Sundance 2014

 Bright and early Friday morning, Kelsea and I began our drive down to Salt Lake City for Sundance 2014. Well, when I saw bright and early, I actually mean inversion-y and early, because there was a crazy fog cover in the valley. The drive down was not bad at all- Kelsea updated me on her life, we listened to some Lord Pete Wimsey and Harriet Vane flirting, and of course, made sure that we stopped at In 'n Out for some lunch. This girl needed her #2 with no onions. And she got it. I dropped Kelsea off at Kylie's, got to see Kylie's basement pad and then headed over to Megan's! It had been two years since I had seen the boys and they were so grown up! I just cannot get enough of them. Zach and I played Pokemon cards, Ethan and I played with plastic animals, I soaked up every single minute that I could with them.

Megan and I decided to try and catch a movie at Park City that night so we registered for the wait list and then RIGHT AT 6:30 WE CHECKED IN. The wait-list was done just like a Southwest flight. The quicker you sign-in, the lower number you get. We should have read the linking up directions before hand because we didn't quite get what we were supposed to do and while I ended up with #14, Thad and Megan had #142 and #165. Oops. We decided to still go up to Park City anyway after the babysitter showed up, and stood in line for about 20 minutes to see who was getting into the movie and who wasn't. It helped that we had a perfect parking spot RIGHT outside the theater and the Festival HQ. In the end, I would have made it into the movie but thought it was dumb to go see something alone and not even be able to talk to anyone about it afterwards. So I gave up my spot to some other deserving soul and Megan, Thad, and I snagged a shuttle up to Main Street.

Although we didn't see any celebs this time, we did enjoy people watching as we wandered up and down Main Street. Eventually we ducked into a brewery to grab some appetizers and drinks, as the slice of pizza we had with the boys earlier that night was not completely sufficient. The shrimp was delicious, which made up for the just OK drinks. It was so great to catch up though. I've missed my roomie!

Megan and I got up for Saturday morning yoga, which was perfect because it meant I didn't have to do my own yoga practice. The teacher was a Mormon hippie who cried at the end of the class but we did some good stretches. The best part about yoga was going to Cafe Gaudi afterwards, where we had caramel lattes, the most delicious breakfast sandwiches and potato fritatas. Gosh, I miss Barcelona! (Incidentally, I took a buzzfeed test about where I should live and somehow I got Barcelona... so that happened...) Anyway, breakfast was fantastic and somehow we managed to refrain from buying the Ferrero Rocher cupcakes that had a Ferrero Rocher chocoalte piece BAKED INTO THE CUPCAKE. I might be regretting that decision....

After breakfast, Megan and I went to go watch Zach's basketball game. 10 seven-year-olds playing basketball is hysterical and Zach not only had a basket but also an assist! there was this high maintenance mom next to us that was also amusing. Oh parents. We ran a few errands to Costo-co and then to lunch and then I got a chance to read with Zachary while Megan showered and Ethan napped. I'm still blown away that the little baby I held the day after he was born is this vibrant, funny, quirky seven-year-old who can read and write and tell great jokes. Man, I love him!

Because Megan had laser eye surgery on Thursday, she didn't think she'd be able to see well enough to watch the movies on Saturday. But the surgery went so well and there happened to be one more ticket and so she came up to Sundance with us. It was so good to have her come with us! We did a bit of shoe shopping find a pair that would match her outfit and then we picked up Kelsea and went straight up to Ogden. We were a bit late for dinner but were able to order some dinner and make friends with the older folk that were sitting at our table. The food was pretty good for Utah-an Mexican food and I really enjoyed my fish tacos. The theater was a short walk from the restaurant and we were divided into our boxes. Once again, Megan and I were in Box A and we snagged front row seats and grabbed the free drinks.

We saw "Lilting", which starred Ben Whishaw first. I really enjoyed it a lot. It had one of those ambiguous endings but I felt like there was enough revealed beforehand that the open ending wasn't too bad. I loved the actors and the way that the director arranged the flashbacks and I was really pleased with being able to see the film. The second movie was "The Double", starring Jesse Eisenberg, directed by Richard Ayoade, and based on the story by Dostoevsky. It was like  Fight Club meets 1984 meets Clockwork Orange meets 12 Monkeys meets an electrical outage. I LOVED the soundtrack and I LOVED Jesse Eisenberg's mannerisms (he was just like Michael Cera) and I LOVED when Chris O'Dowd showed up. I need to see the ending again (or I guess just read the story) to really understand it better but I was also glad we got to see this one.

As always, the reception in between was fabulous. Megan and I shared a piece of cake and a chocolate thing, I grabbed a few cookies for the road, the wine and beer was flowing, and there was god conversation. Debi Maughan sat with us and she was so much fun to talk to and get to know better. Because there was no nudity in the second movie (in Utah, you cannot have nudity and alcohol) we were able to bring a glass of wine back with us to the second movie. Man, I love this alumni event!

I slept really poorly that night though, which totally sucked because we had an early morning the next day. We got up and made it to church a bit late but early enough to hear Phil's really great sermon on Galatians. I helped Megan and her co-teacher Laurie teach Sunday School to some really adorable first and second graders, and I got to have a quick chat with both Phil and Nancy. They are so lovely people. We grabbed some coffee and hot chocolate on the way back to Megan's and then, after some quick packing, it was time to say goodbye. I picked Kelsea and Kylie up from their church service and we had lunch at Noodles and were able to catch up for a little bit as well. It's so great to have some many lovely people in one town to catch up with. The drive home was LONG and I needed a lot of good music to keep me going but we made it home right before my small group girls were meant to show up. Perfect timing.

