Happy New Year!

O-V-E-R

Every year my dear mother in law tells me that nothing is ever more OVER than Christmas. Not to contradict my mother in law but I don't really care about Christmas as much as celebrating the whole holiday season that starts sometime around the first of December and usually ends the first week of January. So for me, we still have a week or so until the OVER deadline. Keeping this in mind, I thought that I might be able to get away with these cute pictures from Sharon Montrose.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from The Cove House! May it be merry and bright!

Sweater Season

My dear friend Cody sent this to me over the weekend. I couldn't agree more!
I loved my card! Thanks Cody!

Young Obama

It’s just a cigarette…and it’s cooooool, just like our new president. Check out the whole set of pics taken of Obama while he was at Occidental College in 1980. They’re on the Time Magazine site. You’ll love them.

I'm back

I have been neglecting the poor blog for over a month now but I must say I have a good excuse.. lots of them actually. Yesterday I finally finished my last paper so I am free to relax, rejoice, roam and regroup. More posts including lots of catch up to come.

Meanwhile..

Last night John, Matt and I sat in the Monocco bar sipping (and at times gulping) our cocktails, when these two gentleman sat beside us and decided to one up us with a three course meal and a bottle of chamagne. We thought we were fancy until they popped that damn cork. Anyway, we overheard them discussing there plans of Christmas in Paris. We all wrinkled our noses, what snobs! Secretly we were all jealous wishing that we could hop on the private jet (ok ok, we'd settle for first class) and head off to old Paris on a whim. Today my thoughts are of Paris in the winter..

Grandpa

Paul R. (Dick) Burbidge
Paul R. (Dick) Burbidge 1921 ~ 2008 Our gentle man Paul R. (Dick) Burbidge, husband, dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, brother, uncle, friend to many and Mr. "B", passed away November 26, 2008 at the age of 87. Dick was born November 12, 1921 to Sarah Vivian Simpson and Jesse Elias Burbidge. He was the youngest of eight children and the last to survive. On August 16, 1941 he married his "sweetheart" Raeola Parker. They had two children Lynda K. and Jeffrey P. He was a veteran of World War II and served three years in the 128 Infantry of the 32nd Red Arrow as a combat medic in the South West Pacific Theater of operations. After the war Dick and Raeloa lived and raised their children in the Millcreek and Holladay areas. Dad worked 39 years for Questar starting as a laborer in the warehouse and retired as V.P. over distribution. He was active in civil affairs and was president and director of the Murray Rotary Club, president and director of the Murray Chamber of Commerce and help organize and was director of the South Salt Lake Rotary Club. Dad was proud of his pioneer heritage and was a faithful member of the LDS church. Dick was an avid fly fisherman in his younger days and loved a good camping trip. Later he played golf mostly to be with his friends. He was happiest telling stories and finding the joy and humor in life's situations. He loved his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was extremely proud of them all. We will miss his quick wit and tender spirit. He was a true gentleman. We will miss grandpa's Christmas fudge. He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, his son Jeff (Delores), three grandchildren, Jenny (Rich) Bradley, Annie (John) Burbidge Ream and Jesse Coombs, two great grandchildren, Cassidy Fisher and Colton Bradley, nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. Special thanks to the care givers and staff at Garden Terrace and to Maureen and the Rocky Mountain Hospice team for their special tender care. Funeral services will be held Monday, December 1, 2008 at 2 p.m. at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary Chapel, 3401 Highland Drive, a viewing will be held Sunday, 5-7 p.m. and one hour prior to funeral.

more more more

John Morse, has new collages in a show called “America,” opening at the Silas Marder Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York the Saturday after Thanksgiving. These recent portraits are made entirely from found paper – junk mail, macaroni boxes, newspaper, all materials that would either end up in the trash or in the recycling bin. Wonderful!

Yes We Can

There are hardly any words to describe the pride and excitement in my heart today. Last night was a night full of anticipation and of change. I cheered and I cried. For the first time in a long time I can full heartedly say that today I am proud to be an American.

VOTE

Finally

I am very happy to announce that we are moved into the new house!! Thank God! Things are in a complete state of chaos but at least we have it all in the house (everything but Shelli the tortoise that is.. note to self go get shelli at the apartment). I will post pictures of the major house transformations as well as our halloween madness very soon, but first I need to dig for the camera!

bats!

I realize that this is now the third posting of halloween images.. this might be the last one.. maybe

More

More things to remind me of Halloween!

As a side note.. This weekend marks the opening of the much-anticipated Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the M.H. de Young Museum in San Francsico. I want to go!

Isn't this dress devilish!


and this bag... bootiful! Ok, enough of the silly words

H.A.L.L.O.W.E.E.N. spells Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I love it!

We hope that your day is spooktacular!

I love paper

Those of you that know me know that I am obsessed with paper products. Cards, prints, and most of all collage. I am so smitten that I have based my graduate studies on collage and montage. So when I saw the following images I almost fell off my chair, gasped and have had a warm fuzzy feeling inside ever since!

