18 March 2013

Now: Music


28 Days by erikino.

Listen/watch. Repeat. Leave a comment if you liked it!

17 March 2013

Currently: The Retail Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day! What's left of it anyway. Did you wear green? I'm wearing a kelly green top to keep any pinchers at bay. Ha!

So on to what's current: the retail edition.

Since St. Patrick's Day is nearly over and all the stores have been in Easter mode since Valentine's Day, I have a new Easter candy to tell you about. Vanilla Creme Marshmallow Peeps! I was at Tarjay yesterday and did a quick walk through of the snack area and peeped these new Peeps! I'm a pretty big fan of regular Peeps, so much so that I did not want to buy the package of 12 or whatever, because I'd likely eat all of them. So when I saw a package of three Vanilla Creme Peeps, I was intrigued and they jumped in my cart. My review in one word: delicious! I highly recommend if you're a Peeps fan!

Do you have a favorite mascara? I got a sample of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara from Sephora. My favorite, tried and true mascara is Voluminous False Fiber Lash Mascara from L'Oreal, but I do love to try a new product. So I've tried They're Real! a few times now since I got the sample. The brush has strange, plastic-y fibers that I haven't quite gotten used to. Once it's on, it actually looks good. It doesn't clump, but I've also noticed that it flakes a bit during the day, so you end up with tiny black specks on your cheeks. That's not cool. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? I'm going to keep trying it out here and there to see if it can completely win me over. What's your go to mascara?

Grand Rapids is now home to a Home Goods and a newly relocated TJ Maxx. From all the traffic you'd think the stores were giving away $100 bills to everyone who walked through the door. I managed to grab a parking spot in the heavily crowded parking lot and took a gander at what the fuss was about. The stores have separate entrances, but are connected, since they really are the same store. The Home Goods just has more of what the normal housewares section of our old TJ Maxx had.  It will be nice to have Home Goods as an option for house things. The TJ is a lot nicer and more spacious than the old location just across the parking lot, unfortunately though no $100 giveaway! No purchases were made. Will wait until the hype dies down, so I can browse in peace!

I opened with a sneaky sugar snack, which was a total treat since I'm trying real hard to keep to healthy eating these days. I've long been a fan of almonds as healthy snack. I recently came across these 100 calorie snack packs of cinnamon roast almonds by Emerald Nuts. For some reason I can't find a link to them, but trust, they are yummy and the perfect snack size. Do you have a go to healthy snack? Do share!


11 March 2013

Now: Music

Music is totally one of my things. I listen to music pretty much all the time and although I don't play an instrument or arrange music of my own, I'm captivated by other people's musical creativity. I've been that way as long as I can remember. One of my earliest musical memories is from before I was in kindergarten, so I was probably three or four. My parents were playing some classical music on the stereo and I started crying and told them to "turn off the sad music." Clearly, I connected with music on an emotional level at an early age.

My musical taste now is all over the place, as evidenced by what's high up in my current musical rotation:

  • Torches by Foster the People. I've been running to this album for a few weeks.
  • Unapologetic by Rihanna. I had heard a couple singles and thought, "meh," but hearing the whole album, it has grown on me.
  • Saturdays=Youth by M83. This is mostly super chill, hipster music that would make good rom/com movie soundtrack music.
  • Lula Divinia by Shiner. This one's a throwback. I used to listen to it a ton, but somehow lost the CD. I recently procured it again, so I'm catching up! 

I'm usually an iTunes on shuffle kind of gal, but for some reason I'm into the start to finish thing with these particular releases. 

Also here's a couple random songs I've also been digging:

San Tropez by Fyfe: 


Sail by Awolnation:

Like? Don't like? What's got your ear these days? 

10 March 2013

Weekend Uniform

Does your hoodie match the rug like mine does? Ha! #favoritecolor

Do you ever get so enamored with an outfit you feel like you could wear it forever? That's where I'm at with this outfit. Call it my weekend uniform. I wore a variation of it last weekend and this was Saturday's outfit. I realized that it's pretty much screams teen skater boy. Right?! I posted a pic of the hoodie/hat combo last weekend on instagram and got some random likes from the 20 and under crowd. Kind of hilarious considering how old I actually am. But I love that I can still pull this off. It's comfortable, yet I still feel pulled together and stylish.

