the "REALLY?!" post + Toby!

Just some thoughts.

So I drive on the high way almost everyday for a good 80 minutes total. I see a lot of cars and well, a lot of stupid shit. I disdain when I pass a BMW, "the ULTIMATE" driving machine. Even more so when I'm only doing something like 65. I hate it even worse when I see they are dealer plates and they are test driving a vehicle. I cannot help but think, this is a high way, you're in a dream machine, PRESS DOWN ON THE GAS. Those people should not be allowed to purchase a BMW. There is only one exception here, and that is for my father, who I like to call a true war hero (yeah, Vietnam). He owns a BMW 5 series. I believe it is an '05. My dad drives under the speed limit. He has set the car to make a pleasant ringing noise once he hits 40 MPH. Given, my dad has a 15 minute drive to work where all the roads are 35 MPH speed limits, but REALLY?! I don't think he has ever gotten a ticket. So if you see a 5 series scootin' around Naperville with vet plates, don't get mad, just pass him, flash a smile, and wave. He means no harm.

Something that I also find just plain stupid is men who spend $50,000 on an SUV and allow their wives to prance home from places like Target and Just Ducky with those god awful family stickers and put them on the back. You know what I'm talking about. Those little decals where it shows the Dad (he is ALWAYS the tallest one), the mom (who is doing something stupid like wearing yoga pants or curling her hair), a little girl (she will have ballet slippers on or maybe pom poms in hand), and a little boy (he will be wearing a lame polo and holding a golf club or tennis racket). OH don't even dare forget about the pets that have their own little stickers. What self respecting male allows this to happen? REALLY?! You're going to have your whole little family stuck on the back of your automobile. I always have to chuckle also because in the series 'Dexter' a serial killer uses those stickers to track down a victim. ha ha ha. Drive on, assholes.

See here. REALLY?!

But on a whole other note, things are going very well. I needed to get those thoughts out.

So to not make this post completely useless, I suppose I will mention our new cat that came into our lives yesterday! A woman I met in school posted a status that she needed to find a home for her cat, Toby. Luckily, we ended up getting him and he is the best cat ever! I think he really digs it here, he is great company :)

One rad cat.

Best in show + bleach.

Before we get to anything else...

Natalie Merchant must be mentioned.

I believe I saw one of my favourite shows on Thursday July 22, 2010.

no no, I KNOW I saw one of my favourite shows.

My mom and I outside the Chicago Theater

I wrote a review on Ticketmaster's website, so I'll link that.

REVIEW

**I've decided to copy it here:

WOW. This was amazing. My mom turned me on to Natalie Merchant when I was about 5 years old and in return I bought her a ticket and yes, we were the "Mother Daughter?" group that she asked about :) I fell in love with her work in 10,000 Maniacs and that music still reminds me of my youth, although this music has gathered more respect and adoration to me as time goes on. I loved her solo work, Tigerlily & Ophelia. I have to admit, I was not well versed in her new album. I had some idea that they were nursery rhyme related but didn't know the whole background. I actually kind of wanted to go to this show and not know what to expect. However, I looked at prior set lists the night before to see what Chicago was in for and loved what I saw. New & OLD. But not just old as in solo, but bringing back stuff from the 10,000 Maniacs days.

As she approached the stage, she seemed so strong. As you watched her perform, she confirmed that. She is exactly that, a strong woman with so much to sing about and tell about. She more so gave a presentation. Her new album is composed of poems from various poets, over many decades, from different areas of the world. As she went into each song, she used a powerpoint to deliver pictures while she shared information about each one. It was such a unique concert. What is even more unique is the fact that she was able to turn old poems into new songs that can deliver with such flair and technique. I loved that she talked to the crowd SO much. I love it when an artists connects with the people who come to see them. It makes it much more personal and enjoyable.

I was lucky enough to snag the one and only set list for the show...The first 15 songs were from her new album.

Part 1: Crying My Little One, Sleepy Giant, Man In The Wilderness, King of China, Sailor O Sailor, Spring & Fall, Maggie & Milly & Maggie & Mae, Peppery Man, Janitor's Boy, Bleezer's Ice Cream, Isabel, Calico Pie, If No One Ever Marries Me, The Dancing Bear, Equestrienne

So for "The Dancing Bear" I really wanted to dance in the aisle because I love that song and how funky the instruments are. I had seats in the back and people back there were like "rush the stage!" so I went up right by the staged and just danced my heart out. It was Natalie Merchant. I don't know if I'll get to see her live, so of course I'm going to enjoy myself. This is when I ended up snagging a spot right up front. At the end of this set when people started clearing out, I ran back to get my mom to come and sit up front with me. This is an important factor...

