100 days. 100 new beginnings.

a mixtape for the season...

can i stay ... ray lamontagne
strangers in the night ... cake
coney island ... good old war
summersong ... the decemberists
something great ... haley bonar
another travelin' song ... bright eyes
orange sky ... alexi murdoch
blowin' in the wind ... bob dylan
here comes your man ... meaghan smith
all is love ... karen o and the kids
lover ... devendra banhart
such great hights ... iron & wine
new slang ... the shins

who dat!

new orleans is a city like no other...diverse in every possible way. working downtown, it's easy to see the many faces, cultures, values, and attitudes of the city i love. but it's not hard to pick up on one of the biggest uniting factors. especially on a day like today. sunday. game day. the city buzzes with team spirit, black and gold more prevalent than any other color. names like brees, sharper, bush and shockey stretch across thousands of shoulders. as usual, our boys keep things interesting, taking the outcome of the game down to the very last wire. the city holds its breath. people surround tvs wherever they can find them...bars, shopping malls, nail salons, because at that moment, nothing else matters. they talk to strangers about bad calls, missed chances. they groan together and cheer together. and for that last play, those last few seconds, it's silent. eyes are glued to the screen. silent prayers are whispered. and just then, like the trumpet riff after the dirge, the city erupts with joy, with cheers, with smiles. because this is our year. our boys have done it again. 12-0.

a city so diverse. with a common love. black. white. young. old. men. women. rich. poor. grown ups. kids. you just can't help but feel the excitement flowing through the who dat nation.

kansas is cold... :)

i got to spend fall break with my sister in kansas. brrrr! this is me...freezing my buns off...

thanks for a fun break, sis!

awesome!

in a world where there's so much negativity, i find this sort of thing refreshing. someone finding the good in life? i love it! and i kind of thing you should check it out...

AWESOME!

this one is my personal favorite...so far
the-moment-at-a-concert-when-the-crowd-figures-out-what-song-theyre-playing

ramblings of a sociology student...

i think i was born in the wrong era. you're probably thinking to yourself, "girl, get a grip!" but i kind of have a point. back in july i started working for a company that prides itself on being a leader in ethics. and just over a month ago, i went back to school full time pursing a degree in sociology, looking a lot at social problems of the day. and let me tell you, this is a really, really interesting time to be doing that. i'm sure you agree...

but all of that has got me thinking. my mind wanders to what goes on in the world everyday. war. capitalism sucking the life out of people, poverty running rampant, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer. and that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. i hate the way our society functions. i hate the individualistic view the majority of people take. and i hate that the people don't stand up, collaboratively, to do something huge.

i long for the days of activism. for the days when students and young adults took a stand for what they believed in, for peaceful protests, for rock music that really stuck it to the man...for the days when people didn't just bitch and moan about what was going on, but took action.

bob dylan once said...
"people seldom do what they believe in. they do what is convenient, and then repent."

i really hope this generation...my generation, is one that will do what they believe in, that we will be a generation of change...change the lasts...that we won't be complacent or selfish, but a generation that loves on people, respects the world, and takes a stand for what is right.

one year ago...yesterday

yesterday was the one year anniversary of wearing the bubblegum-princess-pink dress. aka, my big sister's wedding. a lot has happened in that year. looking back on it, i can't help but smile...and laugh a little. congrats to eric & jen for one year down. here's to a million more. cheers!

sisters...

the four...

and of course...my toast. i'd been trying to come up with something interesting to do for my toast for months! and yet the wedding came, and i had nothing. so...on the way to the reception, eminem's 'lose yourself' came on the radio, and inspiration came. i rapped the toast to the beat of lose yourself. i'm not going to lie. it was pretty amazing. :)

surprise!

over fourth of july weekend, i flew up to seattle to surprise my mama for her birthday. i got a surprise of my own when my old roommate from george fox called and said she would be in town too. hanging with family and friends, staying up late talking and laughing, and having coffees and donuts kept me crazy busy, but i loved every single second. thanks everyone back in the northwest for making a quick trip so meaningful!

the beach...

last month, i also took a little retreat to the beach...a great time for lots of quiet and stillness. i definitely think the beach is one of god's very best ideas. easily.

replanting...

last month we spent three weeks working on a friend's yard...kind of reclaiming it from the aftermath of the storm. we took out crazy amounts of debris, built a deck, painted, tilled the ground, created plant beds, planted grass, and did a lot of sweating. the yard went from this...

to this...

quite the transformation...

freret market

yes, i know...it's been a while. my bad. i guess i'll catch you up chronologically. back in june i had a booth at a local art market, selling some of the screen printed things i'd done. for being my first market ever, i think i did pretty well.

first sale of the day...

wonderful visitors...

for the last week, my mom and dad have been in town visiting. we spent lots of time together doing stuff around the city. swamp tour on an airboat, visited the ww2 museum, went to mardi gras world, and ate at a few delicous restaurants. mom and dad, you are the BEST! thanks for doing what you did to make this trip happen. <3

new screens...and stuff.

i made a few new screens today...and printed some of the bags i ordered. they turned out pretty. good. although, i have to say, the messenger bags are definitely my favorite.

a new hobby...

so, in this bit of transition time i have at the moment, i've been filling the hours by experimenting with screen printing (see last post). i've kind of expanded my idea of printing a few bags for friends to doing a bunch of different kinds of bags, aprons, and onesies to sell at art markets in the area, and to really anyone who is interested. here's a few i did today.

by next week i'll have a bigger selection, including messenger bags, sling purses, tote bags, aprons, and possibly some more kids shirts. if you, or someone you know is interested, let me know and i can give you the details.

screen printing

for the last few months i've been experimenting with screen printing. the youtube video i watched made it look SO easy. but let me tell you, it's harder than it looks. my applause to people like thomas jefferson and ben franklin for doing experiment after experiment and not giving up. seriously, i just about threw in the towel. but today, i figured i'd try one more time. and wouldn't you know...everything finally pulled together and WORKED! so exciting! so i printed a couple bags and they turned out pretty good. but practice makes perfect...so i guess i'll keep working at it.

