You know what's annoying? big croutons.
Sure they're tasty and are a nice alternative to crackers for an afternoon snack, but in a salad? with a fork? Am I missing the technique or are fingers an approved method?
There are, of course, lots of annoying things in this world, least of all croutons, but they randomly came into my head today. This morning, actually. On my way to work. With not a large crouton in sight.
Happy belated thanksgiving to you all.
Sarah
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
one nation.
I'm a bit behind on this, I do realize, but I'm going to post about it nonetheless.
Election day is finally over! Hooray for that and hooray for change.
History was made 12 days ago and I was able to participate in the celebration first-hand at Obama's election night rally in Grant Park. i took lots of photos
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
finito!
Well friends...the exhibit is finally open. And I'm proud to say that it's received nothing but rave reviews and encouraging words thus far. I don't like to beat a dead horse, (what an incredibly horrible cliché) by talking about it all the time, but I'm really excited about the completion of 19 months of work :) Click HERE for some pictures of the process.
Next thing that needs to be wrapped up: this election.
amen?
Next thing that needs to be wrapped up: this election.
amen?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
mosaic of me
The above mosaic of images represents my visual answers to the questions below.
1. What is your first name? (sarah)
2. What is your favorite food? (cheese)
3. What high school did you attend? (Unity Christian)
4. What is your favorite color? (turquoise)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (George Clooney)
6. Favorite drink? (coffee)
7. Dream vacation? (greece)
8. Favorite dessert? (banana cream pie)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (wise)
10.What do you love most in life? (relationships)
11.One word to describe you? (silly)
12.Your Flickr name? (sarahcfranken)
To create your own 'mosaic of me' image: Type your answer to each of the above questions into Flickr search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows).
Here are the sources of my selections:
1. Before the world was made… the innerlight of Sarah.K was!!! :))), 2. Day 158/365: Grilled cheese - yummm, 3. Watering the Wall of Indifference, 4. frame, 5. 9. The original., 6. coffee & the city, 7. Downstairs to the volcano, 8. Mini Chocolate Banana Cream Pies, 9. Black Hmong woman Song…, 10. SCALA, 11. May & Momo, 12. light values
Friday, September 5, 2008
Signs of Hope and Change
I have never gotten political on this blog before and I don't really intend to start now, but I have to share this video with you. It's powerful, it's concise, it's the message Obama is trying to send out: that we're all in this together and we all have a responsibility when it comes to bringing about the change America needs. We are our brothers' keeper.
Music by one of my favorites, The National.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
interesting commute.
I waited for the bus for 25 minutes this morning, which is an unusually long time to wait, especially during rush hour.
Since the number of people waiting for the bus compounds every minute a bus fails to appear, the final tally of people who swarmed the door was comparable in size and fervor to the group of people protesting the republican national convention last night.
Pretty intense.
When I finally got my turn to step on the bus, it was already standing room only, which was fine by me since I had a good view of the lake and the constantly changing landscape of cars riding next to the bus.
One driver was texting with BOTH hands and steering with her knee.
Then a very expensive looking Mercedes SUV pulled up and the attractive young man driving was. rocking. out. Complete with head banging, lip-syncing, and full-on-two-handed-air-drumming (don't forget the cymbal crash). What struck me as the most comical was the beautiful young lady sitting next to him looking unamused, annoyed, and very tired. Poor girl.
In the back seat of an upcoming subaru sat a teenager (looked to be around 13) reading the Wall Street Journal, while his intelligent looking parents sat up front having a very heated discussion.
The next car contained a lady talking into her bluetooth headset while animatedly flailing both her arms about. So much for a hands-free device I guess.
Make-up applying, coffee drinking, cell phone talking, radio adjusting, head banging commuters....and that doesn't even include the people on my bus.
Since the number of people waiting for the bus compounds every minute a bus fails to appear, the final tally of people who swarmed the door was comparable in size and fervor to the group of people protesting the republican national convention last night.
Pretty intense.
When I finally got my turn to step on the bus, it was already standing room only, which was fine by me since I had a good view of the lake and the constantly changing landscape of cars riding next to the bus.
One driver was texting with BOTH hands and steering with her knee.
Then a very expensive looking Mercedes SUV pulled up and the attractive young man driving was. rocking. out. Complete with head banging, lip-syncing, and full-on-two-handed-air-drumming (don't forget the cymbal crash). What struck me as the most comical was the beautiful young lady sitting next to him looking unamused, annoyed, and very tired. Poor girl.
In the back seat of an upcoming subaru sat a teenager (looked to be around 13) reading the Wall Street Journal, while his intelligent looking parents sat up front having a very heated discussion.
The next car contained a lady talking into her bluetooth headset while animatedly flailing both her arms about. So much for a hands-free device I guess.
Make-up applying, coffee drinking, cell phone talking, radio adjusting, head banging commuters....and that doesn't even include the people on my bus.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
sangria!
Then Labor Day came and went
And we shed what was left of our summer skin.
— Death Cab for Cutie, "Summer Skin" (Off their 2005 album, Plans)
In celebration of the unofficial end to a truly fabulous summer, I made some sangria yesterday and invited some friends over to drink with me on my roof. It was a lovely dark night, the company was pleasant, and the sangria was delicious. Here is the recipe I used:
Ingredients:
2 bottles red Spanish table wine
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
Orange slices
Peach slices
Blackberries
Pomegranate seeds
Directions
Mix all ingredients together and let stand in a tightly sealed container or pitcher for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Monday, August 25, 2008
map schmap, photo schmoto
A photo I took in Cologne, Germany was selected to be a part of Schmap.com's online travel itinerary for Cologne (specifically the chocolate museum)! Click here to check it out. It's at the top right corner.
What I think is really cool is that if you click on the photo from that link, it takes you to my flickr site :)
What I think is really cool is that if you click on the photo from that link, it takes you to my flickr site :)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
in the sea of humanity
Hey guys. Guess what? There are a lot of people in this city.
Of course I knew this before, but never has it been more evident to me as it was this past Sunday afternoon when Paul, Joanna and I decided to brave the crowds at North Ave Beach to watch the Air and Water show.
Yikes.
I've watched the air and water show before, but then I was a safe distance from the launching point and therefore a safe distance from the sea of humanity that congregates there. Actually getting to the beach was half the battle! It seemed like there were more people coming than going, which made us fearful that the enormous beach was actually overflowing and the people we were meeting on the way were actually fleeing to a location less populated.
We persevered nonetheless and miraculously managed to find a really good spot. Though in the sun, it had a good view of the parachute dropping point and it also provided us with some nice neighbors to chat with.
If you've met Paul, you might be able to guess what kind of day we had. By the time we left, we were saying "goodbye!" "take care!" "see you next year!" to the groups of people around us. Paul even gladly gave up his seat (which we hauled all the way from the car) to an elderly lady who was watching the show with her grandkids. What a guy. I should also mention, Paul gave $10 to the car parking attendant, on top of the already steep parking fee of $30, and told him to buy something nice for his kids. Can you believe this guy?
So, despite the sea of people, it felt more like we were in a small town watching a 4th of July parade than in Chicago watching one of the largest air and water shows in the nation.
Many of you might not have thought twice about the events of the day, but for me, it was huge! It's been pretty rare for me to experience (or even see) that type of community amongst complete strangers here in the city. Quite refreshing.
Of course I knew this before, but never has it been more evident to me as it was this past Sunday afternoon when Paul, Joanna and I decided to brave the crowds at North Ave Beach to watch the Air and Water show.
Yikes.
I've watched the air and water show before, but then I was a safe distance from the launching point and therefore a safe distance from the sea of humanity that congregates there. Actually getting to the beach was half the battle! It seemed like there were more people coming than going, which made us fearful that the enormous beach was actually overflowing and the people we were meeting on the way were actually fleeing to a location less populated.
We persevered nonetheless and miraculously managed to find a really good spot. Though in the sun, it had a good view of the parachute dropping point and it also provided us with some nice neighbors to chat with.
