Media Monday - Tristan Prettyman

Last week, when I was making the playlist of G Love's songs, I came across a duet he did and really liked the girl's voice. That girl was Tristan Prettyman. She intrigued me enough to search for her other songs and that's how this little sampling came about.

another Goal checked off my list

Although there is still plenty of snow, the ski season officially ended yesterday in our town. And I am so proud to announce that I made my goal = 30 days of Snowboarding! Actually, I went 4 times last week and ended up with 33 days... just for good measure ;)



Nick was also nice enough to video me a little. Hopefully I can figure out a way to edit them and make them fun for you to watch.

Other goals I'm working on right now include: making some spunky aprons from thrifted fabrics and sewing a dress from a pattern. Both are a learning experience for me. I have never used a pattern before. I bought this one particular pattern probably 1-2 years ago, but just finally opened it up and started reading through it this weekend. I don't even know what a lot of these words are, so maybe my mama will skype with me and help me figure it out :)

Here's a peek at the aprons. I'm giving them all yellow ties/belts.


And just thought this was a sweet picture I took today. A facebook friend invited me to Free Love Day: Draw a Heart on Your Wrist, Change the World. So if you are in need of some heart inspiration, there are over 4500 pictures of hearts on there now!


I also have a Media Monday post coming up right after this. So I'll brb with a little playlist.

Thrift finds

Last week, I treated myself to some thrift shopping in Carson City. Just look at all the bright and sunny things I found!



A variety of vintage sheets. My faves being the yellow floral sheet in the back and the rainbow pillowcase in the foreground to the left. I am really into rainbows consisting of untraditional colors. (My etsy banner is an example of one.)

A better look at the rainbow pillowcase, with pyrex and square frames.

The large pyrex dish is divided into 2 sections making it great for baking multiple side dishes together. It also came with a lid (which is sometimes hard to come by), but it's chipped and rough on some of the edges. I'm thinking I might be able to 'sand' it down with my dremel. Does anyone have suggestions or experience with doing this?

These 2 little yellow glass pyrex bowls are my other favorite find! I am just so drawn to yellow right now. I think yellow and orange might just be my favorite colors right now. HaHa. I just remembered that Rainbow Brite's favorite color kid was Yellow. haha.


Yep, that's me and my friend Kristen from Halloween 2007. She humored me and went as Yellow. =)

Wishing you all rainbows and sunshine.

jessie b

Tuesday Travels - Virginia City

Sunday, we took a spontaneous day trip to Virginia City, NV. No really. We were in the car and Nick was like, "Are you in a hurry to get home?" In which I replied, "Nope." So he just kept drivin' and we ended up in Virginia City. I suppose he knew where we were heading at some point, but it was a surprise for me.

So for a little background... the old tv series Bonanza took place on the shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada and the closest town was Virginia City. You might also recall the episode about how Mark Twain got his start in Virginia City as a newspaper writer. Which is a true story! Can you remember what his birth name is?

We couldn't help ourselves in this quaint toy store.

Nick bought a kazoo and was playing it up and down the strip. I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed, but admire his zest for life. :)

Hanging with the Conductor.

On the way home, we drove through Wilson Canyon.



Day trips can be so much fun, especially when there's no particular agenda.
We finished our fun day with chicken tortilla soup for dinner, an old movie, and scramble slam.

Media Monday - G Love & Special Sauce + Belle Brigade

It's been awhile since I've seen any live music, but Saturday night, we headed out to get our fix. The show opened with a band called the Belle Brigade. The two main singers are brother and sister, but they have a full band with guitars, drums, keys, and a little tambourine. I really liked their harmonizing.







G. Love & Special Sauce were the headliners and the dance floor filled up with dancers... including me :)




And this is off their new CD.

the Sunday Special - Orange French Toast

Nick tends to get up before me. I guess he just doesn't need as much sleep. On his way downstairs, he asks me what I want for breakfast and starts naming things off. I stopped him at french toast and then asked if he could try putting some orange juice in the mixture and let the bread soak it up. He ran off to cook while I fell back to sleep.

