sunday. First, the Decemberists. I was so excited to see Colin and the gang that I was practically jumping up and down when they started to come onstage. There was a HUGE, beautiful backdrop with an illustration of a Japanese village, complete with a crane flying away (with a perfect blood spot on one wing, just like the album cover). In front of the backdrop were 8 very large red lanterns hanging over the band. It was one of the prettiest stage sets I've seen at the Paramount. They started the set with The Crane Wife, Pt. 3--the first song on the new album and my current favorite song. I was giddy. Colin had a cold which seemed to get worse as he went on, and they actually wound up cancelling their Vancouver shows to make sure he didn't damage his voice. But the show was fantastic nonetheless. You could tell that Colin was annoyed about his voice not doing what he wanted, but it didn't matter. If I want to hear the songs performed perfectly, I can listen to the album. The live concert is about what happens in the moment, so I was really pleased when he finally let loose on The Landlord's Daughter and just went with it. I know a lot of people were annoyed that the show was relatively short (because Colin's voice was shot), but I was just happy they didn't cancel altogether. I had been looking forward to the concert for 2 months, and it totally lived up to my expectations. I just can't say enough good things about The Decemberists, and I will most definitely be seeing them when they come to Seattle again.

Sunday we went to the KEXP benefit show at Neumo's. The line-up was:
Cold War Kids
The Junior Boys
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Juno
My favorite group by far was Cold War Kids. These guys are just fabulous--they are so much fun to watch and you can tell that they're having fun too. They use lots of complex rhythms and catchy melodies, but their presentation is so haphazard; it's almost as if they just woke up, hopped onstage and threw a song together. Love it! I highly recommend that you check out their album Robbers and Cowards. The Junior Boys were good, but the mixing was so out of balance that the bass was killing our ears. We had to move off to the side of the stage just to avoid being in pain from it. Ted Leo was lots of fun too; not totally my genre, but he can win anyone over with his energy (plus he's REALLY good at what he does, so just from that perspective you have to like him). By the time his set finished we were all pretty tired; we stuck around for the first 3 songs from Juno, then made it to the frites place right before they closed. Frites are truly the best ending for any evening, especially one spent with good friends and good music.

Who could say no to that face?

2006-12-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Stuff On My Cat hosted one of the cutest wedding proposals ever. I also had fun skimming through the 700+(!) comments, including a few from folks who take complete strangers' love lives waaay too seriously. I mean, come on, if you're proposing on a well known web site, you're probably pretty sure she's going to say yes. For that matter, I would think most people wait to propose until they're sure the other person will say yes. But I digress. What I really should say is congratulations, Jeff and Heather (and Fredrique)!

Not including raked stages or Wagner

2006-12-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

I read this interesting and excellently titled tidbit in today's New York Times, about the opera Larry and I will be seeing in January:

The Dangers of Opera

Company members of the Metropolitan Opera were sickened after being exposed to a shipment of costumes, including shoes, from China less than a month before the premiere of “The First Emperor,” a $3 million new production composed by Tan Dun and directed by Zhang Yimou. At least one backstage worker was hospitalized, apparently with an allergic reaction made worse by an existing ailment, said Elena Park, a Met spokeswoman. Ms. Park said other company members, costume shop workers and chorus members also had reactions, but she did not know how many people were stricken. The problematic costumes, confined to one of several shipments, were cleaned and the shoes replaced. “We don’t know the cause,” Ms. Park said. Samples of the costumes, elaborate designs created by Emi Wada, were sent to a laboratory for testing. The mysterious condition did not delay rehearsals, Ms. Park said, and the opera is scheduled to open as planned on Dec. 21. DANIEL J. WAKIN

Obviously, this could have been a serious problem and it's very fortunate that only one person became ill. But while I don't want to make light of the issue, I'm rather intrigued by the first sentence. Company members "were sickened after being exposed to a shipment of costumes, including shoes..." Is there some important chemical or toxin that would more likely be found in the shoes as opposed to the rest of the shipment? Was it necessary to include this extra detail so that the reader would be prepared to read later on that the shoes had been replaced? Was Mr. Wakin trying to fulfill a word count requirement? Or, and I think I may have something here, maybe he's on a personal mission to use the word "shoes" as much as possible in his writings. I'll have to investigate further--stay tuned!