If you've met Paul, you might be able to guess what kind of day we had. By the time we left, we were saying "goodbye!" "take care!" "see you next year!" to the groups of people around us. Paul even gladly gave up his seat (which we hauled all the way from the car) to an elderly lady who was watching the show with her grandkids. What a guy. I should also mention, Paul gave $10 to the car parking attendant, on top of the already steep parking fee of $30, and told him to buy something nice for his kids. Can you believe this guy?
So, despite the sea of people, it felt more like we were in a small town watching a 4th of July parade than in Chicago watching one of the largest air and water shows in the nation.
Many of you might not have thought twice about the events of the day, but for me, it was huge! It's been pretty rare for me to experience (or even see) that type of community amongst complete strangers here in the city. Quite refreshing.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Opening Ceremonies 2008
To see some really AMAZING photographs of the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, click here. They're all so beautiful! I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies right now, and am being blown away by the artistry of the costumes, music, theatrics, and lights. Yay olympics!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
my current project at the Field Museum
This is the identity Lori and I designed for a new exhibit opening this fall. Lori and I and a team of about 8 other people have been laboring over the design of the exhibit for over a year and a half already and things are really starting to be put into motion. The month of august is filled with deadlines for our graphics. This is when things begin to get really exciting.
The Aztec World opens October 31, 2008 at the Field Museum.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
so much excitement
1. My first baby nephew, Noam Lee Groeneweg, was born last night, July 9, 2008. He is 6lbs 11oz. 20 inches. Congrats Becky and Brian! Can't wait to meet your new little one! (I'm already the favorite aunt, don't deny it Hope :)
2. Sister Dana is flying to Chicago after spending a year nannying in Germany and I get to be the first family member to welcome her back to the states! (she has like 4 friends coming to pick her up in Chicago and all 6 of us (plus my cat) get to spend 2 nights in my tiny studio.)
this is what 7 people and a cat look like trying to sleep in a studio apartment:
3. I just met Stacy London and Clinton Kelly from TLC's What Not To Wear. AND they know that I'm the genius designer behind the very important graphic used on the set.
Yeah, that's right. Be jealous people.
2. Sister Dana is flying to Chicago after spending a year nannying in Germany and I get to be the first family member to welcome her back to the states! (she has like 4 friends coming to pick her up in Chicago and all 6 of us (plus my cat) get to spend 2 nights in my tiny studio.)
this is what 7 people and a cat look like trying to sleep in a studio apartment:
3. I just met Stacy London and Clinton Kelly from TLC's What Not To Wear. AND they know that I'm the genius designer behind the very important graphic used on the set.
Yeah, that's right. Be jealous people.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
i wanna be an aunt...
...and I'm so close! my sister Becky has been in labor since 1:30 this morning. that's right, 1:30 THIS MORNING! That was 19.5 hours ago...
stay tuned...say a prayer.
stay tuned...say a prayer.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
We're going back
Let's just back the train up a bit. Is it seriously July 6 already? Cuz that's what my computer, ipod, wall calendar, cell phone, day planner, alarm clock, tv, dvd player AND today's church bulletin are all trying to tell me...
Yeah, I don't know where the month of June went either....can we back it up a bit and recap what's been happening? (That was a rhetorical question) good! here we go...
The month of May ended on a good note because, as I mentioned a couple posts ago, it included that road trip to Iowa to see my family. That trip was good because it included things like seeing my pregnant sister (due in just ONE week!), a memorial day parade, hanging out with a bunch of great friends, and everyone's memorial day staple: a pancake breakfast. When I got back to Chicago things seemed to be pretty normal, besides the usual after-affect of being home: homesickness. The awful feeling of homesickness got worse when, on June 2, I found out that my cousin, Angie, died very suddenly. This news came a little over a month after I received news that another cousin of mine, Kevin, had also died very suddenly. Kevin was 44. Angie, only 34.
It's hard to explain how I felt. devastation is close, but doesn't seem quite right. It really is beyond words when you lose someone so unexpectedly, someone you thought you'd share the next 40+ years of life with on this earth. While I wasn't very close to Kevin, nor did I know Angie really well, I am very close with Angie's family. Her parents and sister are my closest relatives and I hurt for their lost the most, and still do. I was able to make it home for the funeral. A completely different trip home than the trip I took just two weeks prior. Angie was such a beautiful person who surrounded herself with so many beautiful people who loved her. She will be missed, never forgotten.
A couple days after I returned from Iowa, June 12 to be exact, my good friend Sarah came for a visit from Grand rapids. What a blessing it was to have her here especially coming back from a pretty intense trip to Iowa.
The 10 days Sarah spent here in Chicago were filled with some great times. Birthday parties, street festivals, concerts, picnics in the park, game nights, good food, plenty of movies, and many many good conversations. A week after Sarah got here another great friend, Abby came in from Seattle for an architecture educators conference. Another blessing! So many friends! We had a great time hanging out at the Field Museum and going to see one of my favorite bands, Rue Royale play at Martyrs. More good food, good conversations, and plenty of laughs.
If you've been keeping track (or even if you're still reading this...) we're about up to the week of June 22. Which is the start of probably my two busiest weeks this summer....
June 22 (S): Sarah and Abby leave town
June 23 (M): work and then a picnic with friends in the park, followed by a concert (Brendan Losch, Weather Underground, and Cotton Jones Basket Ride) at Schubas. (a little too late for a school night but a good show nonetheless)
June 24 (T): Working late, followed by another AMAZING concert: Eef Barzelay, who is the lead on one of my favorite bands: Clem Snide. The show was amazing. amazing. amazing! :)
June 25 (W): After work I attended an art show by photojournalist, Ryan Spencer Reed (a former Calvin student). He's spent the past 4 years in and out of Sudan, photographing the genocide that's been going on in western Sudan. Very powerful work, very difficult subject. I encourage you to check out his website.
June 26 (Th): I visit Anti-Cruelty Society. I had decided to get a cat about a week before and on this day I found a new friend who I've already introduced you to: Lila (pronounced LEE-la). I didn't get to take her home that night because she had to be spayed, so Thursday night was spent at PetSmart stocking up on things I had no idea if she'd need or want: scratching post (doesn't use), toys (not interested), kitty treats (they make her throw up.) I did do pretty good on the basics though: litter box that she has had no problem using and kitty food that she really enjoys.
June 27 (F): Day 1 with Lila. Kinda weird, but it's gotten so much better since then. It's taken her about a week to come out of her shell and now I'm discovering she has what most cats have: a bit of an attitude. aka: she's a bit of a Diva. About 99% of the time she's the most lovable cat ever and insists on sitting/sleeping as close as possible to me. But the other 1% of the time she has no problem letting me know when I've left her alone too long or when I'm not giving her the attention she wants: she sits in the middle of my apt the floor and intentionally faces the opposite direction from me.
June 28 (Sa): Another picnic with friends in the park (gotta love free concerts downtown!)
June 29 (Su): Brunch with Paul, Joanna, and Laura at Twisted Spoke. Yum!
June 30 (M): White Sox game with 15 friends!
July 1 (Tu): Nothing! stay home...
July 2 (W): Sarah Pegman's birthday dinner at Joy's Noodle. Happy birthday pegster!
July 3 (Th): Work, followed by a shopping extravaganza with Sarah Pegman. We're throwing a 4th of July Party by the lake! Thursday night we also went downtown to the Field Museum Campus to watch the fireworks show.
July 4 (F): Happy fourth! Our all day party in the park. It was a beautiful day and was even more beautiful to spend it with some of my best friends. We played frisbee and 500, and ate lots and lots of delicious food. The perfect day was completed with some more fireworks and then probably one of the most graceful wipe-outs i've ever had. There was a really big crack in the sidewalk....and now i have 11 really intense bruises all up and down my legs. doh!
