Feather & Key

the best day

2010-07-17T19:40:00.001-07:00

....In San Francisco cooking sweet potato burritos with Stephanie, one of my very favorite people in the whole wide world. The Supremes are serenading us from the stereo. Hiked to the highest point in SF with her boyfriend Matt this morning, who also took me to his favorite restaurant Tartine for lunch. We're headed to the west coast equivalent of Monday Night Dance Party later... My heart and soul are all warm and fuzzy. :) After two long weeks on the road, this is the perfect Saturday...

I don't make a good grown up

2010-05-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

I moved out of 804, quit my job at Emma, and put all my things in storage. I'm subletting a living room from a friend (so I have a place to house my sewing machine) and traveling for the rest of the summer.

At 5 pm on my last day at Emma I found out I'm going to be performing at Bonnaroo! Every time I quit a job I get some sort of cool news at the very last second. The universe has clever timing. I'll be posing for Dr. Sketchy's (they chose a photo of Cheryl and I for the website) and belly dancing as a part of Lolly's burlesque show (I'm not doing burlesque - I'll leave that up to the professionals). She takes a group every year and I couldn't be more excited to be invited! So glad to have free time to rehearse and sew new costumes.

After the 'roo I'm headed to San Francisco and LA for a couple of weeks; lots of dance classes to attend, vegan food to eat, and coffee shops to haunt. I haven't planned much past that, other than Burning Man and possibly Europe. Got a couch I could crash on? Maybe I'll head your way.

I love my life.

ask and you shall receive

2010-04-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

I decided this week that one of my (many) goals for the Summer of Fun is to learn - or at least get a pretty decent start on learning - another language. I hadn't gotten very far in researching how to make this happen when I decided to check out Lifehacker today, and what do you know - there's an article on free online language courses! Perf. The actual site was totally overloaded after the Lifehacker article so I haven't been able to download anything yet, but I'm going to check back next week and see how it goes. Now which language to choose?

Italian is tempting; it's so romantic *and* I just finished reading Eat Pray Love, so I'm daydreaming about 4 months in Italy eating.. and eating.. and eating some more.

Hindi is a beautiful language and again, Eat Pray Love and India and yoga. :-) I also found this site that could help.

There's always Spanish, which is useful if trying to find a job.. But I don't want to learn a language because it's practical. This is the Summer of Fun, after all!

French: took it in high school so I have a head start. Or at least I'd like to think so. Omelet du fromage! (hi five if you know which sitcom I'm quoting.)

Of course, if I learn a new language I'm going to have to go study abroad and really immerse myself in the culture. Obvi.

can I live on $10 a day?

2010-04-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

On a Saturday morning jaunt to the neighborhood coffee shop last weekend, Asher told me about the time he lived on $5 a day. And survived. It got me thinking about the silly things I find myself spending my cash on and how easily I settled into a lifestyle of basically buying whatever I wanted. I took the advice of my financial planner (those three words make me feel SO grown up) and started a money market account (again, grown up) last year and it's amazing how quickly you can save a good chunk of cash when you put it straight into savings. (His name is Brock Allender and he's with Northwestern Mutual. He also helped me set up disability insurance. You don't have to have massive amounts of money to talk to him. Trust me. Find him at http://brockallender.nmfn.com).

There are changes afoot (good ones, of course) which will necessitate some rather frugal living on my part. I'm moving out of my house at the end of April (as in a week and a half from now. eek!) and couch surfing for the summer. I have a storage unit, a PO Box, and friends in lots of other cities. My last day at my job is May 14th and after that... I'm free as a bird. I have plans to spend June in San Francisco taking dance and yoga classes and haunting the local coffee shops with some good books. I'm contemplating going back to school for a Visual Merchandising degree (my top choice is FIDM in LA) or just finding a job in a field that allows me to 1) be creative and 2) not be on a computer all day. It was a tough decision and I'm going to miss my friends (er, co-workers) but I cannot WAIT to see whats next!

