funk

pinot grigio, IFC, hipstamatic, quandary, nostalgia, pear yogurt, the hulk, fried rice, fragile, doubt, constitutional law, fear, art gallery, sad brad smith, ache, polaroid of the beach, freedom, white lies, honesty.








the kind of mind where everything is a mess, i'm a mess, look a mess, feel a mess, defiantly take a picture of the mess, and torture myself with songs and mind play until it wrestles/lulls/loves me into sleep.

another cheer-myself-up-cause-its-winter post

It's rare for me to get excited about winter clothing, but here's a couple of instances where that happens:




(both pictures from justjared.com)

I love Kate Hudson's olive green military coat with black fur. I would wear that around with everything. I'm not feeling the skirt so much, but maybe it's super warm. And yes, that's Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in the second picture. You might not recognize her because she usually doesn't wear so much clothes (she's a VS model), but here she is wearing a truly fabulous and warm-looking vest. Along with black leather leggings, which I can be all about. I couldn't find mine this past year, which is maybe one reason why this winter seems so doldrumy. I had bought myself shiny black leather/pleather leggings a couple of winters ago to cheer myself up, and it worked. RHW is also the chick replacing Megan Fox in Transformers, FYI.

Music Muse Monday: Efterklang

Efterklang is from Denmark, and the group formed in the year 2000. Think a wordier and a slightly more indie pop version of Sigur Ros.

Let it wash over you and somehow the music reaches down and grips a heart string. If you're not used that sort of thing, it may feel uncomfortable, but just relax, be still and let it happen.



The really cool thing is that they're making a music film called, "An Island" with one of my favorite directors, Vincent Moon!! More on this later, but for now, a sweet trailer:

AN ISLAND - 3rd TEASER - Vincent Moon & Efterklang from Rumraket on Vimeo.

Anyone else a fan of Efterklang?

PS 22

A while ago I had posted youtube videos of a fifth grade chorus from P.S. 22 on Staten Island singing the most fantastic covers. The school's music teacher, Gregg Breinberg, formed the chorus in the year 2000 and started sharing the videos in 2006. They got hugely popular just from these youtube posts, and they've been everywhere, including background vocals for Passion Pit and singing for the Obamas at the White House. I'm posting about them again because it turns out they are going to be singing at the Academy Awards this year! The group is a constantly changing group of 5th graders from a regular elementary school, and they are amazing. The teacher has done such a good job with the kids - they sound great together, and they sing with so much soul and sincerity. I usually tear up watching/hearing them. It also makes me happy cause it brings me back to the days when I was in 5th grade; those were the days! Check it out for yoselves!



"Lisztomania" Phoenix (my favorite!!)


"Just dance" Lady Gaga


"Living on a Prayer" Bon Jovi

check out more of their awesomness here

january is the grayest month

....and February, too, for that matter. Instead of griping though, I thought I'd share some pretty things in the shades that this month is so good at. There has been a lot of gray, and while I don't like it in the weather, I love it on other things. Gray can be soothing and clean, while offering a great compliment to other colors.


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source love this, but unfortunately out of my price range.


source this was my xmas present from K !


source i usually am not a fan of sling backs, but i can't take my eyes off of these. i also really love the soft brown with the gray.


source ooh doily



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source Gray with dusty blue and burgundy, pow!


source i absolutely LOVE LOVE this



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Inspired!

volleyball tournament in Rochester

So now its Wednesday, and I haven't blogged for over a week, but for very good reasons. I've been studying like a good girl, and then on Friday of last week, I went up to Rochester, New York with K. and his 15 National Boy's Volleyball Team.

I've been running super low on whatever endurance is left to put up with the cold, so heading north wasn't ideal, but God was merciful and it turned out not to be as cold as feared. It also helped that I spent 90% of the time indoors....watching a lot volleyball. There were 11 other teams from the 15 year old bracket and it was an all day, 2-day affair. K.'s team worked hard, stayed focused, kept up their positive attitudes, and WON THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT!

In between reviewing my flash cards, I watched the team play and win all of their 8 matches over a two-day span. It was so encouraging to see them mentally battle through each of the games. It was also really neat to see them understand and apply all of the great coaching that K. has been working with them on. It's only been a month, but I can already see how much the the kids are improving in their skills, and growing as athletes. It's also pretty awesome to constantly see how much K. is growing as a coach. I'm so proud of the team, and I am so proud of my husband!!




Here they are at the airport with their gold medals and trophy. Yay!

music muse monday: arcade fire

Oops, almost forgot about this. I can't call something Music Muse Monday, and only do it on one Monday! It would be a waste of a cheesy name!

Today, I would like say a few words about Arcade's Fire's most recent album, The Suburbs.