I have always loved post-its. I got this from my father who fills his whole car with the colorful papers only leaving a tiny hole on the windshield to look out while he is driving. I get this love naturally from him I suppose.

Beautiful pixilated Post-it decor in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman


The America’s Society Gala designed by David Stark

celebrate

Only now that I am typing this do I realize what an idiot I am for not taking any pictures during sweet ream's sweet birthday. This is a new bad habit of mine that I need to break quickly! I always forget the camera. Well, regardless we had a great birthday! John and I went here for dinner:



we ate this:
Soup Dujour Cup (Cream of Mushroom)
Chef's daily creation which often includes vegan options

Chicken Picatta
Pan Seared pounded Organic Chicken Breast topped with a reduction sauce of White Wine, Butter, Lemon, Garlic and Capers. Served with fresh Linguini and Broccolini

Achiote Pork Loin
Garlic and Achiote Marinated Pork Loin seared and roasted. Served with a White Polenta Cake, a Roasted Green Pepper Mojo and Seasonal Baby Vegetables.

and drank this:
The Tin Cosmo
Vodka, Grappa, Cranberry and Cassis make this Cosmo a little different but very drinkable.

House Chardonnay

Jack and coke

PBR Cans
Never forget your roots!

and ate this for dessert:
my homemade blueberry upside down cake!


yummy!!

Thanks to Jane and Merlin for bringing over these:


and thanks to mom and dad for coming over to help us celebrate, eat cake and bring these:

As I have taught John it is best to spread the birthday thing out over the month.. so more parties to come in the next week! The End

Happy Birthday

Dear Mr. Ream,
October 15, 2008
Today you turn another day older, a day more distinctively you. I cannot believe that it has only been a mere two and half years since you have come into my life and our separate “I’s” became us. It seems like I have had you in my life always, I can’t imagine my day without you in it. Our life together has been a flash, an electric bolt of wonderful. Life is so good as a “we” with you my love.

Your sweet spirit, gentle touch, and pureness inspire me. You are so strong and yet so soft. I am incredibly lucky to have you in my life and for you to walk beside me through our beautiful journey. I love that you allow me to be so wildly and outrageously me. With you being so exceptionally you - and yet we are so us. You are unique, we are unique and our love is uniquely unbreakable.

Today on your birthday, I want you to know that you are oh so loved. I love you, Ebi loves you and our families love you. You have been for your family the strength, support and sweet smile through sadness and hardship when there was no one else. What a great burden to bear. It seems that you took on this great task and excelled. You pulled your family through tragedy and into happiness once again. I am positive that your dad is incredibly proud of you when he sees all that you have accomplished.

For me, you have brought light to a beautiful world and a solid love and friendship that I had never known before you and could never achieve without you. You have brought me companionship, laughter, joy, warmth, adventure, awareness and compassion. You show me everyday how amazing an “us” relationship is. Thank you for everything you do for me.

On your birthday know that I will always be yours and I hope that you will always be mine. Know that I love you and that the world is so much better and brighter with you in it.
I love you.
A

Raw

The UMFA has just opened Raw, an exhibition of modern and contemporary art from our own collection. You should come and check it out. Warhol, Oldenburg, Rauschenberg.. they will all be here plus many more.

and the floodgates opened

**Random thoughts for the day that quickly took on a life of their own!!
It seems strange that only in a matter of weeks we will be moved and starting a new album of memories in our very own home. The memories are already being created.. painting parties (thanks mom and dad), shopping trips and design meetings! How excited I am! Each evening John and I sit on our bed in the Browning flat with our heads buried in blogs and various magazines searching for more and more inspiration. "What do you think about this?" "how about that?" "oh! we should do something like this!" These days I feel as if I am overflowing with inspiration and there is just not enough time in a day to let all of my ideas flow from my brain into my fingertips. so many ideas and not enough time to execute. My inspiration folder is growing exceedingly excessive and hard to manage. Since when should inspirations be managed.. am I that old?

Often times lately I have stepped back and looked at my life and can hardly recognize it. I can't believe that I am old enough to have a house, be a graduate student, work a job, pay for insurance... let alone have a husband. When did I all of a sudden become such a grown up? And why didn't anyone tell me this was coming? It catches me off guard everytime to introduce my sweet man as my husband. Me married? what? I am still surprised by such wonderful news! As a young girl married people seemed so different than myself as I sit here today typing away.. so grown up. I don't feel that grown up. Are you sure this is ok for me to do all of these things that I do? I must have unknowingly passed some test that has allowed me to take the step into the realm of grown ups without really being a grown up at all. I still feel like such a kid! I say that in a good way.

