It's only a chance to pave the path we're on

Here's the deal. I thought I quit writing in this blog, but over the past few weeks this thing has been beckoning me like a really sweet, neglected stuffed animal crammed under the bed. So here I am.

Why did I decide to initially stop? I'm not sure. I started something slightly less time consuming on tumblr, but I haven't been very good about keeping that up to date. Makes for a poor excuse. In all honestly, I think I've just been incredibly overwhelmed with work-related writing and so updating felt like work? Yeah, that sounds like a good excuse. :)

Anyway, I'm back. With so many details to catch you up on. And pictures to post. And our 2011 list to update. Not that we've been that on target with this list (we were list-killing rockstars last year). We have done some things, though. :)

Here's a list of what's to come (picture-wise):

• Photos from our trip to Jerome, AZ -- on this post!
• Photos from our trip to Tombstone, AZ
• Photos (and lots of words) from our recent trip to Europe! We went in May for two weeks and had an amazing, wonderful, jubilant, joyous blur-of-a-European dream vacay. :)

Before I get to the pics, though, we have some good news! We are moving into a new apartment next month -- woohoo!

We decided on a whim last weekend to look at some house rentals in central and downtown Phoenix and happened upon the perfect place. It's in the Coronado district (which is an area I've always found so charming -- reminds me slightly of an Indianapolis Irvington/Fountain Square fusion - historic homes, lots of independent neighborhood restaurants, pubs and kind of artsy). Definitely more our scene than where we are now, which is more like a depressing fusion of Jersey Shore meets a meat head-packed locker room. Sorry if that's mean. :x

Anyway, the rental is so, so lovely and the landlords are great (a young couple relocating to Portland for work) and it's just perfect for us. :) So woohoo for that! Lots of happy dances were involved with the whole viewing/applying/lease signing that went down this week.

Mmk...Jerome pictures.

More words you can skip if you don't feel like reading: Jerome is a fabulous town about 1.5-2 hours north of Phoenix that every. single. person. has told us we need to visit. It kind of has a reputation for being a "wild wild west" town -- hookers, moonshine, guns, cowboys, mining, gambling. You get the picture. It's definitely quirky -- not just because it's located on the side of a mountain at 5,000 feet -- but because of its history. We went in March and were not disappointed. :)

The Haunted Hamburger, where we had lunch. Jerome has a history of being haunted and has even been investigated by our favorite ghost hunting crew, the Ghost Adventures. Hi, Aaron. :)

Eating at the Haunted Hamburger. That is snow back there. :X

Isn't my husband a dreamboat?

Rad old gas pump!

I am guilty of buying fudge here.

ADIOS!

Wendy

i would go along with someone like you

Bonjour,

Just a mini update. :) This past week my momma was in town. Had me spinning around in circles busy, but it was a good kind of busy filled with family, good food and sight-seeing. I'm so glad she got to visit. I have a few pictures (and an item to cross off our 2011 list!):

2. Have a real life picnic

We drove north to Sedona for some sight seeing and a lovely picnic. This is Cathedral rock (David and I climbed it once before).

The weather was perfect, though I did get a little sunkissed. :)

Prickly Pear.

Our scenic picnic. It was the most perfect spot ever.

:)

Some friendly saguaros on the drive back to Phoenix.

That's a whopper of a picnic, eh? Totally worth the commute.

Anyway, it was great to have my mom in town. I'm definitely looking forward to a trip back to Indiana this August (woohoo!). I'm going home at the end of August to photograph a friend's wedding in Northern Indiana.

I've had a few other people request some shoots while I'm in town, so I have that to look forward to, as well. Photograph and, of course, seeing family and friends. And perhaps some Midwestern vintage shopping... It's the very best kind!

Speaking of vintage, I've had a chance to slightly re-stock my Etsy shelves this month. I hit the momentous 100 sales and was even featured on the front page of Etsy.com today. Woohoo! Here are a few of my recent items:

Shabby chic, individual party trays

1920s/1930s car horn - AHOOGA!

Rusty cans -- fab!

80s Bubblegum Pink Cassette Player

That's all for now!

Cheers,

Wendy

i'll give you all i have to give and more

Hi. :)

Just a short blog post.

