Bathrooms, Jack's Mannequin, and Aerosmith

So, if any of you remember our downstairs bathroom, you know how shabby it was. I'm pretty sure it's the only room in our entire house that has not been re-done in some way since we moved in. Aysia came to steal all the previous decorations (that were hers in the first place) to use in her new place, so I got the opportunity to redecorate. And ran with it...

I ended up spending nearly $200 on everything. Which, yeah, that's a lot of money, but I figure I'll take it all with me when I move and can have all this fun stuff for quite a few years. I got the shower curtain first and used that as my inspiration. And the two pieces of art, which I found last, pulled everything together. I'm quite happy with how it turned out.


At last minute a couple weeks ago, I decided I could not miss seeing Jack's Mannequin again. So Nicole Nelsen (with whom I'm going to Europe) and I decided to purchase tickets to see Jack's and The Fray at Usana Ampitheater. It ended up being a really great show. I LOVE Jack's, so it was awesome to finally see them. He puts on a great show, and I'm just so jealous of McMahon's skills on the piano.
I'm fairly certain that Jack's Mannequin plays the music of my soul. That music seriously makes me insanely happy.


And last weekend, guess where I went...
Yeah, that's right. AEROSMITH!! I've been dying to see them in concert for a long time, so I've fulfilled another long-time wish. Yay. Life is good!

These pictures are awful because they came from my cell phone... But whatever. That blurry white blob at the end of the runway in this picture is Steven Tyler!!! He was amazing to watch. Awesome dance skills, throwing around his scarf-wrapped mic all over the place. And his voice sounds amazing still. This man is freakin' 61 years old. And he's still sexy. Yeah, I said that. Also, the day we were there, July 25th, is Slash's birthday (Slash from Guns N Roses). And he made a surprise appearance and played on stage.
You can see him on that middle screen above--with his crazy hair, wearing a hat and sunglasses. Slash, man. I sang happy birthday to him. It was awesome.

Anyway, life is great. I got to talk to Jamilyn last night for over an hour, and she's the one who reminded me I needed to write in my blog. So this one's for you, my friend. I loved talking to you, and I miss you like crazy. And I totally looked up prices for a flight to Chicago or Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids. I'm coming soon, I swear. Love you!

Music I'm (re) discovering:
Nick Drake-anything of his. It's seriously beautiful stuff. It's from the late 60's, early 70's. But it could easily be released now and you'd never know. That stuff is amazing.
Hard to Handle-both the Otis Redding and Black Crowes versions. Such a fun song to rock out to.
100,000 Fireflies by The Magnetic Fields-Listen to this one! You'll love it, I promise. Released nearly 15 years ago, but it sounds so much like the great indie stuff that's come out recently.
Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream) by The Crew-Cuts
The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie