Monday, June 15, 2009

Marissa's Bridal Shower


This event actually took place beginning of April, but since we were in WA this past week for my little sister, Marissa's, wedding, I thought I'd start where the fun for me began :), The bridal shower.

(For those waiting for a wedding post... I'll get there I promise. Just expect a number of posts on the matter anyway!)

Planning was of course a blast, but could have been much more tricky, considering in took place in Utah and I live in Cali, without the help of all my sisters and mom. THANKS GUYS!

The spread:my mom, who sadly couldn't make it (she had already been in Utah for 3 weeks prior and had to get back to work...imagine that :)) was so wonderful to send some of her vintage gloves, handbags, and hats that belonged to her mother. PERFECT!

Cheese and "wine" tasting.
Bon-bons

Cool Party favors: Little high heels I made from cardstock, embellished and filled with chocolate. I have to admit my whole "theme" almost came from the fact that I really wanted to make these puppies.

Stylish :)
And whats a Smith shower without the "gum" game? How many pieces you got in your mouth there Miss?

Love you and Congrats!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

New song inspired by the Simpsons and lazyness

I was supposed to work on one of my Kara or Austin songs tonight and I was also supposed to do the dishes, but I was feeling a bit uninspired, so I watched the Simpsons instead. As the Ogdonvillians were leaving their town after they could no longer sell their barley, a song played that, for whatever reason, made me want to record. Here's what I came up with.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Music Projects

So I've been trying to figure out lately how to do something useful with music recording. For the past few years, I've just been writing music and recording it myself, trying to get a feel for how to record music from home and get it to sound good. I feel like I'm finally to the point where I know the ins and outs of recording and how to actually get a professional sound. Now, what to do with that.

Project 1: The Kara Langer Project

About a month ago, I decided that it would be fun to find a singer/songwriter in the area and record/produce and album. Not only would it give me some good practice in recording a style of music that I normally don't do, but I'd actually get to have some finished songs, which is something that has been harder than I expected. A quick ad post on craigslist offering to record and produce an album for free got some surprisingly good responses.

To make a short story short, I'm recording a CD for Kara Langer. It's kind of an ideal recording situation for me. She has a pile of songs written waiting to be recorded. She comes in, records the piano and vocals, then I get to add whatever I want to the song. It leaves a lot of room for trial and error for me, and it's good for me to get a bit of a wider range of styles that I can say I've worked on.

Here's the first song we recorded. I didn't get too experimental with this one. I think I was most concerned with trying to not make the song worse with the stuff I added.



Project 2: The Boztin Project

If anyone can melt your face with a guitar, it's Austin Lewis. Right now we're working on an album with the shreddingest guitars you've ever heard. Once we find a singer, I can quit my job and become a professional shred master. Our biggest issue is figuring out how to get 10 songs to fit on 1 CD.

This project is also ideal because I get to do all my writing and recording from home. No schedules, no deadlines, no stress, and blazing guitars. What more do I need?



So hopefully in the next year or so I will be able to have two full length albums to my name. We'll see how long it really takes.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Summer Fun Weekend 2: At the Ranch

Memorial Day weekend at the Millar ranch...We rode:We ate:The best part of making cupcakes :)We partied:13 is a lot of candles, so uncle Sam had a little help.

We relaxed:

But most of all...
We swam:
Well, Jack mostly enjoyed lounging and playing by the pool. It was a bit too cold for him.Warming his tush on the warm cement. And what a pool side babe he made! :)
Elyette, on the other hand, swam...and swam... and swam (and jumped!)
In fact, she spent from 10:30am to 4:30pm Monday constantly in and out of the pool. She only left once for a potty break. I'm sure she would have stayed past sun down if we hadn't forced her out so we could head home. It was a GREAT weekend.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Red Carpet Ready?

This is what happens when I whip out the camera. Little Poser, ha... :)

I'm diggin' her Zoolander look, well I guess she'd probably call it her "gangsta" look- Thanks Hannah :)

She also felt the need to "frame" Jack's face for his close up.
Instead of "cheeeeeese" this time, Jack proclaimed "JACK!". I'm thinking he knows he's cute ;).