Makin' mama proud since '89.

^ Photo by Jessica Shirley-Donnelly (more here).

^ Photo by Skeleton Key Photography (more here)

Last weekend I flew up to San Jose to do backing vocals for my dear friends in Cartoon Bar Fight (including Kendall, above, who I have known since middle school, and have sung in bands with for at least the past 6 or 7 years). I love these people. Good weekend.

I've been writing and recording a lot of new music lately. I've also been listening to this song probably every night before bed, and thinking about creativity. Also, it's 12:48am and my thoughts aren't coming out smoothly. So I'm just going to end this here.

One more: New project. I'll introduce it better later. Savor / Seek.

^ From the drive back to Utah last night.

I have been gone a month, enjoying my sweet time with dear friends scattered throughout the west (San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Portland, Las Vegas, Henderson). But it's good to be back.

Portland con mi hermano

"Let me tell you something, Gob. We're going to track this Hermano down, ok? And we're going to nail him. Because if anyone's going to go out with that girl, it's going to be one of us." -Michael Bluth

There's no particular reason I switched to Spanish there, but it did remind me of Arrested Development. Are you hearing Gob say "hermano" in that voice? Yeah?

Mi hermano Gary and I went to Voodoo Doughnuts on Monday afternoon. The night before, we went to Salt & Straw (I got the honey lemon with ricotta walnut cookies, and pear with blue cheese... but I couldn't taste the blue cheese as prominently as I was hoping. Oh well, still good. I tasted a bit of the dandelion sorbet, and it was also delicious. I wish I could go back and get a whole scoop of it). On Monday evening we went out for sushi, and I consumed fish eggs for the first time (as in, I figured it was fish eggs on the roll, but refused to think about it until after I was done, then I confirmed it with Gary. I like to try new things, but sometimes I need to stay in ignorance about it).

A lot of walking and hiking in between (see Multnomah Falls, above). Portland is a fantastic city, truly. Everything there just makes sense.

I love love love my brother and am so glad I was able to go visit him in his element. If you haven't already seen it, check out my brother's new travel show, Nomadicality. It is both hilarious and gorgeously filmed. And only 10 minutes long. You can watch the first episode here.

If you are going to Portland on a tight budget and need a place to stay, I highly recommend Motel 6 Tigard West (info here). It was only about $50/night, and while they were lacking some amenities (no blow dryer, shampoo, etc.), it was very well-maintained, and they had the best customer service I have ever experienced at a hotel. It was also close to the freeway and a lot of restaurants and fast food.

Playlist

Usually I like to put playlists in specific orders for optimal flow, but... 83 songs is a lot. So it's mostly just alphabetical.

feeling alive

Last weekend, due to some sneaky conspiring between Dirk (above, beanie) and I, I surprised my dear friend Kendall (also above, ukulele) by showing up in her little town of San Jose, CA unannounced. She was beyond happy, and we began our lovely productive weekend of fun together.

Friday night I joined their band, Cartoon Bar Fight, to play a show. It was pure bliss singing with them again.

The rest of the weekend was spent eating delicious food, shopping, hiking, and recording my new EP. You read that correctly- new EP. I'm doing music again, and I love it. For at least right now, I have solved my dilemma- I'm just going to go for it and do what I love, and if I give it my all, maybe it will sustain me despite the fact that generally speaking, music is not a very lucrative path to go down. But I'm giving it my all, and I am loving it. We'll see what happens!

Summary of California Coast Vacation

Getty Villa, Malibu

[Look for more about the Getty Villa in future posts]

Santa Barbara Mission

[Gary, my brother, took a lot of cool images of the mission and it's chapel. 

I'll post the link when he posts them]

Hearst Castle

Other visited locations include: Morro Bay, Cambria, and Solvang.
Future posts on this vacation will include:
mythological statues at the Getty Villa for Kim,
more photos once I get my film developed,
and links to my brother's album of the vacation,
which will probably be great because he's an actual photographer.

Because I Love California!

[from q.a. design]

We're going on a trip up the coast for a few days next week, and I am very excited! I love California!

Southern Utah Trip: Theatre

On Monday night I saw Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. BYU's Kymberly Mellen played Beatrice. Prior to this evening, I had only seen the movie version of this film, and let me tell you, live is so much better. (Live is almost always better, I have found). It was hilarious!

On Tuesday night I went back to see The Merchant of Venice. I had never read or seen this play, so I was excited to finally do so that night, and it did not disappoint. There were funny moments, but overall I left with the firm belief that William Shakespeare could write a fantastic plot. (The Shakespearean Festival runs through the summer. Go if you can!)

On Wednesday night, we drove down to St. George where my mom and I saw Tuacahn's production of Tarzan. It was magic! The costumes, the musical talent, the set, the special effects... it was all perfect. I had a geeky smile pasted across my face during the entire performance. Here is a preview for it:



Tarzan is being performed through October 15. For more information, click here.

Boise, ID, I will miss you.

One more Boise recommendation: Boise Fry Company. I recommend the purple potato curly fries, with garlic/rosemary salt, and blueberry ketchup. Crazy, I know. Disclaimer: I cannot take credit for creating this combination-- it was created by an employee at Boise Fry Company. But I second it. Way good.

And now to leave you with a little somethin' somethin' from the Basque Museum & Cultural Center...

The Basque were(/are?) avid whalers and shepherds. You can thank Idaho for that tidbit.

Boise, ID

Hello from Boise! You may disagree, but I really like Idaho. Let me tell you what I have done so far on this little trip of mine.

On my way here yesterday, I stopped at Shoshone Falls, just to check it out. It is known as Niagara of the West. Any desire I had to see a big waterfall is now complete. Thank you, Idaho!

I'm staying at Inn America, and I highly recommend it. I hardly paid a thing, and yet the room is newly remodeled, it's quiet at night, and I got a free breakfast in the morning. So nice, so comfortable.

This morning I made a visit to the Boise Temple. I then went out to [brunch] at Goldy's Breakfast Bistro in downtown Boise where I soaked in the chill atmosphere and delighted in my Eggs Blackstone (English muffin, black forest ham, tomato, egg, and their famous hollandaise sauce) and juice. After breakfast, I visited the Basque Museum to learn about Idaho's Basque community. And finally, to end the morning, I visited the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.

Since then, I've been lounging around in my hotel room. I'm on vacation, right? Absolutely acceptable.

I'll be back home tomorrow night. I miss my vacation already.