Daddio, Papa Joe

Saturday was a very special day. A couple of moons ago, a boy was born. This boy turned into a man.

And then he turned into my Dad. And wow. Words cannot explain how lucky I am.

In the last few days, weeks, months, maybe even years.. Really since I moved to Madison and went to college, my relationship with my parents has evolved, it has changed. It is a weird/beautiful/crazy thing when your parents stop being “parents” – the people who run your life, they’re your heros, invincible – and instead become… Your friends? Your mentors? Your equal? Totally rad people that happen to be 20 or 30 years older than you that you talk to about the things you have in common and enjoy talking about?

I think that last bit is one of the things I have enjoyed the most about my ‘grown-up’ relationship with my dad. Now that I’ve become almost a real human an independent person with developed interests and hobbies, I’ve discover how much we have in common. Somethings I knew about earlier, like our love for meat and potatoes and our passion for the great outdoors. But I always used to think I was more like my mom. I thought I looked more like my mom and I was always the arty kid, just like my mom. BUT GUESS WHAT! I think it might be an even split!

Getting ready to make some mashed potatoes… I love that the drill is basically a scepter.

Yeah, that’s right. I’ve got my daddy’s blue eyes (and the bad vision that comes with it ), his nose, and his crazy-curly-you-might-be-homeless-but-it’s-okay-because-you’re-cute hair.

But even more than looks, my insides are so much the same as his. We are builders. We make things, and we can appreciate other things that people have taken the time to create. To design. My father has passed on to me, and taught me over the years, about logical thinking, about process. About taking a moment to figure out how you REALLY want to do things so that you can do it well and right. And he has taught me that not everything comes out well. Or right. And that is 100% okay too. Because at the end of it all, if you learned something (even if it’s how not to do something) it was probably worth it.

Not sure why this photo is so terrible or why it seemed like a good idea to take in like this…. We are weird.

I love that I get to talk shop with my dad. That when he is building something new for the house or the campground, he calls and tells me about it, or includes me in the building process. I love that he has a unique view of the world, of life, of projects. Because I know that I can always ask his opinion on how to do something whether it is building cubbies, putting the soft-top on my jeep, or applying for a new job. And you know what, it’s a cliche for a reason, because my daddio is almost always right. ALWAYS! It’s magic or something.

But really, he is excellent at giving advice. I think he gets it from his father, I can see that now as I take a step back. But he uses the perfect combination of logic and love when he gives advice. And you know, not a lot of people can do that. But my dad, he can. And he can build a porch or a treehouse or anything you want, probably, with his bare hands. He can build a fire in minutes, he can cook four perfect turkeys in just a few hours, and he can climb a mountain in days.

Best. Face. Ever.

He is my dad. He is my friend. He is just a really rad dude that’s 30 years older than me. But he is still my hero too. ♥

festieLYFE: How do you make a living?

As noted in my last post, It’s been a while since I’ve added anything to the blog.. Which I am so sorry about. And I’m going to make it up to you (and let’s be real, to my future self and festie since I’m pretty sure we are the only ones who actually read this blog) by posting ONCE A WEEK!!! Yes, you heard me. one day out of every seven you will be blessed with a special blog from yours truly. AREN’T YOU EXCITED??? Great. Me too.

Since this blog is a place to share whats a happening in the festie lyves so we can stay connected and up to date (and so you can too), I’m going to do just that and SPILL what is on my mind as of late.

JOBS. CAREERS. BIDNIZZ. I’ve been a college graduate for almost 6 months. And quite honestly, some days I wake up feeling like I have nothing to show for it. I’m a 23 year old with a bachelor of science (a BS!) in art, and absolutely no idea “what I want to do when I grow up“. Though, that isn’t entirely true… I would really love to own my own business. If there is one thing that I have learned from the few jobs I’ve had, it is that I would rather just work for myself. But at this point in my life, I’m not quite sure how to make that happen. Any pointers?

In the mean time, when I sit down with my cup of tea to spend another morning job searching, I become instantly exhausted. I’m not sure if this is because I don’t really know what I would like to do for a job, or if it is because it is kind of a lot of work interviewing and getting trained for a new position… Or if it’s just because job hunting is just one of those things that is never really enjoyable. Like going to the grocery store or the post office. Just.. No.

Soooo… For now, I am slinging shoes&making the best $$$ I can/ casually job searching/secretly researching how to own a business/making as much art&being as creative as I possibly can.

Do you have a salaried job? Do you prefer to work for a smaller/local business? Are you constantly stopping at Home Depot like I am to see if they have any Money Trees left?

