New Music Goodness

So far I have mentioned (and dedicated this website's name to) Brand New. I have also mentioned Eisley, another favorite band of mine. Lately I have had a more-than-average amount of people comment on the music I listen to. A few people have took an interest in Brand New, which makes me feel like a kid on Christmas. I thought I would offer insight into my music tastes a little more. Here are two more artists for you to give a listen to: Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine. They are along the same genre as Brand New, and have toured together in the past. I like to think they're best buddies.

Here is a song from Manchester Orchestra's new album, Simple Math. The song is called "Virgin." It's very dark sounding and I love how it builds. I think it's my favorite song on the album. It's very different sounding, and not necessarily a good example of their music as a whole. His voice is interesting and I really love lyrics in many of their songs. For some reason I can't find an audio on YouTube that is normal volume, so you'll have to turn the volume up a bit.

This second one is from Kevin Devine. I had a little harder time getting into him. A lot of his songs kind of sound the same to me and don't have that unique of a sound. Now that I have set him up to sound like he sucks, let me explain. His music is incredibly passionate and the lyrics are genius.

This is the first song I heard of his and it blew my mind. I love this performance. It's called "Brother's Blood." The intro is a bit long so instead of losing your attention span, skip in about a minute and a half.

I also really like his song "Ballgame" and this is a pretty good performance of it, way back in 2006!

If you are mildly interested in either of those artists, do I have a treat for you! The two combined on an album called "Bad Books." I liked the album a lot, but not the whole thing, so I wanted to narrow it down for you.

I don't care who you are, this song rocks. It's called "Holding Down the Laughter" and it's so catchy and again, love the lyrics. I think it's actually about high school pregnancy. Not that I'm into that kinda thing, but the way he writes the lyrics about something like this is just awesome. Love his words.

That post was meant to be two videos I wanted to share and got a little out of hand. Oh well, hope you enjoy the new music and let me know if you like any of it! (Or if you have any suggestions for me!)

"I Contemplate the Day We Wed..."

I have been reading Green Wedding Shoes for almost a year now (hence the dedicated green font). I was never into weddings before, I never thought about my "dream" wedding, I never cared much or thought much about it...until I found this site! (It may also have something to do with the fact that I am now with the boy I fully intend to marry someday, but it all started with GWS I swear!) I am big on originality and not doing something just because it's "tradition." I want someone to walk into my wedding and think, "Yeah, this is totally Allie and _____ (insert Kevin's name here??)" This website is the epitome of that mentality. Every wedding is different and it is full of SO many different ideas. I read it everyday. Now that many of my friends are beginning the wedding process, I have loved it even more. I have even started an "inspiration board" for myself, which consists of about a 30-page word document of pictures and ideas I've seen on the site. Yes, I know, I'm not even engaged and you may think I'm a little ridiculous. However, I don't want to forget any of it! I felt the need to dedicate a post SOLEY to this sight who has got me itching to plan a wedding ;).

Please, check out this sight!

Here are a FEW ideas from my extensive word document :)

Love the colors! And the table settings.

LOVE this bouquet. I have been making lace flowers as hair pieces lately (see previous post) so I have been contemplating how I can turn that hobby/craft into a bouquet. I imagine it would take a long time to collect this many beautiful broaches.

This is one of my favorite discoveries. Instead of a guest book--because when are you ever going to read that anyway--make a thumbprint tree to use as art in your home! Love love love love.

Many weddings on GWS have favors. Actually, almost every wedding I see does. Personally, I've never been to a wedding that has favors and I think it's kind of a waste of money. However, I think this is a valuable favor. This is a thank-you CD to give to guests. I imagine it would feature meaningful songs to the relationship, bride/groom favorites, etc. It would be a nice sentiment for the drive home. I might be the only one who thinks this is a good idea based on my love of new music.

I think this is precious--love advice from grandparents. I would extend this to include many family members or married friends. Love this!

As a teacher, I can't help but love this. I would like to incorporate some sort of chalk board into my wedding or engagement photos. I'm not sure how ______ (insert Kevin's name here??) will feel about this.

Last but certainly not least! Even I will admit this is a little over the top. However, I love groomsmen in suspenders and I love bride's maids in different dresses from each other. I also LOVE the sunglasses. These knock off Rayban's have a special place in my heart, as we bought them ALL over Italy last summer. (Sorry this pic is so small.)

I wish I could keep going and going but I can't give away all my ideas or no one will be surprised at my wedding. After excitedly sharing with Kevin many of my ideas the other day, I jokingly asked him to hurry up and propose so I can start planning. His response was, "Haven't you already?" GUILTY!

The title is from this Brand New song, "The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows"... one of my faves and one of the few songs my bf can play on his guitar.

