28 June 2012

and then I saw Les Mis... again


We went to Duke's on Alki Beach for a delicious seafood dinner, and the weather was kind enough {thank you, thank you, Seattle sun, you elusive thing, you!} to be bright and sunny and warm for my birthday.  After dinner, we drove straight downtown to see the 7:30 performance of Les Mis at the 5th Avenue Theater.

If I haven't already emphasized my love of Les Misérables enough already, I'm here to declare it yet again.

I grew up listening to and watching the recording of the 10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and have read the book a couple times, once in the original French.  It always has been and remains to be my all time favorite musical, and theatrical performance in general.  I love the music, the story, the characters... everything.  It's the one show I never tire of seeing or hearing.

After the show, we went to stage door, and I was able to get signatures from some of the actors in my brick {my copy of the novel - termed "brick" because it is about that size a.k.a. huge} as well as photos with my two favorites - Andrew Varela as Javert and Joe Spieldenner as Grantaire.

I've always loved Javert ever since I heard the magnificent Philip Quast portraying the character, and as a result am extremely picky about my Javerts.  Andrew Varela is one of only two Javerts I've seen/heard that I truly love in the role, the other being Philip Quast.

As for Joe Spieldenner as Grantaire, I can honestly say that before seeing his portrayal of the role, I didn't pay too much attention to the character.  Not that I didn't like the character, I just didn't reflect on him as I now wish I had.  I can say now that I owe my love of the character to his performance.  I especially love his relationship to the character of Gavroche, and my heart wrenched and went out to Grantaire when Gavroche died.

I din't originally intend this post to be such a recap and explanation, but I never tire of talking about Les Mis, and could literally go on and on about it.

What I wouldn't give to just ghost the stage manager of this company for one performance while they're here in Seattle!!  I can send a resume!

I can only hope that one day I will be stage managing this amazing show in one capacity or another.

27 June 2012

happy birthday to meee!


The big 22!

22?!

Oh, lord, that's a little frightening...
But I'm focusing on the good stuff.

Like getting my hair done,
lots of chocolate and treats,
going to dinner with my family and best friend,
lots of chocolate and treats,
seeing Les Mis {yep, again} with said people,
and lots of chocolate and treats!

I suppose gifts are a perk, too.  ;)

Did I mention lots of chocolate?

25 June 2012

tee with a twist

Top: Gap / Jeans: Delias / Bracelet: Vintage / Watch: Gift / Necklace: Nordstrom {I think?}

I was inspired by all this plain white tee stuff to take a fairly basic white t-shirt and stylize it a bit.

Honestly, I didn't want to do too much since I was wearing it out to a bar with a friend, and wanted to stay fairly casual.  Also, if you can't already tell from that extremely awkward back photo, the top is kinda color blocked with grey.  I decided to play up that twist on an otherwise plain white tee and just add my lace-detail flats, some arm candy, and a drop necklace {actually, it's not really a drop necklace - I just added another chain to make it longer... sneaky, no?}.

Whew, that's a lot of fashion-y stuff.

In other news, I'm going to Roche Harbor in the San Juan Islands up near Canada for a week for the 4th of July, where my grandparents' boat is and I cannot wait!!  Six days and counting!

How about y'all?  How do you all stylize a plain white tee?
Post links in the comments if you have one - I wanna see your fabulousness!

22 June 2012

don't you hate when the weather is one way when you get dressed and go out, then totally flips a 180 on you?

Dress: Nordstrom Rack / Bag: Urban Outfitters / Sandals: Victoria Secret / Necklace: AE

One of my good friends just graduated from Bellevue College and is transferring up to Western Washington University in the fall, so he decided to throw a little party at the park last weekend.  But of course, being Seattle, the weather was quite bipolar.  Warm most of the day, but raining nonetheless in the afternoon {after a perfectly decent morning, mind you}, at which point we had to move the party inside.
Talk about a party pooper, that weather.

We ended up getting really crazy and went absolutely wild!  I'm talking Apples to Apples, Clue, and Scattergories wild!

We know how to rock a Saturday night.

20 June 2012

minty fresh {...too cliche?}

Top: Unknown / Jeans: H&M / Shoes: Aldo {DIY soles} / Clutch: Chicwish

Yep, I thought so.

Anywhooo...  This post is for the Bloggers Do It Better challenge.  This time around is mint and coral.  As you might be able to tell, I'm obsessed with mint, so that was a no-brainer.  The coral was a little harder because, alas, I realized I didn't actually have a lot of coral stuff in my wardrobe {shocking}.  But then, I came across this pretty lil' top and voila!

Instant awesome.
Because this baby's got coral and mint and florals!
That's three whole trends.

Pretty productive lil' top.

P.S.  These shoes are another DIY project, using the same process as this DIY project.  I really love how the mint looks on the soles!

19 June 2012

what's in my closet

Hey hey, lookie here!  My first Vlog!

I decided to participate in a little link-up where various bloggers create videos showing what's in their closets.  I personally love organizing my clothes and accessories, so to be able to share the ways I like to do it, and to see how other people go about putting together their closets, was really fun for me to do.

{Disclaimer: Please excuse the crappy quality that makes me sound like I have a lisp.}



18 June 2012

week in color


  1. Watercolor multiplication table {source} - handy if you like to paint with watercolors!
  2. Melted crayon DIY {source} - fun project for those old crayons I never use anymore.
  3. Bright and cheerful buttercups from our trip to Discovery Park - summer is in full swing!
  4. Psychology of color {source} - really interesting if, like me, interior design is a hobby.
  5. Benjamin Moore "Color Stories" {source} - new paint colors by Benjamin Moore packaged in book volumes by color family.
  6. A variety of chalk pastels {source} - I just love how rich these colors are!
  7. Rainbow roses {source} - that's one way to brighten up a room... grow your own rainbow!

17 June 2012

if you haven't already tried these


I've been meaning to try out Sydney's Rolo cookies for a while now, and tonight I finally got around to it.  Gotta say, I was surprised at how fast and easy it was to make them, and they were delicious.

I mean, really.

Melt in your mouth,
soft and gooey,
dip them in milk,
chocolate caramel goodness,
delicious.

Try this recipe like, now.

Go on, scram!

Then ooh and ahh to your friends so that everyone can be a part of the wonderful scrumptiousness that could probably be used to stop wars and be a currency for the world.

16 June 2012

one of those times when misery causes hilarity


I should start with this fact about myself: I have horrible allergies.  Pollen, grass, dust... awful.

Well, today I went with some friends to Discovery Park, where we walked along the paths past some big old, abandoned buildings and through the tall grass to the coastline.  We played follow the leader, attempted to climb big gnarly trees, sat along the coastline, and found a prescription pill bottle containing some medical marijuana for a dog{!} behind a bench we sat on.  {No worries, we didn't take it!}
Notice I said we walked through the field of tall grass?

Well, apparently some of my friends have them, too.  And even worse.

While I got away with a scratchy throat and a stuffy nose, two of my friends' eyes were itching and watering so badly, they were both left temporarily blind as they kept their eyes closed for the walk back.  My one friend literally had to form a chain and lead them back along the path to the car.

Talk about the blind leading the blind!

The last gem of a photo is for your enjoyment.  It was quite hilarious.
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