100 Things – #26-50

26. See a night filled with fireflies. Try to catch some.

27. See Prince in concert. Oh wait. Did that last month! YES!!!

28. Visit the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

29. Ride a horse. I’ve only done this once before when I was a kid. The horse poo’d a lot and was named Salmanilla. Let’s just say I want to have a different horse riding experience.)

30. Own a home with a big porch, with ample room for a rocking chair.

31. Take a road trip to photograph barns, specifically. I like barns.

32. Make a mobile.

33. Be in a band.

34. Finish this damned list.

35. Chase the sun for an entire winter.

36. Learn to row (crew).

37. Study up on Irish folk music. Something about those melodies always stop me in my tracks. (Check out: Ann Briggs)

38. Go golfing. Big-kid style, not that putt-putt stuff.

39. BBQ and watch the entire sunset at Golden Gardens.

40. Bake a cake from scratch.

41. Buy my little sister a plane ticket to visit me.

42. Visit this crazy place.

43. Paint a self portrait like Joni Mitchell’s.

44. Sort through my grandparents’ old photos, hear their stories about them, then frame some.

45. Hold a monkey. (There’s gotta be one around here somewhere…)

46. Take a solo trip to somewhere secluded to refresh and unwind.

47. Stand underneath a great big waterfall.

48. Get another tattoo.

49. Start an official list of movies to watch. I’m crossing this one off because I was able to see all of the Academy Award nominees this year for Best Picture in 2008.  Yes!

50. Witness a child being born.

zing!

The hilarious comment below is courtesy of my best friend:

“…Evidently, Lenny Kravitz now has his own Interior Design company?!?  I bet he decorates everything with coke and dreds.  And nose rings….”

Woooooo doggy!  Did someone order an extra side of Funny today because I think it got delivered to my table?

Hilarious.

Product Runway

I’m super excited for tomorrow night’s Product Runway fashion show here in Seattle. My team was recently featured in the Seattle Times… hopefully this has given the event some hype instead of given other teams a hint of what our garment is all about. Either way, we shall find out tomorrow!

Tickets are sold out, which is pretty impressive. Come see our awesome model strut it on the runway!

Wish us luck!

100 Things

Recently I read a blog post by the super creative Ambika- whose blog I stumbled across randomly and who also happens to live in the Northwest- about 100 things she would do before she kicks the proverbial bucket. Being a person who’s always loved lists in general and in any form (especially in High Fidelity, mmmkay?) I was automatically inspired to give the list a go for myself.

I have a feeling said list is going to be ever-evolving and some of the actions might seem silly and/or straight up impossible, but it’s my list and I’ll blog it if I want to. Blog if I want to. Blog if I want to. (You would blog, too, if it happened to you.) Okay, funny in my head, confusing in yours…

Anyway, I digress. Today, numbers 1-25 of some things I want to will do before my time is up:

1. Visit the Taj Mahal and see it with mine own eyes.

2. Start my own business and run it successfully.

3. Take a couple of classes at the Photographic Center of the Northwest. Get good at taking photos.

4. Visit my brother in Japan.

5. Have an art show of my own work, perhaps in a coffee shop somewhere. Doesn’t have to be huge.

6. Visit Janet in Philly (I will get there!)

7. Write a song. Ya know… ’cause.

8. Wallpaper a room, maybe a tiny bathroom, (preferably mine) in a large-scale print such as this one or something from here.

9. Get a cat and name him Javert, after a character in Les Mis. Maybe get a bunch of cats and name them all after characters from that musical/book. OR just a name that starts with Mr. ___. Cause that’s funny.

10. Be an extra in a movie.

11. Cinque Terre. Just look at this picture. The place is calling my name, really. Don’t worry, pretty city, we will meet one day.

12. Road trip down the West Coast.

13. Research my genealogy (borrowed from Ambika.)

14. Take a Flamenco class and preferably dance like these amazing women. They are wearing the outfits I wear in my soul… Gorgeous!

