sunfish.

This is my Dad and the Sunfish - his baby sailboat. My best summer memories stay afloat on this little boat & Lake Michigan.

i have a crush on frightened rabbit.

There's a lot more than music that goes into my undying support for a band. There's a basic need for me to dig your tunes, but they don't necessarily have to be the melody of my heart. I tend to support bands that exhibit great character and kindness. Take Guster for example. Their albums are well constructed with happy simple melodies. By no means will Guster ever change the face of music, but forever they'll remain one of my favorites for their down-to-earth personalities and humanitarian contributions (check out reverb.com). I'd say a solid 40% of my rational behind purchasing a concert ticket comes from my feelings on the individuals in the band. For instance, I could listen to only Ryan Adams for a month, but I have absolutely no desire to ever pay for a concert ticket to see the guy. Stories from friends and media paint the picture of royal jerk. There's no reason I want to financially support him, even if he possesses great talent.

This brings me to the kings of my musical admiration - Frightened Rabbit. These four gentlemen (well, five today) hail from the fair land of Felkirk, Scotland. Out of the cultures I've experienced, I argue that Scottish people exhibit the most kindness, and Frabbits are no exception. Their friendly, humble stage banter deepens my love for their music and makes me want to personally contribute to their success.

On top of their kindness, humility, and Scottishness, a few more traits give them a lead for the band I support most. Studying in Scotland first introduced me to their music, so I hear the wind brushing the trees on top of Dumyat and glasses clinking at Studio (my uni's campus bar) when I hear "The Midnight Organ Fight". Frabbits and I also share mutual friends. And the cherry on top of their awesomely-kind sundae was the impromptu interview their lead singer offered me at Pitchfork Music Festival (see http://kwanderlust.blogspot.com/2010/04/sweet-summer-melodic-memories-pitchfork.html). Scott not only dropped all of his commitments to sit down with some nobody student DJ, but he seemed grateful for the opportunity. During the interview, he expressed an enjoyment in activities that take time like writing & recording an album, cheese making, and beer brewing. I admire his dedication to process.

My love for Frightened Rabbit genuinely exceeds all other bands. I love their music, the memories their albums evoke, their values, humility and kindness. Plus, all five are pretty cute. (Maybe it's my accent bias.) Yes, I have a crush on Frightened Rabbit.

fruit gardens.

i teach at an art camp. here's some of my camper's edible art (snack time). chocolate swamps courtesy of the six-year-old palate.

a very british birthday.

i gave this cupcake cake to my my friend lizzy for her birthday. she is equally obsessed with that little island known as the united kingdom.

family wedding.

too typical.

she and him. june 7, 2010 at pritzker pavilion, chicago

When Zooey Deschannel walked onto the Pritzker Pavilion stage, I thought I saw arrogance - a hollywood star burdened with a public appearance. Within the first few songs, Zooey unleased the down-to-earth girl we see on the big screen. Her excited little girl jump couldn't be any more endearing. She and M. Ward (him) played a free show on an eighty degree day, with the Chicago sky shaded the bluest of blues. The lovely weather translated into a lovely evening with good food and good friends and 18,000 other Chicagoans. Thanks, Chicago, for one heck of a Music Monday.

fashion child.

look at those adorable leggings she sported at she & him's free show at the pritzker pavillion on june 7! cool kid!

'dillo day

Northwestern University - the little piece of God's majestic Kingdom nestled on the border of Chicago and the lovely Lake Michigan - hosts a free event for their $50,000 yearly paying students. The rich kid, university sponsored version of UIUC's Unofficial claims the name Dillo Day filled with cotton candy, body paint, free pizzzza, Nelly, Regina Spektor, and the lovely gentlemen of GUSTER! (Childhood band obsession.) NU missed the ball on leaving out an armadillo walking around. An armadillo seems as necessary to Dillo Day as Mickey Mouse does to Disney World.

My public schools gal pals and I drove 3 hours north to cash in on NU's bank. Maheshie and I made it in the NU fashion magazine too! I hope to make a return to Dillo Day and that fashion mag.


from http://www.stitchfashion.com/blog/?p=7649


GUSTER! Not only did I see my favorite jewish musicians, I ran into my favorite jewish friends & roommate at Dillo Day too! Oh the lack of irony!

local natives at schuba's!

REALLY IN LOVE WITH LOCAL NATIVES.

I wandered into Schuba's Tavern Friday, May 14. Completely alone. My name with a + 1 was on the guest list, but my dear my friend and Local Native introducer - Meg - couldn't make it at the last minute. Nor could anyone else I've ever met in my entire existence. My love for this band overcame the uncomfortability of walking into a show alone. AND it was incredible. I liked connecting to the band and their music alone. I nestled right up next to the stage with two really drunk, really annoying little boys (aka 22-year-olds with bad voices). Thankfully, the show made up for their part in the audience. Check these boys out. Then check them out live. I've never met a better dressed band nor 5 kinder up-and-comers.

green graffiti.

check
it.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/moss-grass-graffiti/2147

posthumanism.

dear garance.

in response to this post by my favourite fashion blogger, garance dore: http://www.garancedore.fr/en/2010/06/08/not-much-sex-even-less-city/

garance! you are a beautiful writer. really. you captivate an audience with your first few words, and i consistently sit on the edge of my seat for more like a kid who popped a piece of sugar-coated candy dressed in the most appealing of childhood colors for the very first time.

and although i have yet to see sex & the city nor disagree with most of your sentiments in this post, i do disagree with one thing - aging isn't glamorous. when i wasn't tall enough to head to our local amusement park, i watched my mom take my older sister to the estee lauder counter at marshall fields for the first time. her blush. her mascara. her glamour. aging to the tender age of 13 meant entering glamourdom. then came her jewelry collection, her dresses, .... her shoes! i waited for the day when i would age to starting line of the glamour run, and i think that's where we differ. you have to age to start your run of glamour, but i don't believe there is ever a mandatory finish line. throwing in your heels is like quitting the marathon on mile 20.

real glamour becomes more glamourous with age. although i envied my sister for entering the wondrous world of glamour before me, my mom held the title of glamour idol. with every year, she grew more into her glamour. her stride became more custom to her own path.

aging is glamorous, if you let it be. true appeal is a woman who shines in her own look, which time can only mature. today, three days after her fifty-seventh birthday, her comfortability in her heels and the jewels that she's acquired perfectly to her style show me that glamour only grows with age.

bedroom facelift

As I rolled through my iphotos of the past year, I ran across three photographs my dad took before I moved into my current room. I forgot the UGLY face this poor room had before I gave her a facelift.