Beating December Blues

I don't know about you but December leaves me feeling cold, harried and I start to feel the onset of cabin fever. It seems to have escalated this year with the absolutely FREEZING weather. There are definitely the happy things like Christmas and all that comes with it but I thought I would share with you 6 things that are getting me through the holiday craziness and keeping a smile on my face.

1) James Tissot. I go through these time period phases. I find myself convinced that if I lived "back then" that's where I would fit. I would feel most comfortable there. I would find my true self. I know none of this is true but I seem to sometimes rationalize it. James Tissot is a French painter from the Victorian Era. His paintings are mostly of everyday life and they are beautiful. Just look at them and try not to wish yourself to another time. I dare you.

2) A Fine Frenzy's album Pines. I've always loved Alison Sudol. I think she is adorable and her music has always seemed really organic and sweet to me. Pines came out in 2012 and at first I felt it was kind of whatever BUT in recent weeks I've fallen in love. It's calming and simply lovely. Please check it out! Riversong is my favorite. I have it on in the background as I finish my final projects for school, decorate our house and quilt.

3) Keeping with the Sudol trend, I've been watching this video on repeat. It's called Lost Things and it's beautiful. I don't have much else to say about it except WATCH!

4) When I'm feeling particularly worse for wear, I watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For some reason watching Sara Michelle Geller fighting demons always makes my problems and frustrations about my lack of gift ideas seem particularly small. Unfortunately I've become a Buffy fangirl. My husband... has not. I'm hoping the more I watch it the more it will grow on him. Although I don't think it will.

5) Now I've just started this book called the Diviners by Libba Bray. I've always loved Libba. Her Gemma Doyle Trilogy changed my life. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through this new book and so far I love it. It takes place in 1926. My only warning is you might want to brush up on your knowledge of 1920s slang before you jump in... Sometimes I find myself having to look up meanings for things BUT I'm getting the hang of it.

6) Last but not least... ALL of our pictures are finally hung! Our apartment is starting to look... well like it's actually lived in. It makes me so happy to look around and see everything put together. I'm an absolute nutcase when things aren't put away.

Hopefully some of things things will help you chase the December blues away. If they don't, no stress. Put on some Bing Crosby and Nat "King" Cole and call it a day. Tomorrow just might be warmer!

Oh life...

If you're here for profound musings today, you have most definitely come to the wrong place. I've been settling into my new life and it's amazing to me how quickly I adjusted to wifehood (and let's be honest a tinge of parenthood) and living in a new city. I've also been thinking about how ill prepared I was for this whole scenario. Don't misunderstand me. I do not regret my life one bit! It's miraculous and marvelous and kind of magic. There are just some things I did not know that I wish someone would have shared with me.

1) You will gain weight. There are no ifs ands or buts. You will. You won't mind at first but then you will mind. A LOT. Probably when you realize your fat pants are getting a little tight. That's just what happens when you start cooking for two and something that makes four servings is divided in half. Thankfully my husband hasn't commented on my new "fluff" or maybe he likes my butt getting bigger. Who knows?

2) Combining objects and habits can be hard. Parker has this horrible picture of two raccoons. He loves it. I hate it. I wanted it no where near our apartment. I seem to have won that battle but trust me, there are others I lost. I'm kind of a selfish girl and I forgot that the apartment is our place to share. Parker will say that ultimately I make the decisions there BUT it took me a bit to realize that he should be able to contribute too... even if I end up with raccoons fishing on my bathroom wall. Also no matter how hard you beg, he probably won't put away the toothpaste tube... and that's the life you chose. Hopefully our problems stay toothpaste tube sized.

3) Compromising will happen a lot. Sometimes you want to have an adorable Christmas Card. Sometimes your husband won't agree unless you wear awful awkward sweaters. So you've got to settle for awkward. Fortunately for me, I love awkward and you end up with a lot of hilarious edits.

4) Finding couple friends is hard. That's all there is to it.

The point is, there are stolen sheets and arguments over raccoons but life is so happy. I've always said that you make your life, you forge the life you want. I'm loving mine. I married a dreamer... a sometimes grumpy and goofy and super adorable dreamer, but a dreamer nonetheless. I can't wait to see where we end up.
Thanks for listening.

Much love from my home to yours,

Sydney L Johnson-Alleman

Back to Utah

Hello Everyone!
I'm aware that you haven't heard from me for a while, so I thought I'd say hello! Isn't it just crazy how you think you are just SO busy and then you find a way to get busier? The past few months have just flown by. Parker and I have moved back to Utah and have finally (sort of) gotten settled in Cedar City. I feel like our apartment is still a work in progress. There is a lovely pile of photos leaning against the wall to be hung up and when people come over they get to see the half finished gallery wall and our 3 mismatched (in a pretty tacky way) dining chairs. We are certainly living the dream!

