focused LINZ: 07/01/2010

Friday, July 30, 2010

the collector

If there is one thing I can say that I have in common with my Dad, it is that we enjoy hobbies. "Hobbies" sounds very vague i know, but understand it has to be. There are too many to list! He is my go-to guy when I am thinking of starting a new project. It never fails. He is bound to have books and supplies that might be required to get started!

His latest hobby is records. Let me tell you. He has it down to a science. The upstairs twin bedroom has been converted into the turntable and computer conversion room. It's quite the setup. This passtime began more than a year ago, and I am sure it has been tweaked to perfection through trial and error over time.

It all started when we got Dad a record player for Christmas. Being the old soul that I am, I was thrilled with the idea of imagining Mom and Dad in the den listening to their favorite tracks on the ole vinyl. However, he had a different idea all together: Convert every-record-ever-made into an mp3 and download it to the ipod.

This is when the "Gotta Flip" quote became a regular call out from the latest DJ. He gets the conversion process going on one side. Goes downstairs and has dinner, watches tv, what have you... then says "Gotta Flip," and he is off to flip the record to the other side. And so it is. Night after night. Up and down the stairs. Tirelessly collecting.

After all of the albums around the house had been converted, they were taken to the record resale shop where a swap was made. Soon he had accumulated all the songs he wanted from the shop, and he moved on to their friends' collections. It's actually an amazing deal for his friends! He does the work- they get their music upgraded to an easy listening format.

He now has over 3800 songs {and growing} JUST from vinyl.

Dad, I don't know what's next, but I look forward to it anxiously :) I love you.

Happy weekend everybody!!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Leslie & Cuan Update...

Made it to the top of the yukon! Dawson City is a pretty cool town. Canada is so beautiful! We drove up through Banff NP and straight north to Jasper after leaving Calgary. We've seen so many animals on the drive these past few days. We got on the Alaska Hwy a few days ago and its just been incredible. Its so untouched and green! You could see for MILES and all around us was trees and mountains and rivers and lakes.. NO people. Not even a telephone pole or a building for as far as we could see. It makes me want to watch Poccahontas-ha. I feel like it all happened here. It is so remote! We saw moose, caribou and moutain goats on the drive. Just amazing! Got on the Klondike Hwy yesterday after Whitehorse and just got to Dawson this afternoon. There is a Moose Festival going on about 3 km up the river tonight that only happens once every 2 years. We plan to head up there for some local food and dancing! Tomorrow we get on the "Top of the World Highway" as we cross the border into Alaska. It is already something I know I will never forget!

P.S. a bear took our food bag the other night.. good thing we had it far away from the tent! And we saw a grizzly yesterday! So much wildlife, but we're keeping safe!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

thanks to the tropical storm

{parental discretion advised}

Last night I was having nightmares about this stupid movie. First of all I am a scardy cat and this very realistic dream {as far as zombies go}was freaking me out! Right in the middle of this illusion I felt something...crawling on my arm. I have never EVER jumped out of bed so fast in my life! Sure enough, there was a beetle in bed with me. Ummmmmm- gross. I shiver in disgust just thinking about it! Luckily Tison was awoken by my hysterics and immediately went for the bug spray and blanketed the whole house.

Did I mention it was 5:30 in the AM?

Needless to say, that is why I am blogging so early today.

Hope your day is lovely and bug free!!

Thanks tropical storm.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

J'adore Pretty Things

Pretty Vintage Cameras

{visit Urban Outfitters here}

{I also adore that photography is ever changing}

This is a laptopogram aka prints with your laptop screen.

My Pretty Puppies

Pretty DIY Projects

{visit cupcakesandcashmere to find out details}

Pretty Doodles

{visit the notebook doodles for more}

Pretty Music

{listen to Katy Perry's new song here}

Pretty Photography

{visit flickr for more pretty couples pictures}

Monday, July 26, 2010

weekend round-up

Well folks, I had a major find during the garage saling on Sat morning. I found a polaroid 600 camera! Yay! I know some of you may be thinking "Why, isn't this a step backward?" And while some might think this, I am ecstatic about this instant film. I look forward to sharing some polaroids with you in the near future, but until then here are some photos of the weekend.

{My beautiful mother and I went to Milling Around to get ideas on how to turn trash-to-treasure with gorgeous fabric!}

{Next we went antiquing at Shreveport Trading Co- we had fun with the hats}

On Sunday, my friend Peter invited several of us out to the Red River on his shiny new boat. Given that I don't enjoy too many things more than being on the water, we went along for the ride.

{It wasn't 5 minutes after we were on the water that the water patrol was "pulling us over"

to check registration and life jackets. :(

{we were one short}

{however, positive attitudes prevailed and we were still ready for fun on the red}

{Redneck Beach}

Thanks Peter. Can't wait to go again!

Friday, July 23, 2010

shrimp buster

Since 1936, Herby K's has been known for their shrimp buster. Although the area appears rundown, the seafood and fish bowls of beer on tap is the place to be! Tison, Russell, and I went last night and delved right into the lump crab meat with a special pesto sauce on top. Ummm, yummm!

Don't get me wrong, the shrimp buster is incredible, but the oyster loaf is what makes my mouth water. It is the sandwich that I get random cravings for...and it's the sandwich I have to get a to-go box for when I remember how enormous it is.

What are these two crazy cats snickering about? Check it out here.

Trust me- it gets funnier every time you watch it.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

I plan on hitting up some garage sales and resale shops tomorrow. Oh, I can't wait to find some treasures :) What are your plans?

Thursday, July 22, 2010

illustrator envy

Maybe it's because I want to write and illustrate a children's book someday or maybe i am just turning shades of green from all the talented artists out there, but I can't get enough from researching and discovering designers and illustrators. Add it to the bucket list I suppose.

Some of my recent discoveries include:

Chris Silas Neal

{visit his site here}

C.S. Neal is an illustrator and designer. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Dwell, Travel and Leisure, Flaunt, Gabriele Wilson, Readymade, Metropolis, Harvard Paper, Village Voice, LA Times, Boston Globe, Rodrigo Corral, TBWA/Chiat/Day, The Stranger, HHMI, National Geographic Adventure, Bloomberg, and Business Week, to name a few!

His illustratons are featured in NPRs Summer Book Series, which offers a great list of reads if you are like me and get overwhelmed in B&N. {visit NPR summer reading list here}

Xiao Xin

{visit his site here}

These illustrations make me smile. Each one holds so much personality!

{what do you imagine he is thinking?}

{looks like me in the morning}

{can't you just hear him giggling!?}

Nate Williams

{Visit his site here}

Nate Williams has been a favorite of mine for some time now. I first saw one of his illustrations in the Wall Street Journal. He has been published all around the world. You might recognize his work from Coca Cola, Urban Outfitters, Converse Shoes, Cartoon Network, United Airlines, and Microsoft, to name a few.