Breakfast was ready just as I came down the stairs, and this was the yummy plate waiting for me.



He said the orange juice was too runny and thought it would make the bread fall apart. Instead, he made an Orange Sauce that he poured over the french toast and garnished it with banana slices. The banana went really well with the sauce so I asked for more slices with mine. :)

This is how he made the orange sauce.

Orange Sauce

1.5 cups orange juice

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan. Boil for 30-45 minutes until thick, stirring occasionally.

We make french toast with cinnamon and vanilla added to the egg mixture (just like my mama makes it) and use wheat bread. Nick added some pineapple and an egg scramble with hash browns, canadian bacon, sweet peppers, and spinach.

If you'd like to check out the other Sunday Specials I've posted in the past, here's the link --> the Sunday Special.

Punky!!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned my love of Punky Brewster. She was at the top of my childhood idols, and really I still love her! Well, my family is so cute. My sister found the first season of Punky Brewster on DVD and mailed it to me as a surprise. Then when I had the house to myself, I had a Punky Marathon and watched all 10 episodes.


And never tired of the theme song.




The intros actually changed from episode to episode. Here's a neat one with animation.



Then last week, my aunt sent me these fun pictures of her Punky Doll.




Look at those mix matched shoes :)

Finally finished my yucky taxes, so I'm off to have some fun today. Woohoo!

In the need of Spring

As I have been knee deep in some not so fun activities this week (aka, taxes), I am in dire need of some spring cheering up. And although yet another storm is coming and we are getting snowed on as I type.... I am thinking of those warm days and bright colors.

I started this little painting last week. Normally, I don't share them until they are finished, but what the heck. Maybe you need some Spring Cheer too.

Heavy Response.

I find it hard to discuss the realities of life on my blog. It's not that I mind telling strangers how I feel or think. Quite the contrary. Most of the time, I feel more comfortable talking to strangers about it than I do those closest to me. Strangers just seem less judgmental. They are outside the situation and therefore are more open minded. So, although those closest to me, do read my blog, I am going to share anyway. Maybe it will start a new trend of deeper, more meaningful posts where I can start being more open .... with all of you and myself.

I recently made a new friend. Her name is Jodi. I have never met Jodi in person (though I hope to some day). We met in blogland.

Yesterday, she posted this on her blog entitled Heavy. It really hit home with me and I left the longest comment ever in response to it. She discusses the feelings of guilt she has from being unsatisfied at her current job. How she wants to be grateful and positive, but finds herself wanting more. Please, go and read her post first. http://www.livefreeandrun.com/2011/04/heavy.html

And then come back and read my response below. It will make more sense.

My Response to "Heavy"

"oh, Jodi. i so totally feel your pain. been there. crying at my desk. feeling the anxiety as i drove to work. feeling that i was wasting my life away. comfortable in the solid pay check, great insurance and most importantly, independence. But i hated it and was miserable. i was always ALWAYS afraid to take risks. i was very loyal and stuck with it, afraid of failing. never wanting to ever have to ask anyone for anything. and you know what, i always wonder what could have been possible for me if i had just taken that risk. well, someone finally came along and offered me a chance to find out. and although i love the 'freedom' of setting my own schedule and choosing WHAT i do every day, i still feel trapped. because now i am having to rely on someone else. sometimes im ok with it and sometimes i just cant stand being so darn dependent. on top of it all, i feel like im wasting this awesome opportunity to finally make something of myself. to make a living at something I LOVE doing. but im not making any money. and i wonder, what am i not doing? what am i doing wrong? how the heck did others do it? i am so with you on this, hun. i don't know how they did it. i wish i knew because i would be doing it. so i keep at it. it would be really nice to have some kind of (free) retreat where we all talk and have meditative exercises and feel inspired and receive some clear steps of guidance to get us where we want to be. *sigh* it's nice to have a plan but it doesn't always work. things fall through.we loose motivation. we loose are belief in ourselves. we get overwhelmed. i guess all we can do is keep trying. keep trying new things when one thing doesn't seem to be working. find what little things make you happy. give you release from the stress and anxiety. healthy activities and experiences that help you grow. help you figure out what you want. i say, if you haven't already, make a list. make lots of lists. a bucket list. a list of goals. a list of the little things you enjoy in life. then the things you don't like about life. and then maybe you can start figuring out a way to reduce or eliminate those things that cause you anxiety. Giving advice is so much easier than putting it into action in my own life. The thing is, I get stuck after I write the lists. Where do I go from here? What do I do? Who do I contact? Am I good enough to contact that person for work? Could I wait and hopefully get better and then be worthy enough to contact them? *another sigh* You mentioned that you don't know what you have passion for and therefore, what you want to do. I read a great book after college, titled "What Color is Your Parachute". If you haven't read it, I totally recommend it. Here's a link to some info on it ->http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/ Hope it helps."

