folk songs for the modern age: March 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Today Was A Good Day (I Didn't Even Have To Use My A.K.)

Things that were awesome about today:

-Found out about a possible job opportunity that sounds right up my alley

-Got to use the sauna (twice)

-Spent some time playing with the Bunster

-Had the most delicious raspberry mocha concoction

-Acquired the new issue of Bust & read it cover to cover

-Went to Hooters with my two favorite ladies (the wings were horrible, but the conversation was good as always)

-Started reading a new book (Ten Miles Past Normal)

Yesterday was pretty awesome too, but today just put me in a straight up good mood. I finally saw Black Swan last night with Kyle & Erin and I really loved it. Everything about it. In fact, I would totally watch it again. Kyle & I also watched Tangled which was super cute. I don't generally get in to Disney movies these days (because I am almost 24, and I want to be a grown up someday), but it was so damn funny. Plus Zachary Levi. You just can't go wrong when he is thrown in to the mix. So, in all it's been a nice week regardless of the fact that I've been stressing about money and work and all that jazz. It's sort of like a mini-vacation. Tomorrow I have to go in to the agency I work for and fill out some new paperwork and what not, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get this job at the clinic.

Until then, I got some books to read and zzzzz's to catch.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 26, Books I'd Like To Read This Year:

-Bossypants by Tina Fey

-This Is A Book by Demetri Martin

-Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Book by Joss Whedon

-The View From The Top by Hillary Frank

-This Girl Is Different by Jennifer Hope Wichman

-Fray by Joss Whedon

-Mr. Funny Pants by Michael Showalter

-Damage by Anya Parrish

-Wither by Lauren DeStefano

-Why Moms Are Weird by Pamela Ribon

-Kiss & Tell by Mari Naomi

-Just Kids by Patti Smith

-Geek Girl by Cindy C Bennett

-Everfound by Neal Shusterman

-My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher

-Bumped by Megan McCafferty

-Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin

-Market Day by James Sturm

-BodyWorld by Dash Shaw

-Special Exits by Joyce Farmer

-We3 by Grant Morrison

-Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

-Bite Club by Rachel Caine

-Overbite by Meg Cabot

-My New York Diary by Julie Doucet

-Dead On The Delta by Stacey Jay

-A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

-Spaniel Rage by Vanessa Davis

-Kill Your Boyfriend by Grant Morrison

-Role Models by John Waters

-The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors On Their Epiphanies In The Dark by Robert K. Elder

-Destroy all Movies!!! The Complete Guide To Punks On Film by Zack Carlson

-A Sickness In The Family by Denise Mina

-How To Understand Israel In 60 Days Or Less by Sarah Glidden

-Learning To Love You More by Miranda July

-Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas

-Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell

-XVI by Julia Karr

-Girl by Blake Nelson

-Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

I could go on for days.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Miracles For Minimum Wage

First off, I would like to thank everyone who left me comments, sent me emails and in general just attempted to cheer me up this weekend. It means a lot to me, so THANK YOU.

Onward,

We had a pretty interesting weekend, which included me bursting through the front door in tears on Friday evening. Kyle is a real champ when it comes to lady breakdowns, he spent some time comforting me and then we decided Steak & Shake might do a better job (Just kidding, I really needed a fucking cheeseburger after all that crying). Our friend Erin met up with us and we spent a lot of time catching up and laughing, which was much needed.

Saturday we spent some time cleaning up the house and preparing for Jessie & her boyfriend Matthew to come over. It was our first time having overnight visitors, so I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Kyle made the most delicious white chili ever (I can totally give you guys the recipe, it's amazing), and I made some muffins. We spent most of the night watching movies (Trainspotting & Clue), Nan and Amber stopped by for a bit, we played one round of Clue, several rounds of Scattergories & in general had a really nice time.

Sunday my parents stopped by to bring me the paper and a bath rug for our downstairs bathroom. Went to visit my grandma, watched a movie (The Freebie), did some light grocery shopping, went on a hunt for the new Bust (couldn't find it), made some sugar cookies, took a long bubble bath and started reading a new book (The Locket).

I guess that brings us to the end of this weekend update.

