catching dreams

There was sun in my living room this morning.  Sun!  And the sky is blue today, and when I stepped outside to take the dog out, it was so not-freezing that I thought it was warm.  I woke up with some sort of headache that isn't retreating (and it's been hours), but nevertheless, today is a good day.  Sun!

Garret's out of town.  Well, upstate (VT, that is. 'Upstate' used to mean I was in Brooklyn and he was in Albany or something).  He's off meeting a new potential documentary subject, and then he's seeing our dear friend Evan afterwards.  So, I'm on my own for the day (well, Murgy's with me).  Days like this I tend to think I have *oh so much time* and then I end up using up all of it rather quickly.  As in: can you believe it's 3pm already?

On a whim I started designing a new writing/design portfolio website for myself.  Since I finally had an excuse to do so, I took to my favorite clip art resource, The Ink Nest, where I at long last purchased something I've been wanting for a while: the feather clip art bundle.  I may have a terrible fear of birds (still. I know. I need to grow up.) but I've been really in love with feather art lately.

I wanted to use the feathers on their own but I also wanted to incorporate a dreamcatcher because I've also been in love with them, lately.  My grandmother gave me one for Christmas last year, and I hung it in the window by my office.  I know they're meant to hang where one sleeps, but enough dreaming goes on in my office, so it felt appropriate.  I recently moved my desk to be right under that window, so now when I look up from my work to think, I'm looking through that dreamcatcher, out the window, to the woods.  It's become a big part of my work life.

Anyway, I'm working on the site (and will be for a while), but I created this dreamcatcher as art for it, so I figured I'd share it.

Bohemian Summer Wedding Suite (Some of My Designs)

Last night while I was snuggled up between an aging Christmas tree (one more day left, little buddy!) and the fireplace, all that I could think about was spring.  Beautiful flowers, fresh cut grass, sunshine...

As I am counting down the days to warmth (should be only 1 million more to go, right?) I am super excited to share the newest suite that has arrived in my Etsy shop.  I'm calling it "Jessie & Sam Spring & Summer Bouquet Suite".  I really need to start coming up with more decisive names for my designs...!  It has an indie spirit about it that I love, and something about the mixture of fonts for the lettering is reminding me of a vintage card I once saw at my Grandmother's house.

I'm just in love with the idea of these little pieces finding their way into a beautiful bohemian wedding!

Invitation + RSVP Postcard // Save the Date // Save the Date Magnet // Menu // Program // Printable Menu // Printable Program

Something That I Wrote (Saturday Walk in the Snow)

Saturday Walk in The Snow

“This is hard,” I say, pathetically. The hill is steeper than I thought. Plus, I'm thirsty. And I'm wondering, on a scale of 1 to 10, how socially awkward it would be for me to stop and eat some of the freshly fallen snow.

“We can turn back,” he says. He's always more compassionate than I; I would have just said, “Suck it up.” 

I point forward breathlessly. “No,” I say. “I want to make it to the stream.”

Steps later (trudges, really), we arrive. In warmer weather, this particular stream looks to me as though it has been plucked out of a museum. It's Nature's finest display of what perfect photo backdrops Earth is capable of creating. Today, it's even prettier than it has ever been. Water trickles beneath a ceiling of frozen summer days, which has a crystalizing effect that amplifies the beauty. It's summer, spring, fall, and winter all in one.

We stand and admire it: the entire scene. The stream, the trees, the snow, the quiet. The sound of the running water. Speaking of which, I am still thirsty, and stopping here has made me even more aware of the white, fluffy, potentially refreshing stuff that surrounds us.

What if I were to eat it, seriously, I ask myself. Would he think it was childish, maybe? Weird, at the very least? Even if he thought it, I really don't think he'd say anything. And, I mean, he has seen me at my worst: we are getting married, after all.

But what would he really be thinking? His parents have just departed from visiting us, and while they were here we did grown up things like drink wine and nibble on cheese and talk about fiscal cliffs. So what would it be, now, to eat snow? Even if he wasn't going to say something, what would he be thinking?

This back and forth about how such an action might be perceived tick tocks in my mind for a moment or two, but, soon it's out of my control I feel one of my hands slip a musty mitten off of the other.

 The exposed hand plunges into the powdery goodness of a roadside snowpile near the pristine stream.

 It melts in my mouth. It's solid and liquid all at once. Refreshing.  Better than any glass of water anywhere ever.

 It's wonderful.

A moment passes and I wonder if I should say something like, “Sorry, you are marrying a child. It was indeed immature and possibly gross of me to eat snow off of the side of a road, but I just couldn't help myself, I was thirsty, and...”

Oh, maybe I should just say nothing.

I look to the sophistocated snow-covered woods: The frosted trees are poetry in frozen motion. As I admire their regal stillness, I wonder who will say what next, or what he's thinking. Of me, or about anything.

But, then,

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as in one swift move, his hand plunges in and then reaches up toward his mouth. And just like that, he too takes a bite/sip of this silent, icy, beautiful afternoon.

“Man,” he says with a happy sigh. “I really love eating snow.”