Okay that was all in order. For the second half, the crowd got a little goofy. People were calling out requests and it was so funny with shout outs like "Freebird!", "Smoke On The Water", "Dust In The wind!!" Her guitarists starts playing 'Dust In the Wind' and she went with it for awhile, but they didn't match on a key so they continued to joke with the crowd. She didn't really stick to the set list order and they just kind of went with it. She started with..

Part 2: Wonder, River, The Worst Thing, Break Your Heart, Carnival, The Letter, and I honestly forgot the order of the last songs, but she ended with Kind and Generous. WOW. HOW amazing. She spotted me numerous times (I was wearing her merchandise--which has a great design) and at the end for 'Kind & Generous" My mom and I were dancing and she looked down at us and asked "Mother Daughter?" ha ha. That was awesome.

Overall it was an AMAZING show. The best concert I've ever been to. A moment that really stood out to me and I don't know why is her taking her hair down about 6 songs into the act. As I said, she came out and appeared VERY strong and poised. I guess it was her loosening up. But it stood out to me.

The only downside of this entire experience would be the surplus of people getting up and down for liquor. That's the problem with shows today (as I'm only 22 I suppose I know nothing about shows in the 60's-70's-80's) is the fact that liquor is sold. Flasks were fine--there was enough to getcha by. Now people just go too overboard and can sometimes ruin the experience for others.

I really wish I held a ticket to other shows. Hopefully one day she will be back!

Favorite moment: "The Dancing Bear", "Kind & Generous", and her talking to the crowd and enjoying herself as well.

Okay. On to what is going on in the now...

this first sentence will surely contradict that, but I'll getcha back on track

A few months ago, I packed up the important tangibles and moved in with my boyfriend.

Over these past few months we have accomplished so many things in this house. It feels more home-y with every picture of us on vacation that we hang. So earlier in the week, my mom had phoned asking if she could stop by the place. A few factors had gotten in the way of that sooner (i.e. we had to get our house in order, we took a vacation, so did they, and they have a summerhouse they spend weekends at, etc) so now was the time.

This was no little simplistic "aw, my parents are coming." Well, it sort of was, but mostly it was like "This is your time to prove yourself. There will be no dust or dirt." This feeling was brought on by my parents telling me my whole life "We can't wait to come to your house and see how you life when you're all out on your own with no one to clean up after you."

I keep a clean quarters naturally. It's a completely different circumstance when you are living under a roof that is not your parents. Most people take initiative to clean up after themselves and maintain a reasonable amount of cleanliness. It just matters when it's your shit that we are talking about. It's a tad unfortunate, but it's just the name of the game.

I knew what I was in for. I knew that I would have to deep clean. Like I said, I have a clean house, but I needed to go all out, I need the bleach to soak in my pores and wear its scent with pride. I needed a pack of sponges, 3 rolls of economy size paper towels, and a lot of determination. Eric equipped me with a new vacuum and dust buster to really get things going. I windex-ed away smudges and wiped away the dust on the window sills. Overall, I put in 12+ hours of cleaning. I probably did way more than I should have, but now I feel like our house is so clean, there are no more dusties hanging out in corners anymore. What an accomplishment. When you have any size space to maintain, there is always a point of ease while trying to do so. There is always a time where it will be clean and then a time where less time will be spent tidying and eventually it's something you have to "put aside time" to do. So for now we are in the clean cycle and I WILL maintain it. Unfortunately, my parents only breathed the air in my house for less than twenty minutes. However, I think they thought it was pretty clean. I'm sure it was worth the 14 hours...

At least we got Chinese food at our favourite restaurant before they headed out. I cannot go a week without it!

For now, I want to enjoy my clean floors and carpet with vacuum lines in them!

G'night!

-Tessa

Operation: giving a shit about my body

The other day I stopped at home to grab some mail and basically just say "hey" to my parents. My dad was in the kitchen and we found ourselves chatting. I told him I had been feeling kind of janky lately. He said "You're looking too skinny...how much do you weigh...please eat something or drink some juice." Hm. This was odd. I had been skinny before. Much skinnier in fact. That would be the anorexia and bulimia episode that I went through a few years ago and got over. This time around it was me just not eating as much as I normally do. Since moving in with Eric, I have found myself eating significantly less. I am not really skating as much or trying to get outside to take 30 minute walks everyday. I also found myself not really eating proper dinners. I fore-go eating in order to just keep working through the shift. I am not intentionally trying to lose weight, I just did. I lost quite a bit in fact...

My dads comment kind of made me a little happy I guess. It was more so a back-handed compliment. To me anyways. I always prefer to be on the thin side, I just feel more comfortable. At the same time, I desire to have a figure. A body that's appealing to look at. It's a tough place for me to be in. Over these past three days, I have just sort of made this effort to eat whatever the hell I wanted. I don't normally go nuts over eating. I prefer to just eat small amounts. Not this weekend; it was sort of a three day pig-out. I have a bit of self-loathing going on with a feeling of absolute righteousness. It is so nice to just let yourself have a weekend to eat what you'd like. Now it's time for Operation: time to give a shit about my body.