Sorry if I'm kind of a bummer for the next week or so. I'll try my best to stay positive.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Born To Lose

So things suck really hard here at the moment. Last night on my way home from work I received a call that my entire department was being laid off due to work volume. I am so incredibly bummed. I mean not only do I work my ass off, but I had really decent pay and I actually loved going to work every day. Now I don't know what to do with myself. I mean, Kyle and I just moved in to this new place and our bills didn't exactly go down, so I am really scared about not being able to pay my side of the bills. I don't like feeling helpless or lost, but that's precisely how I feel right now.

Words of wisdom anyone?

Friday, March 25, 2011

We live to dance another day, it's just now we have to dance for one more of us.

This song makes me miss my grandfather so much it makes my heart hurt a little bit. I don't talk about him often, but he was quite possibly the nicest man I've ever known. So funny, caring, and incredibly talented. He went to Juilliard when he was just 15 to study the French Horn. Music was a huge part of his life and he shared it with all of us.

Whenever I hear this song I think of him. I know it's weird because this song is actually about Frank Turner's friend and it's called Long Live the Queen and everything, but I find it fitting.

xxx

Day 25, Things I'd Rather Be Doing (Plus Some Other Junk) :

-Travelling (I miss getting to go on vacation, it feels like I will never get to take one again)

-Soaking in a bubble bath

-Getting a massage

-Catching up on books

-Watching TV/Movies

-Baking some muffins

-Hang out with friends

...and some lists I haven't had time to post:

Day 24, I Make Lists For:

-Everything

(That's a cop out right?)

Ok, ok

-Groceries

-CD's I want to buy/download

-CD tracks for mixes

-Things I need to get done

-Bills

-General planning

Day 22, Today I Saw:

-Kyle rolling around in bed

-The Bunster

-Traffic

-The newspaper

-Qik-N-Ez

-Cloudy skies

-An email from my best friend

-Myself

Day 21, Things To Do This Spring:

-Ride bikes with Kyle

-Plant a tiny garden on our balcony

-Wear skirts/dresses

-Watch True Blood

-Drive with the windows down

-Read outside

-Walk to the park with friends

-Take a mini-road trip

-Spring cleanin'

-Find a place to swim

-Learn my grandma's favorite recipes

-Camping trip

Day 15, Road Trip Must Haves:

-Rocky Horrow Picture Show soundtrack (my friend Rachel & I would listen to this album on road trips and dance the whole way to our destination)

-Fruit snacks (pom & blueberry)

-Trail mix

-Sammiches

-Mix CD's (especially Gangsta Rap Volumes 1-4)

-Magazines (Bust & EW)

-Cash/credit cards for emergencies

-Toothbrush/toothpaste/floss

-Bag full of clothes that I won't wear

-Shoes (all kinds)

-Journal/notebook

-Pillows/Blankets

-Moutnain Dew/water/juice

-Camera

-GPS/map/directions

-Emergency kit

-RCR hoodie

-Coat

-Sunglasses

-Chapstick

-Car charges

-Excedrin/medicine in general

So, I think that just about catches me up on the lists I was missing, minus a few that I haven't had time to attempt.

Chew

Exciting news from Showtime:

Showtime has plans to develop Image's hit comic book series "Chew" for the small screen, Deadline reports.

Launched in 2009, the ongoing series is written by John Layman and illustrated by Rob Guillory. It deals with a police detective, Tony Chu, who happens to be a "cibopath," someone with the supernatural ability to gain a psychic impression of an object by eating it. Throughout his investigations, Chu comes up against a variety of other people with different food-related abilities.

The article suggests that "Chew" will go into development as a half-hour series with the pilot to be directed and executive produced by Stephen Hopkins.

I'm excited for this! Kyle and I both just recently started reading Chew after a few friends recommended it to us. I can imagine this show is going to be pretty gnarly.

via: Pop Candy/ComingSoon.net

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Alternative To What?

I dont even like pink and I am fucking in love with these. I bet I could just bedazzle the crap out of my old skates and they would look almost as awesome as these.

via: Little Chief Honeybee

Bohemian Rhapsody

So, I'm not normally the kind of girl that would swoon over engagement photo sessions, but this one kind of stole my heart.

via: La Belle Bride

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Julia Wertz

Is my soul twin.

I thought this would be appropriate for today's prompt which as you can see below was Guilty Pleasures.

