happy july!

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Hello, friends and happy July! I am back after an extended early-summer break:) Sorry to have left you hanging...we embarked our trip in a whirlwind, and right when we got back promptly got really sick. Twice.

But, now we are well and getting back into the swing of things. I just started teaching a couple summer classes, and Jake is clearing out his school studio, and we're both psyched to enjoy a slower summer pace. As I ease back into my little blog space, you might want to check out these fun links:

--Em from hiphipgingin posted this perfect list. (what do you think? I agree with everything on it!)

--Alli over at hooray posted about this sweet date night.

--I'm excited for these July Events.

...and wouldn't you love to throw (or attend) a backyard movie party? With the heat climbing in the daytime, it would be the perfect temperature for lounging at night!

What about you? Do you have any fun July plans?

Valentine's (or birthday...) in the Mitten

To kick off this weekend-before-Valentine's Day (and that big birthday), I thought I'd do a special "five gratitudes"--the five fun date-places I'm grateful (get it?) to live near.

1. I'm grateful to live near the Whitney--a beautiful mansion-turned-fancy-restaurant that would make for a pretty romantic dinner-date. 

2. I'm grateful to live near the Detroit Institute of Arts--among the top six museums in the country! A dreamy place to wander around and hold hands.

3. I'm grateful to live near the French Laundry--no, not the place in Napa...but this one is pretty charming in its own right. We had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding here, and loved it so much we celebrated our first anniversary here, too!

4. I'm grateful to live near the Detroit Opera Theater--so many cool cultural experiences to be had here! We saw Alvin Ailey's dance company one Valentine's a couple of years ago; breathtaking! I'd love to see the production of Swan Lake there this spring.

5. Gah! Now that I'm into this list, I realize how hard it is to only pick five great date-spots. But, this list would not be complete without a shout out to Iron Chef (and my Grandma's crush from the Chew): Michael Symon's Roast. We had one of the best meals of our lives there! I'm so grateful to live near this impeccable establishment.

What about you? Got any fun Valentine's Day plans? Do tell.

a date night with "soul power"

This week, the hubs and I had a rainy-night-date-night-in.

We cooked soba noodle bowls (yum!), kicked back, and popped in this documentary about the Zaire music festival of 1974, which was put on at the same time as the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match:



So good. I can't even handle how fascinating it was, to watch this documentary and think about all the rhetorical moves being made. First of all, there was just a lot of great music. But, beyond that, there were political issues, and socio-economic issues that had us talking well into the night. The great thing was that there wasn't anything too preachy about said issues--they were just there, for viewers to notice. I've actually been dreaming up ways to use this in my composition classes: what arguments are being made here? By whom? For what purposes?

Good stuff, for date night, and for teaching...