Good Things...A Mainly Pictoral Exploration

After a few days... okay, a few weeks, months, and maybe even years of me going "W-T-EFFFF?" I was planning on titling this entry "Dudes Be Dumb" and elaborating on this statement.  For the sake of time and my sanity I decided to save my breath and instead post on a few good things that have been going on as of late...

1.  This past weekend was almost impossibly beautiful... like I could be brought to tears just reminiscing over the sun and warmth!

I was dog sitting in South Seattle and on Saturday morning decided to grab my camera and explore nearby Georgetown.Unfortunately my camera was without its SD card (wretch! blast!) and so my iPhone had to suffice. Luckily I had just downloaded a bundle of new photo apps and so this was the perfect opportunity to play around and pretend like I'm artistically gifted (side note: I really need to learn how to use my DSLR and stop relying on cool photo editing software... but that's for another time).  Here's a glimpse at my sunny (and industrial) explorations...

 

The Corson Building. I have yet to eat there ($$$$) but was charmed when I stumbled upon in my wanderings.

... Oh the humanity!

Apparently heaven is a place on earth and it's called Useful Vintage Goods in Georgetown, Seattle.  I could have stayed in there all day basking in the splendor of the hopelessly unaffordable found objects.

Came across the Georgetown Trailer Park Market.  Like a flea market... ... ... but in trailers.  Rest assured, I'll be back!

2.   After a stellar Saturday the weekend just kept getting better.  Easter Sunday looked a little something like this...

7 AM

10 AM

11 AM - 12 PM

1 PM

After 1 PM the photos stopped.  Mimosa + Bloody Mary = Extended lunch time nap (on my new memory foam mattress topper).  Basically I was a happy camper.

I have more "good things" to post but this is getting a little lengthy, I am getting hungry, and I want to save something to post another time!

I hope my billions of trillions of zillions of readers also had a splendidly sunny weekend filled with sandal wearing, naps, walks, friends, and foods!

I'm going to leave you with the lead track from my newest impulse iTunes purchase... yeah, that's right I bought Fleetwood Mac's Rumours... what about it?

Weekend Welcomed

I am immensely looking forward to some down time.  I frequently find myself overextended and the past two weeks have been prime examples of that.  Concerts, flat tires, dog sitting, dinner plans, happy hours, much needed yoga and all too short runs, unforeseen Seattle traffic meltdowns, and a full work schedule  have left me exhausted (and with FILTHY hair.  Seriously, my number 1 to do after work is washing this ole mop).  Tomorrow morning my good friend Sleeping-In and I are going to become reacquainted, after that I'm doing some tire repair, serious laundry, and spending some time with Dillon High Panthers (I haven't been able to watch Friday Night Lights all week.  *GASP*).

Despite feeling only half awake at the moment there have been a few things keeping me energized through a hectic 5 days.  They are pictoraly represented below:

I find it highly doubtful that this level of "at work cuteness" will ever get old.

Oh, well hello Spring!  In the right light you're a real stunner!

I went showin' last night.  "Showin'" for those of you not in the know (i.e. not in  my weird little brain) is when you go to a show.  In case you didn't figure that out.  Anyway, as I was saying, I went showin' last night and I'm going showin' tonight.  I saw Typhoon who I had been hoping to see for quite awhile.  They did not disappoint.  Actually it was way better than I expected.  I, however, did disappoint.  I dragged my tired self out of there early so that I could be assured I could drive home without falling asleep behind the wheel and missed some of my favorite songs.  But, make it home safe I did!

Happy weekend to all!  It's Easter on Sunday and that means the best day of the year is nearly here... Peeps will be 50% on Monday!  Better stock up!

Clearly I'm going to close this entry with a Typhoon tune... clearly...

Inspired...

I've missed writing on this little blog.  There's just been so many things keeping me occupied lately...  I had a friend in town, the second half of my birthday month to celebrate, 5 seasons of Friday Night Lights to watch, and an attempt to get back into tip-top running shape to keep me busy.