All joking aside, we really are living the dream. Cedar City is seriously one of the cutest places in the whole world. There is always something going on and the houses are darling. Parker and I have had the pleasure of going on hikes and other outdoor adventures. Unfortunately the temperature is dropping quickly and I'm living on tea and hot chocolate. I'm remembering why I love boot weather though! The smell of fall is one of the best smells ever. Apples, crisp leaves, pumpkin and coves. Oh and I love the feeling when you breathe in and the air is bright in your lungs. Truly wonderful.

When I started writing I was under the impression I'd post some Louisiana photos but now I'm feeling a little Autumny (not a word, but you get what I mean) so here are some photos of our Autumn Adventures!

At the beginning of October, we got to go to the vivint end of year party. In true vivint fashion, they booked the whole Energy Solutions Arena and had Imagine Dragons perform for us. It was super neat! I've never been a huge Imagine Dragons fan but the concert was a blast and it gave us an excuse to come home to see our family for the weekend, so double win! Vivint wasn't done with us yet though...

A few weeks ago we got a text and vivint was inviting us to go to Fear Factory in SLC. My adorable "little sister" Kylee came with us. She was so terrified. It was a pretty good haunted house and it was cool to be lead through an actual factory. Unfortunately we had these SUPER annoying little boys behind us that shrieked at everything. Overall it was super fun though.

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Scream at SUU a few weeks ago. Parker was a cowboy and I rocked the hippie thing. It was SO fun. They had a hypnotist and a mentalist and the DJ was great. We didn't get home til about 2 am... which was a novelty. Usually we are in bed by 9 and eat supper at 4 haha.

On actual Halloween we got to carve pumpkins and attend the ward party. We did a costume switcharoo. Parker was Seamus Finnagin and I was Rosie the Riviter. It was so fun! We got to meet a ton of people and load up on maple bars. It's been a pretty successful fall so far. I hope you are taking advantage of your own fall activities.
Much love from my home to yours!
-Sydney Johnson Alleman

Coney Island of the West...

Hello Friends!
I'm not sure what it is about my brain, but I seem to become fixated on topics or ideas and in some instances places. I'm rarely fixated for a short amount of time and the feelings tend to resurface pretty regularly. What I'm going to talk to you about today is one of those topics. The Great Saltair along the Great Salt Lake is one of my favorite places to go. When my family first moved out to Tooele, I remember driving past this strange building that looked like it was from another land and another time and being so confused! It's so strange to see this building along a barren beach. It always seemed a little haunting to me.

 

This is a view from behind the building.

 

From the first day I saw it I fantasized and speculated about it. I heard that people went to concerts and raves there, but that couldn't be the whole story, right? By the time I was a senior in high school I was pretty enraptured. I would drive out to the building and sit on the rocks and just look at it and the waves of the Salt Lake behind it. I'm not sure why the idea to research it hadn't occurred to me earlier (truth be told, I'm sure making up stories about it was probably more fun for me... until I started looking into it.) So here is what I know... with plenty of pictures so that you can get a good visual :)

 

 

The first Saltair was finished in 1893, about a mile up the beach from the Saltair we know today. It was built by some wealthy LDS investors and Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad company. The Railroad company was in charge of installing a trolley train to bring patrons from Salt Lake City to the resort.

People embarking the trolley.

 

The Saltair was just that, a resort, an amusement park, located at the end of a long pier. It was made to be a family friendly place, where your teenagers could go on dates and you wouldn't have to worry about them getting in trouble. Parents and children could go and enjoy floating on the lake or you could go dance in the main ballroom. There were live bands most nights and it was the largest dance floor west of the Mississippi.

couples dancing in the ballroom

 On the East Coast, Coney Island was being built. Saltair seemed to be the West's response.

ladies enjoying the beach at Saltair in the 1920s

ladies enjoying the beach in the 1900's

Post card 1901

 

Inside the current incarnation of the Saltair there is a gift shop. If you are ever at the venue I beg of you to stop by. They have several photographs of the original and in the center of the shop they have a huge replica of the original. It's incredible to see in person. Here are some photos I got at my last visit.

 

 

I've always thought that the detail was incredible and it must have been a massive undertaking to build. This was Saltair in its heyday. I wish it could have just stayed this way... frozen in time. I would have loved a place to go dance with my friends, to break hearts and maybe get mine broken. It's absolutely crazy to me that it's right in my backyard and most of the people in the region have no idea what it was.

 

So now we are in the 1920s, and Saltair gets to change (for the first but not last time). In April 1925 a fire consumes several of the buildings. The resort was then rebuilt and expanded by a different group of investors. This incarnation of Saltair is most often known as Saltair II.