Xx.

Savannah, A Picture Experience.

So, I know this post is long overdue.. Like.. That book is so overdue that you are now banned from the library. All libraries in Wisconsin… So, I’ll keep it simple: here are some photos from my trip to Savannah. I had an amazing time, met some amazing people, did some amazing things, ate some amazing food.. AH MAY ZINGGGG, YA DIG???? If you have any other questions or want me to give more deets, just comment below and I’ll dish it, yo. But really, it was fan spanking tastic, so a big thank you to Samantha and everyone else who hosted/entertained me I am eternally grateful. Hopefully I’ll be back soon!!! 

We Hate the Hunt

The festies went apartment hunting today. This is how we feel about it.

As you can see, we don’t really appreciate running around town looking at expensive, yet shitty (sorry, mom!) apartments. Carpet? Gross. Damp carpet? Gross-er. Utilities? Parking? We hate our lives. It didn’t help that it was rainy, parking downtown is a train wreck, and that we’re still a bit up-in-the-air on what we can afford.

So where does that leave us? Homeless and empty handed. To be fair, we did get some pretty photos of the weather.

(Drippiness is allowed outside only)

(Pretty, yes. Functional, no.)

Our disappointing day has led me to one conclusion: we need our own festie HOUSE that 1. didn’t contain a zoo at one point, 2. doesn’t sport infested carpets, and 3. is not going to be a waste of our money. On our way back home Marley and I teamed up to call the ole’ realtor and arrange some showings. Fingers crossed that this time around the hunt will be fruitful. Since I’ve already seen 27 places…one can only hope that I’m getting closer to actually buying a place.

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Confessions of a Luluaddict

I (obviously) have a confession to make. I am most likely addicted to a certain expensive brand of clothing. I have made countless promises to myself to hold off my spending and even gone weeks where I felt like I might be successful at weaning myself off of my obsession with colorful stretchy pants.

Unfortunately, despite being halfway across the world surrounded by things that are infinitely more beautiful/delicious/interesting than my iPhone screen, I have been locked to its little glowing face every time I can snag a bit of wifi. Every night, I have stayed up late playing temple run while waiting for little eBay timers to count down. In the mornings I have been refreshing the lululemon home pages to see if anything new had been posted while I was sleeping. It’s a bit ridiculous. (And annoying).

I’m not sure yet how I will deal with these issues, but they (the cloud of mystery people floating in my head) have always said that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. So there it is. I have a (first world) problem: I buy too much pretty sh*t that I probably most definitely do not need.

To be fair, I KNOW that I am not the only one with this problem. The steady stream of small packages that arrive at my house every day implies that my lovely roommates may be suffering with the same (albeit less extreme versions) tendencies.

Oops.

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With love, from Istanbul

IYCRTTYMBAF!

(Translation: If you can read this then you might be a festie!)

Check out this weird “conversation” between Barley and Mecca yesterday…

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LYF

Happy Birthday Loretta Frances!

Today is my mother, Lollie’s, birthday! So I just wanted to do a short blog saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY! and sharing some of my favorite things about her and some of my favorite memories…

Isn’t she adorbs?!

I love this photo of her — I’m not really sure how I ended up with it, actually.. For as long as I can remember it has been hanging in my bedroom… Like, since I was little. I could be making that up – you know how memory works.. Things start to get fuzzier as you go back further.. In any case, I think one of the reasons I love this photo is because it amazes me every day how similar my mother and I are. We are truly twin souls, and I feel so thankful and blown away by it every day. I also love that it is a portrait, but it feels casual and intimate. Like she was just playing on the couch and popped up to see who was on the other side. So sweet.

This was for a Xmas card. I was a king?

My mama has always given me every ounce of love and support that I have ever needed. She has helped to shape me into the person that I am and am becoming every day. She has taught me to play, to be creative, to work hard. Everything in moderation. But sometimes it is okay to splurge. She gave me my design instincts and has cheered me on as I develop my own aesthetic. It is truly disgusting and sappy how much of a role model she really is for me.