An update on how all of the above turned:
=>  My friend, Rachel, visited Seattle for the first time.  We had a lovely time despite the fact that she is now gluten free and so would not imbibe any of the region's microbrew finery with me.
=>  Birthday month was delightful!  I'm so glad March has a full 31 days to it.
=>  Friday Night Lights is the best and worst thing that has happened to be in a long time.  It's the best because well it's amazing.  It's the worst because there's really very little that is more enticing to me right now than spending time with Coach Eric Taylor.  Have I read my book for book club... not exactly.  Have I stayed up too late telling myself "just one more episode" one more episode too many times?  Absolutely.
=>  Running is going pretty well.  Made it around Lake Union on Saturday (that's 6 miles to those of you not in the know).  I'm going to put a 10 mile weekend run on the books soon and after that's complete I'll be feeling pretty good.  Pretty good indeed.

The sun's peaking out a little bit so I want to hurry up and get my work finished so I can go home and work on that running!

Right now I'm ever so slightly addicted to this song by Bird & the Bee.  Give it a whirl!

27 For The Win!

Last Thursday was a great day.  In fact, it was the perfect day to turn 27.  Which is exactly what I did!

The last few birthday's were replete with tears on or around March 15.  The Quarterlife Crisis is real I tell you.  Really real.

This year I had zero anxiety, zero regrets, and zero cry sessions.  The day was lovely and complete with breakfast made for me by roommate, a dog sleeping under my desk all day, a lovely playlist to listen to at work, college basketball viewing, a new birthday outfit, a manicure, and some of my favorite people at one of my favorite bars.  Oh, pizza and Peeps made an appearance too!  Perfection.

Birthday Playlist (there's no rhyme or reason to the selections... they just felt right)...

People C'Mon - Delta Spirit
Kodachrome - Paul Simon
I'll Be yours - Those Dancing Days
Nothing Short of Thankful - The Avett Brothers
Ten-Twenty-Twn - The Generationals
King of the World - First Aid Kit
Ce Jeu - Yelle
Long Walk To Never - JayMay
Go Out All Night - Givers
Goin' Home - Dan Auerbach
No Longer There - The Cat Empire
I'm Always In Love - Wilco

Friday!

This week FLEW by.  I'm still at the office trying to finish up a newsletter and prep for Monday's trip to Orlando.  Yeah not sure if I mentioned it or not but I'm off to my first business trip next week!  HELLOOOOOO PER DIEM!

Today's been busy but with the help of the following mellow Friday music mix I've managed to say pretty "zenned out":

The Rabbit, the Bat, and the Reindeer - Dr. Dog

Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes

Sun Down - Nik Freitas

House Built for Two - Delta Spirit

Goin' Home - Dan Auerbach

Ball of the Dead Rat - The Teeth

Listen My Son - The Unseen Ghost 

It was a pretty good week but I'm definitely looking forward to some downtime this weekend.  The only thing that makes me a little sad to say good-bye to the work week is knowing I won't see my  office buddy for a few days...

She left for Happy Hour a few hours ago and already it's been terribly lonely not having a moppety puppy to cuddle when the whim strikes!

But productivity has been higher.

Speaking of which... off I go to finish up!

Happy Friday and a merry weekend!

What's Been Keeping Me So Busy...

Well for awhile there the weather was pretty sweet.  That meant long walks...

And of course dogs and their treats...

But mainly it's been live music...

After tomorrow night's Pickwick show I'll have a little break.  Many a draft for blog entries are waiting for me to finalize! 

Until they're up enjoy this sweet video from the Wilco Concert... (note: It's not my video... mine were taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to upload and I gave up!)

Scruff Thursday

For this week's Scruff Thursday I am overjoyed to be bringing you not one but TWO very different honorees.

Up first (and continuing the "YAY live music!" thing I seem to have going on) is a delightfully beard-ful bluegrass band out of Portland.  Last Friday I went with friends to see the Renegade Stringband play at the High Dive in Fremont and there was so much right with the entire experience...

1) Their music was absolutely fantastic.  When their set ended I was so upset I considered starting a spirited slow clap for more.
2) The majority of the band members were sporting some seriously luscious face-locks.
Yeah I said face-locks... as in locks of hair on your face... as in beards.
The non-bearded member, i.e. the female lead vocalist, made up for her lack of scruff with a seriously enviable set of pipes.  
3) One of the people I went with, Heather, is actually friends with a member of the band.   Um, hello easy access to post performance photo session...