 

 

This Saltair has a rollercoaster, a carousel, a ferris wheel etc. Swimming in the lake is still a big attraction.

a brochure from the late 1920s

 



 Unfortunately soon after they got it up and running, the Great Depression devastated America. Tragedy struck again in 1931, in the form of another fire that caused about $100,000 worth of damages and a drought in 1933 made the lake recede enough that they had to build a train system to get guests out to the water. The costs kept building up, but they limped through. The resort had to close during WWII mostly due to fuel rationing.  When they opened up after the war they still had problems. There were more entertainment options closer to Salt Lake City and no one wanted to go "way out there".

bathers in the 1950's

Saltair trolley and store front

funhouse

 

 

 

The resort finally closed in 1958. At that same time the train car also stopped taking people out to the lake. Over the next 12 years there were attempts to revive the resort but they were pushed to a halt when an arson fire was started in November 1970. The fire was started in the dance floor and destroyed what was left of the pavilion.

 

My friend, Madeline, and I decided last summer to find the original pilings of the lost building. Here are some photos of what we found.

 

 

 

 

It's so strange to think that this is all that is left. I sometimes picture myself as one of it's lucky patrons, going with Parker to dance late at night. I imagine us looking out over the lake and seeing the stars and the silhouette of the pavilion reflected in the water. In my mind there is just a picture of that moment and it seems so real.

 

ANYWAYS, I should probably stop dreaming and get us back on track! Now we are finally to the end... SALTAIR III. This is what most of us are familiar with today. It was constructed from a recycled airplane hanger in 1981 and is located a mile west of the original. It's been flooded al least once and now is a venue for concerts and raves. My close friends and I went to see Mumford and Sons perform there last August.

 

 

Alright, I have a couple more fun facts for you, before I go! Not long ago, while driving west on I-80 you could see 2 local landmarks on the side of the road. 1) being the train car that me and my girlfriends took advantage of on many a photo shoot... predominantly our decades photo shoot. Here we are looking very 1920's

 

 

 And now a little less 1920's....

 

 

This was actually the 502 train car that would take patrons out to Saltair, crazy right? The 2nd landmark was right next to the train car. from the inside it looked like this...

 

 

This was an original generator building for the resort. It helped power the rollercoaster among other things. Unfortunately this and the railroad car were torn down by the owner for safety reasons. I remember being absolutely devastated.

 

One last fun fact for my dear friends in Tooele.... What about this looks familiar:

Apparently Black Rock was a beach. Pretty cool, yeah?

 

Thank you guys for being apart of my history lesson. I think it is super important for us to appreciate the history of what is around us... and in this case at least be a teensy nostalgic for what we missed, and take advantage of what we are blessed to have.

 

 

Much Love from Baton Rouge!

-Sydney L

 

 

What's on my mind....

I've been in such a strange mood lately and I just can't find a word to describe it. I keep getting fixated on the things... silly things really but for some reason they all keep coming back. So I think I'll give you a rundown of "What's in Sydney's brain when she sits around a hotel room for a week"

1) Mary Blair. I feel like she is really always on my mind. She was a colourist for Disney for a while. Mary did concept art for Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella. She was also instrumental in the design of "It's a Small World" in Disneyland. Her use of colour has always inspired me and I think I could just look at her illustrations for hours. Here's a collection of my favourites...

 



(always gotta show some love to the gingers out there)

 

Hopefully now you can get a taste as to why I love her. Always my artist of choice. I love how playful they are. Pure perfection.

 

2) I keep picturing my home. Now, you must now, I don't actually have a home yet. Since being married my husband and I have slept in 11 different locations and my address is somewhere in Deer Park, Texas right now. So when I say "my home" I mean the ideal when we finally move to Cedar City. It's strange having all of this hope and all of these ideas with no where to actually make them a reality. I picture my small kitchen with white cupboards, my 1950's table surrounded by 4 orange mid century modern chairs. My favourite is our bedroom. A homemade quilt on the bed, an odd eclectic mix of pillows and a vanity. I wish you could see the vision in my head. It's quaint. The garden out back is perfectly weeded and there's freshly squeezed lemonade in the refrigerator. It's a place where you walk in and feel love. I feel like all homes should be that way.

 

3) Judy Garland. Similar to Mary Blair, I feel like she is always in my mind. There is something about her that is just plain adorable. I've been watching "Meet Me in St. Louis" and "Me & My Gal" on repeat. I feel like she is one of the most underrated talents in cinema. When you hear her sing you can feel it, down to your core.. which is something rare. I like to think we would have been friends, if we'd ever met. I'm in the middle of "A Star is Born" right now. I encourage you to check it out. My absolute favourite of her is called "The Pirate". Judy Garland + Gene Kelly + Pirates= the opposite of a wasted evening.

 

4) Disneyland. I want to be there. Probably everyday. I want to live in New Orleans Square. I would live on Dole Whip and gumbo in those sour dough bread bowls. Parker probably wouldn't stand for it... but a girl can dream.

 

That has been my thoughts the past few days... in a nut shell. There's one more topic I've been thinking about a lot but I want to save that for a different day. My cute husband just got home so I'm going to say good night!

 

xoxo

Sydney L Alleman