I am home sweet home after an amazing trip to Nashville aka Music City USA! It was definitely somewhere on my list of places to go, and I knew it would be fun, but I've got to say it kind of exceeded my expectations. What a place. While there my friend and I definitely took advantage and did everything we could: we went to a hockey game, the Grand Ole Opry, Memphis to see Graceland, hit up just about every where downtown, and even did The Color Run! The Color Run was actually the base of the trip in the first place - after Boston last year we said we'd try to do The Color Run in a different city every year. I have never gone on a trip with as much planned to do as this one but let me tell you, I'm so glad we did it all! It also made the trip feel a lot longer and as a result, probably explains why I'm still a wee bit exhausted.
If you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend it. But like I said to start, at the end of the day it's good to be home sweet home! :)
Just like he did with Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas", Jimmy Fallon did a version of "Blurred Lines with Robin Thicke and the Roots, and classroom instruments! I love it. And I love LOVE love the song. But who doesn't? It IS the song of the summer.
This weekend is a long weekend in Canada, and although I've taken vacation days to give myself long weekends the last few weekends I am VERY much looking forward to this one! I'm going to a music festival in Montreal on Sunday and I can't wait.
Happy Friday all!
Have you bought The Great Gatsby soundtrack yet? I told you too so I hope you have! :) Either way, I'm sharing today one of my favourite songs on it by one of my favourite artists: Lana Del Rey's Young and Beautiful. Enjoy.
I moved this past weekend! I could not be more happy or excited about it. I moved into a beautiful house that one of my friends owns, in my most favourite part of town - where (save for the last couple of years) I've lived most my life. I am so happy to be back! Also, not only is my friends' house beautiful, but I've referenced it when talking about what kind of home would be a dream first home. I a little bit can't believe I'm actually there. At this point I only have a few things left to do to be fully settled, but it's already starting to feel like home! :)
I didn't realize how stressful moving can be. Also tiring - I'm pretty much a walking zombie today. But it's oh, so rewarding too. In honour of my move, I thought I'd share this little ditty which also happens to be one of my favourite songs...
This past weekend the much anticipated movie The Great Gatsby opened. I had been looking forward to it for a long, long time. And when I say long time, I mean back in the day when it was originally supposed to open this past Christmas! For what ever reason it was delayed, but this weekend the time came. Due to this extreme anticipation I felt like I absolutely must see it opening weekend, so I did just that with a friend of mine who felt the very same way. Prior to going in I didn't read any reviews for it, but I did know that the reviews out there were not good. It was an ok movie. Not awful but not fantastic. Certainly not all I had hoped it would be. It was visually beautiful and although I found some parts were great and exciting, other parts just dragged a bit. But I will say I do not regret seeing it in the theater at all - when I'm that excited for a movie I like to see it regardless and make my own conclusions! Plus 3D movies are fun! And 3D Leo, well... that was worth it too. :) BUT, on the (very) bright side, last Wednesday The Great Gatsby soundtrack came out. I had pre-ordered it so it automatically downloaded on my phone and the second I took a listen I was in love. THIS IS THE BEST SOUNDTRACK HANDS DOWN THAT I HAVE HEARD IN A VERY LONG TIME! I'm not even a big soundtrack kinda girl. Back in the day I kind of was with movies like Cruel Intentions and Romeo + Juliet (another Baz Luhrmann movie funnily enough). When I saw the previews for the movie I was quite enchanted by the music. Later when they announced who would be on it, I knew it was a must buy. Bang Bang by will.i.am, Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey, and Over the Love by Florence + The Machine are my favourites IF if MUST choose... because it's not easy. Five stars and a recommended buy from me! Did you get swept up in the Gatsby excitement?
This lovely weekend we are about to embark on, also happens to be the weekend my birthday is being celebrated! I did a family celebration earlier this week, and will be doing something with my parents on Monday (the actual anniversary of my birth), so this weekend is the friend installment! There will great friends. There will be cocktails. There will likely be dancing. There will definitely be good times. I'm quite looking forward to it! I wanted to leave this post by setting a certain tone which I thought would be best relayed using the medium of music! But I couldn't decide specifically which song to share so I choose two. First, a great song by Ellie Goulding that will help suggest that "anything can happen" this weekend. I also included Scream & Shout in order to help get everyone (myself included of course) pumped up!
If you didn't see it last week, here's your chance! Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, and Mariah Carey do an "unpulgged" (with children's instruments) version of Mariah Careys hit holiday song, "All I Want For Christmas Is You". It also happens to be my favourite song this time of year. This is a really cute, funny, and surprisingly good version. Enjoy!
