Hells Yeah! Vacay!

Oh my gosh, you guys!! I went to Los Angeles earlier this week!

"But Katherine, what were you doing in LA?"

Well cats and kittens, I was visiting my friends Barbara and Becca. And while there, I hung out with my friend Billy too. And had a drink with Beebe! (I know most of you don't know who these people are, but I'll get to that.) It was the SHIT. It was awesome in so many ways. Let me count them for you.

1. I went to Los Angeles. That's in California. It's warm there. I live in Schenectady. That's in New York. It's cold here.

2. I read two, that's 2, books! And started a third. In four days. (2, 3, 4- see what happened there??) I LOVE IT.

3. I didn't work. (Except that 30 minute window where I checked my work email and went a little bonkers…) I took a real vacation!!

4. I got to reconnect with people who knew a different Katherine. Barbara, Beebe and Becca are friends of mine from college. I wasn't doing so hot in college- my parents got divorced, I gained at least fifty pounds and struggled with my self esteem (I say struggle but really it was like trying to wrestle a bear with my feet tied together.) But things are actually pretty awesome right now. And we all got to share in the Happy. It was so excellent to see them. Thank you, ladies!

Me, Becca and Barbara in Malibu

5. I went to a beach. BEACH.

6. We went to the Getty Museum. Holy smokes you guys. This place is more than a museum- it's a religious experience. There was this exhibit by the photographer Abelardo Morell and his work is breathtaking. I now have a legit favorite photographer. 

7. I got to see my friend Billy. He's a friend from high school which makes him one of four people from that time in my life that I have regular contact with. He makes me laugh a lot so it's always a complete pleasure to see him. He took me to the Griffith Observatory where he kindly took a photo essay of me.

I'm having such a good hair day that you probably didn't even notice the HOLLYWOOD sign back there. Did you?

8. I got drunk each night save the first because I wanted to stay awake despite the jet lag (and I did!) I was so drunk that when I got home and went to bed something felt off. I realized it was because I was sober.

9. Becca and Barbara take an acting class and I was in town on one of their class nights. I was able to audit the class and had such a great time warming up with them and watching the class. There is so much I miss about performing and watching them go through the process and work on their scenes was just amazing. It refreshed my soul.

10. There was this one time I was in the same room, at the same time, as a couple celebrities you might know. My friends are members of the Screen Actors Guild and get invitations to screenings and talk backs. When I was in town, a screening of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY was happening with a talk back with- are you ready- George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Juliet Lewis, Chris Cooper and others. Awesome RIGHT??

Not only did I get out of town, had a great time and saw some famous people but I came back feeling clear headed about some things that had been hanging over me. I can't wait to travel some more. I am deeply grateful to my friends for letting me stay with them and making this dream a reality.

Oldie

I found this while looking for something else. Thought I'd share. I'm always trying to capture the moon. Isn't all that easy.

The Pie

Barely Made It

I almost went to bed without writing a post!!

A few months before Mike and I became engaged, we went to his family weekend reunion in Beaverkill, NY. Like previous family get togethers a group picture was taken. I was the only significant other to make it from reunion to reunion and there was a new fiance of a cousin in this year. The significant others were always included in the picture in years before. Well, at Beaverkill Grandpa decided that one family picture was going to be taken with the fiance and me included and that another was to be taken without us. But he didn't tell anyone until he announced that fiance and I were to leave the photo. I retreated to my room to wallow in my very public ostracization. I understood- he had no idea which significant other was going to stick and he had all these family photos with jack-asses who were no longer around. I just thought it was clear I would stick.

Well, I did and the other fiance didn't. I actually married Grandpa's first grandson. And when grandpa and grandson were chatting today, Mike found out that Grandpa is crafty with an exacto knife. Grandpa cut my picture out of the shot that included the ex-fiance and myself and taped me into the picture that had neither of us. And he did such a good job that no one noticed until he pointed it out. Grandpa went back to retroactively include me while simultaneously excluding the other dude. Crafty in multiple ways.

Can you tell that I'm missing a torso? Otherwise pretty good, no?

Some Wedding Photo Selections

A Late Bloomer

My computer at home has really been acting up so I wasn't able to post my pictures for a while. Please enjoy these blooms of Albany. I hope to catch some tulips soon. They popped out much earlier this year.

There's Something Out There!

He never saw it coming until it was too late. Don't let it happen to you!

Diary of a Raw Foodie

The last official day of the cleanse is today. I've spring cleaned my home and I've spring cleaned my body. Of four pounds. I feel the best I've ever felt and I can't believe it. Not eating any bread or starches or cheese has been truly eye opening to me. I proved something I never thought would be possible- I don't need breads and baked goods to feel satisfied. My whole life revolved around eating bread with everything. I convinced myself that I needed it but I was wrong the whole time. I feel so free and I don't want to change that.

