The chamber group I play with occasionally, Chamber Project St Louis, performed at the St Louis Art Museum last night.  We are repeating the concert this next Friday (I included this and next to be super clear that I’m not talking about yesterday, how’s that for grammar?) at the Chapel (visit CPSTL‘ s website for more information on all of that.) 

The concert poster.

Last night’s venue.

Warming up amongst the art.  My stand was behind the LINE but no guards yelled at me.

Performing one of the pieces.  That’s my friend Laura standing because the piece (Derek Bermel’s Soul Garden) was for viola and string quintet, which meant her part was more important and we thought she should stand up to reflect that.  She sounded great.

Jen and Vince playing some Piazzolla.

If you are local and don’t have plans next Friday night, I’d recommend you come see me (us) play!  The tickets are very reasonable ESPECIALLY since they include two drinks (alcohol AND non-alcoholic beverages are offered.)  If you have any questions, feel free to ask, but remember, it’s a concert for everyone, not just classical music buffs.  Plus I’ll be wearing more color for the next one, which should be incentive enough.  Maybe I’ll wear purple.

Is that title too long?  Mike asked me this morning how my weekend was.  I laughed at him.  WHAT?

In the pit at Winter Opera St Louis. 

Me in the pit.  My friend Sarah caught me taking a selfie and she may have mocked me mercilessly and used the phrase “duck face.”  I think you can tell that’s not a duck face, right?  That’s just my face, and I consider self portraits to be important documentation of what is happening in my life.

So so much of this.  Drone, drone, drone, slow practice, slow practice, slow practice.

A new addition to the fridge—a postcard from Carrie in Norway.  Welcome back Carrie!

I’m dropping the marathon.  I’m only running the half.  I had too much going on, and I had to make some choices.  I chose the audition and work.  Everything else had to go.  I’ll start catching up next Tuesday.  Considering that I haven’t actually run since my race in January…yeah.

This was me texting my sister Leslie that I was dropping down to the half in April.  I’m the one in blue.

And with that…

Hello readers!

As you most likely know, I’ve been dealing with a really bad cold over the past few days.  I’m trying not to absolutely stress out over what I’m behind on–particularly in terms of violin practice for a certain audition I am (still?) planning to take…every time I’ve tried to practice it has felt like playing underwater, or worse…and it’s not just the audition I have coming up—this weekend is full of Chamber Project St Louis rehearsals AND Winter Opera St Louis rehearsals!  I definitely didn’t have a bit of crying jag about this last night.  I do find that allowing oneself to get upset and then to mentally work through it can be helpful, don’t you?

Hopefully this will pass…and I will be back on schedule and back on track, both in terms of practice, teaching (I haven’t seen some students in a couple weeks and I miss them!), and of course working out and MARATHON TRAINING.  Running hasn’t happened since the race last weekend…but I’ll get back on track.  I’m far more stressed out about violin practice than anything else at this point.  Oh, and there’s the small fact that during a particularly violent coughing fit yesterday I sort of hurt my shoulder…let’s just all smile and whistle, shall we?  EVERYTHING WILL EITHER BE OKAY OR IT’LL BE OKAY IN THE END.

If you are by chance behind on my blog I have three posts from the past week you should check out.  One is a review and giveaway of a pain relief cream and a vitamin type thing (which hasn’t seemed to help me at all, but might help you!).  Then I wrote a fun post talking about Leslie’s wedding and showing off some great pictures of her and her wedding.  And of course the recap of the half marathon I ran last weekend, the Rock and Roll Arizona Race.

Another recommended read for you is the blog my youngest sister Carrie is writing about her group, Chartreuse, and their current tour of Norway. 

They ran a kickstarter to fund their project, and as one of their donors (and as a sister) I am eagerly following their progress.  They have been very well received and are learning so much while having a wonderful time.  I am often so impressed with what my siblings have accomplished in their lives  and struggle with feeling like my life is uninspired in comparison!  (We mustn’t compare ourselves to others though, should we, particularly our own siblings?)  Needless to say I am proud of Carrie, and particularly enjoyed this part of her blog:

Tonight we are planning to go out to a jazz club called Victoria’s, where there is a free concert by some of the jazz students (jazz here being a very loose term; what do you even call any of it now? they’ll be improvising music. That is what musicians do. They just play music).

I love that!  MUSICIANS PLAY MUSIC. 

Oh, and don’t use the hashtag “feet” on instagram, for fun, unless you want things to get weird.  I was being silly because I finally painted my toenails to cover up the nasty black nails and put it on instagram…I did not think that through.  Lesson learned. 

My sister Leslie and her husband Peter got married on October 21, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona.  Their ceremony was at the Japanese Friendship Garden and their reception was at the Clarendon Hotel, both in downtown Phoenix.  I wanted to put together a summary post, mainly for my own fun and for Leslie, but I thought perhaps if anyone reading this is getting married in the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe area it could be helpful!  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Leslie used a lot of items from Etsy.com.  As most brides these days know, Etsy is a huge resource for unique, personalized, and handmade items.  Sometimes I listed the shop she used, other times I didn’t…sorry about the inconsistency.

