a beautiful week(ish) in san fran

So, earlier this week I was in San Francisco. Even though I was there for work, I had the opportunity to get out and see the city. I was so excited because I hadn't been there before. And, I was with a group from work so we actually had a car. We totally tore up that city! 

Here is what I got to do this week. 

Sunday, travel to SFO, check in at the hotel, go to the city for dinner. We are at Plant Cafe Organic on Pier 3. Yummy! Then we drove up to Twin Peaks and saw the city at night. Mark (friend in the city) told us to come back in the day because both views are amazing. He was right. 

Monday, meetings all day. Then to dinner to digest (ha! ha!) what we had talked about. Drove to Berkeley and ate at Thai Delight. Some of  THE BEST thai food I have had. My coworkers agreed. 

Tuesday, drive to Napa Valley for a meeting at the court. Amazing drive. Even better weather (it was 72 degrees), fun little lunch (bento box), and relaxing drive home. We then drove in to the city and TORE IT UP!! Pictures below... 

Wednesday was another meeting day. and then travel home. the flight was delayed by two hours so it was a little later getting home than we expected or wanted. 

Here are the highlights of what we saw one afternoon in San Francisco. 

 A view of Alcatraz from the viewpoint at the Golden Gate Bridge. It is really out there! One day, I will do this tour.

 The beautiful bridge!!

 Proof I was on this trip! :)

 Crazy coworkers on this random adventure

 The painted ladies. Aren't they pretty.

 A "house" near the painted ladies. I loved the detail.

 If you know Full House, you know this view.

 More pretty amazing house details.

 Day view at Twin Peaks

 View of bridge from Twin Peaks.

 Trying to get a picture of the steepness that is Divisadero Street. Doesn't come close to the real thing.

 Driving down the switchbacks of Lombard Street.

 Looking back up the switchbacks of Lombard Street.

adulthood is over rated. :)

Well, it was Kailtyn's 18th birthday today and I didn't even get a single picture of this momentous day because she has been hanging out with friends all day. She didn't even come home for a birthday cake! I guess that is what comes with adulthood!!

This means that no one in my house is a minor. We all have to do everything on our own and like it!! lol



Happy Birthday my lovely adult daughter. May your life be an adventure and may you never forget your pepper spray!! Love you!! Mama.

to cedar city and beyond!!!

Yup, on the road again. This time to Cedar City for Scholarship Weekend and then on to Las Vegas for an SCA event. Kaitlyn and I left on Friday (2/15) and made it to Cedar City is really good time. That night, we stole Pauline and went to SUU's production of Chicago! It was so much fun. The signs on the theatre warned of mature content. I knew that play was raunchy but it must have been toned down a bit cuz wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Saturday we got up, had a yummy breakfast and went back to SUU. Kaitlyn was interviewing with the Theatre Department for a scholarship. Keep your fingers crossed that she gets a good one! She went in one of her SCA dresses and really impressed them I think. Then, we headed down to Las Vegas for Talon Crescent Festival. I have to say I really liked this event. I was able to talk to some ladies from Caid (a different kingdom) and they shared ideas and insights completely different from what I heard in Artemisia. I loved it!! I also found out more about being marshal for thrown weapons and archery and will get that process started in the next couple of months. Kaitlyn also had a great event. She fought a ton and learned some new tricks. She also got really, really embarrassed as allt he guys from Caid were flirty with her constantly. She is just so NOT used to that much attention.

Saturday night, the brother of our host was asking why we were there and decided he wanted to fight Kaitlyn. It was so funny!! We had an amazing host and were invited back any time. Thanks Paul and Tawni! We really did enjoy your hospitality!!

The event went Saturday and Sunday then back to Pauline's Sunday night. Up for an amazing crepe breakfast (thank you Casey!!) and then home. The trip home took FOREVER (seriously, like almost 8 hours!). But Kaitlyn drove the entire way which was great practice for her. We stopped and Allison's and Danette's so that was part of the delay. It felt good to get out and stretch though.

Here are a few pics of the weekend.

Best pic of K fighting at the event. She is in full lunge/assault! Go Arnora!!!

Yup, one of them was fighting with a broomstick. Classic. 

 It was Tawni's birthday that weekend as well. Pauline made a three musketeers ice cream cake. Yummeeee!! 

And more fighting pictures just for fun! :)

a chilly but fun LA

This past week (2/9-2/12), I went to LA for a conference. I was soooo hoping that it would be nice and warm but it wasn't. Oh well. I did get to see the sunshine and that was nice. So, something new about this conference is that I didn't stay at the hotel where everyone else was. It was a bit different to be off by myself and not run into people I know on the elevators and such. I can't decide whether or not to do that again. It was fun, but also weird.

I stay at this little boutique hotel in downtown LA. The Los Angeles Athletic Club. I should have taken photos of the place because it was so cute! Here is one I pulled from their website. It was a quaint little place with an amazing breakfast every morning. I was on the 11th floor and had a great view of downtown (toward the Staples Center and the Grammy's), so I was able to open my blinds and let the sunshine in!!



