Saturday, June 5, 2010

THE CABIN...

Just walked in the door with just a sliver of Saturday left... all day I found myself antsy and anxious, wondering when I would find a minute to post a blog, I can't drop the ball on day 2... that would be, in the words of Quinn White, "lame sauce". I am cutting it close, right down to the wire as usual, but here it is, as promised:)

It's been a long day, a very non-weekend-y day, nonetheless it was spent doing good things. We actually spent half the day taking a little road trip up to Big Bear where I was doing some singing and such. As we were driving through the pine tree covered mountains, I had somewhat of a deja-vu moment...

When I was a kid growing up in Arizona, my Grandma and Grandpa Woods had built this cabin in a little town called Pine. There was a time that nearly every weekend we'd hop in the van, listen to the "When Harry met Sally" soundtrack by Harry Connick Jr. and drive two hours North up to the cabin, especially in the summer months to escape the heat. The cabin might have been my favorite place, everyone was there, grandma and grandpa, cousins, aunts, uncles... oh and the dogs, lots of smelly dogs. It wasn't very big, there was a large one bedroom loft upstairs with four beds and a balcony where us kids liked to attempt to sleep, of course only making it halfway through the night until we got to cold, or scared. Then there were a couple sleeper sofas downstairs, and ONE singular bathroom that was ALWAYS occupied. There was hardly an inch of open space to be found, with sleeping bags laid out all over the floor... and the dogs. Yep there was a whole lot of family squished into the cabin, there was chaos, it was mayhem and I loved it.

Boredom didn't exist at the cabin. There was the tire swing that swung over the green belt, long walks along the side of the dirt road to collect rocks that we would then tumble and shine, adventures down fossil creek to catch crawdads, night drives through the forest to search for Elk, trips into town to the closest Wal-mart to buy fabric, beadazzler and puff paint, hours at the dining table making useless junk with the glue gun, shooting cans with bee-bee guns, sitting on the porch watching the hummingbirds line up on the bird feeder and the traditional hot chocolate and bisquick pancake breakfasts. It was like a never-never land, a happy escape from reality.

It's been quite a few years ago now that the cabin had to be sold. My grandma was devastated, we all were. And though it will never be the same, I told her that someday I would buy her another one. I just need to sell a few more records first...


Friday, June 4, 2010

EVERYDAY...

I make my bed everyday... I brush my teeth everyday... I say my prayers everyday... I say I love you everyday... there are a few things that I am good at doing everyday... As far as everything else, I am pretty darn good at being inconsistent. Like maintaining this blog for instance...

I'm going to challenge myself with posting a blog EVERYDAY for the rest of June. And I am vocalizing that so that I am held accountable...

Now I can't promise that every post will be interesting or relevant to much, as a matter of fact I am fine with the possibility that no one will in fact read them. Nonetheless, there will be a post, perhaps novel length as I am known for... maybe one sentence, or maybe it will be photo or a drawing. Oh yes, there will be something. This is about consistency, about developing habits, about dedication... stick-to-itivness and follow through.

Here we go!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

IF I CAN DREAM...

Tomorrow... or I should say today, I will be back on the Idol Stage once again:) So many thoughts about this, but it's late. Need a little rest before it all hits me...

To be continued.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

THE GIRLS WITH GLASSES SHOW

New project, I love projects, I live for projects, especially this project... The Girls with Glasses Show. I'm sure y'all have heard a little about this by now... but long story kinda short, about five months ago, I finally gave into the nagging impression to call my friend Summer Bellessa, an impression that I'd had for several months but shrugged off. This time, I picked up the phone and dialed her number, she answered, we decided to meet for breakfast the next day. You're wondering, who is this Summer Bellessa? She is a fabulous person that I became friends with on myspace way back when... back then, she had a small dress line and this perfect little black dress that I just had to have, looking back, I never got one, sold out. However we began to correspond about music and fashion and other related topics. Since then she has started the most beautiful and classy quarterly high fashion magazine "Eliza" in which she was so kind to put me on the cover after my run on American Idol.

