music machinery, verbal wizardry: April 2009

Yo this is that chick i saw a few weeks ago

So after this weekend it's pretty apparent that a change is gonna come sooner than later. I'm still scared about leaving the last 5 years, but I think that if I'm going to make this change, I don't want to hold off much longer. There's still some planning to do (a lot actually) but things are starting to come together a bit.

I got into NYC Thursday night and didnt do much - it was a bit late, and Maria had to go show Matthew clothing she'd pulled for the Dirty Projectors video he's shooting (styling her first music video!) I stayed in and ate a sandwich.

Ended up working part of the day from the Big Hassle offices on Wall St. - we headed out a bit early to go meet Doug and take the free Staten Island ferry back and forth. It was a beautiful day and a great view

Doug and I went to some Red Sox bar (I was duped) and then I headed to the les to meet up with Heather and her friends.. then it was the end of a soccer game, back to maria's and out again. Maybe we shouldn't have gone out to eat after we've had some beers because we may have ordered every unhealthy thing on the menu all at once. Whoops.

The next day we met up with Brooke, Heather and Loryn for a 2-3 hour brunch - which honestly was the best. They're some of my closest lady friends and they were all in one spot.

We took Newton to the dog park (one of my favorite activities) and I met up with Nika for a bit..

Then vintage store, then naptime, and finally back out that evening to les for a show and a party. With a drum?

Sure loved that drum..

We rolled home late (er, early?) - and then it was french brunch with Brooke and Justin. Ooo chocolate croissants.

More lounging, reading in the park, and finally the good news that I had a ride to boston with Matthew and Maria. Made it home (that's when the peein roommate incident happened) and now I'm still trying to catch up on sleep.

Great weekend though. Great people there. Planning on going back in June. Chicago is in a month!!

I just got back from a 4 hour car ride from NYC and I'm entering the house and hear liquid splashing to the ground outside. Thought I had dropped a beverage, but no, it was my roommate PEEING out of his bedroom window on the second floor!! Aghhh.

My brother posted this on Facebook.. thought I would share (even though the three of you who read this probably already saw it. Oh well.)

"My grandfather and I.
I was about a month old.

He died 2 years later.

He accomplished a lot in his life, formed an accounting firm which still exists today, became the president of the American Institute of CPAs, met the Queen, etc.

He was supposedly adopted, but no one knows for sure where he really came from or which of his two birth certificates were real.

Virginia, his last wife, thinks his 'sister' was actually his mother, that his father was probably a Native American and that the truth was hidden to conceal what was then culturally taboo.

I wish I had been able to know him."

Unfortunately, I never got to meet Grandpa Bill - he died about 6 months before I was born I believe. In junior high I did some in depth report about his life - which was quite an incredible one. I have a gold locket with his picture that I've worn for my graduations, just so he'd be there.

Also, if you've ever wondered why my mom's so tan all the time - he's why.

Nate came over last night and I made us some fat dinner.

I'd bought gorgonzola ravioli from Trader Joes the other day, so I just boiled them up and made a sauce for the top:

toasted walnuts
carmelized sweet onion
light cream
garlic
white wine
salt & pepper
thyme

roasted up some brussel sprouts and did a honey & balsamic vinegar reduction over the top (after I spilled most of it on the floor)

roasted (for an hour?) garlic and we spreaded on toasted bread (I was more into this than he was. I probably smell like something awful this morning)

The sauce turned out well - though everything was so rich that we just about died midway through the meal

Successful day! Early wake up (8am? ughh) and into the Suburu with Jon and Ella. We headed to the middle of nowhere (Sutton, MA) and had one of the most satisfying days I've had in a long while.

On the way out, we stumbled upon the Motor-In, a long abandoned drive-in theater. This is seriously the type of place I wish I could find more often. Photo heaaaaaven.

Though there were no empty bottles/syringes/homeless people, there was this little gift:

The place was so frightening/incredible. We vowed to venture out to the burbs more often to find places like this.

Then it was on to Purgatory Chasm, where we ate a quick lunch and spent the next couple of hours climbing around really big rocks. There were sooo many boy scout nerds there. Some chubby kid got stuck in one of the caves. Pretty funny seeing a kid getting pulled out by the arms by his dork friends. I guess we could have helped but whatevaaa

Wooo rocks!

Action shot

Blurry, but cute

Too short self timer..

Once we were done, we headed to Natick, where I was able to squeeze in a quick visit to Forever 21 (yesss) and we ate at Cheesecake Factory like real Americans.

Tonight I'm staying in and getting some much needed sleep. These adventures have been good. I want moreeee. Leaving for NYC on Thurs.

So there's this thing called Groupon where they email you different specials that you can buy into (like a haircut, pedi, mani etc. for $50 total instead of $175.) I'm convinced it's the most amazing thing ever... I bought a groupon for The Savant Project in JP.. $20 for a coupon for $40 worth of foods and drinks. Cat and I went tonight:

Truffled Parmesan Polenta Logs, Parmesan Aoli
House Made Veggie Burger with House Made Red Pepper Hummus, Feta Cheese and Spicy Onion Rings

She had some crazy steak with salad and yucca fries. We each had a mango mojito.

