2010-My Year in Photos

I have been thinking of doing a post here about some of the highlights of my 2010. The more I thought back, looked at photos, etc., the more I got overwhelmed by the amount of fun and awesome that filled my year. I am so in love with my life... 2010 was more than anyone could hope for! I had to narrow it down, so I decided that instead of of trying to cover everything, I would just pick my favorite photos from the year. Still pretty overwhelming, and I'm leaving out lots of awesomeness, but It will have to do, because I need to stop spending so much time on it and continue to live this beautiful life!! :) Happy New Year, everyone. Love to everyone who helped make 2010 so amazing. Let's keep it going for 2011!!

TRAVEL


I went with some of my favorite people to the Kansas City Renn Faire in October. I love Road trips! I love my friends! This is a pic of my friend Eric at the Hookah area of the Faire.


Met this little guy at the Renn Faire, also! Adorbs.


I went on a work trip to Wisonsin in October. This was the view from my hotel room. Wisonsin is pretty!


Also from that Wisconsin trip... view from the plane! I get a little motion sick on planes, but the view is always so pretty!



In August I took a long road trip to Baltimore with my mom for my cousin's wedding. One of the last pit-stops it was really early in the morning... prefect lighting for some dewey flower shots!


Our hotel room on that trip overlooked the Inner Harbor.



In March I was in Washington DC and Baltimore, also! I saw Cherry blossoms. AND JULIA CHILD'S KITCHEN!!! OMG!!!

Funky cafe/diner in Baltimore, the Paper Moon.


Checking out DC with my BFF. Yay, reflection photos!


Tumbling down a hill at Johns Hopkins. Life's too fast to simply walk down hills, no? Be a kid, once in a while!


NOODLES



Noodles Meriwether turned 1 this year. He's so stinkin' cute. Here's some more pictures. and http://owhatcanitmean.blogspot.com/2010/07/noodles-spam.html.


FAMILY




We through my brother, Phil, a big 30th birthday bash... Philapalooza. His band(s) played and we even had a fire breather... my bro-in-law Josh Routh! What a rockin' good time!!





Say Hi to my family!! Every year my aunt an uncle who live in the country have Harvestfest. We all wear overalls, carve pumpkins, go on hunted hayrides. It's glorious and makes me look forward to fall every year! And there are usually puppies, too!


How sweet are my brother and sister-in-law? Highschool sweethearts, and they are still so in love at 30. It's so inspiring!


What's a year without a float trip or 2? Cool lady in cold water. Aw yeah.


AROUND TOWN




Another favorite activity is taking photos of places I'm at with my iPhone. These are photos from various St. Louis places. Ice Skating, summer walking, a friend's roof downtown...


MUSIC
You all know I love me some live music. Here are some of my favorite concert shots...


Via Dove


OK Go!



So Much Closer


Three Sheets


Carolina Chocolate Drops @ LouFest


Gentleman Auction House @ LouFest


So Many Dynamos @ Loufest



Jeff Tweedy and his audience @ LouFest

other music posts:
2 local artists
Album art... by me!
favorite live music 1
favorite live music 2


WEDDINGS





My Cousin asked me to be the photographer for her wedding in Galesburg, IL. It was fun, but oh man, the pressure!!


My cousin dan's wedding in Baltimore. Loved his tophat!!


Kelly and Jerad had the best wedding food ever. A pig roast!! YUM. See Corey Woodruff's photos from it here.

Whew! Like I said. GOOD DAMN YEAR.

Mixed Tape: Christmas Songs

Years ago, I started to make Christmas music mixed CDs for my family and friends, because I was sick of traditional christmas muzak that I was hearing everywhere. I found that there are lots of artists, traditional and non-traditional, making some darn good holiday tunes. Here is a small sampling of some of my favorites. What are some of yours?

4 Reel : The afterlife

What happens when we die? An age-old question that people have always been asking, and will always ask. There are many films that seek the answer. Here are 4 that do so in very very interesting ways. As a reminder, in these 4 Reel posts, I pick 4 movies within a theme, and describe each one in 4 words. Now onto the Hereafter.