Shoes: Wedge high tops from Target with a a little stud detail on the velcro strap.
Pants: Skinny gray cords that I've had for a few years.
Hoodie: From the boy's section at Target. No joke. I love it though.
Jean jacket: BCBG Maxazria Jeans.
Hat: Calvin Klein from Nordstrom Rack. Picked it up after Christmas and pretty much have been wearing it non-stop since.

What outfit are you rockin' on repeat?


04 March 2013

#notclearon

One of my favorite hashtags on Twitter is #notclearon. Since I'm not limited to 140 characters here, I thought I'd share some of my favorite (or not, as the case may be) items and situations I'm not so clear on. Then, if you're feeling it: leave one or two of yours in the comments. Or if you have an explanation to one of mine, feel free to leave that in the comments as well. Maybe we can clear some things up!

People who don't shovel the snow off their sidewalks. #notclearon You might not walk on them, but believe me, other people do or try to and then have to move it on over to the street, which is sometimes more dangerous than the prospect of slipping on an icy sidewalk.

People who put an invitation out on FB or Twitter for people to join them for some activity then back out when people step up. #notclearon Why even put it out there for the world then?

Bloggers who post outfit pics of themselves in the snow, but they don't have a coat on. #notclearon The  coat makes or breaks an outfit and posing without one in at least one picture is just lazy fashion blogging.

Supposedly nobody likes to talk on the phone, but everyone driving is talking on the phone. Who are they talking to? #notclearon

Shows or movies without likable characters. #notclearon

Why hasn't someone figured out how to teletransport yet? #notclearon I want my particles to be able to zip here and there whenever I want to see my fam and friends or the world!

Not setting an out of office notice on work email and voicemail. #notclearon

Week four Harlem Shake videos. #notclearon

Let's get clear! What are you wondering?

02 March 2013

Toaster Dreams



I've been watching BMW motorcycle videos on youtube. Admit it, you totally do this too! This 1972 BMW R75/5 (Toaster tank) is beautiful! I want one someday, or something a little smaller since I *am* a lady. This particular bike is bad ass and so much cooler than anything built since.

The sound of these bikes is so distinct! Add it to the list of reasons I want one someday. You could blindfold me and start up a few different bikes and I'd be able to tell you which one was the BMW.  It's such a sexy sound.

Overall, the design and engineering are top notch. German engineering, yo! This model is considered a vintage bike, but they're known for their reliability.

I want!

01 March 2013

Favorite iPhone Apps

Before I switched from a Droid phone to my iPhone 5, I had app envy. My friend with iPhones would be talking about apps they're using and loving and I had no frame of reference since many apps did not have a version for Droids. But then..it was finally time for me to upgrade. I've had my iPhone since the end of October and feel like I've gotten settled in well enough to talk about some of my favorite apps.

Instagram. So if you've got an iPhone, you've gotta have Instagram. I can't stress how much I love this app - I love the idea of documenting the things you see throughout the day, and seeing what everyone else feels is worthy of instagramming/sharing. All the different filters are fun to play around with too. I usually rock #nofilter, but usually flip through all of them looking for the best lighting/effect.

My Fitness Pal. Someone at work told me about this app about a month ago. Admittedly, today is only my second day using it, but so far I'm hooked. Basically it's an app to help you track your daily calorie intake and exercise. When you get started, you have several different options for what you want to accomplish, whether you want to maintain your current weight or lose weight. Then, essentially it's a diary that you can keep track of everything you've eaten, your exercise and even your water intake. To say that the database of foods is vast would be an understatement. And it's easy enough to add a food if you don't find a suitable match in the database. I entered my homemade hummus yesterday.

Voxer. This can be used in a walkie talkie type fashion with friends - talking back and forth, but you can't talk at the same time. Or if you're not on voxer at the same time as your friend, you just leave your voice message and they can listen to it whenever and reply at their leisure. I have a friend who's in Australia right now and it's fun and free way to keep in touch.

Starbucks. If you have a Starbucks card, essentially the app takes the card's place. You load money on it just like you would a card. It keeps track of all your Star Rewards as you make purchases. They send you messages about the week's free music download and promotions.  And the best part of all, instead of paying by swiping your card, you bring up the payment screen and they scan the money off your phone. Sweet!

What are your favorite apps? I feel like there are so many more that I should have, but don't! Do share!