come to the design hive on sunday

If you're in the Cambridge area this Sunday be sure to stop by the Design Hive Market to explore one-of-a-kind creations from local emerging designers and artists. It's from 10 am to 5 pm at the Maria Baldwin School at 28 Sacramento Street (at corner of Oxford Street off Mass Avenue) between Harvard and Porter Squares.

I'll be there with my handmade greeting cards along with a few of my crafty friends (click on the photo above for details). Believe it or not, there will only be 82 days until Christmas by this Sunday - what a great way to get a head start on your holiday shopping and gift giving needs! Hope to see you there!

the killers in boston

I don't know if I should be embarassed by saying that I have seen the Killers live three times now. I mean, do people these days really follow musicians like that anymore? You know I am totally listening to them as I type this, right??!

I have to say, they are definitely in my top three in terms of all-time favorite bands. Right now I'd say it's the Cardigans, the Shins, and the Killers but not in any particular order. Basically, I think I would go out of my way to see any of them if they came to town and we have in the past. We drove up to Hampton Beach (New Hampshire) to see the Cardigans once and that was fricken awesome. We drove out to Lowell, Mass. to see the Killers once too. Anyway, I digress.

I was so happy to find out that Stephanie is a huge Killers fan like me (and Satoko who didn't make it with us this time around) and that she wanted to go see them. When we met up for dinner before the show (read all about that here), we both commented on how it seemed like forever ago that I bought us the tickets, which I think was sometime back in January or February.

Anyway, it was an AWESOME show! It was Stephanie's first time seeing them live, and we had some pretty darn good seats. Here's a show of the stage from where we were to give you an idea:

Stephanie's iphone thingie takes really great shots too. Here's one from her phone:

I snagged this off Twitter after someone in their crew posted it online. It's a view of the Boston crowd a couple of seconds before they came on stage. Pretty cool angle.

They played so many of their hits but surprisingly they didn't do "Sam's Town" this time. I guess because the first show that we saw them at was right after that album was released, so the focus was on those songs. I don't think we sat down once during the whole concert, which was awesome because they just kept rolling out hit after hit.


Both Stephanie and I like "Bones" the best. In fact, it's my cell phone ring tone now that I think about it! When Tony and I were in Las Vegas last year, we stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe casino and they had skeletons that they used in the video on display. Sweet.

They ended the night with "All These Things That I've Done" (<-- that's a funny video ... cowboy boots!) and I managed to capture a little bit in a video. Enjoy! And the next time the Killers come to town, you can probably bet that I'll be there somewhere. :)



"I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier ... "

i spy ...

I was going through someone's blog tonight when I suddenly came across something that looked really familiar to me within a photo (click to enlarge).

Circled in blue (that was my doing) is one of my greeting cards!! It's a long story but basically it's in Singapore being sold at a little boutique shop called the Blogshop (how appropo, no?) through a company called Infinite.

It's pretty neat to think how something like the internet can connect two completely different worlds like that. I mean, that card is somewhere about 9,500 miles away from me right now. Kind of crazy to think of it that way.

brush with fame: uma thurman

We went to see Uma Thurman's new movie, Motherhood, last night at the Kendall Square Theatre. For some reason, I thought the film started at 7:30 pm so we got there close to 7:25 only to learn that it began at 7:00! Oopsies! We ended up sitting all the way up front in the second row because the place was packed, so as you can imagine, my neck hurt by the end from having to look all the way up at the screen.

But it turned out that Uma Thurman did a Q&A session afterwards with the director and we were literally like ten feet away from them. Seriously! So being late meant we had nearly the best seats in the house in the end. Alas, I still haven't gotten that new digital camera so I had to try and take photos using different settings (the flash won't come on in auto mode - arggghhh!) and didn't manage to get very good shots.

Isn't she gorgeous??! I mean, I always knew she was attractive from watching her movies but wow, she is one beautiful woman! So leggy! I really liked the shoes she was wearing.


The movie itself was okay, definitely nothing like Kill Bill or Gattaca but I think she did a great job acting in it. It also stars Anthony Edwards and Minnie Driver, and will hit theatres on October 23rd.

Anyway, kind of crazy to think that we were sitting so close to her last night. I'm still a little bit star struck a whole day later (hee hee). Afterwards, we had dinner at The Blue Room in Kendall Square which you read all about here. It turned out to be quite a fun date night. :)

funny, nice + awesome

I wasn't sure how to name this post so I used the three adjectives that came to mind when I thought of the three photos I wanted to share.