I smile, and take another bite, and then so does he. 

And it's refreshing; all of it.

Better than any glass of water, anywhere, ever.

A blog post I started on 10/5, and never finished. Now I wonder where it was going...

Yesterday, I was in the back of the house

Just found this and thought it was lovely (and true)...

Hot Toddy Recipe

It's been rainy and soggy here in Vermont for the past week.  It looks as though Friday might clear up, but for now, it's gray.  Seemingly in sync with the weather, I managed to get a sore throat/cold thing a few days ago.  It's been lingering, and by the end of a long work day yesterday, my throat was in need of something warm and soothing.  Enter: the hot toddy.

I'd heard about these for a long time, but I'd never actually had one.  I read a few recipes online and then did what I usually do, which is come up with some amalgamation of what I read.  A lot of the recipes just use hot water with honey and lemon, but that sounded gross to me... so I used tea (a lot of recipes do).  Many say to use whiskey, but I didn't have any.  What I did have was maple rum (I know, I know - I'm on a real maple kick lately! But to be fair it is autumn in Vermont), which worked rather wonderfully.  Spiced rum would probably be good too.

My recipe is below.

Hot Toddy Recipe

You will need:
-  Tea (black tea, herbal tea, or green tea would probably all be good. I didn't want caffeine, so I went with ginger peach)
-  Half a lemon
-  Honey
-  Rum (or whiskey)

It's all pretty simple.  Brew your tea in a mug.  Leave a little room, since you'll be adding more liquid with the rum or whiskey.

Squeeze in the juice of half of a lemon - you can do more or less if you want.

Stir that up with a teaspoon of honey.

Add your rum or whiskey and stir it really well.

Sip and enjoy!  This was really soothing and didn't taste overwhelmingly like any one of the ingredients.   I enjoyed sitting by the fire and sipping away, and it really did make me feel better.

Of course for the work day, I'll just have to settle for tea with honey and lemon!

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Yesterday was one of those rainy, cool, October-is-tomorrow kind of days.  Garret and I spent Friday and Saturday at my mom's in Albany, so Sunday was our only Vermont weekend day this weekend.  We had aspirations to drive a little, grab some chicken wings and a beer at a pub, and watch football.  We don't really watch football, per say... but on a rainy Sunday, I like the experience of it.  It reminds me of home.

Anyway, that was our aspiration.  When it came time to actually go out and do all of this, we realized that a) we didn't really feel like eating chicken wings, we both wanted something healthy. And b) we didn't really want to do the drive that would be required of us to get to the place with the good wings.  But I was still craving a seasonal-inspired afternoon that embraced the coolness in the air. So, instead, I decided to make a autumn "lunch out" at home: homemade maple balsamic vinaigrette over a salad with a pumpkin ale sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mix.

I like to make "special" seasonal meals at home.  It's easy to do, it just takes a little creativity.  In the end, we got the same satisfaction we would have by going out and getting these seasonal foods at a restaurant, but we also got the warmth of our fireplace.  Plus, we got to hang out with Murgs.

The recipe for maple balsamic vinaigrette is below.  I highly recommend it -- it's not too sweet.  Actually, the maple just offsets the acidity of the balsamic enough to make it just an all around more delicious version of normal balsamic vinaigrette.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette 

You will need: 

1/2 a cup of olive oil

1/4 a cup of balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons of maple syrup (serious maple syrup, not my beloved Mrs. Butterworth's)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 clove of garlic, pressed (or minced)

Making the dressing is easy: just throw it in a bowl and whisk away.  I had a little bit of trouble getting it all to mix at first, so have patience.  If all else fails, throw it in a bottle or jar and shake it up.

❤Lauren

Ladies and Gentleman... Meet Anoush!

Anoush being written on at NYC's Fashion Week
in September.
Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton.

I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Anoush Froundjian.  Anoush and I met in college; where we were in a tiny screenwriting program together (we had all of our classes with the same 15 writers for all four years!).  Recently she has embarked on a new project, "I Got Written Up".  I love this project and think it's awesomely awesome that Anoush is doing it, so I wanted to share it (and her) with you.

"I Got Written Up" is an interactive project where Anoush covers herself in paper and goes to different places to get written on.  She asks everyone a question and allows them to answer (on her) with the sharpies she provides.  Previous questions have been "What do you want the most?" "What's your superhero name?" and "What do you think about when you're on the train?"  Anoush starts the day completely blank and at the end it's, as she puts it, "the noisiest thing you've ever seen."  

Anoush Froundjian is a writer, illustrator, and performer, who wants answers. She lives in New York City.

My interview with Anoush regarding "I Got Written Up" is below. 

L:  Hi!  So, tell me about your project. What are you up to? 

A:  Hi Lauren!  I've been doing a series of experiments where I go to different parts of the city while completely covered in paper.  I walk up to people, ask them a question, and ask them to write their answer on me.  The idea is to offer each person a blank slate to make it their own.  The whole experiment becomes this big, interactive project. 

L:  What was the biggest/scariest thing you overcame to actually take to the streets and turn this idea into a project? 

