Friday Roundup


Feliz Dia de los Muertos! I've got the day off in Michigan, then a show on Saturday and we're on to Chicago where I'll be looking for some deep dish pizza! My day off plans aren't very eventful, I'll be searching for a laundromat and maybe a local yoga studio or perhaps just hole up in my hotel room and work on wedding albums. Wherever you are, I hope you have a relaxing weekend! 


I love anything that is called "whimsical" this is definitely whimsical art...

Tim Burton as a kid

New music to put you in the mood for fall.



THIS is exciting news for frequent flyers and makes me feel a lot less guilty for the times I forgot to turn my phone all the way off on planes! Oops.

My current favorite clothing item, and yes, it is very similar to my favorite thing to wear from 1998.

A new showing of Richard Avedon, one of my favorite photographers.


Image by Zoe Rain via Rain Diaries













Happy Halloween from Mylo!



Happy Halloween! 




On the Road...

It's 3:56AM central standard time and I'm wide awake on a shiny black tour bus en route to Auburn Hills, Michigan. Since October 20th I've been in Portland, Spokane, Missoula, Boise, Omaha and Des Moines on the US leg of the  Macklemore and Ryan Lewis world tour. Oh, and Jason and I made a quick jaunt back to Seattle in the middle of that to shoot a wedding. Life has been a little crazy, but as I'm settling into the routine, I'm really loving it. I figured the best way to tell you all about tour would be through the lens of my iPhone, so here you go! 


At every venue the film crew gets a room to set up, hang out, stash our gear, etc. since most of these venues are arenas we usually get some sort of locker room. In Portland we were at the Rose Garden, where the Blazers play. We got the referees' locker room where I took the above selfie in a mirror. Naturally I wore my Blazers tee, which is "vintage" in that Jason got it new as a 6 year old in 1990 and now it fits me! 


Here's Jason with a Red Epic on stage in Portland during a rehearsal. 



This is where I made Jason stop and take a photo with me in a weird hallway halfway through the show in Spokane. 



 There are 5 semis carrying all of the stage, lights, sets, etc. It's crazy to see the crew unload it, set it up then take it all down and pack it back up at the end of the night. 


Here are the bunks on the bus! Every day we wake up in a new city, set up happens, then the show, everything's taken back down and packed back up and then we hop on our bus to sleep through the night only to wake up in another city and do it all again. I think I'm starting to understand why babies like sleeping in cars so much, I've been sleeping really well in my dark little cave with the white noise of the engine and sway of the road. 


I got sick in Boise. Thankfully Jason and I had a hotel there since we were flying back to Seattle the next morning, so it was the perfect time to feel under the weather. I relived childhood sick days by lounging in bed, eating soup and watching Who's the Boss reruns for a few hours. 


After a couple of days shooting back in Seattle, Jason and I caught up with the tour in Omaha. Upon landing, this sign was the first thing I saw. Earthquakes don't faze me, but for some reason the idea of tornados really freaks me out. I was made to live on the West Coast.  


Here's the lineup of buses inside of the venue in Omaha. (via @mitchelloverton)


Jason at work, filming Talib Kwali, an amazing rapper and the opener for the tour, chatting with Macklemore after the show in Omaha.  (via @mitchelloverton)




Since Seattle is fairly evergreen, I'm enjoying autumn in other parts of the country. It's so orange and yellow! 



Every venue set up is different, you saw how we parked inside of the venue at Omaha above. In Des Moines, we were in a lot on the side of the road and I woke up to fans hoping I was someone interesting when I hopped of of my bus! Thankfully someone cooler than me came along for some photos. 

That's it for now, any questions? 

My Furbaby

So I guess yesterday was National Cat Day and somehow I missed it! I guess I'll just have to celebrate one day late. :)

Rafa is adjusting well to having Myles around the house, he just pretends he's a baby too! As you can see in the photos above I've caught him sleeping in the crib, the bassinet (which was filled with our clothes, don't judge!) and somehow squeezing himself in the Boppy. He makes me laugh, what a cutie.

Creative Save the Date...

Rachael and Blaise found the perfect way to showcase their cross-country romance...It's a scratch off save the date! How fun is this?


Save the dates by Tamra Dunlap of Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

Karama

Greetings from Nebraska! It seems fitting that while I'm on my current adventure across the U.S., I FINALLY find the time to properly tell you about my trip to Ethiopia and Tanzania with Karama last spring. I promise I'll be back later this week to tell you about life on a tour bus with 9 other people!


