calming. family.

I try not to sit at the computer so late in the evening, but I'm still riled up from a crazy day at work. Sometimes I have a hard time calming myself down after something stressful. So here I am, with my hot apple cider and my "dreamy" mix on itunes. mike is watching baseball in the other room and the dryer is humming pleasantly. I guess the best part about post-work restlessness is that I get a lot done: clean sheets on the bed, laundry has been done, dishwasher is running and kitchen is clean.

I had a great weekend visiting my family in Iowa and Minnesota. Both of my maternal grandparents have birthdays in October, and this year they are both 80. The majority of my mom's side got together saturday afternoon on my aunt and uncle's lovely farm in southern Minnesota. It was beautiful. And amazing to see so much family. I hadn't seen most of my cousins since my wedding. Also amazing that we are pretty much all grown-ups now. There isn't really a "kids table" at these family functions anymore. And if there is, it's for the next generation, the great-grandkids. Time just running along.

I brought my camera along this weekend and did not take a single photo. Sometimes you just want to experience things, not capture them, you know? I think I'm okay with it.

iowa surprises

i really love going back to iowa. i love it so much I don't mind when I get lost on the country roads after I've already been driving for five hours. . . . but that's my own fault. the country is so pretty it made up for the lost time.

i visited my friend Mindy in Ames this weekend, my college town. i can't imagine how it would have been any better: going to the des moines farmers market & craft fair, walking around campus, talking about arty stuff, listening to music. and a gastronomic tour of ames too: the west street deli, stomping grounds, the cafe. yay for ames.

two stories though. the melancholy one first.

when i drove into town and neared campus, a ton of college memories flooded back to me. and not good ones. I've had ample time now to cultivate my collegiate memories into a neat little package of happy times. being back in ames reminded me that there were a lot of not so great times. feeling lonely a lot. wishing I was different, smarter or cooler or whatever. worrying about school. i had pushed all those things away and it was interesting to face them, now that it's so far in the past and I'm in such a good place right now. so I suppose that's a happy ending.

and now. . .the funny one.

saturday afternoon mindy and I went to walk around campus. we started at the design building. oh, my old home away from home. it was surprisingly crowded for a saturday, and we walked into the main atrium and saw a political rally about to begin. and who was speaking this afternoon? ashton kutcher and demi moore. unbelievable. i was actually a little ticked because I just wanted to wander the building in peace, and it was interrupted by stupid ashton kutcher.


college of design.


stupid ashton, can you see him down there? i also feel like this picture is sorta creepy since nearly EVERYONE is talking a photo.


ames in the morning.

door county and milwaukee, august 2008

the subtitle for this entry would probably be "the bathrooms of wisconsin." i think the baby was sitting directly on my bladder all weekend long.

anyway! pictures!
on our sheep farm tour! I'm really excited, can't you tell?

mike and his sheepy friends

on a lookout tower, peninsula state park

eagle harbor sunset

whitefish dunes state park

milwaukee art museum



we had a great time, it was really relaxing. I always forget how much I love the country. we stayed on "the quiet side" of door county so I'm sure that made a difference. i think we experienced most of what door county had to offer, including: numerous wonderful hikes in state parks, a climb to the top of a lighthouse, a fish boil, yummy custard, browsing at touristy shops but not buying anything. . . and of course our wonderful bed and breakfast/sheep farm, whitefish bay farm, which I highly recommend. the breakfast was great and the sheep were soooo cute and friendly.

we also stopped in Milwaukee for a day this weekend too, and I always forget how much I love smaller cities. we visited the art museum, walked around downtown on the riverwalk quite a bit, mike drank a lot of brewpub beer, I loved shopping in the third ward and seeing the public market. happy times.

leisurely day off

some artworks for an online art journal class I'm taking.

I decided to take this class, not because I feel like I need instruction on how to make things, but just for more of a boost, new ideas, whatever. It's been a good experience but has underlined something I've known about myself for a while. . . I really hate to follow directions. I cook from recipes all the time, but use them as a loose guideline. I've never sewn from a pattern in my life. So, in making these pages I feel like I'm using the tutorials as more of a suggestion than a direction. and I am totally okay with that.