1. After Life





reflection, human, goodness, stark

(side note: I haven't seen this film in many years... if anyone can find it on DVD, let me know! I miss it! :))


2. Defending Your Life





Funny, inspiring, moving, hopeful


3. What Dreams May Come





Breathtaking, heartbreaking, gorgeous, powerful

4. Wristcutters: A Love Story





Quirky, whimsical, dark, delightful

(side note, I noticed that Mary Pat Gleason had parts in both Wristcutters and Defending your life. I will be surprised if she doesn't make an appearance when I die :))

mixed tape: yummy songs

One of my favorite things to do is make mixed tapes (CDs, playlists, whatevs you kids are calling 'em these days) that have a theme. One theme I've made several CDs based on is food songs. I mean, durr... I'm a food blogger. It's only natural! Here are some of my favorite all-time food-related tunes... it's a short portion of a long list, trust me. I could probably have a daily food music blog (but I think 4 blogs is enough, don't you? I don't want to end up on Intervention...).

Hope you have a napkin... this is a messy mix of deliciousness. Dig in!!















Do you have any favorite food-themed songs? Tell me! I'm always hungry for more! :)

past music posts:
cover songs
album art
2 STL faves
favorite live music 1
favorite live music 2

local music & a giveaway!!

2 local artists who I have had the pleasure of seeing live several times have recently released albums. Beth Bombara and Via Dove. I went to both CD release shows, both of which included a download of the CD with the price of admission. Since I had already downloaded both albums, I am left with an extra download code for each. So I'm giving them away here! Simply leave a comment telling me your favorite local artist (doesn't have to be st. Louis... though I'm not sure how many readers I have in other cities...) and I'll pick a winner at random. I will e-mail the winner the two passcodes for the album downloads. I will pick the winner TODAY (November 26, 2010) at 4PM Central Standard time. So get to commenting!

A bit about each artist....

I first saw Via Dove at An Undercover Weekend, a yearly event that features local artists each transforming into a famous national act for one night only. Last year Via Dove blew everyone away as the Rolling Stones. It was such a fun and energetic show! After that, I tried to make as many shows as I could to see Via Dove as themselves, and was still impressed. The album, El Mundo Latino, is pure rock 'n roll. Good times! Here is a review.


Via Dove at this year's Undercover Weekend, as Pearl Jam. I had a fangirl spazztastic good time with that performance!


Via Dove's CD release show. They were minus their bass player due to a family emergency, but they still rocked the crowd!

I started following Beth Bombara on twitter, and started seeing her around at other local shows. After seeing her perform, I was in awe. This talented lady can play any instrument, it seems. And her voice is amazing. She is also married to a musician, Kit. Check them out in the recent Lo-Fi St. Louis video. Love it! With her musical skills, songwriting and Kit's musical skills, the new CD , Wish I Were You, is one I have listened to over and over. And it gets better every time! Beth did a kickstarter drive in order to get a vinyl pressing of the album, so if you are into records, I would recommend you check that out. It is the kind of album that lends itself to vinyl, for sure. See Corey Woodruff's cool photos of Beth and Kit here. Review of I Wish I Were You.

Beth Bombara performing at her CD Release show.


Beth and Kit.


Beth with Cassie Morgan as The Breeders at this year's Undercover Weekend.

So again, leave a comment on this post, and you could win these two downloads!



Support local music! St. Louis is wealthy in this department, with lots of talented artists, and an ever-growing community of local music advocates. Check out all these local music blogs/magazines:

I Went to a Show
5 Score Pachyderm
Speakers In Code
Eleven Magazine
RFT Music

Also, stay tuned to R&R Music Labs' project, STL Loud... compilation CDs of local artists performing original songs. (STL Loud Kickstarter... I recommend you contribute :))

Okay...you have until 4PM CST... GO!