This morning, after going through the grueling process of waking myself up, I found out that my boss didn't need me to come in today. Faced with the decision to curl back up in bed for the day or go into super productive mode... I actually went with the latter.
First up: clean up the aftermath of World War III going on outside my house, between us and the squirrels.
Spoiler alert - the squirrels are winning.
My secret weapon and proof that I get to use the Big Boy yard work toys.
My next task was to decorate our front yard for Halloween. This is why I could never leave suburbia, because where else would I be able to practice my mastered art (yes, it's an art) of applying faux spider webs to the landscape?
After that I was pretty much exhausted from how hot it got (make up your mind, fall), so I headed inside for lunch and a poor attempt at cleaning out the bathtub and sink drains, which are both mildly clogged. We had purchased the Turbo Snake which, while semi-helpful with the sink, was basically a waste of money. I quickly moved onto something at which I knew I'd be more successful - an interior design project!
Our living room has a great big wall above the sofa that needed to be filled, and after a bit of brainstorming with my mom, we came up with the idea of matting and framing pieces of pretty color-coordinated paper. Creativity win!
Our big, empty wall.
Frames ...
... plus paper ...
... equals pretty (and fancy)!
The finished product.
It may or may not be evident that the frames aren't exactly even, which is irking the shit out of my perfectionist side. My mom said nobody will notice; I told her it doesn't matter, it's going to continuously give me the shakes. The problem children might just need a different hook to hang on, so I may be able to remedy the situation for the most part. Otherwise though, I'm completely happy with it.
And now, since I got a minimal amount of sleep last night, it's time for a grandma-style Friday night, which means drinking tea and going to bed by ten. Happy Friday and happy three-day weekend!
After being sick for the past week and not being able to get out and enjoy the weather, I was looking forward to my weekend at Music Fest. It's a county-run event that includes musical performances, a carnival, vendors, and tons of other activities and is held annually on a weekend in September, just at the end of summer. Every year they host a ton of artists, many that are lesser known with a few big names mixed in. This year, those big artists were OK Go and Train.
Considering I live in a tiny town with the closest concert venue being at least a half hour away, having a series of free concerts being held at a park that is a ten-minute walk from my house is kind of amazing. When I woke up late Saturday morning, I could hear the music from the festival pretty clearly from my bedroom. The weather was perfect and I was feeling much better, so I knew it was going to be a good day.
My brother and dad headed out before I woke up and I went over on my own in the early afternoon, mostly to check out the vendors. There weren’t any artists I particularly wanted to see, but it was nice to have live music playing for most of the time I was there. It was great being so close to home because after a couple of hours (or more, for my brother and dad), we were able to simply walk home to eat dinner instead of shelling out money for greasy carnival food. Plus, I was able to change into something warmer since I knew it would be cooler at night.
Blog, meet my brother! Just FYI, the hat is not a typical everyday look, just a purchase from one of the vendors.
After dinner I went back over with my brother, who ended up leaving early because he’s a music snob and doesn’t like mainstream music he was tired from being there all day. I met up with my friends and we settled in to watch OK Go, who were slightly disappointing. It may have been because we weren’t close to the stage or in the crowd, but they just weren’t as good as I was expecting. Still, the show was decent and I had fun hanging out with my friends.
Train more than made up for the previous mediocre performance. I had a total blast. They were energetic and fun, always engaging the audience to sing along and at one point bringing a bunch of younger girls on stage to sing with them. On the set list were all my favorites: Save Me, San Francisco; Marry Me; Hey, Soul Sister; and of course, Drops of Jupiter.
Our original view of the stage
Pat climbing the set (snagged this from their Facebook group)
The "Trainettes" (also snagged from the FB group) - the girl with the long black sleeves was TOTALLY into it and excited to be on stage
My favorite moment had to be when they played Drops of Jupiter. After they finished Hey, Soul Sister, they left the stage, but we knew they’d play an encore (especially since Drops of Jupiter is their most recognized song and they hadn’t played it yet). The crowd had thinned out a bit – families with younger kids or those wanting to beat traffic started leaving – so my friend Ashley and I were able to make our way up towards the stage a bit. When they came back on, the entire crowd belted out the lyrics from start to finish. It was completely awesome.
Closer to the stage now
Once they finished for good, the huge crowd started making their way out. I got in line for a funnel cake to bring home to my mom when some fireworks started going off; after I got my funnel cake, Ashley and I stuck around until they finished before walking home. Of course, I was totally exhausted when I got home - my feet hurt, my throat was sore, and I had to wait for my hearing to get back to normal - but it was completely worth it.
And just for fun, I put together a video of all the performances I recorded. It's just a bunch of snippets, with shaky camerawork and me singing terribly in the background, but I figured it was worth putting up here.
(If you're interested, you can also go click the following links to see a better version of the Hey, Soul Sister performance and also their encore, Drops of Jupiter.)
On Sunday I went back only for a short while, to see Robert Randolph and the Family Band and pick up some swag, which I'd forgotten to do the night before.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Overall it was a fantastic weekend. I got plenty of exercise from walking to and from the park and it was so much fun to be able to attend these great concerts completely for free. I can't wait to find out who'll they'll get for next year!
Making and sending packages has to be the best thing in the world. On Wednesday I had the inspiration to make up a little care package for my cousin, who has finals in a week or so. I packed away some cute post-its, a box of brownies, a bag of Smarties and a little tube of glow-stick bracelets that I scored at Target for just a dollar. Then on Thursday I finally passed on the shoes I'd gotten for Christmas, which were too small, to Stephany, and I put together a birthday gift for Melissa and mailed it in a much bigger box than necessary. All of it put a smile on my face because I know how fun it is to get a package and I got all excited just thinking about everyone getting their gifts.
Today, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and worked on some outdoor projects. I used the weed whacker on the perimeter of the backyard (awesome arm workout, by the by) and continued work on the stripping and refinishing of my brother's bureau. But in between, I settled down with my magazines and took pictures because the weather was too good not to just sit and enjoy it.
Here's a sampling of the photos I took. If happiness came in colors, it would be the combination of this exact sky blue and the green of the leaves on the trees.
Hi! I'm Cait. Twenty-something and still figuring out life, but enjoying every moment along the way. Known for baking cupcakes, crafting, loving summer, dancing, and generally being adorable. Will laugh at anything.