To say I won't eat bread ever again would be foolish. What I will say is I will eat raw or straight fruits and vegetables for the vast majority of my meals. I will no longer depend on starches to get me through the day. Nut butters and fruits, rich salads and green smoothies will become staples of my diet. I know I can do this. So I will.

The beginning as hard. Day one was fine but day two was the most difficult. That's when my cravings really hit me hard. I'm glad it was a Sunday when I could be in complete control of what I was eating. We tried all kinds of new food, new recipes- many of which we will most certainly continue to make and enjoy. Many of them being smoothie recipes and other dips and snacks. Mike is now obsessed with the salt and vinegar kale chips I made. We ate vegetables we've never eaten- chard. We tried condiments we'd never heard of- tahini. We really went all out. Check out the sheer amount of food:That includes fifteen avocados, two bunches of apples, a bag of oranges, two bunches of broccoli, a bag of lemons, three bunches of kale, frozen fruit, a ton of almond milk, coconut water, lemon juice and tons of berries. That doesn't even include all the nuts and seeds in the pantry. I could go on. As of this writing we've eaten almost all of it. I've only had to throw out some moldy nuts (don't ask) and it turns out the chard was on the way out when I bought it. Don't ask me how much this all cost. You can't put a price on health and happiness. (Let's be real. Yes you can. It's quite high. That's why poor people are fat and miserable. I'm just not telling you because it was insane.) Every time I had to go to the store I felt the need to justify how much I was dropping on food by telling the clerks about the cleanse. One kind woman told me that I was perfectly proportionate and the last thing I needed to do was lose weight. I wanted to kiss her on the mouth. But I didn't. It was late and there was a cop nearby.

So, I would do this again without blinking an eye. I loved everything but two things- and Mike liked them just fine. Very long story short- if I can do this, I really can do anything.

Cheated of My Wonderland

I changed my masthead. Finally. Unfortunately the temperature is not befitting the snowy image I selected for this month. High of 50 today. And it sucks. I've been robbed of my winter. We had one snow storm and I took a photo of the view outside my window. It was lovely. For you who can't see my masthead, here's the image I used:

Sigh. I miss winter and it's not technically over yet.

My Wedding Shoes are Indeed Purple

And what are you going to do about it?

Vanilla Fro-Yo Makes It All Better

Never use an aluminium pie tin.

Before

After

Just Can't Get Enough

This fall has been so crazy, and kind of damp, so taking pictures of the foliage has proven difficult. But I've been carrying my camera around to make sure I can take photos at every chance. My favorite fall color is the red, which is the last to turn. But the oranges and yellows are so rich! I just can't express how much I love autumn! Especially here in Albany! I hope you have a taste of fall no matter where you are. It's just the best.

Wedding Project #1

I mentioned some wedding projects I've been working on and here is the flower project. I read on one of the fabulous wedding blogs I browse about making fabric boutonnieres so I bought a bunch of fabrics in my colors of purple, teal, and gold. My crafty friends Karen and Lyndy helped me cut and put some prototypes together and here's what we came up with:



We have enough to make bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages. The whole gang will have their flowers of fabric and made by hand. I love it. These are just the beginning. I hope the others will look less... smooshed. I bought the wrong gauge wires and trying to wrap the wires around the fabric was proving difficult and resulted in the smooshed look. I haven't touched the project in months but it's so much fun. I need to get it in sight so it's in mind- right now it's in the office. It's so easy I can just pick it up whenever I'm sitting around watching Golden Girls- which is turning into three hours a day. I never realized how funny that show really is. It totally stands the test of time. I digress. If you need a project I totally suggest you take up making some fabric flowers.

The thing that's most exciting about them is surprisingly not how cheap they are to make but the fact that everyone involved will have a souvenir that lasts. I know the fellows aren't going to use them as book marks or something but their lady friends can. It's also really fantastic putting more than my money into the wedding. I'm putting my sense of style into it. I'm very excited.

I'm About to Blind You With Science

Two years ago Mike and I were discussing the first day of spring when his dad casually mentioned you can stand an egg upright on the Vernal Equinox. We didn't know if this meant all day or for a window of time or what so we Googled it. It turns out that the Vernal Equinox is at a specific time on the first day of spring and at that time, you can stand an egg upright without the help of some support. That year it was around 8pm. Mike and I had plans to go out to dinner but brought an egg with us so as not to miss it. Strange, I know but how were we going to pass this up? Even for Mexican food? When it was time to try it, we were prepared. The egg didn't stand up for a good few minutes and I was totally bummed. We figured there was no way the eastern seaboard would have the same time across the board so I kept trying and voila! The egg stood until we had to leave. (For the record, no one in the restaurant noticed.) Last year the time was in the middle of the night so we didn't do it but this year was at 7:44am! I was all alone, sigh, but I did it anyway. Like the last time, it didn't work right away. But after some perserverence, here's what Fluffy and I discovered:

Happy first day of spring!!