A major life shift has rocked my world in the past 72 hours...and for now, I have to say goodbye to this space. This blog has never been a place for me to vent or air out personal laundry, and I do not want that to change now. I will only return when I am a better space mentally and emotionally.
Thanks for all of your support through the years. Bye.
January 12, 2011
January 08, 2011
I don't know s#%t about wine: Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling
The wine: Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling 2009
Year: 2009
Price: $9.99
Region: Columbia Valley, Washington, U.S.A.
Observations: Not too sweet, not too dry, just fruity light and delicious!
Star Rating: 5 out of 5
Purchase again? YES! I would stock up on this one. DE-licious.
January 07, 2011
Introducing a New Blog Series: Dance-spiration Friday
The past few months, I have been thinking about my goals for Geek+Nerd. I have thought quite a bit about what parts of my life I would like this blog to represent, and how I can share more with you, my dear friends and readers.
This year, I am resolving to go back to dance. Not for the first time mind you, but this time I think it will stick. I managed to convince a group of friends to go to class with me as motivation. I took my first ballet class in eons this evening, and while my body feels terrible, my spirit feels accomplished.
To begin, I am aiming to take one dance class a week, on Fridays...so I thought, why not make Fridays a dance day for the bloggity-blog as well? Some weeks, Dance-spiration Friday will tune you into my personal experiences with dance, and other weeks I will share inspiring dance videos and images that I have curated especially for you.
Hope that you enjoy Dance-spiration Friday!
In honor of my renewed resolution to dance, please follow the link to view I Just Want to F@#king Dance. WARNING: This video contains inappropriate language.
January 04, 2011
2010: A year in review
January
I danced a magical snowy night away at the Lucky Dog Music Hall.
February
I spent another Valentine's day with my darling hub.
March
Neo performed and I had an indoor picnic with the ladies between shows and rehearsals.
April
I attended Lisa Congdon's Fragmentary Blue opening at Artstream Studios and visited WEBS, the super-famous yarn store, with my New Hampshire Stitch n' Bitchers.
May
I discovered the most amazing drink at Petit Robert, with my mom.
June
I picked 8,000 strawberries with my mom, watched my dance company perform in both Boston and New York City, and attended an amazing Memorial Day party.
July
We went to Fourth-a-palooza, saw gorgeous fireworks in Marblehead, went climbing in Quincy Quarry for the first time, I sang on my blog, then headed off to Silver Bay.
August
I reminisced about Silver Bay.
September
I went to Maudslay State Park, made a *serious* face...and knit.
October
I had a trampoline photo shoot with my dancers, Matt's best friend Biggie got married, I had a fabulous girls day with my mom and sis in Boston, Matt toured to Canada with the Dreadnoughts and I dressed up as Frida Kahlo for Halloween.
November
I hosted Beautiful Brunch Week on my blog, made pies and put up our Christmas tree.
December
I threw my annual Christmas Card Writing party, Dad had a successful knee replacement and turned 70, and I loved every minute of the holidays!
My life was so full in 2010, and I am so grateful! Here's to a beautiful 2011!
P.S. What were your best moments in 2010?
I danced a magical snowy night away at the Lucky Dog Music Hall.
February
I spent another Valentine's day with my darling hub.
March
Neo performed and I had an indoor picnic with the ladies between shows and rehearsals.
April
I attended Lisa Congdon's Fragmentary Blue opening at Artstream Studios and visited WEBS, the super-famous yarn store, with my New Hampshire Stitch n' Bitchers.
May
I discovered the most amazing drink at Petit Robert, with my mom.
June
I picked 8,000 strawberries with my mom, watched my dance company perform in both Boston and New York City, and attended an amazing Memorial Day party.
July
We went to Fourth-a-palooza, saw gorgeous fireworks in Marblehead, went climbing in Quincy Quarry for the first time, I sang on my blog, then headed off to Silver Bay.
August
I reminisced about Silver Bay.
September
I went to Maudslay State Park, made a *serious* face...and knit.
October
I had a trampoline photo shoot with my dancers, Matt's best friend Biggie got married, I had a fabulous girls day with my mom and sis in Boston, Matt toured to Canada with the Dreadnoughts and I dressed up as Frida Kahlo for Halloween.
November
I hosted Beautiful Brunch Week on my blog, made pies and put up our Christmas tree.
