NEWPORT OR BUST (2k10)

a'right, kids! jess and i are awaiting the arrival of mr. ryan and then the lot of us are all roadtripping it down to the happiest place on earth (aka newport, rhode island) for the 51st annual Newport Folk Festival.

i am excited for the following reasons:

1) i am officially interviewing my favorite band of all time.

2) i am going to dance like a crazy person to the sounds of my newest favorite band (dawes) and another tried and true favorite that i'm so stoked to see again (sharon jones and the dap kings).

3) i am going to somehow find a bonfire dance party tomorrow night. this will happen.

4) quality time with partner-in-crime jess hodge and cristina (who will be working the festival on behalf of honest tea! yeeeeah!)

5) peach cream cheese muffins; fried clams.

6) REALLY GOOD MUSIC, YOU GUYS.

i'll be blogging the big show all weekend at WeeklyDig.com and Jess' photos will be up there too, so bookmark it and come along with us for the ride, kids.

see you monday.

X H

"do you want me to come over?" the answer is always yes.

this lady has the right idea. bed, paris, gazillion thread count sheets, bliss.

(photo courtesy of one of my favorite blogs on the planet, so much to tell you. (hey, girls - if you want a pen pal in boston you got one!))

has your body ever just given up on you? lately, i feel like it's absolutely the hardest thing in the entire world to just get out of bed. i just want to sleep and sleep and sleep and sleep. maybe it's the heat, and maybe i'm not getting enough nutrients, and maybe i'm not working out as much as i should be, but whatever it is i'm just tiiiiired, man. the past couple of days have just been about tea and naps and getting work done on upcoming Dig features, so maybe i just needed a little down time in order to recharge my batteries and get centered.

on a high note: THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL IS THIS WEEKEND! old school favorite/photographer extraordinaire jess hodge and i will be heading down to newport friday morning for three days of beach, spooning with my aunt's puppies and music music music music. i'm excited for folk festival #51 for the following reasons:

+ saying hey to the festival/fort adams staff. they're all awesome and in such a good mood.

+ seeing edward sharpe and the magnetic zeroes, dawes, the low anthem, the david wax museum, sharon jones and the dap kings and, obviously, the Avett Brothers (duhz all around) right on the waterfront. absolute heaven.

+eating my weight in peach cream cheese muffins from the ocean breeze cafe. these muffins are magical. i kid you not. they are the most delicious breakfast pastries known to man.

+quality time with some favorite people. i'm thrilled that jess and i will be teaming up on this one, but i'm also stoked that ryan, sean, schluter, cristina and a few other friends will be either covering/working/attending newport this year. shenanigans on thames st should be plentiful indeed.

in other news, i've been listening to that black keys album and florence + the machine like crazy. i don't even care that that godawful lookin' eat pray love trailer yoinked the single from flo's debut, that album is glorious. and hey, it's been making me feel better lately. that's something!

the happy list, "tea and blankets on a sunday morning" edition.

well, last night was silly.  there was whiskey.  i'm watching sex and the city reruns from the dependable couch fort and i'm thisclose to ordering new moon ondemand before throwing on rumpled jeans and going to dinner with dan, nick and los before hitting up the beach house show at the paradise tonight.  sunday afternoon, it could be love.

anyways, here's a brief update/latest incarnation of the happy list.

- one of my career goals as an aspiring journalist?  write a story for The Boston Globe.  what happened last tuesday? a feature i wrote ran in the Boston Globe's arts & entertainment section.  as i knew i would be in austin covering SXSW for the Dig anyway, i pitched an article to the Globe's A&E editor and he took my story.  result: a two page 1,000-odd word feature on notable sets by boston talent at SXSW.  the response to the article was so encouraging and overwhelming and to everyone who commented, called, texted, emailed, or simply pressed the thumbs-up "like" button on facebook, thank you.  i'm such a lucky person.  i'm going to post a bunch of my favorite photos snapped by the insatiable jess hodge and mikey basu, who are two of the most talented and professional photographers i've ever had the pleasure of working with, but in the mean time here are two silly ones of me in austin -

there was a cupcake truck.  the girl gave us free cupcakes because we ran across the street and grabbed a red bull for her when she was in need.  red velvet elicits this reaction from me, always.  (also: the chocolate cupcake to the left, covered in cream cheese frosting, was dubbed "the michael jackson." omg.)

this one was snapped by mikey in between shows.  i was sitting down for maybe like 30 seconds throughout our entire time at SXSW and he caught me.

- last night, one of my favorite local bands (and three of my favorite people in general), static of the gods, had a FANTASTIC cd release show at tt's.  it's really something special when you get to know a band, and you follow 'em for a bit, and you become friends, and you write about 'em a couple of times, and they put out a CD that's just absolutely amazing and that you can't wait to burn a copy of for everyone you've ever met.  knowledge machine is such a great album.  if you haven't picked it up yet, do so asap. jen, ben and mike, you guys were so amazing last night!  and thanks for the falafel palace pit stop and the ride home :)

- i made quinoa for the first time last night.  GREAT SUCCESS.  i went grocery shopping at wilson's farm yesterday, as i've been doing for the past month or so, and to say i came home with a bounty of goodness would be fact.  the quinoa, fresh spinach, fresh goat cheese, organic baby brussel sprouts, fresh blackberries, farm fresh milk, farm fresh eggs... foooooodgazm.

- los' birthday is next friday!  there will be funfetti and togas and kickball and people eating funfetti while wearing togas and schooling each other in kickball.  can't friggin' wait.

- i'm so excited about future pieces i'll be working on over the next three months.  there are such exciting things in store.  it's nice to have something to look forward to :)

soooo there you have it.  gotta brew another cup of tea and make some delicious food and watch rpatz be all sparkly and whatnot.

X H


ps:  oh hey!  i launched my website.  sort of.  it's in the "coming soon" stage right now.  major thanks to the lovely jsutt and her design savvy :) - http://www.hilaryjanehughes.com/

i turned 24 and it was lovely.

(this is the famous key necklace found in shoreditch while i was in london last month, by the way.

it's my new favorite thing.)

this weekend, it's all about blogging/detailing the crazy things i've been up to since the beginning of november. i PROMISE. i will not neglect OH HEY! any longer. i promise i promise i promise.

in the meantime, these are shots from my 24th birthday party, which was an 11-hour marathon of goodness that started with brunch and ended with dinner and manhattans at trina's with a homey dance party/sit indian style on hil's floor and drink narragansett and sing party in between. i wouldn't have had it any other way. it was perfect.

the photos are all by jess, one of my oldest and dearest friends and my partner in crime/photographer for SXSW this coming march. [that's a sneak preview on the "what i've been up to" front.]

in other news: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYA! you're one of the best friends a girl could ever hope to have. i can't wait to dance my face off with you and los and cristina and a bunch of our other favorite people tonight in honor of you you you!

X HIL