FINALLY! something to show for hours of work...another bag...

the screen i used...

the workstation...

jazzfest...

"What is it you love about music."

"To begin with, everything."
-Almost Famous

In my life, there are a few constants. One of those, is my absolute love for music. There's just something about it that so captivates my soul. Maybe it's just the way I grew up...listening to all kinds of stuff, from classic rock on vinyl to country music on the radio. Here's a shout out to my mama and pops for educating me so well on the joys of the beatles, elton john, ted nugent, pat benatar, captain and taneal, cheap trick, and so many others.

New Orleans has a great music scene. And I happened upon an opportunity to work at JazzFest, a yearly music festival that brings thousands of musicians to 12 stages to perform for two weekends. Kind of like Woodstock, except that this is JazzFest's 40th year, and Woodstock only happened once. I'm a dressing room manager for the blues tent, and let me just tell you, it's great. It's been awesome being part of the behind the scenes, backstage crew. It's been amazing meeting musicians that have been playing for decades. It's been interesting seeing the lifestyles and personalities of all the musicans that come through my stage. It's definitely busy, draining, exhausting, but totally worth it.

a birthday and a visitor...

last friday was my 21st birthday...and my cousin jacob flew in to celebrate with me. he got to see new orleans and treat me to one of my first legal drinks. here's some pictures from when we went to cafe du monde. (sorry for the silly pic, jake, but you totally asked for it when you made that face...)

before...

after...

cabin camping...

over easter weekend, the gang went cabin camping at tickfaw state park. it was nice to get away for a few days and just rest. here's a few pictures from my time there.

and for those of you who thought they only existed in the movies, a real life piggly wiggly. i think everyone should experience shopping at one of these stores sometime in their life. :)

that time of year...

it's that time of year again. the grass is cut, the fields are lined, the bases are out. yep. baseball season. and i couldn't be more thrilled. i've always loved this time of year. i guess that's just what happens when you grow up in a family that starts the countdown to opening day as soon as the world series ends. what can i say? it's just how we roll.

new orleans doesn't have a major league team...but between the colleges and the farm teams, there's lots of chances to see some good plays, some good hits, and go through a bag of peanuts. and seeing is great...but what i've really missed these last few years is being a part of the game. after playing fastpitch for 10 years...i've started going through withdrawls. so...this season i'll be assistant coaching an 11-12 year old girls team, and i'm stoked!

and just in case you're not full of baseball spirit yet, here's something that might help. ken griffey jr is back in seattle playing for the M's. the prodigal son has returned and he even hit a homerun in their first game. what can i say? i've gotta have a little hometown pride. :)

banksy...

have you ever heard of banksy? he's a pseud0-anonymous english graffiti artist. originally trained as a butcher, he became involved in graffiti during the late 80's. his art is often satirical and he uses topics like politics, culture, and ethics to convey a message. he came to new orleans in late august 2008,  the third anniversary of katrina, and produced a series of works, mostly on buildings left derelict since the storm. but he was also making a statement about a man from new orleans dubbed "the grey ghost". he's known for his trademark dull grey paint, used to cover up any and all street art and tagging in the city.

banksy did 14 pieces in new orleans. today, i found a few. hoping to find more soon, although a few have been completely covered, courtesy of the grey ghost...and others.

this piece...

looks like this now...

this piece wasn't originally all red...

and this one is my favorite... (it's also protected with a thick clear plastic cover)

i personally, love what banksy has done in new orleans. he's not just tagging to tag. his street art is just that--art. beautiful, impactful, sometimes harsh...but he's making statements, and it moves people.

march...

i feel like march just started and all of a sudden it's almost over. what's with that? it feels like i've been busy...but i've really just been up to the same old stuff. i did make it to an arts market earlier this month. they always have a ton of really cool artsy things there. this is a picture of a band playing at the market.

i did get a nice surprise this month. my cousin madison came down to the city for spring break with a group from her college to do some demo and rebuild stuff. how grateful this city is for people like them! we got a chance to get together and have dinner. it's always nice to see and catch up with family! i'm so glad we found time to hang out.

the gentle breeze.

I love that it’s early March and here I am, sitting on the back porch in my beloved rocking chair, short sleeves and rolled up jeans. I love the cool breeze that is blowing through our neighborhood. I love the feeling of peace it brings. It’s a peace that rests the soul. What a treat.

what i'm listening to...

a playlist inspired by my recent trip...and some totally king arthur ryan adams stuff a friend happened upon. i guess the songs just make me think of bohemian culture, public transportation and the smells of stumptown coffee. also, laughing.

hey there mrs. lovely (live) - ryan adams
sweet sweet thing - mxpx
why don't you kiss her - jesse mccartney
walking downtown - copeland
the ocean - mae
i want it that way (live) - ryan adams
you make me smile - blue october
in your atmosphere (live) - john mayer
factory girl - whiskeytown
the one i'm waiting for - relient k
for nancy - pete yorn
damn, sam (i love a women that rains) - ryan adams
to be alone with you - sufjan stevens
let that be enough - switchfoot
crazy about you - whiskeytown
wish you were here - ryan adams
blue jeans and a rosary - kid rock
bold as love (live) - john mayer