Clearly Caitlin, Heather, and I had to get in on the action.

To my friends in Portland, yes you Caitlin, Elizabeth, and Jeff, the Renegade Stringband is playing at the Mt. Tabor Theatre on February 11th.  If you don't have anything going on that night... now you do!

As promised I have yet another Scruff Thursday feature this week.  When Food On My Dog found it's way onto my computer screen I could not resist paying it forward by sharing it on my little piece of the interwebs. 

The title, Food On My Dog, pretty much sums of the purpose of the Tumblr (which might be the most ridiculous or most genius thing I've ever seen.  I think I will err on the side of "most genius" but I do understand if my readers disagree)  If you need further description, however, I will quote the creator, "This is a blog where I post pictures of food on my dog."

The subject of the Tumblr is a Staffordshire Terrier and American Bulldog mix named Tiger.  And while all the photographs of her balancing edibles on her head are peculiarly enjoyable my favorites are probably the ones featuring a taco, a slice of pizza, and king crab legs.

Yeah... so pretty incredible.  But don't take my word for it... foodonmydog.tumblr.com

Hope you're having a great Thursday.  If you're not I recommended finding an animal, taking your lunch, and balancing said lunch on aforementioned animal!

My Kind of Town...

So the song referenced in the title is about Chicago but for the sake of this here blog post it's going to be about "Seattle". 

The past few days/weeks I've been so happy to live in a place like Seattle with such a vibrant and diverse music scene on top of everything else that it already has going for it (i.e. water everywhere you look, hills, hills, hills, and mountains for days).

Last night really sealed the deal when it comes to my love for Seattle, though.

A friend and I went to see the Alabama Shakes play a highly anticipated show at the Crocodile.  The entire time Brittany Howard, lead vocals, was performing I thought to myself "I am SO lucky to be here." 

It was a sold out crowd and an incredible performance.

I'm a little wiped today so words will be in short supply but here are a few pictures from the evening...

And finally a video that I took (from the front row... no big deal!!). I only recorded the first part of the song. Why?? Because I had to put my silly phone down and dance, duh!

Of Hair, Bad Dates, and Sunshine In Seattle...

I got my hair done last Saturday and everyone who knows me has had to suffer as a result. I went to the salon with images of auburn/red locks with flecks of gold high lights.  I left with brown/brown hair and yellow stripes.

After several hours/days of unadulterated vanity (i.e. frowning in the mirror, taking pictures of the horror, complaining to friends, texting aforementioned horror-filled pictures to my sister) I decided to call my stylist and see what we could do about the situation.

She was more than happy to oblige and now I've got some hairs that I can live with for a couple months before I go back in and radically change things up. (A note: When I say "radically change things up" I actually mean "make minor tweaks that nobody else but me will notice").

... ...
 
After getting my hair squared away I met with soon to be former coworkers at Clever Bottle which is where those candlelit pictures were snapped.  Sadly I could only enjoy the company, ambiance, beverages, and delicious soft pretzels for a brief moment.  I had to jet early because...

Last night I had a date...


A pathetic date. 

An oh so very pathetic date.

Let me tell you, if the use of bold and italic letters didn't give it away, I'm not using the words "very pathetic" lightly here.  The entire two hours were just plain sad.

Unbeknownst to me, my suitor was in the middle of a divorce which he was clearly not over and definitely wanted to talk about.  I had hoped he got his ranting out of his system after the first time he mentioned the "D-word" and gave met the low-down (that I did not ask for).  So, when it appeared he was done, and in an effort to change the subject, I asked a seriously innocuous question...

Me:  So do you have a kindle you're bringing on your long plane flight tomorrow?
Him:  Ugh... ... I don't have custody of the kindle.

... ... A simple "no" would have sufficed.  Instead this innocent e-reader question prompted him to spill his  entire sob story to me... again.  But this time with more feeling (a.k.a. swear words).

Oh yeah, he then asked for a ride home.  Fine.  Whatever.  It's cold out.  I'll give the poor guy a ride home.  In the car he proceeded to point out his ex-wife's place of employment before asking if I'd like to go out again.  Dummy.  

