vagabond creative society

Friends.

Hello there.

I want to tell you about one of the projects I've been working on behind the scenes of Suaviloquy.

Mindy Gledhill and I decided that our trip to Morocco last year was such a big success we really need to do it annually.

We have been working together with our husbands, to form our new partnership, Vagabond Creative Society.

Our mission is to inspire people to tap into their own brand of creativity and use that creativity to life fuller, happier lives.

We have planned our next creative retreat for April of 2014.

Vagabond Creative Society presents:

The trip we are planning is going to be amazing. We have incorporated a service project this year that we are really excited about. We will also be spending a couple days on safari and meeting with the Masai people. We will have workshops and shopping and all the the fun of being on the beach.

Please check out our new website. If you are interested in joining us in April, please send an email.  Registration opens today. Space is limited.

casbah creative magic

I thought I'd ease back into this whole blogging thing with a simple slide show of our trip to Morocco.  This trip was a long time in the making and I'm happy to report that it far exceeded my expectations.  Everything about it was pure magic.

Casbah Creative from April Meeker on Vimeo.

If you are interested in participating in a trip similar to Casbah Creative in 2013, please send me an email and I'll add you to the interest list.

morocco in october? i think yes.

Happy Monday! Yes, I am happy it's Monday. Back from vacation, back to routine. It feels very good.

While I was in Utah, Mindy and I meet up to discuss our trip to Morocco in October. We are super excited about this adventure! We still have some spots left so if you are thinking about it, just know it's going to be the trip of a life time.  The workshops are going to be super fun and diverse. And she doesn't know it yet, but Mindy will be performing a little private concert for us during our henna tattoo party at dusk on the rooftops Peacock Pavilions.  Can you just imagine it? *Swoon*

Here are all the details. Payment is split into three installments, to make it a little more affordable for everyone. Please note: you won't be able to view this brochure on a iphone. You will need to look at it on your computer.

winter moon

Thanksgiving is over. The flood gates are open people.

Christmas music will fill my house until December 26th.  My husband doesn't understand it. I can't say I really understand why I love Christmas music so much.

I guess if I really think about it, I'd have to say that music has a huge impact on my life. It sets the tone. It can cure a nasty mood. It can make me cry. It can lift me out of myself into higher realms.

It makes it feel like Christmas.

And here I am with a good friend like Mindy Gledhill who just released an entire Christmas album.

Well shucks. That just makes the whole season more merry.

Do you know much about Mindy? She's lovely.

Mindy and I have done projects together here and there. I did illustrations on her Anchor music video. She has sung at Spark the last two years. She came to my house and did a concert in my backyard for a benefit party. And then there is Morocco next year. That's going to be, well, a dream.

I have a Winter Moon album to give away to kick off the giving season!  Leave a comment, and your favorite Christmas song (I'm building this year's play list and I'd like new songs). I'll pick a random number on Friday and ship it out to you!

woodland wonderland party

Last summer the Boy came tearing into the house like a bat out of hell screaming about a bird in the garage. So I went to investigate. Sure enough, a humming bird was sitting on the windowsill dazed and confused.

I gently cupped the tiny bird into my hands and we took him out into the daylight. We held our breath as he sat on my palm trying to get his barrings. He was blue and green with sparks of bright red and he looked like a jewel all shiny and bright.  We slowly let out our breath and just like that, he was gone.

Thom and I stood with our faces to the sun looking at the tree tops to see if we might just catch a glimpse of him one more time and contemplating the miracles of nature.  It was one of those moments when you know you have been given a gift and you want it to last just a little bit longer.

This past weekend felt a little like that moment.  Mindy Gledhill fluttered into my backyard on Saturday afternoon and proceeded to practice her music with her guitarist Joe.

Amelie played and danced on the patio.

I was upstairs sitting at my vanity, listening to Mindy sing, trying to apply eyeliner and crying it all off. Such was my disbelief at my good fortune.

bubba-loo

bubba-loo

bubba-loo

bubba-loo

The guests starting arriving at five.  They bought raffle tickets. They mingled and talked and munched on appetizers.  Dinner was served buffet style.