December
I threw my annual Christmas Card Writing party, Dad had a successful knee replacement and turned 70, and I loved every minute of the holidays!
My life was so full in 2010, and I am so grateful! Here's to a beautiful 2011!
P.S. What were your best moments in 2010?
HHC January Theme-Gingerbread Snowflakes Interviews Geek+Nerd
Geek+Nerd's January Theme for Holiday Handmade Crusade is "All the Small Things": I think when starting a year-long, post-holiday crafting adventure, that it is important to start small. Think ornaments, Christmas cards, gift tags, stocking stuffers, Advent calendar prezzies, etc. Set a small crafting goal, and be proud once you finish it!
Since I wanted to kick off this new model of Holiday Handmade Crusade festivities, I needed to bring a guest blogger on board to interview me. I couldn't very well interview myself for my own blog, right? That would be narcissistic to the max!
Pam: What was the very first crafty item you can remember learning to make ?
Sarah: When I was a little girl, I used to take old socks and cut them up to make clothing for my dolls. The cuffs were transformed into tube dresses, the toes were turned into little hats.
Pam: Who taught you to make it?
Sarah: Heh-heh-heh! No one, that was all childhood ingenuity...but the first craft I can remember being taught was knitting. When I was eight, my Mémère Cote tried in vain to teach me how to knit. I knit one mauve cotton swatch, (into a tube top for my doll), and promptly threw the needles across the room. I didn't pick up the sticks again until I was 22...and in case you were curious, the needle throwing still happens, only now I'm allowed to swear!
Pam: Is there a new craft technique you would like to learn? What would that be?
Sarah: Crochet! I have crochet books in my crafting library, so many crochet projects bookmarked online, yet it is the craft that eludes me. I can do a mean chain stitch and that is about the extent of my crocheting prowess.
Pam: You are a dancer at heart. What is your first memory of dancing?
Sarah: My sister was a fierce gymnast, and there was a dance studio above the gym where she practiced. When I was three I started taking creative dance classes there. One day, the teacher showed us a video of Margot Fonteyn dancing a solo called the Black Dahlia. The ballerina began the solo with a long black tutu pulled up above her head, and she would release each layer slowly, like petals opening. Much to my family's amusement this was re-enacted at home with my Dracula cape, over and over and over again.
Pam: If you were forced to spend one year on a desert island, what would you take? (Name one food, one drink, one book, one piece of music, one crafty activity):
Sarah: For sustenance I would bring bagels with cream cheese and COFFEE. I could eat bagels for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and coffee would obviously be essential for my survival. Hmm, I am a major book worm/music aficionada, so choosing one book/piece of music is so difficult! Hmm, decisions, decisions. One of my all-time favorite books is A Prayer for Owen Meany. I have not re-read it since high school, so I'd bring that. For music, I am a huge Beatles fan, and I could listen to Abbey Road until the cows come home, so I'd bring that too.
Pam: You collect Pyrex. Do you actually use the pieces in your collection or are they just collectables? What are your favorite pieces to find?
Sarah: Oh, I absolutely use my Pyrex! Every day! I am not really for treating my house and possessions like a museum. Of course, that doesn't mean that I haven't had moments of minor cardiac arrest when one of my precious dishes breaks. Better to have loved and lost, than not at all, eh?
I love any and all pink Pyrex, but I only have Pink Gooseberry in my collection. I would love some Pink Daisy, Pink Scroll or even solid pink, (Flamingo, I think), baking dishes for my collection. I see Flamingo square and rectangular casseroles in my dreams.
Besides all of the pinks, my fave patterns are blue Butterprint, Friendship, and any of the patterns featuring Snowflakes.
Pam: Name five things you hope to accomplish this year and five new things you hope to learn to do.
Sarah: Five things that I hope to accomplish: I want to take a road trip with my hub to someplace new, have monthly dinner parties at my house, work to make Holiday Handmade Crusade celebratory and awesome, return to dance classes and sew some curtains for my kitchen.
Five things that I hope to learn: Instead of entirely new things, I would like to improve my skills in the areas of sewing, cooking and housekeeping, (whoa, that's so Stepford sounding, but true!). Maybe this year could be the year to take up crochet, or I could finally learn how to speak conversational French...beyond the swear words.
Pam: If you and your mom and sister could take another girl trip - ANYWHERE - in the world - where would that be and what would you do?
