Tales From The Lane
Living Your Best Life as Creative Artist
On the Road Again
I’m sitting on an airplane flying from Bermuda to Boston. I have 4 days there–teaching some lessons, and recording and rehearsing a program of Joan Tower’s music for BMOP. From there, I head off to Miami, where Paul will meet me for a little concert tour/vacation combo. Between the 30 degrees and snowy weather in Boston, the 82 degrees and sunny temperatures in Florida, and the mix of concerts, teaching, and beach/date time, this was an interesting trip to pack for! Read More
My February Focus
If you have been following along on my plan to focus each month on a particular aspect of my life, you’ll know that I have already done “Health”, “Career”, “BYSO”-one aspect of my professional life, “Home”, and “Blogging”. Some months were super clear and easy, and others were a bit more difficult and abstract than I thought they would be. God knows I have already had some wrenches thrown into the works (umm, hello computer dying in the middle of “career” month and losing some very valuable work information…oops.). But I am so happy to say that at the end of every single month, I have been able to point to a list of things I accomplished that improved that focus area, and that every single month, I have come away feeling like I have learned a few important things, and have created some sustainable habits that will help continue the progress. I am excited to keep going with this plan, but to be perfectly honest, I am a little apprehensive about this month’s focus: Marriage.
At the beginning of this 12-Month Focus Project, I drew up a list of the 12 most important areas of my life, and then set about assigning a particular month to each area– trying to choose the month that makes the most sense. I was feeling the need hit “reset” on my body after a long summer, so I made September “Health” month, and since I will be seeing lots of family in July, that gets “Family” month. But “Marriage”? well, there IS Valentine’s Day, and I booked my week of concerts in Florida for his half-term break so that he can join me and make it a working holiday. But otherwise, it’s a bit arbitrary. On one hand, we’ve only been married for a couple of years. We are definitely still newlyweds. On the other hand, my marriage is one of THE MOST important things in my life, and I want to cherish and nurture it. In other words, I am more than happy to devote a month to focusing on my marriage, but it’s not like we need any kind of major overhaul. There are no big issues to resolve, and we don’t have kids, so we already get to spend a lot of quality time alone together. So, what should I do?
I decided to take a cue from one of my original inspirations for this whole project: Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. She devoted a month to her marriage as well, and this was her list:
- Quit nagging
- Don’t expect praise or appreciation
- Fight right
- No dumping
- Give proofs of love
Sounds about right. I’ll start with these and add any others that come up. At the very least, at the end of the day (er…month) Paul will be one very happy husband! Wish me luck!
-Kate
Friday Favorites
Is it Friday already? It’s February (thank god!) but that also means it is booking season for us musicians, and the month when we all set out to book our concerts for NEXT season. It’s all a bit fast and furious, and the week just flew by! This weekend will be spent catching up on some other work (and a new blog post). Grabbing our Friday Night fish n’ chips dinner at the Yacht Club, and digging around in my garden. Oh, and I hear there is a little football game on Sunday. Go Pats! Here are a few things to entertain you over the weekend. Have a great one, everybody!
-Kate
If you’re in Boston this weekend, go check out this concert!
This would be a fun dress to wear in Miami (we’ll be there over valentine’s day, afterall)
I’m falling in love with this all-natural skin care line from Vermont. It even smells good!
Paul and I can’t stop watching this show. We are ALL IN
This would make the coziest Valentine’s Day gift!
Of course, so would this… 😉
These gorgeous dishes are indestructible.
This girl was once one of my Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras cellists, and I am so proud of what she is accomplishing these days. She’s on fire!
Have a listen to this. Beautiful, right?
I’m excited to eat here when we’re in Miami next week. What a great concept!
In case you are in need of some Super Bowl snack recipes, here are a few ideas.
And speaking of the Super Bowl. Who said, classical musicians and sports don’t mix?
A Few Friday Favorites
What are you up to this weekend? I just got back from a week in Boston, and am so happy to be back home. We’re having some friends over for “game night” tonight, because Paul and I are very very late to this party. Otherwise, Paul will be working on the boat and I will be spending some quality time with my cello and my garden. I’m also going to try to get a nice long run in (god help me!) and maybe do a crossword or two. Here are a few things that I am loving right now, check them out:
cheers!
-Kate
I am getting ready to set up a home office in my studio, and I have my eye on this desk:
All hail the great Ina Garten. Thank you for saying this so simply and clearly.
I have been drooling over this dreamy concert dress. Also, this one, and this one.
How to lunch like a boss.
If you’re looking to expand your classical music library, Rachel Barton’s new Elgar CD just came out. If you want something with a bit more edge, check out BMOP’s latest release (I’m on it!)
Do you have a favorite podcast? I’ve been listening to this one for a while now, and these sisters crack me up!
I’m heading to Florida in two weeks, and I love the back on this bathing suit.
I finally finished this book, and it was as good as everyone said it would be.
Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!