This is why I am who I am…

Do you see those two goons up there? Aren’t they beautiful? Can’t you just feel the love? Because I can, and it is making me giddy//nauseous But seriously, doesn’t my dad look phresh and 40??? And my mom. In my brain she is perpetually 35. They don’t call her Hot Shot for nothing! Speaking of, one random memory that somehow got saved in the longterm spaces of my brain goes a little something like this… I don’t remember how old I was, maybe 12 or something? 10? Anyways, it must have been around this time of year, MAYBE March, but there was snow (because we live in WISCO), but it was also sunny. Like where-are-my-sunglasses-I-am-blind-now sunny. And my mother, the tanning freak (I use this term affectionately) that she is, threw on her swim suit and went into our ‘back yard’ to catch some rays. I remember her swim suit – it was a two-piece. Royal blue with a lime green and white floral print on it. Kind of sporty looking. Now that I think about it, I feel like this moment has stuck in my memory because it is just completely ridiculous and fun. Which is another thing about my mother that I admire. She is cray. She’s got a freak flag, and she flies it. And she has always taught her children to do the same. Whether I realize it or not, I wake up every day and try to be that woman who lays in the snow in March to catch some rays JUST BECAUSE. I try to add a little unexpected crazy into my day. Because otherwise what is the point?

So, Loretta, thank you for having a spirit that is as bright as a million suns and love that radiates infinitely around you.

A Little Resolutionizing

I’m not even going to bother to define that word. I’ll just come clean: IT’S FAKE I JUST NEEDED A TITLE.

It’s that time of year again, and since my festie was so motivating, I’m going to share a resolution post of my own. It’s ok that the first week+ of the year was resolution free, right? “Not procrastinating” isn’t really on my to-do list. That was sooo 2010. However, since this topic will only be mildly appropriate/entertaining for a few more days, I figured that I should probably get on it ASAP.

I’ll start by saying that I LOVE to-do lists. Original, huh? Crazy type-A girl loves to make lists upon lists of things to do. When I was in school, these lists lived in my sketchbook and usually consisted of next steps I had to take for my furniture pieces written side-by-side with reactions I had to remember to stop or writing goals for my labs (barf). These days, my lists are on pink (bigger barf) post-it notes stuck to every inch of my desk—there are even post-it chains where one square wasn’t enough so I stuck another on the end to accommodate more items. Seriously. They’re even on my desk phone. The contents of the post-its are significantly less interesting: call so-and-so, prep for meeting, take things to drycleaners (this never gets crossed off the list because I always seem to forget that my coats need cleaning!), yada yada yada. Biggest barf (#beinggrownupsucks). Every now and then I’ll decide that I need to start from scratch and crumple everything up into a sticky post-it ball. I hope these are recyclable because they’re the only things that end up in the bin.

Post-its, post-its errywhere.

All this is to bring me to my first only resolution: 1) Make better lists.

Yes, it is the most generic, achievable goal I could have settled on (other than something like, “smile every day” or “laugh more” which are things that I do anyways and are on par with, “brush teeth regularly.”) **NOT to say that these aren’t perfectly fine resolutions for someone else…like Oscar.

ANYways, the “Better Lists” goal is to encourage me to get back to what I love to do. Since they’re “To-Do” lists, I figure that I can put things like, “Find a studio space” and, “Stop checking your email from bed” on them and I’ll be happier for it. What else will my Better List have on it? Read below and judge:

The Better List

1. Find a studio space. Told you this would be here. The thing I have missed the most about school is definitely the studio. I  can hardly believe that I’ve gone almost 6 months without touching a table saw—it breaks my heart more than a little bit.

2. Snowboard like the obsessive freak I am. It’s a seasonal goal, but one that means a lot to me. I got really carried away with school last winter and I’m pretty sure I never made it out (WHAT!?!!!). Which makes me feel like yelling a big “EFFF YOUUU” to myself. So this winter I will be have already started blowing all of my monies on lift tickets and transportation.

3. Go home more often. I miss real food, and my mother is an AMAZING cook. Ugh, drooling just thinking about it. I had really terrible Chinese takeout about a month ago and afterwards cried inside a little like a homesick tweenager. Will be heading home this weekend and eating myself into a coma.

4. Speak more Chinese. I swear I can speak another language; I just don’t really do it that often. AND I MISS IT. I was on the phone with my grandma for an hour this Christmas, and I found myself struggling to describe my job—NOT because it’s a struggle to describe what I do in any language (which it is), but because I couldn’t think of the right words to tell her that my job was difficult to describe without making it sound like I just didn’t know how to speak anymore. This becomes extra embarrassing when you realize that I didn’t even start speaking English until I started school. Fail.

5. Race pace under 8. A step back from last year’s race pace goal. I’ve been doing too much yoga and now I’m even slower. Whoops. On the plus side, my friend Patricia and I have found our newest talent: Snowga. Crow pose strapped into a snowboard would not have been possible before this year. Core, baby, core.

6. Stop checking my damn email in bed. Because getting notified that you have more work to do right before you go to bed or right after you wake up just freaking sucks. Also, looking at a little lighted phone screen in the dark hurts my eyes, and my dad always told me it’s bad for them. I don’t want to go blind in 2013.

