Oh yeah.
Off I go!
I'll be back soon!
July 18, 2010
July 13, 2010
Vintage Dresses for under $50
EDIT: I just realized that you can't see the spiffy widget with all of the cute summery dresses in Google reader. You'll have to visit this post directly to see all the prettiness!
Inspired by Pink of Perfection I did a little vintage dress round-up. Most are sized medium through extra-large. All except one of these dresses is vintage and under $50.
If you decide to buy something, tell the seller that Geek+Nerd sent you!
P.S. I treated myself to the navy blue number in the first column, third row down.
P.P.S. Thank you all for the kind words about my singing yesterday! You guys make me blush!
Inspired by Pink of Perfection I did a little vintage dress round-up. Most are sized medium through extra-large. All except one of these dresses is vintage and under $50.
If you decide to buy something, tell the seller that Geek+Nerd sent you!
P.S. I treated myself to the navy blue number in the first column, third row down.
P.P.S. Thank you all for the kind words about my singing yesterday! You guys make me blush!
July 12, 2010
Eeeek - and this is where I sing on my blog.
In all of my many years of blogging here on Geek+Nerd, I have pretty much steered clear from chatting about a major part of myself; SINGING.
You see, in a former life, I was basically Rachel Berry from Glee, minus the football players swooning over me and the two gay dads. To sum it up in a sentence, I was the biggest choral nerd alive. But it took awhile to get to that point...
My freshman year of high school, I enrolled in general chorus, which anyone could take. At the end of freshman year, I was eligible to audition for Select Choir - the elite of the elite. Five kids to a voice part - soprano, alto, tenor bass. I remember practicing in the girls' bathroom (excellent acoustics), and meeting another girl who was auditioning as well. She had a beautiful, soprano voice, like an angel. We practiced together, and shared nervous giggles. Her name was Caitlin, and she would become one of my dearest friends.
THE AUDITION: Here's the thing. I knew that I could sing. I could sing every word to Les Misérables back and forth from the time that I was eight. I loved performing. Now lets REWIND - And then middle school happened, and a bunch of mean girls really put me and my voice down, which developed into me being terrified of singing in front of people. FAST FORWARD to the audition. I bombed. Caitlin got in...and I spent the entirety of the next year alternating living vicariously through her and being intensely jealous of her. I could not bomb again.
Second year of general chorus, I knew that I had to try out for solos. The people that excelled in solos were usually the people that got into Select. It was 1997 and we were singing Seasons of Love from RENT. I auditioned, and bombed again. Luckily, my music teacher, took a leap of faith that day.
She pulled me aside after class and said: "Sarah, I know that you can sing. I can hear you in your vocal section during class. If I put you in front of a microphone, can you really sing it, in front of people?" I took a deep breath and said "Yes!" and the solo was mine.
And that was it. That was the little push that I needed. Not only did I make Select the next year, but I became one of the first members of the newly formed Jazz Choir, which was even more elite than select. Two people to a voice part, only eight students total in the choir. I auditioned for Jazz All-State, and ranked 15th in the state, singing a featured solo in the festival's concert. My senior year I would rank 7th and sing solo again. That same year I would also win the Clark Terry solo vocal competition, and open the festival's concert backed up by a jazz trio. When I graduated, I received a departmental honor for Music, (departmental honors were a REALLY BIG DEAL at my school).
When I went to college, initially I went for music, not dance. But, I really missed dance...and I got a little disillusioned at my first university. I moved back home and went to UNH and got a degree in musical theatre. It was a perfect fit. I dreamed of flitting off to NYC and being on Broadway. And then I met Matt, and life changed pretty quick.
Do I regret not going to the big city? No. Do I miss music in my life? Yes. Intensely. I wish that I could find some way to fit singing in a jazz combo, or being in a regional musical in, but the demands of my family, my job, my dance company leave me just enough time in the day to catch some much needed zzzzzzzz's.
Wow -this post ended up being epic.
Well, long story short, I am going to sing for you today. I'm not really "performing" here, per say, and I'm more than a little rusty. This tune would not leave my head today, and I just felt compelled to share. I hope that you like. (Don't be too harsh - AHH, feeling super vulnerable about sharing this here!)
Johanna from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
You see, in a former life, I was basically Rachel Berry from Glee, minus the football players swooning over me and the two gay dads. To sum it up in a sentence, I was the biggest choral nerd alive. But it took awhile to get to that point...
My freshman year of high school, I enrolled in general chorus, which anyone could take. At the end of freshman year, I was eligible to audition for Select Choir - the elite of the elite. Five kids to a voice part - soprano, alto, tenor bass. I remember practicing in the girls' bathroom (excellent acoustics), and meeting another girl who was auditioning as well. She had a beautiful, soprano voice, like an angel. We practiced together, and shared nervous giggles. Her name was Caitlin, and she would become one of my dearest friends.
