Viva - Saturday

Matching shirts are the best!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to run over to the airport and pick up my old roomate.  We hurried back to the hotel and got her wristband.  We likely should have gone straight out to the car show but we hung out for a while in the hotel room and then got lunch and soon it came to be the scary hot part of the day.  Undeterred though we headed out and made our way through the vendors and eventually got to the cars.

I was wearing my new Re-mix wedges and my Whirling Turban corselette so I was feeling quite stylish and relaxed but the sun proved to be too much for us and we headed in for a break.  I was sad to miss Buzz Campbell after having seen him this summer at Cars and Guitars but the heat was just too much for this True North Gal.



My latest fav - a flat red truck!

 My friend tried to take a much needed nap and after changing and putting on more sunscreen and a hat I went back out to take some more pictures and I made sure I was there to see Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys.  They were awesome despite the sun it was just too good not to enjoy.  I even got to hear the new single they have out on 45 (Don't Go to Far With the Girl at the Bar).  I then went over to the Pool to catch the couples swimwear competition which ended up starting way late but was a good shady break with a mojito and a giant glass of water.  I made it back for Duane Eddy which was fun but still really hot and then my friend and I met up and went and saw the rest of the cars and listened to the Ventures.

The Fly-Rite Guitar Men!

After that we rushed inside to get in line to see Deke Dickerson's The Guitar Geek!  Which was truly the best thing I did all day.  Riddle with surf & even more celebrity this year.  We were 3 rows from the front and saw JD McPherson up close and personal without having to fight the crowds, saw Nokie Edwards and Duane Eddy close up and all the other performers in the line up that was just truly phenomenal.  Other things I have to mention was how much I loved watching TK Smith and Ashley Kingman play together!  This is the best and the sound is awesome and then when there was already too many awesome things we got to hear charming Sandy Nelson play the drums.  Cannot say what an awesome time this was but that was far from the end of our day...

After some food we made it back out in our evening outfits mine just my stand-by black halter dress to go see a bit of Wayne Hancock which was too crowded to really enjoy and after perusing the vendors a little we set ourselves up in a good spot to watch the dancers and see JD McPherson who was like a machine playing his whole album and never missing a beat.  It was then time to walk my friend back to our room after her already 18 hour day and I decided to get changed and go catch the end of the Big 6 and the Bellfuries who's CD I bought and had autographed!  After that it was bedtime for me as Sunday was now arrived and another days activities would start before too long.

And then it snowed

Well the mercury has dropped to -29C/-20F but I soldiered on and walked to work today.  It is all good except for the fact that I like to wear my glasses to work and there is no practical way to wear glasses and a scarf and not have the glasses turn into a foggy mess but hopefully this won't last for too long.

I am waiting on the girl who has an offer on my condo but things look bleak on that front and I'm starting to lose patience. In the mean time the plumber who changed the sink valves last week needs to come back again and I am wondering if my car is going to start when I need to use it or if I should re-insure it as a block of ice.

I bought my ticket for Viva and it appears after much plotting and discussion with my friend I also have an extra ticket should someone want to buy one.  Flights here were on a big sale here for the last week so my flight is all booked and I booked the hotel way back in May so I'm covered there just for now on my own in the big city which is not the end of the world but frustrating that it is so hard to co-ordinate things with other people.

The sun is shining despite the temperature so that is the plus and my vacation to California is coming up and I found this cool site that has vintage shopping maps for places around CA so I'm pretty excited to put them to the test and see what I find.  http://www.shoppersmap.com/  The new house could use some retro-fittings so I will be bringing a suitcase with a lot of empty space to fill :) and hopefully getting some great deals to share.

When I get back it will be crack down on my diet time and get packing for the new place.  Hopefully the condo really will sell this week but if it doesn't I guess there's nothing I can do except keep busy and try not to think about it.  The change in the mortgage rate (drop 0.5%) has been a bonus so I guess it will all even out eventually.

I'm working on an embroidery for the new house 10 points if you recognize where this border comes from!  Until next time stay warm.

Conflicting Interests

So as you may know the Viva Schedule came out last week.  I for one was estatic but found I couldn't logically sort out my priorites so I set about reformatting it for myself and thought you  might appreciate a copy for yourself.  It is broken down so that if 4 events are taking place at once you can see your choices and potentially select your priority so that you could with any luck weed it down into an itinerary for the day when you are done making your selections. 

Enjoy!  and if you want the Excel file let me know and I will send it to you :)

A Ticket to the Show

So it is official.  I booked the hotel, flights and bought the tickets and I am going to Viva for the 2nd time!  It was just too much fun last year -I had to go again.  This year my friend K is coming along -she loves cars and was intrigued by my pictures from last year.

My goals for this year are:

* Finish sewing my vintage sundress I started for last year

* Finish another dress
* Sew a swim suit wrap
* Sew blouse from vintage pattern I bought last year
* Experience Freemont Street Experience
* Go to Double Down and Frankie's Tiki Room

* Find a portable dock for my ipod so I can play music in my room
* Meet people I don't know
* Take more pictures
* Buy more CDs
* and of course last and of mixed importance be "swimsuit ready" ie diet & exercise

Truthfully, I don't wear vintage clothes because I don't really enjoy shopping for them and they all seem to be incredibly small but I have collected some nice vintage bangles since last year and I'm enjoying that.  Sewing at this point seems like the smartest option because repro leaves me wearing things that I will envitably see someone thinner wearing.  I've got a swimsuit that will work and I'm thinking I might buy some repro shorts of a non-descript style and pair with some cute blouses.