Day 3 [Friday]: Our last day of Bottle Rock. We rode our bikes to the fairgrounds and parked at the awesome free bike parking (thank you!) in a locked, supervised location. Free KIND bars too. YUM.

On the negative side, the guards and event staff threw out all of our sealed, brand new packs of dried chili spiced mangos and dried mandarins. ‘NO FOOD!” he said and made Tim dump the food. Umm…the signs that listed prohibited items never mentioned food. “NO FOOD!” he said again.

Annoying.

My handsome husband

The line for Wyatt Cenac – which was, once again, a fruitless venture. Only VIPs got in. GRR.

After being disappointed again, Tim and I snagged some awesome posters at the Amoeba tent, and walked to Downtown Joe’s for a late lunch.

After a delicious veggie burger for me and a bacon stuffed burger for Tim (sounded yuck to me but Tim thought it was good), we trekked back to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros!

The crowd was a little crazy. I have to tell you…I don’t know if it was because it was day 3 (day 4 if you attended Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on Wednesday), but things started breaking down. People got meaner, pushier, more drunk, too high. Tim and I were hit on by a drunk couple standing behind us (both our rears were pinched) and I received pets on my hair (“So pretty!”). WEIRD. Anyway, the band was fun (though Alex had a cold and his voice wasn’t quite perfect).  They didn’t play ‘Desert Song’, but it was still a good set.

We ran as fast as we could over to the Miner Stage, because Jackson Browne had finished his set and IRON AND WINE was next! The last time I saw Iron and Wine live, Tim had missed out due to a work emergency, and boy, was he bummed out. We ran into some of our friends at the Miner stage and spent the time during setup chatting.

And then Sam Beam came on stage…and the music was so lovely and wonderful.

Look how close I got!! Yay!! I wanted to watch his face when he sings.

He played a lot of tracks off of the new album Ghost on Ghost, and a few songs from Kiss Each Other Clean. He did play ‘Carousel’ from Shepherd’s Dog, so I was happy and dove into Tim’s arms. That whole album is so me and Tim and pregnancy and giving birth to Marco (my labor playlist was Iron and Wine and Damien Rice).  It was hard for him to play anything too quiet or acoustic because the other stages had Jane’s Addiction and Kings of Leon – even Sam commented ‘I’m afraid I can’t play any of the quieter stuff because of the boom-chy boom-chy over there.”  But he snuck in a couple of things I’d never heard before (“You might be able to find this song somewhere, could be hard”).

So happy!!

We thought about trying to see Jim Gaffigan, but decided against it once we saw the line. Instead, we walked downtown and grabbed grub and a drink at Eiko’s. Mmmm avocado tempura! Downtown started getting crazy as it was the end of the concert, so we grabbed our bikes, and headed home.

We skipped Sunday’s festivities as it was Mother’s Day, and I wanted to spend it with my boy. <3

I am looking forward to next year! I hope they are able to snag a lineup that is as good as the inagural year….

YAY FOR BOTTLE ROCK!!!

BOTTLE ROCK RECAP CONTINUES…

Friday [Day 2]: Tim and I arrived at the fairgrounds ready to rock n roll! After securing our wristbands we made a beeline to the Miner Stage to catch Blues Traveler.

Oh yes, we were sporting our Highway 29 club tees. Like bosses.

John Popper plays the harmonica like WHOA!

Everyone was dancing and having a great time during their set – they kept it cool. Lots of VIPs that couldn’t get into the VIP section so they hopped the fence – one lady fell backwards and smacked her head on the gates when trying to sneak in!  After the rousing set, we headed to the Whole Foods garden for dinner and The Shins.

Tim and I had to take a lap around the tents and try to decide what we should eat! SO MANY GOOD CHOICES. In the end, I went with La Condesa (STREET CORN, PEOPLE! STREET CORN.) and ordered the chicken tacos and street corn. Timmy’s favorite part: free pork tacos. Some yahoo didn’t come back for his tacos they gave them to me – Tim scored big.

Next year: more seating, please! Took forever to score a spot at a table.  Major props, though, on the screen located in the garden – it was streaming the WillPower stage show!

After the grub, we caught the last three songs from The Shins at the WillPower stage. Judging rightly, we headed as close as we could to the front and assumed we could shove closer for The Black Keys.

I’m sorry, Shins fans. They were boring. I like a few of their songs (3, to be exact) and I thought it would be fun to see them. Unfortunately, they were not exciting to watch. There was no show, and even they didn’t seem that thrilled by their set.

At the end of the set, some of the fans wandered away and we were able to scoot forward. Even though I heard the wacky and delicious antics of The Flaming Lips, I moved not!