I'm already ready for Sundance 2015!

30B430 Update

With fifteen months to go until my 30th birthday, I have officially completed three out of thirty. I'm 1/10 of the way there!

But, I am making some good progress on other items.

Today, I'm officially 17 days into my 30 for 30 yoga challenge. That is awesome.

I also have read six more books off of my BBC Book List. I finished "Winnie-the-Pooh", "I Capture the Castle" and "The Colour of Magic" while I was home for Christmas. "Winnie-the-Pooh" is always a classic and just adorable and sweet. "The Colour of Magic" was... bizarre. I mean, I eventually got into it but I'm not sure how I feel about Terry Pratchett yet. I've heard such good things about him but "The Colour of Magic" didn't hook me. I have at least two more Terry Pratchett books on my list, so I"m hoping it improves. Right now, I'm about to start the book he co-authored with Neil Gaiman and I'm hoping that endears him to me a bit more. I was really disappointed with "I Capture the Castle." I had been looking forward to reading this for a long time and once I did, I was disappointed. I think I maybe had too high of expectations. I just felt like the story ddddrrraaaggggeeeeddd on and I didn't empathize with the characters I thought I would.

Since coming back to Idaho, I've read "Cold Comfort Farm", "The Magus" and "Birdsong." I finished "Birdsong" in about two days and really enjoyed it. It was a bit brutal and I liked the way the two stories intertwined. I'm interested to read the new two in the trilogy at some point. I did not love "Cold Comfort Farm" in the way I thought I would. I guess I kind of expected a Nancy Mitford type story and I guess it kind of was but I don't know if it was the dialects that threw me or the fact that I kept forgetting the characters but I kind of dragged my way through it. And then, in a perfect, and literal example of not judging a book by its cover, I LOVED "The Magus". I thought I would drag my way through 656 pages of John Fowles but I could not put it down. It was like being on a controlled acid trip. I could not ever figure out what was real or not real or true or false or what but oh my did this captivate me. It's making me even reconsider if I could re-read "The French Lieutenant's Woman." And I never ever ever thought I'd say that.

So, BBC Book List-wise, I've got 28 more to go. Onward and upward!

In regards to everything else, I've got a few things up my sleeve. Jennie and I have plans to go skiing and technically I've never been to Bogus Basin before. We are also heading up to Sun Valley in a few weeks with Caitlin and I'm hoping to go to a hot spring and cross another Idaho place off of my list.

Caitlin is ready to teach me how to crochet.

Brooke promised to help teach me how to bake bread and honestly, I'd rather do it in her kitchen than try to do it in mine with my limited counter space.

Brooke also has a few free hot yoga classes left on her pass that she said I can use. Just have to find somehow to come with me to drive me home if I pass out.

I'm feeling good about this! Seriously, who wants to come join me on any of my adventures? 

30B430 #7

On Friday, I completed another 30B430 experience! Before Christmas, I noticed there was a Paint and Wine place next to this place I got a mani/pedi with Brooke and Bailie and made a mental note to investigate further when I came back. After some investigation, I rallied Juliette, Caitlin, and Jennie to come join me in a night out painting and wine-ing. You know what I mean.

We headed out to Boise, with Caitlin and Juliette "fighting" in the back seat, and arrived at Paint 'N Sip just in time. We ordered a bottle of wine, found our seats and got into painting. It was so easy. Well, comparably, of course. They walk through every single step with you and there's so much encouragement. There were some older ladies out for a girls' night out and they were hysterical, especially the old lady who "had a man for church, a man in bed, a man to dance with, and a man to cook for." They were out of control. I loved how different our paintings all turned out, even though we were all using the same examples.

It was so great to check another thing off of my list and I'm so glad I have some pretty awesome friends to come and help me out. I would definitely recommend Paint 'N Sip, or any type of painting and wine classes. Listen, people, if I can paint something that remotely looks like a flower, then anybody can. Even with two glasses of wine in me!

Who's coming to join me on our next adventure???

Sherlock Catch-up

In preparation for Sherlock S3, I essentially binge-watched the previous 2 seasons of the show. Essentially over two days, I watched nine hours of Sherlock and I have NO regrets.

OK, well, actually, I have ONE regret. This summer, on our first day in London, Niki and I went to lunch AT THIS CAFE THAT IS ON GOWER STREET THAT IS ALSO ESSENTIALLY WHERE THEY FILM BAKER STREET. I should have investigated more when I saw all the pictures inside the cafe but I was feeling sooooo sick and was so out of it that I MISSED MY CHANCE TO TAKE A PICTURE OUTSIDE OF "BAKER STREET." And here's what's more. See the picture below? See the table where John and Mycroft are lunching? THAT IS THE TABLE THAT WE SAT AT. 

Sigh....

Also, I'm pretty sure that this tor that Sherlock is standing on is the same tor that Roni, Kristen, and I stood on. Now, I can't be sure, but let's just say, to make me feel better about the above situation, that it was.

Also, this shot of John is pretty much the expression I had on my face during most of the first two seasons.

And then this is how I watched the first episode of Season 3.

Yeah, there was a lot of that happening. Why is this show so good? Why does it toy with our emotions? Why does it make me laugh and cry and also want to punch Sherlock? Why can't I be their 3rd wheel? Can Molly Hooper and I be best friends? Can John and I be best friends? Can I go to lunch with Mycroft? These are all very serious questions!

If you have not see any episodes, WATCH THEM NOW. I WILL GIVE YOU MY NETFLIX INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN WATCH THEM. 

Season 4???? Soon?