The weather outside is frightful!

2006-11-28T04:03:00.000-08:00

It's 4:03 am and I just got home from the airport, after being stuck in an icy traffic jam for over 3 hours. I would complain about how sucky it was, but I was lucky enough to be in the car with my friend Jenny, who I had picked up from her flight at around 11:30, and we kept ourselves pretty well entertained. Also, there are still people on the road who are trying to get home from their evening commute--as in, LAST evening. We heard people on the radio who had been stuck in traffic for 7 or 8 hours. So I feel grateful to have made it home in half the time. A huge thanks goes out to Missy, who was stuck in the traffic jam too, but was slightly ahead of us and warned us not to go on the I-5 North onramp from the airport--she had to go on it and said it was just a sheet of ice. We took her advice and got home safely. I can't believe the DOT didn't close the onramp, or at the very least sand it. It's pretty sad how unprepared Seattle is for snow, but hopefully this storm will change that. Although I have to say that I've never seen weather like this in the five years I've lived here--it's just bizarre. I've forbidden Larry to drive to work tomorrow (or I should say in a few hours, since that's when he would normally leave), and I recommend that anyone else reading this in Seattle do the same. It's downright dangerous out there.

Time waster for today...

2006-11-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

Check out the Absolut 100 and vote for the "Absolute" item (blog, museum, sci-fi movie, etc.) in a whole bunch of categories. It's only up till tomorrow, so get a move on.

Let's go to the mall!

2006-11-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

Last night's episode of How I Met Your Mother was even funnier than usual, thanks to this video, now up on Barney's blog. Check it out...

I don't understand...

2006-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Larry came into the office to show me two letters--one from W, one from Vogue. He gave me subscriptions to both for my birthday, and I've received a couple of issues, although I'm still waiting on the Cate Blanchett Vogue. This is what both the letters said:

"Dear Subscriber:

We are having difficulty delivering copies of VOGUE/W to one of your gift recipients. That person's name and mailing address as supplied to us is shown below. The Post Office has informed us that this address is undeliverable.

Please verify this address and if it is not correct, make note of the correction on this letter and return it to us. We will then correct the address and make the necessary adjustments so service can be restored."

Since we live together, the "undeliverable" address with my name on it is the exact same address as the one with Larry's name on it, THE ADDRESS WHERE WE RECEIVED THIS LETTER. So if we can get the letter, why can't we get the magazines?

I went to the post office this morning, and they told me to talk to the magazine service department since the address is, in fact, deliverable. Larry called the magazine service department and they couldn't figure out why this would be happening. This afternoon, my W magazine arrived right on schedule.

Get thee to the kouch!

2006-11-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to our friend Dustin's film festival at Central Cinema in the central district. I've been wanting to check this theater out for a while, and of course we were super excited that they're hosting Kaspar's Kouch. Last year the festival was literally on Dustin's couch in his apartment, which was really fun (and Dustin made gourmet ice cream almost every night--you wouldn't think it, but avocado ice cream is surprisingly delicious). But the new space at Central Cinema has lots of couches, with tables at each couch and a menu full of pizzas, salads, calzones, and all kinds of other goodies plus a big screen. It feels so official now that it's at a theater, AND the festival even has its own trailer this year!

Dustin has to charge admission this year to pay for the theater and movie rights, but the tickets are super cheap--$7.00 for one movie, $10.00 for two (there are usually two movies shown each night). Tonight's Cubicle Challenges lineup was Fear and Trembling, a very cool French film about life in corporate Japan starring the awesome Sylvie Testud, and Office Space, which really needs no explanation. I love that movie, and I love the soundtrack even more (Kendra, if you're reading this, Damn it feels good to be a gangster!). Wednesday's films are being kept secret, but you know they're going to be good if Dustin's screening them. The rest of the schedule is below; if you're in Seattle this week you should definitely check it out.

