So...

I saw Pickwick play at The Wonder Ballroom in Portland last night - amazing, as always.

 

They played with Radiation City and Pearly Gates Music. They were totally great, despite some seemingly off balance sound issues in the venue.



Ummm turns out the dude in Pearly Gates Music is Zach Tillman, brother of J. Tillman (aka former Fleet Foxes drummer [aka Father John Misty]).

You Guys...

... we have an awesome new blogger at Go Go Grays Harbor and if this post doesn't make you want to leave the city and move to the middle of nowhere, I don't know what will.

Living In Secret

Adventures in Grays Harbor

The weather in our nook of the Pacific Northwest has been amazing lately! After three weeks without a real day off, I finally had myself a couple of days off to enjoy the sun and finally bust out the old camera.

After sleeping in until 11:30 am (*gasp*) I actually had the energy to get in a short run and some yoga before starting my day. I've decided that I desperately need a more regular exercise routine, not just for the physical aspect but for the mental benefits. (Note: add more yoga to my life)

A friend from high school/my old college roommate was in town for the weekend so we decided to grab our cameras and go exploring. Every time I do something fun in this town, I can't help but think about how ridiculous it is that I'd never done it before! What in the world was I doing the first 18 years of my life? Oh, right... eating cheesy fries at Denny's and filming every minute of our sleep overs wherein we hosted fake beauty pageants and remakes of the movie Scream.

Anyway...

Hoquiam is pretty cool. 

We parked at the Farmer's Market and walked along the river, taking pictures of the old pilings and talking to people who were stuck in their car waiting for the bridge to go up. Once it came back down we crossed the bridge and wandered the other side of the river and then back over the big bridge.

Later in the evening, once our other friends were finally off work, we went out to Westport for dinner at Bennett's Fish Shack (my favorite) and a climb up the viewing tower for sunset. It was pretty glorious.

And the fun didn't stop on Friday! I find the best way to get away from work is to literally get away from it, so I went up to Lake Quinalt with a friend to take in the awesome view of the mountains and the water. The Lodge isn't so bad either.

Dieter Rams On Good Design

Just reading this article from Fast Company...

Consumerism vs. Creativity

Is consumerism killing creativity?

When I saw a friend post this article on Facebook, I had to immediately read it. Why? Because I have felt for years that consumerism and creativity are at odds with one another.

A major part of why I moved back to my hometown after nearly 10 years of living in bigger cities was because I wanted to be somewhere that had potential. A place that didn't already have everything figured out. In the city, I could get anything I wanted in a reasonable amount of time and whenever I felt bored I would just go to the mall for some retail therapy.* I truly think that this ease of life just made me lazy and greedy.**

Now, I live in a town of 20,000 people (ish) and the only mall is practically empty. We have Walmart, which I do not dare enter for many, many, many reasons. As far as retail therapists go in this town, there are few. And I love it.

I love that going shopping isn't even an option here. I love that the nearest Target is 45 minutes away. I also don't even care. I've realized that I can get by with very few things and that it is much more satisfying to mend a torn piece of clothing than to go out and buy a new one. However, I do still get the thrill of the hunt from my frequent thrifting adventures - though I have even tried to limit my purchases there to things I absolutely cannot live without.

In the mean time, while I haven't been shopping, I have been making so many things and creating so many new projects I can barely keep my head on straight (but seriously, I may need to cut back on the creative projects - it's all about balance, right?).

*I'm not a fan of this phrase.


**sorry for my rant on consumerism. I'm pretty sure I was a buddhist monk in some past life.

New Shoes

I had a pretty lucky weekend. At least, with regards to thrift store shopping. On Friday, I picked up some practically brand new white keds from the local Salvation Army for three bucks and I quickly realized that these shoes were literally a blank canvas begging for some sweet designy type stuff. So, I stole this herringbone pattern and spent a few hours drawing it on the shoes with a Sharpie. 

Halfway through...

I'm also becoming quite attached to my store's tagline of "make something" and I think I should probably work it into everything I make from now on.

PS -  I spent nearly the entire time while I was drawing these lines listening to 60's folk music after I discovered the music of Father John Misty. Listen to my favorites over here.

Apple Quilt

Last week, I finished this Apple quilt for Caitlin in Austin, Texas. Of course, it is made from t-shirts (since that is my specialty) and I was so excited when I got her box of shirts. They were so colorful and all of them had very small designs or words printed on the front. I knew that the average t-shirt quilt would not do for these t-shirts, so I created this:

This has to be one of my all time favorite t-shirt quilts! Shoot, I even cut out that tiny apple to sew on the monitor. I'm quite proud of myself.

It's May Already?!

Oh, blogger. You tempt me.

I was going to come here today to write "I'M BACK!" but let's get real... remember, I'm the girl who set a goal to write every day this year and after exactly 31 days I took 2 months off... for shame.

I would love to write here every day, but I know that isn't an achievable goal for me right now. However, I do think an achievable goal is to write here when I feel I have something to share. And I believe in achievable goals. (I also believe in ridiculously unlikely goals, but that's beyond my point)

So, I'M BACK! I never really left.

Since January I have opened a new retail store in downtown Hoquiam, Washington. Joined a number of committees (currently trying to implement an art walk in Hoquiam - easier said than done). I became a member of the Paleo diet movement and failed because I really love ice cream (going to get back on that wagon soon). I started playing synth and singing with a local band. I'm debating selling my car and becoming a full-time bike rider/walker. Consequently, I'm trying to find a way to make the perfect bicycle cape... or I might just buy this one.

I've been trying to grow our blog project, Go Go Grays Harbor, with a fellow local bloggers. I'm trying to find time to start a number of creative side projects. My business Queen B Quilts is incredibly busy. And I really need a day off!

So, I'll be back to talk about some of these things along with all of the random things I'm making and thinking about these days.