I need something fun on here because I feel like that has been lacking. Honestly, posts all together have been what’s lacking. I thought this would be a neato way to bring things back! I decided to create a list of the top 10 things I am really loving right now. From all walks of everything. For a number of reasons. And probably not all for longer than this week. We’ll see.
10. Stamps
An odd topic, yes but wait until you see these! And maybe you have already. And I am the one that is behind on the trends. But as I finally did something about a week long procrastination of not wanting to go get stamps, I found these little guys at the post office. AWESOME! I wish I mailed more cards just so I can use more of these… By golly, I’m a genius.
* image courtesy of USPS
When I was doing my research on this stamp I found a fantastic story about why the artist, Jeanne Greco did this piece. And for the life of me I can not find that again on the world wide web. Shooter. I will repost that when I do because it was a very interesting story, I thought. Or at least I think I thought. Assuming I really did actually see something and didn’t just make it up. I guess we’ll see.
9. To Do lists
Still love them. Not much else to say. They are fantastic. They get me to do things. They help me stay organized. And honestly, they help me sleep at night. I don’t run my life with to-do lists but it does make me happier to have them. So shoot me 🙂
8. Harry Potter on Wii
This was a gift from Amazon to me. Nice, huh? Ok – they didn’t actually gift me the game but their record keeping did award me a $50 gift to use with them because of some of my holiday purchases. And with that I purchased this game and a charger for the Wii. Said charger has not arrived yet but is also not really included in this top 10 list for various reasons. You can’t play with a charger. You can’t watch a charger – unless you are one of those people that likes to watch paint dry and grass grow. The charger doesn’t have a magical wand. I won’t be creatively inspired by the charger. And I close my case with the fact that the charger will not make me a better human. But THIS game? Awesome! It probably hasn’t made me a better person but most of the other points are true. Coming from a huge Harry Potter fan who has all the books and movies and even a game on PSP (which I’m pretty sure seals the deal to me being a nerd) this is well done. I am not going to go into geeky details but it is challenging and entertaining at the same time which makes a video game a success in my eye. The force is strong with you, Harry 🙂
* game play image from ign.com … i only wish i had awesome Harry Potter game shots. Something to work towards.
7. Walker Art Museum
…One of my favorite museums of all times. And I would say ‘one of’ because I have actually been to the Louvre. That is my favorite. But the Walker is only second to that experience so I’d say it is pretty darn amazing!
This weekend as a part of my birthday celebration, Mur and I went to the walker to mosey around. It was lovely but a bit disappointing, to be honest. They were between installments. And to anyone who likes art, you probably know what that means. Most of the gallery’s have signs saying, “sorry – closed” and they have just the bare minimum available to view. But that is the extend of my negativity because I love art museums. And even if there isn’t a ton of things to look at, it is pretty much always fantastic to go and it was a superb thing to do for my birthday!
This is one of the pieces at the museum. Actually, I spose the image includes a few different pieces including the green umbrella I was debating if people would notice if I left with. But the big silver disk? That is called ‘Convex/Concave’. It has a pump below it that turns this mirror from convex to concave. It was especially neato when there was no one else in the space so I could take this fun photo! I always get worried taking pictures in museums unless I see tons of others or signs posted that I can. I don’t want to get in trouble. I’m timid like that. But that topic is for a different discussion.
The views from the Walker windows have always impressed me. I remember going here as a wee school kid and just staring out the windows at the roads and people and buildings and life out there. I think Minneapolis has an amazing skyline and especially as the light gets low, this is a very beautiful area.
Happy Birthday to me!
6. HDR
…Otherwise known as High Dynamic Range. I have talked about it on here before but the reason it has made my top 10 right now is because these HDR images are what my display at Vinaigrette is composed of. They are some of my images from my Europe trip almost 2 years ago. And the neatest thing? I am STILL making images using this process.
It looks like a painting, right? I just love that!! That was my goal when I started this project and I am just now starting to understand how to accomplish that. I have so many more images that I can work that I am thrilled to keep on! And I am also looking forward to another trip somewhere at sometime where my main photo goals are to do more of this. I know I couldn’t be more vague, but the specifics right now are not real important. Just that I can dream about it. Ahhhh… Travel. It will be so much fun, I can’t wait! Here is another one to whet your whistle until the display at the store… Come on down!
