Creative Inspiration

Reading, Watching, Listening | Labor Day Weekend

written by LNWC

Reading

Emily St. John Mandel is also the author of Station Eleven, which was so good I wanted to make everyone read it just so I could talk to people about it without spoiling anything. I’ve been meaning to read more of her work ever since.

Last Night in Montreal is a short novel with a mysterious woman who can’t stop running and dead languages that describe the indescribable. Honestly… I’m nerding out over the language stuff, mostly, so that might need to factor into my next to-read 🙂

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Watching

Timeless

Ugh why did I get on this train so late?! History AND science fiction? Questions of fate, destiny, and free will? Kick-ass female characters? NBC WHY DID YOU CANCEL THIS?

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Listening

Brown Vegan

This is one of THE best, most motivating, vegan podcasts I’ve listened to (and I’ve been listening to A LOT). Sometimes my vegan transition has felt a little… overwhelming. Hearing that “progress over perfection” is ok, and learning about the varying stories that brought people to veganism (her guests are awesome!), is so inspiring.

September 3, 2018 1 comment

Creative Inspiration Travel + Adventures

Field Note: Salt and Sundry at Union Market

written by LNWC

*sigh* You can really lose yourself in this place. Packed with thoughtfully-curated home goods and gifts, this place is an entertainer’s dream. Or a place for a would-be entertainer to dream about all the dinner parties and soirees they need to have (I might know something about that kind of aspiration). The shop also stocks creative craft tonics, mixers, and bitters, as well as other kitchen goodies like truffle salt and olive oil. Some of the small-batch items are made right here in DC – our city is full of creative entrepreneurs!

Below are some of the items you might find if you stop in at their Union Market location in DC. When I visited last weekend they were getting ready for a store refresh/makeover – I can’t wait to check it out and see the new look!

How lovely is this store?

February 4, 2018 2 comments

Creative Inspiration Travel + Adventures

Brown Paper Packages, Snow, and… Beer.

written by LNWC

Hope y’all had a great holiday season and had some time to relax/eat/drink/be merry!

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ROAD TRIP!

Both of our families are in the Indiana/Michigan area, so we usually spend a week there during the Christmas season. This means a 600-mile road trip from DC to the Midwest, dog in tow. It’s a long day (12-ish hours, one way), but it does usually involve a stop at Dairy Queen, so.

The short story is that we visited with family, ate a lot, opened presents, and tried a lot of craft beer. It was lovely, but I’m definitely ready to get back to a routine of working out, and recover a bit with a post-holiday Whole30. Even before the holiday, I had fallen off the healthy-eating wagon a bit, and my body is kind of like, “This is why we can’t have nice things.” I know I’ll feel better if I eat about 80% clean (because life is too short for 100%), but I think it’s time for a reset, and Whole30 is my favorite way to do that!

Now for the long story…

Brown Paper Packages

While last-minute gift shopping (there really isn’t any other kind for me) I found some adorable ribbon/greenery on sale at World Market and Michaels. The results were some adorable rustic Christmas wrapping that I might have been a teensy bit proud of, which is probably already obvious from my 1000 overly-enthusiastic Instagram posts. But look at these little cuties!

White Christmas

It was pretty clear when it started snowing the day we arrived that a white Christmas was in the works. And it was gorgeous. But it was also FREEZING. Below 0° F kind of freezing. Do I still have toes kind of freezing. “Oh, is that me whimpering out loud,” kind of freezing. It’s possible that the more mild DC winters have softened me up just a tad.

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Still, we took some time on a sunny day to play in the snow with Libby. I mean, she had to show off her winter statement coat. Every girl needs a winter statement coat.

Every girl needs a winter statement coat.

Beer Beer Beer.

It’s no big news that microbreweries and places that feature a solid list of craft beer are popping up everywhere – but this is the first time I’ve had the chance to try two particularly lovely spots in Granger, IN and Newaygo, MI.

Rocky River Tap and Table, a Farm to Table restaurant in Mishawaka, came recommended by my SIL. Once I saw the draft list full of local beers and a menu that included pork belly bites… well, I knew we were in for a treat. Bacon and beer – someone should make a Hallmark movie about that love story. I digress. They have quite a selection:

The pork belly was fantastic, as were both beers I picked off quite a list.

This is a great place to grab a few of the bites + beers – I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.

Newaygo Brewing Company surprised me with a lot of fun flavors and a huge variety of brews. Malty, hoppy, ale, lager, sweet, sour – there’s definitely a beer (or cider) for everyone.