There you have it: the start of The Better List. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve accomplished what I set out to do this year: I’ve made a better list. While I feel no pressure to do anything else, we all know the best part of to-do lists comes when you get to cross things off.

Happy New Beers!

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New Year’s Festolutions

Well, it’s about that time. That time when you realize the year is over and you better hurry up and eat the rest of the chips in the house because come tomorrow FESTOLUTIONS (or simply just resolutions) will be put into action, and if you are anything like me, you set wildly unachievable resolutions like “Yeah, I will quit eating chips, eat a balanced diet, run miles upon miles every day, do yoga for two hours each night, clean daily, bake pies for my neighbors, figure out what my dream job is get my dream job, get a puppy, get a guy, AND achieve world peace.” So yeah. . . It’s time to eat all of the chips in the house because, woah, are you feeling as much pressure as I am with these festolutions???

This is what happens when you eat too many chips (or kibble in this puppy’s case)

But really, I am a total weenie and LIVE for nostalgia. That’s right, I live so that I can look back on things fondly. Just ask my brother CE, he witnesses me reminiscing over signs, songs, and sayings whenever we hang out (Sorry, Bro.)

nos*tal*gia noun. A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typical for a period or place with happy personal associations (for me, this is basically any fond memory, usually associated with people, music, food, and funny phrases or occurrences)

INFACT, I have developed a new kind of nostalgia (or at least I haven’t ever heard anyone else talk about it, so this is me coining it) – Fustalgia. Yeah, that is Future+Nostalgia.

fus*tal*gia noun. A sentimental longing or wistful affection for instances in the future; feelings of nostalgia towards nostalgic moments that have not yet occurred

Naturally, I enjoy these last few days of the year because I can get my nostalgia AND my fustalgia on! And this year I’m going to share it with you! Aren’t you running for the door lucky!

I was out with a friend the other day, and we were discussing things that we’d like to do – some might call these ‘things’ goals – and after he listed one of his goals, I exclaimed, “OOOOH!!!! THAT WOULD MAKE A GREAT NEW YEARS RESOLUTION!” That is in all caps because I yelled it because I am that embarrassing girl at the quiet bar who is yelling because she A) gets easily excited B) doesn’t realize how loud her voice is and C) doesn’t really care how loud her voice is BECAUSE WHATEVER SHE IS YELLING ABOUT IS OBVIOUSLY AWESOME. So I told him his idea was awesome, and that it would make a great New Years Resolution. His face immediately turned inside out and fell onto the floor. No, just kidding, that would be gross/scary. But he did look at me like he wanted to throw up on me/like I was crazy (still gross, not scary). I’m sure I started yelling rubbish at him at this point, but he further explained that resolutions aren’t his thing because it turns an idea into an assignment. Into a task. Into a have to, rather than a want to. An enjoy to. I feel like this is a fairly common reaction to resolutions, and I think part of that is what I was hinting at near the beginning of this post: Don’t get too crazy, kids! Just because the word ‘resolution’ sounds big and scary doesn’t mean it actually has to be big and scary (That’s what she said?). Set realistic goals for yourself. Really, all resolutions are is a way of listing what you want to do to become a better version of yourself. And it can be just a tiny little piece, like making your bed every day (though I find this unnecessary – why wreck a perfectly built nest?) or walking instead of taking a taxi (as if I have ever taken a taxi) or eating carrots and snap peas instead of chips three days a week (this one is actually making my list). It’s just not realistic to quit eating chips all-together! (and not enjoyable) BUT ya know what IS enjoyable? Not eating an entire bag of chips in one sitting (or so they say…).

Yes, I realize that my first ‘resolution’ of 2013, as of one sentence ago, is not eating an entire bag of chips in one sitting. My life is a sham. Call the snack police. This girl is cray!

If you’ve made it this far, you deserve to hear some of my ACTUAL reflections and resolutions. So here goes it:

Notable Moments of 2012

• Graduated from UW-Madison with a 3.7 and a degree in Studio Arts (I focused in woodworking and furniture design, but that is neither here nor there)
  

  Dazed&ConfusedGrad

• Got a new job to replace a job that wasn’t making me happy anymore
• Quit smoking (twice )
• Made new friends//stayed connected with old (and very dear) friends
• Moved into a new house with two amazing roomies
• Made lots of furniture that I am very proud of

• Measured my love for my family every day
• Wrote thank you notes
• Created a blog with my festie

Ideas for 2013

• Do more yoga
• Eat healthier, Ma always says moderation is key
• Move to a new city//state
• Take more chances
• Be present to life RIGHT NOW; be happy in the moment
• Create
• Love

As you can see, my ideas and goals for 2013 are broad – it will hopefully be a year of getting into a healthier life rhythm. A year of enjoying life and jumping in head first. I am realizing that since I’m all graduated I am free to do anything that I please – it is an exhilarating feeling. It can be overwhelming. It’s like wading into Lake Michigan in the summer – You are halfway to the second sandbar and the water is freezing, just up to your belly button. It’s so cold you are shaking. But at some point, you just have to hold your breath and dunk yourself, because once you come back up, it feels so much warmer, ya know?

