weekend adventures 3

This weekend was pretty much exactly what i needed! It had a little bit of everything, a visitor, some drinks, shopping, and even a last minute concert.

friday night
Meguenther Megundo Megan, which ever you prefer, decided to come down and visit me for the weekend! (finally I might add)... I like living with boys over a bunch of girls most of the time, there is no question about that, but sometimes I just need to talk about clothes and running into people from high school with someone, and thats where megan comes in. We made some drinks, played some cards, smoked some hookah, stayed up way too late, and laughed a lot throughout the night. It was perfect.


saturday
First of all, let me just mention that we slept in, I mean really slept in... I can't even remember the last time that happened, so it was kind of a big deal to me. After a bomb breakfast me and Megan went "shopping" about as much as you can in Corvallis anyway, which means TJ Max and Ross, pretty pathetic. Regardless we both got some goodies, always do. More importantly I FINALLY decided what me and Pat are going to be for Halloween (*phew*), more on that later though... we also stopped by Safeway and I picked out some cute baby pumpkins and gourds because I couldn't stand waiting any longer to go to a pumpkin patch, fingers crossed I make it there soon though.

[[ some pumpkins & gourds. surprise 'ghost' cupcakes chocolate with a vanilla peanut butter frosting, and little eye balls. funny faces... i was trying to look like snookie...fail. smoke. one of the pairs of boots i bought (surprisingly comfortable). detail on new flats. a card megan brought me of alice. ]]

sunday night
Me, Pat, and Tony decided to say screw it and head up to Portland Sunday night for the As I Lay Dying, Unearth, and All That Remains concert at the Roseland. It was pretty freaking epic. I am so happy that I can sit up in the 21+ balcony now! The floor was the craziest I have ever seen it, I don't think I would have been able to handle getting kicked in the head by crowd surfers and fighting through everyone to get a glimpse of the stage. As I Lay Dying had a pretty sweet light show too. Needless to say, I am really tired today after not sleeping for long enough at all.

[[ some pictures from the show. the videos look a lot better... but you get the idea. ]]

cupcakes galore!

So... this week ended up having a lot to do with cupcakes! Not a bad thing, since they are adorable and delicious.


first (wednesday).
Pats super adorable friend Sara runs her own cupcake business where she makes equally adorable baked goods under the appropriately titled name Baby Cakes Bakehouse. She posted something earlier this week about needing a business card sized ad asap and that she would pay someone in free cupcakes if the ad didn't "suck". I thought to myself, hey, I love cupcakes, they are cute and delicious, I should throw something together. So, I played around with her pretty cupcake pictures, and, long story short, I am getting some free surprise cupcakes!!! I wonder what they are???

Check out her website for a photo gallery of the menu. My favorite part about Sara's cupcakes is that they are named after characters and things from some of my favorite childrens books. Here are some examples: Mad Hatter, Blustery Day, Crookshanks, Unbirthday Cake, and Felix Felicis. (From Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and Harry Potter if you are confused).

second (thursday).

Thursday morning I was off to a late start (as usual), I ran downstairs to leave and noticed a box sitting near the front door. I quickly scooped it up for further inspection only to reveal that the specialized tape contained a familiar logo... ST. CUPCAKE! But where did it come from? I walked upstairs with the box in hand to search for some scissors and ask Pat if he was expecting anything, which he quickly said no to. Upon opening the box I noticed a card with a nice little message to me and Pat from none other than my older sister Leah! In one of the sweetest gestures EVER she ordered me and Pat a build your own cupcake kit to cheer us up because she knew we had been feeling super sad about Johni lately and could use some sweetness! It made me feel super loved, and really thankful for my awesome friends and family.

(I should also mention that st. cupcake is sort of a sister/family tradition. We love it. We have been going for years. We make sure to stop by every time Leah comes home to visit. Its pretty much the cutest little place ever). Here are some pictures of what we found inside:

[[ cupcake making kit consists of: 6 different cupcake flavors (chocolate, vanilla, chocolate chip, vanilla toffee,  red velvet), 6 different frostings (cream cheese frosting, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla buttercream), 6 different types of sprinkles (rainbow, pink, blue, yellow, chocolate, and dried coconut). ]]

P.S. Me and Pat made the chocolate chip ones last night with cream cheese and chocolate buttercream frosting and put the pink and blue sprinkles on top. They were delicious. Yummmm.

college :: year V

year 5 // senior year (osu)

[[ pirate party. sam/colleen/tiff. tiff at harrisons for hunters birthday. halloween. johni. group. colleens birthday. superhero party group. tiffany. my mustache is better than yours. fran. tiffs bday / vampire party ]]

Our last year was bittersweet (for me anyway). I was excited to be able to take a break from school, but at the same time I knew that big changes were up ahead and I was not necessarily ready for them yet. I also knew that the closer we came to the end of the school year, the harder it would be to see each other regularly as everyone started moving away. We had a TON, I mean a TON of theme parties this year and started some new traditions, all the while struggling with Packaging Design and our Senior Thesis projects.  I feel like we had so much fun this year because it went by super fast and everyone got really close. This is my other favorite year of college. (the first & the last).