November 15, 2006 SECRET SCREENING
um....it's a secret.......you'll just have to be curious enough to find out.
(first screening at 6:30, second screening at 8:45)

November 16, 2006 MISSING PERSONS
6:30 THE LADY VANISHES (1938) directed by Alfred Hitchcock (NR, 97 min.) Inspiring many films in its wake (Bunny Lake is Missing and 2005's Flightplan amongst the best known) this early Hitchcock confection pits feuding train passengers bound for romance against a mind-bending mystery. A passenger on the train (the lady of the title) is unable to be found the next morning. Young Iris (Margaret Lockwood) queries other passengers on the ladies disappearance and is met with the simple claim that they have never seen the person she is talking about. Alternating between light comedy and exciting tension, this is early Hitchcock at his finest.
8:50 THE THIRD MAN (1949) directed by Carol Reed (NR, 104 min.) THE THIRD MAN is considered by many filmmakers to be one of the greatest films of all time. An American, Holly Martens (Joseph Cotten) arrives in post-WWII Vienna to visit his friend, Harry Lime. He soon discovers his friend has been killed and finds himself being questioned by a police officer who claims Lime was involved in racketeering. Holly vows to clear his friend’s name, but soon becomes caught up in his friends' shady history. Don't forget this film also stars Orson Welles who, by the late time he appears onscreen, still gets one of the most famous entrances, speeches (the 'cuckoo clock' which he scripted himself) and climactic chases in the history of cinema.

November 17, 2006 CONTEMPORARY GERMAN MASTERPIECES
Both films are in German with English Subtitles
6:30 WINGS OF DESIRE (1987) directed by Wim Wenders (R, 127 min.) The sky over Wenders's war-scarred Berlin is full of gentle angels wearing trench coats who listen to the tortured thoughts of mortals and try to comfort them. One of the angels wishes to become mortal after falling in love with a beautiful trapeze artist. Peter Falk, as himself, assists in the transformation by explaining the simple joys of a human experience, such as the sublime combination of coffee and cigarettes. The result is a film that reaffirms the beauty of life and the absolute potential of cinema.
9:00 THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR (2000) directed by Tom Tykwer (R, 135 min.) After his breakout hit, RUN LOLA RUN, Tom Tykwer upped the ante with THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR. Sissi (LOLA's Franka Potente) is a nurse in a mental hospital. One day, she mistakenly walks in front of a semi and is saved by a mysterious young thief who caused the accident. Unable to get her savior out of her mind, she sets out to find him. Eventually the wheels of fate turn as she becomes involved in a transfixing bank robbery and the two embark on a personal odyssey toward their own destinies. Tykwer's use of floating camera, a hypnotic musical score, and an impeccable use of sound all work to created the films unique sensory experience.

November 18, 2006 NON-CONVENTIONAL MUSICALS
5:00 UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (1948) directed by Preston Sturges (NR, 105 min.) Rex Harrison stars as a symphony conductor in this super-black comedy from the brilliant Preston Sturges. Harrison believes his wife is cheating on him and while conducting a symphony uses the 3 pieces on the program (each by Rossini, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky) to imagine his homicidal revenge fantasies. But good imagining doesn't always work out as planned in this brilliantly performed mixture of razor sharp dialogue and uproarious slapstick.
7:30 32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD (1993) directed by Francois Girard (PG, 98 min.) Comprised of 32 shorts about Glenn Gould, Francois Girard (who would later create The Red Violin) helms what started as a biography of portraits and becomes a meditation on the loneliness of exceptional artists and their perception of music. Colm Feore stars as Gould in all 32 shorts, which range from narrative to experimental and contain some of the most marvelous depictions of experiencing music I have seen captured on celluloid.
10:00 THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984) directed by Rob Reiner (R, 82 min.) Before BEST IN SHOW and WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, there was SPINAL TAP. The grandfather of the mock-u-mentary is still the best of the bunch. The bands absurd behavior is offset by director Rob Reiner's adherance to a strict documentary treatment. You will never forget Harry Shearer's encounter at the metal detector, Christopher Guest's collection of guitars and amps, or Michael McKean leading the band in circles trying to reach the stage. I guarantee, this night we're going to turn the sound up to 11. It will be one louder.