Sarah: I would take them to the top of the Eiffel Tower then we would flash our t**s out! JUST KIDDING! (That's an inside joke for my sister).
I have been really itchy to go on a road trip lately, and I would love to bring my mom and sis to visit Elsie's gorgeous new brick and mortar store, Red Velvet in Springfield, Missouri. Vintage shopping and cupcake scarfing, girls! Are you in?
So who loves Christmas just as much, if not MORE than lil' old me? Why, Pam from Gingerbread Snowflakes of course! See her interview with me below!
Pam: What was the very first crafty item you can remember learning to make ?
Sarah: When I was a little girl, I used to take old socks and cut them up to make clothing for my dolls. The cuffs were transformed into tube dresses, the toes were turned into little hats.
Pam: Who taught you to make it?
Sarah: Heh-heh-heh! No one, that was all childhood ingenuity...but the first craft I can remember being taught was knitting. When I was eight, my Mémère Cote tried in vain to teach me how to knit. I knit one mauve cotton swatch, (into a tube top for my doll), and promptly threw the needles across the room. I didn't pick up the sticks again until I was 22...and in case you were curious, the needle throwing still happens, only now I'm allowed to swear!
Pam: Is there a new craft technique you would like to learn? What would that be?
Sarah: Crochet! I have crochet books in my crafting library, so many crochet projects bookmarked online, yet it is the craft that eludes me. I can do a mean chain stitch and that is about the extent of my crocheting prowess.
Pam: You are a dancer at heart. What is your first memory of dancing?
Sarah: My sister was a fierce gymnast, and there was a dance studio above the gym where she practiced. When I was three I started taking creative dance classes there. One day, the teacher showed us a video of Margot Fonteyn dancing a solo called the Black Dahlia. The ballerina began the solo with a long black tutu pulled up above her head, and she would release each layer slowly, like petals opening. Much to my family's amusement this was re-enacted at home with my Dracula cape, over and over and over again.
Pam: If you were forced to spend one year on a desert island, what would you take? (Name one food, one drink, one book, one piece of music, one crafty activity):
Sarah: For sustenance I would bring bagels with cream cheese and COFFEE. I could eat bagels for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and coffee would obviously be essential for my survival. Hmm, I am a major book worm/music aficionada, so choosing one book/piece of music is so difficult! Hmm, decisions, decisions. One of my all-time favorite books is A Prayer for Owen Meany. I have not re-read it since high school, so I'd bring that. For music, I am a huge Beatles fan, and I could listen to Abbey Road until the cows come home, so I'd bring that too.
Pam: You collect Pyrex. Do you actually use the pieces in your collection or are they just collectables? What are your favorite pieces to find?
Sarah: Oh, I absolutely use my Pyrex! Every day! I am not really for treating my house and possessions like a museum. Of course, that doesn't mean that I haven't had moments of minor cardiac arrest when one of my precious dishes breaks. Better to have loved and lost, than not at all, eh?
I love any and all pink Pyrex, but I only have Pink Gooseberry in my collection. I would love some Pink Daisy, Pink Scroll or even solid pink, (Flamingo, I think), baking dishes for my collection. I see Flamingo square and rectangular casseroles in my dreams.
Besides all of the pinks, my fave patterns are blue Butterprint, Friendship, and any of the patterns featuring Snowflakes.
Pam: Name five things you hope to accomplish this year and five new things you hope to learn to do.
Sarah: Five things that I hope to accomplish: I want to take a road trip with my hub to someplace new, have monthly dinner parties at my house, work to make Holiday Handmade Crusade celebratory and awesome, return to dance classes and sew some curtains for my kitchen.
Five things that I hope to learn: Instead of entirely new things, I would like to improve my skills in the areas of sewing, cooking and housekeeping, (whoa, that's so Stepford sounding, but true!). Maybe this year could be the year to take up crochet, or I could finally learn how to speak conversational French...beyond the swear words.
Pam: If you and your mom and sister could take another girl trip - ANYWHERE - in the world - where would that be and what would you do?
Sarah: I would take them to the top of the Eiffel Tower then we would flash our t**s out! JUST KIDDING! (That's an inside joke for my sister).
I have been really itchy to go on a road trip lately, and I would love to bring my mom and sis to visit Elsie's gorgeous new brick and mortar store, Red Velvet in Springfield, Missouri. Vintage shopping and cupcake scarfing, girls! Are you in?
