we made it! we are mostly moved in to our small studio apartment, and are exhausted and hot but so happy to be here! we have been walking day and night trying to familiarize ourselves with the city. the highlight of our time here has definitely been the outdoor national symphony orchestra concert that we watched from the capitol steps. i have never felt more patriotic!
seriously, i still get so excited every time i see these pictures. they are compilation of my favorite shots i took of farah. how perfect is she? and her hair? i don't know how my own kids will ever live up to her!
i only watched the very beginning and very end of the vma's (so happy that jt won best video!). i've never been a fan of lady gaga, but her performance really impressed me. not because i actually enjoyed it, but because i noticed a few artistic influences. i love when artists (even pop artists) reference other works. it just shows they they are knowledgeable and possibly worthwhile. these references may have not been direct or even planned, they are just my observations.
in the very first scene, gaga shows just her face through a white wall (later we see she is wearing almost a whole nun's getup). this reminded me of brancusi's sleeping muse sculptures:
later, gaga stripped down to her black unitard and put on a bright yellow wig, reminding me of lichtenstein.
she ended in a shell bikini with a long flowing wig, which obviously referenced boticelli's most famous work, birth of venus.
andie turns 16 today! i can't even believe it! all my babies are growing up! on friday we threw a birthday party for her. she wanted a bonfire and a movie in the backyard. we threw this together really quickly, and it was actually super easy. for the backyard decorations we put up lights, set up the fire pit, and created little seating areas. we pretty much brought out any extra pillow or blanket we had in the house. we covered our ugly lawn chairs with sheets, and made beds on the long ones. we brought out little end tables for the kids to put their treats on, and stools for them to rest their feet on. oh, and luckily the chevron stripes from my wedding were still out there after a year-and-a-half, even though the paint was supposed to wash away with the rain. they make the backyard so much cuter!
andie is probably the funniest person i know and i am so glad i get to spend almost every birthday with her. she always has the best stories and questions and never stops talking. she definitely wins the best hair award in our family, although it is a ratsnest most of the time. seriously, my life would be so much more boring without her. and she and jarman are best friends, which is also a major plus. they are seriously hilarious together even though i usually hate to admit it. happy birthday baby girl! love you!
this is possibly the shortest stop motion video ever, but i just loved this moment that i captured. it is my first attempt at creating a little stop motion video, so if you have any tips please let me know!