I Waste All My Time Thinkin' of You!

I came across a new way to curl your hair without heat! My hair never holds curl even with a ton of hair spray, and I have no patience or time to curl it ever anyway. I find a lot of great hairstyles from this blog, click on hair tutorials at the top and you can try some yourself! I learned how to do a fishtail braid from her as well. Her blog is pretty fun to read. Here is the link to her own testimonial, but the steps are in the video below.

Anyway, she featured a no-heat way to curl your hair that she found from the girl seen below (who has a fantastic accent by the way). I'm not going to try and explain it to you, just watch the video.

Testimonial

LOVED IT! I took a shower last night and let my hair air dry, it was just a little damp when I started wrapping it. I used hair spray all over before I wrapped it, because I know how well my hair holds curl (not). I pushed the headband back a bit so it wasn't in the middle of my forehead, because it was beginning to give me a headache. I tried it twice before I was happy with the wrap job. It was very comfortable to sleep in and I didn't have to do anything with it in the morning. Here is the finished product:

Some parts are curlier than others. Now that I know how it turned out, I know how to wrap it better. For example, I will wrap the back tighter because it's a little looser than what I'd like. When I first woke up and took out the headband my hair was out of control curly, but now at 11am it's calmed down a bit. It's a little flatter than I'd like, so I'm thinking next time I'll tease it a bit before I wrap it. I'm planning on wearing my hair like this to a wedding this weekend, so I'm hoping it will hold all day!

Let me know if you try it out!

P.S. Blog title was inspired by this song:

Note: One of his lyrics is, "A language I don't even know how to speak," and my boyfriend, who is inept at hearing lyrics, always sings, "I'm like b*#$! I don't even know how to speak." Let me know which you think is right!

Make Up Loves

I have always enjoyed wearing make up. Not because I think I need it to make myself look "prettier", I genuinely enjoy putting it on. I used to sneak on my mom's make up when I was younger (thanks, mom!). I love to buy new make up when the funds are flowing, and I love experimenting with new methods. This video inspired me to broaden my make up horizons:

This is Sherri Dupree Bemis, lead singer of Eisley (give 'em a listen!) I love her style, her clothes, her music, and her hair! :)

Currently, I am into liquid eye-liner. I used to hate it, until I saw the video below. I'm not talking about the kind you put on with a wand. I'm talking about this kind with a brush. I'm not sure how to describe the consistency, it's more of a cream than a liquid. It's called HIP High Intensity I believe.

It's a little pricey ($10), but it will last me FOREVER. I've been using it for months and have barely made a dent. Tonia first recommended it to me. She uses the ELF brush because she thought the one that came with the eyeliner was too pokey. Personally, I've tried both and I like the one it comes with. It stays on all day long and comes off easily in the shower, despite what the video says. You may have to scrub a little. I like the look of it, too. It doesn't smudge after a long day of running around with kids or even after sweating through a workout.

I also tried the cream blush she mentions (though not the exact brand) and I actually liked it. It lasts longer is more noticeable. It feels weird and kind of cakey for about the first half hour of having it on, but after awhile the feeling goes away.

Anyone have any make up recommendations? Especially in the mascara department? I've been using the orange Covergirl mascara for a long time, and I love it. I think I need to mix it up, though. Let me know if you try anything you see here! :)

P.S. Here are a few Eisley videos to make it easy for you!

Also to note: Sherri is doubly awesome because she shops at Forever 21. I have now seen her in 2 dresses that I own! The one in this second video I just purchased to wear to a wedding this weekend.

"Take Silence and Respect It"

I love this. Everyone needs to be alone once in awhile.

"I'll Time Ya!"

The fastest, easiest, least painful way to get kids to do something is to say, "I'll time ya!" This works especially well if there are two children involved, as one will try to beat the other. For example, everyday when it's time to get ready for swimming lessons, the girls are inevitably doing something they love-- playing Polly Pockets or reading Magic School Bus books. So today, I said I'd time them. H had her swimming suit on, ready to go in three minutes. P was second and beat her time with a whopping 1 minute. We are now ready to go ten minutes early.

With the extra ten minutes, I'll offer up another trick I've learned. When a child is "full" (aka wants to eat dessert), you only need to say, "___ more bites!" Insert the exact number of bites it will take the child to finish said food. And voila! Done.

Since it's so hot today, I wanted to make sure the girls drank enough water. While they were playing throughout the day, we played a game to drink more. At random times throughout the day, I would yell out a wild animal noise from some part of the house. They would hear me, take a drink, and then yell out the animal name. I felt a little ridiculous but it got the job done! There were more bathroom breaks than normal.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=child+eating&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

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