Crowded House for Crowded House

Last Sunday night I was lucky enough to see the New Zealand band Crowded House at the House of Blues in Chicago with the aunts & Chuck. I really wish I had some pictures of what the inside looked like before the lights dimmed- each location is filled with folk arty goodness and hand painted wonders... had I known I would be hard stretched to find a single good photograph of the decor online I would have brought my camera!

(Pictures from Crowded House's website.)

A Happy Belated Birthday To Me

This is the second to last batch of pictures I'm posting before we get to the fun stuff: the wedding! Of course, I still have to upload and edit those pictures, but I'm hoping to get around to that tomorrow. These are some of the highlights from my birthday celebration with the fam, including my birthday loot (not pictured are me going to see Crowded House last Sunday at the House of Blues in Chicago :) ).

My mom always makes the best cakes- this one was frilly (get it? tu-tu, two-two?) and the inside was pink and strawberry flavored. I just finished the last piece last night.

The side read "HIP HIP HEERAY!"

Mom telling Dad that he is going to ruin the blender if he fills it full with ice and frozen strawberries and then expects it to blend.

Twenty-two candles... on a cake... on a Lazy Susan... we're lucky we didn't burn the house down.

A jewelry box from the 1920's from my parents. Look at the tiny deer!

All sorts of goodies from the aunts (and Chuck). An old letter A for my name wall, an Avon bottle in the shape of a cupcake, a few different editions of Alice in Wonderland, and the thing I'm most excited to complete and put up in my room: a Home Sweet Home embroidery kit from the '70s. (It's under the sewing magazine with the kitties.)

Steampunkerella

If I thought I had a lot of photos to post last week... I was sadly mistaken. Chris and Jamie (or Chris [backwards ampersand] Jaime, if you're Best Western) got married on Saturday! I have a bazillion pictures of them... as well as a bazillion pictures of barns and clouds and birds and stuff, because Marisa hijacked my camera. Here are some from a week or two ago, when we headed off to a "Victorian Steampunk Ball" at Club Hyde in Milwaukee.

I absolutely love Chelsey's hair with those goggles.

Marisa and me, with her earlier "Do I look too much like a pirate?" costume.

Dirty Liz. :)

A small taste of the awesomeness that was there- mechanical wings. (Photo from here.)

The club itself was very neat with lots of wood and leather furnishings, as well as a neat birch tree set up behind one of the bars- perfect for a steampunk ball. Not quite as perfect for the Lady Gaga event they were hosting there a couple days later... (Photo from here.)

Summer Foray with the Gang

Well, not a foray exactly... but whatever, it sounded good. A couple weeks ago we had a fun little get together at my place involving the impossible to track-down Tracey! (I hadn't seen her in two years, can you believe it?) Not to mention Kat drove all the way from her new home in Illinois and... well, Ashley drove from the other side of Mukwonago! Yay!

It's really hard to fit all of us in the frame! And, well, we're too giggly to stand still long enough for my self timer to work, haha.

Dress Shopping/Bus Waiting

After an entire day of searching for a wedding dress for Marisa (not a wedding dress wedding dress, just something she can wear to the wedding) we got bored waiting for the bus to take Marisa back to Milwaukee. She ended up finding a cute dress the next day.
(Oh, and so far it's 3 votes for the flowered dress and 1 for polka dots.)

Halp!

There are a bunch of pictures here, but I'm torn between which of these two dresses will be coming up with me to Jamie and Chris's wedding this SATURDAY! I can't believe they're getting married... expect a lot of pictures! So- here's the question: Blue polka dot or navy floral print? And then, do you have a cardigan preference? Don't be shy.

Purple...

...or red?

Alright, I doubt anyone can tell the difference between these two red cardigans but me... but what the heck. (If you're wondering, the top cardi is darker. And softer aka much better quality.)

I wasn't able to find a yellow cardigan that I liked (even though it was my first color choice with this dress) so this is just a zippy I own... if this is the winner then I have some last minute searching to do!

Not that it really matters, but I thought I'd throw it in- the bags to go with each dress.