The end of January was a major whirlwind that zoomed by so fast I hardly remember what happened. Well, maybe I remember a little. Anyway, here's a mini update on all things happening in Wendy's life:

As a freelance writer, having a constant stream of work is ultra important. Fortunately, things have been pretty consistent.

For example, my new year's resolution of pitching to more magazines has already paid off. I've been writing for Kiwanis International Magazine again (I interned there as a college sophomore) and I love it. I write mostly about the philanthropic things Kiwanis club members do around the world. From Japan to Germany to Canada and right here in the USA. Very inspirational.

For the past few months I've also been working with Tyra Banks' team on her new online magazine. The site should launch sometime this month (crossing fingers) and I've had an absolute blast writing fashion, beauty and style-related pieces. Ms. Banks herself even read my first article and approved of it (I did a little squeal when I heard the news). The best part about writing for Tyra's new site is talking with so many brilliant people in the beauty/fashion world. I'm especially fond of a comprehensive article I wrote on the little black dress. You'll have to stay tuned.

One other new writing/work-related announcement: Asylum.com shut down. :( I was super bummed to learn the news, as I had a blast writing quirky news stories for them over the year I joined board. However, I was hired by Urlesque.com, a somewhat-similar site also owned by AOL properties, and I'm very excited to build relations there. Already working on some very cool pieces!


Anyone who knows David and me knows that we're travel fanatics. We're always thinking about our next destination. One place that both he and I have always talked about visiting is Europe in general.

We made "visit europe" one of our must-do's on our 2011 bucket list and I'm happy to say we purchased tickets last month. Woohoo! We spent hours looking at travel books at Barnes & Noble trying to figure out where to go.

After playing the blindfold/finger game (aka, close eyes, open book, turn page and point), and mulling our options over, we finally came up with a game plan.

Here's our (very rough) itinerary:
May 11 Leave PHX @ 9:50AM
May 12 Arrive LONDON 8AM, check in at hostel, explore afternoon/evening, sleep
May 13 Explore another day, sleep
May 14 Explore another day, leave in evening via boat/train to AMSTERDAM
May 15 Arrive AMST in AM, get to hostel, explore day and sleep
May 16 Explore another day, sleep
May 17 Leave noon for PARIS via train; Arrive PARIS in early evening, explore, sleep
May 18 Explore another day, sleep
May 19 Explore another day, sleep
May 20 Explore another day, leave for Rome via overnight train
May 21 Arrive in ROME early, check in hostel, explore all day, sleep
May 22 Explore another day, sleep
May 23 Explore another day, sleep
May 24 Leave for PHX @ noon local, arrive 9:30pm local

So we fly into London, head to Amsterdam for a few days (for the Amsterdam experience and some vintage shopping!), go to Paris, France (we'll pass through Belgium, David's native land hehe) and then from Paris we'll ride a train into Rome to see the big sites.

We're very, very excited and have been looking at hostels like crazy. Our goal is to book all lodging by the end of the week. :) May can't come soon enough!


For those of you who aren't aware, I sell vintage on Etsy and have had a blast doing it! I officially started right after moving to Phoenix and have so much fun finding new goodies, researching them, posting them for sale, etc. I also love imagining the new homes they'll have after being purchased.

Things have been going well, there, sale-wise. As of right now, I'm at 99 sales and can just feel that 100th sale! Woohoo! So, a few plugs:

Befriend Zebras and Bubblegum (Z&B) on Facebook here.

Buy here:

One last section. :) Since moving to AZ, I've tried to get more involved with music. I started taking voice lessons again in fall 2010 and have enjoyed it so much. When I'm not singing, I crave it so much that it's almost painful to listen to a choir, opera or any other musical performance because I'm not able to do it myself! Ha, kind of weird, but true.

Anyway, I had a vocal competition on Saturday that really pushed my limits. I'm not used to singing Broadway (more of a classical girl), but it was a theater/acting/singing competition. I have so much work to do when it comes to acting, but I definitely improved a bit.

I also auditioned for the Arizona Music Fest choir. We're singing Beethoven's 9th symphony at the end of the month. I've never performed the 9th, even though it's (arguably) one of the most recognized classic choral arrangements today. It's been fun learning the German (and the notes!).