My February Reading List
Was one of your new year’s resolutions to read more? Because I can help. I have a thing that I do–a method, if you will–for reading more, and not getting stuck in a rut. I do realize that there is probably something seriously wrong with me. This obsession I have with structuring every thing I do, but I swear it works, and it makes reading more of a pleasure and less of a chore. Here goes. Ready? Nerd Alert: Read More
Winter in Bermuda
The plane tickets were on sale, the hotel room was cheap, and you desperately needed to get out of the snow. So, you booked a trip to Bermuda—dreaming of pink sandy beaches, turquoise waters and fruity drinks. Then you looked at the weather forecast before you started packing and instead of 80’s and sunny, you see day after day of temperatures in the 60’s and lots of clouds. Yep. Welcome to Bermuda in the winter. We are SUB-Tropical, not capitol “T” Tropical, and we DO have a winter. Bermudians won’t even go near the water until May the 24th (the National Holiday here) for fear of being freezing to death in the frigid ocean! (I, on the other hand, went for a swim on Christmas day, and was perfectly fine ;-). But I promise you, all is not lost. For you, weary traveler, I have compiled a list of my favorite things to do during the winter on this lovely island, which truly is “Bermudaful” any week of the year. Read More
The Secret to Having Discipline (also known as fake it ’till ya make it)
Growing up in the world of classical music, my life revolved around that word: Discipline. The fact that I needed it, whether or not I had it, my peers who obviously did have it, those sad, talented kids who just didn’t have it (“what a shame!”….) Every day of my life was measured in how many hours I had managed to get myself to practice. Did I manage 3? Or an epic, I-can-totally-hang-with-the-cool-crowd 5? Or did I sit on the couch and watch bad re-runs on TV while eating countless bowls of cheerios? In high school, I was surrounded by an incredible group of like-minded, talented friends. they were fiercely loyal, but also fiercely competitive. Any practicing my lazy-ass self ever did during that time in my life was purely to keep up with them. In college, I discovered that I had cultivated a bit of street cred for my ability to get up super early (I mean, 6 am–IN COLLEGE! I deserved a medal!) and get my practicing done. But even that was a matter of pride, rather than discipline. Once people started talking about the fact that I did it, I couldn’t very well STOP doing it, right? After college I went to the New World Symphony in Miami Beach for 3 years, and discovered other reasons to practice that had nothing to do with discipline. Ex. A) wanting to stay on the same work schedule as my ÜBER disciplined boyfriend. Ex B) knowing that if I practiced BEFORE our 10am rehearsal, the Music Director (my boss) would sit and chat with me while I had my coffee outside the hall.
And so, it wasn’t until I moved back to Boston and shared my first grown-up apartment with a non-musician friend that I learned of the true nature of discipline. Read More
Battling the 3 B’s….and Winning!
I loved everything about this past holiday season. I mean, remember this? We had our first real Christmas tree, my family came out from Chicago and the weather was perfect, and there was even an epic battle-to-the-finish Monopoly game. Paul and I had some great downtime, lots of walks on lots of beaches, and enjoyed plenty of fun and good cheer at various friends’ cocktail, birthday and new year’s parties. In short, it was pretty ideal. And now? Real-life has crept back in. This week brought us going back to work, a ton of cold, rain and wind, that horrible feeling of having to put clothes on that aren’t glorified sweat pants (and realizing that nothing fits anymore) and the shock of looking at one’s bank account statement. That’s right folks, it’s Read More
January 30-Day Focus: Blogging
I can’t believe I’m already on month 5 (F-I-V-E!!!) of my (year-long) 30-Day Focus Project, and I have to say, it has been an AMAZING experiment for me. The clarity I have found in identifying the 12 most important areas of my life has been profoundly helpful in improving my ability to make plans, decisions, and set goals for my work, my relationships and in basically every area of my life. I feel like I have accomplished more in the last 4 months than I have in the last 4 years! I’ve been announcing each one as they come, but here is the full list in case you’ve been curious: Read More
3 Things to Leave Behind in 2017
Hello, and welcome to 2018! I had a great time with my family here in Bermuda and it has been so wonderful to slow down, relax, and spend some quality time with friends.(and also my couch!)
As I mentioned in this post from last September, my life and my career more closely follow an academic (Aug-July) year than a calendar (Jan-Dec) year, but one can’t help but be swayed by the masses doing their yearly tallies and New Year’s Resolutions. I am a total sucker for a new start of any kind, and also for any and all forms of self-reflection. So, even though I feel as though this holiday time is merely a half-way point, it has been interesting to look at 2017 as a whole and figure out some highlights, as well as how I have grown over the last 12-months (starting with my hips, but that’s due to too many Christmas cookies!). I believe that as we grow as people, it is as important to shed past habits, thoughts and actions and consciously leave them behind, as it is to embrace the shiny newness of an adopted habit/job/family situation, etc. So here are 3 things I am choosing to leave behind with the rest of the 2017 detritus Read More