birdy

Anyone who gets The Everygirl's daily email was in for a real treat today. (If you don't, I highly encourage you to sign up here.) The second feature in the email showed this pretty little lady, all of 17 years old, going by the stagename Birdy.

As a music lover, yet someone unfamiliar with this Birdy character, I immediately fired up Spotify and began listening to her self titled debut album. Before going any further into her talent I need to preface this with saying I am not one of those people who bash covers. Quite the opposite, I love them. So when I started reading the tracklist and realized all but one were covers (and of really awesome songs) I knew this was going to be one of those times I listen to the entire album in one sitting.

My music preferences usually lean towards guys' voices. I love the deep smokey sound of Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys. Jack White is like.... no words can describe Jack White really. Mark Foster is ridiculously talented, and Britt Daniel's gritty voice is recognizable anywhere. In case you were wondering, the few women who make the "best of" list in my book include Emily Haines from Metric, and Karen O.

One word to describe Birdy's voice would be haunting. I mean that in the best, most complimenting way possible. It reminds me of Bon Iver's rawness, and Ray LaMontagne's emotionality. It blows my mind that she was only 15 when she recorded her first album. She sounds like her heart was already broken five times over.

All of this to say, go check out Birdy. I can't believe it took me this long to hear about her. Now I'm paranoid I'm losing my edge.

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snow shots

Snow my gosh. Snow fell like I've never seen in Kansas City this past week. It is seriously gorgeous, and has made the desire to squeeze in some skiing this year even stronger than before. 

Also, it was this handsome guy's 30th birthday yesterday. We threw a big party a few Saturdays ago to celebrate, so last night we enjoyed a low-key dinner and present opening.

clearly loving

Pun intended. I have an infatuation with see-through bags and clutches lately. They're super sleek, and force you to be organized and minimalistic with its contents. Something I am not accomplished at. Maybe it's the non-creepy Peeping Tom in me (is there such a thing?) but another thing I love about these bags is seeing what other women deem mandatory when leaving the house.

images 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 (on sale!)

Side note about the Peeping Tom comment: I love driving at dusk. It's the time when a home's inhabitants haven't shut the blinds yet, and it's just dark enough to peer inside their house. It's the best when you see a family sitting at the dining room table or a book club pouring drinks. Something about seeing people I don't know doing things I enjoy, I guess. Blue Eyes says I'm a creep for doing this, and as I'm writing this I am starting to understand why...  

workout playlist 2

A good beat and a little womp-womp, that's what I need to kick my workout to the next level. These songs are getting me going lately.

1. Killin' It - Krewella
2. Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia
3. In For the Kill - La Roux. Skrillex remix
4. Turn All the Lights On - T-Pain & Ne-yo
5. Euphoria - Usher
6. Antidote - Swedish House Mafia vs. Knife Party
7. Bonfire - Knife Party

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snow day

It's a little after 9am and the courtyard of my apartment looks like this.

That's five inches of snow in less than three hours people. Did you know thunder and lightning still happens when it's snowing? I would have thought no way until just a few minutes ago when I heard it firsthand. In my defense, Kansas City really doesn't get much snow. 

The plan is to only leave the comfy confines of my apartment to Instagram some hopefully really pretty pictures of snowflakes and the overall whiteness of my hometown, within a twenty foot radius of my front door. There's zero chance I'm driving in this craziness. 

Happy snow day to the rest of my Midwest readers. Stay safe and warm out there!

happy elephant

Way back here, I mentioned my love for elephants. I think it started when I was just a little kid, during my bowl cut days. True child of the late 80s, early 90s right here. Anyway, I'd be at my grandparents' house playing with these gorgeous solid wood elephant figures. About six in total, they ranged from a foot tall all the way down to a little baby about four inches high (my favorite). 

Then there was that one time I rode an elephant while in elementary school. I don't remember the occasion, but I do remember this elephant's ears were wet and would slap against my legs as he walked, but it was OK. I was on an elephant! 

So, that was a really long way of saying that when I saw this video shared on Facebook, I absolutely had to click. And watch. And watch five more times. I mean, is there anything cuter? I don't think so, especially at the 1:20 mark.



In honor of this happy little guy or gal, I rounded up some of my favorite elephant items as of late. Definitely thinking the loafers are making it to my closet soon.

ettie elephant scarf // terracotta new york

maisy loafers with gold elephant design // asos

elephant pillow // kimoley for one kings lane

good luck elephant necklace // dogeared

40 days without what?