I want to start eating damn healthy. I don't want my immune to falter and I want my body to be in good working order. It just feels good when you're eating right and eating good complete meals. Another factor that would contribute would be the ATV tumble that Eric and I took this weekend. Instead of a day of fun in Wisconsin, it ended up to be a day of grass stains, emergency rooms, and sore bodies. In Eric's case it resulted in a broken clavicle. The ATV hit my back in the flip, but it just hurts and my torso is in a lot of pain. So this weekend has consisted of a whole bunch of nothing which of course is glorious. It is actually kind of nice when one of us is sick and/or has an injury because we can just sit and hang out and take care of one another. I really enjoy just sitting back and relaxing/resting. We both need it. I enjoy taking care of my handsome lad :) I just want to feel good in all other aspects and I want to heal quickly. I can't believe I've been eating like such an asshole lately. I really need to start eating veggies and fruit again and good set meals, not just small things here and there.

Today I anticipated grocery shopping. I had a damn good plan. I made a super healthy/delicious shopping list based on these lists; List one and List 2 and I wanted to load up the house with stuff that was healthy yet good to eat. That is often the problem. I just jot random healthy shit on my grocery list without a plan and come home and a yellow pepper will sit on the counter without a purpose. So I sat down and thought of meals, snacks, breakfasts and all sorts of good stuff to plan out. Then I went to Target's website to see if any of the items I wanted or needed were on sale. Some were--bonus. Oh yeah. I planned my trip out so nicely. Hopefully I will continue to make absolutely fantastic shopping lists. I even marked the items by what section of the store they could be found in :)

Excuse me, I have a NATALIE MERCHANT concert to get very excited for! It's going down on Thursday.

-Tessa

2010 musical picks.

So let's talk.
More specifically, let's talk about this year so far and them music that has made it so great.

This is more so aimed for my taste and my own general opinion.
Also it contains music that was out before 2010, but just seeped into my eardrums after the turn of the new year or at least made a different impression on me in 2010. I think the sea of artists that have come through Chicago in the past 6 months has been amazing. There have been so many concerts that I've had to miss out on but I think that I held the tickets to the best shows that came around. Again, in my opinion. I feel so lucky to have seen some of these artists. Every show is a different experience and a new group of people. A show is something I can really lose myself in. I have so much fun and love live music.

I compiled eight different songs on...well, 8tracks.

HERE is the link. This way you can actually listen to them. These are really in no particular order.



1) Howl by Florence + The Machine: I saw Ms. Florence Welch herself along with her band back in April at the House of Blues in Chicago. If you look-up the shows reviews you might read that "she didn't perform her best". I don't know what her "best" is, but I thought she was fucking phenomenal. I was front row for that show (I blogged about it at length below a few posts so I won't go on about it here). Anywho, she opened with the song "Howl". I was actually able to see the setlist from where I was standing in the crowd. When I first saw it I wasn't thrilled. I liked the song a lot, but it wasn't one of my favourites. I wanted her to play 'Between Two Lungs' or 'Dog Days Are Over' as an intro (they just sound like opening songs, you know?). The way it was performed and how good it was made all the difference. It was so powerful that after the concert it became one of my favourites and I felt sheepish for glossing it over so quickly before the fact. It is one of my top 8 for those reasons, however it was released in the summer of 2009.

2)Got Nuffin By Spoon: I love this song AND it actually came out in 2010 AND I saw it live. All wins. Also it reminds me of something you might hear on "Gimme Fiction" which is a great album. I love seeing Spoon live. I'm happy, but more importantly, ERIC is happy. We have a great time at their shows and I hope we see them at least 5 more times in our lifetime. We have seen them at the Aragon Ballroom and at The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. I love the lead singer, Britt Daniel, and his stage presence and voice. I love that he always sounds like he's got a cigarette in his hand but he has control over his voice and can carry tune. All in all, this song was a great one on their Album released in January of this year called "Transference".


3) & 4) Your Hands (Together) & Crash Years By The New Pornographers: Another bonus because these two songs both came out this year and make an appearance on their latest called "Together". These are two of my favourites on this album. It reminds me of our vacation we just took because we always had it in the car with us so we heard it on constant loop. I love having specific memories to an album. It makes it that much more significant. Another good artist that came out with an album this year. I really like The New Pornographers. Their last album 'Challengers' was something I really enjoyed but I feel that I didn't delve into it well enough. It deserves some playing. Perhaps I'll throwback and give their old album a listen today.