THE AUDITION: Here's the thing. I knew that I could sing. I could sing every word to Les Misérables back and forth from the time that I was eight. I loved performing. Now lets REWIND - And then middle school happened, and a bunch of mean girls really put me and my voice down, which developed into me being terrified of singing in front of people. FAST FORWARD to the audition. I bombed. Caitlin got in...and I spent the entirety of the next year alternating living vicariously through her and being intensely jealous of her. I could not bomb again.
Second year of general chorus, I knew that I had to try out for solos. The people that excelled in solos were usually the people that got into Select. It was 1997 and we were singing Seasons of Love from RENT. I auditioned, and bombed again. Luckily, my music teacher, took a leap of faith that day.
She pulled me aside after class and said: "Sarah, I know that you can sing. I can hear you in your vocal section during class. If I put you in front of a microphone, can you really sing it, in front of people?" I took a deep breath and said "Yes!" and the solo was mine.
And that was it. That was the little push that I needed. Not only did I make Select the next year, but I became one of the first members of the newly formed Jazz Choir, which was even more elite than select. Two people to a voice part, only eight students total in the choir. I auditioned for Jazz All-State, and ranked 15th in the state, singing a featured solo in the festival's concert. My senior year I would rank 7th and sing solo again. That same year I would also win the Clark Terry solo vocal competition, and open the festival's concert backed up by a jazz trio. When I graduated, I received a departmental honor for Music, (departmental honors were a REALLY BIG DEAL at my school).
When I went to college, initially I went for music, not dance. But, I really missed dance...and I got a little disillusioned at my first university. I moved back home and went to UNH and got a degree in musical theatre. It was a perfect fit. I dreamed of flitting off to NYC and being on Broadway. And then I met Matt, and life changed pretty quick.
Do I regret not going to the big city? No. Do I miss music in my life? Yes. Intensely. I wish that I could find some way to fit singing in a jazz combo, or being in a regional musical in, but the demands of my family, my job, my dance company leave me just enough time in the day to catch some much needed zzzzzzzz's.
Wow -this post ended up being epic.
Well, long story short, I am going to sing for you today. I'm not really "performing" here, per say, and I'm more than a little rusty. This tune would not leave my head today, and I just felt compelled to share. I hope that you like. (Don't be too harsh - AHH, feeling super vulnerable about sharing this here!)
Johanna from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
Johanna from Sarah Cost on Vimeo.
July 09, 2010
Five Senses Friday
Inspired by the delightful and talented Abby
:: tasting ::
glass after glass of lemonade, limeade, citrus-ade (lemon, lime and orange)...I've been juicing like a madwoman!
:: hearing ::
a fun mix by Sarah over at Pink of Perfection.
:: seeing ::
the inside of my apartment more than I'd like, hiding from this heat wave!
:: smelling ::
my husband's hair pomade, when I kiss his forehead.
:: touching ::
Cassie's soft, orange fur. She's been a real cuddle bug this week!
:: tasting ::
glass after glass of lemonade, limeade, citrus-ade (lemon, lime and orange)...I've been juicing like a madwoman!
:: hearing ::
a fun mix by Sarah over at Pink of Perfection.
:: seeing ::
the inside of my apartment more than I'd like, hiding from this heat wave!
:: smelling ::
my husband's hair pomade, when I kiss his forehead.
:: touching ::
Cassie's soft, orange fur. She's been a real cuddle bug this week!
July 08, 2010
A Fabulous Fourth :: Part Four
I was very lucky to have an extended holiday weekend in honor of the Fourth, so Matt and I set out on a little adventure on Monday.
Our first departure, around 11:00am, ended in me spilling an entire cup of scalding hot Dunkin' Donuts coffee all over myself when the hubby took a hard turn around the traffic circle. Lovely.
Go home. Change pants. Change underwear (yes, there was coffee IN MY UNDERWEAR). Set out again.
Once that was over, off we went for the second time, to Quincy Quarries, a mere twenty minutes from our house, and a rock climber's paradise!
The quarries are a bit of a paradox. Standing among the rocks, you feel the isolation of nature, the birds, the rustle of the trees, but climb high enough and you can see four lanes of Route 95 stretched out below you! The most out of place thing of all is the graffiti...
We climbed very briefly - but it was fun nonetheless. Since we got a later start than we had hoped, the sun was in full force by the time we were out in the quarry. The temperatures were pushing 100 degrees F that day, and the rock became so hot, that Mr. G+N and I couldn't stand to touch it anymore!
No matter though! We found a beautiful spot, that I am sure we will return to soon!
This concludes my Fabulous Fourth posts. Until next year that is...thanks for reading along!
