Monday, January 31, 2011

an early taste of spring

Ahh! First experience with polyvore.com. I feel lame for not knowing about this site earlier. Anyway, I'm thinking this spring/summer will be the seasons of coral and navy blue for me. I've placed a temporary ban on myself from buying cardigans. I have too many, and it is starting to get nerdy. For the record, I bought all this on a complete whim. It was a last-minute shopping trip limited to a couple hours to find the perfect outfit for engagement pictures. I found two pairs of jeans in addition to everything shown below. MAJOR SCORE.



Monday, January 24, 2011

the covers list

...because I haven't made one yet! Discovered a really great cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" (you can listen here) on tumblr today. Well, "really great" coming from someone who is already a huge Ani DiFranco fan. But I am generally a fan of covers all around as long as they don't suck and ruin the original. I love it when talented artists make their own interpretations of what is already good. So here is my list, in no particular order, of some of my favorite covers.

1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -Nirvana/Tori Amos. I know, I know, all my lists have to include Tori Amos. But seriously, a Nirvana song being performed by a girl on a lone piano? I promise, you'll see the song in a whole new light. Or at least I did.
2. "Oh Father" -Madonna/Sia. Case of the cover being better than the original.
3. "Real Love" -John Lennon/Regina Spektor. I just love Regina Spektor, that is all. Purchased this song off the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur album.
4. "Bizarre Love Triangle" -New Order/Charlotte Martin. I love a good 80's song, and this cover=amazing.
5. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" -Pearl Jam/Charlotte Martin. At this point we're seeing a pattern of my love for acoustic piano performances of 90's rock songs. Crazy how it completely changes the mood of the song.
6. "Bitches Ain't Shit" -Dr. Dre/Ben Folds. Ben Folds = genius. I love listening to this song in my car. haha.
7. "Free Fallin" -Tom Petty/John Mayer. Great, simple cover of a great song.
8. "Jolene" -Dolly Parton/The White Stripes. I think Jack White has a thing for old female country singers...?
9. "Where Is My Mind?" -The Pixies/Yoav. First heard of Yoav when he opened for Tori Amos. (Somehow, it all goes back to Tori amos, doesn't it?) This is a very trippy, weird version of Where is My Mind...but, that's kind of fitting.
10. "Come Talk to Me" -Peter Gabriel/Bon Iver. Love Peter Gabriel and this song. Love Bon Iver and love the banjo. A combination of all four, FTW!

Well, that's my strange little compilation...anyone have some favorites you'd like to share with the rest of us?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

currently loving

I give you...the bubble scarf:



LOVE this look. I happened to find this exact one for $14 from the lovely Hooks & Hammers shop on Etsy. (and it looks even prettier in person, which tends to be the case with etsy items) If you are interested, I recommend just searching "bubble scarf" and seeing what pops up. so much etsy goodness!

My impulsive and highly ambitious next purchase was the pattern for said bubble scarf. I know enough to sit for long periods of time and make the same crochet stitch repeatedly, but so far I've lost my patience with trying anything else. Maybe someday, though.

Friday, January 14, 2011

I hate healthy...or, we don't seem to get along anyway.

Not really. I would love to be healthy. The idea of eating quality, healthy food really sounds good to me. I'm just not so good at the follow-through part, which I guess is the excuse most people use.

Unfortunately, I don't do well with things like Weight Watchers. It boils down to a black and white issue. Weight Watchers gives me too much freedom. They say, "why yes, you can have potato chips - but just three." Well I can't just eat three. I end up throwing my hands in the air and saying, screw this, I'm eating however many potato chips I want! I think what I *need* is a strict plan. Black or white. Yes or no. None of this "well, you can have HALF a cookie" business.

On top of that, I don't just want to limit my intake of the junk I already to eat. I want to cut it out. Which is why I think I need something drastic. Drastic is probably going to involve more time and money, but health is a worthy cause. Now I have to find a plan.

Although I'm not sure how healthy this is (actually, I'm pretty sure it isn't at all), I like the idea of Gwyneth Paltrow's detox diet. I mean it's pretty black and white. Down-to-the-minute play by play of exactly what you can and cannot have. That's what I'm going for. I need extreme.

It would also help if I was capable of cooking, which is why the word "easy" is a big factor in all of this as well. I think it's coming down to something like Nutrisystem...but really, I don't want to resort to frozen meals. :/ Something I actually have tried? A vegetable soup diet. Worst. Thing. Ever. I thought I was going to pass out at the end of the second day.

As far as working out goes, I'm considering hopping on the local YMCA bandwagon. A Planet Fitness just opened up right down the road from me, but I like the classes that the Y offers. Whether or not I will actually ever attend one is a different story.

This is why I never make New Year's Resolutions.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

I Hope This Gets To You

So I just mentioned Sarah Jaffe in my previous post...I "liked" her facebook page, and she introduced this music video (evidently from her cousin's band, The Daylights). I am really loving it (good things all around coming from Sarah Jaffe!)..although I think the video is kind of weird. but I usually like weird.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

better live.

I think as a general rule, it's safe to say that music is better live than recorded 99% of the time (barring that the band/artist doesn't suck). So, with a couple of the iTunes gift cards I was given for Christmas, I went on a bit of a live album spending spree!

Since I've been on a Ben Folds kick, I decided to buy Ben Folds Live. SO good. Just Ben Folds and the piano. Love it. Not to mention, he is a freaking genius. I recommend this album for anyone who is a fan. My favorites right now would be "Emaline," and "Jane."

I'm an Avett Brothers newbie (sadly, the only song I knew when I saw them at MerleFest last summer was "I and Love and You), and just bought I and Love and You (the album) a few weeks ago. I literally cannot stop listening to it. They are amazing. So I went ahead and bought The Avett Brothers Live, Vol. 3. Favorites are "When I Drink" and "The Ballad of Love and Hate."

And FINALLY...I got around to buying Snakes and Arrows Live from Rush. I am really starting to get into them...which I think is a result of seeing the documentary "Beyond the Lighted Stage" (which I've actually watched three times). They are a seriously talented group, and I find it pretty amazing that they've remained together for all these years. In fact, they are going to be in Greensboro in April and I'm definitely considering forking over the $90 to see them.

On a random note, I also cannot stop listening to a song called "Clementine" by Sarah Jaffe.

Happy 2011!