5)Feeling Good By My Brightest Diamond: I LOVE her voice and by her I mean Shara Wordon. It's jazzy and blues-y and I adore it. I really like it when new music sounds like older music. Older music was good. She has got a style to her music and a depth to her voice. Check this song out for sure. It appears on the album 'Dark Was The Night'. I haven't heard enough to rave about the album, just the song at this point.

6)Like Spinning Plates (LIVE) by Radiohead: Yes. This song came out in 2001. No I did NOT just here it a near decade later for the first time. But I did hear it come out of Thom Yorke's mouth earlier this year in April over at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. I was so stoked that I got to hear 'Eraser' in its entirety live (and the fact that Flying Lotus opened for him) but of course when you see Thom Yorke you just want to hear some classic Radiohead. He delivered with 'Like Spinning Plates' & 'Airbag'. Quite fantastic. When he came back and broke out the intro on piano I couldn't believe it. I was thinking "Holy shit, Thom Yorke is fucking IN THIS ROOM playing piano and singing. The room was pretty much quiet except for the familiar chords and his voice adding lyric over melody. It gave the song new life and new importance. What a show.

7)Leaf House By Animal Collective: This song is so funky. That is the exact reason why I like this song and many other songs by this group. This is one of those that you might skip over the first few times, but once you hear it through you have to keep hearing it. This song also came out way before 2010...but on the album 'Sung Tongs' in 2004. This band has been around a long time, but just started gaining more recognition with their songs 'My Girls' & 'Summertime Clothes'. I can't say that I like every song that Animal Collective puts out, but the majority of them capture me because they are so unique. I find myself putting a lot of their stuff on people's mix CD.

8)Sleepyhead By Passion Pit: This has to be one of my favourite songs. Eric says that this song reminds him exclusively of me. It makes me feel so happy. I also secretly (well not so much anymore!) want to do the little voice at the beginning and throughout. I saw this song performed live April 22 at the Congress Theater in Chicago. This was the song I went there hoping to hear. The show was short. This was due to the lead singer, Michael Angelakos, having a sinus infection. For the problem being present, he performed and sounded SO good. So of course they close out the show. They come back out and start the crowd back up with 'Sleepyhead'. I was ecstatic. I tend to lose my shit at shows. Meaning I get into the music with every fiber of my being. I love to jump around, dance, and just have a good time. This show was a perfect example of just that. We weren't concerned with being front row for this one. I just loved being there and dancing to this bands music. It was so fun!


Wow. What good artists that have made their way through here. I feel most lucky to live by a big city when it comes to the choices of shows. I think I saw 5 shows in just over a month. It had to be that way unless there would have been some major disappointments. 3 of them were birthday presents, but that made it easy on him. He knows some of those shows were must see, so it was easy to slap a happy birthday on that (who wouldn't!). Natalie Fucking Merchant. I still cannot believe that I get to see her. I don't care if I go and she performs the Alphabet. I am so amped. Thom Yorke and Natalie Merchant in my golden year. ON TOP OF THAT amazing happening, we also have some new information from Pitchfork that Radiohead might be dropping their new album later this year. What a treat! That would be so so so so great. You know who else needs to come through here? DAVID BYRNE! A TALKING HEADS REUNION? sorry. It just seems like everything I've wished for musically has come true this year.

I would REALLY like to see a few other bands and hopefully I'll get the chance. I would love to see The Decemberists perform 'Hazards of Love'. I love that the two girls that Colin Meloy chose to play roles in the album were from two different bands with similar names, Shara Wordon My Brightest Diamond and Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond. The Temper Trap and The New Pornographers would be be nice to see as well. The XX just announced a fall tour all through the US and Europe, but since they will be at LOLLA most likely I will not be seeing them. Interpol just announced North American tour

It seems like every time I flip through Twitter, Pitchfork is announcing the release of a new album. Arcade Fire and Zero 7 have new albums and Arcade Fire is having 8 different album covers for their new one. Dirty Projectors & Bjork recently worked together and are releasing the collaboration efforts. Again, I am just so thrilled to hear that Radiohead is working together. They are so close to being done with their new album and their guitarist Ed O'Brien talks so enthusiastically about it happening this year. We shall see.


Check out: http://pitchfork.com/


Shows I've seen this year so far: Spoon (12/31), Spoon (4/1/10), Thom Yorke (4/10), Florence & The Machine (4/10), Passion Pit (4/10), Metric (5/10), Phish (5/10). And I hold tickets to Modest Mouse at the Pitchfork Festival and Natalie Merchant at the Chicago Theater.

Get your hands on some tickets AND NEW ALBUMS!

-tessa

The tales of butter & cream

what is the point?

I am confident while being insecure.

