B.M.W.

Pittsburgh's five day forecast:


The average temperature is supposed to be around 50 degrees and here we are sitting with an average high of 41 degree... and that's an improvement from Sunday and Monday which had highs in the 30's!

I'm sick of it! Courtney is in Las Vegas at the moment where the forecast is this:


Spring is so close that I can almost taste it! So I'm declaring tomorrow a B.M.W.

Bob. Marley. Wednesday.

Bob Marley is synonymous with summer, beaches, sun, reggae and most importantly good feelings and "one love". Now Bob Marley didn't only sing about puppies and rainbows but I personally think that it's impossible to listen to Bob Marley and not feel better if only for a short time. I have to admit, I only have the Bob Marley Legends album. So the songs I like are pretty much his most popular songs, but so what? They're great songs and they instantly transport me back to Jamaica. I can't wait to sit on my deck with a Red Stripe basking in the warm weather and loving life 100 times more than I do when the high is 27 degrees.

Sometimes work stinks and you're stressed or just in a bad mood. I'm going to do my best to change that with a BMW. I won't listen to it all day, but Bob Marley will be in heavy rotation on the ipod. Ans because I love you guys so much, I provided some songs for your listening pleasure. Since we have tens of readers I'm pretty sure the servers won't get too jammed up with all of you trying to watch the video at the same time. So have at it!

One Love.

Jamming, Bob marley from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

Three Little Birds, Bob Marley from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

One Love, Bob Marley from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

Could You Be Loved, Bob marley from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

Saddle Up

On Saturday Dustin and I entered a world unlike our own....it's called: The Country. Yep- these two Yanks traded our typical Saturday night plans, and our typical Saturday night clothes for an evening out at Saddle Ridge...in plaid!

Saddle Ridge is a local bar that specializes in all things country- which from my understanding is line dancing, mechanical bull riding, cigarette smoking, and hat wearing. We decided to partake in the first two....Luckily we weren't alone in our honky-tonk adventures. No sir-ri-bob. We had our whole Lumberjack family! (we were seriously referred to as such....apparently the patrons at the sports bar next door aren't as Country Lovin' as the Saddle Ridge folks).

And these two were like our Ma and Pa Kettle:

Please notice that Jeff is wearing a bolo. AND a Sheriff's badge.

So after showing off our swanky duds, it was time to DANCE. Now, I know almost nothing about line dancing, (excluding the electric slide....which should always be excluded if you ask me) but oh man do I love it. None of us knew the steps, but we jumped in, and tried to learn each one as fast as we could...There were a few songs that were WAY beyond our ability level, but for the most part, we were able to hold our own. It was helpful that there were plenty of "locals" that were happy to show us the ropes...Including a tiny Grandma didn't miss a step all night. (Nevermind the fact that she was adorable in her little denim skirt and high heel cowboy boots). Deb and I were by far the most fond of the whole night, but everyone humored us, and participated in the fun.

And by "participated" I mean, they took the bull by the horns. Literally.



It was $4 for a ride ($15 for the whole day...what a deal?) but I stood firm that they would have to pay me at least $40 to get me up there. So the riding was left to the tougher girls. And let me just say- they owned it.

Deb was a pro (she was proud to tell us of a previous 8-second ride...this surpassed it by far!)

Saddle Ridge- Deb rides the bull from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

And Meg took it in a stride when the bull operator tried to mess with her.

Saddle Ridge- Meg takes on the bull from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

All in all, it was a great night. We had a blast goofing off with each other, and it was fun to try something out of the ordinary. (the fact that dancing and costumes were involved was icing on my country-cake).

Oh- and I would be remiss if I didn't share the near "Jesus on a Piece of Toast" type of miracle that we encountered at our dinner beforehand. I call it- The Arrow Chip.

I contemplated selling it to the highest bidder...and then I ate it.

3 Steps to Becoming a Hipster

My friend Lowe has been telling me for months that I need to start listening to Mumford and Sons. The conversation pretty much always went like this:

Lowe: Dude have you checked out Mumford and Sons yet?

Me: No not yet.

Lowe: Dude, they're awesome... you should totally check them out. I'll hook you up with their stuff.

Me: Sweet!

Then a few weeks/months would go by and Lowe and I would have almost that exact same dialogue again.