July 5 (Sa): Relaxing in the morning, then out to Ravinia Park to witness a live taping of Prairie Home Companion with everyone's favorite, Garrison Keillor. More food, more friends, more picnics.....please, can we hold off on the picnics for a while?
And now here we are, Sunday, July 6. If you've made it this far through my post you must really love me, or just be incredibly bored right now. Hey, it's ok, I've gotten really good at distracting myself too... Today I went with Becca to Loop Church because she was ordained as an elder in the church. A very exciting day indeed. Following the service and brunch at The Bongo Room, I came home and immediately took a 4 hour nap (I know it was beautiful day, but have you noticed how many picnics I've been at lately??) I'm a little concerned that Lila is not going to sleep a wink tonight. She's still napping...
I could probably give you a rough draft of what the rest of my July is looking like, but I know you've enjoyed yourself enough already, just by reading the above, so i'll let you wait in anticipation for the next play-by-play. I'll try update more frequently than once every 2 months....
goodnight
PS: I know how much you guys love pictures, so click here for a few more pictures.
Yeah, I don't know where the month of June went either....can we back it up a bit and recap what's been happening? (That was a rhetorical question) good! here we go...
The month of May ended on a good note because, as I mentioned a couple posts ago, it included that road trip to Iowa to see my family. That trip was good because it included things like seeing my pregnant sister (due in just ONE week!), a memorial day parade, hanging out with a bunch of great friends, and everyone's memorial day staple: a pancake breakfast. When I got back to Chicago things seemed to be pretty normal, besides the usual after-affect of being home: homesickness. The awful feeling of homesickness got worse when, on June 2, I found out that my cousin, Angie, died very suddenly. This news came a little over a month after I received news that another cousin of mine, Kevin, had also died very suddenly. Kevin was 44. Angie, only 34.
It's hard to explain how I felt. devastation is close, but doesn't seem quite right. It really is beyond words when you lose someone so unexpectedly, someone you thought you'd share the next 40+ years of life with on this earth. While I wasn't very close to Kevin, nor did I know Angie really well, I am very close with Angie's family. Her parents and sister are my closest relatives and I hurt for their lost the most, and still do. I was able to make it home for the funeral. A completely different trip home than the trip I took just two weeks prior. Angie was such a beautiful person who surrounded herself with so many beautiful people who loved her. She will be missed, never forgotten.
A couple days after I returned from Iowa, June 12 to be exact, my good friend Sarah came for a visit from Grand rapids. What a blessing it was to have her here especially coming back from a pretty intense trip to Iowa.
The 10 days Sarah spent here in Chicago were filled with some great times. Birthday parties, street festivals, concerts, picnics in the park, game nights, good food, plenty of movies, and many many good conversations. A week after Sarah got here another great friend, Abby came in from Seattle for an architecture educators conference. Another blessing! So many friends! We had a great time hanging out at the Field Museum and going to see one of my favorite bands, Rue Royale play at Martyrs. More good food, good conversations, and plenty of laughs.
If you've been keeping track (or even if you're still reading this...) we're about up to the week of June 22. Which is the start of probably my two busiest weeks this summer....
June 22 (S): Sarah and Abby leave town
June 23 (M): work and then a picnic with friends in the park, followed by a concert (Brendan Losch, Weather Underground, and Cotton Jones Basket Ride) at Schubas. (a little too late for a school night but a good show nonetheless)
June 24 (T): Working late, followed by another AMAZING concert: Eef Barzelay, who is the lead on one of my favorite bands: Clem Snide. The show was amazing. amazing. amazing! :)
June 25 (W): After work I attended an art show by photojournalist, Ryan Spencer Reed (a former Calvin student). He's spent the past 4 years in and out of Sudan, photographing the genocide that's been going on in western Sudan. Very powerful work, very difficult subject. I encourage you to check out his website.
June 26 (Th): I visit Anti-Cruelty Society. I had decided to get a cat about a week before and on this day I found a new friend who I've already introduced you to: Lila (pronounced LEE-la). I didn't get to take her home that night because she had to be spayed, so Thursday night was spent at PetSmart stocking up on things I had no idea if she'd need or want: scratching post (doesn't use), toys (not interested), kitty treats (they make her throw up.) I did do pretty good on the basics though: litter box that she has had no problem using and kitty food that she really enjoys.
June 27 (F): Day 1 with Lila. Kinda weird, but it's gotten so much better since then. It's taken her about a week to come out of her shell and now I'm discovering she has what most cats have: a bit of an attitude. aka: she's a bit of a Diva. About 99% of the time she's the most lovable cat ever and insists on sitting/sleeping as close as possible to me. But the other 1% of the time she has no problem letting me know when I've left her alone too long or when I'm not giving her the attention she wants: she sits in the middle of my apt the floor and intentionally faces the opposite direction from me.
June 28 (Sa): Another picnic with friends in the park (gotta love free concerts downtown!)
June 29 (Su): Brunch with Paul, Joanna, and Laura at Twisted Spoke. Yum!
June 30 (M): White Sox game with 15 friends!
July 1 (Tu): Nothing! stay home...
July 2 (W): Sarah Pegman's birthday dinner at Joy's Noodle. Happy birthday pegster!
July 3 (Th): Work, followed by a shopping extravaganza with Sarah Pegman. We're throwing a 4th of July Party by the lake! Thursday night we also went downtown to the Field Museum Campus to watch the fireworks show.
July 4 (F): Happy fourth! Our all day party in the park. It was a beautiful day and was even more beautiful to spend it with some of my best friends. We played frisbee and 500, and ate lots and lots of delicious food. The perfect day was completed with some more fireworks and then probably one of the most graceful wipe-outs i've ever had. There was a really big crack in the sidewalk....and now i have 11 really intense bruises all up and down my legs. doh!
July 5 (Sa): Relaxing in the morning, then out to Ravinia Park to witness a live taping of Prairie Home Companion with everyone's favorite, Garrison Keillor. More food, more friends, more picnics.....please, can we hold off on the picnics for a while?
And now here we are, Sunday, July 6. If you've made it this far through my post you must really love me, or just be incredibly bored right now. Hey, it's ok, I've gotten really good at distracting myself too... Today I went with Becca to Loop Church because she was ordained as an elder in the church. A very exciting day indeed. Following the service and brunch at The Bongo Room, I came home and immediately took a 4 hour nap (I know it was beautiful day, but have you noticed how many picnics I've been at lately??) I'm a little concerned that Lila is not going to sleep a wink tonight. She's still napping...
I could probably give you a rough draft of what the rest of my July is looking like, but I know you've enjoyed yourself enough already, just by reading the above, so i'll let you wait in anticipation for the next play-by-play. I'll try update more frequently than once every 2 months....
goodnight
PS: I know how much you guys love pictures, so click here for a few more pictures.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Introducing: Lila!
I just got home from the Anti Cruelty Society where I just adopted a new cat! Isn't she cute? I have to wait until tomorrow to take her home, but it's official :)
This is what the animal shelter said about Lila (the shelter had named her Precious, but I renamed her Lila):
"Precious is a super sweet and friendly 3-year old brown tabby. Her fur has gorgeous and unique markings that almost appear swirled, she is quite awesome looking! Precious also has the most amazing bright eyes! Precious came to us when her family was moving and couldn't take her along. With her endearing personality and calm demeanor, we are sure to find her a home in no time. Precious deserves to have a home where she can play the days away and snuggle up close to you each night. Please come and meet this very beautiful and sweet girl."
This is what the animal shelter said about Lila (the shelter had named her Precious, but I renamed her Lila):
"Precious is a super sweet and friendly 3-year old brown tabby. Her fur has gorgeous and unique markings that almost appear swirled, she is quite awesome looking! Precious also has the most amazing bright eyes! Precious came to us when her family was moving and couldn't take her along. With her endearing personality and calm demeanor, we are sure to find her a home in no time. Precious deserves to have a home where she can play the days away and snuggle up close to you each night. Please come and meet this very beautiful and sweet girl."
