Show Weekend!

Welp, tse has been up to quite a bit over the past few days. First off, I'd like to introduce to you the wonderful Ms. Elisa Seda, who will be playing with us from now through the overseas tour. She has been up since Wednesday rehearsing like crazy for the Forsaken Generation show, and had an AMAZING hotel room that was 2 levels (with a spiral staircase):

So basically, in addition to the bottle of wine you see in the above picture, we've been providing her with some band bonding time. And by 'band bonding' time, we mean band dinners. Because as you all know, a band that eats together, stays together. In case you don't know us all very well, we all share a common enjoyment in eating and/or preparing food. So I made black bean sliders and Jon made some homemade guacamole during one of our all-day rehearsals.


And on Saturday, we went out to Thornden Park to partake in the all day Forsaken Generation show. The weather held up nicely (basically until the end of our set haha), but we managed to have wayyy too much fun over the course of the day, both at the park, where we decided sharpie mustaches were appropriate:

To our guitar center run, where Ollie's 25 cent machine provided a much more realistic and horrifyingly disgusting alternative:


We then all went out to China Road and got the most AMAZING vegetarian 'chicken' I have ever had (see, we really do love eating together), and headed back to the show. It was so cool getting to be a part of the cause, and the show itself was at a really cool location. I don't know if you've ever been around the Thornden Park area, but there's a huge stone ampitheatre and stage, and it's just a really amazing place to have a show. The set went really well (only had to cut 1 song due to rain), and from then on we had a record-setting load in to our vehicles as we escaped what ended up being a pretty heavy downfall.

Don't forget that if you missed us we're playing in Syracuse this coming Friday at Funk n Waffles with White Picket Fence and Oh The Story. Once I get a flyer and more details I'll post.

Michael came up for all this weekend's shenanigans as well, and I'm hoping to get out to Rochester a couple days this week. I know it still seems like such a long way away until tour, but I'll only have a couple free weekends from here on out (rehearsing about 40 hours a week starting August 1st) and I want to see him as much as possible. Other than that and a few job appointments I don't have anything else going on, and I figure this is the last 'week' that I can say that before we return from SW Asia. I'm getting more and more excited every day, and as long as we can get all the paperwork and equipment squared away I will be a very happy camper :)

Garage Sale-ing

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything really substantial about my life, but I think I'm finally starting to get it together. I don't even remember what day it was (sad, isn't it?) but our yellow lab, Bently, had to get rushed to the dog vet after having another breathing attack. He was ten years old, but still keeping it together, and after a night in the hospital the family came to a very difficult decision that it was his time to go.

It was really hard for me, he was really my buddy and it's taken a lot out of me. The past year has been really crazy, and having to come to terms with life not always going the way you want it to on top of numerous trying times and tragedies it's been... really rough. I miss him so much.


It's been a really difficult summer for my family, but through everything we've been through it's a constant reminder how lucky and blessed we are to have everything that we do. My mom underwent a pretty serious surgery, and thank goodness everything went well and now she is better. Being diagnosed with a cancer (though operable) is really really emotionally straining on everyone involved, and having to go to wakes and funerals and just knowing other people who passed over the past few months from this terrible disease didn't make it any better.

But, onward and upward. I've been quoting so many cliches lately. When it rains it pours. Life goes on. Everything happens for a reason. Live every day like it's your last. All dogs go to heaven.

I'm sick of being sad, sick of being frustrated, and ready to get my running shoes on and start up the minivan. I've spent too long allowing all the bad things in life to control my feelings and actions. We're all still here, and every day is a gift.

That being said, I am trying to surround myself with friends and things that make me happy. I went downtown with my mom and sister yesterday, and I tried selling back a box of like 30 used cds (to which sound garden took 1... an unopened sevendust album. don't ask), and I got a whopping 5 bucks. But either way, I got season 2 of 30 rock, stopped by the chocolate store, and went to pasta's and got some bread and sauce for dinner.

That night I also spoke to NYC photographer Paul Williams, who took some AMAZING shots of the group at our Arlene's show, and he's going to be coming out for a week in August to shoot our album artwork. That means dresses and pictures and dressing up and he and I are heading all the concepts... I am so excited.


