fantasy art and tree chatter of aquariann

"Look at me boy 'Cause I got you Where I want you Isn't it so exciting?" - Give It Up by Victorious Cast Last month I could barely contain my excitement when I stumbled across a press release in the Cape Gazette inviting anyone to participate in a flash mob at the 2013 Delaware State Fair. Michele Xiques (she directed the Pirates of the Caribbean ballet I raved about last year) and Gene Knowland from First State Academy of Dance choreographed a fun routine to a Victorious Cast song. The video was then uploaded to YouTube and I spent two nights playing and rewinding it to learn the moves. My spirits dipped when none of my friends were comfortable performing the dance in such a short amount of time, but I was determined to check it off my bucket list. Despite not knowing any other dancers, most of which were at least half my age, I was able to rock it out with the support of my parents in the crowd as cheerleaders and videographers. For those not used ...

"The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Once upon a time, a charming pirate courted a shy wench. They fell madly in love and eventually shared a ship, gold and even comic books together. After a starlit romantic engagement proposal , they eternally pledged to be soulmateys through low tide and high in a magnificent marriage ceremony. Yes, the fairytale couple above is Ogre and I! We're off to a wonderful start of living happily ever after. My favorite wedding photo was captured by a bridesmaid on her smart phone. I used it to design the above wedding postcard to mail as thank you notes.

As I was strolling across the Italy Bridge in Busch Gardens Williamsburg last August, a peculiar feeling crept down my spine as if I were being watched. Roses were twisted around the railings, and as I got closer, I spied eyeballs staring back. An eerie voice floated past, singing "the dark side of the gardens, there's so much you will find ... the only thing that you have to lose, is a little of your mind." Later that night I did some digging to find that the bridge was a preview for their Halloween event, Howl-O-Scream . And two months later, the Ogre and I went back to Virginia and immersed ourselves in the ghostly spirit. The park was a madhouse - it was nearly at capacity when we arrived around 3 last Saturday afternoon. We ended up in Bavaria, their farthest parking lot. Surprisingly, it didn't take too long to hitch a ride on the tram and get greeted by the Lady of the Gardens. In addition to the sculpture above, she was plastered on signs around the park that ...

Last night the Ogre and I got gussied up for the Dewey Beach Winter Gala. I haven't been to a formal dance since college, so I leaped on the chance when a co-worker offered free tickets. My giddiness has been growing by the day, especially after my mom gave me a shopping spree on Kohls.com for my birthday, and we found a dazzling purple dress on clearance for only $6. And it actually fit and made me feel glamorous, what luck! The fundraising event was extravagant, with two floors of live music, heavy hors d'oeuvres and flowing drinks. We started out in the Cove , grazing on an assortment of delicious cheese and meat trays and relaxing to the smooth sounds of the Comfort Zone jazz band. Then we went upstairs to the Baycenter, where three more bands played the main stage. The outer edges of the gigantic room was set up with a myriad of bars. The ice sculpture to the right was part of the oyster bar - the bartender poured vodka through the middle and into an oyster shooter. It wa...

Last week the Ogre and I bundled up and buckled on our holiday cheer at Christmas Town Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. I had never seen so many lit Christmas trees in my life, and o, thy candles did shine so brightly! The pretty lights, swell carols sung in several languages, and delightful scents wafting through the air would have made even the grumpiest Scrooge smile. This is only the second year Busch Gardens has transformed their amusement park into a magical winter wonderland. I hope they keep the tradition for years to come because it'd afford me the greatest glee to return. Bounce tickets with an online discount were only $48 for 3 consecutive days, and they included free parking and access to Colonial Williamsburg, which was also beautiful to explore. We were greeted by this giant snowman after we made our way through the entrance and a forest of blue lights. It's also where we discovered the first chiminea, thanks be to Noel. Fluttering toward the kerosene heaters plan...

Time has flown by in the blink of a diamond sparkle! It's hard to believe that it's been exactly a year since our adventure in Arizona, where Justin surprised me by proposing under the stars . The picture to the right was taken after I flitted into the hotel so I could see the ring glitter in more than moonlight. Life has been a whirlwind, especially this last month with combining our two houses into one home. We have a treasure chest full of ideas for our wedding, but no decisions on when or where to walk the plank - just that the special day be pirate themed! I already found a $50 gown fit for a queen wench. I won't even have to worry about wearing something blue because the fabric of the corset is a cerulean and golden yellow swirl jacquard. I can't show a photograph openly for fear of Ogre eyes, but just ask, and I'll whisper the link in an email. I can, however, share more images of Arizona landscapes and tourist attractions! To the left is the Days Inn courtya...

