I know my posts about potty training get a hundred times more views than my posts about music, but today I just don't care. I'm a singer-songwriter-type, and I'm going to show you a new song. I used to really not like those lo-fi videos of people singing new songs in their basements. But guess what? I've changed my mind. I've been daydreaming of Scotland so much lately, and this new song is for an old friend: Nick Keir. For now the song is called "Once I Had."

Slainte, cheers!



P.S. Meant to have this up sooner, but my internet was crazy slow today! Sorry.

Last week I lamented about being sick while being self-employed. Today I shall whinge-first, then take action, regarding one more terrible plight of the solo entrepreneur: NO COMPANY CHRISTMAS PARTIES!

Of course, I of all people should be saying "Holiday" rather than Christmas, but "Company Christmas Party" just flows better. A few years back, I started throwing a little Christmakuh Party where I played music. It was super fun, so we are doing it again this year.

So, self-employed people of all ages, I invite you to the Self-Employed Holiday Party!

Wednesday, December 3
Great Flood Brewing Company
live music from me, @dancanon, and #stevecooley from 7p-9p

Of course, your company is responsible for buying drinks and snacks for its own employees. Sorry, my business is just Brigid Kaelin LLC, and that means hello-I-sing-and-write-for-a-living-aka-CASH-BAR! But the entertainment will be fierce and fun, and I shall bring cookies. You can bring your families.

Allow me to drift down memory lane to the three year period where I attended CBS company Christmas Parties. They never gave me health insurance, but they had open bar for a few hours once a year, which just meant that we young Assistant and Associate producers drank too much and then asked Mike Wallace to take group photos with us. He must have hated those parties. Ah, youth!

I've been sick this week. It's not been a debilitating illness though. To be honest, I've felt pretty good all week. The unfortunate part (for me, anyway) is that I've lost my voice. For a teacher and a singer, this is kind the worst. As a self-employed person, it is traumatic.

My new favorite place: The Little Clinic at Kroger.

I love it because it's cheap, easy, quick, convenient, and effective. But I also love it because it reminds me of life in Scotland.

Ah, Scotland's NHS... The house calls! midwives on bicycles! same-day service! free to all! I think my favorite part of all, however, was the sense of community. You see, I was free to register with any doctor I chose, so I, obviously, chose the doctors in my neighborhood. I would pop up the street when I was ill, wandering through the cobblestone streets by India Place and Circus Place (see photo!). So charming.

The Little Clinic isn't quite so charming, but it's just as effective. And isn't that what we want in a medical visit anyway? Outcomes? Health? We don't need to see the world's most preeminent ear canal researcher in order to prescribe antibiotics for a bad ear infection. We need someone with enough training to diagnose. It helps when said person is also kind and a fast-worker.

I, someone who rarely ever goes to the doctor, actually went to the Little Clinic on Sunday (they are open on Sundays!). Part of me regrets it because the diagnosis was "pharyngitis," which 1) I already knew I had, and 2) there's nothing to be done about it besides rest and hydration. But I'm also super glad I actually went to a medical office for myself -- I'm pretty sure I've only done that one other time in my adult life because it's so hard to get a same-day appointment if you're sick, not to mention how long you have to wait here, etc, etc. I'm going to stop talking now because I'm just getting all uptight about our wonky medical system in the US.

Anyway, long live the Little Clinic in Kroger! I'm glad you're there. I feel like I live in a real community when I can walk to the doctor/nurse practitioner's office. Also, I'm glad you're not a Starbucks (except now I want one of those red holiday cups).

It's a snow day here in Louisville! Ergo, I am searching David's company's job postings in Scotland, where there weather is better. In the mean time, I thought I'd re-print my favorite snow day activity for the little ones. I'd never heard of it until last winter, but it's pretty yummy.

Here's our recipe:


1/2 gallon snow ("not yellow or dirty snow," according to David, as if I was actually going to go collect yellow or dirty snow...)
1/2 cup sugar
2-3 tsp vanilla
a cup of milk


Mix it all together.