November 19, 2006 KINGDOM FINALE
5:00 THE KINGDOM, PART I (1994) directed by Lars von Trier (NR, 271 min.) Seattle's own Sean Axmaker once described THE KINGDOM as "a nightmarish cross between Twin Peaks and Chicago Hope as directed by David Cronenberg, and even that hardly captures the giddy absurdity of Lars Von Trier's soap-opera-cum-horror-tale." A bizarre mixture of hospital politics, cult activities, ghosts, graveyards, and one amazing cliffhanger are capped with a greek chorus of dishwashers. It needs to be seen to be believed. Not to be missed.

Plans, plans, plans

2006-11-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

Very excited to see this exhibit at the Met Museum on our trip...all those beautiful couture gowns up close!!!

Musical joy

2006-11-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but we're going to the east coast for 2 weeks over Christmas to spend the holidays with Larry's family. We'll be in Boston, Rhode Island, and after New Year's, Manhattan. I'm super excited, because I've never been to the east coast (except airports, which don't count) and have wanted to visit for a long time. But when Larry got us tickets to The First Emperor, my excitement level went through the roof. It's a brand new opera--the world premiere is December 21st and we get to see it on January 2nd. Tan Dun is conducting, Zhang Yimou is head of production and Placido Domingo plays the emperor. Plus, hello, it's the Met! How could it not be fun?

In other exciting music news, only 11 days till the Decemberists show at the Paramount...I'm totally counting down.

Don't just stand there...

2006-11-05T12:18:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to Sunset Bowl for our friend Missy's birthday party. I can't believe I never noticed till last night that Sunset is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. A 24 hour bowling alley. We're so going on Thanksgiving.
The party was awesome--we bowled, ate greasy bowling alley restaurant food, and at 9 pm headed to the lounge for karaoke. First up was the best rendition of Joey EVER. We also heard and sang along to such gems as Jack and Diane, Sister Christian, and Love is a Battlefield. My favorite part, though, was singing backup for Missy's classic version of Bust a Move. Yeah, we rocked the house. Seriously, she didn't even need the teleprompter. She knows ALL the words!

Confession: The summer after 6th grade I went EVERYWHERE with this album in my Walkman. On cassette tape. (I also wore oversized t-shirts over biker shorts, but that's a whole other post.) And yes, I had a huge crush on Young MC. So for old time's sake--and those of you who lack the mad rap skills of Missy--here are the complete lyrics to Bust a Move. Enjoy!