I had a great conference, despite the cold. On Monday night, the group had scheduled a bus tour of Hollywood. It ended up being soooo cold as we were in an open, double decker bus and it was only about 42 degrees outside. Sounds not so bad until you remember we were going down the freeway at 80 miles an hour at one point. I took tons of photos but since the bus was moving, most of them turned out blurry. I did get a couple that were awesome though....here they are.

 The Chinese Theatre with the hand/footprints in cement outside. It is very pretty. :) I would like to go inside some day. Some day.

 The crew all bundled up and sporting our Hollywood shades. Jessica Cottle and Riley Miles from work. Mark Seeba from ATI and a good friend.

 This is the hallway and stairs that are ultimately the red carpet for the Oscars.

My favorite picture of the bunch.

lucky number 13

In honor of the year 2013, I have decided to do something with 13 elements to it this year. I thought of many things, teach 13 classes, finished 13 scrolls, write 13 essays, etc. But then I looked around my house and decided that what I REALLY needed to do was finish 13 projects. So, that is what I am going to do! This will be a challenge as it means I have to finish more than 1 project a month. Wow, I better mix some easy ones in with the hard ones I want to do.

Some possible projects on my list:

1. 10 tabards for Kaitlyn's mercenary group.
2. Spanish doublet I was commissioned to do (and will even get paid for it!!)
3. G&G Wells's crazy quilt
4. G&G Hall's crazy quilt
5. Romani blouse
6. Romani skirt
7. levi quilt top
8. t-shirt blanket top
9. Lots of shirts, skirts, pants, jackets in a bin
10. Blue cross stitch
11. Study of cutwork research/article/samples
12. catch up this blog! (yeah, like half of last year!)

Those are just a "few" of the projects I have hanging around waiting for me to finish. I'll post pictures as I get things done! Even mark them. Here's to a lucky 13!! :) 

finding a hidden gem

On my latest business trip, I found myself (once again) in the DC area. I had a morning and an evening to spare and wanted to do something different. This was my fifth time to DC and I'd done all the "normal" stuff like Air & Space Museum, Arlington Cemetery, etc. A friend of mine mentioned the Textile Museum so I hopped the metro (another first), exited at Dupont Circle (where I promptly got turned around and headed the wrong way three times), and walked a short distance in the bitter cold to find this little gem. It was soooo worth it!!

Their current exhibit "The Sultan's Garden" is amazing! I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. I feel in love with the red/white theme. There were a TON of pieces that were just red and white. Here is just one of them.



Don't you just love it? Characteristics of this embroidery. Very floral. The patterns are definite and repeat, a lot. There is also (usually) a definite up. The one above doesn't have a definite direction, neither does this one, which by the way, was my FAVORITE piece in the entire exhibit! I've been inspired to try and replicate this little wonder. I can't wait to get started!!



I know. A bit crazy to think about but I want to do a single panel for my gypsy garb. Think one of the lines in the middle (you can see 3.5 in this picture) and the blue border. It will take me some time but when we go to events, I love to have something to work on. This will be my event project for the year. As soon as I can get it drawn up.

I went to the gift shop and asked about cutwork (yeah, my research project for the year). The lady there told me to email the registrar about pieces they may have. Got her card. Then was directed to their library. An entire library on textiles and embroidery styles? HEAVEN. I only had about two hours to spend in the library but I was giddy the entire time. That will be a must for me next time I'm in DC. I'll plan to spend a lot longer among those musty shelves.

So...that was my morning. For my evening, I met Darrin Hall and his son at the metro and we took a trip to the Pentagon. I had never been to the Pentagon before and it was fun to just wander the halls and look at the exhibits. Yup, there are a ton of exhibits in the hallways there. And a dentist office, dr. office, best buy, and five food courts. When you think of the number of people that work there 20,000, it is not surprising that it is just a mini city inside. Here is a picture of Matthew and me stumping at a press conference...well not really but we had fun with the picture. Sorry, but this is pretty much all I have of the Pentagon. For some silly reason, you can't take very many photos there. :) I wanted to see the 911 Memorial but it was too cold and dark to see it. Another time!

it all began with a CRASH!!

It is true. 2013 started with a crash, a car accident to be exact.

On January 3, the first day back to school after the holiday break, Kaitlyn asked if she could drive my Pontiace G6 to school because her Chevy Cavelier was out of gas. No big deal, right? She has done that before. Well...on her way from from school.... She started to cross Highway 89/91 on a green light when some one in a red car, heading westbound, ran the red light in front of her. She was very shaken but not stirred! Seriously, she didn't even get whiplash. She does have a bruised rib that twinges every once in a while but nothing that keeps her from doing anything she wants. :)

But, my G6 on the other hand looks like this!

Luckily, the person who caused the accident had great insurance. After a bit of stress, two weeks with a rental car, and one week with just one car, I am now the proud owner of a Hyundai Elantra! I did something I've never done before and am still shaking my head about it. I think I will warm up to the idea but right now it is so foreign to me, I can comprehend it. I leased a brand new car! Yup, I'm driving around a spiffy, 2013 shimmering silver wonder. I don't have pictures of me standing in front of it so enjoy a stock photo.