If you want to check out more of her stuff (and you totally should) go to her website here or her blog here. I seriously love all three of her books (Fart Party Volume 1, Fart Party Volume 2 & Drinking at the Movies), four if you count the I Saw You... anthology. I can't wait for whatever book comes next.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: The Book

So, I don't know about you but I LOVE Dr. Horrible. A ton. I was so excited to read on Pop Candy today that there is a new book coming out on March 29th that includes the full shooting script (I am a total nerd for movie/tv scripts), photos from the set, sheet music & more.

If you are interested you can preorder it here & you can also buy Dr. Horrible & Other Horrible Stories, which I own but seem to have misplaced. I think maybe I let someone borrow it and forgot who that person might be. Oh well, we already have too many books.

(Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Zack Whedon)

Day 23, Guilty Pleasures:

(These things really don't make me feel guilty)

-Enjoying 90's boy bands

-Making really bad mix CD's for Amber/Listening to really bad mix CD's that Amber has made for me

-Ridiculously long bubble baths

-Watching cheesy Lifetime movies (Seriously, just sit down in front of a Lifetime Original Movie and TRY to change the channel)

-Eating raw cookie dough straight out of the tube

-Eating spray cheese straight out of the can (I know, I'm disgusting!)

-Silly singalongs (Dr. Horrible, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease, Grease 2, Hairspray, Once More with Feeling and so on)

-Reading silly girl magazines

-Reading more YA books than "grown up" books

-Collecting socks

-Spending way too much time on Etsy or Amazon

-Buffalo chicken ponyshoes

-Obsessing about SNL

-Listening to Bright Eyes to fall asleep

-Eating entire veggie trays

-Finding the perfect gift
-Re-watching all my favorite shows (Buffy, 30 Rock, HIMYM, Big Bang Theory, Angel, The O.C., SNL, Daria, True Blood, Dexter and so on)
-Loving Mary Kate & Ashley (always & forever)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Etsy Love

Here are a few things I've been lusting after recently:

Honey Boney Large Canvas Tote Bag

I Heart Derby Girls Roller Derby Shirt

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock T-Shirt

Cat Girl Art Print

X-Men Mutant Knit Fingerless Gloves

Monday, March 21, 2011

Roger Ebert's Film Festival

I was so stoked today to see that the line up for Ebertfest is out!

My boyfriend went to U of I in Champaign (College of Media), and he volunteered to work the festival last year, so we got to see tons of great movies. It was such a blast and I really hope we get to go back this year. The films we saw last year were: Song Sung Blue (beautiful and heartbreaking), Vincent: A Life in Color (I missed a huge portion of this film, but was able to sit through the panel which was fascinating), Trucker (I got to meet Michelle Monaghan, which was awesome-we talked a lot about Robert Downey Jr.), and Barfly. I almost peed my pants when Roger Ebert waved at me, but was shockingly cool when I met an actress I really love. If you live anywhere near Champaign you should really consider going.

This years schedule is:

Wednesday, April 27

-Metropolis

Thursday, April 28

-Umberto D

-My Dog Tulip

-Tiny Furniture (I've been dying to see this!)

Friday, April 29

-45365

-Me & Orson Welles (also been dying to see this, plus Richard Linklater will be there for the panel!)

-Only You

Saturday, April 30

-A Small Act

-Life, Above All

-Leaves of Grass (fantastic movie)

-I Am Love (I've heard great things about this & Tilda Swinton will be at the festival, which is pretty cool even though she totally scares the crap out of me)

-Louder Than A Bomb

To find out more about this awesome festival you can visit the Ebertfest website right here.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Day 20, Celebrity Crushes:

So, I know I've been a bit behind on 30 Days of Lists, but here is a list I can get down with:

-Frank Turner

-Matt Skiba

-Billy Idol

-David Bowie

-Zachary Levi

-David Tennant

-Nathan Fillion

-Jimmy Fallon

-Michael Emerson

-Michael C. Hall

-Adam Brody

-Christopher Meloni

-Daniel Radcliffe

-Hayden Christensen

-Jason Segel

-James Marsters

-Joss Whedon

-Seth Meyers

-Jorma Taccone

-Dustin Lance Black

-Daniel Brühl

-Michael Cera

-Woody Allen

-Alexander Skarsgård

-Neil Patrick Harris

-Robert Downey Jr.