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
good music is cheaper than therapy
and almost just as effective...especially when my favorite music includes the vocals and musical genius of Eef Barzelay.
I got to see Eef live last night at Schubas. This was the first time I've seen him live and I was blown away. He was funny, entertaining, and his music....well....his music speaks for itself (there's a reason why he's my favorite). Eef just released a new solo album, Lose Big. (He's also lead vocals for Clem Snide.)
Here's the music video for Lose Big. He performed this song last night, and it's even better live. awesome.
Here's a little video about Eef behind the scenes. I love his quirky personality.
I got to see Eef live last night at Schubas. This was the first time I've seen him live and I was blown away. He was funny, entertaining, and his music....well....his music speaks for itself (there's a reason why he's my favorite). Eef just released a new solo album, Lose Big. (He's also lead vocals for Clem Snide.)
Here's the music video for Lose Big. He performed this song last night, and it's even better live. awesome.
Here's a little video about Eef behind the scenes. I love his quirky personality.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Illinois to Iowa
I finally got to see my sister's pregnant tummy this past weekend. Finally. It was the first, and only time that I'll get to see her pregnant with my first nephew and that makes me sad. I'm already wishing i was back in Iowa so i could spend more time with her and everyone else. Even though it went really fast, the long weekend with family and friends was spectacular.
That was the first time since moving to chicago (exactly TWO years ago this past monday!!) that I drove to Iowa instead of flying. And let me tell you, that 9 hour drive is just as long as I remember it being. Thankfully I didn't have to make it alone, Becca's company made it a great roadtrip. I even mixed us a soundtrack for the occasion (which we probably listened to 11 times) :P
The drive was really pretty, especially crossing the Wisconsin/Minnesota border:
That was the first time since moving to chicago (exactly TWO years ago this past monday!!) that I drove to Iowa instead of flying. And let me tell you, that 9 hour drive is just as long as I remember it being. Thankfully I didn't have to make it alone, Becca's company made it a great roadtrip. I even mixed us a soundtrack for the occasion (which we probably listened to 11 times) :P
The drive was really pretty, especially crossing the Wisconsin/Minnesota border:
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
color me happy
I bought myself a brand new box of colored pencils this weekend. I like colored pencils, a lot. Just looking at all the colors makes me happy. And since I got the big box, I'm pretty much beside myself with glee. They've already begun to spur the creativity and inspiration I was looking for.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Parisian excursion
One more post about my trip to Germany and France and I'll promise I'll at least try to be quiet about it for a while.
For most of our excursion to Paris and Munich Dana and I were pretty good about knowing where we were and how to get where we wanted to go. But there was this one night in Paris....
It was Friday night and we had spent ALL day wandering around the city. Climbing the eiffel tower, searching for food, exploring the Louvre and Musee de Orsay, the arc de triumph, Notre Dame, Pompidou Centre. We were exhausted but it was almost dark and we really wanted to see the eiffel at night. So to kill time we picked up some beers and hung out on the plaza of the Notre Dame. Here's a tip: if you're looking to relax after a long day, it's best not to be a couple girls drinking beer in public. It didn't take more than 2 minutes for us to be approached by a nice looking French fellow, who actually was really nice and really funny and just seemed like he wanted to talk to us in English. Two minutes after we said "au revoir!" two other guys approached us. Their names are Kristoph and Philip and they barely speak English. Somehow, and by total accident, I may have told them (and they somehow understood) that we were planning on going back to the Eiffel tower to see it lit up at night. Perfecto! they would join us! But...they didn't have a metro pass so they insisted that we WALK all the way back to the Eiffel tower. A mere 3.6 miles on feet that had already seen way too many miles that day. But, they were charming and sweet and since I wasn't about to get in a car with them, we set out.
Did I mention they barely spoke English?? Yeah, and we don't speak french. So not only was the physical distance exhausting but most of the time we had to rely on hand signals and sign language to have a conversation with these guys. Pretty soon I was just nodding and saying 'oui' not at all sure what I was agreeing to.
We finally get to the Eiffel somewhere around 1:30am. We half-heartedly take some pictures because by this time I couldn't have cared less if we had been staring at a brick wall. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration. The Eiffel at night is a breathtaking sight.
I think Kristoph and Philip got the hint after we repeatedly ignored them and pretty much told them that nothing more was going to happen between us that night. So we said 'au revoir' and Dana and I walked over to a piece of lawn and collapsed.
No, the story is not over yet, remember when i said we had been really good at knowing where we were, where we were going and how to get there? Sit tight.
Around 2am we decided it was definitely time for bed. We walk 10 minutes (kill me now!!) to the metro, validate our tickets and promptly find a seat on the platform with a handful of other night owls. After 5 minutes, an announcement is made telling us that the trains are no longer running. It is 2:15 after all. We sit there expressionless, neither one of us knowing what this means for our commute home.
Enter in French men #1 & #2 (I don't think we ever got their names...)
Apparently these two fellows saw our blank expressions and asked if they could help. Turns out they were headed in the same direction we were! Perfecto! They would help us get to the correct bus and help us get home. Fabulous. So, we left the train station and walk out to a bus stop that I mistakenly thought was a shuttle bus. I don't know what made me think this. I blame the pure exhaustion and lack of knowledge of French terminology. Whatever it was, I thought it was free, or I thought the train tickets that we validated would be good on the bus system as well. Nope! Totally wrong. We were on the very packed bus for maybe 10 minutes before it stopped and 8 large men in uniforms got on and ask to see everyone's tickets. I don't know about dana, but I was trying to make myself as invisible as possible. No luck. Our tickets were deemed "No Good" on the bus and we were fined 40 euros ($60). The whole situation created quite a scene considering it was now about 3am and we were 2 young american girls on a bus filled with african and french men going home after a night out at clubs. I held it together for a while before I started tearing up. Nothing too serious, just enough for me to create an even bigger scene and to cause Dana to be completely embarrassed that she was traveling with me.
#1 & #2 were still on the bus with us, but they weren't offering any help until they decided it was time for us to get off the bus. We got off but we're not home yet, we just have to wait for another bus. Amazingly, the SAME group of bus police end up on that bus and ask to see everyone's tickets again! of course they remembered us so they pretty much left us alone. The night continued on like this. i think we ended up taking 3 buses and on our trip home we were able to see the Arc de Triumph, the Notre Dame and the Pompidou centre for a 2nd time.
We finally collapsed on our beds at 5:30 am.
Ahhh.... Paris....
I finally got all of my pictures posted to my flickr site so please check them out and let me know what you think. I also created SIX albums on facebook so if you have something against flickr you can check them out here and here for Germany. Here and here for Paris. And here and here for Munich and castles.
For most of our excursion to Paris and Munich Dana and I were pretty good about knowing where we were and how to get where we wanted to go. But there was this one night in Paris....
It was Friday night and we had spent ALL day wandering around the city. Climbing the eiffel tower, searching for food, exploring the Louvre and Musee de Orsay, the arc de triumph, Notre Dame, Pompidou Centre. We were exhausted but it was almost dark and we really wanted to see the eiffel at night. So to kill time we picked up some beers and hung out on the plaza of the Notre Dame. Here's a tip: if you're looking to relax after a long day, it's best not to be a couple girls drinking beer in public. It didn't take more than 2 minutes for us to be approached by a nice looking French fellow, who actually was really nice and really funny and just seemed like he wanted to talk to us in English. Two minutes after we said "au revoir!" two other guys approached us. Their names are Kristoph and Philip and they barely speak English. Somehow, and by total accident, I may have told them (and they somehow understood) that we were planning on going back to the Eiffel tower to see it lit up at night. Perfecto! they would join us! But...they didn't have a metro pass so they insisted that we WALK all the way back to the Eiffel tower. A mere 3.6 miles on feet that had already seen way too many miles that day. But, they were charming and sweet and since I wasn't about to get in a car with them, we set out.
