Dear Three Day Weekend. by violet

Dear Three Day Weekend,


I love you. I truly and honestly do. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love an extra day added onto the weekend? But you bring a lot of pressure into my life. Leading up, everyone asks, “what are you doing for the three day weekend?” Then right after everyone asks, “what did you do for the three day weekend?” It’s as if I don’t have something really exciting beyond my normal weekend plans, I’ve somehow failed as a person.

And if I do decide to go somewhere – getting there is a total pain in ass. If I want to get anywhere, I have to take additional time off on Friday because traffic is a total nightmare because everyone is taking the same freeways to get either to the beach or and mountains. Everyone is trying to “make the most” of their three day weekend, only to spend most of it sitting in traffic.

And if you live in Seattle, it will be raining. And so your grand dreams of going camping and cooking out over an open flame are pretty much crushed before you even get into the traffic jam.

So this year, Memorial Day, I’m breaking up with you. I’m saying no. I’m staying home, running errands, hanging out with friends and taking it easy. Forecast is for rain? I don’t care! We’ll stay in and watch a movie. Tanker truck accident on I-5 near Fort Lewis? I don’t care! I’ll be at home instead of grinding my teeth in gridlock.

And when those people who spent their time cursing the travel gods, fighting traffic and camping in the rain ask me on Tuesday what I did over the weekend? I’m going to smile and say, “well, I relaxed all weekend. What did you do?”
Violet in Seychelles Fiddle - distressed brown booties

getting old and broken bells. by orange

So I'm the ripe age of 28.  When I say it outloud, doesn't seem so old - I'm in my sophisticated 20s.  However, things like concerts make me feel like I'm 80.  Here's why:

- Is the concert on a school night?  ...Man, it better be an artist that I'm really excited about. 

- Is the concert in a standing or sitting venue?  If it is in a standing venue, I better break out the 5 hour energy and, again, really love the artist.  If it's sitting, I still might need the 5 hour energy and hopefully it's energetic music as that chair can sometimes get too cozy and I can get a bit sleepy.
***Point in Case: the hsuband and I went to see Ray LaMontagne.  He is amazing and has such a unique voice.  However, his voice and music is so soothing it basically put the husband and I asleep at the Paramount.

- Time of the show.  The ticket says the show starts at 8pm.  But what does that really mean??  1st opening band starts at 8:30, maybe 9pm.  2nd opening band starts at 9:30pm.  The act you paid for - starts at 11pm.  Yeah my normal bedtime of 10-11pm - blown out of the water.


These are some of the questions I consider when asked if I want to go see xyz show.  About maybe 5 years ago...it would have been - sure let's go!  No questions asked.  Makes me just feel OLD.

So the husband and I saw Broken Bells this past Tuesday (alert - school night!) and at the Showbox (alert - standing room only venue!).  Luckily I really enjoy Broken Bells and the main singers voice makes the foot pain, people bumping into you, and wait - worth it. 

If you haven't had the opportunity to listen to the Broken Bells - here is a great video (pretty funny too) that gives you a taste of some of the music.



***you might think the lead singer's voice sounds familiar - the lead singer of Broken Bells, James Mercer was the lead singer of The Shins.  James Mercer collaborated with Danger Mouse to make Broken Bells.  My musical sources (the husband) has told me that he's heard The Shins will still play together, but it's likely that Broken Bells will come out with another CD before The Shins release anything.

Highlights and Lowlights – New York

I’m back. It was a totally amazing trip - full of so many adventures and great stories. Here are some of the highlights and the lowlights. I like to start with the bad news first.

Lowlights:

- Redeye. And no, my fancy new neck pillow did not work.

- Almost dying in a taxi cab accident on the BQE

- Blisters

- The front of the public library being covered the scaffolding

- Getting sick our second-to-last night in town

- Waiting over an hour for Shake Shack – It was good but In-n-Out is still my favorite

- Rain all day on Tuesday – although it did give us a chance to see Iron Man 2

Now for the good stuff:

- Cato and Walter. These two played incredibly awesome hosts and tour guides during our trip. Thanks so much guys for all the insider information and more than generous hospitality.