Bust A Move
This here's a tale for all the fellas
Try to do what those ladies tell us
Get shot down cause you're over zealous
Play hard to get and females get jealous
Ok smartie, go to a party
Girls are stancin the crowd is showin body
A chick walks by and you wish you could sex her
But you're standin on the wall like you was Poindexter
Next day's function, high class luncheon
Food is served and you're stone cold munchin'
Music comes on, people start to dance
But then you ate so much you nearly split your pants
A girl starts walkin, guys start gawkin'
Sits down next to you and starts talkin'
Says she wanna dance cus she likes the groove
So come on fatso and just bust a move
You're on a mission and you're wishin'
Someone could cure your lonely condition
You're lookin for love in all the wrong places
No fine girls just ugly faces
From frustration first inclination
Is to become a monk and leave the situation
But every dark tunnel has a lighter hope
So don't hang yourself with a celibate rope
New movie's showin... so you're goin'
Could care less about the five you're blowin'
Theatre gets dark just to start the show
When you spot a fine woman sittin' in the front row
She's dressed in yellow, she says "Hello,
Come sit next to me you fine fellow"
You run over there without a second to lose
And what comes next, hey bust a move
If you want it baby you've got it (repeat)
Just bust a move
In the city ladies look pretty
Guys tell jokes so they can seem witty
Tell a funny joke just to get some play
Then you try to make a move and she says "no way"
Girls a fakin' ... goodness sakin'
They want a man who brings home the bacon
Got no money and you got no car
Then you got no woman and there you are
Some girls are sophistic... materialistic
Looking for a man makes them opportunistic
They're lyin' on the beach perpetratin' a tan
So that a brother with money can be their man
So on the beach you're strollin'... real high-rollin'
Everything you have is yours and not stolen
A girl runs up with somethin to prove
So don't just stand there, bust a move(break down)
Your best friend Harry has a brother Larry
In five days from now he's gonna marry
He's hopin you can make it there if you can'
Cause in the ceremony you'll be the best man
You say "neato"... check your libido
And roll to the church in your new tuxedo
The bride walks down just to start the wedding
And there's one more girl you won't be getting
So you start thinkin', then you start blinkin'
A bridesmaid looks and thinks that you're winkin'
She thinks you're kinda cute so she winks back
And now you're feelin' really fine cus the girl is stacked
Reception's jumpin', bass is pumpin'
Look at the girl and your heart starts thumpin'
Says she wants to dance to a different groove
Now you know what to do g, bust a move

Tilth, take 2

2006-11-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

Last night Larry and I went to Tilth so he could try it out too. Once again, the meal was fabulous. Super fresh ingredients, interesting (in the best sense of the word) flavor combinations, and beautiful presentation. And upon reflection (and a second visit), I don't think the noise level is that much louder than other restaurants with tile or wood floors. Plus, we called at 7 and were able to get a table for 7:15. You can't beat that!

What we ate:
K: Full Circle Farms Baby Lettuces--lemon vinaigrette, pistachio, parmesan crisp
Very tasty, but I think I'll order the pear salad next time (or as long as it's on the menu)
Balsamic Glazed Alaskan Sablefish--polenta cake, remoulade, parsley
I hadn't had sablefish before, but I would definitely have it again! The polenta cakes were super buttery and rich. A great dish.

L: Local Comice Pear Salad--arugula, walnut, ewe’s blue cheese
Grass Fed Seared Top Sirloin--fingerling potato, radicchio, béarnaise sauce
Again, such a well thought-out dish. The radicchio was a perfect foil for a medium-rare steak.

Dessert:Smoked Theo Chocolate Pudding--graham cracker, vanilla marshmallow
A no-brainer...it's Theo chocolate, so you know it was good.
Mini Caramel Heirloom Apples--hazelnut, hot apple cider shot
Still the cutest dessert EVER.

There is no good title for this post that doesn't include a bad gardening pun.

2006-10-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I met a friend for dinner at Tilth, the new all-organic restaurant that went in where Mandalay Cafe used to be. We were super sad when Mandalay closed--it was one of Larry's favorite neighborhood restaurants--but we've been excited to check out Tilth, since it's one of only two certified organic restaurants in the country, and the chef (Maria Hines) is highly acclaimed. (I felt a little bad about going without Larry, but we'll go again soon--they have a great looking brunch in addition to dinner service.)

It's cliched but true nonetheless--the food at Tilth was amazing. Every dish was so well thought out, and presented beautifully. There was nothing on the plate that didn't need to be there--no extra garnishes that just get thrown in the trash, and even more importantly no superfluous ingredients. We both commented on how nice it was to eat food that wasn't over the top in presentation but still felt special. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable, and the ambience was homey (fitting, since it's in a house). My only complaint was the noise level--at our small table for two, we both had to lean in and talk louder than normal to be heard, and even then at times I was straining to hear the conversation. So for a romantic dinner Tilth might not be my first choice, but I'd definitely go again for brunch or dinner with a group of friends.

The food:

Local Comice Pear Salad
arugula, walnut, ewe’s blue cheese
The cheese was sooo deliciously tangy...it was an excellent compliment to the bitter arugula, and the thin slices of pear and cracked walnut blended in perfectly. One of the best (and best-composed) salads I've had in a while.