Also, Happy 22nd Birthday to me! :)

Momma Deer

Dad has been playing with his new toys, a couple motion-sensing infrared cameras that are manufactured for hunters so they can see if they have friends hanging out in their territory. The other week he set them up facing our apple trees/the neighbor's rose bushes, and we finally got photos of the deer that munches on both! (As well as this other deer that looks kind of funny. I think it might have eaten a rotten apple or two...)

(For those of you who can't tell, that's my mother out there pretending to be a deer at 4:17 in the morning.)

My Turn!

picture from heeeere

My father and I are big Dexter fans (because it is awesome and if you don't watch that show now, I give you permission to drop all other tasks and go absorb some!) but we don't watch it until the DVDs come out. Since season 4 came out this past Tuesday--and I worked the two past nights-- tonight was our first chance to squeeze in an episode. And it was awe-some!! (Unfortunately, I caught the season ending via a Facebook update boo hiss but still, if anyone blabs I will rip out their kidneys and sell them for profit!)

No More Carpet

I've had the same baby blue walls in my room since- well, since I first moved into that room when I was... what, seven or so? There are a couple half-finished nasty pseudo-murals I painted when I was an angsty preteen, and I've finally reached a point where I want them covered up. Initially, I just wanted to purge and paint- but since my room is below grade by about four feet and often smells musty due to the carpeting, my parents suggested redoing the floor, too.

After much debate, I'm (pretty) confident with this choice on the floor- vinyl plank flooring that floats so it'll be easy to remove if needed, and it won't matter if it's directly on top of concrete. In light cork. :)

As for paint colors, I know I want a bright teal, but I haven't decided on one quite yet. Looking at them online, I'm leaning toward the far left or far right- I have also the sample chips at home and when I look at them here, I'm leaning toward Sweet Rhapsody. What do you think? (From left to right: Sea Life, Intense Teal, Sweet Rhapsody, and Gem Turquoise.)

Please Sir, I'd Like S'More

I haven't had a chance to make real s'mores over a fire (so far) this summer, but at least Ashley and I had a chance to microwave some!

num num!

Still Turning 21

Here are some more pictures from Chelsey's 21st (and Marisa's, in spirit! their birthdays are only three days away from each other, after all). After Buffalo Wild Wings, cake, our usual inappropriate discussions and some games, we traveled outside to a nearby park where we found out just how much we stink at taking pictures mid-jump. I've tried it before and every single time it surprises me how difficult it is. Boo!

out of all the pictures we took I think there is perhaps one where a person is airborne

...in the rest we're all just in mid-landing position/doing silly things

dancing?

Playing Catch Up

Things have been so busy in the end of July that I have a bazillion pictures to post! I'll try to do things chronologically... but no promises. There are a lot of pictures. Here are some from Chelsey's 21st birthday party- back in JUNE.

piggin' out at Buffalo Wild Wings (for the sake of Chelsey's pride, those were ordered for both her and Kyle)

look, dino sprinkles!

the inside was full of Chelsey colors :)

Flies

A tiny gradient of flies from what I've been working on tonight. :) Clickin' for full view will do you good.

Quotes

In the back of each of my sketchbooks I always save a page or two for the silly things the people in my life say. I was doodling out a poster that I'd just dreamed about, "Giving Brings Us Together" (for a poster designing contest held by Winona State during their welcoming events... other contestants were painting around print outs of Helly Kitty with white out... there were also two little boys (Aidan and Cameron) who were flirting with me/buying me a salad after I realized what I was eating was a fish that still had bones and eyeballs/bringing me a Barbie things to play with!) ...Anyway, I was doodling and glanced to the back of my sketchbook and cracked up remembering how bizarre we can be at times, so I thought I'd start a collection of them here.

(Haha, it kind of looks like I'm naked in this picture... I promise I'm clothed!)

"I've ridden that horse and it left a bad taste in my mouth." -Chelsey

Liz: Elvis apparently pooped while on stage.
Chelsey: Is that why he wiggled so much?

(while discussing web hosts)
"I leech off CJ's ridiculous package." - Liz

(after sighting some ladder golf balls stuck high on a tree branch)
"Check out the balls on that tree!" -Mom

"Is this pie chart a circle?" - Marisa

Marisa: Maybe we won't get Alzheimer's when we're old because we do crossword puzzles...
Me: (doing a puzzle) What? A precipitate whose second letter is A??
Marisa: ...rain.