A:  The first time I did this, I was in Union Square and I was scared out of my mind.  I pinned all these papers to an extra large men's undershirt and wore a loose button-up shirt to cover it all.  I planned to show my "costume" at 2pm, and was waiting for my friend to be there to document it.  She was running late (L train) and couldn't answer her phone.  So I was on my own.  I realized there'd be a chance that this idea would not be absolutely, totally, fucking awesome, and that I'd have to face that reality while also looking like a dumb paper-idiot.  I stood there playing with my top button, and I started to tremble.

Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton

I called a friend, who is also an improviser, and she gave me advice that made sense.  Something along the lines of "You have to just do it." Advice that sounded good on paper (Hah! Anyway...)  but I needed more than that.  The back of my neck was really hot and I was trembling even more.  She reminded me that I have to be okay with looking stupid.  If I'm not okay with looking stupid, I'm doing it wrong. 

I thanked her for the reminder and unbuttoned.  The shirt came off, and I started talking to people, and the writing started.  The L train finally brought my friend to Union Square and she started snapping pictures while people were already there.  Her not being there in the beginning was actually a very, very good thing. 


L:  What was your biggest fear? 

A:  First, people thinking I'm crazy.  Second, People thinking I'm just some artsy person trying to get unearned attention.  Thirdly, people not thinking anything.  Well... the people thing, pretty much.


L:  What's been the most exciting thing that has happened as a result of this? 

A:  Something really great happened on my way home after the last time I did this.  When I got to my floor of my apartment building, the elevator door opened, and maybe a nine-year-old girl ran up to me.  She said she saw me on the street and had to take my picture.  I didn't want to have my picture taken of me by myself because I didn't really think me alone with the paper all over me was all that interesting.  So I asked her if she would like to write down something she really wanted to do and she said: 

"Yes! Do you have a marker?" 

(Yes, my child - I have a MILLION of them!) 

She smiled and said while she wrote, "I really want to be famous."

I said, "Oh, you totally can.  Just go and do a lot of stuff.  GOOD stuff." 

"Yeah," she said.  "Good stuff." 

"Are you a dancer, or...?" 

"I like acting.  I'm going to start taking classes when I move here." 

"Oh, great. Yeah. Just go and do it.  Wherever or whenever you want." 

"I'm going to"

"It was really nice meeting you."

"You too!"

"Now, go be famous!" 

While I turned the key to my apartment, I thought - that was a good thing that just happened... 

Anoush at Grand Central.
Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton

Another was when a woman on the subway, on my way home, asked if she could write something down.  She told me that I was doing something very new and the it moved her to see someone create something that had to do with everyone else. 

L:  A lot of artists struggle with identity - who they are, what they do.  You and I met at school for writing, and you've always had some performance mixed in, too.  How do you introduce yourself at a cocktail party?  What do you say you "do"?  Do you put yourself in one category, or are you open to whatever happens? 

A:  I can't really afford to categorize myself - my name is already "Anoush Froundjian".  Giving more information than that at once might cause an explosion (figurative!).  I need to be patient and figure out how to relate to people first and then take it from there (and then bring up comedy).  But I think if I go around telling people who I am and what my purpose is, (which I'm still figuring out), I'd never make any new discoveries. 

That being said, if anyone has any questions about Armenia you know I'm always here to help. 

L: What is the biggest thing you've learned through this process? 

A:  That I can talk to anyone about anything!  Except sports...! And I was also surprised to learn how much people like being approached.  I've also learned that when you're entertaining a group of people, sometimes it is better to let your audience do the talking (writing).

L:  What's the next step for this project?  What do you want to do but haven't done yet with it? 

A:  My plan is to create a bigger project from all of this with each physical piece of writing. 

So far, I document everyone's responses here: http://igotwrittenup.wordpress.com.  The photos were taken by Meena Sajwani Appleton, who has been accompanying me on these adventures.  

Also, please go to my Facebook page and become a fan (or if you're just curious): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anoush-Got-Written-Up/528229813869545?ref=ts. 

I hope to get you to write something soon! 

L:  Any new projects or other pursuits we should look forward to? 

A:  I do a few things in addition to this.  I have a web comic called "Anoush talks to stuff at http://anoushtalkstostuff.tumblr.com.  It's about me and the inanimate objects I live with and talk to. 

I also design t-shirts called Monster Eats T-Shirts.  About different foods that hate people.  That's over at: http://www.cafepress.com/monster_eats

I also have a collection of monster drawings that I post here at: http://teethandeyeballs.blogspot.com.  It's a lot of teeth and a lot of eyeballs. 

L:  Thank you for doing this!
A:  Thank you for asking me to do this!  This was fun.  I have a question -- do you still do voice impressions, when you're not writing movies?  I remember your English accent being really, really good.  I was just curious.  You can leave this part out if you want.  Actually... don't :) 

L:  Sometimes... I do... [talks in a British accent for the rest of the day].

Anoush being written on in Union Square.
Photo by Meena Sajwani Appleton

Cheerio :)