Happy Halloween, boys and ghouls! The studly demon to the right is Justin, gorging on the Witches' Brew Ale I bought him as a birthday gift. He so outdid me in planning costumes this year. Halloween crept up fast and had me rummaging yesterday afternoon for what to wear to last night's party. I borrowed a black and purple striped witch hat attached to a shiny violet wig and a silver hip scarf from my mom. I threw on a cape, midnight blue velour dress, and one of my many pairs of striped stockings. Then slipped on my sparkly silver shoes, and abracadabra - Wicked Witch of the East, before she got the house dropped on her, of course. The magical shoes were originally silver in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book , not ruby as they were changed to pop for Technicolor on The Wizard of Oz film . After my outfit was covered, it was time to concoct a treat to bring. I was inspired by a conversation I had Friday night at the 16 Mile Brewery's release party for thei...

Get up and shake your rump! That's right, today is the first National Dance Day , thanks to Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer of So You Think You Can Dance. The NappyTabs duo choreographed the routine below to let anyone celebrate the event, whether it be in a huge group or alone in a living room. I dance every day, even if it's just to practice my shimmy while brushing my teeth. I'm no professional - just a girl that likes to shake it like a salt shaker. I am thankful to have discovered two amazing women that offer classes in Delaware's Cape region, hip-hop with Sasha Westray and belly dancing with Viviana Matthews . Both styles are extremely fun ways to exercise and clear your head. If you haven't been enthralled by So You Think You Can Dance yet, you must get "outta your mind" and see my favorite hip-hop routine ever, choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon and rocked out by Alex and tWitch. Then follow my lead, because I'm getting out of thi...

The Steampunk Tree House has clawed its way to the Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, a mere three miles from my house. Contrary to how it surfaces in my daydreams, this 40' tall sculpture of metal and gears did not spring up from the dirt overnight. The tree was originally cultivated by Sean Orlando and over 60 other artists from the Five Ton Crane (5TC) group back in 2007. It debuted at the Burning Man music festival in 2008, and has been disassembled and put back together several times. It spent a lot of time in costly storage in between appearances, so when Dogfish Head agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to ship it from California to Delaware, 5TC sold the structure for only $1. After two weeks of heavy construction, the tree will now get plenty of sunlight and water in its new home. I was lucky enough to attend the "ribbon-cutting" ceremony on Friday, June 25th. It was smashing - and I mean that, literally - they swung a bottle of Dogfish Head Life & Li...

I've been a fan of Weird Al since I can remember. My earliest memory of his work is through his mockumentary, "The Compleat Al." Not sure what gemstone the copy I have crawled out from underneath - there aren't any commercials, but if I rewind too far, I'm subjected to Jane Fonda pelvic thrusting in an 80's exercise video. I'm surprised the VCR hasn't snacked upon the whole tape, actually - my friends and I did a lot of stop-rewind-replay during our favorite scenes. What child wouldn't find it amusing to see a goofy guy spastically dance around and launch himself chest first over a bar (from the Eat it video ) or toss an obviously fake replica of cute wittle Harvey the Wonder Hamster carelessly over his shoulder and into a wall (from his Al TV stint on MTV)? So when I read in the Cape Gazette that he'd be in Delaware on June 16th, flailing around on stage at this year's annual Comedy at the Beach show to benefit the Jefferson School and th...

The Saturday before Memorial Day, my parents and I journeyed to New York City. Instead of buying a smurf figurine at F A O Schwartz or gawking at the ferris wheel inside the Toys R Us on Times Square like I did during the last bus trip back in November 2008 , I held a human brain. You read me. There was a human brain. In my hand. Granted, it had went through a process called polymer preservation, so it wasn't gooey and would not have satisfied a zombie's hunger - but it was real. As were the rest of the over 200 human bodies and specimens that were displayed in Bodies...The Exhibition at the South Street Seaport. I didn't quite know what to expect when mom told me she'd found half-price tickets and wanted to go. She's a medical transcriptionist, so she gets paid to type about parts of the body I don't even know exist. My first non-Crayola colored pencils were thanks to an anatomy class she took when I was young. I've been meaning to study the human form in m...