___

Okay, that's all I have for now. I'll leave you with this cupcake picture I took months ago but never posted. :D

Tasty, eh?

Cheers,
Wendy

all i want is a voice so that i can be heard

Just thought I'd do a quick update since I have some lovely photos to share! :) Last weekend was first Fridays in downtown Phoenix, so David and I decided to head that-a-way to relish in some fabulous art.

I would always attend FF in Indianapolis in Fountain square and had plenty of great memories. The FF here in Phoenix is quite a bit bigger and there's more an emphasis on music and entertainment than there as in Indy. One other major difference was the type of art. Perhaps it's the urban setting of downtown Phoenix, but the art is much grungier, much dirtier (in a good way) and much more street-inspired.

Some photos. :)

How cool is this VW bus? It was huge and flashed all sorts of enticing colors!


I couldn't resist taking a picture of green cacti against a green-lit background. :p


Love the colors here!


Interesting gallery.


From the same gallery as above. David liked this piece.



This gallery was really cool, too. Lots of NSFW art, but this one was kid-friendly (somewhat). I didn't catch the artist's name, but much of the art was mixed media-based. Lots of photography done in well-thought out sets and then edited to the max. Very cool.

Adios!
Wendy

when i catch your eye, you give me a smile

Well, I'll be darned.

A double feature blog update in one night. :) I'm already doing better at blogging this year than last! And, as you'll see, blogging more frequently is one of my five resolutions for the year 2011. Speaking of my top five resolutions, I'd like nothing more than to present them to you right now:

There she is! Let me explain in minor detail what they each mean.
a. be more crafty. I was a little more crafty in 2010 than I was in 2009 (being in Korea made it a little difficult for me to get supplies and whatnot), but in 2011 I plan to be even craftier! Nothing major, just a focus on spending more time with glue on my hands and glitter on the floor, 'tis all. I've made a goal to do at least one craft per month, but hopefully more. I'll share them with you here and perhaps include tutorials. :)

b. pitch to more magazines. As a freelance writer it's important to have all sorts of eggs in your basket. I plan to pitch to at least two different magazines a month (pitching means proposing a story with the hopes of being hired to write it on a contractor basis).

c. read more books. Twenty ten was a dreadful year in terms of reading for me. Don't get me wrong, I read plenty of news articles, divulged in myriad glossies and spent hours perusing my favorite blogs. However, I only read one or two books. Isn't that just dreadful? I'm embarrassed to admit it. So this year, I plan to read many more. Recommendations are gladly accepted!

d. update blog more often. The frequency of my blog postings has been nothing short of abysmal. The goal is to at least improve. :)

e. pay it forward. That simply means doing more random acts of kindness. Who knows what it'll be and I'll probably keep it all to myself unless a story is warranted. I just feel like throwing more positive energy out into the universe.

And that, betties, is my personal list.

---

Now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for (Well, maybe not all/many/any of you. And maybe you haven't been waiting for it... Hmm. Anyway): Our 2011 bucket list.

We've shortened it from 50 to 25, but more of the listed goals carry a bit more weight than last year's. And because it's shorter, we fully intend to cross off every. single. item. :D

1. Visit the Grand Canyon
2. Have a real life picnic with a basket/cheese/wine
3. Make homemade mustard and catsup
4. Run a 5k
5. Go to Europe
6. Play the Powerball
7. Go on a horse ride
8. Read a book together
9. Make a lobster meal
10. Go to Los Angeles
11. Eat at best pizza place in the nation
12. Make tiramisu from scratch
13. Make our own soap
14. Go to a hot spring
15. Visit Tombstone, Ariz.
16. Go sledding
17. Make prickly pear jelly
18. Go to an AZ brewery
19. Make macarons
20. Go to a comedy show
21. Make a Korean meal
22. Take a class on something
23. Skinni-fy goguma
24. Visit Jerome, Ariz.
25. Do an extreme sport

Obviously, this year we'll be doing a lot of traveling and eating. :P haha

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wendy

Whence comes this melody constantly flowing

Bonjourno, friends! :) Can you believe it's already 2011? What an exciting, exciting year that lies before us, eh? I can hardly believe that it's been nearly 1.5 years since we returned from Korea, 6 months since we moved to Arizona and 25 years since I was born! Holy smokes!