So anyway, back to the $5 a day thing. I don't think I'm going to be quite so rigorous with my budget, but I do think $10 a day for food and fun is do-able, at least for the summer. That will help me manage my savings and find creative ways to occupy my time (hello, art projects!). Dance and yoga classes will not count as part of the $10, otherwise I wouldn't be able to eat.. But being frugal with my food/beer/coffee/etc money leaves more for fun things like classes. My goal for this week is to write a budget for the next three months. As part of my Quarter-Life-Crisis-I-Need-To-Find-Myself-Mom-Is-So-Proud-Dancing-Queen-Mega-Vacation Summer 2010 I'm going to blog at least once a week (day? hmm...) about what I've been up to, ways I've found to live happily yet cheaply (or not, who knows), and the people I meet along the way. Maybe you'll learn something along with me, or perhaps you'll just laugh as I repeatedly justify spending half my daily budget on a latte...

hiking outside leipers fork, tn

Since I'm moving soon I'm not supposed to buy new things

2010-04-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

I found these boots at a yard sale this morning.

They clearly needed to come home with me.

Now, which ones should I wear to the dance party tonight?

Currently Listening...

2010-04-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yeasayer: "One"

They won't let you embed the video, so you gotta go here

One's not enough
I won't stop 'til I've given you up
Clear-eyed as I am, it's hard having fun
It's much easier said than it's done

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Awesomeness

2010-04-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

I. Love. This. Show.

Can't say that enough!

It makes me smile and cheer for the people who are trying to change their lives for the better - and shake my head in disbelief at those who are so determined to be unhealthy and eat utter sh*t day in and day out.

Jamie has taken on a massive project, there's no doubt about it. Check out his website and take a moment to sign the petition. It's absolutely sickening to see what America's kids are eating in school every day, plus they don't even get knives and forks to eat with! And don't get me started on the pizza for breakfast. Barf. The school lady (I forget her name/job title) came in and told him that his beautiful veggie pasta and fruit was not enough fruit and veggies but the fried chicken sandwich and french fries counted (because there was an optional salad that no one chose)... Unbelievable. How have we gotten to this point? And why did it take someone coming all the way across from England to start any sort of change? The way the current establishment has screwed over the youth of our country is deplorable and it's high time parents demanded better. We're dooming them to a life of obesity, diabetes, and so many other health problems (like the high school girl who has spots on her liver and was told she might have 7 years to live because of her weight). Things can change, but it's going to be a rough road. This show is the catalyst we need to really begin to see things happen.

::end rant::

Plus, Jamie Oliver is just lovely. ;-) Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed him for GOOP, check it out.

I have to stop here and say thanks to my mom and dad for insisting we sit down and have dinner almost every night of my childhood, and especially to my mom for cooking those meals from scratch every day.

Jamie's food philosophy:

My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you'll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they're in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you'll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you'll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you'll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you'll want something warming and hearty. If you've got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we'll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a 'healthy' approach to food, and eating better I'm talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then.

gratuitous cuteness

2010-03-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

If I ever happen to find myself planning a wedding, Eunice and Daniel's wedding featured on Martha Stewart Weddings is right up my alley. It's so whimsical and fun! I am not a fan of traditional weddings; this one was exactly perfect.

And oh my lord, her dress. I'd get married tomorrow if I could have that dress. Not to mention the crowns and fake 'staches they were sporting at the reception! Swoon. What an adorable couple! More at Hello!Lucky.

Between Alice in Wonderland and that wedding dress, I've decided I need to stop effing around and take sewing lessons. Only problem is I live in Nashville and I'm fairly sure those don't exist here, as I've yet to stumble across them. Anyone around here know something I don't?

2010-03-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's taking every ounce of my will power not to buy every single thing on the victorian-inspired front page of etsy tonight! My faves:

1930s Industrial Sewing case from Epoca Eclectic

These lace up boots from SkinandWood are in perfect condition and are oh-so-lovely! If they were in black I'd snap them up. I still might.. So hands off, dear readers! ;)

I'm imagining the 25,000 different ways I could use this brooch from JeepersKeepers in a dance costume (along with just about everything else in that store!)

Speaking of etsy, I just posted some new hoops in my store. Please go buy one so I can buy those boots.

2010-03-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Today I'm listening to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; it's been a long while since they've graced my work playlist but it's the perfect soundtrack for this grey, mellow Wednesday afternoon.

I also managed to read this awesome blog Tiny-Ass Apartment in it's entirety; I can't wait to move into my next (undoubtedly small) place in a few months and start decorating! There are some really great ideas and I had to stop myself from purchasing room dividers and Ikea furniture on the spot, since I have no idea what type of space I'm about to land in. Check out the latest entry - it's a teeny-tiny French apartment. And by teeny-tiny I mean 134 square feet. I can't imagine living in such a small place (hula hooping inside would be out of the question!) but the architect who fixed it up managed to make it a lovely space. I'd feel like I was living on a boat if that were my place. And this couch/bunk bed transformers-ish thing.. so rad!