I'm happy while being devastated.

I'm calm when I'm anxious.

I am like a fucking living oxymoron.

How irritating.

On another note...well... kind of;

While I find myself in complete happiness, I'm wondering if I used to be happier. This summer doesn't really feel like summer. It could be my over-awareness of the rays hitting my skin and my prevention of that happening...but I feel like I am not happy about summer. I used to love walking around in tank tops and go on long walks or roller blading after a morning of skating. I loved meeting up with friends to take walks in the neighborhood. I liked the familiar aspect of it all. How summers were really easy. A 15 minute drive to work, friends five minutes away, early nights, late nights with friends. It's different now, but I am still extremely happy. Now I excitedly come home to my best friend who, luckily, is also my boyfriend-- and we eat dinners and go on walks. We watch and laugh over our favourite shows and play call of duty late into the night. It's quite the set up and I love it. But it is different than the life I used to lead. Which is okay, but it leaves me comparing. There is really no comparison.

I started a new endeavor. How like me. I started decorating at home. I went over to the Wilton tent sale where all of their supplies are 50% off. They make baking supplies as well as things like teapots, coffee mugs, etc. So I went and got bags, tips, cuplers, colours, cake tins, a rolling pin, the list goes on and on...

I actually ended up going two days in a row.

So I spent the weekend making cakes and cookies and buttercream frosting in an assortment of colours and decorating things for fathers day. I am so excited to get things rolling along at home. I really love decorating at work but sometimes the downfall is having to stick to designs without creative input. Although sometimes it's an advantage because you don't have to come up with it out your own, heh. At home I have the freedom to do whatever I want which is great. I want to get really efficient in making cookies and frosting and be able to roll them out for various occasions. YAY!

This week (and next) my schedule got switched and I will be working nights. This kind of a bummer. The in-predictability of the shift makes it more of a nuisance because you never know when you will be walking out the door. But sometimes we get out really early which is great, and some nights I don't care how late we are there. I just prefer opening shifts because I'm up and at 'em at 5:45 and I get a guaranteed 6.5 hours which is nice. I just prefer to enjoy as much as my day as I possibly can. When I close I often end up sleeping until 10 which leaves me moving with enough time to get to work by two. I also like the guarantee of getting off work at a set time. I'm just thankful that no matter what time I start, I look forward to going. It's so nice to see improvements and get new ideas for how to do something. I'm lucky.

I hope I don't miss summer once it is Winter. But I have a feeling with my adoration for gloom, it should fit in perfectly with my life :)

Lets hope for some gloomy weather and storms this week!

-Tessa

vacation wrap up.

Alas. Blogging again.

And it is a rainy day! bonus.

I've been putting this of for far too long simply because so much has occured. I think I've seen Metric, Gone on vacation to Hilton Head/Savannah for a week, saw Phish, and worked at another store location, and got a stellar new phone! We've also cleaned this house up so damn well and have added things that make it way personal. So where to begin?

Lets start with Vacation (and end with it not really in the mood to go on about the last four weeks). What an amazing time. Of course, when it includes Eric and I, nothing will be conventional. Our vacation started with us landing on the Savannah runway to only receive a voicemail stating that Eric's Grandmother had been hospitalized for a stroke. Unaware of the severity or the lack there of, had us renting the car (a convertible!) and getting to the Hilton Head hospital in a frenzy. We got there to find out that she had a minor stroke, but would need to remain inpatient for the next few days. Also, this vacation was not one that was planned to include just Eric and I. His cousin, her husband, and their new baby were also to meet us up there. Last minute, his aunt, uncle and two other cousins decided to come down. This only added to his grandparents and Aunt & Uncle already living down there. The first few days were revolved mostly around family mostly because of his grandmothers condition and Eric's birthday that was on June 1st.

Our first two nights were spent in Downtown Savannah. Our first night we ended up getting back in the room exceptionally late and settled in with some episodes of Arrested Development. The second night we went around downtown Savannah and knocked back a few at Eric's favourite pub, Kevin Barry's. We had a great time roaming the cobblestone streets as the drinks made us melt into the night-time heat. What an enjoyable night. It was kind of nice to stay in Savannah for our first two nights while everyone was back in Hilton Head. It allocated long drives at night in the convertible enjoying the Savannah nights. Hilton Head/Savannah are such beautiful places. I love the minimal sign-age that is found throughout the island--and how everything is hidden and classy. It was also nice to walk out your hotel and down to the nightlife of downtown.

