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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Gray Obsession

So, everything is still in motion for us to move very VERY soon! Oh, yes, the time is flying & it went from being 6 weeks away to being a week from tomorrow!!! How did that happen?! I don't know! All i know is, one minute i was moaning about how 6 weeks is going to take FOREVER, and now I'm...well, now I'm moaning that 2 weeks is going to take FOREVER. I can be dramatic & whiny. I'm not the most patient person on the planet. But really, it's HERE! It's practically here!

Today was one of my favorite days having to do with house purchase, because it was not another day of hubby packing and me procrastinating... instead, it was a day of SHOPPING!

This morning we skipped church & went to Mason's Grill for breakfast. (I know...heathens!) You may remember that Mason's is where we went for my (non)Mother's Day & it was AMAZING. We went today and got the same thing as last time (creatures of habit, i tell ya!). And it didn't disappoint. 


He really loves when i take pictures while he's eating.

After breakfast, we headed out shopping for the new house! We had a very specific list in mind!

First, we went to Target. Brad wanted some very basic cheapo shelves for his studio to put his books. His current shelves are fastened to the wall & they could be removed but they're a pain to move & he really doesn't want to try.  I wanted to look at other house things in Target, not to buy anything but just to see what they have as far as TV stands, ottomans, & comforters. I saw a comforter online from Target that i really like and am considering, but i was hoping to see it in person. It wasn't in the store, though. I saw other cute ones but i think i may go back to this one.



Yes, it is gray... did i mention i am already painting our living room & kitchen gray, and our couch would be gray?! With teal accents of course, but why am i now trying to make our bedroom gray?! Apparently i have a new obsession with that color. Weird. Anyway. Then i was on the Lowe's website & found a really pretty lavender/gray paint color called Sweet Orchid, and thought, heyyyy. orchid on the walls, gray on the bed, orchid accents.... not a bad plan! It's not for sure, but i do like it. Still undecided.

After Target, we headed to Lowe's. We got a great deal on a refrigerator (thanks, Labor Day weekend sales!), and we also bought 3 ceiling fans! Plus, we looked at paint & patio furniture (both of which can wait for a later date). I have never had so much fun in Lowe's...not even CLOSE! Today it was my favorite.


After Lowe's we went to a furniture store to look at couches!!! We also wanted to look at TV chests and a chest for our bedroom. Our bed & dresser match but the chest is one Brad had from before we got married, and i really have wanted matching bedroom furniture for awhile now. They didn't have anything we wanted for the TV chest or bedroom chest, but we found our couch!! I wanted a gray sectional. And that is what we got! I love love love it!! :)



It looks kinda dark in the above pictures. The below picture is a better one of the color. The pillows & ottoman are not a part of it... teal accents will be with this gray! I'm so excited! Oh, and it's VERY comfortable! :)


After that we had lunch and we were so excited!! Brad happy that the shopping didn't take all day long, and me happy that i found a cute couch! And fridge & fan, of course, but mostly i was happy about the couch!

So that's what  is happening lately! Yay! Oh, I did settle on a shower curtain for our bathroom. Gray. Go figure. I seriously have a problem. But i liked it too much! I guess my whole stinking house will be GRAY! Whatever. I'm just gonna go with it.


One thing I am really excited about is two canvases I ordered from Canvas on Demand. I have always wanted canvases from some of our professional photo sessions but they are soooo expensive! Canvas on Demand regularly runs a special for 2 large canvases for $49. My friend ordered hers recently and they just came in and are VERY VERY NICE!! So when they ran the special again (which is NOW, FYI), i joined in! I'm super excited!

So, i guess that's it for now. More to come!! Especially in a couple weeks when i am off work & painting & moving & all that good stuff! Cannot wait! :)

Saturday, August 30, 2014

We Miss You, Keith!

This is really late. I should've blogged about it in June. But I didn't. Well, I'm blogging about it now! It's just not something I want to leave out.

Most of you know that I have been involved with our local theater for the last 8 years. I auditioned in 2006 for the summer musical, Beauty & the Beast. I was cast in it as a villager & placemat. I had no idea that would be the beginning of a wonderful experience. A second home. A second family. I met so many people in that cast that are still good friends today.

Keith Dixon was the director of that theatre and of that play. I remember seeing him during dance auditions. At this point, I had finished my dance audition, and my vocal audition was the day before. I was just in the lobby, taking it all in, waiting to hear if i had a callback. He walked through the lobby, stopped and looked at me and asked me my audition number. I told him and he said, "I want to see you back tomorrow." He didn't tell me what part i was being called back for. But he wanted to see me back. I remember being a little intimidated by him. He just was so "in charge" & you knew he was someone to listen to and respect.