Today I have the day off work and I'm going into the city to get a haircut at my old favorite salon in Wicker Park. I'm feeling sorta nervous because I might take the plunge and get some blunt bangs or something completely new. I guess we'll see. I think the haircut urge comes from the fact that if I can't really control how my body looks in the next few months, I might as well have cute hair. Plus it's a nice excuse to go bum around in my old neighborhood. I do miss it sometimes.

Then tomorrow, Mike and I are off for a long weekend in Wisconsin-Door County and Milwaukee. It should be fun. We're staying at a bed and breakfast that is also a sheep farm so you know I'm deliriously excited.

all things considered.

Things i've been considering lately:

1. Getting a haircut with bangs.

2. Taking a life drawing class.

3. Cleaning out/tossing a TON of my paper stash. (just considering though. we'll see.)

4. How can I make the most of the rest of the summer? I need to regain that adolescent feeling of exciting summertime adventure.

I think we need to go on vacation somewhere new and exciting. Currently the top of the list is a bed and breakfast in Door County Wisconsin that is also a Sheep Farm and Art Gallery. I swear I didn't dream that up, it's totally for real.

5. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the premiere of this season of Project Runway tonight pretty much negates every bad thing that's happened to me in the past two days? Oh, Tim Gunn, his voice is like a soothing balm to my troubled soul.

just born this way

Lately I have been looking back through my years and seeing that so much of me really hasn't changed, even since I was a little kid. I mean, here I am at 27, still writing, drawing, dreaming, making little art projects. The same kinds of things I did when I was in elementary school. Looking through an old diary, I found an old list of goals I made when I was a senior in college. it's interesting to see which I've accomplished, which are still relevant. Really only one of the goals is no longer relevant, and the ones I haven't accomplished I'd still like to.

1. Get a radio show.
Yes! One of the best experiences of my college years.

2. Run a 10k.
Sadly no.

3. Design a typeface
Two actually! Here's a shamless plug: one of which you can purchase if you so chose. :)

4. Fall in love.
Of course! Yay for Mike.

5. Buy more purple t-shirts.
What a random one. . . I actually don't think I own any purple t-shirts.

6. Bake more.
I've been highly successful on this one. Just made some bacon muffins yesterday. Mmm. . . bacon muffins.

7. See Caedmon's Call, REM, The Rentals, and Sigur Ros in concert.
Funny. . . none of these. I did see countless other bands while living in chicago, so I think this is mostly a success.

8. Become more knowledgable about wine.
Yes. Here's some photographic evidence: visiting the Gloria Ferrer winery on our honeymoon, intently studying some kind of brochure.

9. Paint a triptych.
Hmm. . . haven't done this but maybe I'll revive this goal.

11. Host a fondue party.
Best party of my life. . . I should do this again sometime.

12. Write a hit play.
Ha ha, this one is a bit tongue in cheek. Who knows though, maybe someday.

13. Learn more about classic rock.
Check!

14. Get a cool job.
Yes again! Finally.

15. Start writing more faithfully in my journal.
Another one I should probably revive.

It's nice to see that I've actually made strides forward. Sometimes it's hard to see changes because I've evolved so slowly. I'm starting to compile a new list, too. I think this will be a "things to do before 30" and more of a big dreaming list. Coming soon. . .

good day sunshine

images of florida. gotta love that pinky sunset light. there are a couple more on my flickr. The last photo was taken at the mini-golf course we went to. There are literally dozens of photos of that giraffe. Can you spot him?

I always have a hard time writing vacation recaps, since once I'm home I can't seem to recapture that free vacation feeling.

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing how Mike and I have so much fun when we're together. We get along so well and laugh about all the dumbest stuff. Sometime if I'm feeling generous I'll tell you some of the pirate jokes we came up with on the trip. For example,

Q. Who is a pirate's favorite fashion designer?
A. Arrrrmani.

And so on.

The weather was great, the visits with grandparents were pleasant, and I really love all the Florida wildlife--lots of big weird birds. It's a Katie paradise. It was so nice to sit out on the little dock behind our hotel and drink coffee and watch the birds in the morning. After such a long, confining, crummy winter, it just made me feel like ME again, like taking a deep cleansing breath.

florida.

it was great. we played mini golf and watched baseball. we saw a lot of birds and ate a lot of fish. i was warm! I can't ask for anything more than that.