Crispy Pork Belly
cranberry beans, scallion pesto, bacon vinaigrette
Really tasty, but I would order the small size next time, and share it. About 2/3 of the way through, I was horrified at the amount of fat I was consuming. But it tasted so good!

Local Mountain Huckleberry Tart
black pepper ice cream
YUM. The ice cream was different without being weird, and the tart crust was flaky beyond belief. Plus, the huckleberries were perfectly sweetened.

Mini Caramel Apples
Taffy, peanut, hot apple cider shot
Seriously, the cutest dessert I've ever eaten. Six teeny apple balls with peel on the top and speared with toothpicks shaped like blades of grass. Presented on a bed of peanuts with a little dish of caramel for dipping. We didn't want to eat it at first, it was so adorable. But we gave in to temptation pretty quickly, and it tasted as good as it looked. We both decided we might have to crib this idea for future dinner parties.

alternate titles for this post...
The Com-Post
I Dig Tilth

Coasters rule.

2006-10-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

The good folks at Fametracker have completely outdone themselves this time. They have summed up the Pavlov-like urge to watch bad movies, the importance of picking the right theater (with the right candy) and confronted the difficult issue of Kirsten Dunst in one fell swoop. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I believe this may be the very best Celebrity vs. Thing EVER.

Now playing...

2006-10-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

The Decemberists--The Crane Wife
Math and Physics Club--self-titled
Scissor Sisters--Ta-Dah
Yo la Tengo--I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
Larry's inaugural podcast

Music makes everything better

2006-10-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's been the craziest week ever. Work was insanely busy, plus there was: choir rehearsal on Tuesday followed by the Nada Surf/Guster show at the Moore; Larry's birthday dinner at Wild Ginger on Wednesday; dress rehearsal Friday night and our first concert tonight (with another one tomorrow night). I was also supposed to go to book club Thursday night but had to bail at the last minute because I wound up getting a cold, as if I have time for that. But I'm not writing this post to complain. No, I'm writing it to tell you that you should run, not walk, to buy the new Decemberists album, The Crane Wife. It is AMAZING--they just keep getting better and better. I'd even go so far as to call it my favorite album of the year. Buy it now!

Do you know the way to Santa Fe?

2006-09-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Last night we went for a long walk, through Woodland Park, up to Phinney Ridge and even down to Greenwood. It was really fun to just walk around in a different neighborhood, and Woodland Park always gives me the feeling that I'm not really in the city anymore--at least till I cross the foot bridge over roaring Aurora Avenue. Along the way we stopped for a while in the rose garden next to the zoo, where almost all the flowers were in full bloom. It was probably one of the last warm, sunny days we'll have for a while, so we had to take advantage of it.

We wound up stopping for dinner at The Santa Fe Cafe, a New Mexican restaurant on Phinney Ridge. Dinner was good--the portions were huge, and the flour tortillas served on the side were irresistibly fluffy and warm. But the best part was the awesome vision that came to me as we waited for our table. It all began normally--I asked Larry if he thought that the staff liked the song "Santa Fe" from Rent. He humored me and said maybe. Then I started to envision the staff gathering together before they open every day, singing "Santa Fe" together. They would sashay through the restaurant like Collins and Angel, swinging around corners. At the end, they could all join in a huddle, singing "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh..." with one hand in, and then on the last "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh..." they would slowly raise their arms, with jazz hands of course. Then they would shout, "Santa Fe!" and open for business. Come on--it would be a total morale booster! I think the next time we go back I may have to suggest it on their comment card.

more Alaska pics

2006-09-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

First day of our cruise, from the top deck of the Mercury

Before our raft float excursion through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve--our life preservers all had fun names like "Salty Dog" and "Mad Hatter"

A few of my favorite things, volume 2

2006-09-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

english toffee
Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother
lovely design
Sundays in fall
T-strap shoes
wrapping presents

Ain't no sunshine when he's gone...