The next evening at callbacks, auditionees would go to the stage to sing when their number was called. You could tell by the groups on stage which part they were called back for. He would say, "If i call your number, please go on stage", and then he would call out a series of numbers. I remember seeing probably 25 potential Belles on stage. They all sang a song together and then one at a time had to sing a portion of the song. I remember seeing a beautiful brunette with the perfect singing voice and thinking "THAT is Belle." And she was.

Then he called up all the Gastons, then the Beasts, the Lafous, the Maurices, the Mrs Potts, and so on. At the end of the night, he had still not called my number. I didn't realize i was called back for Mrs. Potts, or i would have gone up! But i had never done this before, and he never told me which role he wanted me to audition for. (Obviously, I'm not a Belle or a Gaston... I should've guessed. But i didn't know how it worked!) Hundreds auditioned and there were at least a hundred at callbacks, so the time came for him to do a massive cut. He said, "If I call your number, I need you to stay. If i do not call your number, I need you to go ahead and leave." & he added info about when the cast list would be posted & all of that. He called out a bunch of numbers (not mine), and then said firmly, "If your number was not called, I'm going to have to ask you to go ahead & go now." He wasn't being mean, but he had a show to cast and it was already getting late. He hadn't called my number but I hadn't auditioned! I was terrified to approach him, but I had to. He was standing in front of the stage, facing it, with audition forms spread out in front of him. I walked up behind him and very timidly said, "But what if we didn't get to sing?" He swung around and said, "You didn't sing?! Sh**!" LOL. I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know..." & he said, "That's okay, that's okay. I remember how you sing, I want you to stay and read for a part."

I'm SO GLAD I said something to him, because I was cast! No, i didn't get Mrs. Potts, I got ensemble, but i was ecstatic! And I had no idea then that would be the start of many years working right next to Keith in auditions after auditions as his stage manager! I knew nothing then, but now I have a wealth of knowledge about theatre and the way it works...about casting and stage management and even directing that I never would have known. And i absolutely LOVE the world of theater. It is SO MUCH FUN.

Me & Keith, 2012 Beaux Arts Ball

I have so many other memories of Keith as well. I worked next to him as his stage manager for numerous productions. There was a time when he was the ONLY director i would work with (having had bad experiences with other directors). He knows how to treat his volunteers. He was (and is!) the very best. One of my best memories of Keith is when i was stage manager for Agnes of God. The mother of a good friend of mine had committed suicide that day. I had loved her family, and her mom was no exception. It was a difficult day, very hard to wrap my head around. I found out that afternoon, but i kind of walked around in shock. I didn't cry or anything - until in rehearsal that evening. Keith was not the director for that production, but he sat in on a production meeting before rehearsal. They were talking about something at the end of that meeting, and i was totally off in space, thinking about my friend who was gone. I glanced at Keith, and he mouthed the words, "Are you okay?" He knew something was not right. I barely nodded. After the meeting was over, everyone except Keith walked off. We had a break before rehearsal. He looked at me again as if to say, "Are you sure you're okay?" And i told him i had lost a friend that day, and i just started crying. He was like, "Come on, walk with me." We walked off and he asked me what happened, and kind of let me spill. It meant SO MUCH TO ME. He is not a guy who is afraid of tears, he always has the right words. He really is the best! I have so many other fantastic memories from working with Keith! Too many to share!

I am telling you all of these memories, because Keith took another job in Spokane, Washington... just a LITTLE far away from Baton Rouge, Louisiana! I knew this day would come eventually... just didn't know when. He stayed at our theatre for 10 years, and made it a better place. He did SO MUCH to improve our community theatre. He moved away in June, and he is SO MISSED! I ran sound for Annie, and every time i drove into the parkinglot I would look for Keith's car out of habit! I used to look for his car when i pulled up, and would think, "yay! keith is here!" when i saw it. He is just a great guy to have in your life!

One of Keith's best friends, Jeff, who also does a lot of acting at our theatre, planned an AMAZING going-away celebration for Keith before he left! It was really THE BEST! Keith knew something was being planned, but had no idea what it was. We filled the theatre - it was packed!! - before Keith arrived. He was instructed to text one of our stage managers when he arrived. When he did, she went to his car & escorted him in. He walked in and immediately everyone was on their feet cheering for him! It was awesome!! He was led to his seat...third or fourth row, center. They had all his favorite snacks there (popcorn, probably recees or snickers or something, and most importantly - diet coke!). And then they put on an AWESOME show in celebration of Keith! It was truly FANTASTIC. I wish i had it on video. So many inside jokes, stories, and mini-performances from the plays he did in his ten years as director. He obviously means so much to so many people.