It's pretty good. To me it tastes like those strange milkshakes you could buy in the frozen food section back in the 1980s that you put in the microwave to prepare. Does anyone remember those? David thinks I'm making it up, but he's a few years younger than I am.

I took my 18-month-old to Europe for a month, and all we took was one carry-on suitcase.

I don't have a lot of useful skills, but I can pack like nobody's business. Travel is my forte, particularly airline travel. Road trips mean you can toss anything in at the last minute, no matter how lightly you are traveling -- a roll of paper towels, a huge bag of snacks, a few extra sweaters. Airline travel is different, and I love its limitations.

Remember that I am a professional musician, and I have traveled for months at a time, staying in everywhere from tour vans to couches to swanky hotels. I have picked up a lot of tips from my adventures, and lots of it is easy applicable to traveling with a toddler. I'm also not a zillionaire. I love public transportation, and I don't like pre-planned-vacation-packages. I plan out only what is necessary (plane tickets) and keep my options open. This means things usually go as planned because, well, there isn't much of a plan in the first place. 

Truthfully, all you really need is your passport and a credit card, right?

I'm working on another blog about sightseeing and other travel tips, but for today, I'm going to focus on packing.

A few bits of background info:

• We traveled from mid-March to mid-April in France and the United Kingdom.
• My kiddo was 18-months on the day we left Louisville.
• The weather averaged from mid-50s to mid-60s (a few days colder), so cool but mild.

Tips:

Our Ergo was the best thing I packed.

1. Think different when it comes to diaper bag. From a thrift store, I brought a turquoise hobobag with three large compartments. It doesn't look like a standard diaper bag, so it felt less frumpy on the streets of Paris (where everything can feel a bit frumpy compared to French women). It looks more like a purse than anything.
2. A small nylon backpack bag. You know what I'm talking about -- those little bags that are given away at fundraisers and such? I packed two of them, folded flat, for when I wanted a backpack or didn't want to carry the whole hobobag.
3. A baby carrier. When he was little, we loved the Moby, but we've been an Ergo family since he turned one. He can ride on the front or the back, and he sleeps in it. I wore him most of the trip, even though I had brought along a stroller too.
4. Ditch the stroller. I brought a stroller, and this was my big mistake. I did use it a few times, but I think in the end it was more trouble than it was worth. It was just a small umbrella stroller, but those wheels are horrible on the ancient and busy streets of Europe. The days where I just strapped him on my back were a lot easier for me -- even though he was 27lbs at the time. The Paris Metro is not stroller-friendly, having sometimes over 60 steps (yes, we counted them because every moment is a learning moment). We climbed Sacre Coeur with him in the Ergo, and it was spectacular. It was nice for talking and bonding because he was at eye level with me rather than facing the opposite direction in a stroller. Anyway, next time I might consider buying a cheap stroller once I arrived to a place I would be for a while. But I value my one free hand more than I value the stroller.
5. Lace underwear. Obviously, this was not a romantic trip, but lace underwear nonetheless. For you, not your kiddo:) I brought 5 pair, which is 2 more than my suggested minimum. Why? Lace underwear is easy to wash in a sink and dries very quickly.
6. Disposable diapers. We use mostly cloth diapers at home, but I tried not to think about the pile of garbage three times the size of Texas in the Pacific ocean and went disposable for this trip.
7. Only pack diapers for the first day. I only brought 10 diapers with me for flight. There are babies all over the world, so obviously you can buy diapers when you arrive at your destination.

Reusable stickers we bought at the airport.