In other news: scooter weather has finally arrived! Now if it would just quit raining...

Stepped off the plane at LAX

2010-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

I accidentally deleted the first paragraph of this post and I'm too tired to try to re-do it. So you get the abridged version of the LA trip. (The first paragraph wasn't all that exciting anyway. Promise.)

Highlights:

The Waffle - Home of the Waffle Sandwich, my new favorite food. SO GOOD!

Cat & Fiddle Pub - If I lived in LA this would be my weeknight hang for sure. The outside patio is perfect and they have great beer, as any self-respecting pub should.

The Griffith Observatory - We hiked to the Observatory from our hotel and saw a show in the planetarium; I geeked out because they filmed Rebel Without A Cause there. Hiking in shorts in February? Yes, please, and thanks.

My House - Drinks and dancing. Two of my favorite things!

The Velvet Margarita Cantina - besides having a totally fabulous name, it had blue velvet booths and $5 margaritas and burritos the size of my head.

Native Boutique - Four words: Twenty Dollar Sale Rack. Not to mention beautiful clothes that one else in Nashville is wearing. It's our little secret, ok?

P.S. On an un-LA-related note, I got bangs. I haven't had bangs since, oh, middle school. But I love 'em! Everyone run to the salon and get bangs right now! I'm serious, it's so much fun. Why didn't I do this like 5 years ago?

Bonnaroo Lineup Announced!

2010-02-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

I made the ones I dig purple :)

THE 2010 BONNAROO LINEUP

Dave Matthews Band • Kings of Leon • Stevie Wonder • Jay-Z • Tenacious D • Weezer • The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform "Dark Side of the Moon" • The Dead Weather • Damian Marley & Nas • Phoenix • Norah Jones • Michael Franti & Spearhead • John Fogerty • Regina Spektor • Jimmy Cliff • LCD Soundsystem • The Avett Brothers • Thievery Corporation • Rise Against • Tori Amos • The National • Zac Brown Band • Les Claypool • John Prine • The Black Keys • Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers • Jeff Beck • Dropkick Murphys • She & Him • Against Me! • The Disco Biscuits • Daryl Hall & Chromeo • Jamey Johnson • Clutch • Bassnectar • Kid Cudi • Baaba Maal • Kris Kristofferson • Medeski Martin & Wood • The xx • GWAR • Dan Deacon Ensemble • Tinariwen • Wale • Deadmau5 • The Melvins • Gaslight Anthem • Miike Snow • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Dr. Dog • They Might Be Giants • Punch Brothers • Isis • Blitzen Trapper • Blues Traveler • Miranda Lambert • Calexico • OK Go • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue • Martin Sexton • Lotus • Baroness • Dave Rawlings Machine • Mayer Hawthorne and the County • Japandroids • Jay Electronica • Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros • Ingrid Michaelson • The Dodos • Manchester Orchestra • The Temper Trap • Cross Canadian Ragweed • Big Sam's Funky Nation • Carolina Chocolate Drops • Needtobreathe • Tokyo Police Club • The Entrance Band • Local Natives • Brandi Carlile • Mumford & Sons • Rebelution • Diane Birch • Monte Montgomery • Julia Nunes • The Postelles • Lucero • Here We Go Magic • Hot Rize • Neon Indian • B.O.B

I have to say, Miranda Lambert is not one I would've guessed; good for her. Can't WAIT to see a full set from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes! And, um.. Jay-Z? Yes please. Also excited to see the Black Keys; I've been thinking about using one of their songs for a belly dance piece. Same with Dead Weather. <3 Thievery and Bassnectar are always dancetastic and I want to give the Kings of Leon another chance; wasn't impressed the one time I saw them a couple years ago.

Now to find a pass because after last year I learned my lesson: this girl cannot hang unless there's access to a/c and free drinks. cue Beyonce: I'm a, I'm a, a diva.

snOMG

2010-02-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

It's snowing.

Again.

I am cold.

Eff you, winter.

boots and boys

2010-02-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

The Jeffrey Campbell "Pixie" is haunting my dreams and it's on back-order until April. Sadness!