Now we're home and exhausted. I've had my pajamas on since about three this afternoon. . . unwinding with some tea and getting ready to watch last week's Lost on the DVR. Takin' 'er easy.

More pictures and stories soon.

headed south

Tomorrow we're on our way down to Florida. Resounding YAY all around. I will be back next week with photos. and a tan.

Just a few last thoughts. Tonight as I was intently scrubbing the sink, sweeping the kitchen, and generally tidying the entire house, I had a flashback to being about 12 and asking my mom, "why do you always clean the house before we go on vacation? it's not like anyone's going to see it." but now, I GET it. you want to come home to peace, and clean.

I love how being an adult solves most of those weird mysteries of childhood.

let's get out of this country

well, just the state really. but i have had that camera obscura song in my head now for a few days.

Next week Mike and I are headed down to Florida for a few days of beachy fun, spring training baseball, and me not complaining about the weather every three minutes. I tell you people, it's turning me into Captain Bringdown, big time. Negative twenty wind chill tonight! And, every time I go outside I get so mad I feel like punching the cold air in the face. And that's kind of difficult. So! This trip could not come at a better time.


Gotta represent for the family team. Dude, i cannot wait.

Boston '07

right up next to the green monster!

Last weekend we went to Boston for a short trip. It was a nice time, very baseball-centric. (Obviously.) We ate great seafood and walked around in the park. Saw some historical stuff and some cool art, ate gelato. Can't ask for more.

This wasn't my first time in Boston, I was there once, for one day, during the summer I worked at a camp in Connecticut. The strange thing is, it felt totally different this time, like my memories were of an entirely different city. I can't explain it but it kind of weirded me out the whole time.

Also. I've been rereading Infinite Jest this summer. I get really into the books I read and this one is, of course, no exception. So the whole time we were in the Boston MAMA I kept expecting to see like Don Gately on the T, or some ETA kids running around. We did see a lot of questionable people on the streets so I guess that satisfied me to some extent.

And on that note. . . I finished IJ this weekend and almost cried. It felt like losing a job or a best friend, I've been spending so much time with it in the past two months now I don't know what to do with myself. I guess it's time to start reading another 1000 page, unbelievably engrossing novel. Any suggestions?

been away.

checking back in, it's been months hasn't it?

more photos + commentary to come, but the past month and a half has been filled by:

- spending the last near two weeks at the national conference for my work. i wore a giant foam star costume every day and it was totally awesome. but it made me feel so removed from everything--my house, husband, dog, email, real food, real life. . . . it was so groundhog day ish. it was fun but i'm also sooper glad it's over with, back to real life now.

-a lovely wedding on lake superior in northern wisconsin. magical friendships that haven't changed in years. raspberries picked and immediately eaten. many beers. fun. and more fun.

-a short trip to northwest iowa and southeast south dakota. back to the tiny tiny town i spent my young youth in, which seems so much smaller now after the years. and my grandpas farm. it felt so natural.

- also. the garden growing. eating food i grew from a seed will never cease to amaze me. spent an hour or so weeding this afternoon, working up a sweat. it's really satisfying.

-other stuff. good books: about grace and four seasons in rome by anthony doerr. the girls by lori lansens, seven sisters by margaret drabble. i've been reading a lot actually. and music: feist, spoon, ryan adams. these words and music have been the steady undercurrent of all the craziness lately. so that's good.

i think that's it. i honestly feel like i've lost myself over the past few weeks, working hard at work and then being so removed at conference. i'm getting back into my life and trying to get every backward thing righted again.

