Never Give Up On The Good Times

I think I have mentioned this before but I am somewhat of pack rat. I really hate how that term sounds so maybe I'll come up with a different way of describing what I am. Let's say I am a nostalgist or maybe a super smart and sassy saver. Now, doesn't that sound better?

I am trying to get better at not keeping every little thing I've ever received since I discovered, after moving five times in the last four years, having lots of stuff makes things more difficult. I guess I just never want to give up on the good times and have a hard time throwing anything away that has a memory attached to it or might be useful later in life although I am not currently using it. I have found that my way of doing things (as opposed to the "if you haven't worn it in a year, toss it" rule) can pay off! Case in point ... my lovely wooden platforms with woven leather straps. 

I have owned these beauties for over nine years and wore them only once for the first eight and a half of those years. I originally bought them for the Junior Senior Banquet (similar to prom, I went to a private school) my junior year of high school. That whole getup from head to toe was my favorite that I put together for a high school dance. I couldn't get rid of the shoes even though I didn't really have any reason to wear them anymore. I tended to wear more casual clothing options in my high school days and didn't really start dressing up, or more ladylike as my mother said, until I was in college. Not to say that I dressed like a boy, I have just gone through many different clothing phases ... my nicknames in my neighborhood growing up were Cyndi Lauper and Madonna since I dressed like a crazy woman at the age of five, but that's another story for another post. 

So in a bin, mixed with many other pairs of shoes, my wooden platforms stayed. That was until a few months ago. I was itching to buy some new shoes, wooden platforms to be exact but my cute husband didn't really see the point in me buying another pair of shoes. Our conversation went a little something like this ...

Audrey: "Ohhhhhhhhhhh my goodness, do you see those super amazing shoes???!!!!" (pointing to picture on the computer)

Pete: "Huh? Oh yeah...."

Audrey: "Those are perfect and wonderful and exactly what I have always wanted!!!"

Pete: "That's cool...."

Audrey: "I think maybe I'll stop by the store tomorrow if I get out of work early and get me a pair!!"

Pete: "What are those on your feet right now?"

Audrey: "Boots ..."

Pete: "So why do you need another pair of shoes if you already have one?"

Audrey: "Do I need to explain the difference between boots and platform sandals again?!"

Well, I will spare you guys the rest of the convo but let's just say it didn't end in my feet's favor. I remained wooden platform-less for another couple weeks until one morning before work. I was frantically looking in one of my bins of shoes for a certain pair that were nowhere to be found in my room. I can't quite remember if I found them or not because I got very distracted when I saw my beautiful old wooden platforms mixed in with a bunch of other old shoes. I didn't wear them to work but they did move from the bin into my room. That's how things know if they are really special to me or not. Bin or room. Pete generally stays in my room :)

Wearing the Levi's from my latest thrifting adventure.

P.S. I may or may not have been a big Spice Girls fan in junior high ...

Bandages

Okay this post title is a bit of a stretch but I am using it anyways. I was looking for a song with the word 'breakdown' in the title but couldn't find one by an artist that I wanted to put on my blog (Jack Johnson, I don't think so). As I was typing in breakdown I thought there was some song I used to really like that had something to do with making up and breaking down. Well I was close. Hot Hot Heat had an album called 'Make Up the Breakdown' that I listened to quite often my sophomore year of college. The song 'Bandages' will always remind me of going out on Tuesdays to an 80's night at a club (that didn't actually play that much 80's music) and dancing the night away with my friends. There is a part of the song that my bestie and I would dance around in circles until we couldn't stand up straight. It's funny but some of my favorite songs to this day are from those Tuesday nights. So although this post was supposed to do more with breakdowns rather than bandages, it will work.

Our RV, Miss Priscilla, can be quite temperamental. When she gets all hot and bothered she sometimes decides she doesn't want to work anymore and will just stop on us. She did it twice today! Twice, in the hot hot heat (I just used the band name ... does that count?!) in Georgia. The first time we were able to pull off the freeway but the second time we got stuck at an intersection and blocked traffic off the freeway for almost an hour.

A true southern gentleman stopped and tried to help us out. We strapped up the RV to his station wagon but Priscilla is a big girl and the straps broke when he tried to pull us. Soon after a cop pulled over by us and ended up calling a tow truck for us. For some reason Priscilla decided to work just at that moment and they guys were able to pull her into a Waffle House parking lot. We let her cool down for an hour or so and then started her back up to make it to the show tonight in Atlanta. Maybe she just needs some bandages (there it is, big stretch I know ... maybe I should have just gone with the band name).

Once on our way we got stuck in the craziest storm I have ever seen! Talk about a weird day. Going from being stranded in 90 degree weather to driving through thunder, lightening, and flooding on the freeway. Well we made it to the venue finally, only a few hours late. We only have about another week on the road. Hopefully Priscilla will be able to get us all home!

