Why hello, Seattle!
And what do you have in store for our long-long-weekend now that the Annual Report is off at the printers?
Looks to be a true Pacific Northwest experience
Looks like we’re in for some true Pacific Northwest weather!
(And yes, I still operate in degrees celcius).
Any tips for places to eat, things to see?
Every day I am lucky enough to spend time with my marvellous husband, the American. And whilst I try not to sound like a total braggart, he inspires me. Every single day. He inspires me to create and live the way we want to.
Since the American resigned his post as a full-time golf pro, he’s been much happier and life is good. He’s creating a tonne, and has thrown himself into creating as much content as possible for his new (well, newly revamped) website at CommunistComics.com.
And so now, to the big news:
I wanted to share with you something we (very loosely me, more so the American’s doing) have been working on over the past month or so. The world premiere of our new EP! WOOOO!
Our new free downloadable EP! Yes, FREE!
We’ve called ourselves The Dhalies {DAH-lies}. And this is our first official offering to the music gods, called ‘Pleasing With You’. We recorded this in our living room/bedroom/studio in our box in the sky here in the big City and County of San Francisco.
We want to share this experience with you, and have made it available in a free download. Whoa! Catchy pop tunes for all! All tagged and ready for import into iTunes.
Now, the download can be a little tricky (until we are ‘in the money’ , we can’t afford the $50 hosting for MP3s a month!) , so we’ve hosted it offsite. Just follow the instructions, and you’ll be apples. I have done it myself, and can guarantee there’s no issue with any crazy pop ups or viruses, even though it looks a little dodgy. The bottom line is that it’s just not as straightforward as we’d like. So thanks for your patience in advance.
My favourite song is one called ‘Puppy Sale’. I came home from work one day, and my talented husband had written me a song! And it was about PUPPIES! Swoon.
And if you have some more time, check out James’ other stuff at Communist Comics: ‘Larry & Gary’, video of his comedy sets and he’s just about to upload a funny animated cartoon he made about a pizza tray. Pretty funny stuff…
I envy the American’s talent, and am so fortunate I get to create with him each and every day.
So… what did you think of our first EP?
I’d love your feedback on our first effort. There’s plenty we’d love to change or do over with better equipment, but nevertheless, we’re pretty proud of our effort. Well, I am so proud of the American — I can only claim some back up singing.
Yay for the Dhalies!
Whoa! ‘It’s Mary Ruffle’, one of my favourite Tumblr blogs, has up and disappeared. Talk about disappointed.
Nevertheless, a tonne of ‘It’s Mary Ruffle’ content has been pinned on Pinterest, which works much like a virtual corkboard for (generally attributable) inspiration, so I’m not totally without. Which is great, because lately I’ve been gravitating to images of summer fruits and flowers (of which there’s plenty pinned). I’m excited to see where the season takes us — it’s going to be mid 20s tomorrow! Whoa! Excited!
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
[Source: Pinterest]
Did I say I was excited for summer and the proliferation of beautiful Californian fruit? Yep.
My life has moments of bliss, but today, however, I am not feeling as blissful as I usually do, as I should.
I have obligations to attend to, and I am just not ‘feeling it’. Days like this happen no matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing. So I cancelled the plans I had in the morning and have been doing the things that make me content. But now the time has come to suck it up and uphold the obligation.
I imagine I’ll have a good time when there, but I’d just rather sit here on my new couch, in my clean home, with the sun awakening my skin. Lately, it’s a rare phenomenon to have silence and the company of just myself in our little box in the sky. I have enjoyed it whilst it lasted, nevertheless. And I just ate a Cherry Ripe, so all will be okay in the world.
Moments of bliss;
Finding the pretty in the everyday.
What are you loving about life at the moment?
Upon doing my weekly catch-up of blogs, I stumbled across this on A Cup of Jo. The American and I laughed our butt off over this, because it’s spot on.
How Women See Colour v How Men See Colour
How women see colour v how men see colour
[Source: +GoldRush+, via A Cup of Jo]
In other blog love, I am IN LOVE with these images from artist Howard Schatz. I have always adored anything that’s ballet-inspired, and these underwater studies are unbelievable. The bloke’s a genius.
Colour palette of ladies
[Source: Howard Schatz via Thoughtful Day]
Beauty personified
[Source: Howard Schatz]
And you know when something makes it to Jeopardy, there’s no denying its existence. We were happy being ostriches about a certain reality TV show, but apparently, you need to at least know who the characters in Jersey Shore are in order to answer questions. So we watched some.
It. Was. The. Most. Horrendous. Show. I. Have. Ever. Seen. And I agree with this sentiment completely:
I hate the Jersey Shore. And you can quote me on that.
[Source: Abby Sharp via The Daily Dawdle]
It’s sad. I can never get those minutes back…
I have been thinking a lot about traditions, lately, and how to go about forming them in a place where I don’t have much of a history. As I get older, I am really starting to understand just how important traditions are important to feeling settled, involved and to feel a sense of belonging. So I’ve set about trying to create my own, and I aim to live the nostalgia whilst we create it.
Recently, I have been enjoying meeting my friend (the Canadian) for a drink and a meal after work on pay-day. She’s great craic and seeing as she’s a new transplant to the Bay Area, it’s been great building a new friendship — someone I would be friends with no matter where in the world we met or in what situation.
Our first official pay-day outing took us on a culinary adventure through Rockridge from happy hour and half-price appetizers at Khana Peena Indian in North Oakland, to the Trattoria La Siciliana, an amazing Italian restaurant in the Elmwood neighbourhood in Berkeley. I look forward to heading back to the Trattoria La Siciliana again — I’ve been dreaming about the pesto penne ever since!
So on the menu for this payday adventure was soul food. Vegan soul food, to be specific.
Having never had anything deemed ‘soul food’ (Kraft Mac’n’Cheese apparently does not count) I was intrigued — and I was not disappointed. The Canadian knows a good restaurant! As a Vegetarian, I am accustomed to having a smaller selection from which to choose when I dine out. But not at Souley Vegan: I could eat everything on the plate, and that was pretty exciting in itself.
Souley Vegan, Oakland
Souley Vegan [Source: Quarry Girl]
At the Canadian’s suggestion (she’d been there before), we shared the Soul Food plate ($19), and added the fried okra with beans and rice (extra $6).
MMM... soul food!
The plate came with lentils, yams, black-eyed peas, southern fried tofu, fried kale, potato salad, BBQ tofu, mac and cheese, and cornbread. Pretty, pretty, pretty tasty. I wish I could make food like this at home…
The fried okra was also good, served with lemon and dressing, but a rather different to how I imagined in terms of texture and consistency. Still tasty, nevertheless.
A pay day feast for two
We washed the Southern fried food down with a bottle of Strawberry Ginger (‘Strawberry Ginger what?‘) ($4), which was great, provided your last sip is not the ginger part of the concoction… hot!
Overall, we were well stuffed with great food and great conversation. Highly recommended. I’ll be heading back in a heartbeat.
Afterward, we hit up The Trappist for a robust brew to cap off yet another marvellous pay-day adventure. It’s a pretty snazzy bar in a newly revitalised area of Oakland, yet they’ve managed to capture the old school ale house vibe. It’s certainly a little different from all the Wine and Oyster bars that have popped up around the place.
Next Adventure on pay-day: my choice, and city side of the Bay.
Do you have any favourite places to eat in San Francisco?
Solely Vegan: 301 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607. Ph: (510) 922-1615. Menu
The Trappist: 460 8th Street, Oakland, CA, 94607. Ph: (510)238-8900.
The Rebecca Project 