My personal favorites were the Himalayan Gose (“A light, German sour ale with coriander and pink salt”) and Coconut Brown Ale (“Sweet and creamy coconut in a English Brown Ale”). They aren’t typical flavors, but somehow they worked without being gimmicky (pumpkin beer, anyone?). I’m also not usually one for sweet beers, but the Coconut Brown Ale was super fun and a good treat when it’s pretty much zero degrees out.

The New Year is Almost Here!

After all of the brews and treats and cheese (my body is suuuuuuuuuper annoyed about the cheese in particular), I’m thinking a modified Whole30 is an order for January. I plan to stick strictly to the rules with the exception of legumes. Before Whole30 I wasn’t much of a meat eater, and while I’ve liked experimenting with new recipes, it’s kind of starting to feel like entirely too much meat.

I’m also thinking my office might need some rearrangement in the new year. Sometimes it’s good to change up your creative space 🙂

Hope you all have a lovely new year!

December 31, 2017 0 comment

Creative Inspiration Travel + Adventures

29Rooms by Refinery29: Using Technology to Transform Art

written by LNWC

Last Saturday I spent three hours in a funhouse full of interactive art installations that was basically an Instagram playground. You could say that it was an…. #INSTAllation. See what I did there?! The rest of this post is, pun-free, I promise.

The best way to describe Refinery29’s 29Rooms is to see it – which you can do right now through a thousand different perspectives via the hashtag #29Rooms on Instagram. The collection of photos is a great example of using technology to crowdsource art; the way each person interpreted, interacted with, and photographed the room brought out different perspectives that I never would have expected.

Here are a few of my own favorite snaps:

Kat Cunning in the “Dreamers Den”. She crafted songs on the spot using dreams written by audience members. My session featured the Backstreet Boys and jelly doughnuts.

Dare Greatly! Just one of the many positive messages floating around the warehouse.

An ocean created from the bottles we’ve thrown away…

I had such a great time at 29Rooms and came out of it with tons of inspiration! If you’re in the LA area, don’t miss out when it comes your way, find out more here and get updates on Insta by following @29Rooms.

September 16, 2017 0 comment

Creative Inspiration Just for Giggles Learn + Make

Chateaux, Trebuchets, and Chewbacca: Sometimes it’s Fun to Think Big

written by LNWC

Real estate in my area is so ridiculously priced, that it’s on par with a small chateau. Hyperbole, you say? Nope, I’ve made the comparisons while perusing real estate online.

In case you don’t already randomly peruse dream real estate that you can’t afford, allow me to provide you with a hobby/procrastination outlet that you don’t need: http://www.frenchestateagents.com. Sometimes there’s even an “affordable” chateau. Crumbly and in need of some TLC? Yes. But it’s fun to dream sometimes.

I sent one of these listings to my husband, because, you know, what’s even better than dreaming about moving to France and restoring a chateau? Having someone share in your delusion of course!

Hubs: I can dig having a chateau. Can we have trebuchets?
Me: Plural? Like, a fleet of trebuchets?
Hubs: Battery, I believe, is the proper collective noun for artillery. And yes.
Me: Well, the more you know! Sure, if we get a castle, I’ll build you a battery of trebuchets. Yes. That seem like a fair comprimise.

In case you also aren’t well-versed in medieval siege vehicles, a trebuchet is technically a type of catapult. It’s far superior, however, to to the typical pull back and let-er-rip version most people are familiar with.

There are a lot of great videos on the Internet of people with homemade trebuchets, but I grabbed this one because it’s a PBS NOVA production. It makes me feel like I’m learning something as opposed to just watching people chuck crap across a field. Which, they are. However, I’m pretty sure at least one person is an engineer or medieval expert of some sort, so it seems pretty legit:

Coincidentally, I have, in fact, built a trebuchet. In 10th grade my dad and I spent a few days engineering a model of a trebuchet for a school project. It was almost as tall as me. I was kind of an over-achiever with the creative projects.

The thing is – I really liked to throw myself into a concept. I still do. Sometimes it’s an asset, and other times, you end up with my honors biology project. The project was simply to build a fun representation of DNA structure. So I’m at the fabric store, and I see this faux fur fabric and think – “YES! These are my nucleobases! Cheetah for guanine, cow for adenine….”

And that’s how I ended up with a furry 8-ft DNA monstrosity I called Chewbacca. In the end, it didn’t even fit through the front doors. So we brought Chewbacca in through the back.

So anyway, I usually think it’s good to think big. But I might hold off on the battery of trebuchets until I check the local ordinances. And learn French.

Details.

September 1, 2017 0 comment