______________________________________________________________

[[ senior thesis show in pdx. graduation. ]]

I have to briefly mention our show and graduation (more on this later??)

... I didn't feel like I could breathe until both of our Senior Thesis Shows in Corvallis and Portland were done. Then it was graduation, which was like a whirlwind. I feel like I hardly got any pictures because it felt so sudden, and everyone was so exhausted from our show in Portland the night before. But I will say, walking up to the stage in front of all of those people and being handed a college diploma with MY name inside of it was pretty surreal. I of course opened it up right away to make sure, and then gave Andrea Marks (one of our professors) a big hug before walking out forever. ......And that was college.

P.S. I had fun looking back through hundreds, maybe thousands of old pictures and making these... The further away I get from them the more entertaining they will be to revisit I am sure.

fin

college :: year IV

year 4 // junior year (osu)

[[ brad (i hate it when people do that!). NKF. sanchos. johni. nerds. meguenther. tailgaters. gd group. molly. pat. francisco. tiffs birthday. ]]

This was the year that the real design work started, so it is not surprising that I spent my time primarily with other people in the program. Fall and Winter went by fairly uneventfully, I was mostly hanging out with Brad and Pats friends. With spring came Collaborative Processes class, which was absolute hell and absolutely amazing (looking back) at the same time. I got really close with my magazine group, and although people seemed to assume that me and Tiffany had previously been the best of friends, this was when it started actually becoming true. I went out in town for her 21st birthday, and from then on we were always together. :) I also met some other people I now call my best friends. Overall Junior year academically was a pain in the ass, but yielded some sweet rewards and many drunken adventures (I was now 21 after all...). 

P.S. Is this more like it Ms. Williams? Do I finally look like myself? ...Well for the most part, I had not ditched the straighter quite yet.

weekend adventures 2

As promised, I would like to get back in the habit of posting my 'weekend adventures' at the beginning of every week (normally on a Monday, but this weekend was a little different, and as you know one event got its own post yesterday).

saturday afternoon

Me, Pat, and Tiffany went to Johni's memorial service in Estacada. Again, it was beautiful, and it just so happened that the weather turned out beautiful as well. In the morning it was somber and overcast, but as we drove closer and closer the sun came out and everything became more vibrant. I started to get a little panic-y and upset while we were driving there, so I decided to take some pictures of the scenery to calm my nerves and take everything in.

saturday evening

After the ceremony Tiffany drove back home and me and Pat followed some of the close friends and family members in attendance up to Brandons' parents house. It was really nice to spend some time with him and all the guys we have not seen in a few years (it is amazing that it has been that long!). We watched the Beavers win, drank a few drinks (some more than others), shared funny memories, and ended the night with a HUGE, I mean seriously HUGE bonfire! Unfortunately my documentation does not do it justice, but when that thing started it was amazing, It looked like the flames went on forever. 

[[ above: country drive. below: bonfire. ]]

sunday

We got up in the morning, visited with my Dad and sisters a little bit, and then rushed off to look at a few more cars. (incase you are not aware, me and Pat have been shopping for a second car, and figuring in a budget for it, for several months now). We test drove a 2010 Nissan Maxima for the second time, among a few other used cars, and ultimately ended up sitting in the Subaru, in a parking lot, trying to decide what to do next. 


Any guesses? 
We ended up doing something kinda crazy.............. 
WE BOUGHT A CAR! 

We ultimately went back to the Nissan. Think what you will, but we decided that this car felt a lot more luxury than some of the actual 'luxury' cars we had been looking at. I sort of had a lingering feeling that we would end up coming back to one of these because Pat has really had his eye on them since we started looking. It is a lot bigger than the Sube, but we definitely wanted something with a bit more space. It is comfy as hell, it is fast, it has a sun roof, it is shiny and a pretty color, and pretty damn perfect looking inside and out considering it is a used car after all. 

[[ above: new car. below: pat driving home. ]]

So that is that, our first big purchase together...

Oh, and you know what else this means???!!! It means that I, Jennifer Blechman, at the rightful age of 24, finally have my own car for the first time EVER! Thats right, the sexy little black Subaru is mine mine mine, all mine. ♥♥♥

closure part II.