So there we were, catching up over delicious belgium waffles at IHOP, discussing, relating and venting about all of our creative challenges of being an indie singer-songwriter working to sustain in the post idol world and a fashion magazine editor trying to keep her magazine alive, what would be the fate of our struggling yet surviving careers? We talked about our supportive spouses, about hopes of family and potential motherhood... the desire to have it all, to experience the fullness of potential. How do you make it happen, can it happen? That's when a stroke of genius came upon us. An answer? not really, but an idea, yes! We both happened to be wearing our glasses that day... often times you would find us both in contacts (though we have both been four eyed since grade school)... thats when the idea was born, The Girls with Glasses Show.

The Girls with Glasses is all about a fresh perspective, the smart girls talk show... and yet not sooo serious. Quirky even. We got to talking about the kind of show we wanted to watch, the kind of show our friends would want to watch... the show that just didn't seem to quite exist... yet. It just seemed like the kind of idea we could sink our teeth into. Ever since we have quietly but earnestly been working to bring this show to life. Summer's husband had a camera, we wrote a theme song, we started reaching out to the most creative people we know and love, adding their brilliance and energy, and before we knew it, we'd started something that seems unstoppable, taking on a life of it's own. And what's it all about? That's easy, all the stuff that we know about, the stuff that interests gals like you and me (oh and guys, we welcome you too!) ... music, fashion, art, books, food and all the little quirks that keep life interesting and funny... oh and incorporating a the new world of blog and internet culture. We're ready to get sifting through the manajary of this and that and bring the best to the surface for you to enjoy... that's what we're doing anyway! Cause isn't that what it's about... finding joy amongst the challenge? Get on your glasses, even if you don't wear 'em. We wanna help you see all the good stuff, that's right in front of you:)

We've only just begun.

Watch this adorable stop motion video that would not have come to life with out the genius camera work of Angela Kohler, the wardrobe styling of Sunshine & Sarah, hair creations of Nikki Providence and faces made lovely by Rachel DeSimone, prop assistance and other random help by Kerry Bellessa... oh and the cuteness of Famous the dog:)




Monday, December 7, 2009

FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO ENJOY FOOTBALL


We are addicted to... Friday Night Lights

GRANDPA GARY IS A COMEDIAN



My moms dad, my grandfather... Gary Purviance, is one funny older guy (see picture: with very long legs, which I did not inherit:( bummer), and the best part is, he doesn't even know he's funny, nothing forced or contrived about him. He is pure entertainment, I literally follow him around with the flip camera... wouldn't want to miss out on a single one of his comedic gems. He spends a lot more time with the family these days and I don't mind at all, he has a good heart and keeps us laughing... I love the guy.

SLEEPLESS AND THANKFUL

Last night I found myself tossing and turning... again. Being an insomniac since the fifth grade, falling asleep has never been easy for me... most likely because I can't seem to slow down the good ol' noggin. Whether it's obsessing over the little things, like wondering if I left wet clothes in the washing machine, or stressing about the weightier matters like trying make important decisions about my future... the second my head hits the pillow, it goes into overdrive and just can't seem to quit. However last night, I decided that instead of lying awake and uselessly worrying myself to sleep, that I would grab my trusty iphone from the charger off the nightstand, and made a list of the things I am grateful for... i have an app for that:)

Now of course there are the biggies: Family, Friends, Faith, Health & Home that make the very top of the list when it comes to that which I am truly thankful for... however, I wanted to break it down a bit, and include even the smallest of things that make life awesome. It seems like i've heard the quote "it's all in the details", actually, I'm not entirely positive, but I think it was Oprah:) Regardless of who said it, I happen to agree with that statement. Generally day to day life is not necessarily glamourous or overly exciting, but I've come to realize that it's often times not about the far and few in between monumental somethings (though I grateful for those too) but it's about the lovely little simple details that collectively seem to make living worthwhile. I was going to stop at ten, but I had more... here I go:)

Cupcakes...(especially from Big Sugar)
Sunshine
DVR
Dinners with Dave
New Music Tuesdays
Craft stores
friendly people
Sundays
Phone calls from Mom & Dad
Burbank Airport
High Hopes & Heartbreak
the color yellow
iphone
the oldies station
Golden Grams
twitter
the piano & guitar
laughing
ugg boots
Christmas
Bicycle Rides
in n' out burger
lemonade
blogs
Christmas trees
candles
suitcases on wheels
happy movies
sunglasses
little kids
loud music

You can make your own list too... it's fun:)