Lo and Binary Star come to town.

Last week, my friend Lo (One Be Lo) and his boy Senim Silla came to town. Together, they make Binary Star, one of the best underground hip hop groups out. They just HAPPEN to be from Detroit, duh. I met Lo through my boy Rick Chyme whom you all have extensive knowledge if you read my blog.

So obviously, when I found out Binary Star was playing Boulder and Denver, I had to attend. They crushed the Fox. Amazing show. Lots of energy from the college crew. Cervantes in Denver was definitely a different vibe, but the boys put on a great show, none the less.

If you haven’t heard their stuff, you MUST check it out. If you consider yourself a head at all, you’re fucking up if you don’t know.

Here’s a sample :

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How cute is Lo, by the way? Don’t you just want to squeeze him. He may or may not sing a mean lullaby as well as churn out some intense lyrics.

Some random shots from the nights.

we should go here.

more lovely things from we heart it dot com.

will you take me here?

hearts. lots of them.

hearts. love is everywhere.

this site i like, we heart it dot com, has many amazing photos. i found these.

Nicole gets a tattoo.

Yup, sorry mom and dad if you’re reading this on my blog and I haven’t told you yet… I supposed it had to come out somewhere. May as well be on Nog.

So yes, three weeks ago I got a tattoo. Sure, I have a few other small ones littered around various parts of my body. But this tattoo, is what those in the tattoo biz call a “piece.” As in, it’s big. It covers a large portion of my right torso, ribs and back.

I love it.

I designed it in illustrator using some vector images I traced and added a quote from Francoise Sagan, my favorite French playwright and novelist. Wanna hear something funny? On the cover of Le Figaro, Fracois Mauriac called her a “Charming Little Monster.” I love it.

Anyway, this is one of her best known quotes and I just love it.

“I have loved to the point of madness, that which is considered madness, that which to me is the only sensible way to love.”

Gorgeous.

So, I tattooed it on my body.

My friends Joe and Zeb at Old Larimer Street Tattoo got me set up with Zach three Saturdays ago and he set to work. For three and a half hours. The good news is, I was able to stream the Michigan State football game while in the chair. So don’t worry my pretty little Spartans.

Tattoos on your ribs hurt. Also, tattoos near your sideboob and armpit hurt. Turns out, those latter two areas also tickle. A lot. I was half laughing half crying I think through those sections. Luckily, my friend Reed was there to document it all on my phone.

Video of my tattoo from nicole birkhold on Vimeo.

Zach did an amazing job. I’m stoked.

Adventures in Babysitting – Creative Car Washing.

Dear Nog fans, I’ve been MIA. My bad. I’ll do BETTER.

One of the reasons for my absence as of late has been the fact that I spent the past 10 days babysitting for Alexander and Zach DuPont while their parents were on vacation in Mexico.

After ten days, keeping two boys occupied takes a bit of creativity. Especially when these two boys have a hard time being outside. It was a beautiful day in Boulder and I HAD to think of something to get them outside.

Also, I needed to get my car washed. I figured I would give up on the boys and just get to washing my car myself. I can only do so much as a replacement mom to get their physical activity increased.

While searching through the garage for car washing supplies, I stumbled upon some water balloons.

*Cue proverbial light-bulb-over-the-head dinging.*

I filled a pile of water balloons with soap and water and another pile with just water and called the boys to come outside and throw them at my car. Soap balloons first. Water balloons second to rinse. Bam, two birds, one stone.

Needless to say, we got soaking wet and the cleanliness of my car is mediocre at best. BUT, we were successfully outside for almost two hours. I considered it a victory.

xoxo.