--the weekend--

I'm a bit sad that weekends are so very short. I mean, just 2 days!? -- seriously... It is Tuesday now, and as bummed as I am to be back to the 'daily grind', I'm still riding the high of my lovely, Autumn-in-New York weekend...

There was:
*the Rosie Thomas/Over the Rhine show which was beyond amazing. Here are some pics (taken with my cell phone--silly me, forgot the camera, but I just had to get some shots of this beautiful stage lighting)...

(Over The Rhine)

(Karen of OTR)

(Linford of OTR)

There was:
*a lazy, rainy Saturday spent cozied up in my little apartment...then a movie with some good company, followed by dinner with said company...topped off with a bit of live jazz at the famous Lenox Lounge: a truly authentic, classy New York establishment...*the perfect Saturday*...

There was:
*a lovely, sunny & crisp autumn Sunday, in which I, along with the aforementioned good company, took a drive out of the city and up along the Hudson River Valley...*sigh*...this is when I remembered that it is fall....ah, fall....I had not yet seen such vibrant colors this season, and the air just felt so clean and crisp. We ended up at this vineyard, where our day was capped off with a wine tasting, followed by a bottle of red, good conversation and breathtaking views such as this:


...*the perfect Sunday*...

Now you can understand why it's so hard to get back into the swing of things this week! I've been spoiled...

Ah, Maryland...

My favorite pics from our trip down south last weekend:


**Tara & Baby Janelle**


**Jasmin**

More photos of these cuties can be seen here.

It was a wonderful weekend away from the hustle and bustle of city life, spent in the budding metropolis that is St. Mary's County...Kristy and I had fun being aunties for the weekend, and Tara got a little break from the constant kiddie craziness. Some highlights included: a little CORN MAZE FUN! in which Jasmin (in her pretty lil' white shirt) took much delight in crawling around the dirt on her belly...heehee...some on-the-spot made-up songs to keep everyone happy and entertained (and by everyone I mean, Kristy and myself)...a pretty awesome family dance party....and of course lots of baby cuddles :)

It has been a busy week of art and cleaning and errands and laundry, etc...and now finally, FINALLY, the weekend is here!! (I didn't think it would ever come)...Tonight is the night I've been waiting for for months -- the Rosie Thomas/Over the Rhine concert at Highline Ballroom. Yay! Two of my favorites, together on one stage! I'm a bit giddy....

Gotta run...until next time...!

Stuff...

Life has felt extraordinarily busy -- guests to entertain, bowls to paint, songs to write....and the one thing that takes up THE MOST time but is currently of LEAST INTEREST: The Day Job. Arg.....
There are so many times when I think to myself, "ah-HA! I need to blog about that!" but then when I actually get in front of this here computer to do so, I fall asleep. The zzzz's are rapidly making their way toward me right now actually, so QUICK let me get to the point! Some random thoughts:

1) this restaurant is *very* yummy and *very* reasonably priced. I had a (good!) date there last weekend and the ambiance + the food = goodtimes. Plus, bonus points for being located in the oh-so-bohemian, ultra-cute Greenwich Village, perfect for post-date walking.

2) not only did I see Star Jones a few weeks ago (and recognized her all by myself!), but we actually rode up in an elevator together. Just me and Star. In an elevator. And in my office building of all places! Turns out Star is the new *star* of a CourtTV talk show, and -- lucky me -- CourtTV just so happens to occupy the floor above us. Soooo....we chatted and discussed politics and whatnot, and then, being blown away by my charisma and articulateness, she *did* invite me up to guest co-host the show....(okay, so maybe that is a slightly dramatic interpretation of events. We DID exchange glances & smiles, however, and there WAS meaningful conversation during the 17 second elevator ride: "Hi." "Hello." and "Have a nice day." "Thanks, you too." Or something like that)...still, I think she liked me. (3 things to note about Star: 1-she smelled good. 2-she looked really good. better than you would expect. seriously. like really fresh and non-fake. 3-she had on cool, hipster glasses. like the tortoise shell frames. UltraHipStar.)