Oh that lovely Lenten season is among us yet again. A time to sacrifice, which for some means giving up a guilty pleasure, and for some means enhancing life by promising to do something good for these 40 days. This year I decided I needed both in my life. Things to nix: beer and french fries. Thing to add: praying every single day. No exceptions. 

Not that indulging in beer and french fries puts me at odds with my religion, but it will be a test of my self-control. Beer, with its convenience and low price tag during basketball season (not to mention the green kind on St. Patty's Day) will be difficult to say no to. I guess this will make my red wine habit even more ridiculous.

When dining out, I never opt for a healthier option when french fries are the standard side with a pub sandwich or burger. Don't even get me started on how much I'm going to miss dipping them in a variety of condiments. In case you're curious and didn't give up fries for Lent, Blanc Burgers has my very favorite sauce. I crave the spicy tanginess of their orange dip. OK I need to stop talking about this, it's 10am on the third day of Lent and I'm driving myself crazy writing this paragraph. 

What are you giving up, or adding, this Lent? 

images 1, 2

tickled

Over the past few years, pink has crept into my color wheelhouse.
I am a major neutral girl, you see. And as a redhead, pink was always one of those no-no colors (along with most any "warm" shades). So Molly Ringwald wore it and looked pretty darn good doing so, but it's just not a color I can pull off.

Although I don't wear it, pink has snuck its way into my life through other avenues. I love it on lips, nails, and purses, but I especially adore it as an accent color in decor.

How I would love to use pink.

How I actually use pink.

How do you wear/decorate/accessorize pink?
Oh, and Happy Valentine's, friends. I hope it's your best one yet.

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i love love and music

Well I do believe I just found my first favorite song of 2013.

The video is cute, too. Pretty literal, but I bet you can't help but smile while watching it. I like how it illustrates many different types of love, not just the romantical kind.
Preach, The Mowgli's. Preach.

via

small fry valentine

Happy almost heart day.
These kiddos are sure to get you in the spirit, even if you are in the anti camp for this holiday. You can count me on the pro side, for the video and for Valentine's Day.

PS: If I'm going to have a ginger child someday, I want her to be just like the hilarious fur-coat-loving, leopard-wearing girlfriend in the video. I die. 

trip highlights: nashville

Or NashVegas, as some like to call it.

Stick 12 sorority sisters in any city and it's going to be a good time. But put all of us in Music City, and times aren't only good, they're downright rowdy.

This is not even close to a comprehensive city guide of Nashville, because we almost never left Broadway street. For a really amazing (although slightly dated now) post on all things Nashville, head on over here. For a few pictures of the fun the city has to offer on a girl's trip, keep on scrolling.

Now I know back here I said our only set plan was to go to Bluebird Cafe. I was so excited to tell all you Nashville show lovers about it. Turns out, our reservations were for Friday night instead of Saturday night. So we missed the Bluebird, but to be honest, it was probably for the best. When 9:30pm rolls around and you're with 11 of your best friends from 6 different states and just finished bar hopping along the main strip, it is highly likely you'd be asked to leave the famous listening bar due to volume control issues.

So instead, you could find us every night in the back of Tootsie's, usually on stage helping the bass player with his chords. We dined at some pretty delish spots, my favorites being Merchants for lunch and M for brunch. May I suggest the mimosas....

The rest of the trip was spent walking up and down Broadway, running in and out of live music bars as we pleased. I definitely did some damage in accomplishing resolution #4 that weekend. Thank you Nashville - for being so fun, so country, and so inviting to us all. We'll be back.

month in photos: january

Better late than never, right?

January 2013 was one for the books. 

It included trips to the Fiesta Bowl and Mexico.

My 27th birthday and a celebration at KC's urban winery.

A major investment purchase.

And my first experience at being unemployed.

Gotta love life's timing.

Friends for 13 years at Amigoni Urban Winery.

College girlfriends. It was gameday, can you tell by all the purple?

The look of a successful wine tasting.

Burning the midnight oil branches on the beach of San Pancho.

Taking a break from cover letter writing to enjoy the new Kate Spade book.

silence

Hey y'all. (I just came back from Tennessee, remember?) It's been a little quiet around here lately. Well OK, silent for the past week. Not just on the blog, but in my apartment too.

I've been perched at my table-turned-job-finding-command-center for hours on end everyday. Lots of research, resume editing, cover letter writing, and networking going on up in here. No TV, music, calls to Mom (maybe one or two), or any other distractions allowed. I'm taking action and continuing moving towards where ever I'm supposed to end up.

With that said, I've covered a lot of ground this week, and thinking I can start easing the blog writing back into my schedule. (I know, you just cheered yippee and put your hands in the air, didn't you?)

Cheers to the freakin' weekend, friends.