New York

I sometimes joke that I am basically getting a free trip to see some really amazing places. Honestly, that is the case though. That isn't why I quit my job but its a pretty big perk. Most of the time we don't spend very much time in any one city but right now we are lucky enough to spend a couple days in New York. The guys played at a festival this afternoon, we will spend some time in the city tomorrow morning then head to Boston for a show tomorrow night, and back to NYC for another festival show on Thursday. The last (and first) time I was in the Big Apple was about 12 years ago. My mother is from New Jersey and we used to visit her family quite a bit when I was younger so the east coast isn't that foreign to me but I still get very excited to be over here. 

Here are a few things I remember about my last trip to NYC ...

1. I had to change clothes halfway through the day because long jeans and a sweater isn't quite appropriate in August, even when its overcast (overcast in Seattle and New York are two very different things). 

2. I bought fake glasses at a street stand and wore them for months afterwards, almost convincing myself that they really helped me see better.

3. The only thing I wanted to do that day was go shopping on 5th Avenue. My birthday was a couple days prior and my parents gifted me shopping money for NYC!! My wish was fulfilled. However, I couldn't actually afford anything 5th Avenue-ish so I ended up buying things I could have found at the Nordstrom back home. Oh well, the Ralph Lauren shirt, Levi's jeans and Steve Madden shoes were all very special to me. 

I played around with my phone today and discovered (after having this phone for over a year) that there are some interesting filters on the camera other than the usual grayscale and sepia tone. I guess I should have figured my phone would be more high tech than the flip phone I had a few years ago. 

So happy about the dude wearing the I <3 NY shirt in my picture. 

Definitely Unexpected

I love it when during our travels we come across a little thrift store in a town when we actually have a some time to kill. That was the case the other day. It was definitely an unexpected surprise! I found a couple things right away but when I went up to the counter I was informed that in order to use my card I had to spend at least $10. So I was forced to find a couple more things. I ended up walking away with a denim skirt, pair of light wash high waisted Levi shorts (been hunting for some exactly like this for months!), a pink and white striped button down shirt with really cute detailing, and a George Michael cassette tape. Basically, it was a successful trip. The RV only has a tape player in it so George will get its fair share of play. 

On The Road Again

Well blogging friends, we are on the road again (currently in Toronto for NXNE to be exact) which means the little time I spent on sewing just dropped to probably none. I wish it could be different but I realized that it just isn't possible. Before we left for tour I had the next six months all planned out. Each day would consist of sewing for hours and then filling my blog with all of my little projects. Well life has been much much different than I thought. Isn't that always the case though?! I really didn't get much done during our break in Coronado either. I started prepping to alter a skirt but realized that I didn't have everything I needed with me so it wasn't really worth it to try. I might as well wait till we are home in a few weeks. 

Oh yeah, small side note, we are going home now in July for a few weeks. It will be nice to unpack and regroup for a bit before we head out again. I really am going to try and get as much done as I humanly can while we are home. It will be a busy few weeks though. The guys will be working on writing and demoing songs most of the time. Also, Pete and I are finalizing plans to go on a trip with my parents for a few days while we have a break. It should be very fun!!

Okay back to sewing ... I have found that being on the road has kind of taken my motivation away. I still have the same desire to get an Etsy store up and running but real life (not to be confused with normal life, our life is definitely not normal) seems to get in the way at times. I know that I need to be better at making time for sewing and I am really hoping that I will do so once we are home. For the first few weeks that we were out I would get so frustrated with the situation and myself because I wasn't getting anything done. I decided to just give it a rest till we are home so I don't get too frustrated and then lose all motivation before I even finish a full collection of clothing. I plan to visit my favorite lucky thrift store the first Sunday I am home to get some great dollar deals. I find that thrifting always helps fuel my motivation quite a bit! I also might be making a fun purchase soon that I know will definitely get me excited about sewing again. At the very least it will look great in our room :) 

Vacation

View from our room

This is our fourth official day being in Coronado and although I have technically been on vacation since May 4th, this really feels like vacation now! The guys have had a couple day break from recording so Pete and I took advantage and spent some time together today. We did some of our favorite things ... slept in, went on a few walks, and filled our bellies with good food and drinks!
The house we are staying at is on the water in Coronado and a short walk from the beach. We planned on playing in the ocean and enjoying the sun but the water was far too cold and the wind was being a little difficult. Despite the negative elements, we still enjoyed our time at the beach.

Someone peaking in behind me :)

That sneaky someone plus my finger...

Apparently everyone else in Coronado knows that its too cold to go swimming in the ocean because we basically had the beach to ourselves. Can't blame us though, we are from Seattle!!

I wanted to start some new projects yesterday but got distracted by my husbands presence so decided to put it off till tomorrow once the band is back in the studio. Hopefully my next post will be filled with pictures of everything I am going to accomplish tomorrow ... I have high hopes!