Oh yes. Tim and I went through a bag of these waiting for the Keys!

They killed it. KILLED. When Patrick started on the kick drum – I could literally feel it in my sternum, pumping. It was AWESOME!!

Not so awesome –  the two girls having some kind of bad trip behind us. They ended up crying and leaning on Tim. Also, one of them was petting Tim’s back and he was beet red and uncomfortable. It was so awkward. I tried to give them some water and have them sit but they were just too out of it. I worried a little as I am wont to do, but they wandered off before I could seriously behave like a mom.

After the wonderful show, we’re poured out of the fairgrounds and into the streets of Napa. After witnessing a girl lying on the cement swatting at the police officer who was trying to calm her down and a nasty fight, we knew it was time get serious about heading home.

Tim and I walked the 3 1/2 miles and laughed the whole way (except when we were whining about how tired we were, lol).

BOTTLE ROCK RECAP!

Thursday [Day 1]: Originally Tim and I purchased the 3 day pass (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) but when I heard the lineup for Thursday I knew I had to go.  I bought tickets for Thursday, so I could take my mom to see Violent Femmes and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as a Mother’s Day gift.

Heading in to the festival, it was clean, not too crowded, and the event staff were friendly, funny, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Napa Expo looked – the event planners did a good job turning the outdated fairgrounds into a respectable festival!

First thing we did upon arrival was survey the land, then book it to the Citi Stage for Joan Jett!

Citi Stage

That’s my mom

After Joan’s rockin’ set (have to say, shouting the lyrics to ‘Cherry Bomb’ along with your mother is kind of surreal) and a beer,  Mom and I wandered into the Free People tent, where they snapped pics (and posted them on their Facebook).

One of the best parts about this festival was the food. A whole section of the fairgrounds were dedicated to food trucks! We ended up at the Ultra Crepes truck, where we partook of the Ajvar savory and a strawberry nutella sweet crepe. Delicious! After snacks, it was time to make our way to the Miner stage for the Violent Femmes.  As per my usual routine, I scooted as close to the stage as possible.

Miner Stage

They were awesome!! Since it was the 30th anniversary of their debut album, they came on stage and announced they’d play the album in its entirety!! After they finished, they played some songs from Hallowed Ground, but only one song from The Blind Leading the Naked (was hoping for ‘Old Mother Regan’ or ‘Children of the Revolution’, but at least they played ‘I Held Her in my Arms’).

After, mom and I heard The Avett Brothers playing ‘I and Love and You’. I was bummed that their set time had been changed (Further had to drop out at the last minute), but glad to hear their voices as a closer for the evening.

We left the festival beaming.

Day 2 post tomorrow!

I have you. You have me.

Happy 10 years, Timothy.

Can you believe it’s been a decade?

You and me, we have it made.

One day you sent an Instant Message

Then suddenly we call AIM vintage.

Ten years ago we had thumb wars

Today we celebrate with wine pours.

We’d discuss which local band brought the rock

Now I’ll give you 10 cool points if you pick up your socks.

I swear I’m done with this awful rhyme

But I wanted to tell you, thanks for the time.

I love you.

(Totally true.)

May 2003

September 2004

May 21st 2005

May 2007 – anniversary lunch at The French Laundry

December 24th, 2007

October 2008 – Venice, Italy

September 19th, 2009

April 2010

May 27th, 2010

7th wedding anniversary dinner at Auberge du Soleil

December 2012 – Disneyland

 

Recent happenings, per my iPhone…

Another step closer to the completion of our kitchen remodel project. Tim built that whole corner to match the entryway (I painted. I helped!)

Feeling pretty fierce after a workout a few weeks ago. My workouts and Barre classes are making a mark, and it makes me so happy!

Hangin’ with my men (and Belle!) in the line at Bouchon Bakery

Umm yeah… that is Neil Gaiman tweeting to me. About Marco. SO FREAKING COOL!!

 

Tim and I had switched cars for the day, and he unfortunately was rear-ended during a traffic jam.  My car was considered a total by the insurance company. Luckily, it meant that I got to snag the car I’ve had my eye on – the Mazda CX-5!! I love love love it.

Made a fruit tart from scratch – layers of lemon curd, pastry cream, and berries.

Chocolate cupcakes with fleur de sel caramel buttercream, caramel drizzle, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

I’m just going to start off just like it hasn’t been a month since I last posted.

Not sure if you are aware, but Jimmy Eat World is releasing their eighth album, ‘Damage’, on June 11th!!

Today my beloved band posted this video on YouTube:

YES YES YES YES YES!

Yeah. So. 12 days since my last post.