2006-09-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

Oh, Kayne, I'll miss you so. The back of that dress was a little scary, but the front was lovely. And at least it looked like a cocktail dress; Jeffrey's concoction looked like something a misguided college student would put together from thrift shop rags for a night of clubbing. But I digress. I look forward to seeing what Kayne puts out next, and I can even see a reality show in the future--Project Kayne, anyone? I'd watch an entire season of that, no question.

I'm starting to lose some love for PR in general--it feels like the producers are just yanking the audience around and trying to create "drama" instead of letting the natural drama of the competition carry the show. I understand making the challenges tougher, but bringing two auf'ed designers back (and the two most dramatic ones at that) just seems fake. Plus it undermines the work that the other designers have done to make it this far, especially when Angela wouldn't have won the Macy's challenge without Laura and Michael. It just felt like the producers made up a viable sounding reason for bringing those two back. Even Tim seemed a little annoyed to see Vincent and Angela again. Oh well, at least they got kicked off again. I suppose there's some amusement in that.

Since I didn't post last week, here's a quick recap of the couture challenge:

Jeffrey: don't like him, but the gown was great. Very punky and modern, but still pretty.
Kayne: I thought the judges were too harsh--his gown was beautiful. Plus it was really smart to use the corset top since he had to fit 2 different models. He should have gotten more credit for that.
Laura: the judges were right--it looked like old YSL. I'm so glad she changed it up a little this week; her cocktail dress was so cute and something I would definitely buy (okay, I'd buy it if I were taller and had model-thin legs...)
Michael: for being his first couture style gown, I admired his ambition. But it looked so much better when he folded the scallops in--I wish he would have done that from the start.
Uli: Pretty, but kind of like everything else she's made this season.
Vincent: I'm with Catherine Malandrino--No. No, No, NO.

Can't wait to check out Getty Images on Friday and see the runway show designs. Unless Michael has a meltdown, I don't see how he won't win the whole competition. I predict Michael, Laura and Jeffrey make it to the final 3, and Michael better win. He's clearly the most talented and versatile designer on the show. But I'll still always have a soft spot for Kayne, no matter what his taste level. Bye, Kayne--don't forget to write!

It's that time of year again...

2006-09-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went out with my friends Jenny, Kristine and Bob to celebrate my birthday a day early. We went over to Bad Albert's in Ballard, a little neighborhood bar that also has great burgers. It was so fun to kick back with a couple of cocktails on a Thursday night, plus there were presents which made it that much better!

Jenny gave me a BEAUTIFUL pair of Nepalese moonstone dangly earrings set in sterling silver, plus some yummy truffles from Chocolati. On top of the pretty floral wrap was one of my favorite You Send Me cards--it has a little black kitty wearing a crown and playing with a hot pink ball of yarn, and it says, "Queen for a Day." So cute! Kristine and Bob gave me a "bee-day" present that was so cool, I wished I had brought my camera to take pictures as I unwrapped it. It was wrapped in my favorite black and white wrap from the shop with yellow ribbon, with a handmade card that said "Happy bee-day!" tied on top. Inside, there was yellow tissue with a copy of one of my favorite woodcut bee designs tipped on; then there were 4 presents, each wrapped in yellow tissue with a black band of ribbon and the same (but tiny) bee tip-on. This may be boring to some of you but for a wrap-oholic like me, it was heaven! The presents were totally themed, too: a tea-leaf scented candle whose black/white scroll label recalled the wrap; a box of matches with old-fashioned bee illustrations on both sides; beeswax lip balm; and a gorgeous glass bottle of honey. Seriously, it's not even officially my birthday yet and I have already had so much fun!

Later in the evening, the waitress brought over a piece of ice cream cake smothered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce for me. Kristine, Jenny and Bob started singing "Happy Birthday," and the bar was so small that almost everyone else joined in. What a great way to kick off my 29th year.

Since I didn't have my camera, we came up with a birthday haiku to commemmorate the occasion:

to bee or not to
be twenty-nine forever
that is the question