Our next three nights would be spent at the Westin in Port Royal where our room would be equipped with a private balcony overlooking the ocean. These things occurred in three days/nights; many complaints would be made to the front desk resulting in candy and sodas, hours worth of conversation on our balcony at night, a fantastic birthday dinner followed by billiards, naming and making friends with a huge spider on our balcony, A couples massage/jacuzzi & tons of champagne and the amazing spa, hangin out in the ocean and on the beach, racking up a huge phone bill, and room service that consisted of Nova Lox! The setting of this hotel made it so easy to relax. It seemed like every hotel that we stayed at had a different feel and had a different advantage. We loved the privacy of the balcony at the Westin on the beach but loved the openness and height of the Westin we stayed in on our last two nights overlooking downtown Savannah.

This vacation really rejuvenated us. Especially Eric. He needed this vacation. Normally after 7 months of being here, I am in dire need of a change in scenery. Eric hadn't really had a proper vacation in 3 years so we both indulged in what vacation had to offer. We both made an ecstatic effort to get the new EVO 4G Sprint phones that came out a week or so ago during one of our last days there and now are both enjoying the perks of 4G on the now network.

I think in my head, I still think I am there sometimes. I love how free the week was. How happy Eric and I were (and how i'm glad that transcended so well to our life back home). I wish we could go back there. Although, I wouldn't want to stay again there next year, we decided every other year we will find ourselves in Savannah/Hilton Head. Eric's family has been going there for so many years, so he was so anxious so show me around and that was so great to understand why it meant so much to him :)

some pictures that were taken by Eric and his beloved tri-pod.

Us at Sea Pines

The Westin in Savannah. We stayed here our last two nights.

I loved this hotel.

on the balcony at the Savannah Westin

Erics Birthday :)

Lightning over the ocean.

Eric was messing around with his camera during one of the most insane thunderstorms I had ever been in. We were on our balcony and the thunder was so loud and the lightning just about blinded me. How amazing. This shot was taken at night. Around 11:45 pm. That's how bright this lightning was.

downtown Savannah at night

If you find yourself wondering if there were any downfalls on the trip--there were! No Chipotle FOR 150+ MILES. If you go to Hilton Head you better not find yourself craving your beloved chicken burrito bowl or tacos slathered with barbacoa and sour cream ;)

Life has been good. We have been living comfortably and at the end of the trip it did feel good to come home. After being in so many different clean houses of his relatives and staying in hotel rooms that got cleaned, it inspired me to make a drastic effort to keep the house super clean when we got home. I've been pressuring Eric like crazy to clean is office to make it double as a hang out room since it is so big. Since mentioning, the office has become quite clean and is now equipped with a new 52" flatscreen. Good stuff. Our house is finally ready to show off!

What has been keeping you busy??

becoming see through.

my goodness.

I remember the days where I would update this thing everyday.

It has now been reduced to 2 times a month. How sad.

Needless to say, things have been busy aka I've been sleeping in really late.

We like to stay in bed until 11am which is extremely problematic.

I like to be an early riser and get as much done in the morning as I can.

At the same time I'm doing a fine job of hitting the snooze button at least a dozen times a day.

Anywho--

things have been going very well with me.

Work has been really good.

Things are starting to die down since there are no more big holidays until October.

I love my job in the summer.

We have a few late nights in there, but for the most part we get out pretty early and when you're working nights that is a huge perk.

They are actually starting to put me on morning shifts.
It will suck to get up at 5:45 2-3 times a week, but it will be righteous to get home at 3.

I can be either a morning person or a night person.

YAY for adaptability!

I feel like I am finally adjusted to the new location of where I live.

I feel so comfortable here.

&

I've been noticing that it is the little things that are melting my heart.

I feel very at peace.

So lets talk about this magazine called "Real Simple"

The first time I picked it up I felt like I was 32 and had two kids.

It seemed like "that kind of magazine"...

The May issue is everything I could want and more.

Can you say FLORALS?!

I love anything floral/antique-y looking and they have a spread devoted to decorating with florals.

Too bad I cant chick this place out with shades of purple and flower shit everywhere.

I respect that I live with a dude.

That dude happens to be my boyfriend and I think we both are content with the Grey, Blue, and Green paint that cover the various walls of this home.

They also have this spread that makes me feel like I'm 60 because it's aimed at moms

& what to get for them for mothers day.

I like everything they suggest.

Plus they have some really good recipes this month

check it out.

On another note, I'm trying not to blow all my money on Etsy purchases.

My new frequently searched item are oxford boots.

I ordered a pair of black ones and am in love with them.

I need brown ones to match!

We are going on vacation soon and I have no idea what to pack.

We will be headin down to Savannah & Hilton Head at the end of the month--

so many things to look forward to!

I wish I didn't suck so much at packing.

Every trip I go on I end up hating nearly everything I brought along with me.

I hope to avoid this problem.

The logical me wants to start making a list of all the things I need & keep adding things day by day. The procrastinator in me will probably forget all about this.

I am so excited for a change of scenery.