- Brooklyn. It is, indeed, a hipster Mecca but it’s also home to some really cool neighborhoods, parks, resturants and bars.

- Walking to Brooklyn Bridge

- Soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai

- Achieving hipster cred with street vendor Ray Bans

- Chelsea Market picnic at the Highline

- Sharing stories with Norman from B&H Photo

- Dinner at the Spotted Pig

- The MOMA

- Ramen with Jackson at Ippudo

- Grilled Mexican Corn at Café Habana

- Top of the Rock

- Our date night in midtown – oysters at Grand Central, drinks at Bar 44 and a picnic on our hotel room floor with meat, cheese, bread and cheesecake from Junior’s.

Violet in Caged Steve Madden in nude

my first polyvore. by orange

I recently fell across polyvore.  When it comes to fashion, you can find just about everything there!  And you can build your own collages.  Kind of reminds me of back in the day when I used to cut pictures, letters, words out of magazines and paste them in a variety of directions on a poster board - call it collage art and hang it up in my room.  Well today I tried my hand at my first polyvore collage - see below.

shoes by kmerrill featuring Dolce Vita shoes

Items in this set:
Leather wedge sandals, $2,090
Versus Suede Platforms with Chain Detail, 630 GBP
Tassel sandal, $250
Dolce Vita Women's Julius Sandal: Shoes, $155
JITTERBUG, 100 GBP

'til my next collage...

orange

swagger wagon. by orange

This week I've been a bit blog lazy - sorry about that.  Sometimes I find that I'm just needing some inspiration.  Well this little video came my way today and first thing I thought - our orange violet readers will appreciate it!

Check it out - hope it makes you smile.  Happy Wednesday!



xo,
orange in steve madden lace up ankle booties

Packing. by violet

I am a horrible packer. I pack too much, I pack the wrong thing, I forget things. So I thought I would take advantage of this growth opportunity and master the suitcase.

I created a couple of different lists. The first is just a master list of what I think that I might need. Then I brainstormed a few outfits that I thought would be good based on the weather and what I we would be doing.

Last night I laid everything out, then took 24 hours to evaluate my choices. When J.P. saw my handy work, he laughed and said it looked like enough clothes for 15 days. Tonight, I went back through and paired a few things back.

As it turns out, I’ve never had an easier time getting everything in my suitcase.  Even with room left over for the sure-to-be-adorable clothes I'll buy while traveling.

I’m sure that I forget something – I always do. But I’m hoping that whatever it is, I can get it in New York.

I leave you in the capable hands of Orange for a week. When I come back you’ll hear even more about the trip, in case you haven’t yet.

Violet. In Jessica Simpson Jessica pump in ivory patent

keep me close. by orange

Sometimes you come across music that gives you goose bumps:

Keep Me Close - by Ingrid Michaelson

I have found a space inside somebody else
I have found a space in you
Where i feel so safe from everybody else
Keep me close, keep me close, keep me close
Take my hand, my heart, and lead me to the time
where we all can start again
Take me far away from everybody else
and I'll keep you close, keep you close, keep you close.   

While perusing other Ingrid Michaelson songs I came across the following.  Also beautiful

Briefing Book. by violet

There are times when my work life runs smack into my personal life. And I’m not talking about trying maintain some kind of balance between my work and life. I’m talking about when my work skills come in handy in my life outside the cube walls.

Part of my job has long been creating briefing books. These are intense documents that are designed to help traveling executives, typically while they go out and speak with media. They contain a detailed outline of the trip and serve as a guidebook.

I have been working on one such briefing for work and J.P. jokingly suggested that I create one for our upcoming trip. And so I took him up on it. I quickly realized that it’s WAY more fun to do research on a trip that you are actually taking.

So here’s how I spent my night tonight.

We might end up throwing the whole thing out once we get into town. But you know what? It’s been really fun putting the whole thing together.

Violet in Sofft Freeda Bootie – black, ankle booties 

the show. by orange

So you know that I really enjoy Greg Laswell - from here, here, here and here.  Well this weekend, Greg Laswell was at Tractor.  The night was fantastic.  He is one of those artists that sounds even better in person and interacts genuinely with the crowd the whole night.  The evening was filled with:

delicious burgers and sweet potato fries from King's Hardware in Ballard

lots of laughter

good friends

pomegranate 5 hour energy

and of course, amazing music

til next time greg.  thank you!!