8. Rent an apartment, not a hotel. Use Airbnb or VRBO or a similar site to find an apartment. Odds are it'll be cheaper, better located, and more equipped (read: a washing machine!) than any hotel.
9. Don't bring many toys. We brought two small toy cars (he was really into playing "WRECK!" at the time). At the airport, we bought a pack of reusable stickers. The newness of the stickers held his attention, and it didn't take up much room. You'll want to buy souvenirs on your trip anyway. Speaking of...
10. Check a bag on the way home. We bought a dufflebag from a thrift store, so we weren't worried about collecting souvenirs. We actually ended up bringing an entire Thomas the Tank Engine train set home that we bought used from the 7-year-old boy who lived in the apartment next door. (He also loaned us LOADS of great toys while we were there.)
11. Black or brown. More on packing clothes later, but choose black or brown. Stick to that color scheme when you are packing, and everything will match.
12. Wear your biggest clothes on the plane. I brought some knee-high boots. They would have taken up half my carry-on. Wear them on the plane. Yes, you have to take them off at security, but it's not a big deal. You're already the one with a toddler, so you're not in the Expert Travel line. I also wore my coat on the plane, which was good to use as a pillow/blanket while trying to catch some sleep.
13. Extra shoulder luggage strap. My hobobag didn't have a large across-your-chest strap, so I brought a detachable one. This meant I could strap my toddler in the Ergo, roll the suitcase behind me, place the purse/diaper-bag across my chest, and still have one hand free to roll the stroller (that I wish I had never brought). There is probably a way to strap the stroller to the carry-on without using duct tape, but we weren't able to figure it out (despite several attempts).

So these are my broad tips, but I'm also going to tell you exactly what I packed in our carryon and some tips on the actual folding, etc. Apparently people out there don't believe it's possible to travel for a month for themselves in just a carry-on, much less a toddler's things too. This blog is long enough though. When I finish the What We Packed blog, I'll post a link here. Now, start daydreaming about taking your next vacation.

Nice meals out can be, um, not really worth it if you are vegetarian. At the same time, David and I love, like love love love, sitting down to a luxurious and special meal. We still daydream about our hours-long evenings enjoying the tasting menus at The Number One in the Balmoral and The Kitchn in Leith.

" cranberries, bourbon-sorghum hoisin, almond brussels sprouts" from Marketplace in Louisville

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It's no secret that I hate shopping. It's also no secret that my "style" has always been: jeans + t-shirt+  boots. If I'm on-stage, change to dress + boots. I can't stand the magazines, and I'm just honestly not interested in fashion.

That said, I've felt like a slob lately. I teach preschool and toddler music classes and piano lessons, and I walk everywhere. That combination makes yoga pants or leggings so comfortably acceptable that, unless I'm onstage, that's all I wear anymore. I know it's unhealthy to compare myself to the moms who show up to my classes, but they really truly all look like they are so put together. I mean, they even have accessories on!

Recently my friend and favorite blogger, Joy, wrote about a personal shopping service on her blog. I loved the clothes they chose for her so much that I decided to try out StitchFix for myself. I'd heard about it before, but I wasn't ready.

You see, I don't spend money on clothes. I just don't. My clothes all come from Goodwill or my fashionable friend's hand-me-down bags. I've always felt that new clothes are wasteful for the environment and also for my budget. I've got "friends" who tell me it must be nice that I go to Europe every year I wish I had that kind of money. And I bite my lip and don't say what I'm thinking, which is: you spend more on clothes every year than I do on plane tickets. (Or substitute "clothes" for all the other things I go without: a car, haircuts, hair color, random Target trips, etc) Anyway, the point is that I've always made a conscious choice not to buy new clothes, so this StitchFix thing is a real leap for me.

My review? It was super fun, and my stylist did a great job. I don't think I would have picked out any of the pieces that "Grace" chose for me, but her choices weren't off-the-wall or anything. She browsed my Pinterest style board, which consists mostly of dresses I long for and a few boots and sweaters images I threw on there to show her that I sometimes wear things besides dresses. She also paid attention to my career -- the fact that I need nice clothing to wear both on stage (meaning I can get away with some sparkle or flash) and in the classroom setting or on a date night. She also worked in my request for comfort above all.

The box arrived on a Friday afternoon, when both my husband and I were working from home. This meant drop everything and have an immediate dress-up party! Between the two of us, he is the stylish one. He pulled each piece out of the box and had me try it on while he scratched his chin, nodding, and deciding which items I would keep and which would go back. (Not everyday is like a 7th grade sleepover at our house, I assure you.)