Pam: What is your very favorite part of Christmas?
Sarah: To be honest, making/giving presents! That's why I nerd out so much on Holiday Handmade Crusade. It gives me so much satisfaction to sew or bake something "just right" for my friends and family members - a lot of love goes into those crafty goods!
Sarah: To be honest, making/giving presents! That's why I nerd out so much on Holiday Handmade Crusade. It gives me so much satisfaction to sew or bake something "just right" for my friends and family members - a lot of love goes into those crafty goods!
Aside from that, I love decorating our tree, and listening to carols (Bing Crosby is an absolute MUST), seeing the Nutcracker, spending Christmas Eve with my family and generally just soaking in the magic :)
Pam: You have told me you are 100% French! Have you ever visited France? If not, do you want to. What would you most like to experience from that culture or countryside? Are there influences from that heritage that influence your current way of life?
Sarah: Sadly, I have never visited France. I would go in a heartbeat if I had the cash! If I went, I think that I would most want to soak up as much wine and food as humanly possible. My friends tell me that the flea-markets in Paris are incredible as well...so I would have to check that out! If I were able to stay for an extended period of time, I would love to pick up the language too. I regret that I do not speak French fluently, like my parents.
Sarah: Sadly, I have never visited France. I would go in a heartbeat if I had the cash! If I went, I think that I would most want to soak up as much wine and food as humanly possible. My friends tell me that the flea-markets in Paris are incredible as well...so I would have to check that out! If I were able to stay for an extended period of time, I would love to pick up the language too. I regret that I do not speak French fluently, like my parents.
Being French definitely influences our holidays...but that's a whole other blog post! I would say that on an every day basis, my French-ness influences the way that we eat. 98% of the time, we eat real food. Margarine? What is that? I have no fear of butter.
***
Thank you so much, Pam, for interviewing me to kick off Holiday Handmade Crusade 2011. Pam will be joining us again during the month February as the Crusade's first guest blogger - stay tuned!
January 03, 2011
Announcing Holiday Handmade Crusade 2011
Now that the Christmas season is drawing to a close, I bet that the first thing on your list, to ring in the New Year, is to start your holiday crafting for 2011!
Wait, is that just me?!
Seriously though, think of how calm and collected your holidays would be if you did a little bit of prep at a time over the next twelve months. Just mull on that a little. Are we good now? Do I seem less crazy? (Don't answer that). Are you ready to embark on a Holiday Handmade Crusade with me? Here's what you need to know:
First of all, a history of Holiday Handmade Crusade/a crafty manifesto.
Second, some changes to Holiday Handmade Crusade for 2011...
Ch-ch-ch-CHANGES - Guest Bloggers
As many of you know, HHC is a complete labor of love. In the past, it has consumed lots of creativity and time. Last year, this consumption reached a bit of a breaking point, and that pesky little thing "real life" got in the way of my HHC ambitions. Damn.
So, this year I am reaching out to crafty friends and family to lend their creativity here on Geek+Nerd. Guest bloggers will post four Mondays out of each month...
Post 1: Will introduce the monthly HHC theme, and feature an interview introducing the guest blogger.
Post 2 and 3: Will be wild cards! These posts could be tutorials, recipes, favorite holiday music mixes, stories of holiday memories, the possibilities are endless!
Post 4: Will be the guest blogger's sign off, and announcement of the HHC raffle prize of the month.
How the Holiday Handmade Crusade Works
1. Craft at least one gift each month. You may choose the follow the suggested theme, or ignore it completely, as long as you craft.
2. Post a picture of that item somewhere online. You must mention Holiday Handmade Crusade in the description - I need all of you to help spread the crafty gospel!
3. Comment on Post #4 each month linking to the picture of your gift.
BONUS ENTRIES: New this year, I will accept bonus entries. If you blog, upload to Flickr, tweet on Twitter or update your Facebook status linking to your Holiday Handmade Crusade finished item, I will accept each of those as an entry. You must link to each of those updates in a separate comment, meaning you can comment/enter the raffle a MAXIMUM of 4 times each month.
4. I will choose a raffle winner the last day of each month. Prizes=INCENTIVE to craft early!
I will be kicking off the festivities in January! I will be posting the theme and interview (conducted by a special guest blogger) later today.
I hope that you will join me for the Holiday Handmade Crusade 2011!
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