In the spirit of the weekend I am sharing a song that has quickly become a new favourite. The song is Dance by Rebecca and Fiona. It's a relatively unknown song by a relatively unknown group, but I am loving all their music from their album "I Love You, Man" (nothing to do with the movie). It's dance music, with a bit of an indie and 80's vibe to it. Enjoy!
I really do! I recently watched her movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me, and that's where this love came from. I've always enjoyed her music, and I've always thought she was a super talented singer (when you are singing alone in the shower or car, those notes are harder to hit then you might think!), but I never really thought much of HER. With her recent costumes lately - the bright candy themed concoctions - I didn't know what to make of her. After watching this movie, all that changed. No, I don't like the candy costumes, but I do like her. I love her. She is the bees knees.
Firstly, this movie started and ended with fans talking about Katy and how she's inspired and motivated them. It's extremely touching. She might have an element of fantasy about her but she is also very much about being who you are and doing what you believe is right for you, and following your dreams. This movie is divided into two very interesting themes: her tour and all its moving parts, and her life (past, present, future). I thought it was super cool to get a behind the scenes of her tour. Her costumes, her prep, her team, her travel, her interaction with fans, and of course her actual performances! So much goes into this thing, it's just incredible! Then the other theme of her life. Without giving away the story, I thought her rise to fame was interesting. Her motivation and spirit is quite admirable. She worked hard to be where she is, and she's still working hard. You also get to see bits and pieces of her love life, her marriage to Russell Brand. It's no secret that they are since divorced, but the movie happened to be filming while their marriage was unraveling. It's heartbreaking.
Aside from the romance, you also get to see her with her family, and friends. She's just a normal girl living a not-so-normal life and I think that was my favourite part - seeing her laugh and joke, having a good time, and enjoying what's she's worked so hard to achieve. I do recommend you check it out for yourself!
One of my favourite parts of fall is how cozy it is - out of necessity! With the chilly air brings tall boots and over-sized cozy sweaters. While browsing on Pinterest (surprise surprise), I came across these two pins that made me feel the joy of fall... and love maybe.
The first pin is a quote from a Lana Del Rey song and the second is, to me, the epitome of a cozy looking sweater. The part that makes me think of love is that if you find someone, who makes you feel like that sweater makes you feel (or better), he's a keeper because that sweater looks awesome! :)
The latest and greatest dance tune to take over - Gangnam Style by Korean rap sensation, Psy. Please DON'T try to learn the words as it's in Korean (you know who you are...), but please DO learn the dance! Happy Friday!
I did something really fun Monday night... I went to Madonna! My company bought a box for the event, and not only that, but we could bring a guest! I thought that was incredibly cool and kudos to my work for doing that. So I got tickets for me and a friend and we headed out to Madonna.
The opening act was Paul Oakenfold who is a great DJ and totally up my alley! I thought he really got the crowd going and set the tone for a party atmosphere. Next up, Madonna. She's a legend. You can't help but love her, and sing, and dance to her. I didn't really know her new stuff but it was easy enough to catch on. She also played enough old songs to get everyone excited. The show was pretty great. So much going on. Dancing, lights, props, you name it. It was a great concert! There were definitely some undertones of Britney and Lady Gaga in her concert which I thought was funny. Who's copying who? :)
The Stage
The only not so great thing was that the time on the tickets said 8pm. The opening act started at 9:30. She started at 10:30. That's a big long lull! Word quickly spread that this is what she's been doing on this tour. Keeping in mind this was a Monday night, there were quite a few displeased people as you can imagine. When she did finally come out everyone seemed to be forgiving enough and rocked out to her show. Overall, I am glad I went, mainly for the fact that she really is a legend, and I don't know if there will be another chance to see her again.
I can't believe we're already coming up to Labor Day weekend! It may not officially be the end of summer yet, but to me this is it. When you're a kid Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer because once it's over, you're back to school. Even now as an adult my brain is STILL conditioned to think that way. I even get a small twinge of dread that I can't explain because nothing actually changes for me anymore when the calendar flips to September! Although I am sad to see summer go I do love fall. The colours of fall, from the trees to fashion, are warm and beautiful (and cozy). Opening your windows at home and smelling the fall air is pretty fantastic. I've had a great summer to so there's nothing to complain about there! I have completely maximized my fun in the sun and it's been awesome. Moving forward, I've got a few things lined up to make my fall pretty exciting too! How was your summer? Are you ready for fall? In honor of summer (and this post) coming to an end, I would like to leave you with this Lana Del Rey song I'm loving at the moment, "Summertime Sadness"... HAPPY LONG WEEKEND!