My family is having a garage sale this Friday and Saturday, and I've also been viewing that as an opportunity to get rid of things that I don't need or don't wish to be attached to anymore. It's oddly freeing, even if just to get rid of old cds, hoodies, etc. I have also decided to give up a hobby of mine, sewing, and I'm getting rid of all my old lace, fabrics, ribbons, etc. The DIY period of my life has come to an end, and I realized I have to pick and choose what I do in my free time. I have picked music first, and if I have time to get back into it, painting and drawing. Cooking will always be around, but I just don't have the time or space to devote to making dresses or bags or anything else anymore. I have a sweet sewing machine though, so if I ever change my mind the craft store isn't too far away :)

Oh, sigh. I need more happy. I need to feel like I'm enjoying the summer. And I don't think it's ever too late to start, so here I go.

What my ride needs is ... a ride.

Let's see, what would make my car better?

PT Cruiser

... I think title and Registration in my own name would be a great start! That would just be grand... because if I had my own vehicle, it would just be the greatest ride I could ever dream of. I'd decorate it with pretty cupcake bumper stickers, it would smell amazing (as I'm not allowed to have air fresheners in my current vehicle), it would be clean all the time (I'm a neat freak when it comes to my car, but I can't clean the mini van all the time because of how much band stuff it accumulates in like a week), it would be all girlyyyy... ooooh it would be amazing. And someday, it will happen. I can promise you that. So, in a year or a few, watch out for that sassy lady driver in a pt cruiser or other small vehicle with a hatchback, with sweet air fresheners and bumper sticker art out the wazoo.

I'll read 'The Great Gatsby' one day

Ever since graduating I've been telling myself that I will start to read more... and I have. To a degree. Maybe. Well, okay, so maybe reading half a book doesn't really count, but still, I'm readinggg. I'm just setting myself up to be able to tackle a whole one, all in the same time period. I think that's why I'm putting off reading "The Great Gatsby."

No real delay...it's sitting on my nightstand. I've been meaning to get around to it, but it's just been one of those things. I suppose one reason I haven't started it just yet is that I've been on a kick of finishing all the books I've BEEN reading for the past 3 years (I have a tendency to read like 5 books at a time and never really finish any of them). I've been told I'll enjoy this book, so maybe before the end of the summer it'll happen.

Iron Cupcake July!

So, as everyone knows, I am in love with baking, and more specifically, baking and eating cupcakes. Through all of my online research for ideas and recipes, I stumbled upon Iron Cupcake World. Basically, similarly to the 'Iron Chef' television show, anyone who is interested can become a member, and once a month a new ingredient is introduced to which you need to create a cupcake including or showcasing that specific ingredient. Without any hesitation I immediately joined and got moving, after all, what isn't a good reason to bake and create cupcakes at least once a month? :)

The July ingredient was "herbs" so immediately I thought to use something refreshing and summery, and lemongrass was the first thing that came to my mind.

Lemongrass is most commonly used in Thai food, and from even more research I found that it is rarely used in making baked goods. Oh, and it’s really stringy, so after playing around with a few tries the best way to get some of the flavor of it was to boil it down in order to incorporate it into the recipe. I also added some lemon zest so that the lemon flavor would really 'pop' in the cupcake, and incorporated the rest of the lemongrass ‘juice’ that I created from the lemongrass into the icing so that the lightness of that herb would carry through.

I tend to bake a lot of vegan treats, so I am no stranger to substituting apple sauce for eggs and using earth balance or margarine for butter. And even though I am entertaining a group of non-vegans tonight, I wanted to have the sweetness of applesauce with the sourness of the lemon and lemongrass, so I did include an egg in there to fill the recipe out, but overall I think I prefer applesauce (and if you do decide to make this vegan, make sureeee you put enough baking powder in there!)

For the icing, I tend to go with a non-buttercream frosting so that it can last longer out of the fridge, and if you so choose to get crafty and decorate it will stiffen up nicely.

Lemongrass Cupcakes

1 stalk lemongrass

1 cup flour

¾ cup sugar

3 tbsp applesauce

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 lemon

1 egg

½ tsp baking powder

For the icing:

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 lb confectioner's sugar

lemon zest

Cut the stalk of lemongrass into 1-2” pieces, and boil on high for 5 minutes in 1 cup of water. Turn off heat and set aside.

1. Combine flour, sugar, applesauce, and butter in a mixing bowl
2. Remove lemongrass stalks from the water and put 2 tbsp of the ‘lemongrass juice’ into the mixture
3. add zest of ½ a small lemon, 1 egg, baking powder, and mix until smooth
4. Add food coloring if you desire (I added a few drops because I tend to be overly-festive and love foods with bright colors)
   
5. cook on 375 for 15 minutes or until the tops begin to brown

For the icing:

1. Using a mixer, blend together 1 cup of vegetable shortening and 1 lb of confectioner's sugar
2. add 3 tbsp of the lemongrass 'juice' and lemon zest to taste

I got great reviews of this cupcake at the dinner party that I catered, and think that especially for summery get-togethers or parties, lemon is the way to go. I'm so glad I found Iron Cupcake, but that's not the end of it just yet -- I need your help!