-James Spader

-Conan O'Brien

-Paul Rudd

-Ryan Gosling

-Natalie Portman

-Juliette Lewis

-Tina Fey

Diablo Cody

-Kristen Bell

-Kat Dennings

Those are the majority of my dude & lady crushes!

Yours?

xx

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2

So, so excited (also slightly teary-eyed)

So Tonight I'll Raise My Glass To Us

This weekend has been super awesome.

So far I've: participated in a trivia night, spent time with some amazing friends, tried Mountain Dew flavored vodka, got a huge box full of Girl Scout cookies, bought the new issue of EW (with Nathan Fillion on the front), joined the best friend to see a pretty awesome/awkward basement show, went to the comic book store, talked about roller derby a lot, received really sad news, received really good news, & got some really nice emails.

I am officially ready to call it a night.

Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

P.S. This picture makes me very happy. It's super old, but Amber & I have been in love with Matt Skiba for...as long as I can remember.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Dressing On The Side

I would like to take a quick minute to tell you about my favorite place to buy shirts on Etsy:

Dressing On The Side. I am now the very happy owner of three of their world class t-shirts. I ordered one on Monday and it arrived to me by Wednesday and I have already worn it twice this week. The designs are adorable, especially if you are a foodie, love wearing the softest shirts in the land, or just want some conversation pieces. The girls who run the shop are so pleasant, and I think that makes all the difference in the world.

Excellent prices, super fast shipping, delightfully soft t-shirts, what more could a girl ask for?

Check them out here & here.

On a more important note, please consider donating money to the relief efforts in Japan.

There are so many ways to get involved & I urge you to find a way to do so. If anyone is interested in links, please let me know and I would be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Slide

All I have to say about these is WOAH.

via: the hairpin / Kobi Levi

Day 16, Places To See In Springfield:

Most people seem to forget that Springfield is actually the capital of Illinois, not Chicago.

Personally I find this place to be quite boring, but if you were a visitor-here is what I would show you:

-The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

-The Dana-Thomas House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1902

-The Lincoln Home National Historic Site

-Oak Ridge Cemetery

-Old State Capitol State Historic Site

-Lincoln Memorial Garden & Nature Center

-Washington Park (I used to live a hop skip and a jump away from this park and now I live near it again. Very excited to start feeding the ducks again!)

-There are also some really cool old bookstores downtown, amazing places to eat, and nice places to sit and people watch.

-I don't think I've ever let a friend visit Springfield without trying a horseshoe at Dublin Pub or swinging by Krekels for a delicious cheeseburger & milk shake.

So I guess that's about it, unless you enjoy consuming copious amount of alchol...in which case you can pretty much walk in any direction downtown and find a bar.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Wolverine

via: The Mary Sue

Sorry for the lack of updates round these parts. I've been trying to spend some quality time with myself. So I thought it would be fun to tell you about some of the stuff I'm in to lately.

Books I've read recently:

-Spinning in Circles by Pamela Ribon (loved it)

-Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (do not read this unless you want to be severely disturbed/horrified)

-The Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot (cute, though the third book was probably my least favorite of all of them)

-Rollergirl: Totally True Tales From The Track by Melissa Joulwan (I just started this last night and love it so far)

Movies I've watched lately:

-Never Let Me Go (made me cry...a lot)

-Nowhere Boy (made me cry even more, but I would recommend that movie over the one above)

TV I've enjoyed this week:

Chuck (ok, honestly I was not a huge fan of this weeks episode, but it's still one of my favorite shows on television right now)

Things I am looking forward to reading/watching:

-Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

-Morning Glories Volume 1 by Nick Spencer & Joe Eisma

-iZombie Volume 1: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson & Michael Allred

-Down & Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby by Alex Cohen & Jennifer Barbee

-The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

-The Locket by Stacey Jay

-Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci

-Bossypants by Tina Fey

-Exit Through The Gift Shop

-Tangled

-The Exploding Girl

-Black Swan (I should have seen it by now, I know...but every time I made plans to go, something else came up)

-Blue Valentine (been waiting to see this forever!)