I will keep it short: If I were to have an album-listening party (And yes, exactly what it sounds like, have people over to sit around and listen to an entire album from beginning to end, with beverage of choice, all together. And yes, I will make it happen someday.) THIS is one of the first album that I would have the party for.



"Ready to Start", Arcade Fire, The Surburbs




Also, the eight different album covers they released with this album are groovy. See them all here.

january blues

Um yeah. I'm ready for summer.

(Even more so because of the ridunkulous electricity bill we recently got for December. Appalling.)

If you want to be super prepared and save some money at the same time, buy your suits during the winter season! Victoria's Secret has a pretty good sale & clearance section for swim suits going on now. Huzzah!

the polaroid post, a.k.a, procrastination

i like that rusty lets me use him as a pillow. he is a true friend.


really delicious homemade pizza.


friday night ends with carrot cake, wine, and friends.



juicy carrot.


i am fond of my big black ring...


see me pet the dog with my big black ring?


coral coquette, here i come!


isn't he handsome!




the end.

how to be a better memorizer

That is a bad title for this post because it implies I am good at memorizing. I'm not. I do it because I have to and this is now what I spend the majority of my time doing. I've pinpointed lack of memorization as my weakness last time, and I've determined for myself that I need to get good at this if I want to pass this exam, so I did some research, figured out what works for me, and I am currently in the midst of trying to be a good memorizer. Sometimes I want to explode in a rant (or a angry dance) from the frustration and boredom, but I keep plugging away. These are some of the things I've been doing to develop my memorization abilities.

1. FLASHCARDS: but not just any flashcards. The problem with flash cards is that it takes so long to make them and they are super cumbersome to carry around. Which is why I was so happy to find a couple of sites that actually store a database of flashcards. Some of them are good, some of them are not so good, but you sort through them and utilize the good. Websites like FlashcardDB and Flashcard Exchange have a wide variety of subjects made into online flashcards. Flaschard Exchange is linked to an iPhone app called, Mental Case, which downloads the information onto your phone and makes it even more convenient to study. It cost $4.99, but compared to how much pre-made flashcards are, it's totally worth it!

2. When I've learned a particular topic, I teach it aloud to either K or my sister or anyone else willing to listen. Having to teach the information without looking at my notes forces me to recall the things that I do know, organize it, and explain it. This process makes it stick in my head.

3. If there is a short phrase that I have trouble remembering, I repeat it for as many times as I can stand. Anywhere from 25-50 times. Sometimes I say it while stomping around, sometimes I say it while I'm setting a volleyball, and sometimes I say it while tapping my finger on different parts of my body.

4. In order to supplement the visual learning process, I draw. For example, when I have to memorize elements of crime, I pick something that has that same number of things (5 family members, 6 rooms in the house, 7 colors in the rainbow, etc.) and assign the elements to the visual representation of something that I am familiar with. Case in point here:



5. I am also being friendly and kind to my brain. Certain foods, exercise, and attitude all affect how much the mind can absorb, so I try to keep all those in check. See more about that here.


Hopefully this brings success. Back to memorizing!

fashion flashback

One of my favorite things to wear from this past summer's wardrobe was this romper that I thrifted for $8. I wore it all the time because it was comfortable, lightweight, and pretty. I also wore it to my crafty bridal shower where we did lots of crafty things in preparation for the wedding.



During the same shower, I received an awesome gift from then future mother-in-law. A Christian Dior robe circa 1980 from Miller and Rhodes! It is le awesome and I love wearing it around the house!

Music Muse Monday

Sharing some of my music discoveries and favorites, here and there, but mostly on Mondays.

Today I want to applaud a band I came across recently, a band called 'Dead Man's Bones', who released their album in October of 2009 through ANTI Records. I almost don't want to share the fact that the band's front man is Ryan Gosling, the actor, because knowing that can totally distract from this band's actual awesomeness. But it's true - Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields make up the band that plays music along the lines of the gothic/showtunes/folk rock genre. The entire album is a collaboration with the Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir, and one of the album's songs (below), 'Name in Stone', also includes the LA Inner City Mass Choir. The album is such a great blend of creepy and folk, and the children's choir accompanies its show tune undertones really well.

DEAD MAN'S BONES - "NAME IN STONE" from biz3 publicity on Vimeo.

Ringing in 2011

Counted down to the new year at Caroline's along with some rad folk. Some of the highlights included raspberry chocolate cupcakes, British party crackers, remote control cars, and an assortment of hats. Although ever the realist, I am excited about this new year. Cheers to 2011!

my new favorite winter snack

Photo taken with the iPhone.

Roasted Grapefruit, per previous entry about new year's breakfast. See recipe and rant here.