What I Did On My Summer Vacation (Part 2): We Love Lucy

My next installment of What I Did On My Summer Vacation features everyone’s favorite: a baby!  This is Lucy, who has the enviable distinction of being the first baby born to a member of our burlesque troupe.  On a hazy, humid late summer afternoon, she and her husband held a meet-and-greet for Miss Lucy, which of course provided countless adorable photo ops.  Now’s the time to look elsewhere if you hate sweet baby photos…

Lucy and Mama.

Good dreams.

Holding court.

Examining.

Not too shabby.

She was clearly very responsive to all the attention.

Sweetly oblivious.

Oh, and those FEET.

Obviously, every burlesque troupe needs its own baby.  Which reminds me: I’m shipping off to Seattle for BurlyCon tomorrow morning!  Expect a full report (and definitely at least one or two more summer retrospective posts) when I make my triumphant, glitter-encrusted return to the east coast.

Insta(nt)gra(tification)m: Playing Catch-Up Edition

Man, even my Instagramming has been quiet lately.  These span a month and a half, a trip to Colorado (more on that to come), a burlesque show, apple picking, a wedding, and a few other random things thrown in there too.

1. An oddly intimate moment in the on-flight safety booklet.
2. Lights in Vail, CO.
3. The view from the window at my friend Sarah’s place in Boulder.
4. Rehearsal.
5. Somerville, lookin’ fine.
6. My attempt at drawing the Prince symbol.
7. My in-laws’ dog, Buddy.  So in love.
8. Tech rehearsal sexiness.
9. Wisest fortune yet
10. A burlesque prop cake in the making.
11. Pre-show glitter lips.
12. The mister picks an apple.
13. The setting for the wedding we attended last week.
14. My (mostly) successful apple crisp.
15. What I came home to yesterday.  That’s my husband under an afghan, wearing a straw boater hat.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation (Part 1)

Hello, internet.  I know I have been woefully absent from my little fledgling blog, and for that I am sorry.  I plan to make that up to you, tenfold, in the coming days/weeks/months.  To begin my atonement, I present to you a multi-part series entitled What I Did On My Summer Vacation.

(Original, I know.)

To kick it off, I give you a photo recap of our weekend mini-trip to NYC for the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island.  For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Jazz Age Lawn Party is a big two-day 1920s-style lawn party, complete with costumes, cocktails, a big band and dancing.  I’d wanted to go for years, so this year I decided it was time.  I gathered my cheap beads and a vaguely art deco-esque Urban Outfitters dress I’d scored at Buffalo Exchange* and hopped on the bus with the husband (and his old-timey bathing suit) in tow.  Here’s what the day looked like.

A full lawn.

Adam and Trudy in full regalia.

My dear friend Emily channels 1920s bohemian.

Emily x 2.

Me and my fella.

Balmy temperatures and long lines** notwithstanding, it was a mighty fine time.

Stay tuned for the next episode of What I Did On My Summer Vacation!  I promise there’s even more good stuff to share soon…

* I don’t shop at Urban Outfitters, for reasons maybe someday I’ll blog about.  #highhorse

** They eventually started bringing free cocktails to us poor souls waiting in the food lines…

August Insta(nt)gra(tification)m.

Hey, friends. Feast your eyes on August’s Instagram delights…

1. Husband and feathered friend.
2. Apparently you can exit reality right outside the Davis Square Au Bon Pain.
3. Getting some quality time with Lucy, our burlesque troupe’s first baby.
4. My classy husband’s classy shirt. (Confession: it was my idea.)
5. My first visit to Haberdash Vintage at SoWa Open Market (I got a dress – will play show and tell soon).
6. Various goods at the SoWa Vintage Market.
7. My sister and her new pup, Duncan.  I swear he’s real and not a Muppet.
8. Reclining at my hair appointment, complimentary peach sangria in hand.
9. One of the props for the routine I’m working on.
10. Heaven?
11. Presley, our dog-host during a weekend trip to NYC.
12. Doubtful.  Glitter is not that easily stopped.
13. NEW YORK BAGELS, YO.
14. Our trivia team name.
15. Deceptively gorgeous sky in Medford.
16. Sad Mr. Washington on the side of the Clover food truck in Dewey Square.

It’s My (Beach) Party and I’ll (Walk Around In A Bikini) If I Want To.

Who wants to hear about working overtime and headaches and fatigue?
No?  Good, I don’t feel like writing about those things right now.
Who likes theme parties and photos and photos of theme parties?
OMG, so do I!  Let’s talk about those instead.
So, the husband, who is currently enjoying what he calls “funemployment,” recently decided to throw a beach party at our place.  The resulting soiree was a success, with a “mystery punch,” tiki torches, and plenty of props:

Everyone’s interpretation of “beach wear” was slightly different, which made for some damn good photo ops.

See?  We are not letting summer go without a fight.

But This Day By The Lake Went Too Fast.

Summer!  Oh, summer.  My favorite kind of summer is full of late nights and lazy mornings, impromptu gatherings and wine-soaked conversations.  To be a successful summer, it must include at least one awful sunburn and one group camping trip.  And by these standards, I’ve had a successful summer indeed.