5. Scrapbooking
A hobby of mine that I can’t really get away from and honestly don’t want to. It may be lame and very ‘soccer mom’ of me but I love it! It is so creatively invigorating. I get to play with images on the computer and in my camera and then showcase the ones that do turn into my works of art within a fancy book that includes paper, thoughts and buttons. What could be better? I’ll tell you what’s not better. Storing them in their dark digital terabyte home. Too cold for them, is what I think.
These are a few of my more recent layouts. I haven’t done anything in large quantities in quite some time. But I spose, for me to be able to do scrapbooking in large quantities would mean I would have to dedicate an entire few days to doing this. Hmm – maybe on the horizon. Rene? Nicole? You free soon? Call me…
I
really enjoy this layout and the image, which I think is quite typical of my scrapbook pages. I have started to discover that if I’m not crazy about the photos but just feel obligated to do something with them because it was a memorable day, it will be an ishy crafty mess. The photos need to inspire me.
4. Cookbooks…Cooking…Superbowl…Bon Appetit
Crazy huge category! This could take up it’s own post. And probably should, one of these days. I’ve got enough to say about such topic. But for now – it is just an element in my Top 10.
Last night I pulled out all my favorite bright colored, festive, educational and down right fabulous cookbooks that are filled with nothing but the best images and tasty treats. I typically won’t buy one unless the photos pull me into the meal at hand. Some may say I am a cookbook snob. Ok. I’ll accept that. I am a bit choosey. But I bet it is just my creative bones needing sources of inspiration. Have you seen the food photography in these books? Now THAT is a job I would love to do some time!
The point of getting all my cookbooks out was to decide on a menu for the Super Bowl party this weekend. And what materialized last night was instead an impromptu photo shoot with my cookbooks. Funny how these things can happen.
But as of this morning, I do have a plan for the good eats. And it does include this:
* courtesy of here
Yeah – doesn’t that look fantastic? The theme for this year is ‘anti-game’ game food. Things you could still eat at a game but really wouldn’t ever for fear of getting beat up by the dude next to you sloshing his light beer on your meal. It will also include roasted tomatoes for the sandwiches, an artichoke dip because I never leave home without them. Artichokes, that is. Quesadillas and possibly a ‘savory palmier.’ That one is courtesy of Barefoot Contessa. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. I really can’t wait. Superbowl to me is better than Halloween. I love football but don’t really like committing my fall/winter weekends to watching the games so I cheat and skip to the end. It’s like reading the last line in a book. I do that too. But what is even better than watching football I don’t passionately follow is cooking all day. It’s like a more fun and relaxed Thanksgiving, if you ask me.
And on a related yet unrelated note… Does anyone know how I got a subscription of Bon Appetit coming to my apartment with my name on it? Because I don’t. And all of the likely candidates claim to not know. SOMEONE knows… I just want to give you a proper thank you because the magazine is fantastic! I mean just look at that cover!!!
3. Sunshine
It seems obvious but at this time of year, it is a no brainer for me to have sunshine on my top 10 list. It has been so bleak and ishy here that I am ready to explode! I just want to see some grass! Some grass that is peaking through giving me hope that spring is around the corner. It is February. That’s a start. But we still have so much winter left that it makes me a bit sad to think about it. I love winter for a little while, but only like I love cleaning the apartment; it has to happen and is really enjoyable sometimes, but other times, it is just a pain in the neck to scrub the sink!
So in conclusion, this has made it on my top 10 just so I can look at pictures of sunshine and know that it will be back again some day.
2. Animal Photography
Yep – I’m still in love with playing with animals and taking their pictures. I didn’t loose that oomf over the holidays. Not at all. I can’t wait for the aforementioned sunshine to surface so I can do more with animals outside! I also can’t wait to have my kitties (since that is still on my oh so loved to-do list) so I can take photos of them non-stop. I’m sure everyone here can’t wait for that either. Ha!
1. I am super excited about my display going up at Vinaigrette (see last post) so that was a shoe-in for my list!!! And it even made it to number one! I got 2 of the pieces back from my lab today and they look great. I mean really great! If I didn’t have a display to put them in, they would go right on my wall. The display should start this weekend, February 6th. They are having a harvest fest the following weekend (Feb 13th) which
I plan to attend quite a bit of. If you are thinking about swinging by either weekend, just let me know and if I’m not already there, I will do what I can to get down there pronto.
And because I can’t REALLY rank birthdays, I want to say that my birthday was awesome. Thank you for all the Happy Birthday wishes from so many people! It was a great WEEKEND. Food. Food. Food. Story of my life.
… Goodness, if you made it this far, you are a blog reading trooper! And I appreciate you!