What to expect when you're with the gals

Last night Celia, Danielle and I walked into town for a nice dinner at Townhouse (we are seriously there much too often these days, it's just SO good!). We sat outside, drank cocktails and got the veggie burger- homemade black bean patty, de-lish! After dinner we headed to the theatre to see "What To Expect When You're Expecting". It was so much better than we anticipated, really a cute movie. Personally, I loved that they didn't glorify pregnancy, they shared multiple women's experiences (including adoption) and really showcased the fact that pregnancy is different for everybody, and they did it in a comical and heartfelt way.

Girls nights can really be the best.

iz

Lexington

For Memorial Day, Dad, Ceil, Bob and I drove up to my Grandparents condo in Lexington, MI. Which is a tiny lake town off of the thumb on lake Huron. I've been going there since I can remember, it has always been a special place to me and I really like that I can now share it with Bob. Sunday evening, we got steak in Peck, MI. It was the worst steak I've ever had (don't tell my Grandparents). Monday morning, Grandpa made pancakes and his famous bacon (it's seriously the best), before we went for a beach walk. It was SO hot! About 95 in MI on Monday.

In the afternoon we went to the Croswell Flea market, a Memorial Day weekend tradition. For a late lunch we got the best sliders around, at Wimpy's. Seriously, these sliders are the best I've had and it isn't a Lexington trip without them.

 I hope you all had a wonderful 3 day weekend!

Now, back to work!

iz

Weekend Update

This weekend was a good one. I got out of work early on Friday, ran errands and got a shopping trip in with my little sister all before playing a gig at Toast in Birmingham. It was such a great gig! So many folks came out and it was fun to play a mix of jazz with our country/singer songwriter type material. Many thanks to those of you who came out to support us. Saturday and Sunday were SO productive. I got most things done for Bob's sisters wedding shower next weekend, which is Mexican themed! fun stuff. Sunday, Mom and I got breakfast with our good friend Laura, who was in from Colorado. We miss you Laura!!!

 

me, ceil & danielle

iz

Colin Hay

A few night ago, Celia, Bob and I travelled to Ann Arbor to see one of our favorite musicians, Colin Hay perform a solo acoustic show at The Ark.

Colin Hay is the lead singer of the popular 80's group, Men at Work, which had a number of big hits including "Land Down Under" and "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Overkill". In the early 90's, he started his solo career out of California. He is one of our favorite song writers and is an incredible performer. He mostly performs solo and it may as well be marketed as a comedy/musical performance. He is SO funny! Here are a few clips of some of my favorite of his songs.

I'm so glad to say that Colin Hay has gotten a big boost from having a song featured in the film, Garden State and had multiple guest appearances on Scrubs. If he is coming to your town, you really must go, I promise you won't regret it. Here is his website.

Babies, Birthdays and Buds

I want to fill you all in on some fun things I've been celebrating lately, all of which I've been documenting on my iPhone. Here's some of the latest!

Baby Clara (Bob's new niece) is now smiling!!! Epic.

Celia turned 21! I have many photos to share with you from her big dinner, they are coming!
But these shots are from our dinner with our good friend Danielle, to celebrate Ceil's 21st.
We went to Townhouse in Birmingham. Very good food, even better cocktails.

Danielle & Bob

The Townhouse's logo is a key, so they have antique skeleton keys everywhere,
hanging from the walls and the ceiling!

My coworker had a baby, this is Haley and I just met her for the first time!
LOVE holding newborns.



Bob and his nephew, Charlie surprised me at work and brought me roses,
pretzels and a pink grapefruit perrier.
They know me well.
It was the highlight of my day.

iz

Hit and Run

So Bob and I have some very exciting news to share. We are going to have a few songs in the new movie, Hit and Run, premiering August 24th, 2012! We started working in the project last spring, well mostly Bob- he's the mastermind behind it all, but they did ask if I would sing on a song or two, which I of course agreed to do! I'm so proud of Bob and all of his accomplishments in the past two years. This is his second film to feature his music (the first he was also on camera, Golden Globe winning, Ides of March) and I couldn't be more proud. We are so excited to see where life takes us next!

