Gingersnap

Last post of 2011: the year of a lot of reflection, personal growth in life and creative spirit, and a new found peace that I never expected. Well, here are seven best things that have helped shape me along the way. #7 Best Album An exclusive from my Starbucks obsession (see #4), Feist's new album was highly anticipated, especially with the first track, "Bittersweet Melodies" on repeat in my head. My leading Canadian lady didn't disappoint. Beautifully composed songs and signature poignant lyrics on folk beats make Feist's fourth studio album a blissful treat for the ears and tender heart. Standout cuts include the soft, melodic poetry of "Caught A Long Wind," the swingy uptempo, "The Bad In Each Other," and the smooth, laid back, "How Come We Don't Go There." The added choir background vocals in "Undiscovered First" and "Graveyard" are also quite compelling to note. #6 Best Dayton Art Museum 2011 wa...

Best architecture in the city of Dayton goes too.... Atop of Grafton Hill, sits a beautiful, classically red bricked tower of cascading stairs that seems to have escaped from a M.C. Esher work. A remarkable piece of Dayton history, the Dayton Art Institute is a museum that once featured an amazing art school that taught great artist friends like Virginia Burroughs and Willis "Bing" Davis. With incredible exhibits continuing to come to one of Dayton's most impressive treasures such as 100 Years of African American Art: The Arthur Primas Collection, Creating the New Century: Contemporary Art from the Dicke Collection, and From Romance to Rifles: Winslow Homer's Illustrations of 19th Century America, Norman Rockwell is no exception. Having recently opened November 12th, I went five days later, on a Thursday, when they closed at eight PM. This was what happened that day. True story- when I reached the top, those grand epic stairs were closed. No way was I walking back dow...

Whose responsible for making me trek 3 miles in the night to see pumpkins? Judy? *gasps* But I don't even know a Judy. Hahahaha..... Ah, the end of lush, autumn October is finally upon us. So what's Halloween without a lil pumpkin carving, eh? Behind the Dayton Art Institute on Stoddard Avenue in the Grafton Hill District resides a tradition known to many and I must admit last year was the first I've ever heard of the The Stoddard Avenue Pumpkin Glow! Having had a splendid time, I couldn't wait to go again! So alas not Judy's fault- it's my own. Heehee! As I walked along fallen leaves and branches, the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin wafted through my nostrils, letting me know that I'm close to my destination! Here's just a sampling of the glowing pumpkins with their sweet scented tea light surprises inside! From traditional face carvings to intricately detailed witches, cats, Simpsons, celebs, comic book characters, villains, and Sesame Street puppets! Th...