darling duckie

birthday happenings

Time is already moving so quickly but I thought I would share some of the pictures from my birthday last month. It was the best birthday/birthday week ever. Billy surprised me with taking the WHOLE WEEK OFF! Best. gift. ever! The week overflowed with gardening, the aquarium, long walks, and rainy afternoons. On my actual birthday, we did a little day trip up to Logan. We tried to go on a hike but planned poorly for altitude and a washed out bridge. But we still went  to the Willow Park Zoo (I love it there) and to Le None, a little italian resturant in a little old house. I think we should do it again, but dress up and leave the child when a baby sitter. Next time:)

 

lately

Well... lately as in the last month or so.

+We went to the Springville Museum of Art. Always good. We love it there. And Millie loves to push the stroller around.

+We have been going on lots of walks. Sometimes a few a day. And Millie loves when she can do all the walking.

+Her favorite hiding place.

+The birthday Dunford donut. Yum.

+And the birthday cake. She ate it so delicately. One pinch at a time.

art and meaning

Girl in the Yellow Suit by Lisa Golightly

 

“…We see a haystack by Monet, an iris by Van Gogh, or an asparagus spear by Manet and marvel at their presence and spirit and think that these works were about haystacks, irises, and asparagus. Not at all! Monet, Van Gogh, Manet employed haystacks, irises, asparagus to speak of the symphonies of light, the glory of God’s creations, the life force residing in all forms. We care about those paintings more than we care about stacks of hay, flowers, and vegetables because we care more about light, God and life than we do about any of their particular manifestations. Meaning, not beauty, is what we are after. Big, deep, wide meaning.”

~Peter London, from the book No More Secondhand Art

We really like art here in at the Fish Residence. Sometimes I think I buy too much of it but then I remember that there is a lot of value in having art in your home. Billy and I like to meander through museums. Of all the museums in Utah that we love, the Springville Museum of Art tops it. It is a beautiful building full of art with variety and lovely, deep meaning. It may be a little bit of a drive but it is so worth it. (Plus it's free. Woohoo!) We have been waiting for their upcoming art exhibit, the 40th Annual Utah All-State High School Art Show. It should be a good one. (High quality high school and university exhibits are my favorite. So many different styles and techniques. They are searching for their voice and style and it makes for amazing shows)

Most of the art in our home comes from independent artists we find at fairs and on etsy, with the rest of the art coming from my Grandpa Graehl's basement, thrift stores, ikea, and all posters. We collect from anywhere, but I do have to pace myself. Even putting this collection together for you made me want to buy a few paintings while Billy slept (tehehe).

I know very little about technique but I don't think you have to in order to appreciate and feel something through art.

Here are some of my favorite artist. We own some of these prints while the rest are on my wish list.

Who are your favorite artists?

What are your favorite museums?

 

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

 

Bridesmaids by Cassandra Barney

 

By Vivian Maier

 

Take Me for a Walk by Sarah Jane

 

Voyages Over Edinburgh by David Fleck

 

Justin Hackworth

 

Mother and Child by Cassandra Barney

Mountain View by Ryan Fowler

 

by Dorothea Lange

 

Almond Branches in Bloom by Vincent van Gogh

the day we took Millie to the winter x games

That's right... we took her to the Winter X Games 2012. She begged us to. "Mother dear and Father dear, please let me go where the air is clear and records are broken. I want to see the superpipe in person."

Let me guess... are you asking "What are the X Games?" We keep getting that response. The Winter X Games is an international competition with snowboarding, skiing, mono skiing, and snowmobiling that is held just outside of Aspen, CO. Pro athletes like Shawn White compete. 

We were there for some crazy stuff. Like this: (if you can't tell, this was a pretty big deal... first ever front flip on a snowmobile.)

 

Millie loved it. Except for the very cold air, the late nights, and the fact that she was not allowed to crawl through the crowd. But my, was she was a hit. Everywhere we turned we had people congratulating her on her first Winter X Games. Some people even wanted pictures of her. Not many babies get to experience such a thing as this.

We stayed about an hour outside of Apsen in Glenwood Springs at the Hotel Colorado: a very old, very interesting hotel that has housed such guests as Teddy Roosevelt, Al Capone, Buffalo Bill, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. We had a huge room (there was actually three rooms, which was perfect for us with Millie) with radiators and big windows and squeeky floor. It was romantic and maybe a little bit haunted.

I spent the first two days of the trip trying to figure out how we could possible move there. Cute little town (very similar to Logan and you know how we love Logan) with very nice people and so much to do (hiking, swimming, skiing and snowboarding, etc.).

We had planned on leaving early so Millie would sleep but of course she just had to wait just before we leave to break out with chicken pox. We survived it though, by stopping along the way and jumping around with her.

equilibrium

(A couple weeks ago Millicent and I went to the Park Cafe in Salt Lake with my sister and her husband. Great place and yummy food.)

I have been so tired lately. A few weeks before Christmas, I had surgery to have some kidney stones removed. After a long two weeks of pain, infection, sickness, I finally got better (after a visit to the Instacare, of course). By the end of it all I had lost 10 pounds. Since my body keeps holding onto some of that baby weight I thought "How Wonderful!"

My body did not agree.

Ever since then I have been a little off. Always hungry, obsurdly thirsty, and so terribly tired. I think my body is trying to find an equilibrium. It feels that while I am nursing, those extra pounds must remain.

