Holiday Cards, The Grey Series

As you may remember from my holiday card post last year, I like to make handmade cards. Its extremely hard to get them together at this time of year...I should plan ahead and make them in October next year!  I'm almost done with this year's set, and wanted to share a few.  Grey, silver, and white emerged as prominent themes, evoking a winter's solitude feel. They aren't at all as bright as last year's, or these, but I think they are kind of nice. What do you think?

Nutcracker X 4

Have I told you yet that I'm an usher for the San Francisco Ballet and Opera?  Its a pretty good gig: you get to see any show you work! One (down)side of ushering, though, comes with the required 4 performances one must work during Nutcracker.With some 32 performances, I understand that they'd run out of help pretty fast! This weekend was my Nutcracker marathon...

I was pretty grumbly about spending 9+ hours each day as an usher, but it actually turned out to be a pretty fun experience.  Here's why:
1. Amazing Dancing & Awesome Sets: expected, and confirmed.
2. Variety: In addition to seeing different dancers perform the key roles, I was in a different spot for each performance.  Balcony (tip of the top, need binoculars), dress circle (below balcony), standing room on Orchestra level, and 2nd row on the side. It was great to see things from different places.
3. Perks: when I worked in the box seats, we got free cider, champagne, and cookies after a private VIP event.
4. Magic: I had the chance to figure out how most of Drosselmeyer's magic works.  Except the moment with the Nutracker pops out from a box...that one is still getting me (seriously, it sounds obvious but if you saw the show you'll know what I mean).
5. Nostalgia: I loved the Nutcracker when growing up. It was so fun to see all the little girls in their holiday dresses with huge bows on their heads, prancing around the halls before and after the show!

All That and Gravy Too

I just realized that in my crazed weeks finishing up my portfolio class, I didn't post about my lovely Thanksgiving weekend! I was lucky to have two friends willing to drive the 8 hours north with me to Eugene, where my brother lives. We made a great turkey dinner, ate it on his ping pong (dining room) table, and then had a tournament! After that came pie and darts.  So great!  Wish you had been there...

Heart = WARMED

While reading some of my favorite blogs yesterday, I found this great video of a youth choir performing "Lisztomania" by Pheonix.  The intensity of these little performers is amazing! And they have some nice harmonizing skills I had never heard of when I was their age!  Oh, this makes me want to be in a choir again...
If you need a quick cheer-up, this should do the trick!




Here's another :)

Santa Cruzin

Very punny title, eh?  Its pretty dreary and rainy out today, but I just found this warm weather photo that my friend took when we were in Santa Cruz a few months ago, hiding out in a corner on my cluttered computer desktop. Thought I would share; it might warm you up a bit even during a cold holiday season! The photo is better bigger, so click to see a full size...

Our Holiday Cheer

Everyone in my house is traveling later this month, so we decided not to get a tree this year.  But we did find this lovely (and pre-lit!) garland at a thrift store for $7, so we decked out our mantle and had a roaring fire last night. Just what I needed to get me in the holiday spirit! Do you have any decorations up?

Gutter Magazine

I was looking at ads in the London Review of Books today, because I need to create another one for work and I want it to fit in (see my previous ad here!). Most of the ads are for academic publishers, featuring book covers and abstracts. Then there's this ad for Scotland's Gutter magazine. Isn't it hip and fabulous?  I love this crazy mash of images coming out of this guy's head. I am now brainstorming a project that just needs a look similar to this!

Portfolio is Finished!

I presented my final portfolio in class the other night (finally! This is the reason for the lack of posting), and I can't wait to share it with you! I'm working on the best way to share it (hopefully a website), so expect that in about a week.  For now, I wanted to share the cover!  Fun and colorful.  Plus, if you haven't noticed, I kinda like collage. :)  You can clik on the image to see it larger.