For now, Karama...

^^some of the seamstresses posing with a pennant banner they made in Dar es Salaam^^

When Jason and I heard the story of Karama, we immediately fell in love and knew it was an organization we wanted to support. Here's the origin story according to Dyan Larmey, the founder of Karama:

While living in Ethiopia, I developed friendships with many women who seemed to have no way out of the poverty they were in. Many were selling local food, their own clothes, or even their bodies just to be able to send their children to school or to provide food for their elderly loved ones. They seldom thought about their own needs. These women were natural entrepreneurs and creators. We would brainstorm a little idea...give them a small skill to use and POOF they were off to try it...always creating and working hard to sell what they had made. They taught me so much about graciousness, value and dignity. I wanted to help them sell their products. I realized that every dollar spent on these products was a vote for these women to be successful. Karama was born. (Read more here...)

^^sunset off the coast of Zanzibar^^

Karama is run entirely by volunteers, mostly women, the Karama Mamas. They invited Jason and I to join them and photograph their trip to buy product from their different vendors in Ethiopia and Tanzania. We were THRILLED to get to go with and document the trip, meet, thank and encourage the women and men making the jewelry and scarvesI love.

^^my first time on a private plane!^^

This trip was a whirlwind of interesting things, wonderful people and beautiful places. This little summary will hardly do it justice, but I have to start somewhere...

^^amazing beaded metal jewelry made from melted down shrapnel^^

In Ethiopia, we visited HIV+ women making beautiful jewelry out of melted down shrapnel, and I watched silk worms spin silk at a fair trade organization. Then weavers in the slums of Addis Ababa invited us into their homes to watch as they worked, turning the silk into beautiful scarves. 

^^Ethiopian jewelry makers^^

Next we flew to Tanzania's capitol, Dar Es Salaam, where we visited an organization teaching  women how to sew, offering them jobs there and skills to take back to their own villages. We took a charter flight to what seemed like the middle of nowhere to stay in a guest house run mostly by deaf and disabled people where we learned how to sign and bought beautiful glass beaded necklaces, carved picture frames and paper made from elephant dung, all made in the onsite workshop. 

^^walking to the weavers' homes in Addis Ababa^^

 Another charter flight took us to Zanzibar. We stayed in Stone Town where the streets are too narrow for cars, so we took mopeds to our hotel instead.  We visited sights that left our hearts heavy like Zanzibar's former slave market and it's dark underground cells where slaves were crammed for days, awaiting transport to Europe or the Middle East. Then we saw hope, in the form of blind men weaving baskets. Simple, yet beautiful baskets. And a sewing school where Christian and Muslim learn a skill side by side, becoming friends.

^^sewing class in Zanzibar^^

The word Karama, means dignity in Arabic and that's the perfect word to describe overall what I saw on this trip. We saw people, who were given the freedom to create, people who were loved and encouraged and given a chance to take care of themselves.


I'll be posting more about Karama this fall, highlighting some of their amazing products and the people who make them. 

Pumpkin Spice


I know this may sound un-American or something but I'm not a big fan of "pumpkin spice" flavored drinks. Every year I convince myself that I need a pumpkin spice latte because of all the hype and then I gage through half of it and throw the rest away. Ditto on pumpkin beer and cider. I love pumpkin flavored baked goods but for some reason it doesn't translate well to drinks for me.

But I finally found an exception! Have you tried Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea yet? So delicious! I'm hooked.

PS. I heard TJ's pumpkin flavored waffles are also amazing but they were sold out when I went this weekend. Have you tried them?

Monday Motivation

Goodbye maternity leave, hello work! Wish me luck today, just trying to remember to take deep breaths. :)


Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Did you catch the "Blackfish" documentary last night on CNN about Orca whales in captivity? I can't stop thinking about it, so worth watching.

In other news this weekend is my first real weekend in a few months because I return to work on Monday! EEEK! Wish me luck.

Here are some links to kick off the weekend.

Cool idea from a photographer, made me smile.

Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser gives a tour of his amazing green tiny home.

Awesome Halloween costume for toddler.

Creepy predictions of aged celebrities.

This is awesome, Facebook's oldest user. 

TGIF -- Boy Meets World reunion! Also Danielle Fishel is awesome. 

Cocktail recipes for your favorite Halloween candy.

Take this test to see if you are right brained or left brained. (Apparently I'm right brained? Hmmm)

When friends have babies. 

One of the women who inspires me.

Myles: Three Months Old!