-The Baader Meinhof Complex

-Hesher

-The Future

-Bridesmaids

-The Fighter

-The Parking Lot Movie

-Sucker Punch

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Day 15, On My Shopping List:

Forgive me, but I am skipping a day. I can't decide what I want to "fill in the blank" for the 14th day.

So, instead you get what's on my shopping list.

-Hex nuts (smaller than the ones I bought this weekend)

-Welcome mat

-Coat rack

-Scrapbookin' supplies

-Clasps

-Frames for all the new art work we have sitting around

-Mountain Dew

-Blueberries

-Garlic/Garlic Bread

-Cajun seasoning

-Morning Star Buffalo Wings

-Next issue of Bust (I really just need to subscribe to this as it's my all time favorite magazine)

-Thank you cards

-Sewing machine

-Deli Flats

-Baby carrots

-More juice!

-Milk

-New headphones
-Black lace up boots

Monday, March 14, 2011

Day 13, DIY's I Want To Try

DIY's I want to try:

-T-shirt scarves (like this)

-The braided hex nut bracelet

-Coat rack

-Super duper cute Toadstools

-Sweater clips

-Fabric wreathes

I am always looking for new things to try, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments.

Also, I realize I am once again a day behind, but I had some best friend catch up yesterday, which is far more important. I will be back sometime later for Day 14.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Day 11, Date Night Ideas & Day 12, Weekly Rituals

So, Day 11's prompt didn't do a whole lot for me, which is why this post is a few days behind.

As for date night ideas the only things I can honestly think of that we enjoy is spending time with our friends, cooking together, watching movies, playing board games (which we haven't done in ages), and taking little road trips (which we also haven't done in ages).

As for Day 12, well I have a lot of weekly rituals:

Saturday & Sunday:

-Catch up with TV shows I've missed

-Do all the house work (laundry, clean the bathrooms, carpet, kitchen, bedroom, etc.)

-Lately we've used Sunday's to unpack stray boxes & what not

Monday-Friday:

-Every morning before work I get a 32 oz Mountain Dew to start my morning out right

-Pack lunch (I love packing lunches, saves so much money!)

-Monday night we watch How I Met Your Mother, Chuck, & Castle

-Spend a significant amount of time reading

-Pay bills

-Write out to-do list's for the week

-Spend time with Bun every morning while I get ready for work

-Best Friend Wednesdays (which have been on hold for two weeks & I am ready to get back to it!)

-Thursday we like to watch The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Parks & Rec, Community & 30 Rock

Ok, there are like a billion more things that I do on a weekly basis, but I feel as if I bored you to death, so off I go to take a shower, fold some laundry and make some breakfast/lunch.

Enjoy the last bit of your weekends!

Friday, March 11, 2011

I Killed My Dinner With Karate

I am so ready for this weekend. It's been a blah sort of week filled with cold, windy, dreary days. I am so excited to see some friends, maybe catch a movie, & finish setting up the studio.

Today I paid off my Amazon card and then proceeded to buy five more books. What's wrong with me? We have already filled several bookshelves and I still have a couple of boxes of books to unpack. Oh well!

Anywho, this post was to let ya'll know I'm going to be a bit behind on today's 30 Days of Lists prompt: Date Night Ideas. I'll throw that one together tomorrow since AT&T is finally coming out to set up our cable & internet. Just in time for some SNL!

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

What's With Today Today?

This morning I have already read three strange pop culture related articles.

My favorite is this one: Nickelodeon is bringing back our favorite '90s shows! I'm ready for some All That, Clarissa Explains it All, Salute Your Shorts & The Amanda Show. I'm sure most of you have already heard about this, but c'mon that's super awesome! You can find more about it here.

The one that makes me sad: Steven Soderbergh is planning to retire from filmmaking. This totally bums me out. I love his films! But I guess I can understand after reading this article.

The last one just kind of made me laugh: Quentin Tarantino is suing his neighbor, Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, True Blood, American Beauty, etc.) because he has some real loud birds! I don't know why this made me giggle, but it did. Also, I sort of hate birds but I really love Alan Ball. I guess if I were to pick between the two I would be on Team Quentin because I pretty much love every film he has ever made. You can read more about that here.

All of these were originally found over at Pop Candy.