The budget gods must be watching out for me tonight because everything I want is sold out. Like this Balmain-inspired military jacket that's only available in x-small:

i'm a sucker for a project

2010-02-05T23:45:00.001-08:00

this one is fabulous and it's first on my to-do list when I get back from LA next week. It's from a rad fashion blog called Bleach Black that I'm certain is going to be a fave. Anyway, the Project is DIY corset jeans. It combines to of my loves (jeans and corsets, duh) with the need to purchase craft-y things (eyelets, laces, a "crop-a-dile eyelet setter". yes, crop-a-dile. cute, right?) So many fun things! You can find the how-to here: http://www.bleachblack.com/?p=8256. Now, off to find a pair of jeans I don't like enough to worry about destroying them but that I'd actually wear if I manage to make this work...

blogger got new clothes

2010-02-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to www.backgroundfairy.com for the lovely background and header artwork!

2010-02-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

LA in 5 days! Leigh, Phil and I are headed to the Visionary Love Fest that is Lucent L'amour and I couldn't be more excited to see what's in store! Now, time to plan my outfit... There will be feathers and glitter involved.

things you learn on christmas vacation

2009-12-25T21:28:00.001-08:00

All the men in my mom's life snore. Loudly.

Dad and Buster. Keeping my mom awake at night since 2006-ish.

New Favorite Thing alert!

2009-12-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

Spats. Think of them as wee jacket's for your high heels. HOW CUTE ARE THEY! This pair is from Fabulize's Shop on etsy and I sure do love 'em. These pictured are amazing, but I also love the "Shirring Spat". Being an obsessive DIY-er, I'm going to attempt to make a pair myself; there'll be no fancy flowers or anything and I'll probably get stuck trying to decide on a fabric, so I'm bookmarking these lovelies. Just in case.

.

2009-10-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

If for some reason I ever need album photos (it'll never happen), these would be them. No matter who else was in my "band".

That's all. Carry on.

when I think of you, flowers grow out of my grave

2009-10-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

How bizarre to fly into Chicago on a Wednesday morning with a suitcase full of dance costumes! I was part of the "talent show" opening act for the Dead Man's Bones show at Schuba's Tavern. Cooper Alan and I left Nashville early that morning; our friend Emily was heading back to Australia (sadface!) at the same time so we said goodbye and headed to the Windy City. It took us almost as long to take the train to our hotel from the airport as it did to fly from Nashville. That place is effing HUGE! I felt like the proverbial country mouse, staring out the train windows exclaiming "look at all those people!" Nashville feels like a quaint little village after the massiveness of the Chicago skyline. Our afternoon was spent riding trains, walking N. Clark trying to find an open Thai restaurant and chatting with Robert at Jamba Juice about flea markets (he liked my necklace).

Sidenote: it's pretty amusing to watch people's reaction when you're half in street clothes and half tribal dancer. "Uh, does that girl really spend that much time getting dressed every day?"

The other two performers were cool; one was a magician (there had to be a magician, right?) and the other gal was a live painter who had a band and sang a haunting little ditty at the end of her set. Cooper was going to DJ with me (he wrote my music and it's AMAZING!) but in the end we had to burn a CD instead.. The stage was jam packed with gear so I had about an 8 foot square to dance in, around a drum set, mics and a keyboard. Definitely the smallest space I've had to work with, but the crowd was awesome. Everyone was so sweet after the show! I even met a local tribal dancer who happened to be in the audience. Thanks to all the Chicago gals who asked about dance lessons - maybe one of these days I'll start teaching and come up there and give a workshop.. I used two of Cooper's songs and a mash up of Beats Antique/NIN, and once again managed to choreograph a whole lot of nothing in advance. Got to work on that.. :) Here's a link to my 2nd performance: tinyurl.com/jennchicago

And then, of course, Dead Man's Bones! Their music is quirky and creepy and undeniably fun. Not to mention the adorable kids choir singing and dancing along! I thoroughly enjoyed both sets and I've been listening to the album all day; current faves: "Pa Pa Power" and "Flowers Grow Out of My Grave."

So to sum it up: 9 hours in costume + a ghostly emcee + two dance performances + two badass shows + met the men behind the music + danced to amazing tunes = more fun than should be allowed on a Wednesday night.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing introduction to Chicago. Future trips have a lot to live up to!

This Is My First Post

2009-10-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Keeping this short and sweet, but a longer post about my trip to Chicago on Wednesday is coming, I promise. :) In the meantime, cheers to roses and skulls and weekends.