Last Sunday my knight nobly saddled up the Mustang and drove me almost three hours to the Maryland Faerie Festival in Upper Marlboro. For once, the weather behaved for me. The first time we made the journey, back in 2008 , there was such a heat wave that several of the vendors got sick and went home early. Then last year it was pouring when we awoke, so I reluctantly stayed home and danced around the house in my fairy splendor instead. This year it was sprinkling in the morning, but the sun was bright and shining by the time we arrived. We stopped for lunch at La Fontana and devoured a sinfully delicious Sicilian-style pizza. That took a little longer than expected, but we flew in just in time to see most of the Faerie Fashion Show on the Honeysuckle Stage, which is where most of the photos in my collage are from. Unfortunately, being fashionably late meant I missed the Faerie Lore in Other Cultures talk by Featured Guest Artist Giovanna Adams . I did get to say hi to her at her bo...

Justin surprised me with flowers and Ghiradelli chocolates this morning. He'd hidden the flowers in the garage last night, then got out of bed before me and furtively rushed to arrange them into a vase. He revitalized tasty omelet leftovers from the Blue Ocean Restaurant for breakfast, so I awoke to a feast of food and flowers on the kitchen table. Instead of the traditional red roses, he chose a very pale pink and mixed them in with an assorted purple, white and red bouquet. They're so very pretty. I'm tempted to close the blinds, turn the heat up and pretend it's spring. Thanks to the icy roads this week, I didn't make it any further than Happy Harry's for his gifts. However, I was ecstatic to discover a heart-shaped box filled with Coldstone Creamery chocolates. That's right, they licensed their Chocolate Devotion, Peanut Butter Cup Perfection, Our Strawberry Blonde and Coffee Lovers Only flavors to Turin to cover in scrumptious milk chocolate. I also pi...

May your day be filled with love, sparkles and magic. Not too shabby for finally putting up our decorations yesterday, hmm? Still looks pretty whimsical for only having half a string of lights lit up around the tree. Next year I'll be better prepared! (I hope:)

Three years ago I had nearly given up on Prince Charming, convinced I'd soon have to adopt a clowder of cats and take pride in being a spinster. Then Justin came along in his blue Mustang (so much more comfortable to ride upon than a white horse) and swept me off my feet. Now I couldn't imagine my life without him. Loving each other forever was a given, but I still wasn't expecting him to propose last week. Perhaps I was overwhelmed by all the new and stunning scenery I'd seen adventuring through Arizona, but I didn't even have an inkling until he pulled out the ring and got down on one knee. We'd driven from Tucson to Flagstaff the day before. Going from dry desert and cacti to glistening snow and towering trees in a matter of hours was amazing. Even the temperature drop from 65 to 25 didn't cloud the trip. Unfortunately, due to the 26 inches of snow the day before that, the roads to the Grand Canyon were a bit too treacherous for us to attempt in our rent...

Last weekend I found myself at two events that attracted two polar opposite audiences - FaerieCon and ... an amateur MMA fight. Obviously I felt more at ease around the fluttering faes than the screaming beer-guzzlers, but both were quite fun in their own unique way. Saturday night Justin and I met his parents, my parents and three more friends in Harrington for Primal Fights ' first show, "Genesis." Thanks to Justin, many televised fights have served as background noise when my nose is stuck in the computer, but I'd never been to a live one. I certainly have more of an appreciation for the sport now. I may have been sneaking the pumpkin and dark chocolate chip cookies I baked earlier that day out of my purse instead of drinking beer and shouting, but I did a fair amount of clapping. And wincing, especially when one particularly bouncy fellow was flipped over and dropped on his head. I can't deny the experience was exciting. I'd go to another fight, as long as...

October leapt by in a streak of black and sparkle. Every time I even thought about writing a blog entry, someone would wave something shiny in my face and I'd pounce. There was the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, the LDAF Bling Ball, Zombieland ... not to mention several friends with birthdays, including Justin, whose gift I will be blogging about in the very near future because it is that super! Plus Baltimore Comic-Con and Halloween, which I must describe in more detail. October 11th and 12th was Baltimore Comic-Con, and instead of just going for a day trip this year, Justin and I made a much-needed 4-day weekend of it. We stayed at a lovely Country Inn near the airport. Their unlimited chocolate chip cookies and french vanilla cappuccino had me at hello. Friday night we went swimming and then relaxed in the hot tub. Saturday was a bit tricky getting to the convention center, as several streets were blocked off because of the Baltimore Marathon. Once we finally arrived, I was again...