So I finally got my hands on some Mumford and Sons. Oddly enough it wasn't Lowe who hooked me up but Demo. (don't my friends sound awesome?) His wife's blog is here.

Of course Lowe was right and I am completely hooked on Mumford and Sons. I listened to them pretty much all day and it was great. I found myself trying to get back to work and retreat into a fortress of musical solitude. (Did I just say that I wanted to get back to work?)

Anyway, Mumford and Sons played during the Grammy's and they rocked it out! Here's the performance if you missed it.

So all of this got me thinking...

Am I a hipster now?

The answer is an emphatic NO! I am no way near cool enough, or indie enough, or... what else?

So then I got to thinking...

What makes a hipster a hipster?

You can look it up on Urban Dictionary and get a thorough definition; and if you're like me then all you'll get is confirmation that you're not a hipster in the slightest. There are posts online where you can find ten things to do to become a hipster (yes I searched it...to research this post), but I'm going to boil it down to just 3 things.

1.) Grow a beard:

• Whether you're a dude or a lady, the beard is an absolute essential if you want to be a hipster. It's just that simple. Here's proof that beards are awesome.

2.) Be Awesome at Something Artistic:

• Music, photography, or graphic arts. That's pretty much your options. There is a little flexibility in how awesome you have to be. Slightly above average is acceptable in most cases.

3.) Wear Flannel:

• This is a deal breaker. It probably should have been listed first. If you're not willing to wear flannel in all of its glory year round, then you're not cut out to be a hipster.

Do you need an example? How about Barlich?

Beard... check
Awesome at photography...check
Flannel... check

My problem is that I can't grow a beard. I can maybe rock a fierce neck beard or neard, but other than that it just doesn't work. I do have the flannel and I can play a few instruments. In fact, my Banjo got me an honorable mention but without the beard it just won't work. I'll only be pretending.

So that's it. Grow a beard, become artistic, and wear flannel. Now you're ready. So get to it.

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

There may be 5 more boxes where this came from....but only one had the cute little name card (don't worry-that price was for all of the boxes...and besides: It's for the kids!). Now let’s see if we can make these last longer than a week.....

Did you get yours yet?

What to wear- the sequel

Last month I embarked on an experiment to document my outfits every day....It was fun to see a full month of choices all lined up, so I decided to go another round and record February's Fashions. And here they are (click photo to enlarge):

Second verse-same as the first,
but a little bit brighter and a little bit....similar to the last time.

The first month was a bit more of a true documentary....I cared a little bit about coming up with fun combinations and avoiding repeats, but mostly I just wore what I want, and snapped pics of where I ended up. In February though, I got in my own head a little- thinking I needed to mix it up more and inject some color. But I can't keep up a costume charade, so though I pulled some fun pieces out to have their day in the sun (floral skirt, coral necklace, where would I be without you?) I still relied heavily on my old standbys (grey sweater, and blue hoodie- I'm looking at you).

I suppose as much as I'd like to be a fashion plate day in day out, I have to realize that I love me some jeans, flat boots, and neutral layers. But I think I've managed to strike a balance between lazily lounging in my comfort zone (that would be the outfits you don't see, when I literally lounge nightly in my sweats), and attempting to turn out some "fash-OHN" (I believe that's French for "throwing on a big scarf, or an armload of bangles").

So that's the rundown of the last 28 days of sartorial adventures. Now that February is over, I think I'm going to take a little break from the the clothes collage...Maybe I'll pull it back out when the weather gets warmer- but until then I'm sure you can imagine an endless stream of jeans and grey t's (soon with flip flops!)

Wouldn't It Be Nice: March

After a pretty ambitious goal last month....we're slowing it down a little for March. The goal is actually to slow waaay down...and go to sleep. I've always been a bit of a night owl, preferring to stay up late, and get up late. But that doesn't really jive with early work days, so I've had to adjust to (at least pretend to) be a morning person, able to rise with (or before) the sun. Problem is, I never changed the night schedule, so the amount of sleep I get just keeps getting condensed. Which brings us to a simple goal- getting to bed by eleven on "school nights".

Sure, it will restrict the amount of Real Housewives marathons I can catch, but that's why God* made DVR, right? Sweet dreams......

(*DVR is far too great of an invention to believe a cable company came up with it...)