Our first departure, around 11:00am, ended in me spilling an entire cup of scalding hot Dunkin' Donuts coffee all over myself when the hubby took a hard turn around the traffic circle. Lovely.
Go home. Change pants. Change underwear (yes, there was coffee IN MY UNDERWEAR). Set out again.
Once that was over, off we went for the second time, to Quincy Quarries, a mere twenty minutes from our house, and a rock climber's paradise!
The quarries are a bit of a paradox. Standing among the rocks, you feel the isolation of nature, the birds, the rustle of the trees, but climb high enough and you can see four lanes of Route 95 stretched out below you! The most out of place thing of all is the graffiti...
We climbed very briefly - but it was fun nonetheless. Since we got a later start than we had hoped, the sun was in full force by the time we were out in the quarry. The temperatures were pushing 100 degrees F that day, and the rock became so hot, that Mr. G+N and I couldn't stand to touch it anymore!
No matter though! We found a beautiful spot, that I am sure we will return to soon!
This concludes my Fabulous Fourth posts. Until next year that is...thanks for reading along!
July 07, 2010
A Fabulous Fourth :: Part Three
Although it is one of my life long dreams to attend the big fireworks show down at the Esplanade, with the 1812 overture blaring as rockets explode overhead, this year we decided to forgo the crowds and seek out a quieter setting.
We drove to Marblehead and staked out a spot on Riverhead Beach.
The harbor was all alight for the occasion...
and the fireworks were magical!
I couldn't stop taking photos of them!
When I was a kid, I used to attend Camp Bernadette in the summertime. On the Fourth, we would go over to the boys camp, Camp Fatima, and have a big dance, cookout and watch the fireworks erupt over the lake. It was seriously major if you got to sit on the same picnic blanket with a Fatima boy to watch the fireworks. If you were lucky enough to hold hands (GASP!) with a Fatima boy on that picnic blanket, well, pshhh, you could've been crowned Miss America!
I was never that cool girl at Camp Bernadette, but now, sitting on Riverhead Beach watching the fireworks with my hub? I felt my "coolness" quotient increase by the tiniest margin. Magic.
We drove to Marblehead and staked out a spot on Riverhead Beach.
The harbor was all alight for the occasion...
and the fireworks were magical!
I couldn't stop taking photos of them!
When I was a kid, I used to attend Camp Bernadette in the summertime. On the Fourth, we would go over to the boys camp, Camp Fatima, and have a big dance, cookout and watch the fireworks erupt over the lake. It was seriously major if you got to sit on the same picnic blanket with a Fatima boy to watch the fireworks. If you were lucky enough to hold hands (GASP!) with a Fatima boy on that picnic blanket, well, pshhh, you could've been crowned Miss America!
I was never that cool girl at Camp Bernadette, but now, sitting on Riverhead Beach watching the fireworks with my hub? I felt my "coolness" quotient increase by the tiniest margin. Magic.
July 06, 2010
A Fabulous Fourth :: Part Two
The following picture sums up everything about my sister's annual Fourth of July blast, aka Fourth-a-palooza...
Oops! Aaaand I'm a little drinky drunk! How did that happen?
Insert food...
beer...
if you are nuts like my husband, do a shot of Jäger off of the ice luge...(now that's crafty, my friends)
and repeat, until total fatigue takes over.
Awesome party, Ren! Thanks for another great year!
Oops! Aaaand I'm a little drinky drunk! How did that happen?
Insert food...
beer...
if you are nuts like my husband, do a shot of Jäger off of the ice luge...(now that's crafty, my friends)
and repeat, until total fatigue takes over.
Awesome party, Ren! Thanks for another great year!
July 05, 2010
A Fabulous Fourth :: Part One
My holiday weekend was filled with so much fun that I am going to spread out the goodness over a couple of posts. Hope all of you had a wonderful Independence Day!
Mid-Saturday morning, Matt and I hopped in the car and made the trek to my parents' home in New Hampshire. My mum and I went out into the fields, this time at Berry Best Farm in Lebanon, Maine, for round two of berry-mania.
There were beautiful blues...
and raspberries begging to be picked!
Here is our haul!
I took home one container of blueberries and three of raspberries to eat some fresh and freeze the rest. Mom kept the rest of the lot to make jam and to save a container for my sis!
I really want to make some muffins out of these little tasties. Do you have a favorite muffin recipe?
Mid-Saturday morning, Matt and I hopped in the car and made the trek to my parents' home in New Hampshire. My mum and I went out into the fields, this time at Berry Best Farm in Lebanon, Maine, for round two of berry-mania.
There were beautiful blues...
and raspberries begging to be picked!
Here is our haul!
I took home one container of blueberries and three of raspberries to eat some fresh and freeze the rest. Mom kept the rest of the lot to make jam and to save a container for my sis!
I really want to make some muffins out of these little tasties. Do you have a favorite muffin recipe?
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