16 November 2013

The Past Five Months Or So • • Solid Gold- Who You Gonna Run To?

Good'ay, blog! It's been awhile. Since I've last documented my whereabouts months ago, I've been living in Chicago since June. After finding/being found by a lovely family, I am the nanny of two amazing girls in addition to being a fitness instructor to students, kindergarten through fifth grade. 

I share an apartment with two roommates and as of this week, a third roommate. Pictured above, Fang is one of three 6-month-old kittens of my cat, Milou. You may remember me mentioning Milou last January when she first came into my life on a cold winter day. Well, soon enough, she got pregnant and before I knew it, I was moving to Chicago, leaving my parents in Iowa with not only Milou, Fang, Boots, and Pico, but our family cat, Willie. Luckily, my parents have also fallen in love with these cats, so taking them to a farm was out of the question. So, here I am with one of them... it's the least I can do, taking one of my responsibilities off of their hands. {Shout out to the best parents ever!}

But no, Fang is no burden being here. In fact, she and I were having tons of fun last night listening to Lorde's album Pure Heroine, drinking beer (me), and sliding around on our wooden floors. She's a great partner. But this 2-creature celebration of life party wasn't just a TGIF party but a result of my car being hit by another just 2 hours earlier, sending my Honda and me spinning in traffic. Oh the feeling of kissing your cat when you get in the door after such an event... 

Anyway, maybe it was all the hyperventilating that I did yesterday or maybe it's a resurgence of focus since bringing my desk to Chicago or maybe it's a desire for more reflection in my life that's brought me back to my blog... whatever it may be, I'm back! 

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Now here's a song! Play it loudly! 


Saw Solid Gold play with Marijuana Deathsquads at the Subterranean here in Chicago in June. Really enjoyed the pairing of these bands. 

25 July 2013

17 July 2013

29 May 2013

We the Tiny House People (Documentary)


And here's the complete documentary... "We the Tiny House People" by Kirsten Dirksen! 

Living Smaller & Simpler


Kirsten Dirksen, co-founder of the Faircompanies site, documents simple-living by way of one's home, transportation, and overall practices through her Youtube series. I've mentioned the book "Tiny Homes, Simple Shelter" by Lloyd Khan (I'll return it to you ASAP, Mike!) here before, and some of the home builders from that book have been featured in Dirksen's videos. Whether you're into the Tiny Home/Small(er) Spaces movement or not, I believe that simple(r) living is something we can all apply to our own lives and this is what Dirksen's work spotlights.  

A 16 year-old takes you through the process of building his own place:


19 May 2013

Mike Carr

"Congregation", mixed media on canvas, 2012 
"Flock", mixed media on canvas, 2013
"Monday",  acrylic, spray paint, and oil pastel on paper,  2011

"Walking and Talking", mixed media on canvas  





































"The Guardian",  mixed media on canvas,  2012
















































































































































Paintings above by the Bristol artist Mike Carr, a.k.a China Mike. Visit his website here and his blog here. Looking at his paintings sparks an energy in me that I haven't felt in a long time when viewing someone's work. It feels personal, because to me, in these five paintings above, very recent and very significant brain action of mine has been represented. I have a soothing yet confusing reaction to this, but still it feels good for a stranger to draw it out.