Anyway, with 2010 having come to a close and 2011 starting off, I figured I'd do an update on...dundundun...the list! We didn't manage to get everything crossed off, but we did do a lot of things and many of them were things we may have not otherwise done without a little resolution push! Behold:

The whole list:

• build an igloo (pictures here)
  
• go strawberry pickin' (pictures here)
  
• make tofu
  
• don't eat processed food for 30 days
• read a book together and talk about it
• make ice cream
• try a new restaurant (we hit up the Red Lion Grog House in Fountain Square - yum!)
  
• pull an all nighter
• color a picture
• grow a garden
• buy a bike and ride it
• go to a museum (pictures here)
  
• host a dinner party
  
• pay off a credit card boomchickawowow!! (newbie!)
  
• buy something at a farmers market
• go fishing
• go to a music show **We went to a Jimmy Eat World concert in Tempe for the New Years celebration. Just in the nick of time!
  
• go to noraebang (karaoke)
• make wine
• shadow a beekeeper(pictures here)
  
• walk in a park
• go bowling
• no technology for 3 days (including phone, computer and TV)
• draw on the sidewalk with chalk(pictures here)
  
• go to a festival (any kind)(we went to the Indianapolis Brew HaHa!)
  
• go camping w/ no whining from wendy
• make homemade ravioli from scratch (pictures here)
  
• take a road trip(pictures here
  
• try a restaurant from diners, drive-ins and dives (pictures here)
  
• take a class on whatever
• go to the indy 500(no pics! but it was fun. :P )
  
• practice our german and spanish
• bring food to our neighbors
• buy a $20 lottery ticket (don't judge)(that was an unfortunate $20 down the drain!)
  
• try miracle fruit KACHING!
  
• make our own pizza from scratch
• go to the zoo
• go to a place that makes cheese (pictures here)
  
• go to the shipshewana flea market
• volunteer somewhere **I performed at a nursing home for Christmas!
  
• move out of the state(pics here!!)
  
• have an international skype party
• make a play jungle for goguma and lamia
• have a picnic with wine/cheese
• go a week without air conditioning in the summer
  
• have a dance party
• take a nice picture together (we've totally taken a bajillion)
  
• repurpose a piece of furniture from flea market/garage sale/craigslist (picture here)
  
• don't drive for 1 week

Okay, so new ones crossed off were:

• Make Tofu

David and I tried several times to make the tofu, but we weren't very successful. The first time we tried making our own soy milk and then curdling it. No go. The second time we used store-bought soy milk and curdled it, got the water out and then it just fell apart! We tasted it though. 'Twas a bit chalky, but at least we gave it a good go! :P

• Pay off a credit card

Since this was on our list, we made a conscious effort to really pay down a credit card over the course of a year. It took some hefty payments, but we're proud to say we accomplished our goal with a final payment of $100 going straight to Mr. Discover. Whew, that feels good!

• Go to a music show

On New Year's eve we headed to downtown Tempe for their NYE celebration. Tempe natives Jimmy Eat World (a favorite for both David and me) performed outside in the brr brr freezing cold brr and we all counted down to 2011! Sadly, no pics, though I do have fond memories!

• Try Miracle Fruit

David lamented in early December that it'd be impossible to try a miracle fruit as we'd run out of time. Little did he know what I had up my sleeve! I surprised him with a sampling of miracle berries as an early Christmas present. We prepared ourselves a fabulously weird meal, including blue cheese, vinegar shots, lemons and mustard. Pictures:

What each berry looks like. You need to chew on it for about ten minutes for the tongue to be affected by its zany properties.

Our "meal."

Verdict: Miracle berries are freaking weird! The vinegar was SWEET, the lemons tasted like you were eating lemonade and the oranges were so sweet it was almost unbearable! Very cool and I totally recommend this experiment.

volunteer somewhere
I performed at a nursing home for Christmas with my voice teacher and her other students. We sang lots of Christmas carols and David came, as well. :)

So, there you have it. A whopping 36 items crossed off out of 50. Not too shabby, eh? I promise I'm going to unveil version 2.0 of the annual bucket list after this update. It doesn't seem right to combine last year with this one in a single post. Stay tuned!

Wendy City