Did I mention they barely spoke English?? Yeah, and we don't speak french. So not only was the physical distance exhausting but most of the time we had to rely on hand signals and sign language to have a conversation with these guys. Pretty soon I was just nodding and saying 'oui' not at all sure what I was agreeing to.
We finally get to the Eiffel somewhere around 1:30am. We half-heartedly take some pictures because by this time I couldn't have cared less if we had been staring at a brick wall. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration. The Eiffel at night is a breathtaking sight.
I think Kristoph and Philip got the hint after we repeatedly ignored them and pretty much told them that nothing more was going to happen between us that night. So we said 'au revoir' and Dana and I walked over to a piece of lawn and collapsed.
No, the story is not over yet, remember when i said we had been really good at knowing where we were, where we were going and how to get there? Sit tight.
Around 2am we decided it was definitely time for bed. We walk 10 minutes (kill me now!!) to the metro, validate our tickets and promptly find a seat on the platform with a handful of other night owls. After 5 minutes, an announcement is made telling us that the trains are no longer running. It is 2:15 after all. We sit there expressionless, neither one of us knowing what this means for our commute home.
Enter in French men #1 & #2 (I don't think we ever got their names...)
Apparently these two fellows saw our blank expressions and asked if they could help. Turns out they were headed in the same direction we were! Perfecto! They would help us get to the correct bus and help us get home. Fabulous. So, we left the train station and walk out to a bus stop that I mistakenly thought was a shuttle bus. I don't know what made me think this. I blame the pure exhaustion and lack of knowledge of French terminology. Whatever it was, I thought it was free, or I thought the train tickets that we validated would be good on the bus system as well. Nope! Totally wrong. We were on the very packed bus for maybe 10 minutes before it stopped and 8 large men in uniforms got on and ask to see everyone's tickets. I don't know about dana, but I was trying to make myself as invisible as possible. No luck. Our tickets were deemed "No Good" on the bus and we were fined 40 euros ($60). The whole situation created quite a scene considering it was now about 3am and we were 2 young american girls on a bus filled with african and french men going home after a night out at clubs. I held it together for a while before I started tearing up. Nothing too serious, just enough for me to create an even bigger scene and to cause Dana to be completely embarrassed that she was traveling with me.
#1 & #2 were still on the bus with us, but they weren't offering any help until they decided it was time for us to get off the bus. We got off but we're not home yet, we just have to wait for another bus. Amazingly, the SAME group of bus police end up on that bus and ask to see everyone's tickets again! of course they remembered us so they pretty much left us alone. The night continued on like this. i think we ended up taking 3 buses and on our trip home we were able to see the Arc de Triumph, the Notre Dame and the Pompidou centre for a 2nd time.
We finally collapsed on our beds at 5:30 am.
Ahhh.... Paris....
I finally got all of my pictures posted to my flickr site so please check them out and let me know what you think. I also created SIX albums on facebook so if you have something against flickr you can check them out here and here for Germany. Here and here for Paris. And here and here for Munich and castles.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Germany and Paris: A Summary
What an amazing trip.
I'm reeling with memories, happiness, and unbelievable exhaustion, as is my sister I'm sure. I have yet to figure out how to best explain my trip on this blog, so for now, I'm going to leave you with a very brief summary:
• cathedrals
• stairs
• museums
• chocolate
• architecture
• art
• food
• walking
• pictures
• laughter
• trains
• castles
• mountains
• parks
• beer
• shopping
• heights
• coffee
I'm working on getting my photos organized and will be posting them to my flickr site soon. I can't believe I took some of these (including the one you see above!)
I'm reeling with memories, happiness, and unbelievable exhaustion, as is my sister I'm sure. I have yet to figure out how to best explain my trip on this blog, so for now, I'm going to leave you with a very brief summary:
• cathedrals
• stairs
• museums
• chocolate
• architecture
• art
• food
• walking
• pictures
• laughter
• trains
• castles
• mountains
• parks
• beer
• shopping
• heights
• coffee
I'm working on getting my photos organized and will be posting them to my flickr site soon. I can't believe I took some of these (including the one you see above!)
Friday, May 2, 2008
airlines: always entertaining
After an extremely stressful morning trying to re-confirm my flight (it had somehow been DELETED from the airline's online system...) preparations for my journey seem to be falling into place. I leave for the airport in just 1 hour! And tell you what, after this morning's stress and trying to wrap up 8 different projects at work, I'm SO ready for a vacation. Thankfully the airline was able to retrieve my reservation so I'll soon be on my way to Germany. woohoo!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Deutschland: 3 days!
I leave for Germany in 3 short days and I can hardly contain my excitement!
I'll be staying in Dusseldorf with my sister's au pair family for most of my trip and will be taking day trips to surrounding cities in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Stay tuned for pictures!! :)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
FFFFound!
Sometimes when I'm exploring the gobs of websites devoted to photography, design and architecture I feel like I'm about to implode with inspiration (which is actually a daily occurrence). If you're looking for inspiration like me, or if you just like looking at cool things, pretty things, colorful things, dramatic things, challenging things...then you should do yourself a favor and head on over here.
But wait, before you go here's a tip: When you find an image you like (it won't take long), click on it and then see where the next image takes you, and where that image then takes you, and the next, and the next, and the...
let me know how you cope with the sense of imploding.
Oh, and a warning: Just know that when you head on over to that site you should be prepared to lose the rest of your day. enjoy!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
King Corn
This trailer for King Corn hits pretty close to home. I grew up on a farm in Northwest Iowa where we grew acres and acres of corn. Since the countryside was saturated with them, cornfields were just a part of the scenery to me...something I rarely noticed or even thought about, not to mention worrying about where the corn actually went or what it was used for after combining it every fall and taking it to town every spring.
I'm definitely renting this movie and following it up by reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. A book that I hear will change the way you think about food, much like the way Fast Food Nation and Supersize Me did.
If you've seen King Corn or read The Omnivore's Dilemma, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
fotos on flickr
Hi friends.
I just set up my very own flickr account. So, check it out and let me know what you think. I'll be updating and reorganizing soon.
I just set up my very own flickr account. So, check it out and let me know what you think. I'll be updating and reorganizing soon.
Monday, April 21, 2008
recent knitting project: finished!
I am PRIT-TEE darn excited about this one. Just finished it yesterday. (it's a baby blanket).
change is good
Let me know what you think of my new color scheme. it might change tomorrow so you better come back and see.
....what? you think this blue and grey is too depressing? seriously, leave a comment.
....what? you think this blue and grey is too depressing? seriously, leave a comment.
Friday, April 18, 2008
earthquake in the midwest?
yes. illinois had an earthquake. and I felt it at 4:30 this morning. But at the time, since I was sleeping, I couldn't coherently figure out what it was. I seriously thought it was just extremely strong winds that was making my 4 story, solid stone apartment structure shake. Yes, wind. Hey, who woulda EVER thought Chicago would have an earthquake? ?? We are the windy city after all, and I was sleeping....
anyway, my mom called me this morning and asked me if I felt the earthquake and immediately i remembered the strong "winds" and kinda freaked out. that was SO crazy.
Apparently I'm really sensitive because only 1 other coworker felt the earthquake and only 3 people felt the aftershock at work, even though, while it was happening, I was like "OH my GOSH, do you guys FEEL that??"
It's quite a weird sensation and it actually made me feel woozy and nausous. Besides those physical side effects, I'm having some mental side effects as well. It's kinda scary and foreboding. Kinda like the way I felt when Heath Ledger died*. Like, "wow, I didn't see that one coming....i wonder what other unsuspecting, earth shattering (sorry for the pun) events are coming our way.
*I'm not obsessed with Heath Ledger in anyway. I was just beyond shocked that he would overdose. He seemed like such a clean cut nice guy. Just goes to show that people can put up fronts and you never really know what could be going on under the surface.
anyway, my mom called me this morning and asked me if I felt the earthquake and immediately i remembered the strong "winds" and kinda freaked out. that was SO crazy.