15. Visit coastal Maine.

16. Learn to cook. Really well. Probably, if I have any chance of doing this whatsoever, it will be by learning from Abby.

17. Attend New York Fashion week.

18. Rent a villa with some of my best girlfriends. Don’t care where.

19. Visit a vineyard.

20. Hang out in Santa Fe for a few weeks. Maybe let out some of my inner Georgia O’Keefe and do some painting, relax, and enjoy the beauty of the desert.

21. Visit New York during Christmastime to see all of the store windows and city decorated. The thought of this literally makes me smile.

22. Help out. Whether it’s volunteering, mentoring, or just talking to my loved ones more, I want to leave the world a bit better off. (I am a hippie.)

23. Maybe write a book or memoir. I’m learning to love writing, and realizing as I grow a little older that finally I feel like I have worthwhile things to say.

24. This is wishful thinking, but I’d love to see the Aurora Borealis. Can you believe anything this beautiful actually exists?!

25. Allow myself to “splurge” on a pair of shoes that costs over $40.

To be continued!

hi, my name is krista and i like to do drawrings

a friend from work invited me out to do some figure drawing tonight, and i had a blast!

back in the day, well, 3 years ago in college, anyway, i used to sneak into the art school students’ figure drawing sessions and pretend i was one of them, otherwise they wouldn’t let me in. at first it was kind of weird drawing naked people that i didn’t know, but i soon got comfortable with it and learned to love the activity. so i was more than happy at the chance to get back into it. i’ve posted a couple of my sketches below.

the session and location were awesome. dr. sketchy’s anti art school is hands down one of the most unique and fun things i’ve done since i moved to the emerald city. it’s held at a bar (already cooler than actual school) and the models are -drum-roll please- burlesque dancers! with costumes and their own mixed tape soundtracks of 80’s songs. totally laid back, tasteful, and just an all around good time. ooh… door prizes, too.

it’s so exhilarating to find a skill i hadn’t nurtured for awhile. good for the soul…

it’s pronounced “bon eevair…”

remember that one line that zach braff’s character says to what’s her face’s character in garden state when he hands her his headphones with the shins’ song, new slang, playing?

“you gotta hear this one song. it’ll change your life, i swear.”

well kids, call me sappy, but i think i had one of those moments last week while hearing this band for the first time.

I’m pretty sure this might be one of -if not THE- favorite album this year… of mine. (that was probably implied, no?)

dear summertime: come back soon

dear summertime,

remember how you used to show up and be awesome? i realize that it is only february, but can’t a girl have hope? in the midst of all this rain and overcastnicity (overcastness? cloudythm?) my friends and i could really use some of that good old fashioned vitamin d. not that the rain doesn’t make the pretty flowers grow or anything. i’m just saying.

currently, the following things are making me anxious for warmer weather:

luxe lollipop floral swimsuit at urban outfitters

ballet top from etsy.com

chase hotel in palm springs, california

someone at work told me about this place and i must say it looks dreeeeeeamy. mmm…. pool.

feel free to share your summertime daydream inspiration with me!!

It’s Quarter Life Crisis Time with your host, yours truly.

Okay, okay. So I’m not really having a quarter life crisis. I’m not even sure that those exist. But what does exist, for me today anyway, is the fact that I made it to 25. And although it’s not a super exciting age (turning 21 and legally downing your first Rio Margarita, for example, is a hell of a lot more memorable than finally being able to rent a car… ) it does feel different. More solid? More serious? Damn it, I actually feel older.

It’s probably safe to assume that I’ve done a pretty good job at acting older than my actual age in general, always being one of those kids that wanted to be a grown up. But now that I’m officially in my mid twenties, I can’t help but want to regress a little. (I’m seriously fighting urges to run off to Europe to backpack or pierce something on a whim. Christ, I don’t even know what I want to be when I grow up!) Do I fear that the best of the years are over? Not at all. But there is something that makes me take pause at this new age and observe who I have been, who I am currently, and who I want to be. Taking stock, if you will.

