Moonlight serenade for one

I just bought myself tickets to go see Ray LaMontagne.

Sing his amazing songs.

To me. That's right.

Never mind those 19,999 other people that are going to be there.

Me. Lil' ole me. Private show for one.

Yup. Serenaded by moonlight. Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains.

Just thinking about it makes me excited.

Man it sounds corny but... it's gonna be a dream come true.

Things to be Thankful for

Right now in my life I am thankful for:

1. My awesome & amazing husband who manages to make me laugh everyday despite whatever mood I might be in and remains cute while doing so.

2. Books. No matter how stressed or bummed out I am,

reading always allows me to relax for awhile.

3. Our cute puppy Gus that has a foot fetish.

He has to constantly be touching a foot.

It's best to just let him have his way. You get used to it after awhile.

Just so you know.... that is my hubby's hairy leg. :)

4. Beautiful bird necklaces I found at a local arts festival.

5. Music. I love love love this song right now.

That is all.

once more with FEELING!

When I heard that Green Day was making

a rock opera/play on Broadway

I questioned how that was going to go down.

But if the entire play/rock opera is anything like this:

AMAZEBALLS!

I love this version of the song more than the original.

You wouldn't think something like Green Day could translate to a

Broadway style musical but BRAVO! & I salute you!

It makes the original material way more powerful.

I can't wait to hear 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'

and 'Last Night on Earth'.

Go on with your bad selves Green Day!

If Books where money, I'd be SWIMMING IN IT.

My 'to read' stack keeps growing:

I should just take myself a long needed vacation and

devour each & every one of these babies.

The most AWESOME ARTIST on the PLANET!

Ray LaMontagne is my favorite artist. Hands down. The man is AH-mazing. I fell in love with him back in 2004 when I picked up his album "Trouble" on a whim. In my downtime, I scour the internets to find any rarities or covers that he has performed at a show. I have amassed myself a collection of over 100 songs and I'm still looking! (He performed a cover of 'That spirit of Christmas' at The White House Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in 2009 that I can't find audio of and it KILLS me!) He sings with such conviction and emotion, I often get 'chills'.

From what I've read, he is a notoriously private man, rarely giving interviews. When he tours he hits only the major U.S. cities. This year is my year! I'm going to find a way to see Ray in concert! Ray's fall 2010 tour was just announced a few days ago. I'm hoping to plan vacation time to see one of his concerts. I know that when I finally do get see Ray 'live', I will be so overwhelmed with joy that tears will be streaming down my face. That's how much his music and voice 'moves' me.

Some of my favorites:




A cover song that I think is better than the original:


A beautiful rarity:


And finally:

I like the smell of leather.

Growing up in a small town has allowed me to gain an appreciation for many things that other people will never get exposed to. Leather craft is one of those things. During my daily Etsy search, I found Moxie And Oliver. Take a look at some of the pieces they have.

Beautiful leather bound journal.

If I played guitar, I would want this strap.

Birds, birds, birds!

If I played mandolin, I would want this strap.

I'm going to light my leather-scented candle and peruse the store.

Necklaces That Rock

Because they are made of CONCRETE!

I found Lulubugjewerly on Etsy not long ago.

Most of lulubug's work is made of concrete and silver.

Which is what makes them the bomb-dot-com.

Some cool designs with just enough color to make them POP!

I heart them.

Check it:

The apple that started this love affair.

No concrete here but this silver doodad is now on my wish list.

Pretty leaf.

♬ I'm just a little black rain cloud.

Pay no attention to little me ♫

Instead of wearing your heart on your sleeve...

ABC's for the younger set

I don't remember how I stumbled upon this illustrator's work,

but I'm glad I did. Whenever I get the full-blown baby fever,

I'm positive that some of these illustrations will be hanging on the

nursery walls in my home.

Paul Thurlby , I like the way you illustrate!

Letterpress Love

I've been slightly obsessed with letterpress cards lately. I'm always checking Etsy to see if there's anything new and while checking some of my favorite blogs I happened upon this little number...

Hello Lucky is now one of my favorite card companies. Their cards are cute & full of whimsy. Seriously look at this stuff!

This only adds to another current obsession of mine: Birds & Owls.

They have an entire collection of sock monkey cards that make me

want to march out & buy every single one 'just to have'.

Graphic Inspirations

Hi-yo! I know I've been out awhile. My life these past couple of months has been crazyspice. And as a result, I'm now slowly rebuilding my sense of job security & confidence in my work. It's hard but I'm getting there. And it's little things like the following that are helping me get there:

I found a few of these beauties in my favorite bookstore and it was extremely hard not to buy them all at once. I'm a huge book nerd and now one of my life's goals is to own every one of these clothbound books with their beautifully illustrated covers.

This is one of my favorites:


Such lovely curves:


Amazeballs again:


These covers make me want to get out my sketchpad and start drawing. They are so simple yet so elegant. I love them. They make me smile and inspire me to cultivate my artistic talents. When I find stuff like this, it reminds me why I set upon this path that I am on (to work in a creative field) and as cheesy as it sounds, gives me a little dab of hope that I will eventually get the career that I want.
*Le sigh*
source

Love Post

Happy Valentine's day everybody. I know this holiday is considered a "Hallmark holiday", but why not? Why not have one day a year when you can try to express just how much you actually love your lover, significant other or friends? Some people would never hear I love you if not for this day. Then there's other people, like me, who get to hear it each and every day.

