devo!!! /  by jen geigley

This is how our family spent our Saturday night...
Watching the one and only Devo play on the Walnut Street bridge downtown.
Everyone knows their 80's hit 'Whip It.' But these guys are true legends, new-wave pioneers, and it was a real thrill to see them live.
Their music stands the test of time and they definitely made the old sound new again. (And I loved the costume changes, blue energy domes and stage antics.)
Little Lo actually knows lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh well ... he hosts a drawing segment on her favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba (similar to Bill Cosby's picture pages, if you remember those) and so she kept waving to him when he walked to our side of the stage.
She absolutely loved the music and begged us not to go home.
I have to admit, it was really cool to see Mark in real life. He's composed musical scores for all sorts of video games, television shows like PeeWee's Playhouse, and most notably for several Wes Anderson films.
Such and interesting and talented guy. (Here are some more pics from the show.)
And then, in another weird somewhat Yo Gabba Gabba-related encounter, I got to hang for a bit with this glittery and gem-tastic lady.Leslie Hall! (Yes, again.) She and her art were featured at the Iowa Artists 2010 Gallery Talk at the Des Moines Art Center, so we had to go check her out.

And with that, I'll leave you with a little 'Whip It.' It's not too late. To whip it good.

enjoy the silence. /  by jen geigley

Hi there ... I'm just drowning in my yarn a bit. (Don't worry – I'm just fine.) It might be a little bit quiet around here (and by here, I mean the blog) because I seriously need to get some work done. Internet avoidance is key. But I do have some fun things to share soon. I'm getting crazy with spray paint (hopefully this afternoon) to get things ready for the Renegade booth. And I have knit a bunch of scarves in the past week that I'll take pics of sooner or later. ('Til then ... have a good weekend.)

i can't sleep /  by jen geigley

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I've had way too many sleepless nights lately. Do you go through phases like that? Every so often, I have a couple of months of insomnia. I just can't sleep. I can't help but stay up until 2:30 or 3:00 or 4:00 am even on nights before my early run at 5:30. Sometimes I can grab a quick afternoon nap (and for some reason, it's easier to fall asleep for a bit in the afternoon.) Otherwise, I'm surviving on caffeine. But I've kind of learned to embrace the lack of sleep. It gives me more thinking time. Brainstorming time. Reflection time. (Knitting time...?)

alright, it's cool ... 80/35 (part two...) /  by jen geigley

Day two, 80/35. Our fam headed downtown at noon to catch the first band of the day, Dawes. (We love Dawes, and got to see them last year on their Daytrotter tour. In a barn.) But anyway, the first thing I'll think of when I remember this year's festival was running into so many friends. We hung out with and caught up with so many friends over the weekend, old and new. It was so great to see everybody!
As soon as we got there, we saw Erin and Brian and their daughter, Stella, who is good pals with Lo.
The girls got to hang for a bit (dodging the rain and eating granola bars) before the show.
And here's Dawes. Which ended up being one of our most favorite performances of the whole festival. They were pretty much amazing.
The girls loved Dawes, too ... maybe because each of their dads play a lot of these songs for them at home. It was a good time.
Next, we braved more rain and went to the main stage to check out Avi Buffalo. (Then it started to rain harder, so we went home for a little break!)
We dropped off little Lotus with the grandparents and then came back to see The Cool Kids. They had some seriously heavy beats going on and they sounded so good. (They're from Chicago and have opened for M.I.A. Loved them.)
Did I mention the rain? We did survive a lot of it throughout the day but it had mostly tapered off that evening. This rainbow (right before The Heavy went onstage) was our reward for making it through the day!
The last band to go on that night was Modest Mouse, and the whole crowd was super stoked. (I have to admit that Bo and I haven't listened to them much ... blame it on our heavy-metal ways. But we really did enjoy them. I'm a big fan of this song in particular.

Hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend – our family is totally spent and we're just looking forward to having a lazy day around the house and chilling out. (Have a good one!)

happy Fourth! /  by jen geigley

We're spending our Fourth of July weekend in downtown Des Moines at the third annual 80/35 festival. Forty bands, two days, lots of sunshine.
We took the kiddo again this year (she's been to 80/35 all three years of her life!) and this time, we found a shade tree to spread our blanket under and played in the wading pool area.
It was the perfect way for all of us to stay cool while watching the opening acts.
There were lots of hula hoops. Painted people. Belly dancers.
And gyros.We saw Yo La Tengo.Slightly Stoopid.
And Spoon!
We're home, we're exhausted ... and excited to see even more bands tomorrow. (You can see tons of amazing photos of 80/35 here.) Hope you're having a fantastic weekend, too!

get your art on /  by jen geigley

Last Friday and Saturday, we went downtown to check out the Des Moines Arts Festival in Western Gateway Park. This event is something we cannot miss each summer. Music, tons of art, food ... and to me it always makes things feel like summer is finally in full force.
The permanent sculpture garden is a spot we visit often, and it's such an awesome addition to the downtown area.
This new (untitled) Keith Haring sculpture is the latest piece that has been added.Lo is a HUGE fan of all the sculptures there and wants to visit all of the time, so we find ourselves hanging out there quite a bit. She likes to make faces like the statues. ;)
And here's some of the artwork we got to see at the festival. There were so many outstanding artists; some local but most from out-of-state.
Tim Hooper (one of our favorites.)
Anthony Pack.
Ginny Herzog.
Jerry Brem.So much fun. (How was your weekend?)

summatime ... out of control /  by jen geigley

It's hot. Hello summer! What have you been up to? We've been meeting up with pals at the wading pool. I am lucky to have a bunch of rad fellow mom-friends who all have kids around the same age. So when we kick it poolside, we all feel pretty lucky and try not to take these awesome summer days for granted. (Because really ... these could be the best days of our lives.)
We've been making lots of pancakes again. This girl has had so much practice that she can almost do all of the ingredient pouring and mixing by herself.
Bo surprised me last weekend with this amazingly cool beach cruiser. The colors are perfect. I'm in love. (If only we had a beach!)
And I've been running. I've totally been afraid to even say that until I felt like I was going to stick with it, but a few girlfriends and I started a program way back in April (and I reluctantly agreed to commit for eight weeks.) Somehow, eight weeks has come and gone and now we're going to be working up to a 10k. Which is something I honestly thought would be impossible. (If you knew me in high school, you know I was never a runner.) Together, we get up at o-dark-thirty, encounter all sorts of wildlife on our route, chat about the day ahead ... and for me, it's really all about my friends. I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for them. There's no better motivator than a bunch of chicks waiting for you on the trails who will totally hunt you down if you decide to skip out! Or make fun of you if you oversleep. ;)

Renegade! /  by jen geigley

Last month, I applied to get into the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. I was quite certain I wouldn't get chosen (especially after I heard that they were going to accept 1/3 of the people who applied this year.) I thought about it for weeks ... if I really went for it with my hand-knits, could I make enough things to sell? Will people be ready to buy fall/winter accessories in September? Would I have time to knit over the summer? And most importantly, would it still be fun? Renegade felt like a big leap from the craft fairs I've done in the past so I was nervous, but felt it was worth a shot. So I told myself that I'd freak out after I got in ... if I got in.
So, over the weekend I found out that I got in. And I was thrilled. I'm super stoked to embark on this adventure with my pal Erin, who has so kindly agreed to go with me ... and now, yeah, I'm kind of freaking out. But in a good way. I'm already hoarding gorgeous yarn that I can't resist sinking my fingers into. (Above is my pile of Blue Sky Alpaca and Cascade Magnum.) I'm brainstorming ideas for my display area, getting advice from vendors with Renegade experience, and ... knitting.
I really hope that if you're in the Chicagoland area, you'll mark your calendars and come out to say hi and check everything out this September – it's truly handmade heaven (and it's free to get in.) I spent a day shopping at Renegade last year with a bunch of girlfriends and we had the best time. Until then ... I'll be here, needles clicking away. ;)