new to me

My "new" vintage boots. I know you were waiting.

cafe gratitude

Hubby and I went to Cafe Gratitude in Healdsburg for dinner last night. I've been looking forward to going ever since I heard it opened. It's completely vegan and mostly live foods. They even have vegan milkshakes and desserts. Hallelujah! I got the "I am accepting sushi bowl" and David got the "I am graceful thai bowl". They were both delicious. It was an... experience. As we conversed with our server and heard her talk to other customers, I began to think that Cafe Gratitude was more than just a restaurant, but also a religion or school of thought. Our server told us the question of the day was "What are you serving?" and we were told there are no wrong answers. David ended up saying he is serving absolute truth which turned into a long, semi-confusing conversation as our server was obviously living on cloud 9 and said that there could be absolute truth even if there are no wrong personal truths. Yeah... I dunno. So if you decide to go, study up on your worldview and the Bible and be prepared to be served some great, healthy food and mind-twisting conversation.

my pet horse

I love that we have a horse next door. I don't know his name, but he lets me pet him and feed him hay and apples. I like to pretend he is mine. It's a pretty nice deal- none of the work that you take on when you actually own a horse, but then again, I don't get to ride him and only get to see him when he comes to my side of the yard. Maybe rather than pretending he's mine, I should just enjoy the fact that I practically live at a petting zoo with donkeys, horses, goats, cows, and peacocks. But peacocks shouldn't really be allowed into actual petting zoos. They aren't pettable. 

be OK

Ingrid Michaelson is coming out with a new album on the 14th. I just bought her most recent album, but I'm thinking I'll have to save some birthday money for her new one. Check out her single, Be OK, as a music video here.

shane and shane and their drummer

Yes, it is 12:54am. Yes, I am posting now. And yes, I am crazy- but that's beside the point. I'm hanging out with my hubby at our church building as he is studying for tomorrow morning service... or this morning's service, I guess. So I am surfing the net (do people still say that?) and getting lost in the blogosphere. 

Tonight (last night) David and I went to see Shane and Shane in concert at the church of my youth as David likes to call it. I was turned onto Shane and Shane while in college by my Bible Study leader's family who were from Texas, as are Shane and Shane. I only have one Shane and Shane album, but I love their voices and harmonies. I never would have said, "Hey- I want to go see Shane and Shane in concert," but my parents bought David and I tickets and thus, we went to the show. We were both glad we did. It is rare when an artist sounds as good as their recorded product, or even better. Shane and Shane is one of those rarities. I wanted to take home a mini, pocket-sized version of them to set up in my living room or hook up to my iPod speaker so I can listen to them live whenever I want. Yes, they were that good. Take home in a mini-size good. They both have amazing and powerful voices. And they were funny. A nice little bonus was that they played a Christmas song from their Christmas album that comes out on the 14th and it was fantastic. I am looking forward to enjoying that album starting the day after Thanksgiving. So if were wondering about Shane and Shane, they are inshanely good (credit goes to hubby for that one).

Their drummer who they didn't introduce until the middle of the set was good too. I can't remember his name. I just remember it wasn't Shane.

ARTrails

David and I are going to check out some of the artists on ARTrails this weekend. Here's an excerpt from the website that explains what ARTtrails is: "ARTrails provides a rare opportunity for the public to meet local artists in their studios and learn about their diverse creative processes and techniques. Through hands-on demonstrations as well as intimate conversations, ARTrails artists will take you into their world where colors, shapes, materials, and textures merge into unique and collectible works of art." I'm pretty excited. We don't have any art and hope to find some inexpensive pieces from up-and-coming artists.

Some of the artists we are interested in checking out are Wendy Brayton, Dana Hawley, Caroline Hipkiss, Sterling Hoffman, Craig Nelson, James Reynolds, and Alice Thibeau

Here are a couple of samples:

by James Reynolds

by Dana Hawley

Update: I lied. Not intentionally. I don't think we'll be going to ARTrails this weekend because David is now teaching main service on Sunday morning, so that cancels out Saturday because of studying, and then Sundays are usually busy because we do long lunches with friends afterwards and are usually exhausted by the time lunch is over. Maybe next weekend, we'll see.

birthday music

So I had a birthday. I am now a quarter of a century old. Yeah- that old. To celebrate my birth, David and I went to San Francisco to shop. Well, I shopped. We were so lucky (sarcasm) because it was the San Francisco Lovefest, so there were girls literally walking around in their underwear all day- on the streets, in a parade, and in all the stores on Market Street. It was pretty disgusting. Happy birthday to me. But it didn't totally ruin our day. I got some cute things at Anthropologie and then we had sushi at Hiro's in Petaluma. My hubby is a sweetie. He hid CDs around the car, so that we listened to new music the whole way there and back. So thanks to husband, I have been listening to:

Yael Naim- Yael Naim

JayMay- Autumn Fallin'

Ingrid Michaelson- Girls And Boys

Feist- The Reminder

and
Aqualung- Words And Music


My ears have been very happy lately.

i did it

Surprise! After a year of getting up the nerve to chop my hair off, I did it. Actually Corinne did it. I love it and love her for doing such a wonderful job. 

vintage shopping

I found my new favorite place. David and I went to lunch in Sebastopol yesterday and passed a building that used to be an antique store that closed, and I noticed it was open and called Aubergine Vintage Emporium & Cafe. David and I decided to check it out and found out it's a huge vintage clothing store! I mean HUGE! We were only able to look around for 15 minutes, but in that time I found a few fabulous dresses, vintage boots, and purses I love. They even have tablecloths, rugs, and curtains. So awesome. I am definitely going back, and when I do, I will share my purchases with you.

happy belated

Happy belated birthday (on October 1st) to my dear friend 

Emily

(on the left, with my arms)

and my brother-in-law 

Robert

(on the left, with my cousin's daughter Brynn)