Oh well.  I got a free beer out of it.  I win?

... ...

Which brings me to my next point... all of Seattle wins today.  It's SUNNY!  A sunny day in January is, in my humblest of all opinions, the most precious gift there is!  In celebration I made a mix o' music that I so cleverly entitled  "Sunny Day in January".  Listen and enjoy!

When They Fight, They Fight - Generationals
Shangri-La - YACHT
Ivy & Gold - Bombay Bicycle Club
Afternoon - Youth Lagoon
Please - Nellie McKay
Folding Chair - Regina Spektor
Two Shoes - The Cat Empire
Waiting For My Chance to Come - Noah And the Whale

Yesterday's Evening Looked A Little Like This...

 I took myself and a book on a Pho date, hit the gym with a friend, and then took that same book to bed with me. Is a *winky face* emoticon appropriate there?

Basically perfect as far as rainy Tuesday nights go.

Oh!  I almost forgot to mention...  during my gym class the instructor decided to really throw it back and grunge it up.  Yep, we lifted weights to a little Nirvana.  How Seattle is that?!  Oh so very!

Seeing as it's still as gloomy as Kurt Cobain out there I thought I'd sign off with a video featuring the misheard lyrics of "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  Happy Wednesday!

Happy Chinese New Year... belatedly...

As dedicated readers know I was more than happy to say "Buh-bye 2011".  The year was good in so many respects but nonetheless it needed to end.

I woke up on the 1st of this year donning rose colored glasses and filled with, what I thought was reasonable, hope for immediate change and instantaneous life satisfaction.  (Note: Being unrealistic and impatient might be a recurring theme in my life.  Working on it.  Working on it.)

On January 2nd when all of my dreams for the New Year had yet to come true impatience quietly started to creep in and by last week I was down right irritated.

I'd really like to chalk up my lack of patience, unrealistic expectations, general feelings of "stir craziness", and several instances of behaving decidedly out of character to Snowmageddon.  Whatever the reasons, by the end of last week, I was in a serious state of "what is happening in my life?!"

Reminding myself that "this too shall pass" I waited.

Good news came my way and I started to feel like there might be steps that I could take to help guide myself out of the rut.  I realized that this year will be exactly like the last if I don't decide to change patterns in my own behavior that lead to the same consequences time and time again. 

The weekend passed with some small "Go Amanda" moments and by Monday I was ready to usher in some serious change!

What did I do on the Chinese New Year?

Well I gave notice at my current job and am set to start a new one on February 6. 

Change is here and I'm ready!  I'm also ready to embrace patience and really give that a try instead of expecting things to instantly fall in to place.  (Is this a Chinese New Years resolution I smell?)

On a less reflective note:

On Saturday night I saw Fitz and the Tantrums at the Showbox at the Market.  Such a great show.  Such a fun band.  It's always nice to see performers genuinely enjoying what they're doing on stage.  The bands energy was infections.  So much so that 3 days later and I'm still dancing. 

Enjoy a little Fitz on your Tuesday!

Snow

All day yesterday I was on "Snow Watch". We were promised a storm. We were promised inches and possibly feet of snow. We were promised a snow day.

All day I waited and it didn't seem like it was coming. I grew increasingly prepared for my entire city to be embarrassed today when the white stuff did not come pouring from the sky despite our preemptive freak outs.

I still held out hope though and last night felt like Christmas Eve. I was so anxious to find out if the city would in fact be turned into a winter wonderland and more importantly if my bus routes would be closed allowing me a convenient excuse not to go to work.

I reached out to a few people to see if they wanted to hang out and wait for the "snowpocolypse". No such luck. And so at 9:30 last night I decided my only option was to go to bed and sleep my snow anxiety out.

I woke up probably every hour wondering if it had snowed. Finally at 3:30am I actually got out of bed, walked to the living room, looked out the window, and was disappointed. Still clear. *Sigh*. I went back to bed resigned to the fact that yes a real workday was in my future.

But this story has a happy ending! This morning when my alarm went off I ran to the window just in case in the weather man had delivered. And oh how he had!!!  SNOW!!!

