guess who...

Who is handsome and silly and obsessed with Lord of the Rings and gives amazing talks and turns 34 years old today?

THIS GUY!! Happy Birthday Sander!

SF art: sculptures

Click through to my Flickr photostream and view in lightbox to see these at their best. Next time: paintings.

so, San Francisco was pleasing

Once upon a scorching August my husband was sent to a nerd convention in San Fran, and I got to get on a plane all by myself and join him for the last few days of the adventure. Highlights? Why yes:

- I got to get on a plane all by myself.

- We found Indonesian food and ate it until our bellies could take no more.

- The hotel staff assumed I was a lady of the night.

- access to the hotel's executive breakfast suite.

- wandering around the breathtaking De Young and Legion of Honor museums.

- seeing friends we hadn't seen in a good number of years.

- finding a hidden beach near Davenport and getting salty water all over me.

- riding random buses by myself and getting lost.

So this might be a bit of an adjustment; there are no pictures of children attached to this post, and because I'm more of an art fanatic than I tend to let on on this here blog you had better brace yourself for lots of images of art I enjoyed at the aforementioned museums. 

More SF pictures to follow (and trust me when I say there's an abundance of more).

music monday

It has been waaaaay too long since this happened! And it's not for lack of amazing music, TRUST me. It is for lack of summer sanity. Although that might not be an entirely viable excuse since I think I haven't been doing music Mondays since a while before the summer... sadface. Now, I can't promise they're going to be back entirely, but I wanted to at least throw you a bone and give you something to gnaw  (I just had to retype that word 3 times, apparently it's a tricky one) on. Sink your teeth into THIS, music fans:

1. Shakey Graves - Late July 

Sometimes I come across someone I seriously suspect of having sold his soul to the devil. Meet the insanely talented Shakey Graves. Who plays guitar like that anymore? And writes songs like this? And wears suspenders?? If you have the patience, listen to the entertaining story of how he got his name. If not, just skip to about 2:00 to dive straight on into the music.

 

2. Cory Chisel - She Don't Mind 

This is simply a beautiful, beautiful song. Cory was pointed out to me by a friend who accidentally saw him in concert. I wish more of those accidents would happen to me!

3. Lorde - The Love Club
Currently a favorite of the kids' to play in the car. I also love the songs Royals and Biting down, go have a listen! I'd also like to note that this New Zealand native is just 16 (!) years old and writes all of her own songs. 

4. Michael Prins - Blackbird 

Sander and I have been watching a Dutch singer-songwriter contest as it aired over the summer, and have fallen for Michael Prins and his rootsy, haunting, and highly emotional songwriting. His voice just kills me with its combination of control and grit. It didn't surprise us one bit when he ended up winning the contest. That said, a more than honorable mention goes to Maaike Ouboter, who was our other favorite for making everyone who hears her song 'Dat Ik Je Mis', cry. Now get your headphones, close your eyes, and let mr. Prins rip your heart right out. I promise you'll enjoy it...

5. The Staves - Winter Trees 

The sisters' big hit is the song Mexico, but I really fell in love with The Staves when I heard this live rendition of Winter Trees. Their voices are so pure and attuned to each other, a perfect harmony that seems reserved for people who share genes as well as history.

this child

The camera loves her! And it helps that I love her too. I took these shots of her the Sunday after her baptism, when she was ready to go to church in her special dress. The bishop had Jacob and Julia come and sit on the podium, so he could introduce them to the ward. They simply beamed! Of course then after her introduction when she came back to sit with us 'common folk', she was in a huff because we wouldn't let her do whatever she wanted (play on the iPad for the duration of the service). Yes folks, even after baptism, you're still human.