Funny:

Someone put their sunglasses on my cluster of veggies on the counter this morning. And then someone said, "Anything is funny when you put sunglasses on them." Someone. (Actually, the photo reminds me of this book.)

Nice:

I found this bag of fresh basil from my coworkers' garden on my desk this morning after we had a conversation yesterday about how abundantly it grows for them. I told her that I think they have magical soil because they grow exquisite peonies, and one of our coworkers mentioned their basil plant. Wow, this was such a nice surprise to find this morning and it really made my day. I can't wait to make a delicious pesto with it.

Awesome:

You know you're a geek when you make your coworker pose for a headless shot of her sweater with big, funky and cool buttons. I couldn't get over how cute Laura's sweater is! She got it at Anthropologie and said that it was made by a designer in Denmark. It's made out of felt and I just love the shape of the sleeves. So of course, I made her pose for this picture.

So that was my Thursday in three words.

catching up

Whew. I'm in that stage after I do any type of event where I feel like I have a million other (read: non-craft related) things to catch up on. For instance, posting things on my blogs, chores around the house (sorry, Tony!), and simple things like getting in touch with friends and family (sorry, Linda!). So here's a quick synopsis of the past weekend at the Boston Arts Festival, and then it's off to get some zzzzz's so that I can stop feeling so tired during the daytime.

I have to say that my overall experience during this event was awesome. The crew that organized every detail and helped out the entire weekend were amazingly great. For the registration fee, I received a huge industrial quality (water proof!) tent to use, a 6-foot-long table, two chairs, and they even made each of us a vinyl sign displaying our business names. They provided a really nice bagged lunch each day which consisted of a sandwich, cookie or brownie, apple, and chips as well as gave us bottled water throughout the weekend. The people that worked the event were also available to stand in your place if you needed to take a break during the day. They provided huge containers on wheels where we could pull up on Atlantic Avenue, unload our gear, and they would wheel it to our booth for us. Outstanding help, really ... I couldn't get over how cheerful and polite everyone was despite the icky weather on Friday.

Two people that I found to be extraordinarily helpful were a lady named Marquis and a man named EJ. It was quite windy all day Friday and my sign had blown down twice. Each time, they came by with a tall ladder and fixed it without me even having to ask them for help. I was so touched by their gestures of kindness and willingness to help throughout the day on Friday that I baked some chocolate chip cookies and gave them to them on Sunday in appreciation. I got two very big hugs and smiles which totally made my weekend. :)

Okay so enough of my sappy story telling! Here are some photos from the weekend (click on any of them to enlarge):

This was my booth all set up and ready to go on Friday despite the rain and crazy wind.

This was the sign that they made for my booth. Isn't it nice? I mean, yes, it's plain but having everyone's with the same format really made the entire show look orderly. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me take it afterwards but it sure was nice having something to use during the show.

A view of the Financial District from where we were with a shot of the Custom House Tower on the left. Tony used to work in the glass building on the left, and we both used to work in one of the buildings on the right (that's where we met!).


To my right was Claudia Kaufman and her beautiful still-life paintings and prints. My favorite piece of her work was this painting of a loaf of challah bread in a plastic bag. Doesn't it look like it's a photograph?!

And to my left was Connie Barbour of Migrant Wind Prints with beautiful silkscreened prints. I met Amy Hitchcock who was across from me with her gorgeous pieces of assemblage and collages created out of found items. Brian from Boston Coasters was there with his neat stuff, and not too far down from the Dyslexic Press who had this t-shirt that I was so tempted to buy for someone. My crafty friends Amy Casher, Bren Bataclan, and Beth Gaertner were also participating in this year's event so it was nice to spend the weekend amongst familiar faces.

I tell you, I feel so lucky that we live in a community where art is really thriving these days. I mean, being surrounded by so many talented artists that weekend was quite inspiring and uplifting in many ways. And then to see people out and about enjoying art through various mediums just makes it all come together.

Speaking of familiar faces, I had a few friends stop by to say hello. Of course, I only remembered to take a couple of photos.

Here I am with our friends Mike, Chris, and Lynn. We all used to work together (which is how we met) and it's funny to think that I've known them for almost ten years now. My goodness how time has flown by!

Our friends Norma and Johnny came by during their lunch break on Friday with a little treat: a raspberry cheesecake from Lyndell's Bakery! The downer was that I couldn't eat it because of the raspberries but believe me, Tony was delighted to eat it for me. (Thanks you two!)