In preparation. By violet

We leave for New York in a week. Next Thursday night, J.P. and I will be boarding a plane and heading to the Big Apple for a week’s worth of vacation.

We’ve been planning to trip of awhile but really only now are things coming together. And in preparation, I purchased a few items that I knew I would need.

J.P. seemed perplexed that I would buy anything before the trip. Wouldn’t I just want to get everything there?

Well, clearly, I am going to be doing a significant amount of shopping while there but there were a couple of things that I didn’t want arrive in the city without.

One, a good pair of walking sneakers

Since we plan on walking a lot during the trip, I didn’t want to ruin my feat. While I would love to wear a cute pair of flats or wedges, I just don’t think it’s possible. So I searched for a hip pair of sneakers that wouldn’t make me feel like a middle age tourist at Disney World.

These red Sauconys are just the thing. Plenty of padding and trekking and a bold color to make a fashion statement.

Two, a large cross-body purse

I wanted large in order to carry all the stuff you seem to need when you travel - maps, guidebooks, umbrella, scarf, bottle of water, possibly even a pair of flip flops for tired feet. And cross body so my shoulder didn’t give out carrying all those things. And also as a theft deterrent – harder to swipe off your shoulder or lift the wallet out of. I was looking for a color that would go with both black and brown.

This Sak purse fits all my requirements. The blue color will go with just about anything – and will look awesome with my new red sneakers. It’s big enough to get a bunch of stuff in without feeling like I’m running away from home. And the adjustable strap assures that I can go from touring to dinner. 

Now I just have to decide what else is going in my suitcase.  What else should I be sure and pack?  What do you never travel without?

Violet in Frye Campus 14L boots in Saddle Montana

take a bow release. by orange

As you all know...I heart Greg Laswell.  Well this weekend, he is going to be here in Seattle playing his tracks at Tractor.  And today...is the release of his new CD!

Besides being an amazing songwriter/artist - he is pretty funny too...check it out.

oldies, but goodies. by orange

I'm trying to learn to love my mac computer.  I have just not conquered learning how the mac operating system works and I like things that I'm used to - like the PC set up.  Not being able to right click ... kind of kills me.  When I post to orange violet via FireFox and then the post looks different the next day when I open up orange violet in explorer it makes my head hurt just a bit.

But alas, I've been opening up and using my MacBook more and more in the past week to go from just having a mac to actually using my mac.

One thing that I have enjoyed about my recent return to the Mac - is all of my photos stored on the machine.  I thought I'd share some of my favorites:

 portugal

our wine making gloves for the portugal trip

halloween a few years back - lesbian soccer moms

at my bachlorette party - I'm trying to get everyone to do the "Freddie" from Troop Beverly Hills

our little schnoodle Payton, right when we brought him home

From the Heartland. by violet

A couple of weeks ago, a small group of us went out to dinner at the new Heartland Café in west Seattle. As the name suggests, Heartland serves Midwestern comfort food. The menu lists things like biscuits and gravy and something called a Juicy Lucy burger which, turns out, is a burger stuffed with a molten core of American cheese. I guess it's a midwest thing. 

The décor matches the theme with rustic and down home feel.

I ordered a Wisconsin cheddar cheese soup with a side salad. The soup was creamy and had that hearty, rib-sticking feeling that you would expect from a place like this.

Most people went with burgers and who could blame them with choices like the Juicy Lucy which despite the warnings, Dan nearly burned his hand on the cheese core.

Eric went with the Sheboygan which had a butterflied brat, caramelized onions, sauerkraut and beer mustard.

Orange tried the Johnny Appleseed with bacon, apples, beer mustard, caramelized onions and cheddar.

I even tried a bite of the mac and cheese the Kenz ordered – think that’s what I will be getting next time.

Overall, a delicious spot, I’m especially excited to give it a try for breakfast. Cinnamon Roll French Toast? Count me in!

Violet in Seychelles Fiddle - distressed brown booties