Baby Myles is already three months old! As you can see, he is packing on the ounces -- look at those rolls! He smiles all the time, has an awesome laugh, loves being outside, and is getting more and more fun every day. I love being his mom. 








Bootcut Jeans

Is anyone else missing bootcut jeans as much as I am? I cannot wait for them to come back around. Maybe it's my post-baby body or perhaps I'm just sick of skinny jeans right now. I owned so many pairs of bootcuts a few years back and I haven't bought any in a long time because skinny and straight legs seem to be more in style and widely available. I really love wide legged pants too! They seem so much more flattering.

Refinery 29 recommended "slouch" or "boyfriend" styles as an alternative to skinny jeans this week but I'm not sure they would be very flattering on me.

What styles do you hope will come back around soon?





(Jennifer Aniston's bootcut jeans)

Just a pretty photo...


New Fall TV Shows


Since I've been on maternity leave the past few months I've had the chance to follow fall TV premiers for my old favorites and catch a few new series. The show that has hooked me so far is "Masters of Sex" on Showtime-- it follows William Master's and Virginia Johnson, the doctor and his assistant in the 1950's who went against the current and decided to study human sexuality. It's definitely risqué considering the subject at hand and channel it's on but the plot is fascinating, acting is great (love Lizzy Caplan!) and the fashion is so fun. What new shows are you enjoying? 

Maps

Map of the west cost portion of the tour via @zoerainphoto

Hello from a tour bus! For the next 9 weeks I'll be on the road with the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis US tour. To educate all on what I might see along the way, I give you interesting perspectives on the US with maps!









Monday Motivation

Friday Roundup



Hello from sunny Santa Barbara! Jason is the best man in a wedding this weekend and I'm thrilled to be a wedding guest for once. I get to wear a dress and heels! From here, we're back in Seattle for a few hours on Sunday and then onto Portland and the beginning of 9 weeks on the road as a part of the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis US tour. I'm going to be the opening act. Just kidding! Jason's directing tour videos and I'll be helping out with whatever I can and blogging along the way.

This is why there are penguins in sweaters...

Apparently sleeptexting is a thing. Have you done it? 




National Dessert Day was this week and I missed it! I guess I'll just have to observe it another day...


What people did before smart phones...

Jessie Spano LIVES! (For a moment anyway, in Elizabeth Berkley's Dancing with the Stars routine...)

Beautiful Cave







THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL



The trailer for Wes Anderson's newest film is out today. It looks really good!

A Weekend In: Bend, OR



A couple of weeks ago Myles and I joined Patrick on a business trip down to Bend, Oregon. I hadn't been there since I was a kid on vacation with my family. We had a blast checking out a few of the local microbrew pubs, Bend is a sort of mecca for locally made beer and the home of Deschutes Brewery. Our favorite was the relatively new Crux Fermentation Project (brewery), great food and beer (I even got a Porter cheesecake!). It was great to get out of town for a few days and Mylo was very flexible with all of the driving and eating out. Definitely check out the beautiful city of Bend if you get the chance!

Best of Etsy: Kid's Halloween Costumes




Jenny and I dropped down the rabbit hole that is searching for kids Halloween costumes on Etsy. So cute! Check out some of our favorites below:




Fox
























Owl





Super Girl




















Elephant
























Unicorn


Tim Burton Edward Scissor Hands and The Red Queen (so cool but $600!!)






















Dinosaur

Listen Here: Banks






Here's the newest thing I'm listing to on repeat.

Check out Banks. My favorite thing about her, she lists her phone number on her facebook page and invites fans to call her!

You can listen to her London EP here

Monday Motivation


Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend, we are supposed to have beautiful, crisp, sunny weather here in Seattle which I plan to enjoy every moment of while it lasts. I'll also be flying solo with Mylo since Patrick is in Dublin for a few days, wish me luck!

Here are a few links to get the weekend started:

Best. Tumblr. Ever.

If you like to cook bacon at home, this new device looks awesome.

The real life Mowgli - amazing photos.

Caramel apple dutch baby recipe, yummmm.

I'm glad this isn't my office! Also, hilarious inadvertent dress advertisement.

Lies you've believed about shampoo.

An ode to the elasticity of the mothering heart.

Loving this fall coat.

This is older but so funny: reasons why kids are really just tiny drunk adults. 

6 spooky cocktails to get us excited about Halloween.

H&M has some awesome kids Halloween costumes this year.

(Audrey Hepburn image)