I have been very fortunate in my life to find someone that makes me laugh everyday. Smile everyday. Tells me I'm beautiful everyday. That I am smart. That I do deserve it, whatever it is. Someone who understands my reactions and emotions before I do. Someone who is so genuine and real. Someone who I love so much there are not enough words to describe how vast my love is and continues to grow to everyday. So I love you husband. So much. I remember on our very first date, how badly I wanted to hold your hand, and how freaked out I was because I'd never felt a feeling so strong before. And now I get to hold your hand, everyday for the rest of my life. You know how hard it is for me to express my feelings with words, so I'm going to go the goofus route and make a quick exit while I dedicate this song to you. I Love you.

Roger Miller & his "Yodel-Scat"

Friends, I have found the cure for what I like to call a case of Eeyore-ness. Life has been kinda lamespice for me over the last two weeks. I've been feeling pretty down about the hand I've been dealt over the last couple months. But I've found a way to cheer myself up. Roger Miller and what I like to call his "yodel-scat". And his songs are just fun to sing at the top of your lungs when you're driving. I dare you to listen. You'll instantly feel better.

Crazy Heart

I went to see this movie last week. It has shot right up and landed itself in the running for one of my top ten favorite movies.
It's a great story about a washed-up country singer and his search for redemption. If you are truly a music aficionado, the soundtrack to this movie is amazing and contains one of the best songs I have ever heard. (The song is showcased in the trailer, but it really doesn't do it justice.)



I was really worried that the movie was just going to be 'The Dude' with a guitar, but Jeff Bridges really put on a great performance as 'Bad Blake'. He even sang his own songs! Anyhoo...this movie has a great story, is very witty, and the soundtrack really makes the movie. Go see it.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

I recently found out about this band and I've been listening to their CD pretty much everyday since. Here's a few of my favorite songs:


SOURCE


SOURCE

Enjoy. I'm off to grab my aviators and a tambourine.

Wanderlust Envy

I have a serious case of wanderlust. Every once in awhile I have the fleeting thought of "What if I just took off. Just left. Traveled the world. Did odd jobs to make money. Went to see everything I've ever dreamed of seeing (Rome, Athens, China, Japan, etc) in person. People do it all the time. I could just disappear for awhile. It would be so freeing to just leave and go somewhere where noone needed/wanted/knew me." But...I know that's not possible right now. Damn ball n' chain of a husband. (Love you.)
So since I can't exactly travel as much as I want, I read books about it.

I just finished reading this book:


Smile when you're lying was an interesting read. The author, Chuck Thompson, has been a travel writer for many years. In this book he basically tells you about how big of a fraud the travel industry is. It was an eye-opening experience.

Thompson shares stories about travel from different points in his life. You learn about what happens when you get robbed in Thailand, what to do if you get into a run-in with the Mexican police, and that you really don't want to travel alone at night in the Philippines.
Thompson's writing style is what originally sucked me in. It's reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson's rambling/run-on sentences style of writing. But what really sealed the deal on me picking up this book is the first few paragraphs in the introduction. Check out this excerpt:



How can you not want to read on and find out what other shenanigans this dude got himself into? Even if you don't like Thompson's travel tales, you will get some great tips about what not to do in a foreign country and how to spot tourist traps. It's definitely a book that I will keep in my collection.

Take a look, it's in a book! Reading Rainboooow.

Butterfly in the skyyy....I can go twice as high..

I'm pretty sure my love of reading began with watching
'Reading Rainbow' on PBS. We only got 4 channels in
my house so it was either that or 'The Young & the Restless'.

I have always loved to read and it's frightening how the
young people of today say they only read maybe one book
every year. Really..I took a poll in one of college classes.
One book a year. That is pathetic.

I watch TV. I go out and do things. But I still have time to read!
I shell out 50 clams every time I go into a Borders. I'm that aunt
who always buys books as gifts. I think I could literally
die (DIE!) if I could never read again.

Everyone should read. Even if it's comic books or the
friggin' TV guide! As part of my crusade to get more
people to pick up a book, I'm going to post about each
and every book that I have the pleasure of perusing.
And I usually read anywhere between 4 to 7 books a month.
So get your read on people!


Today's Selection is....
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman.

This book is set in a small town in North Dakota. You follow 3 main characters
throughout the book. Mitch, a high school student, Horace, an old dude that
drinks coffee and reminisces about the good ole days, and Julia, a big city girl
(All the way from Minneapolis!) who starts her first year teaching in this small podunk town.

As a person who comes from a small town where everybody
knows your 'biznass', this book was on par with the kind
of shenanigans that I have been privy to. Lots of funny stories
about the crazy characters that make up this small town pepper the
pages of this book. There is also a chapter where Mitch, during an English test, compares living life in a small town to George Orwell's 1984. This part was eerily hard to disagree with. If you've ever lived in a small town you know that potentially everyone is Big Brother.

Downtown Owl is a good quick read that will make you think
about...what does being normal really mean? And aren't people
everywhere, small town or big city, really just the same?
Check it out and tell me what you think.

Howdy Howdy Howdy

What up people of the Internets! I decided I didn't have enough
ways to waste my time on the internet. So I'm goin' bloggin!
Woo-hoo! Break out the nice plates, it's time to celebrate!

I'm pretty shy in my everyday life. Most of the time I'm that super
quiet person in the corner or against the wall when I go out in public.
It takes me awhile to open up to people. Which is a good thing
because my sense of humor falls on the dark side a lot of the time
and I tend to have eclectic taste in everything. This means I like
many things. So this blog is to let everyone/anyone know what
those things are.

I'll mostly talk about books (because READING IS AWESOME!),
music (because it makes the world go round and is AWESOME!),
movies/television (because everybody loves some of that) and
whatever else I am currently in like/love/obsessed/fascinated with.

Please stop by and take a look-see. Maybe tell me what you think
about what I think. Or just enjoy me making a fool out of myself
on the internet every Monday thru Friday.

-KBL