Iron Cupcake holds votes for 5 days afters the baking period ends (the 24th of every month at 12 noon). And all of the bakers are competing for a really great prize pack:

Our July ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5335273
  
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
  
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

So starting then, if I may be so bold, PLEASE click on the badge below and vote for my cupcake!! Tell your friends, and if you try out the recipe let me know what you think!!





Thanks guys!!

100th Post!

The past 36 hours have been pretty crazy, and right now I am in desperate need of some sleep and I think as soon as I finish this up that's where I'll be headed. Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:45am to head out to Jess' to meet up before we left. It was Michael, Kaleena, Jess, and myself in his car on the way there. Us...and the trailer.

Now, I love New York City, but when you're with a car, and a trailer, and a few thousand dollars worth of musical equipment, it's pretty much like traveling to NYC with a small child. You can't leave it anywhere, you have to feed it (the parking meter) every two hours (which therefore means you can't go too far either), and be responsible for it 24 hours a day. Especially where we were, it was all metered parking, and if it was overnight it was at risk of being ticketed after 7am. Jess was amazing for dealing with the vehicle... no wonder why I get stressed out so much!

So we got into the city before noon, and Michael and I met up with Paul Williams at an organic macrobiotic restaurant (Souen). I got some really interesting (but tasty!) cornbread, cabbage salad, and veggie sushi. Then we went to a comic book store and went back to the venue.

We managed to get an early soundcheck, and then Leena and I headed back to the hotel to quickly get changed and not look like we'd been in a car since 6am, got back to the venue and got things ready.

Overall I don't think we could have asked for a better show. There was a line out the door right before we went on, we played an amazing set, the energy was amazing and the crowd was as well. There were so many friends, family members, and music people that it really blew my mind. The following hour was me saying "thank you" to everyone who came out, meeting new people that I didn't know who came out to see us, and loading up all our equipment.

Another 'thing' about nyc shows - when we play, it's almost like your graduation party, where you have your current best friends, your old best friends, your family friends, and your family all there to see you, and you're trying to figure out the best way to see everyone and not seem like a hermit and only talk to a few. That being said, I just walked to the back of the bar and yelled "WHO WANTS PIZZA?? WE'RE LEAVING IN 5, GET OUTSIDE!!" and thankfully, a crew of my friends from school, home, and otherwise came out and we had pizza and then went to a bar until they had to catch their trains. It was such an amazing night, and if you were there, I really cannot thank you enough for everything :)

Crazy Day!

Today started off simple enough, or at least seemed like it was going to be. We met the guys at Carousel this morning to help Jon go shopping for the show tomorrow (gotta love it when guys go shopping for shows), and on the way home, we saw a family of ducks trying to cross the intersection of Taft and Buckley Road (really really busy streets). So, Jon jumped out of the car to help them across the street and 5 babies ended up falling into a storm sewer because they kind of freaked out. Immediately (thank goodness other people were paying attention), we parked the car close by and tried to get them out. Things weren't working, so Jon and Aaron went to a pool store conveniently right down the street, bought a few skimmers, and were back at it. I ran to Subway, explained my situation to the guy working, and he managed to give me a whole loaf of bread to try and lure them out (how awesome is that?!)

Unfortunately we still weren't able to get them out, despite 2 sheriffs RIGHT AT OUR STOP LIGHT (one of them was on their phone, so yanno, I can understand the lack of observation), so we went back to Jess' to practice, and Aaron called the city who later called them back asking which sewer because they were going to rescue them. So happy that they called us back, it really makes me upset when people just ignore what's going on around them.

So then Jess and I ran to the rental place to pick up a wireless device for my violin and arrange to pick up a drum kit for rehearsal at the end of the week. We got back, practiced, then ran out and rented a Uhaul trailer for the show. Then I came back to Jess', we ran the set again, loaded up and headed out.

Kaleena and I had to run a few more errands before we got home around 8pm (we started the day at 9am so it's been busy... and I had nothing to eat but some cake Jon brought over!), so now I'm exhausted and packing and waiting for Michael to get here because we're leaving at 6am tomorrow.

OOOh I am looking so forward to this show. I can't wait to see friends and family and anyone else and go to Red Bamboo... tomorrow will be wonderful.