The sun set and we turned on the lights.  Ben had strung market lights above the tables and they looked amazing twinkling like they tend to do.

And then Mindy sang under those lights, in a vintage dress, with her hair in a braid and her heart on her sleeve.  Her voice floated high above the lights, and out into the darkness. Who knows how many ears she reached?  Mothers putting their babies to bed? Friends sharing an evening on the back porch? Lonely souls?  One can't really say.

But I will say this: I will never forget that night.  It will be in my memory during my last days on earth and I will be glad that I put forth the effort to make it happen.

Thank you to all my friends that helped. You know who you are. Please call in a favor soon. I hate to be in anyone's debt.

Thank you to all my guests. You were extremely generous and because you were, we will be able to give our family in need a big helping hand.

Thank you Kelly of Bubba-loo for snapping some pics at the party so these here blog folk can have a looksy.

bubba-loo

bubba-loo

And Mindy- girl, you flew away too fast for my liking, but I will be looking towards the sunshine, watching every little thing you do.

tomorrow

photo by Raymond Meeks

She's coming. Tomorrow Mindy Gledhill will sing her beautiful, magical songs in my backyard and hopefully we will raise a hefty amount of dinero to give to a family that lost their daddy last July.

I'm excited. Can you tell????

I have dreams of people coming from all over like on Field of Dreams, drawn in by Mindy's voice.  She's gunna be like the the pied piper of my neighborhood I just know it.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

last call

Okay guys. This is the last call for those Southern California peeps who want an invited to the benefit dinner with Mindy Gledhill on October 9th.  She will be performing songs from her new album Anchor.  We are asking for a twenty dollar donation per couple that will go to help a family who lost their father last July.

If you want an invite, you need to contact me asap with your address and I will send you an invite.

the project

Simply put, I think that Mindy Gledhill's new album "Anchor" is the best album I have heard in a very long time.  I used to wait with baited breath for Ben Folds to release his albums. Then more recently I have been anxious for Ingrid Michaelson to put out new stuff.  I had a short love affair with The Weepies and Josh Ritter still makes me sway, but lately, more often than not, you can find me driving car pool, singing along with Mindy at the top of my lungs.

So imagine, just imagine, what I said when she asked me to do some illustrations for her music video.

Hell to the yes. That's what I said. And oh. my word.

After waiting for what seems like forever, I finally get to reveal this little project that has been like pink frosting on my life.

With a cherry and sprinkles. You know the ones. I think they are called nonpareils, which is a French word, so they must come from France. The tiny colorful ones, but, oh just watch the video.

Thanks Mindy, you make my world that much better by being you.

You can purchase "Anchor" and the rest of the album on iTunes, or buy the CD here.

mindy's music

I have a friend. Her name is Mindy Gledhill. She is lovely in every way. Mindy is an indie singer/songwriter and a mother. I think that pretty much makes her Wonder Woman.

Yes, I checked the Official Super Hero manual and she definitely qualifies for Wonder Woman status. And here I sit, stuck in Etta Candy status.

Mindy's new album is going to be released in one week. I am lucky. Mindy sent me one in the mail early. I know, don't hate me. Just let me feel special for a week okay?

So I opened my mail box and there is was. I raced into the house like someone might jump out at any minute only to tackle me to the ground and steal away with my precious package. It was all that I knew it would be. I danced barefoot in my kitchen with my babies. We twirled.

Mindy's music makes you feel that something magic might happen at any minute. It's like looking up at speckled light shimmering through swaying branches. I think my heart actually leaves my chest and flutters around the room when I hear Mindy sing.

Mindy's album release concert is August 2nd. If you live in the Provo, Utah area, get your hiney to the Covey Center for the Arts at 7:30. I do so wish I was going. Just a bit far for me to go on a Monday night.

But nevermatter. I'm one of the special ones. I got my CD a week early.

If you want to experience the happiness that is Mindy Gledhill's new album, click on over to her blog and you can listen to the entire CD.

Thanks Mindy, for being Wonder Woman so the rest of us can feel a little magic in our mortal lives.