I put on my boots. I put on my warmest winter jacket. I ran down the street to see if the road going up the hill was closed.

YES! YES! YES! There's no way Queen Anne Avenue was going to be traversed by this lady. I returned to my apartment. Called my supervisor. Found she too opted out of her commute. Got to the business of enjoying all that is Seattle when it snows.

I decided the best way to do this was put on some festive lipwear, walk to Starbucks, and work from there. It was a long, arduous, and cold journey...

The trip was definitely worth it though. It's been wonderful to see the place fill up and listen to all the excited chatter over the weather. My favorite thing so far today though has been watching people outside traipsing around in snowshoes (Seattle-ites are special) and dragging toboggans behind them...

I should probably get back to some real work (cue *le sigh*).  Luckily I have a coffee refill coming my way and a nice little snow day playlist to tap my toes to...

Bittersweet Melodies - Feist
Goshen - Beirut
I Know Places - Lykke Li
Infinite Arms - Band of Horses
Long Walk To Never - Jaymay
Minnesota, WI - Bon Iver
Posters - Youth Lagoon
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes


Enjoy your day whether it be snowy or dry!

Scruff Thursday ... Opinions Needed

This week I was not great about collecting images of scruffy men or animals for the second installment of *drumroll please* "Scruff Thursday"!  Early in the week I already posted a picture of a particularly foxy fox and since last Thursday I featured a dog I thought this time around it might be nice to dedicate some bloggage (yeah I made up that word!) to a human male.  

The dilemma was discussed with my roommate while readying ourselves for work this morning.  She reminded me that tonight I am heading to Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood dripping in bearded men (bearded men typically clad in plaid ... double fist pump!), and that I should use the opportunity to accost -- I mean approach whoever I see fit and ask him if he would like to be spotlighted.

At the time it seemed like a truly viable option.  A way to cloak "trolling for dudes" in the name of blog content.  Sign me up.

Naturally I started composing this entry to explain that a scruffed up image (of a total stranger) would be forthcoming... 
...
...
...
And then I felt creepy -- extremely creepy. So extremely creepy that as I write this I am simultaneously considering erasing the entire thing, throwing up a picture of an unshaven Jon Hamm, and calling it a day.

So here I am -- on the fence.

Sometimes my own sense of what's socially acceptable is a little off-kilter.  I'll probably run it by my friends this evening.  But they're typically in favor of me running around acting a fool and I am sure if a drink or two is imbibed I will be more than ready to do some "stubble hunting".  So what I need is for anyone who actually reads this entry to weigh in and give me a hard "yay" or "nay".  Do I or don't I approach random hairy dudes and take their pictures (and get their permission to post, OBVI!)?  Oh life!  Why must you be so difficult?!

--- In case it doesn't read well that last statement was written in jest.  Jest I tell you! ---


I hope your Thursdays are a little less conflicted than mine!

P.S. Speaking of creepy... when I use to work at Free People we played this song in our rotation.  It's so catchy, fun, and CREEPTASTIC!  It just popped into my head and had to share...

Broadway Bound...???

A few weeks ago my friend Mari told me about a deal I could not pass up at The Five Spot. The Five Spot, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is a Queen Anne dining establishment that not only rotates its menu but also changes the entire theme of the restaurant seasonally. In the fall it was Philadelphia and for the winter they have moved into a Broadway motif. Now here's the kicker... On Wednesday nights for the next few months you can "sing for your supper". It's exactly how it sounds. You come in. Sing 1-2 minutes of a Broadway musical song. The servers score you. And then, depending on how many points you receive, you get a menu item free.

When, before Christmas, we made the plans to meet up and sing to a full restaurant I had intended to spend some serious time preparing my performance and getting my showtime hair, makeup and ensemble together. But of course that did not happen. My day was busy and I was lucky to squeeze in a trip to the gym before heading over to meet Mari and her roommate Laura. When I finally arrived the last thing I was wanting to do was make the poor restaurant patrons watch and listen to my sweaty self belting out show tunes. I would let Mari go first with her rendition of "New York New York" and then break the news to her that I would not in fact be performing...