A few weeks ago, the mister and six of our friends and I retreated to a state park near Albany for a weekend of lounging, frisbee-ing, and lake-swimming.  It was kind of perfect, really.

It was definitely far from roughing it, but there’s just something so nice about having no choice but to sit around and just talk to each other – no TV, no cell phone, no laptop – just the company of people who you genuinely like.  It’s something I want to make sure I do on a regular basis.  And you should too.

Another Insta(nt)gra(tification)m!

For your viewing pleasure, I have Instagrammed views of all sorts of summer things: camping, dogs, babies, sunburn, karaoke, just to name a few.

1. PANDA RUG!
2. Dressed up as Dr. Girlfriend for our show at the Rusty Gear Con.
3. Buffy and the creature from Alien, before our private gig.
4. Sunday night karaoke crowd.
5. Elmo, is that you?
6. In the back of a windowless van, en route to 4th of July hangout.
7. Nicholas.
8. Lunch break.
9. Me, Paul, and the 87 bus.
10. Karaoke magic.
11. Trying to sell my stuff.
12. Vintage shirt tag.
13. Sam “the Beagle” Sensale.
14. My beautiful post-flea-market sunburn.
15. At the new falafel place in Davis Square.
16. Lucy, the newest human I know.  (Born just about two weeks ago to my friends Nancy and Mike)
17. Definitely the coolest thing that’s happened to me at work thus far.
18. Snacks at our office’s carnival-themed summer party.
19. My current favorite beer, enjoyed on our camping trip.
20. New Kork-Ease sandals that were waiting for me when we returned from camping.  They were on sale!
21. Burly-q rehearsal.

Fourth.

Last summer, the husband and I became expatriates for ten days, visiting London, Dublin, Galway and Amsterdam.  It was an epic adventure (deserving its own post – or posts –  someday), but as a result we didn’t really celebrate* the 4th of July.

Our Irish 4th.

So this year, it was back to good ol’ American business as usual.  Our friend Nicholas’ parents graciously allowed us to take over their house/yard/grill/swimming pool in the suburbs for a day, and we made good use of them all.

Lucy and some patriotic drinks.

My vintage bathing suit score.**

Dudes with beards, throwing things.

Impromptu swimsuit fashion shoot with Kait.

From Kait’s camera.

Must have for hot-day drinking.

Totally un-posed, I swear.

AMERICA!

Nicholas and guitar.

It was the best kind of summer day: hot, hazy, and dreamy, with good food and drinks made by good friends.  After experiencing one or two Independence Days in the city, I now would much rather get the heck out of Boston, away from the crowds, and into a backyard somewhere quiet*** and suburban.  It felt like spending a day with family – which, I suppose, that’s what it was.

* To be fair, taking a tour of the Guinness Brewery actually is like a party in itself.

** Vintage bathing suit c/o my favorite seller at the Davis Flea, Sarka’s Collection.  Bathing suits, silk scarves, dresses galore.

*** Aside from those illegal fireworks.

More Insta(nt)gra(tification)m

I give you the last 2.5 weeks, as seen through my wonky Virgin Mobile Android:

Prop-makin’ for a new routine.

Backyard fire at my friend Courtney’s.

Idyllic in Somerville.

Allix Mortis changing in the car, pre-show.

Undoubtedly the most photographed sign in Ralph’s Diner in Worcester.

Tijuana Sweetheart, with whom we had the pleasure of sharing a stage.

Day-after-show hair: burlesque is nothing if not glamorous.

Lunch on the patio at my office.

State Street orange line stop.

Hotel Marlowe and a little of my husband.

My dad and Aunt Susan, before my sister’s wedding.

My own wedding shots.

Porch wine, candlelight and the White Album.

A friend we made at Kimball Farm.

Maybe not the best mini-golf shoes.

Kimball Farm and a little more of my husband.

Arcade.

Feeling self-congratulatorily bohemian (and cleavagey), sipping wine and writing out on our porch.

Our friends Hallelujah the Hills’ CD release party.

Beard here.

So did I!

Hazy Memorial Day bathroom self-portrait.

Grass-sittin’.

Bike-walkin’.

Sorry for the overload.  What can I say?  Life’s been aesthetically pleasing these days.

Insta(nt)gra(tification)m

So, as I alluded to in my last post, I’ve recently been indoctrinated into the world of Instagram.  For someone who, ten years ago, railed against digital photography in general, I’m definitely a convert now.  I still miss the days of hanging out in the darkroom, but I wouldn’t trade the ease of digital/phone photography for anything.  So here’s a sampling of the quasi-hipstery Instagram photos I’ve taken of late:

shark.

little sister’s wedding hair trial.

Davis Square sunset sky.

new favorite boots – 7 bucks at Goodwill.

burlesque props.

casino.

legs.

pre-show makeup.

the ceiling at Berklee, where we saw the Magnetic Fields last month.

me and some buttons.

Dali.

the dapper men in my life, en route to a Kentucky Derby party.

what Boston’s looked like a lot lately.

I found some ears.

 

I’m thinking perhaps I’ll make this a weekly thing?  Lord knows I take enough pictures.