My favorite piece was a pink and navy shirt dress with some funky geometric designs. Had you said those exact words to me, I would never have believed I would like it. But a shirt dress? Perfect combination of slightly dressy, but super comfortable. I wore it on Friday night with some cowboy boots to the Loretta Lynn concert with my husband.


Black pants: These are the pants I have been looking for my whole life. I live in jeans or leggings. These are casual enough to wear anytime, but they have just enough design/interesting cut to make them look waaaaay nicer than leggings. It'll be an easy way to dress up my go-to casual outfits, and help me out of my leggings rut. KEPT.

Thicker than leggings, but servers similar purpose.

This detail is what differentiates them from leggings.

Burgundy shirt: I would not have noticed this shirt at all in a store. It's dull, to be honest. But it's both casual and nice enough to wear out with the right accessories. The color is neutral, so it goes with everything. And the fit is super flattering -- it hides my cookie stomach, which is probably a good thing. Out of the box, it was my least favorite thing, but having owned it a week now, I've already worn it twice. So I guess I like it.
















Paisley kimono: I love that it goes with the burgundy shirt and the trousers. I love that it's lightweight and has a pretty pattern that is just spicy enough to spruce up my otherwise boring outfit choices. I'm still experimenting with how to wear it (do I let it drape and keep it open? do I put a belt around it? I just don't know!), but it's a winner.









Brown tunic: I'm going to have to fight hard to keep this from becoming my new uniform. The color choice is great (despite my lifelong desire to be a "winter," I am most definitely an "autumn.") and it goes with everything. It's long enough to wear with leggings if I really wanted to, but also looks great over jeans. I also really like that the front is slightly shorter than the back. That detail keeps it from looking like a frumpy 1980s bad knitting job.









When asked about my budget for clothes, I definitely said that I would prefer "the cheaper, the better," so I'm assuming they could have sent me much more expensive items. Still, the five pieces were a total of $214 (I got a 25% discount because I kept all the pieces.), which is so much more money than I ever spend on clothes that I am shuddering and having major buyer's remorse as I sit here and type those numbers to you. But I also know that I am 36 years old, and maybe I should actually own some clothes that were chosen just for me and didn't come from my friend's closet. I have put my StitchFix on hold because there is just no way I can justify spending that much on clothes several times a year. I may be a once-or-twice-at-the-most-a-year customer because, again, I'd rather buy a plane ticket... But it is a really useful, helpful, and good service. I'm hard to shop for, so I was pretty impressed.

Anyway, you are under no obligation to keep any of the clothes they send you -- they even include a self-addressed stamped package envelope to mail anything back that you don't want. David said they all looked great on me, so I kept it all. I'm not sure what I would have done had he not been there to prod me towards buying something nice for myself. I think the guilt would have won over, and I would have sent it all back. Well, I might have kept that shirt-dress. But anyway, it's a cool service, and I will likely use it again.

For the record, StitchFix didn't ask me to write about this, and I didn't get anything for free, I assure you. I do get a referral perk, however, if you click on my StitchFix link. So maybe if enough of you sign up, I'd get enough of a discount to try another box ... and next time I might actually put pictures of me in the clothes rather than just hanging on the door. But, hey, I don't own a full-length mirror, and I'm terrible at selfies. Next time?

Oh dear sweet eight pound six ounce baby Jesus, the November Anthropologie catalog has an accordion player on the cover and the entire look book is set in the Hebridean Islands, specifically Islay and Jura, and now I want to live inside of it. I want to live in this sweater and this coat, while drinking this whisky. Just look. Just look. Just LOOK:

Anthropologie: Away We Go - Islay & Jura from Anthropologie on Vimeo.

I know, I know, Anthropologie is just Urban Outfitters for women with health insurance, but STILL. I am completely mesmerized and sucked in, and November's catalog is just too much for me to handle.