So I am going to spend this New Year’s Eve with family and friends and my festie. Eating food, drinking spirits, laughing, baking cookies, and playing games because that’s how we roll.

Anyone else have any festolutions, resolution, goals, or ideas? Any bad habits you are going to kick or good habits you are going to instill? Any killer or decidedly mediocre NYE plans?

HNY//lovefromthefesties

 

Snacks on Snacks Because We Like Snacks

First, watch this video: !!!W A R N I N G!!!…it’s slightly very offensive (skip to 1:00 to glaze over the intro). Or better yet, jump to 4:37 to get right to the good part. Or just take our word for it and believe that all the video says is “snacks on snacks!” But really, if you want to watch it, go ahead. It’s offensive. You are warned. Proceed as you see fit: SNACKS-ON-SNACKS-ON-SNACKS

Ok, so now that your opinion of us may or may not be ruined, let me explain what this post is really about.

graz*er noun. A term that describes one who eats (or prefers to eat) snacks throughout the day in place of larger meals. These snacks may include, but are not limited to, chips, spicy Cheetos, flaming hot Chester’s fries, salt & vinegar or jalapeno kettle chips, pickle-flavored chips, guacamole, chocolate things, nachos, Pringles, gold-fish, SPACE ADVENTURE GOLDFISH, nutella-banana-pretzles, salsa, string cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, gorgonzola crackers, carrots, sugar snap peas, humus, veggie sticks, greek yogurt dips (or just greek yogurt in general), apples, raspberries, citrus, walnuts, trail mix, and gummy vitamins.

snack out or snackout noun. Used to describe the grazing event. May be an event with single or multiple participants. e.g. “Wanna snack out with me?” Related words: snacking out (verb), snack out black out (noun).

snack out black out (snackout blackout) noun. An activity usually characteristic of a particularly passionate grazer. A “snack out black out” occurs when one has literally snacked out so much that one no longer remembers the snacking. e.g. commenting, “wow, dinner is in 15 minutes and I’m not hungry. Weird!” Later, the commenter will be reminded that they are not hungry because they consumed a full bag of chips/carrots/nachos/etc. before the normal meal.

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As you may have gathered, this post is about the festie habit of snacking. Because let’s face it, anyone who actually knows us (i.e. Marley and me), knows that we prefer snacking to any other form of consumption (besides the shopping kind, which is another issue that will be tackled at a future date). Our snacking habits (accompanied by our mutual love of inappropriate jokes) may have been the first indication of our festie relationship. One of my earliest memories of us is of hiding behind woodworking benches munching on bags of snack mixes we had picked up at the grocery store close to the UW Humanities building. We had a pretty cozy corner back there. While others may find it strange that we prefer our carpet or concrete picnics to their fancy-schmancy sit down dinners, we know that snacking is the best and most interesting way to eat.

A festie in her natural habitat

Snacking is like having a 4, 5, or 15 course meal for the price of one! What could be better? Instead of trying to decide on ONE thing that you would like to enjoy, a snacker is able to pick a plethora of items they would like to savor without worrying that they will become full/poor/bored before they have the chance to taste everything! Trust us, the benefits of a balanced meal pale when compared to the benefits of getting to eat anything/everything your heart desires.

Fries: a food group that is a wonderful (and cheap!) option for snackers everywhere.

There is only one very small downside to the snack lyfe. If you live like this long enough, your friends start to assume that you never eat meals and stop pressuring your to join them for “real food.” Without these spurts of normality, the snack lyfe can be a dangerous, nutrient-lacking abyss. Not to worry though, the festies have found a solution! They are called VITAMINS and they are best only acceptable in gummy form.

Now, before you judge us on our eating habits, let me remind you that we are GROWN UPS and allowed to eat ANY WAY THAT WE WANT. Also, we are both exercisers (sort of). Marley is Miss walks-a-lot and lately Becca has been spending a lot of time on her head. That is all.