I am also excited to head out to the city tomorrow for my friend, Yara's, birthday shindig!

I enjoy the city very much so in small doses.

my $50 target gift card came today courtesy of Chase & their debit rewards!

WOOHOO!

I wish it didn't take me three days to keep coming back to this post!

Q: What is your favourite song right now?

t e s s a x

Florence and her Machines / Thom Yorke

Jaw to the ground.

That would describe the past two nights of music that encompassed every ounce of my energy and attention. Two of my favourite artists back to back;

Thom Yorke &

Florence + The Machine.

Ideally, I wanted to be front row for both, but the reality will unfold later and through pictures.

So Thom was GREAT. He is in a new band called Atoms For Peace which consists of members such as Flea from RHCP and drummers that played with Beck & R.E.M. aka these guys know what they're doing. The show was absolutely phenomenal. They played 'The Eraser' in its entirety and in order and after that set Thom appeared and played two Radiohead songs; "Like Spinning Plates" & "Airbag". This followed with a few Atoms For Peace song. It was great because it was mellow dramatic, yet very upbeat and enlightening--we were surrounded by good people. Unfortunately the place was packed, but it's Thom Yorke. What the hell else do you expect?

So after coming down from such a great show, the next night I saw Florence + The Machine with Cady. I introduced her to Florence's wonderful, wonderful music. I was extremely excited to see her live. Her voice is a powerhouse. I have got to say this is one of the best shows I have ever been to. I have been in absolute love with her album, 'Lungs' since August. If there is any regret from the entire experience it is that I did not purchase a ticket for each show of the tour. I snagged front row more than halfway through the concert and was like, a foot away. I got a set list as well! She played every song from her album, minus one which would be "Girl With One Eye", which would have been great to see live, but oh well. She played another song that is not on her album, "Hardest of Hearts", which was really good. What an amazing performer! She has this amazing energy when she performs and she talks to the crowd a lot which I really like. The crowd at this show was pretty good--I seem to get lucky at shows and make good with the people around us. It's just a better overall experience if you feel comfortable with people around you. This applies to all situations, but especially shows. I actually threw a little something up on the stage. Back in August when I first fell in love with her music I was in N Carolina--Asheville more specifically and I was in a little hippie shop and they had a huge basket of pins. I got about 5. I got one for the main reason of it looking like Florence. I loved that pin. But since I scored tickets to the show, I figured she should have it. So I attached it to a note and threw it up on stage just as the main set ended before the encore. A random set dude picked it up and put it by her water. I think Ill wonder forever if she ever got that pin. I sure hope so--she rocks. so anywho...here are the visuals!

I feel very, very lucky to have seen both of these artists!

Aside from shows--our big home repairs have neared come to a close! (crosses fingers). Hopefully this will last. I'm loving our new sink that gave us some major problems, but all turned out okay in the end. We just need to get some additional stuff cleaned up in the room/office. I really hope to tackle some gardening soon! I have quite a project ahead of me. Nothing a trip to Borders to purchase a gardening book can't solve! (I always end up walking away with a bargain section book)

ALAS! TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! I cannot wait. Casual Friday! Love it. I think that working in a cookie shop should be grounds to wear whatever you want. It brings out my artsy side so I always look forward to Fridays so I can ditch the polo. I got the sweetest pants today--They are purple velvet spandex! I love them very much and snagged em on sale! I feel like Johnny Depp, well wardrobe wise, in Willy Wonka when I wear them.

Today I received a great compliment!: "Tessa isn't normal..."

this wasn't said as a bad thing but isn't that a great thing regardless of how it's said?

Smile! :)

-Tessa

We have nothing planned for this weekend (I want to convince Eric to go to Lalo's! I'm in need of a good chips n' salsa fix along with a fishbowl size margarita. Man oh man! I hope he is down for it.

I might have to lose an eye!

2 different hardware stores in one day? Why yes, this occurred today.

Sprinting through Ikea to get "just what we need" (which turns out to be what I'd like to call A dream come true in the kitchen)--why yes, this occurred as well;

A faucet with a freaking restaurant style sprayer!

After working in food service for the working years of my life, living without a sprayer seems absolutely ludicrous. My darling made this dream come true after our kitchen faucet failed big time last night. We knew this was coming. When it rains, it pours...

So since this mishap went down, we did some research, decided to just get a whole new sink and do it up right. What a success. We went with a cast iron black sink from Kohler. What a freaking beauty. Eric is hard at work installing it now. Of course all was worth it when we went to our favourite local Chinese restaurant to take a break from all this jazz. BAMBOO GARDEN! Absolutely amazing. The couple that owns it is adorable and always fun to talk to. Every Chinese place you ever went to ain't shit compared to this place. If you're in the south suburbs of Chicago--GO HERE. Even if you don't live in the south suburbs of Chicago--GO HERE.