And, yes, Bob and I get to go to the premier in LA! ahhh!

Can't wait to share pics :)

iz

Mansion Warming Party

Over the weekend, Bob's friend Patty asked us to play a few songs at his housewarming party/benefit for an organization that exposes inner city kids to opera, called Motor City Lyric Opera. We agreed of course! Well, I must say that when he gave us his address, we didn't expect to pull up to this:

Welcome to Boston Edison, a historical neighborhood in Detroit. Most homes where built between 1905-1920. To learn more about this historical neighborhood, go here. Boston Edison was home to many famous Detroiters including Henry Ford, Senator James Couzens (also a founding partner of Ford Motor Co.), Sebastian Kresge, Berry Gordy and many many more prominent automotive execs, politicians, artists, writers, athletes and religious leaders. Needless to say, I've always been in love with this neighborhood, often driving through to see all of the gorgeous homes and then next thing I know I get to play a house warming!

One of many sitting rooms.

ok, the butlers quarters is nicer than my kitchen.

Ceil, in the master bath. The bathroom also had a circular standing shower. All of the floors and walls were covered in this gorgeous blue tile. And it was about the size of my bedroom.

Man, people knew how to live back then!

This was the ceiling in the bathroom. gorgeous.

We performed in the basement, which was a ball room!

I loved how every room had some sort of purpose and the attention paid to design and detail was truly impecible. The ceilings were painted or woodworked, the windows trimmed, the fireplaces intricate, even the mud room had thought and artistry behind the design work.

Such a treat to explore these homes. They do offer written walking tour guides, see here. I highly encourage you to go, you will be amazed and in awe.

You will never want to buy new construction again!

Let's Go On A Road Trip

Growing up, my parents would take us on a road trip every summer, for two weeks in July (my Dad works in automotive- shutdown!). We never really had a plan, we would just get in the car and pick a direction and stop at places along the way. My parents house is filled with the most random assortment of collectibles and antiques and Celia and I now have a flavor for vintage design, mom and pop stores, random diners and all the crazy stuff in between.

Today on Pinterest, I discovered an ingenious website called OnTheWay. I believe you can also download as an app on your mobile device!

You simply enter where you are starting from and your destination. The website will then ask you what route you intend to take and then provides you with museums, national parks, malls, famous restaurants, coffee shops, etc that are on route. Personally, I think it's a great tool. This is not to say I'm giving up on the blind road trip, believe me, it wouldn't be a Nelson road trip without some real random stops, but this is such a neat website I just had to share!

Do you like to go on road trips? What's your favorite destination?

iz

First Summer BBQ

We had our first summer BBQ! It was so nice outside, Bob really wanted to grill up some steaks. It was so cute, he set up this whole little table outside and made these great little side dishes. One of my good friends, Jayme came over to help us eat all that food! Afterwards, we watched Austin Powers. Ya Baby!

BBQ according to my iPhone:

Happy Summer-ish!

iz

Groove is in the Heart

This song just popped into my head today and I realize how much I love it! It brings back memories of backyard parties at Anita and Dr. Bob's house, playing with my awesome childhood hippie friends Amas, Bello and Nadja. Isn't it amazing the memories music can unearth?!

Me & Amas, bein cool. The photo has been on the fridege so long it's wearing away!

Ceil & I, around the same age, obviously starting a band.

Also, Bob started singing this song this morning and I can't get it out of my head! This video is hilarious and makes me want a monkey... and a pig... or both.

Happy Tuesday!

iz

Mothers Day

Yesterday was spent celebrating my Mom and my Grandma Liz. We started with church in the morning and then lunch before visiting Mom at The Rustbelt Market. Later in the day, Dad made dinner for the whole family! I love you Mom! You're the best.

iz