Apparently I'm really sensitive because only 1 other coworker felt the earthquake and only 3 people felt the aftershock at work, even though, while it was happening, I was like "OH my GOSH, do you guys FEEL that??"
It's quite a weird sensation and it actually made me feel woozy and nausous. Besides those physical side effects, I'm having some mental side effects as well. It's kinda scary and foreboding. Kinda like the way I felt when Heath Ledger died*. Like, "wow, I didn't see that one coming....i wonder what other unsuspecting, earth shattering (sorry for the pun) events are coming our way.
*I'm not obsessed with Heath Ledger in anyway. I was just beyond shocked that he would overdose. He seemed like such a clean cut nice guy. Just goes to show that people can put up fronts and you never really know what could be going on under the surface.
i love type
Do you love type? Do you know type? Find out here.
I only got 26 out of 34. I need some more practice.
I only got 26 out of 34. I need some more practice.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Can I just say that I love seattle?
What a great weekend it was to be in Seattle. It was snowy here in chicago (yes, snowy) but it was beeeeea-u-tiful out in the pacific northwest. it only sprinkled a little on the day I left and it was 75 and sunny all day saturday. It was so fantastic to hang out with Abby and see Rachel again. We did a lot of somewhat random things, but it definitely made the weekend unforgettable. And again, Seattle is beeeeea-u-tiful!
The weekend consisted of:
1. delicious food: fish tacos, french pastries, gourmet pizza, mango quesadillas, risotto cakes, savory vegetarian chili...yum!
2. a road trip to see fields of tulips. unfortunately, the tulips hadn't 'popped' yet, but the daffodil fields didn't disappoint.
3. a quilt museum
4. a glass museum
5. fabric stores, yarn stores, bookstores, pottery stores, oh my!
6. lots of laughs
7. IKEA
8. architecture
9. money handouts. some lady randomly gave me $1 on the street.
10. fantastic views. "well hello there mountains"
11. Pike place market
12. Flying fish
13. endless cups of seattle coffee
14. Glorious blisters on my feet from all the walking.
15. Calatrava, Chihuly, Koolhaas
The amazing new seattle library, designed by Rem Koolhaas (it was really kool ;)
Wanna see more pictures? Click here or here
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
i can tie my tie all by myself
hey!
hey you!
yes, YOU! the one reading this blog!
I know what you're thinking. you're thinking, man, i wish this girl would get RID of that nasty blogger template with the putrid ochre background and disgusting brown font! For pete's sake, isn't she a graphic designer??
Ok ok, you're right. I'm gunna work on it. Actually, I've been working on it (or at least thinking about working on it) for quite some time. But yeah, I named this blog what I did for a reason.
So, stay tuned. I'm conjuring up at least 50% of my creative energy and honing it in on sprucing this place up.
hey you!
yes, YOU! the one reading this blog!
I know what you're thinking. you're thinking, man, i wish this girl would get RID of that nasty blogger template with the putrid ochre background and disgusting brown font! For pete's sake, isn't she a graphic designer??
Ok ok, you're right. I'm gunna work on it. Actually, I've been working on it (or at least thinking about working on it) for quite some time. But yeah, I named this blog what I did for a reason.
So, stay tuned. I'm conjuring up at least 50% of my creative energy and honing it in on sprucing this place up.
Monday, April 14, 2008
A-List
Let me just preface this video by saying
1. I'm American.
2. I LOVE a nice list.
3. Case-in-point:
1. I'm American.
2. I LOVE a nice list.
3. Case-in-point:
compressed hay-bales
IKEA's in-store restaurant serves little bread-like cracker things that look full of multi-grain, european-exotic deliciousness. Upon taking one at breakfast yesterday, Abby looks over at me blankly and, seeing the curiosity in my eye, says, "kinda like a compressed hay-bale"
she was right. the jam helped a little.
she was right. the jam helped a little.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
vacation time
I haven't left the city in 3 months and i'm starting to go stir crazy. i'm gettin the itch. spring fever. wanderlust. restlessness. i long to put my feet on the soil of anywhere besides the midwest!! so goodbye chicago, hello pacific northwest!
Monday, March 31, 2008
munday munday
The rainy bleak weather has got me feeling down today, which naturally affects my ability to walk properly.
I fell down on the museum's slippery marble steps and landed hard on the same knee that i hurt falling on the ice this february. And then i tripped on the steps going up to the design loft and spilled hot coffee all over my hand.
I sincerely hope your monday is going better than mine.
Please say it is.
I fell down on the museum's slippery marble steps and landed hard on the same knee that i hurt falling on the ice this february. And then i tripped on the steps going up to the design loft and spilled hot coffee all over my hand.
I sincerely hope your monday is going better than mine.
Please say it is.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
sorry, dreams.
A couple days ago I accused my weird dreams of being the reason why i've been so tired lately...
I was wrong. turns out i have the flu.
I was wrong. turns out i have the flu.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
white stereotypes
I only like 23 of the 87 things listed on this list of Things White People Love.
Does that mean I'm not white? or does it just mean that the creator of that blog is totally stereotyping white people? Yeah, I think he/she is totally stereotyping white people too. But for some reason, it's ok to do that, and what's more is that people (myself included) find it funny! Would it be ok or just as funny to create a list of Things Black People Love? Or Things Mexicans Love?
Below are 23 things that I do love (though I don't always agree with the description):
#1 Coffee
#5 Farmer's Markets
#8 Barack Obama
#10 Wes Anderson Movies
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
#13 Tea
#19 Traveling
#29 80's Nights
#30 Wrigley Field
#34 Architecture
#36 Breakfast Places
#38 Arrested Development
#39 Netflix
#40 Apple Products
#41 Indie Music
#47 Arts Degrees
#49 Vintage
#53 Dogs
#57 Juno
#63 Expensive Sandwiches
#64 Recycling
#79 Modern Furniture
#82 Hating Corporations
Does that mean I'm not white? or does it just mean that the creator of that blog is totally stereotyping white people? Yeah, I think he/she is totally stereotyping white people too. But for some reason, it's ok to do that, and what's more is that people (myself included) find it funny! Would it be ok or just as funny to create a list of Things Black People Love? Or Things Mexicans Love?
Below are 23 things that I do love (though I don't always agree with the description):
#1 Coffee
#5 Farmer's Markets
#8 Barack Obama
#10 Wes Anderson Movies
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
#13 Tea
#19 Traveling
#29 80's Nights
#30 Wrigley Field
#34 Architecture
#36 Breakfast Places
#38 Arrested Development
#39 Netflix
#40 Apple Products
#41 Indie Music
#47 Arts Degrees
#49 Vintage
#53 Dogs
#57 Juno
#63 Expensive Sandwiches
#64 Recycling
#79 Modern Furniture
#82 Hating Corporations
Monday, March 10, 2008
weird dreams
I gotta say, lately i've been having some really bizarre dreams. They're so vivid in my mind that, even though I'm dreaming I'm still aware of all five of my senses. Not only have i seen and heard things in my dreams i've also tasted spaghetti, felt pain when i burned my hand, and smelled rotting food in an abandoned home. Oh, and another thing that makes my dreams so weird? are the people in them! Old neighbors, classmates i haven't seen in years, the ceo of the museum, celebrities like Tom Hanks and George Clooney, my sisters, friends, old pets (who, in my dreams, can talk)....yeah, too strange.
It sometimes takes 30 minutes or more for me to convince myself that the events in my dream didn't actually happen. Like jumping from a decrepit bridge to save my drowning old neighbor? yeah, didn't happen. or chasing tornados in my home town with the president of the field museum? nope. or uncovering an unsolved murder mystery by exploring abandoned houses floating in the middle of the ocean? definitely didn't happen. (but...that one took the most convincing of all of them.) I've cooked spaghetti dinners with grade school classmates (in a grocery store) and even hunted for ghosts with George Clooney and a talking cat, Fluffy!
No wonder i'm so tired lately. My crazy adventures are keeping me up all night!
It sometimes takes 30 minutes or more for me to convince myself that the events in my dream didn't actually happen. Like jumping from a decrepit bridge to save my drowning old neighbor? yeah, didn't happen. or chasing tornados in my home town with the president of the field museum? nope. or uncovering an unsolved murder mystery by exploring abandoned houses floating in the middle of the ocean? definitely didn't happen. (but...that one took the most convincing of all of them.) I've cooked spaghetti dinners with grade school classmates (in a grocery store) and even hunted for ghosts with George Clooney and a talking cat, Fluffy!
No wonder i'm so tired lately. My crazy adventures are keeping me up all night!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
cereal, tea lites and type
Look at this box of cereal i bought yesterday:
Golden Grahams has gone old school!
When I first saw the packaging, I thought, wow, what a great revamp of their package design. Then it occurred to me that it's not new or fresh at all, it's a flashback to the 1980's:
Crazy.
Since I'm on the topic of branding and design, take a look at the label found on a pack of IKEA tea lites. The Swedish must prefer graphic representation over type. Probably because this way they don't have to translate it into umpteen different languages:
Naturally, I have a couple favorites:
Warning: Lifesize candles are not very entertaining: may cause boredom
Warning: Children and dogs love to eat candles together. Do NOT let them share a lady and the tramp moment over an open flame. Especially your hairy dog. You think your dog smells bad now, try having one covered in burnt hair.
But my personal favorite:
Warning: Your boyfriend has a really bad haircut. And he pukes on candles. Make sure your candle wears a birthday hat to protect it from spewing vomit. (note: the birthday hat will not protect against bad haircuts.)
Golden Grahams has gone old school!
When I first saw the packaging, I thought, wow, what a great revamp of their package design. Then it occurred to me that it's not new or fresh at all, it's a flashback to the 1980's:
Crazy.
Since I'm on the topic of branding and design, take a look at the label found on a pack of IKEA tea lites. The Swedish must prefer graphic representation over type. Probably because this way they don't have to translate it into umpteen different languages:
Naturally, I have a couple favorites:
Warning: Lifesize candles are not very entertaining: may cause boredom
Warning: Children and dogs love to eat candles together. Do NOT let them share a lady and the tramp moment over an open flame. Especially your hairy dog. You think your dog smells bad now, try having one covered in burnt hair.
But my personal favorite:
Warning: Your boyfriend has a really bad haircut. And he pukes on candles. Make sure your candle wears a birthday hat to protect it from spewing vomit. (note: the birthday hat will not protect against bad haircuts.)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
blog of blogs
Since I'm failing in the creative-blog-posting department at this time, I thought I'd pass on a few fun links that I came across in my blog exploration journey today. Enjoy! (but be careful to use the back arrow when returning to my blog :)
Kim White Handbags
Holy Cow! Why didn't I think of something like this? Oh wait, I think I did and then realized I don't own a garage full of vintage automobiles willing to loan me their seat fabric to make into awesome bags. But boy am I glad someone did. mom, you can give me this one or this one for my birthday :)
Music Critic
I came across this music review of Pelican's album, City of Echos (it's actually more of a review of the drummer) and thought wow, that's pretty harsh. It just so happens that my coworker knows and actually used to room with the drummer who this reviewer is bashing. Ouch. Everyone's a critic I guess.
Worlds largest music collection for sale
Ok, this is A LOT of music. If you're in the market to own about every album made in the past 50 years and happen to have an extra warehouse at your disposal and a mere $3 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you're in luck! There's a guy looking to sell his entire collection for exactly $3 million (OBO) on, where else but ebay of course! For those of us asking questions like, "is this for real?" wonder no more, there's a website specifically created to answer our burning curiosity.
Brand Revamps
This website isn't really intended to trick you, just get you thinking about logo design. Successful corporations are constantly evaluating their product's presence in the market and every few years find it necessary to re-design their logos, even if the change is invisible to the average consumer's eye. I find logo design and re-design extremely interesting (which may or may not have something to do with the fact that I'm a graphic designer.) I came across this website which evaluates and comments on the change logos undergo. Pretty entertaining ;)
Valentines Day Memories
Ok, I know this one is a few days old, but blogger Johnny Virgil CRACKS ME UP every time i read his stuff. You may or may not have received some of his work which was spread to the masses in a popularly forwarded email about JCPenny fashions in the '70s. If you never got that email, i insist that you read it immediately. When you're finished with the Valentines day humor and JCPenny flash-back, read this one and then this one. You won't be sorry, unless you have absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever.
On a much more serious note: Don't do drugs
I'd like to thank googlereader for making my blog-reading life so much easier. I couldn't have done it without you.
Kim White Handbags
Holy Cow! Why didn't I think of something like this? Oh wait, I think I did and then realized I don't own a garage full of vintage automobiles willing to loan me their seat fabric to make into awesome bags. But boy am I glad someone did. mom, you can give me this one or this one for my birthday :)
Music Critic
I came across this music review of Pelican's album, City of Echos (it's actually more of a review of the drummer) and thought wow, that's pretty harsh. It just so happens that my coworker knows and actually used to room with the drummer who this reviewer is bashing. Ouch. Everyone's a critic I guess.
Worlds largest music collection for sale
Ok, this is A LOT of music. If you're in the market to own about every album made in the past 50 years and happen to have an extra warehouse at your disposal and a mere $3 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you're in luck! There's a guy looking to sell his entire collection for exactly $3 million (OBO) on, where else but ebay of course! For those of us asking questions like, "is this for real?" wonder no more, there's a website specifically created to answer our burning curiosity.
Brand Revamps
This website isn't really intended to trick you, just get you thinking about logo design. Successful corporations are constantly evaluating their product's presence in the market and every few years find it necessary to re-design their logos, even if the change is invisible to the average consumer's eye. I find logo design and re-design extremely interesting (which may or may not have something to do with the fact that I'm a graphic designer.) I came across this website which evaluates and comments on the change logos undergo. Pretty entertaining ;)
Valentines Day Memories
Ok, I know this one is a few days old, but blogger Johnny Virgil CRACKS ME UP every time i read his stuff. You may or may not have received some of his work which was spread to the masses in a popularly forwarded email about JCPenny fashions in the '70s. If you never got that email, i insist that you read it immediately. When you're finished with the Valentines day humor and JCPenny flash-back, read this one and then this one. You won't be sorry, unless you have absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever.
On a much more serious note: Don't do drugs
I'd like to thank googlereader for making my blog-reading life so much easier. I couldn't have done it without you.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
caution: contents under pressure may explode causing decapitation or severed limb but there will most definitely be a loss of sanity
that's how i've felt for the past 4 months.
The pressure started building the beginning of Oct when I found out that my mom had colon cancer. October and November consisted of a lot of phone calls to and from home and 2 flights to Iowa to be with my mom and family. Thankfully the cancer was removed during surgery and no treatments are necessary. Which is a HUGE relief considering my mom's already compromised health circumstances. On one of my return flights back to Chicago from spending a 10 days with my mom in November, the airlines lost my luggage. Let me just tell you how absolutely UN-pleasant lost luggage is. Ok, it's hard to tell you exactly how unpleasant it is because, lets face it, there's not enough space here and I'm sure you've got better things to do than listen to me rant about the airlines.
Anyway, a few days after my luggage failed to make it to the windy city, Thanksgiving day precisely, I got a massive, MASSIVE headache. Ok, now, I get a lot of headaches. i have been getting headaches since I was 11, so I have a pretty high tolerance for head pain. But this one was different. This one was so severe that I didn't really know what was going on other than the fact that Abby, who was driving us home from thanksgiving dinner, made the executive decision to take me to the ER. my body was seizing up, I was hunching up in the fetal position as best as i could, snot was running out of my nose beyond my control, I was groaning with pain, and had I been able to move I would have undeniably chopped my own head off to end the pain immediately. the slight awareness I had of what was going on only made me panic and intensify the pain even more.