Oh well.

savor

I read this post from the Shutter Sisters today and thought it adequately describes what I am trying desperately to remember. Savoring the moments: the warmth, the love, the fun, the excitement of the holiday season... and really, just savoring life. Last weekend, on Thanksgiving, I was running around the house trying to get things clean. I love having a nice clean home to come home to after a little vacation but I was just stressing out. It was a blessing that we were going out of town, not only to see our family, but to force me into leaving that incessant list that I am forever adding to and so seldom checking off. It forced me to relax and enjoy. We were only gone for a couple of days but upon our return, I exerted much effort in keeping "relaxed Alicia" here. And it was well worth the effort. We slept and ate and played and watched movies and ate and played downtown. I tried not to worry about parking or walking or bothering other people with a baby who had "found her loud voice" as my friend put it. We went to a museum and saw the Christmas lights and ate at a cafe I have been thinking about for months. I tried to take small, slow bites of the lovely strawberry napolean and really let the flavors settle in my mouth. I held Billy's hand and we talked and enjoyed ourselves even though it was cold and crowded and hard to find a parking spot.

And you know what? In the end, we even had time to get somethings done. We finished putting up the new bookcases and put the Christmas decorations up and Billy fixed the vacuum and the computer.

It was worth it to savor the tastes and sights and sounds. I really should try it more often.

So here's to savoring the yummy little moments of life.

an autumn concert

I thought that I would write a little about how to make your experience at the Rooftop Concert on Friday night more enjoyable.

The parking terrace where the magic happens is on the corner of 100 North and 100 West. There will probably be lots of people and lots of signs.

There is an issue with the traffic. As you may or may not have already experienced, there is a bit of ridiculous traffic in the part of Utah that we call Utah County. Most of the freeway there is under construction. Take that into consideration when planning when to go. It gets even more complicated becasue they have shut down the Center Street exit. Plan ahead of time which alternate route you are going to take and it will lessen the stress of the construction considerably.

As it is October and the weather has cooled down significantly in the last couple of days, bring blankets and hot chocolate so that you can cozy up as you enjoy the show. The show starts at 8pm but if you want better seats, get there a little earlier. We like to go out to eat when we are down there because there are some really great places. The Indian Palace is next door to the roof, often tempting us with their savory smells that gently tease our noses. There is also Sammy's, Brick Oven, Bombay House, Sensuous Sandwiches, Demae, and SLB Pizza. For more restaurants, see here and here. Be adventurous and try some place new. Because Will doesn't get off work in time to go out to eat, I am going to make a chowder and pack a picnic so that we can get there early and get good seats.

For more help with things to know about the night, I would read this post by C. Jane, giving her tips on the night. She is one of the planners, so she would now.

This video was created by Mango Productions of one of our favorite concerts from this past summer. It had such a fantastic feel. I think this next one will be similar. (Can you tell I want you to come?)

 

 

one of the reasons i love living in utah

Back when we lived in Michigan, as a child, it seemed like there were two different worlds. One was the world we lived in most of the time. Green. Flat. Humid with fireflies that lit up the summer nights.

The other was this world that was hot and dry, full of family we saw only once a year. After days on the open road, anticipation and excitement filled our purple van as the flat, seemingly never ending fields gave way to rolling hills which transformed into rocky mountains. We knew that within those mountains lay a valley full of cousins to play with, campfire stories to be told, swimming pools where we turned into mermaids, and where we made homemade ice cream. Those mountains meant summer time, camping and hiking, staying up late and sleeping in.

And this year, we spent time in the mountains once again. (Really we do every summer except last year since I was in bed sick.) This year we hiked up to the Mount Timpanogos Caves. It was a crazy hike. But good. We would highly recommend it. Here are some things to remember:

It may be paved and it may say that all ages can do it, but do not be deceived. It is steep and tiring. We loved it but came home and crashed pretty hard. And my butt was sore for a week.

You can do the hike for free (except for the fact that you have to pay to go into the canyon) but to do the caves, you have to pay for a permit and then they assign you a time. To avoid having two hours to bum around until your time comes up, call ahead of time (maybe even a week before) and prepay. It would be worth it... from what I hear.

Bring water. That is a given.

Bring a jacket for your child (and maybe even you) for the caves. By the time you get to the top of the mountain, you are drenched. Then going into the caves get really cold, especially when you are already wet. It feels great but your child gets cold and the other, more prepared parents look at you like you are down right mean to that cute little baby of yours. So just bring a jacket for the child.

 

pictures pictures and more pictures

The holiday weekend was crazy busy. And fun. And here are some pictures to prove it.

 

the logan trip: gardeners market

One of my absolute favorite places to be, besides a good book store, is the farmers market. All the colors and tastes and people. And Logan has one of the best markets I have been to. Though it is small, it has a great variety of booths that are very unique;the tasty locally made cheese, beautiful wooden toys, the delicate origiami art and jewlery, the wooden flutes. And I have to admit that I like quaint feeling. It feels relaxed, personal, and is not overwhelming. You can spend time at each booth, talking to the vendors about their creations, learning more about the products that they create, sell, and love. It is small enough that you can go see each one, deciding which apples look the juiciest and which flowers are the fullest.

When we lived in Logan, we loved to go each Saturday morning, taking our time, wandering through the market, buying tomatoes at from one vendor, squash at another. We bought almost all our produce at the market.

It was romantic and lovely. And if felt so good to be back.

This booth was my favorite. All the colors, the lovely scarves and adorable skirts. I couldn't help myself. The scarf that I wore to the zoo... that was bought at this booth. {Plus it got photographed the most.}