I must now distract YOU with cute pictures from Halloween before you get sucked in and start buying sweaters (all sweaters are 20% now which makes them almost reasonably priced! look away, look away!):


David and I went to a party as Jess and Nick from "New Girl," which was hilarious to us because we recently binge-watched it on Netflix. No one else knew who we were, however. One person did guess Zooey Deschanel correctly -- I think it was the false eyelashes that clued them in. Most people just didn't recognize me and thought I was a random hipster girl who didn't wear a costume. Anyway, it was easy enough to get a brown wig, and I already have a propensity for Anthropologie dresses and cardigans:
The Wee Boy went as an elephant -- a costume we found in a box of hand-me-downs while digging through looking for a coat. It was pretty much immediately his favorite thing ever. Check out how cute the Scottish elephant wrangler is:


Our amazing neighbor, Rebecca, surprised the Wee Boy with a Dragon costume which he also adored (though you can't tell that from this photo, oops). He wore this costume to the preschool parade. It has a tail. Ridiculous:

I made the mistake of letting the Wee Boy browse Pinterest for jack-o-lantern ideas, and then I had to draw this cat or the world was going to end. Turns out I'm pretty good at drawing cats on pumpkins though, so I was pretty pleased:

I think the most annoying thing about Facebook is how many people whine and whine whenever Facebook makes a change. Remember when they shifted to the "Timeline" and you couldn't scroll through a feed without someone (maybe you) screaming, "I HATE TIMELINE! DELETING MY PROFILE!!" 

Goodness, people, relax. Change is what moves us into the future. I know, I know, it's not always good, but we have to try to improve our lives. You don't have to be an early adopter, but maybe try something before you freak out?

Here's what's up: The Mama's Hip Facebook Groups are closing and being removed from Facebook, by choice. They are making a move to a private online community, away from not-so-private Facebook, to a private, safe online place with an easier search function and an easier way for the admins to moderate. They are also suggesting you pay for this better service (although no mama will be turned away because she can't afford it) because it's really, really expensive to design and maintain a website as sophisticated as this one one they've created.

I tell you this not because I happen to teach classes at Mama's Hip. (I'm not actually an employee there, and I don't want to speak for anyone who is.) I tell you this because you might be a new mom out there who is too introverted or too tired to leave the house. And you need community. You really, really do.

The choice to move, as I understand it, is not about making anyone rich. Even if all 3000 members from the Facebook group pay (they won't), I suspect the admins would still not even be making minimum wage. The admins of the current Facebook groups have volunteered thousands of woman-hours to moderate and extinguish the fires when they started. Volunteered. For years.

This isn't about a business owner trying to exploit anything or anyone. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme. It's about buying local and supporting each other and the community that one mom created from nothing. Facebook doesn't need to make money off us (we are the product, remember?), but it might be nice to help pay for the electricity bill at Mama's Hip.

You know what? I hope it takes off. I hope everyone pays twice what she's asking ($3/month or $25/year SO CHEAP), and I hope the actual employees can maybe afford to take a paid vacation or something crazy like that.*

As a business owner who gets asked to donate her services for free all the times (three times in the past seven days, in fact), I understand that people don't always value the time and energy we have put into our services. But if you're whining because you have used the Facebook group for years, and you love it, and you can't believe this change is happening, please think about what you're supporting before you start defaming the staff and its grand vision. It's about community, not profit. But, also, it's nice to have heat in the winter. (Trying really hard not to digress into diatribe about musicians constantly being told, "It's about the art, and you should do it for free." Yes, and again, it's also nice to have heat in the winter.)

I, for one, am really looking forward to exploring this forum. It takes much less time out of my day because I'm not on Facebook, ergo I don't get distracted by Facebook. The layout and search functions are the new site are better, you can create an anonymous profile if you are worried about privacy, and the moderators don't have to deal with Facebook trolling drama.


*If you can't afford the forum, there will be a free option available in a few weeks. No one will be turned away. Also, if you're borderline should-I-pay, maybe think about what value you get from the Mama's Hip Forum the next time you are in the Target dollar aisle, and consider if it's worth more than that chicken hat.