3) I finally got around to seeing the film Across The Universe a couple weeks ago. And I don't care what anyone says: I LIKED IT. Of course, I am a bit of a Beatles nut and anything involving their music (plus psychedelics and cool visuals) is going to entertain me, regardless of the direction, or lack thereof, of plot. PLUS, the actor they cast as "Jude" is a dead-ringer for a young Paul McCartney. *Sigh* Dreamy....

4) tomorrow KW and I head to the mighty mighty state of Maryland...by CAR. That's right! We will be Road Warriors. Drivin' Fools. King(s) of The Road...(these things are VERY exciting for us car-less New Yorkers)...our friend Tara just had a baby girl, and we will spend the weekend in the "country" visiting their little family, makin' meals, and taking their other 2-year-old daughter to the corn maze (how AWESOME will that be?!). I am looking forward to some good ol' fashioned autumn-fun in the burbs :)

Life, Busyness & Art

I have been working like a mad woman all week trying to get this art stuff under control (and off the ground). MAN! I mean, I don't want to be a whiner, but it is NOT easy to work a full-time job while also attempting to balance a "music career" AND get your artwork out there for all the world to see!! Whew...I. Am. Tired. I know there are many people out there who do all of this and more (like raising babies and going to school full-time, etc.) and to YOU, I tip my hat...but I am one worn-out New Yorker at the moment.

Early on in the week, I starting throwing around words like "discipline" and "focus" and "goal-oriented"....meaning, I was DETERMINED to get things done! Things like working on my Etsy shop (but seriously, should it take someone FOUR HOURS to create a web-banner??) and setting up my paypal account so that I can do transactions, and the big one: working on my submissions for the University of Mary Washington Alumni Exhibition. (Yep. Class of 2000, right here). Normally I don't participate in many (any) Mary Washington Alumni related activities...but...this one seemed special. It is the Centennial Exhibition, celebrating 100 years of my school. And it is only open to past Mary Washington Art students, which I thought was cool. And I thought about seeing old professors and perhaps connecting with old friends and fellow art majors. So, I decided to give it a shot. I was up *very* late last night putting everything together, because, like a true artist, I procrastinated and just barely made the deadline (which is today). Anyway, I feel relieved that it's done and sent off, and excited that I actually submitted work to a show. Now...we wait. Here are the pieces I submitted:







TGIF.

Michigan

This is a shot of one of my latest pieces entitled Michigan -- a collage on canvas. It is actually the visual counterpart to one of my latest songs, also entitled "Michigan."

I wrote the song earlier this year, not intending for it to be this process of emotional healing or therapeutic in any way, but just a song...about a place I lived...during a time that was hard. Sort of a way of making amends with that place...because, as silly as it sounds, I placed a lot of blame and responsibility on Michigan. It felt more manageable to have someone to blame, and was what I needed to do at the time in order to get by. But writing "Michigan" turned out to be quite therapeutic -- it seemed to somehow release a lot of emotion and grief that had been locked away over the past few years. I suddenly remembered so many moments and faces and places -- friends, fights, magic and love....It somehow forced me to just really feel and grieve and come to terms with that time and place. When I first wrote it, I could hardly get through it without crying. But now I play it in front of packed out pubs and dimly lit clubs....And the emotion is still there, but so is a measure of peace.

Some things came up this summer that caused those emotions to resurface a bit. And that is when I began really diving into the art again. I didn't know where to put everything that was swirling around in my head, but I knew it couldn't STAY in my head. And I was having a difficult time writing music -- so to the drawing board I went. This little canvas piece had no direction at first, but I somehow found myself pouring out those Michigan memories once again. So I guess you could say it is a visual reflection of the emotions I was feeling when writing that song -- of the emotions I continue to feel on a daily basis when I think about that place and all that was found and lost there...

This *could* be the start of something....I am actually in the process of working on another collage piece that correlates to another one of my songs -- "In That Moment" -- which can be heard here. Maybe one day I will have an entire collection of pieces that reflect each of my songs and I'll be able to take this show on the road! Who knows....I don't have it all worked out, but it's definitely a thought that's been a-brewin'...I'll keep you posted. And in the meantime, I just need to find the TIME to create all of these things that I feel the need to create....*time* -- that's a whole other topic for another post though.

Until next time....