Quick Pics

April has been both stressful and exciting. It's stressful to try to juggle all the things that I have going on and it has definitely meant less time for things like taking pictures and doing blog stuff, but you gotta do what you gotta so. On the other hand, keeping busy is nice sometimes and I'm learning a lot of different things, which is awesome. And since I only get the weekends off now, I try to make the best of them and go outdoors since the weather has been so nice. At the beginning of the month, I went to a vintage show and scored a few great deals!

I started spending time by the beach again now that it's warmer out. I like to go to the beach in the winter sometimes too just because no one is there and it's pretty peaceful, but it's just so cold and I can't stand it for too long. Nadia took this cute picture of Chris and I when the three of us went a couple of weeks ago!

I baked some cupcakes for Easter and dyed Easter eggs. For some reason, I am the designated egg-dyer. I like it, it's just that some of the colors take forever and I get annoyed with it. We used to always use the white crayon, but I started just writing with Sharpie because it's so much easier and comes out neater.

So last Friday was French Fry Friday. You're probably saying to yourself, 'what the heck is French Fry Friday?'. French Fry Friday is a holiday that Chris and I made up 4 years ago. Somehow, we got this idea that we should get french fries from all the local fast food restaurants and then pool them all together and eat them all at once. We decided that it should be a special day and that it of course had to be a Friday since Fry is in the name. When we first decided to do it, it was the 4th Friday in April, so now every year the 4th Friday in April is French Fry Friday! At first it was just McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and Burger King. Now we have expanded it to include Five Guys and the diner. I kind of feel like dying afterwards, but it's worth it. I rarely have french fries since I try to stay away from fried foods, so this day is a real treat for me. Plus I love that Chris and I created a tradition together and have stuck to it for 4 years, now. And some of our friends now get in on it too! :)

Last weekend I spent some more time by the beach, as well as went to a local music store to play with some instruments. I always wished I could play drums and I did start to learn once, but I didn't have a set to practice on. They are loud and take up space, so my dad had never let me get one. Oh well. I think the next thing I'd want to learn is banjo. I sort of gravitate to string instruments.

It's been pretty chilly these last few days of April, so I'm hoping that May finally brings consistent warmth. I don't have much planned for May yet, except seeing The Aquabats and doing stuff for my mom's and niece's birthdays and Mother's Day. My mom's birthday is always around Mother's Day, so she always gets double the gifts and special treatment. I still have to get her presents! I'll also be making her cake, and I've already decided how I'm going to decorate it! Now I just need to hope it comes out the way I imagine it...haha.

Easter Sunny

My Easter was pretty relaxed. We went to my brother's in the morning to see my niece and nephew, then headed to my grandparents for dinner in the afternoon. It was no Thanksgiving dinner, but the food was still good. It was a lot of pasta and ham. I hate ham, and while I'm Italian, I don't LOVE pasta. I like to have the meat and potatoes...literally. Pasta with meat in it is better than just pasta and sauce, and there was baked ziti with meat so that was fine. My favorite part was the dessert. My grandma made apple pie and cannoli pie. I need to get her cannoli pie recipe one day.

My grandmother used to do an Easter egg hunt for my cousins and I when we were little. She would hide chocolates and plastic Easter eggs around her yard and then we would go out and try to find them. I'm so thankful that I have grandparents who went out of their way to do sweet things like that for us because it made my childhood that much better.

Afterwards, Chris and I went for a talk down the trolley tracks with Ashley and her boyfriend. It was pretty nice out, just a little chilly. We sat at a picnic table and hung out for a bit until heading back. The rest of the day was just spent relaxing and watching Futurama. Chris and I finally finished watching the whole series. The last episode was really sad, in a good way. It was very sentimental. It's definitely one of my favorite shows.

I was saving this dress to wear on Easter. I spotted it in Kohl's and really liked the light grey color and the cutout. I like how the sleeves sort of look like a shrug, too. I still had money on my gift card, so I ended up getting it. It's really comfortable and nice for a holiday where food is involved because it's not constricting at all.

Dress: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's//Shoes: Dana Buchman via Kohl's//Lipstick: LORAC Cosmetics

I made cupcakes for Easter and I decided to use edible grass to decorate them. I fully regret it. They looked good, but the edible grass was kinda gross and it was also kinda sharp when biting into the cupcake. I ended up taking it off of the one I ate. The cupcakes themselves came out fine, though. I like Easter because it's so springy, but the better holidays are all towards the end of the year - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I think I also prefer the summer holidays over Easter as well. There's nothing like the mix of a good cookout with burgers on the grill and warm weather. I can't wait for Memorial Day!

Guest Posting at The Soubrette Brunette!

I'm guest posting for the lovely Sammi from The Soubrette Brunette today! While she's away, she asked some other bloggers (myself included) to pick out our favorite outfits and share them. Here's a sneak peek at some of my picks. You can read the rest of the post at The Soubrette Brunette! :)

Soundtrack

I've realized that not a lot of people talk about a variety of their interests in these blogs, which is funny because most of us aren't sitting here typing blog posts and out taking pictures for 99% of our time. We are whole people who probably have a ton of other interests and things going on. I know that I sometimes just end up talking about the weather or my outfit, but I like to also talk about more interesting things too. I've decided to dedicate this post (and maybe more at some point) to music. I could be wrong, but I don't think there is anyone who doesn't like music in some form.