With the exception of the loud jazz band (sorry dudes, too small of a space!) I really liked this place. The polenta was so so so delicious.

Foooood comaaaaa.

Saturday I am going to Purgatory Chasm to climb around some rocks and eat a picnic lunch. The place looks absolutely bonkers. So excited.

A few weeks ago my friend Nabil emailed me and asked if I wanted to go see St. Vincent at Cafe 939, a newish venue opened by Berklee School of Music (snots.) Yes please! So Laura and I went tonight.. It was a strange set up - a venue full of chairs with various students (I think) and press people, half full (it was invite only, and people kept looking at us like "why are THEY here??").. and an awkward St. Vincent performing solo on the stage. I did not envy her position - she definitely felt uncomfortable... but luckily she's charming with a good sense of humor and took it all in stride. She played a mix of songs from her old record and the new one, with electric guitar and loops and grand piano. The highlight for me was Marry Me, which was the song that first caught my ear. It was nice to hear her music stripped down - because her voice is so haunting. She's coming back in May to play the Somerville Theater.. might have to go again.

Thursday I'm going to go see Damien Jurado, even though I was advised that going alone would be "depressing." Caught in the Trees was one of my favorite records from last year, so I'd like to see it live.. Plus I gotta support Seattle musicssss.

My latest favorite jam. Pop music!! From WA!

I really wish I could let my brain know what is ok to dream about and what things are off limits.

It's 4:30pm and I'm laying in bed, avoiding the pile of dishes in the kitchen. Horrible horrible dishes.

Last night I had people over for a pre-Easter dinner brunch. I made:

coffee cake muffins
veggie breakfast sausage in a blanket with syrup topping
mini french toast stuffed with cream cheese and jam
chocolate fondue
baked eggs with tomato/onion and gruyere
baked hashbrowns with onion, pepper and cheddar
vanilla yogurt with fresh mint (glen and anne marie brought fresh fruit)

Nellie and Jean Luc both brought quiches. And there were biscuits. And cake.

And once everyone was stuffed, there was dancing.

Red things!

Yellow things!

Hooooods

Feelin' it

pillow dance?

Then we decided to play with photobooth...

Things started winding down here so we made a trek to a party in Cambridge. Did not lose my phone.

I used to think that the whole "we're in different places" or "we want different things" was bullshit. Honestly, I thought it was a stupid cop out to admitting what was really wrong.. but now I realize that "we're in different places" means that "I wanted to move forward in life and not just keep pretending I'm 22" and "we wanted different things" means "I want tangible, attainable things, while you want to live in dreamland for god knows how long."

Oh well, right?

Baked Eggs Test Run

I was searching for brunch ideas yesterday and found this delicious looking recipe.. Rather than trying it out day-of, I decided to do a test tonight to see how it worked out. I changed the recipe a bit - used thyme when cooking up the onion/tomato mixture. I used the small pita pockets halved for the "cups" and added sharp cheddar on top... here's the result:

Eggs bakin'

Overall it tasted pretty good. Fresh thyme would be better. And a bit of green onion on top... maybe a more potent cheese.. and more salt. Probably cook for a few minutes less so that the yolks were runny. But yeah. I liked. Will make on Saturday.

In a fake world of short hair

I neglected to mention that I went to SXSW and came back. It really happened. I ate queso at the Iron Cactus. I saw Matthew McConaughey on 4th st. My band list was not as extreme as it has been in the past.. There were no 40 bands in 4 days.. but there was some quality there:

Blind Pilot, The Thermals, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Tiger City, Coat Hangers, Cotton Jones, Eli Reed, Mason Proper, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Mirah, Cut Off Your Hands, Ladyhawke, Bang Bang Eche, Scissors for Lefty, Here We Go Magic, The High Strung, King Kahn & the Shrines, Vetiver, Thao Nguyen, The Peekers and more.

Missed a chance to see Kanye (dammittt) cause I couldn't check my email (dammnn you perez hilton!!!)

Jaws was there and threatened our lives with tequila.

One benefit with being a little bit low key this year was not being dead for a week after.

And after that.. after that I've been trying to keep busy with un-funny comedy shows and sitting on the porch drinkin cold beers with friends, and going to the museum and walking around the city and trying to figure out what trip to take next (Melissa claims she's down for Mexico so I may hold her to it.) It's weird being forced to think only of yourself. I'm not quite sure I know how to do it correctly. I haven't quite made it to taking myself to a movie.

Next on the horizon is a pre-Easter dinner brunch on Saturday. I'm thinking baked eggs. Veggie sausage in a maple blanket. French toast planks with various dips. Fresh fruit with vanilla mint yogurt. It's been formulating in my brain. It'll be delicious.

New York in 2 weeks, Chicago in 6 weeks.. Not sure after that. Need to buy a tent. Need to plan escapes.

I have another blog. Just photos. Not much new yet.

Isabella Stewart Gardner from Sat.. before they made me put my camera away