And then on Sunday, my boyfriend favorite visitor during the weekend (no offense anyone but come on, after you saw this photo you'd have to agree with me!) stopped by for a visit: Henry! Oh and of course, I was very happy to see his mommy, Lorena, too. LOL Gosh, I could just eat that little cutie up. I hope he helped bring in some sales with his adorable smile. Hee hee ... such a happy baby!

So of course, the people I didn't photograph and would like to thank for stopping by to visit ... Kate and little miss Sophie, Allen, Amy C., Kathy O'B., Tara G., Chris D., and Janice. Thank you all for stopping by to say hello!

Oh and the entertainment throughout the festival was great! Here's a shot of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus singing their hearts out to tunes from the '80s despite the crappy weather. It was awesome how the crowd simply whipped out their umbrellas and got closer to the stage when they started to sing.

In contrast, this is what the main stage area looked like on Sunday when the sun was out.

Speaking of rain, they decided to cancel the event on Saturday because it was supposed to pour all day. And the weather people were correct this time. It was a mixed feeling for me when I found out that morning because I had already stayed up until 3 am the night before making new cards based on requests on Friday, and I was pumped up for the day's events. But in hindsight, I know we (artists) would've been miserable there in the cold, wet weather. Friday was quite gross but once the winds died down it seemed like more people came out.

The plus side to Saturday's cancellation was this nice surprise from Stephanie:

She had planned to see me at the festival on Saturday so she went by one of our favorite bakeries, Flour, and bought me my favorite pastry: brioche au sucre! So having that with fresh French pressed coffee made by my wonderful husband (and being in my pj's all day in a warm apartment) made me feel better about the cancellation, plus I managed to get more things together for Sunday.

So what's next? Besides sleep and a little bit of catching up? More posts to come! Seriously folks! I have yet to tell you about The Killers concert, seeing Heart and Journey up in Manchester, and tons of food-related posts on the other blog. Not to mention gearing up for the next show (the Design Hive Market) on Sunday, October 4th. Busy busy busy, that's for sure.

But until then, goodnight everyone! This girl needs some serious zzzzz's!

Saturday events have been CANCELED

Due to the rain. Poopy cocky. Too bad I stayed up till 3 am making more cards then! Oh well. They say the weather should be nice and sunny tomorrow (Sunday), so I hope to see you then!

Here's tomorrow's performing arts schedule:

12:30 - 1 PM
Garden Stage
CITY STAGE
Throwing open the doors to arts participation, the much loved City Stage provide fun for all the family.
1 - 1:45 PM

Waterfront Stage
BALLETROX
The cutting edge dance company who re-imagined the Nutcracker into the refreshingly crisp “Urban Nutcracker.”
1:45 - 2:15 PM

Garden Stage
IN LIKE LIONS
Local up and coming rock band well known on the local scene.
2:15 - 3:00 PM

Waterfront Stage
BOSTON BALLET
Boston’s beloved ballet company has consistently wowed audiences in festivals past.
3:00 - 3:30 PM

Garden Stage
GRACE KELLY
One of the country’s top saxophonists is already a star and still in her teens.
3:30 - 4:15 PM

Waterfront Stage
A FAR CRY
Lively and vibrant classical music delivered with an energy not seen in typical classical music set-ups.
4:15 - 4:45 PM

Garden Stage
CARS ON MARS
Up and coming local rock group.
4:45 - 6 PM

Waterfront Stage
A NIGHT AT THE ROCK OPERA
Introducing a wall of sound from the history of rock n’ roll, this group received rave reviews in its Boston run early in 2009.

boston ahts festival - this weekend!

If you're in the Boston area and looking for something to do this weekend, stop by the Boston Ahts Festival! I'll be there at table #26 selling my handmade greeting cards on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (September 11-13) from 12 to 6 pm each day. It's taking place at Christopher Columbus Park on the waterfront, near the North End. There will be over 60 different artists participating this year, plus live performances and tons of activities for the whole family. Stop by to say hello! :)

boston magazine

I donated some of my greeting cards as a prize at the Lantern Financial "Rock Your Financial Life" event last week (in the Hard Rock Cafe's special events room which was quite impressive I must say), and a photo of the prize appeared on Boston Magazine's website. Check it out:

And then come to find out the person that won them was kind enough to talk about the cards on her blog. Awesome.

Speaking of cards [insert shameless plug here], I need to get busy making them this weekend in time for the Boston Arts Festival. If you're in the Boston area next weekend, stop by and say hello! I'll be at table #26 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12 to 6 pm each day. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this nice weather holds out!

Hope you all have a great long weekend! TGIF! :)