By the time she was done wowing the crowds with her spirited 14 point earning performance (which, it must be told, included jumping on a booth) I felt inspired and ready to sing. Laura gave it a go first with Edelweiss. Because it's a softer song it was hard to score as high as Mari and she walked away with a respectable score of 11.
Then I was up. I prefaced my performance with a "Hello everyone. I'm going to relive my children's theater days by singing the most annoying song in Broadway history." Next I started in on the most horrifying rendition of "Tomorrow" to date. The first verse and chorus were pretty strong but I started in a higher key than I should have. When my mistake became clear it was too late for the necessary key change and there I was belting out notes that not even a coloratura soprano should attempt. I walked away 12 points richer but without my dignity.

Was the embarrassment worth it? Well I used those 12 points on a Boundary Bay IPA... so yes TOTES worth it. Not sure the photographic evidence was necessary though...

Maybe now that I know what it's all about I will spend this week making my performance pitch perfect in preparation for next Wednesday! See you there?

K.I.T.
Amanda

Weekend Update

The weekend was great... way too short... but great. Saturday morning friends, Alexis and Mark to be exact, and I got up bright and early and headed 4.5 hours south (and a little east) to Scio, Oregon for the wedding of my very first college roommate Annie. After the festivities subsided we drove back up i5 and we crashed with one of my nearest and dearest friends Caitlin and her other half Jeff. There I watched my first episode of Community (oh how I laughed) followed by what is quite possibly the best concept for a show ever... Puppies vs. Babies. "What the what?" you ask. Well I'll tell you what is the what... it's the best viral videos of puppies up against the cutest videos of babies and a panel of "judges" decides who's the cutest! Yeah, another reason I should consider getting cable.

I had made a pretty sweet mix for the drive down to Oregon but our chauffeur did not have an auxiliary outlet in his Chevrolet Malibu (say it with me, "WHAT THE WHAT?!"). Luckily I got home with enough time yesterday to go on a walk and enjoy my craftsmanship. Here's what I listened to:

Knots - Jeremy Messersmith
Santa Fe - Beirut
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Silly Fathers - Rubblebucket (*my new addiction!)
Stranger - Dr. Dog
Fish Sticks - Heligoats
The Honest Truth - Typhoon
Little River - The Tallest Man On Earth

K.I.T.
Amanda

Oh an P.S. head over to a grimm tale and check out this week's photo swap! So excited to have participated!

Step Into Christmas

The Christmas Spirit took its sweet time getting here this year. I am normally ready and raring to go around Halloween and so when yesterday I was still not "in the mood" I was a little concerned and frankly really sad. Loving Christmas is something that I cherish about myself. A long time ago I came up with list of "lame grown-up things I'll never do" and have tried hard to not become a "lame grown up". The list is as follows:

• Eat ice cream from anything other than a cone
• Lay on the beach/poolside all day instead of actually swimming
• Vote Republican (note: I had plenty of left leaning adults in my life... I don't know why Republican and adulthood seemed synonymous)
• Not be excited about Christmas

It's a pretty short list but I have to admit they're tricky rules to adhere to (minus the whole Republican thing). Every year Christmas seems to take up less and less space in my winter. Being employed instead of a student means that I have no magical winter break to bask in festivity and so Christmas now has to sandwiched between work, travel to, travel from, and more work. Nonetheless I think I've done a pretty good job of getting in touch with my holiday loving... at least up until now. These past few months I have been feeling frazzled, run down, and highly emotional; Christmas 2011 was really taking a back seat. Finally last night I think I turned it around. My roommate left the apartment for her volleyball game and I told her I would put up some decor while she was gone -- she had been begging me to decorate with her but my melancholy just kept getting in the way. A few hours after she was gone I was still sitting on the couch thinking about how much I did not want to move. Eventually I pulled myself up and got to work. After a few strands of garland were hung I was ready to put on some of my most favorite Christmas tunes and actually sing along. Spirits feel brighter and hope seems to be sprouting now that there's some festive decor surrounding me.

If you too are needing a little push in the "Joy to the World" direction then allow me to introduce Sir Elton as he welcomes you to join in a Christmas dancing frenzy...


P.S. I just found an AMAZING gift for my sister! It's been ordered and my fingers are crossed that it will arrive in time. Sister if you are reading this... get excited!