I decided that I have to post a little bit about Johni's service, it was really beautiful and I wanted to share some aspects of it here. I also want to put up a little bit more of her art work I have pictures of. I know it seems like that is all i talk about lately, but it is pretty much all I think about and a big part of my life right now, so that is just the way it is. I promise I will focus on some more lighthearted topics after this... I just feel like I have to 'write the last page before i can close the book', cheesy as that sounds. I do not like unfinished business, especially business as important as this.

The painting below was said to be only halfway finished. I am curious as to where she was going with it because it seems so much more light and airy than the bulk of her works...

[[ unfinished painting. manifesto. ]]

This Saturday, as I mentioned last week, me and Pat attended Johni's memorial service in Estacada. Tiffany also decided to join us there, which I was really happy about. There were a tremendous amount of people, which I thought was pretty amazing. Obviously she has impacted so many people throughout her short span of life. The ceremony itself was beautiful and full of emotion.
Brandon gave a great speech that made us all laugh and cry. One of her cousins read excerpts from an artist blog she held while showing off some of her sketches. At the end there was a slideshow of pictures that took us through her entire life and had everyone in tears. I was honestly surprised to see that some of my photographs I posted here earlier provided the end images in the slideshow, with this image of her being last. That made it so special to me, and I will never forget it. Afterwards they held a little art reception where some of her prints and paintings were on display, and there were even takeaways (some prints of her favorite pieces) tied up with black yarn. Below are some of her works we took pictures of:

[[ title unknown. crane and balloon. raven. lungs. ]]

I am really into how dark and textural these prints are, both in terms of content and color. i would love to have a copy of the 'crane and balloon' to hang on my wall.

________________________________________________________________

final 'word' on the subject :: 

beautiful lyrics to growing old is getting old, by silversun pickups. ♥

so we all are growing old, and its getting old.

pressure on our hallow bones and the varicose.

suddenly, i decompose. but were not alone.

so we all are growing old.

maybe were sealed in silence. maybe we feel the guidance.

maybe your only vices will keep you afraid and cold.

but i...

memorize your smile lines from left to right.

came to life in childlike reaction time.

were allowed to expire with ourselves in mind.

still we all are growing old.

put out the fear of silence. and put out the need for guidance

and put out your only vices. and dont be afraid of the cold.

we sing. we sing. we sing.

we fight. we fight. we fight.

we cry. we cry. we cry.

we slide. we slide. we slide into the light.

do we sing. we fight. we cry.

we slide. we slide. we slide into the light.

maybe were sealed in silence. maybe we feel the guidance.

maybe your only vices will keep you afraid and cold well...

put out the fear of silence. and put out the need for guidance.

and put out your only vices. and dont be afraid of the cold, afraid of the cold. 

afraid of the time we've got no where to go but here.

closure part I.

first things first. 
Today is the first day of October, which to me (based on the strangely warm Oregon weather as of late), marks sort of the beginning of the fall season in general, and an end to the summer months and all of the emotional events they brought with them this year. Though I am sad to see carefree summer go away for what seems like an eternity (and I know once we are covered in perpetual rain I will regret admitting this), I am ready for a change, ready to move on. August was really hard. September was REALLY hard. And now that we are into October I feel like I have a fresh start, and new things to be excited about! For example... candy corn, pumpkins, anything pumpkin scented or flavored, Halloween(!), being surrounded by pretty colors as the leaves change, bundling up inside relaxing with some hot chocolate and Pat on a rainy day (wishful thinking), and the seasonal October movies such as: Hocus Pocus, The Addams family series, and anything Tim Burton(!!).


second, and more importantly. 
Tomorrow is Johni's memorial service in Estacada. me and Pat, and I am sure a ton of people we have not seen in a few years will be there. I am extremely nervous about it! I have never been to anything like this before, and I have no idea what to expect. On the other hand, I am extremely happy that we are able to be there to remember her and say goodbye. I know it is going to be a really hard day, but I feel like it will provide some sense of closure and allow us to truly come to terms with the fact that she is gone, and hopefully in a much better place. (Again, not being religious, I am still not really sure what that means, but I would love to believe it for her).

( Side note, Johni loved to paint and play with types of printmaking. Abstract trees were one of her favorite subjects. The branches were always twisting in strange new patterns filled with a lot of movement. She was also really good at blending colors with acrylic paints. Something I have yet to master. Below are three of her pieces. The bottom one her take of a self portrait. She also did a really awesome wood carving based loosely on Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven' that I love and wish I had to post. )

[[ lovely work by johni keller ]]