Blogcation All I Ever Wanted

Blogcation all I ever wanted!  Blogcation had to get away! A-hoy hoy dudes!  I'm back from the great beyond and ready to weave you tales of trials and triumph about this here blogcation I've narrowly returned from.  Much like a fated boat crew you may have heard about, my 3-hour tour turned into an indefinite strandation on mommy-island.  Before I get into the goods, let's give it up for E-dawg, who single-handedly steered the DC ship around these treacherous bloggy waters for the last 20+ weeks. Thanks, lady, for keeping us aprised of the Austin real estate market, workin up some decor hip hop number one smash hits, and for overall keepin it 'trill.  She was good to ya.  Ok, you may take your seats now.

Other than the occational check-in on Design Crisis while away on blogcation I didn't read a single thing about design.  If you told me the new keep calm and carry on is just a picture of a basketball hoop and that hoarding is the new black, I'd probably believe you.  Afterall, I've been living under a baby-shaped-rock and everything under here is dark and covered in spit up.

So, how's a mommy with decor blinders supposed to write a blog post?  Well, I'm going to combine everyone's 2 very favorite things:  photos of stranger's vacations and photos of stranger's kids.  I'm the stranger in this scenario.  And you're going to like it.  Go!  (ps, let's note that this is the longest intro ever.  20 weeks of blog silence makes me wordy I guess)  Ok, now Go!

Here's me in the early days of blogcation, 42.5 weeks pregnant and blissfully unaware of how easy I had it.

48 hours later, my giant handed baby Eero came along to rock our worlds.

After confirming that his hearing worked, they were ready to send us on our way.

On a side note, I would like to say that this hearing test is bunk.  The night before it was administered he jumped at the sound of a door slamming.  I tried to use that as solid proof that his ears were golden but no, i was forced to spend a bunch of money to find out (surprise!) his ears work.

side side note, to preempt any comments about "oh but some babies can't hear:" Those mommies figure it out pretty early on, at which point they can then OPT to have this test done.  But state law?  Come on.

We quickly mastered the art of sleeping (yay!) and swaddle breaking (boo!)

mommy continues to take pictures of him sleeping.

And we get to know the kitty cats.  (9 pound Gloria shown here)

We add holding up our head and smirking to the list of accomplishments

And we nap with the pops at Ross

Kitty friendship continues to develop.

We choose bloods

We go to birthday parties and show off our shades

We wrestle giant caterpillers

And we master the art of folding laundry so mommy can return to blogging.

And that's how I spent my winter blogcation.  You dudes (Connie) can stop your belly aching, I'll be back here every Wednesday.  Will I have time to brush up on the most recent design trends before then or will I just post more pictures of my sweet baby Eero?  Who knows, you homies will just have to show up to find out.

What I Learned at SXSW 2011

SX this year was an epic, traffic jammed affair. We stood in lines too long, walked too far, and drank way too much beer. My hair is a tangled beehive of dried out straw and my head is still stuffed full of cotton batting, but I have survived to bring you this year's report. Let's do this. #1. Toro Y Moi is preparing to take over the world. If you don't already have the latest album, go buy it. Now. These kids are a funked up MGMT and they're good. Also, I have no idea what's in his mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKz5I8IsDF4&p=513BA43BFE9AC448

#2. Fader sucks balls. I will never stand in a line this long to attend a show where the bar closes before the last act takes the stage ever again. PS: that's not even half of the line.

#3. The Smith Westerns are assholes, but they're cute assholes. Most of this band isn't even old enough to drink, so I'm inclined to give them a pass... for now. Weren't you a jerk when you were 19? Aren't you lovely and refined now? Plus they have really pretty hair and they rock. This song is from their old album, but it brought down the house at the DeVille.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSKZMQSPtZA

#4. Short shorts really aren't that flattering. The glaring Texas sun is not kind to our thighs, ladies -- not even if you're lucky enough to be super skinny. I don't think we need any pictures to illustrate this point, do we? Let's just agree that we don't and move on.

#5. If you don't have these shoes, you may be the only one left in the world. They look pretty cute with dresses, actually.

#6. This is coming back. I do not approve.

#7. Avoid the big buzz shows like the plague. I'm so glad I didn't brave a crowd 25,000 people strong to see The Strokes' free show. By all accounts, it was a tramplefest of sprained ankles and bruises. Hell no, I won't go.

#8. Wanda Jackson is the Queen of Rockabilly. Most of the bands we saw were fronted by 20 year olds, but age and experience have their place, too. Her new album was produced by Jack White, and it's a bold offering from a lady with gravitas purring from every note of her gravelly voice.

I should probably come up with numbers 9 and 10, but I'm too tired and hungover. If you were there, feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions.

Sleep now, back tomorrow with some interesting new developments in the real estate saga...

Utsukushii

Once upon a time, I lived on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On weekends we visited the beach and swam in the nearby waters and then returned home to live the same kind of life that anyone anywhere lives -- an interior life. But flying into the local airport revealed the true nature of our experience. The water did not belong to the tiny rock we lived on. The tiny rock existed at the mercy of a vast, all consuming ocean.

For over a year I worked at an art gallery, selling paintings to Japanese tourists. I learned a few pleasantries and greetings, but the most important word I learned was utsukushii. Beautiful.

May beauty soon return to a land that has weathered many a storm.

All photographs by Michael Kenna.