I spent much of my young life trying to act older than I really was. I was always the mature one with all of the older friends. Now that I am actually the age that I used to hope to be, pretend to be.. I am struck at just how off I really was. My 25 acting of the past was not anything like my actual 25 real self. Real 25 Annie would never allow herself to act the way I did in my 25 of the past. My play acting of 25 appears to me now to be very transparent on just how young I actually used to act. I guess I WAS acting my age. The joke is on me. A joke that is still very funny and amusing to me! I must admit.. despite all of my stupid adventures of the past.. I don't think I would take my actions back. Maybe only erase the pain caused to my dear loved ones. All I can say is that I am sorry for being so damn stupid. I am healed for the time being although I am quite certain that I will perform many stupid acts in the future.. hopefully different stupid acts than in the past. I am still a student to my world after all. Can I apologize in advance?

If I could offer any advice to a child it would be to act young. Act your age. Enjoy it! skip and swing and laugh. Roll down a hill, get grass stains, don't care about your clothes, get dirty, sleep with a teddy bear and watch the same teeny bop movie over and over and over. In my 25 year body I look back and wish that I would have had the presence of mind to sit back and say "hey, I like being 7. This is what I do as a 7 year old and I am going to celebrate it!" *Although I still do all of the things listed above but now it is in a nostalgic way and that always leaves things with a effervescent tinge of rose colored fog!

So you get married, get a house, have a dog and pay insurance. I like this world. I think I will stay here and play for awhile. I still feel like a kid playing grown up and in all reality maybe I am! Maybe the key is to always feel this way. Grown up must be a state of mind after all. A kid in a grown up candy store where I get to drink legally.

The wheels of life keep on turning and now by some invisible authority that I can't see (and therefore can't trust)it says that it is time to have kids. *I need to intervene and add just how wonderful my dear and lovely mom is at not asking me this question of "when?" because I know she is dying to know. For now she has the furry one. I so appreciate her always letting me take my life at my own pace, both crazy fast and geologically slow- in my own time. thank you mom. I have so much to learn from you. Besides my mom and dad and the feminists at work, people have slowly started commenting on my ticking time bomb until detonation and impregnation. People my age and younger have kids so god dammit so should I. No THANK YOU is what I have to say to them! So for the few of you that have asked, I am not going to be having any kids for sometime! Get it? I am not just some breeding factory. I have a brain in this head and I love my life as it exists right now. This is where I need to be. I need to be me: selfish, independent, driven and passionate about my life and my career. Then I need to be me and you. Mr. and Mrs. It is just us together and thriving. This is where we need to be today. Hand in hand and building the foundation of us (this foundation will then stay strong for a rich future). Then I need to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good women, a good person and a good citizen to my planet. Have kids? I barely have time to get all of the other stuff done. Besides, as I noted before, I am still a kid myself. I am not to be trusted.

In reality, I do want some "can't live without" kid someday. Just not now. I need to be selfish right now. I need to work on me and we need to work on us. These things will make us whole lovely beings in the future. Full of experience and strength and love and laughter. Than we can pass that on to our bundle of kid someday. We will be ready to give everything over in the love of our child. With our foundation of us and I always present. You will be the delicious frosting on our cake, little baby, but the cake will already be there. We won't look back and say "we wish we would have," instead we will look to the future with our past standing behind us as tall towering walls of no regrets. Isn't that what every child deserves?

So as I enjoy my beautiful life and a new album of memories, I am going to try to take my own advice. I am going to sit back and say this is me at my true 25. This is what I do and I am going to celebrate it. This is great because my true 25 self drinks wine and spirits and enjoys yummy food!

I feel love (self,family,friends) all around me. I feel as if I am exactly where I am supposed to be and that my life is stretched out and waiting for me whenever I am ready to stroll or sprint. This is exciting, comforting, curious, lovely, and simply unexpected.

Ebi

Moab 2008

This weekend John, Ebi and I took off to Moab. It was so wonderful to get away for a couple of days! We spent our days hiking, eating yummy food, driving through Arches and searching for Native American writing and pictographs. The weather was beautiful.
We want to thank my sweet UM for taking such good care of us in slick rock country! What a blast we had!

Here are some pictures highlighting the weekend road trip

Dogs for Obama

This needs no caption!

Matisyahu

John and I spent our first vacation a couple of years ago on a road trip through Vegas and throughout California to go and see Matisyahu. I have the best memories dancing under a full moon in Santa Barbara to him with my Reamer! I am pleased to announce that he is going to be in the S.L.C. next week! Whenever he is in town or some nearby one, John and I are there... so we'll be there and so should you!

Do you think Ebi would like this?

Monet to Picasso

If you haven't been to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts blockbuster exhibition, Monet to Picasso, yet you better hurry! It closes September 21! Van Gogh.. Van Goghing.. Van Goghn.

I must say that I have done alot of work in conjunction with this exhibition and it has been the biggest treat and such a wonderful opportunity!! From running the film series, to lectures, to teaching classes! I have loved every minute of Monet to Picasso.