I have the passion part figured out. I just can't seem to figure out how to make a living at it. Advice is definitely welcome. Concrete steps. Specific steps that will take me in the right direction, even more greatly appreciated.

jessie b

Magic

I was reading Jessica Swift's blog the other day, and she shared some wonderful words of wisdom that I would like to permanently impress upon my subconscious. This is what she said.

Things I'd like to remember today:

• We each have our own personal magic, and when we tap into it and trust it (even if it feels like a big leap of faith), then magic will start to appear in our lives
• Comparing ourselves to others and wishing that our lives were something other than what they are is a guaranteed way to disconnect from that personal magic
• Work hard, play hard
• If we listen closely, we will understand that we know exactly what we need to do in this moment. We don't need to listen to anyone but ourselves.
• The world is full of magic. All we have to do is look for it, and we will find it...
• I am magic. And you are magic, too.

Thank you, Jessica, for a beautiful reminder to trust in ourselves. Jessica Swift is a very talented designer and illustrator. Here's some of her work (which you can find on jessicaswift.com).





And just for fun, here's a Magical Music playlist.

Wild Hair Wednesday - color

Last week, I gave you this little sneak peak. Most of you probably guessed what it was, but it was still fun pretending it was going to be a surprise.

A rainbow of color added with pieces of string.

Just to sort of style it, I twisted the front 2 dreads together to tame down the orange in front. Not sure how long I'll keep the front orange one. I like it, but maybe I'll make it shorter. The string, not my dread. :)

yay color!

I figure, as long as I have dreads, I might as well have fun with them.

Portrait Painting

I don't normally do portrait paintings, but my dad asked me to so how could I say no. :)

I started this a few months ago and finished it a few weeks ago. Then I mailed it to them as a surprise. They didn't even know I was working on it. It was pretty time consuming compared to most of the other paintings I've done, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

work in progress

The finished piece

Just goes to show, that just because you don't normally do something, doesn't mean you aren't capable of doing it.

Happy painting!

the Sunday Special - Vege Hummus

I came up with this Spinach Hummus a week or so ago and it was really good, but I forgot to write down what I put into it. whoops!

(i know. i know. i used a flash. please forgive me.)

I started to recreate what I thought I had put into it and then thought, "it would be more fun experimenting with new ingredients". And so I did.

Vege Hummus

sauteed Mushrooms
Red Bell Pepper
fresh Spinach
4 sprigs of Cilantro
3 fat Baby Carrots
1 Green Onion
4 Garlic cloves
1-2 tablespoons zesty Pickle Juice
2 tablespoons Tahini Sauce (has lemon juice already in it)
1 can Garbanzo Beans

Serve with Ripe Tomato and Garlic 'n Herb Pita chips.
Super Healthy and oh-so good.

snow sculpture

I made this little snow sculpture late Friday afternoon after I shoveled a pathway on our deck.

he was just a little guy

By the time I got up Saturday morning, he was already gone. The snow is a-meltin'!!