Most of the photographs are from Jacquie from St Anne Photography,  with a few from other sources (including our good friend Loren who is very talented!)

I apologize for the long post, but I couldn’t help but show off my sister’s wedding and how gorgeous she looks in the photos!

Invitations and Save-The-Dates:

Leslie got her invitations from a variety of sources. 

The Save the Dates were folded by Leslie—she had quite a few DIY touches for her wedding.  She is quite talented at calligraphy and origami.  She hand wrote all the addresses for the Save the Dates and the Invitations, and did quite a bit of origami, both for these and for some wedding decorations.

The invitations and rsvp cards were two sided—these pictures show both sides of each.  They were on glossy paper and looked really neat!

Invitations from Sweet Heart Shout Out.

The Night Before:

Rehearsal Dinner was at Beckett’s Table.

Getting Ready:

We met in Leslie’s suite at the Clarendon for Hair and Makeup the morning of the wedding.

Makeup for the Ladies by Lipstick and Loves 

Hair by Tina from Moments Salon

Wedding Dress– Mariee Bridal

Alterations–  Bridal by Sadie

Shoes—Nina, Shoe clips from Etsy but they did not stay on very well. 

Purse—Etsy.com –Babb’s Boutique (Same purse we used for my wedding but with a different flower!)

Sash–Icing 101 on Etsy and Wedding dress hanger—My Amber Coloured World on Etsy (I gave this to Leslie as an engagement gift—cheesy, yes, but I thought it would be nice for photos.)

Earrings—Nordstrom

Maid of honor dress–J.Crew, Shoes from Nina, Earrings from Nordstroms (gift from the bride)

Men’s ties–J. Crew

Some pre-ceremony pictures at the Clarendon Hotel:

Bouquets, Boutonnières and Centerpieces (later) by Floral Verde

The sisters!  Leslie, me, Carrie.  I love this picture.  It’s out front of the Hotel.

First Look!

Getting to the ceremony:

Ollie the Trolley—Leslie and Peter hired a trolley to drive the guests who needed it from the Clarendon Hotel to the Japanese Gardens and then back afterwards.  I loved it!

The Ceremony:

The Wedding Party:  Ved, Peter, Leslie, and me (Hannah)

Ved and I walking in. 

Leslie and Dad walking down the path.

And down the aisle.  It was a long walk!

Officiant–Matt Nathanson 

It was a beautiful day for a wedding! 

Yada, yada, yada… “You may now kiss the bride!”

We signed the marriage license as witnesses…

The new Frey Family!  Complete with some non-Freys now.

And aren’t the Gardens gorgeous?

A few other ceremony details…

Ceremony Programs from Etsy

Quartet arrangements by Hannah Frey (tee hee!), the ladies in blue are sisters of the Bride and Groom, the others are good friends.

Parasols—Japanese Friendship Garden Gift Shop

Sand Ceremony Bottles from Etsy  and Cranes handmade by Leslie

Time to Celebrate!

The reception (including dinner) was held on the rooftop of the Clarendon Hotel. 

Catering by their on-site restaurant, Gallo Blanco—guacamole, tacos, rice, chicken, and more. 

Cupcakes by Urban Cookies , cupcake tower from etsy

Papel picado flags—etsy

Table name tags done by Leslie.  Succulent centerpieces by Floral Verde

Each guest got their own crane to give them their table assignments.  Calligraphy and origami by Leslie, of course!

Mariachi–Mariachi Luz del Sur.  The band was great!

Guest Book from Snapfish. 

So there you have it.  It was a beautiful wedding day, with (as expected) lots of planning involved before hand that absolutely paid off.  We had a wonderful time celebrating with Leslie and Peter, and wish them the best in the future!

If you haven’t read my delightful recap of the Rock and Roll Arizona race, you should.  I spent a lot of time writing it and putting photos in, so I’ll be sad if you haven’t read it.

I often publicize my blog posts on facebook.  This adds to the embarrassment factor/page views.  Added bonus:  I can assume that all my friends and colleagues have read my blog and already know what’s going on in my life…and surely that’s why no one talks to me anymore, right?

(nothing to do with all the selfies…btw how great is my new sweater!  THREE SHEEP!)

Anyway, yesterday when I posted the Race recap, my sister Leslie weighed in:

 

Yeah, so then yesterday’s cold turned into today’s whatever is happening which involves massive coughing fits on occasion.  Oops.  They are all still in the head so I’m thinking that’s a good sign.  I’m also exhausted, and left work early (I’m thrilled because I’m already so behind, but I just couldn’t stay any longer—I was seriously checked out and about to fall out of my chair and I had NO patience left, and my students require patience or I just start telling them what I think, without making it nice and constructive and helpful for them, and that’s not very good. )

Where am I going with this?  I actually don’t know.  I had really fun plans for tonight and now I’m just sitting on the couch, figuring this is as good a time as any to catch up on Parenthood.

So entertain me!  What are you doing this weekend?  I may end up having to cancel all my fun plans and just stay at home drinking tea all weekend…