 


 Keith & Natalie - one of my friends from Beauty & the Beast

  Keith & Jack - two of the best!


 Terrible pic of me (we were laughing at something), but i love it anyway! 

 Keith with Tyler, Natalie & Bridgette

 Me & Brad


 These two are hilarious!

 Love this girl!

Zac & Haley - BFFs

Just a couple weeks after his going-away party, he came to opening night of Annie. He would be leaving the next day. I ran sound for Annie & was so glad to get another hug before he left!

 
This is Keith, Mary & Richard. As i said, Keith was director for Beauty & the Beast in 2006. Richard was the music director. That was Mary's first show at TBR as well as mine. In fact, I sat next to Mary at my first rehearsal! Crazy to think here we are taking pics with these two guys, 8 years later! :) (Mary also met her husband in the Beauty & the Beast cast!)

 

Emily has also left us... she announced it shortly after Keith announced leaving. Emily & her husband got jobs in the theatre department of a college in Oklahoma! So awesome! She has been the theatre's resident tech director for several years and she is an AMAZING lighting designer. She also does choreography. Emily is really just super talented & smart, and i have learned a TON from her! She is also a great friend! They just left this month. Love her & miss her greatly!


Sorry this was so long! But there was so much to say! Keith made a huge impact on my life while he was here, and i feel so lucky that my time at our theatre was under the leadership & direction of a wonderful talent and friend, Keith Dixon. We miss you, Keith! 


Tuesday, August 12, 2014

house decor & stuff

Thanks for all of you who are all excited for me and my new house! EEP! I'm super excited! I mean, i'm trying to chill because it's still 594040 years before we actually get to move, so i am trying to tame my enthusiasm just a bit. But really... last time i wrote was July 27th & here it is mid-August! We should close Sept 9. Maybe sooner. Hopefully not later.

But it's such a cute little house & I will show you a picture once we close. Even though it's gonna happen... i feel weird about posting a pic before we do.


I can show you all that I've been pinning, though! Because a new house means new decor, DUH.

So, my living room will be grays with accents of teal. Or aqua. Or something. Light gray walls, new sectional in gray, cute little accent chair (in teal), throw pillows (teal), rug (a little teal), picture frames (teal). You get the idea? Definitely a wall gallery on the wall behind the couch. YES! Kitchen will be the same (gray & teal) because the kitchen opens into the den. We got new wood floors! They are so beautiful!! I am so excited to get away from the GREEN CARPET I've been looking at since i married Brad over 5 years ago! Haha!

Basically, THIS is my vision... there won't be a window behind the couch... there will be some teal accents... but you get the idea, right? 

SO far, thanks to my mother who shows excitement by buying things (AHEM!), I have an adorable accent chair. It's comfy too!



I also bought this print from etsy. I don't know if it will be in the gallery or somewhere else. But i love it.


I haven't gotten it (yet?), but i love this rug!


So fun!!! And i definitely want this letter V for our wall gallery... probably in teal, though. Ha. (Don't freak out. Won't be too much teal once i add in all the gray! Just little pops of teal!)


I guess that's all for now. Although you should go to my "master bedroom" pinterest board & tell me which comforter you like best - or if you have seen another one i might like! Haha! (Ours is so old and faded & i want a new one.)

So yeah... we've been busy with work & home buying (which is just...man! So. Much. Paperwork!). The department that handles the type of loan we are getting, they are 3 weeks behind. And our papers should go to their office in the next few days. Which will put us on time for our closing date of Sept 9! I would love for it to happen sooner... but i hope it's not pushed back later! And i hope the time flies! (So far, so good... i suppose.)

The other thing i wanted to tell you is my parents got a pool ... the pool guys started working on Monday & it was DONE by Thursday! DANG! Isn't it wonderful!? I was gonna show you a picture, but i had to save all my pics from my phone onto my computer sunday & delete them off my phone (out of storage) & now i can't find it. Oops.

But Saturday we are having a pool party, so i'll be sure to get some pics!! :)

Another fun thing... i am doing whole30. Okay, that's not fun. But it's necessary. I am on Day 12. Doing good so far. :)

Alrighty... i think i've caught you up on my life. Hope your week is great! :)