Rome O Morte

people keep asking me what was my favorite part of the trip to Rome. what a loaded question. my favorite thing? just BEing there. walking around. the street signs and cobblestones and graffiti, just the physical geography of the place itself, tiny streets and the hills with their poetic singing names, janiculum, esquiline, capitoline.



despite the fact that I have not been there in more than five years, i barely needed to consult a map. i remember those streets, feel like I remember them somewhere deep inside me, as if my arteries had rearranged themselves into a map of the tiber, via del corso, the lungotevere. . .



anyway, it was a good trip. our apartment was perfectly located in the dead center of anywhere we wanted to go. i discovered the most perfect gelato combination (caffe and bacio, coffee and hazelnut/chocolate). bought pretty paper at the lovely Fabriano store. visited the caravaggios at San Luigi dei Francesi and Santa Maria del Popolo.



we rented bikes at villa borghese and raced around with my mom and little brother. we ate some of the best sandwiches, seriously, the sandwiches: breathtaking! stood in line for hours at the vatican museums talking to a pleasant retired couple from canada. i bought red shoes, and the ruffliest blouse you've ever seen, and a watercolor from a street vendor in piazza navona.



my italian improved daily. we learned to navigate the idiosyncratic roman ways of life, the giving of correct change, the proper way to cross a street. i was disappointed at how crowded it was, but the people-watching was phenomenal. i had the chance to spend some good time by myself, drawing at my favorite fountain, shopping, taking pictures in the early evening post-nap.



the last day I woke up early to photograph the ponte sant'angelo, and it was just me and a streetsweeper and the misty sunrise tiber. so maybe that's my favorite part of the trip. just me and the city.



I honestly feel as if I'm wading and dreaming through all of this. it was so charged with emotion before during and after that the actual experience feels cloudy. returning home was a rude awakening and I was surprised at how hard I cried. and it hasn't helped that I've been working 12 hour days this week, and we woke up to two inches of wet snow this mid-april morning. just feels like everything is floating around me. I'll get over it, I know, and part of me appreciates the feeling. but it's hard to reconcile the two worlds.



it was great though. having been back gives me a peace I haven't felt in a while.

florida, and cows of the sea

we're old skool and use a real camera. so these are finally, finally my pictures from florida. we jetted around on a boat. and we saw some manatees. and many other things. basically, it was the best ever.

i'm a midwestern girl at heart, always will be, but I'll be damned if I don't end up a snowbird in my later days. one of those old ladies that spends half the year down south. while I don't completely adore florida that year round sunshine is hard to beat.

new everything

it's january already! i should probably do a 2006 wrap-up but don't have the energy for it right now. here's the last few weeks though.

Florida. Well, I didn't accomplish any of my three goals for my Florida trip, but it was everything I needed it to be. Perfect Katie vacation. you know: nature walks, thrift shopping, white wine with lunch, art, and of course, manatees.

I got to see a bunch of manatees. it was everything i had hoped it would be, and more. the pictures of me with a giant manatee-viewing smile on my face are being processed, I'm sure I'll post some eventually.

Who knew there is an awesome art museum in sarasota, florida? John Ringling, of circus fame, lived there and his estate and personal collection of amazing art was turned into a museum. there is also a circus museum which was fascinating so now I'm sort of into the "circus aesthetic."

Holidays. christmas was good, family time, playing with my nieces. it kind of feels like a million years ago now. new years was low-key, I ended up staying home, baked a pie, watched a girl movie, fell asleep at 11:30. lame but relaxing. I have been embracing the low-key loner-ish side of myself lately. mostly because. . .

Job. I got a new job, which starts in a week and a half. It's an awesome new gig and I'm super stoked. but putting my two weeks in at my current job was pretty terrible and the resulting stress makes me not want to do anything but watch the America's Next Top Model marathon on VH1. God bless you VH1.

clothes I won't be wearing in Florida

burberry prorsum, chloe, fendi, & louis vuitton resort. images from vogue.com

I have to admit I've never understood the purpose of the resort collections. until I was invited to go to Florida in December. if I had tons o' cash to spend, I'd totally want to buy new warm weather clothes right now. but i'm pretty sure that burberry trench costs more than a mortgage payment. . . so I think I'll be okay without it.

So yeah, Florida next week. Usually I'm the kind of person who checks out a hundred travel books from the library before going on vacation, this time it's different. I have almost no expectations for this trip, which I think is good for a winter holiday. I only have three things on my list of must-dos:
1. read a lot.
2. not think about work a single time.
and
3. pet a manatee!

I really really really hope I get to pet a manatee. my heart will probably burst from the pure joy.