After making quite a scene in the ER waiting room (why on earth did they make me sit there for so long!?) I finally got a bed. Several doctors came in, all asking me what was wrong? had I had headaches before? what had i eaten? what sort of physical activities had I been taking part in before the onset of the headache? Was I having my period? Would i classify this as the worst headache i've ever had??? My response to all the questions was a grunt. that's all i could muster. After the interrogation, they injected me with 2 strong doses of some heavy duty headache-killer. The nurse (who nick-named me 'brow' cuz i had such a pained expression on my face the entire time) then sent me to have a CT scan to see if I was having a migraine. The results apparently came out clear, so 4 hours after entering the ER, I was able to walk out and go home feeling like I had gotten run over in the red-line tunnel.
The next day, as I recovered from the trauma, and still suffering from a headache the size of montana, the charge nurse called to tell me that the radiologist had taken a 2nd look at the CT scan and found a 1.3 cm cyst.
Insert panic episode, round 2.
She told me I would need an MRI but because of insurance mumbo jumbo, I wouldn't be covered if I went with their hospital. Panic, confusion, pain...all feelings i was having. Abby saved my life again and helped me sort out my situation. Since i didn't have a relationship with a doctor in Chicago, I would have to form one with a complete stranger who would understand quickly and comprehensively what I was going through. Thankfully I met my current doctor who is fabulous. She scheduled me for an MRI immediately.
Five days after The Headache, I had my MRI, and two days after that I found out that my brain was completely normal. Yes, that's right. Normal. There was no cyst, no tumor, my sinuses were totally clear and most importantly, my brain was normal. (who would've ever thought I'd hear THAT from a medical professional??) It was crazy. Completely crazy. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
A less severe version of The Headache hung around for over a month and didn't go away completely until I went home for Christmas and saw the chiropractor. he did a form of Accupuncture on my upper shoulder and into my neck where he took a tool and proceeded to tear my muscle apart. When i say tear i mean I could literally hear my muscle tearing apart (I had quite an impressive looking bruise after that). He said my headaches were tension based and that my shoulder/neck muscles were so tight that an adjustment and massage would not fix the problem. Miraculously, two days later my headache was gone. Since then I've only had a couple headaches, but so far nothing compared to The Headache of Thanksgiving Day 2007.
So, the months of Oct, Nov and Dec were pretty crazy. But it started looking up. I did attend some holiday parties and had a blast. I was home for just over a week for Christmas which was a nice time with my family and friends. My mom is doing quite well after her surgery. Then 2 weeks after returning to Chicago, I flew back to Iowa to be the maid of honor in my sister's wedding, which was gorgeous. Such a beautiful ceremony and reception. A couple weeks ago I received a check in the mail from the airlines covering the cost of my suitcase. It took over 2 months and a lot of paper work to get a monetary reimbursement for all the stuff I lost. Unfortunately, my suitcase is still MIA, as is a strange piece of my sanity and 99% of the trust I had in the airline baggage system.
But now, here I am. It's February 5. I'm back in Chicago, back at work, with nothing but the unforeseeable future to look forward to. I guess that's all all we ever have to look forward to, but for the first time in over 4 months, I feel relaxed. It feels sorta like I'm taking a 'breather' before the next crazy event happens...and I know it's coming, it always does. but for now, all i'm going to do is sit back, relax, and say a prayer of thanksgiving.
The pressure started building the beginning of Oct when I found out that my mom had colon cancer. October and November consisted of a lot of phone calls to and from home and 2 flights to Iowa to be with my mom and family. Thankfully the cancer was removed during surgery and no treatments are necessary. Which is a HUGE relief considering my mom's already compromised health circumstances. On one of my return flights back to Chicago from spending a 10 days with my mom in November, the airlines lost my luggage. Let me just tell you how absolutely UN-pleasant lost luggage is. Ok, it's hard to tell you exactly how unpleasant it is because, lets face it, there's not enough space here and I'm sure you've got better things to do than listen to me rant about the airlines.
Anyway, a few days after my luggage failed to make it to the windy city, Thanksgiving day precisely, I got a massive, MASSIVE headache. Ok, now, I get a lot of headaches. i have been getting headaches since I was 11, so I have a pretty high tolerance for head pain. But this one was different. This one was so severe that I didn't really know what was going on other than the fact that Abby, who was driving us home from thanksgiving dinner, made the executive decision to take me to the ER. my body was seizing up, I was hunching up in the fetal position as best as i could, snot was running out of my nose beyond my control, I was groaning with pain, and had I been able to move I would have undeniably chopped my own head off to end the pain immediately. the slight awareness I had of what was going on only made me panic and intensify the pain even more.
After making quite a scene in the ER waiting room (why on earth did they make me sit there for so long!?) I finally got a bed. Several doctors came in, all asking me what was wrong? had I had headaches before? what had i eaten? what sort of physical activities had I been taking part in before the onset of the headache? Was I having my period? Would i classify this as the worst headache i've ever had??? My response to all the questions was a grunt. that's all i could muster. After the interrogation, they injected me with 2 strong doses of some heavy duty headache-killer. The nurse (who nick-named me 'brow' cuz i had such a pained expression on my face the entire time) then sent me to have a CT scan to see if I was having a migraine. The results apparently came out clear, so 4 hours after entering the ER, I was able to walk out and go home feeling like I had gotten run over in the red-line tunnel.
The next day, as I recovered from the trauma, and still suffering from a headache the size of montana, the charge nurse called to tell me that the radiologist had taken a 2nd look at the CT scan and found a 1.3 cm cyst.
Insert panic episode, round 2.
She told me I would need an MRI but because of insurance mumbo jumbo, I wouldn't be covered if I went with their hospital. Panic, confusion, pain...all feelings i was having. Abby saved my life again and helped me sort out my situation. Since i didn't have a relationship with a doctor in Chicago, I would have to form one with a complete stranger who would understand quickly and comprehensively what I was going through. Thankfully I met my current doctor who is fabulous. She scheduled me for an MRI immediately.
Five days after The Headache, I had my MRI, and two days after that I found out that my brain was completely normal. Yes, that's right. Normal. There was no cyst, no tumor, my sinuses were totally clear and most importantly, my brain was normal. (who would've ever thought I'd hear THAT from a medical professional??) It was crazy. Completely crazy. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
A less severe version of The Headache hung around for over a month and didn't go away completely until I went home for Christmas and saw the chiropractor. he did a form of Accupuncture on my upper shoulder and into my neck where he took a tool and proceeded to tear my muscle apart. When i say tear i mean I could literally hear my muscle tearing apart (I had quite an impressive looking bruise after that). He said my headaches were tension based and that my shoulder/neck muscles were so tight that an adjustment and massage would not fix the problem. Miraculously, two days later my headache was gone. Since then I've only had a couple headaches, but so far nothing compared to The Headache of Thanksgiving Day 2007.
So, the months of Oct, Nov and Dec were pretty crazy. But it started looking up. I did attend some holiday parties and had a blast. I was home for just over a week for Christmas which was a nice time with my family and friends. My mom is doing quite well after her surgery. Then 2 weeks after returning to Chicago, I flew back to Iowa to be the maid of honor in my sister's wedding, which was gorgeous. Such a beautiful ceremony and reception. A couple weeks ago I received a check in the mail from the airlines covering the cost of my suitcase. It took over 2 months and a lot of paper work to get a monetary reimbursement for all the stuff I lost. Unfortunately, my suitcase is still MIA, as is a strange piece of my sanity and 99% of the trust I had in the airline baggage system.
But now, here I am. It's February 5. I'm back in Chicago, back at work, with nothing but the unforeseeable future to look forward to. I guess that's all all we ever have to look forward to, but for the first time in over 4 months, I feel relaxed. It feels sorta like I'm taking a 'breather' before the next crazy event happens...and I know it's coming, it always does. but for now, all i'm going to do is sit back, relax, and say a prayer of thanksgiving.
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