I’ve kind of been busy… doing stuff like this:

For some unfathomable reason, the design of our house included drop ceilings in the kitchen and hall bathroom. WHAT THE HELL,1973!? The first plan we made when we decided to remodel our kitchen was to push the ceiling back to the standard 8′ height.

Tim could not put up the sheet rock alone, because the sheets are extremely heavy.  So, it fell to me to be his assistant.  Problem: I am extremely afraid of heights;  I become shaky and I sometimes cry out of panic. Add to that a strange fear of ladders (I don’t trust them) and lack of experience with drills and this was one terrifying experience.  But, since I couldn’t hold up the sheet rock myself, Tim had to hold it while I drilled it to the cross beams.  Luckily, I have a wonderful husband and coach.

And now look!

The cabinets are from IKEA – the AKURUM cabinets with the LIDINGO doors.  The sink is the DOMSJO single bowl farmhouse.

 The hood is the LUFTIG – I LOVE this. It looks amazing!

Then these lovely appliances found their way home…

 

More pictures of the progress to come! I can’t wait for it all to be completed…my dining table looks like this right now:

 

 Over the last few years, I’ve developed a sort of mania for baking; most especially cakes and cupcakes. The past several months have brought many delicious creations to the table:

One of the partners at my office is slowly retiring (its a process) and we wanted to make a little celebration for him, as he requested no big party. In the end, I was asked to make a cake. I knew he loved licorice flavor, and had a feeling Sambuca was a tipple he enjoyed. Sambuca is this Italian anise-licorice liqueur that I can’t stand but anyone who loves these flavors thinks is absolutely amazing (case in point, my husband). The best way to enjoy this, according to tradition, is with three espresso beans in the glass, for luck. So, after several days of brain storming, recipe combining, and a test cake. I ended up with a dark chocolate cake with a Sambuca-aniseed glaze and espresso butter cream. Even coming from MY palate, which cannot enjoy even so much as a Good N Plenty, I knew this was a winner. I wanted to inhale the espresso frosting.

Luckily, the partner LOVED it! He even took the small amount left over home to share with his wife. Woo hoo!

I also made a chocolate cake with peanut butter butter cream (always popular) for my sister-in-law Mandy’s visit:

For Super Bowl Sunday, I got a hankering to make something with an orange flavor. Ended up finding this brown butter cake, and knew it was fate. Result: a perfectly crumbly brown butter and vanilla cake, orange cream cheese frosting, and pineapple ‘flowers’.

Over the three day President’s Day holiday, I told Marco we could do any fun thing he wanted to do. He said, “Mama, me make a cake!” I couldn’t really argue with that.  After sorting through my To Do list of recipes on Pinterest, Marco picked the ‘funfetti’ style cake. It was sweet and tasty and fluffy.  I went with the marshmallow creme (no gelatin!) buttercream, but used less sugar than the recipe called for, because it is already a sweet frosting.

If it weren’t for Pinterest, I would not have half as many ideas for our kitchen. Tim and I are addicted.

Here’s a small collection of ‘pins’ that have inspired our design:

1)

 

2)

 

3)

 

4)

 

5)

 

6)

 

7)

 

8)

 

9)

 

I bet you can’t guess what color cabinets we’re installing?? Ha! What can we say? It looks so clean and fresh.

I am extremely excited for this remodel; I’ve looked forward to this since we bought our house (as in over three years ago!), and it is finally coming to pass.

A few changes around our house (and soon to be even more!! Our kitchen remodel is beginning in the next month!!!) All the pictures below were taken on my iPhone – so the quality is so-so – but it gives you an idea of the happenings.

The guest room –  curtains, a headboard upcycled from our old IKEA bed (purchased when we got married – now remade into a funky design by my own handy husband), and bedding.

Dining room – finally ditched the ancient blinds and installed curtains. The side panels are actually more of a tan, but in this picture they look almost green. Anyway, nevermind the painter’s tape on the wall – we’re marking off cabinets for the kitchen remodel.

Hall bathroom – Tim installed wainscoting onto one wall – it feels much more pulled together now.

Master bedroom: a few months ago we upgraded to this amazing bed from World Market, last month we got new bedding and bedside tables from Target. I LOVE IT!  We need to replace my ancient reading lamp (IKEA circa 2005), redo my closet, and eventually we’ll refinish the floors.

It’s funny – going back through old pictures of our house, pictures of how it looked when we first bought it – there’s definitely been improvement. Even better is to look back at our first apartment and see how we ‘decorated’ it. LOL!  Our television stand was Tim’s amp, and our bathroom scheme was two green hand towels and a container of lime hand soap from Dollar Tree.  Ha!

Tomorrow I’ll be posting some of our design inspiration for the new kitchen!