I find the psychological aspect of teens/college students loving music and feeling it's so important to the point of being obsessive really interesting. Think about Beatlemania, Elvis, N'Sync/boy bands. Why are we so obsessed? Is it because it's a point in our lives where we desperately need something to relate to and someone to show us we aren't alone? Teens are known to feel like no one understands them, so maybe music is the thing they cling to for emotional support besides their friends. I used to spend hours on iTunes going through the recommendations and similar bands that showed up on all my favorite bands, and then I would go to the similar artists from those bands, and so on. Before I knew it, three hours had gone by and I found a bunch of new things to listen to.







For some reason, I'm pickier nowadays and I have no idea why. It seems that there is a window for when you are very open and susceptible to new music. I'm sure this isn't true for everyone, but it's just something I've noticed in myself and others around me. And I've always liked the experience of discovering music myself as opposed to someone pressing something on me that they love. I know that can come off as "hipster" or something, and I assure you it's not. I don't need to find something that no one else knows about or anything. I just don't like people pressuring me to listen to something. It's annoying. The same goes for movies. If you're going to tell me 50 times that I need to see this movie, then I'm not going to want to. Instead, invite me over and put the movie on. I will watch it.









My favorite genres are indie/folk rock, ska, and oldies (swing, doo wop, etc.). I have three top favorite bands, which are Page France/Cotton Jones (they started as Page France, then started Cotton Jones as a separate band later on), Peter and the Wolf, and The Aquabats. I listen to just about everything, though. I know people hate that statement and it's very generic and vague, but it's very true for me. The only things I really can't stand are country, metal, and certain types of rap. Those are the only things that make me want to tear my ears off. Some of the bands/artists I love are: Led Zeppelin, The Toasters, Glenn Miller,  Johnny Cash (And yes, I know he can be considered country by some people, but when I talk country, I mean Brad Paisley and Garth Brooks kind of country. I feel Johnny Cash is more rockabilly, blues, and folky), Weezer, Mindless Self Indulgence, Violent Femmes, Flight of the Conchords, Spice Girls, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Nirvana, The Beatles, Architecture in Helsinki, White Stripes, Reel Big Fish, Disney music, Good Charlotte, Queen, She & Him, Justin Timberlake, and so much more. I love all kinds of music and all the moods they can bring.









I don't really believe in "growing out" of music. I still enjoy things that I listened to when I was a kid or a teenager. It's reminiscent, nostalgic, and fun. Of course I'm aware that some of it isn't particularly amazing or good, but it was a part of me at some point in my life and it sticks around now. It molded me in some way, even if I'm not sure what way that was. This doesn't mean that there are some bands that I just stopped listening to because they were just too awful. I'm looking at you, Senses Fail and Funeral For A Friend. But yeah...I still belt out to N'Sync and Spice Girls in my car occasionally, as well as Disney songs. I was on a Frozen soundtrack kick for the last week or two, but now I'm just full-on Aquabats since I'm going to be seeing them live! I'M BEYOND EXCITED FOR THIS. I love that they are mainly ska, but also have a lot of different sounds as well. Plus they're just silly.







As for playing music, I have been playing music since I was in the fourth grade, so about 9 years old. I was playing the flute in the school band, and did so for 4 years up until high school when I stopped. When I was 13, I started getting into rock music and decided to learn the guitar. Luckily, my band teacher was nice enough to teach me the basics. I would bring my guitar in sometimes and he would teach me chords. Other than that, I learned on my own via guitar tabs online. I love tabs because they make it so much easier to learn how to play. I can read sheet music, but I hate doing it with the guitar. I started writing my own music a little while after I started learning.







My cousin Ashley and I had a couple of music endeavors. We had a band with one of my friends in high school, but we didn't really play anywhere except at school functions. That band ended up phasing out, and then Ashley and I just kind of did our own acoustic stuff. We recorded some songs on her laptop, but never did anything in a professional sense. I have also wrote things on my own. I mostly write lyrics and then end up becoming frustrated when I can't produce the music to it that I hear in my head. That's the hardest part for me. I hear something a certain way in my head and I can't translate it to the instrument.







About five years ago, I decided to buy a ukulele. I don't remember exactly why, but that's around when I got into The Boy Least Likely To and they are pretty whimsical so that could be it. Anyway, I bought a uke and named it Henry. I named it after one of the main characters in my favorite book, The Time Traveler's Wife. It's funny because he is a librarian. :)







I learned ukulele very fast. It's easier than guitar since it's only 4 strings and it's also just easier to play in general since it's smaller, especially if you have smaller hands/fingers like I do. I like that it's smaller. It makes it easier to carry around. I got a cute tweed case for it too to keep it protected. Mine is the smallest kind, which is called the soprano ukulele. There's also concert, tenor, and baritone. They even have electric acoustic ukuleles that can be plugged into amps! Chris has one of those, but his is a tenor uke. I also took a piano class in college, but since I haven't practiced since, I'm pretty rusty with it.

Dress: ASOS//Jacket: Gap (thrifted)//Shoes: Liz Claiborne//Tights: L'eggs//Flower Crown: Handmade by Chris//Twig Necklace: c/o Lisa Leonard Designs//Charm Necklace: Borrowed from my mom (it was hers from when she was younger!)//Lipstick: LORAC Cosmetics

I have definitely favored the ukulele over the guitar in the last few years. I love the sound of it, I love the size of it, and I love the simplicity of it. I highly recommend it if you have ever wanted to learn an instrument, but felt too intimidated. It's really easy and like the guitar, there are tabs/chord charts online that make everything so much easier to read and learn! I'm curious as to if any of you play instruments, and which ones. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know!