A startling realization has been sneaking up on me over the last year. I've been stubborn, refused to speak it out loud, worried that it might not be the coolest of opinions (oh wait, cool is one thing that's never really applied to me. Whew, guess I don't have to worry about that one). What is it, you ask?

I love Salt Lake City.

Like a lot.

Like heartbeatingfasteverythingseemsbrighter levels of love.

I don't know what to do about it.

Projects and things

I just started working on a Wiksten Tova top in a super lightweight gauzy printed cotton. I want a million lightweight shirts for this summer- I have a feeling it's going to be extremely long and burningly hot (like every summer in Utah, let's be honest).

Thinking of summer makes me dream of vacations. I'm trying to decide whether or not to join a group of friends who are planning to hike Hadrian's wall next summer (see my last post on my inability to make long term plans with an uncertain future staring me down).

Not much funny has happened lately. Sorry.

Also, go see John Carter- just because I actually feel sorry for Disney that it was such a monumental financial flop. Honestly, it's completely absurd, but still kind of a fun movie- old fashioned swash-buckle-y-ness...but with lots of CGI and lots of abs. If nothing else, do it for Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Yesterday I saw four mountain goats at work.

Today we're having a snake/safety/awareness training. With real snakes.

My workplace is cooler than yours, freezing cave notwithstanding. I'm just saying.

Also, can we talk about how hard it is to plan for the future when you have no idea where/if you'll be employed in six months? I want to take trips and accrue vacation days and learn stuff and buy a condo (preferably with lots of exposed brick and industrial design features so all of my frilly decorations will look more balanced). I'm learning a lot about patience right now. I think.

Am I crazy?

There's a bike shop in town that fixes up used/vintage bikes and resells them. I drove past last night and there out front was an exact replica of my happy little 1974 Schwinn Suburban, but instead of nondescript copper like my bike, it was a delightful shade of raspberry. RASPBERRY y'all. Would it be strange if I bought it and had two of the same bike?


(Mine looks like this, but with oh-so-shiny copper fenders. I do love it. Photo courtesy of Velospace.)

Midnight in Awkwardland

Today I went to the release party for Shannon Hale's new book "Midnight in Austenland"! It was so much fun! I don't think I've ever been to a book signing before...shocking, right? I went by myself, and it was at a tiny independent bookstore over in Sugarhouse. She told hilarious stories about filming "Austenland" in England over the summer, I somehow ended up standing sandwiched between her parents and her husband, there was an impromptu murder mystery game to be played while waiting for signing, and there were also secret prizes hidden throughout the bookstore- I found one! It's the German edition of my favorite book of hers- "Book of a Thousand Days". Maybe it's a sign that I need to ditch Russian and start learning German instead?


Then I was next in line and after spending my line-time thinking about what to say I stepped up and....couldn't say anything. WHAT?! It was like on that episode of Community where Troy meets his hero Lavar Burton and spends the whole visit not talking and running out of the room screaming when ovserwhelmed. Except...she's not even my hero, just an author whose books I enjoy, and who I think is really intelligent and hilarious and just generally kind of great. I think I just jinxed myself by thinking about it too much? And it was just horrible. She wrote something German in my "Das Buch der Tausend Tage" and she looked at it and said "I hope that's right!" and I "well, I won't know if it's not!" and sounded really ungrateful and then walked away awkwardly as she said "it was nice to meet you!" after me. Omg whyyyyyyyyy.



Anyways, I have my copy of "Midnight in Austenland" and I'm super excited to read it.

On a happier note, something truly charming and delightful happened when I first got to the bookstore and was waiting in line to buy my books. I saw the cutest thing I've ever seen. There was a family in front of me in line- two parents and a girl who was maybe 5 or 6- and she was carrying a book of photos of Gaudi's buildings in Barcelona, and she kept turning the page and saying things like "oooh we were there! How old is this building?" She wanted to buy it but her mom kept saying "but we have photos of all those bldgs from when we were there!" Eventually she gave in (who wouldn't give in to a wee squeaky little child begging for a book about great architecture?), and as the little girl handed the book over to her mom, she said in a reverent voice, "it's soooo awesome!". I almost died. I just wanted to eat her she was so cute. What small child cares about Gaudi? Weird and wonderful.