Man, we are whipping this place into shape. It's becoming live-able again!

So I have two big big big shows coming up. I may have mentioned this half-assed in my last entry. So tomorrow is Thom Yorke. For the unfortunate population out there that has no clue who Thom Yorke is, he would be the front man of Radiohead. One of my favourite bands of all time. His music makes me FEEL. It can really move my mood. After missing them 2 years ago at Lollapalooza (and hating myself for it each day after the fact), my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with two tickets to see Thom Yorke. It's solo Thom, but still the same effect as Radiohead. Not only is it Thom, but it is going to be a band compiled of random well-knowns. I cannot even believe my luck. Not only is this going to be an amazing experience (we will be front row at one of our favourite venues), but the next night I am going to be seeing Ms. Florence Welch herself on the House of Blues stage as part of FLORENCE + THE MACHINE! Another one of my favourite artists. Her album single handedly brings me back to August of '09. One of the most emotional months of my life for the best and for the worst. Her voice is a freaking powerhouse and I've been telling EVERYONE about this UK star. She deserves every ounce of fame. I do not get starstruck, but for YOU

THOM YORKE

& FOR YOU...

FLORENCE WELCH

I would gauge my eyes out.

{please do not hold me to doing so...I'm just saying}

;)

so for the next two nights my musical senses will be heightened as I am exposed to great great music. I am so excited I might cry during both concerts. How lame, I know, but DOESN'T MUSIC MOVE YOU?!?!

Please...tell me which artist/s move you!

shared spaces.

So let's make this all official;

It's official that I am moved in with Eric. Finally. After spending 8 months worth of weekends here, I no longer need to live out of a suitcase shoved in the corner. I now have things here that make it mine as well as his. We have things here that we picked out together and have made our own. Soon enough this house will be beaming with personality and decor more so than it already is. In a few weeks our biggest projects will come to a close. We have crossed so much off of our list in the past 3-4 weeks;

.. Knocked out a closet and made the master room bigger

.. Painted our "lounge/closet" room an awesome shade of royal blue

.. Painted our bedroom a fantastic shade of grey

.. In the process of painting the walls & ceiling in the bathroom

.. Sanded the ceiling in the bedroom/master bathroom

.. Set up numerous things from Ikea (we have a love/hate relationship)

.. Brought in all my shit from home (clothes, dresser, desk, & all my random crap) i threw out a ton!

There is way more than this that we have accomplished over these few weeks. We have a lot of determination to get things done and organized and we are so close to being there. I just want all of this to be over with so I can keep things consistently clean. Things get dirtied up so easily because of all the work that is being done all over the house, heh. It has been so worth it though. The moving in process has gone quite smoothly. Of course, there have been some near murder/suicides, but all gets resolved so quickly! ha ha. We compromise so well but most of the time we don't even need to. There have been quite a few things where the decision is made right away in agreeing, like our kickass curtains and carpet. Along with our huge Ikea closet organizer. Once its all done it will be fantastic. I cannot wait.

One unfortunate thing we have learned in this process is that city recycling does not come often enough. We have so much recycling it is absolutely ridiculous--probably enough to fill one truck. Clearly this place does not take Ikea into account because anything you but from there takes 2 hours to take out of the package and about 2-3x that time setting it up. Not a fan. But once it is all done it is wonderful.

So what do you do when your government refund check is a hell of a lot less than you thought it would be? Eh, take $100 out anyway and head out to shop.

I stumbled across a really great site last night & of course there is an intro story:

So people have asked me many times of I do any sort of art. I decorate cookies so people naturally think that transcends to paper. Now, I have never been a great artist. I am right brained, so my brain whips out cool ideas, but sometimes it's easier to conceptualize than to produce. Sharpies, pens, and frosting are my best friends when it comes to producing anything artistic. So I came across this site last night and was inspired up again. My sharpies are one of the things I still have at home that weren't as important to bring as other things. But last night they became important. Of course this meant a trip to the store to muster a few sharpies and poster board. In the midst of trying to find art for the place, I decided to try and conjure something up. Something is in the works. Hopefully this turns out well.

I have been LOVING this rainy/severe weather that has been passing through. Unfortunately it is pretty much moved passed by now, but rainy days just make me feel better about doing the slightest thing that day. Or it is a great excuse to be lazy or extremely productive.

It was one week ago today that we saw Spoon, one of our favourite bands. This show was phenomenal. We were front row, like usual for this particular venue. There have been so many good shows that I have seen in the past year and there are so many good shows coming up to look forward to!

For now, cleaning and super Target are calling my name. I want to enjoy this day off.

-Tessa

Listening to:

All For The Best by Thom Yorke