I guess the thing that’s different this year as opposed to other birthdays, is that I feel that I’m at this precipice and I can see forever and ever, but the forever part is kind of foggy (pretty, but foggy). My surroundings are beautiful and when I look behind me, the landscape is green and interesting and brings a smile to my face. But the future? Anyone who knows me can tell you that I’m pretty good at going with the flow. And in general, I’m happy with that. But I am more aware now than ever that things can be exactly as I want them to be. We are all responsible for creating (and recreating!) ourselves. So I guess the question du jour is, what do I want this year to entail? Who do I want to be?

This blog can not possibly hold all of the things that I want to work on in the next year and beyond, but for now, on my birthday (or birfday, as Fiddy might say) I might jot down a resolution or two. And I will do it here, in Blogland, where everyone can see it and hold me to it forever.

So, Self, here is your Quarter Life Manifesto:

• Enjoy the moment. This is such a hippy thing to say, but really, it’s a nice thing to work on. Harder than it sounds.
• Stop complaining. Whenever you complain about something, stop yourself (or try, at least) and replace it with a better thought.
• Take care. Be mindful of whatever you feed your body. (Stop eating so much sugar, fool!) Also, go to the dentist once every 6 months, no matter how much you hate it.
• Take better photos. Master portraiture. Photograph a wedding to see if you love it. Then maybe, maybe work on starting up a little side business.
• Figure out that guitar you bought today on a birthday whim (oopsies!) and write a pretty ditty or two.
• Do things that make you feel like you and don’t hold back when seeking adventure.
• Be genuine, be yourself, do not coast through.
• Make travel possible by saving money (totally do-able.)
• Love more fully (this includes not being so hard on yourself).
• Be aware that every day is an opportunity to create yourself. Even the bad days will teach you something. Be grateful.

So, that’s a good start, I suppose. In closing, let’s just say that I’m ready for action. I’m ready for whatever comes this way, and will do my best to handle every day with grace and honesty and laughter. Come on 25, you cheeky, mysterious thing you. Bring it.

This year: more adventurous.

it’s just the style.

So I had a really bad day a few weeks ago (insert tiny violin melodies here). To make a long story short, I was stressed out and depressed, and just wanted to have a nice, restful night at home on the couch watching crappy TV. Nothin’ like some mindless MTV to get my mind off of things.

My plan was going smoothly when there was a knock on the door. Nobody knocks on our door. None of our friends are ever “just in the neighborhood” enough to decide to stop by and give us a friendly knock. People don’t do that anymore. They call or text when they want something, they don’t just show up. This is why we know that the only people who come to our door are those who are selling stuff or wanting us to sign something.

Trying to turn on the pleasant ‘tude a bit as I answer the door and listen to this particular solicitor proceed to give me his speech about whatever charity he was raising money for, I started to come around. “Self,” I thought, “Solicitors spend a lot of time and energy asking people for money because they believe in their cause and want to help people/raise awareness/get college credit, etc. Why not help a brother out and support his cause? It doesn’t matter how rough of a day I’m having, I can turn it all around right here! Give this dude some cash!”

So, feeling the high of generosity one gets when doing a good deed, I hand the guy the $10 or whatever, and as he was leaving, he did it. He asked the worst question you could possibly ask a woman:

“Are you having a boy or a girl?!”

Shocked, I look down at the dress I was wearing, a short little empire-waist cutie from Target, and say: “Um…. Neither?” (He hurriedly backs away at this point.)

And then, sensing the awkwardness between us, I chuckle nervously, make a small waving gesture with my hand and say, “Oh, it’s just the style.” And then I close the door and have one of those loud, uncomfortable if-I-don’t-laugh-I’ll-cry laughs for about 5 full minutes.

I haven’t worn the dress since.

best overheard conversation ever

A girl in her late teens/early twenties is walking with some guy in the grocery store.  This is what she says:

“So I told him, ‘First of all, I have a boyfriend.  And second of all, you’re still my cousin and that’s gross.’”

 Awesome.