for the first time in a long time, i am REALLY looking forward to the new year! besides the fact that 13 is my lucky number and i'm slightly superstitious, i have a bunch of fun things like finishing grad school and hoooopefully getting my second full-time job on the agenda. in the past, i've made a list of 100 things, but i typically only do half of them anyways (post on that to come), so i scaled it down a bit. i've culled some ideas from my wonderful friends and twitter followers, and also carried some over from previous years that i still want to accomplish. i'd love to hear your goals for the new year!
1. complete a 5k
2. standing in the middle of a big (safe) city, walk for 15 minutes in one direction and see what i find
3. learn one song on harmonica
4. receive my master's degree
5. ...and secure a full-time job!
6. see blue man group, because i've never seen it and that's just wrong
7. ride in a hot air balloon
8. visit the pacific northwest (preferably portland, OR)
9. make something crafty for my home
10. write a missed connection on craigslist
11. dance on stage at a concert
12. take a photo of a famous movie/TV house
13. see the same band twice live
14. eat at the "be our guest" restaurant at disney's fantasyland
15. meet shaun white
16. have breakfast in bed
17. pay for a car behind me in a drive-thru
18. receive a tweet from a celebrity
19. go to a museum i've never been to
20. swim with dolphins
21. eat at an michelin-starred restaurant
22. drink a mint julep
23. hit a home run
24. hula hoop
25. play a musical instrument
26. go somewhere that requires a passport
27. find and follow a yellow brick road
28. send a query letter to an editor or literary agent
29. buy fruit or veggies from a farmers market
30. crash a wedding
31. go on a picnic
32. finish my europe scrapbook
33. go ice skating
34. visit nashville, TN
35. make my own marshmallows
36. go vegan for a week (SO SKEPTICAL)
37. make a playlist with one great song from every year since i was born (1986) to 2013
38. visit st. augustine
39. visit the town that inspired stars hollow in "gilmore girls" (washington depot, ct)
40. take 5 photos of 5 different natural landmarks
41. compliment a stranger every day for a week
42. sing karaoke
43. fly first class
44. meet someone from twitter in person
45. do 5 things to pamper myself
46. have a conversation in a different language
47. cook one of julia child's recipes
48. host a dinner party
49. have a midnight kiss on new year's eve
50. party with celebrities
i started out with 20, and thought that was a bit much. then i tried to narrow it down to 10 and just. couldn't. do it. so 15 seemed like a nice in-between number. without further ado, my 15 most favorite ditties of 2k12. i also made a playlist for your easier-listening pleasure (minus bass drum of death because...SPOTIFYYY!).
honorable mentions: tyga - "rack city," sleeper agent - "get burned," justin bieber- "boyfriend," nicki minaj - "va va voom," walk off the earth - "red hands"
15. one direction - "what makes you beautiful"
my boys barely cracked the list (why did i just call potentially underage lads "my boys"? god i'm pathetic), but they had to make an appearance. a soaring chorus, slight british accents and a generally shiny-happy vibe made this one the clear winner from them, though "kiss you" from their new album was also a contender. i mean, what? kidding. i don't know any other one direction songs.
14. FIDLAR - "got no money"
and now for something COMPLETELY different, because FIDLAR might be the anti boy-band. i say this because one of the lyrics to this song is "i got no money for speed." a fun ode to beavis-and-butthead-style slackerdom, that begins with a quote by a surfer from a local news story that went viral.
13. taylor swift - "we are never ever getting back together"
oh, swifty. i really despise you and your slutty songwriting ways, but ya done good, girl. i still mostly just enjoyed this track because every time i heard it, i entertained the possibility that it was about john mayer. which for some reason is really amusing to me.
12. electric guest - "this head i hold"
a delicious, retro indie pop nugget with a sorta cabaret vibe that i'm guessing you'd either love or hate. "sit back, don't think. get high, take drink." sounds good to me!
11. walk off the earth - "somebody i used to know" (gotye cover)
at least 5 times better than the original. possibly 10, IMO. every member's part adds something special to this rendition, and i much prefer gianni's voice to gotye's (the one who looks like jesus and sings the chorus). also, BEARD GUY!
10. bass drum of death - "white fright"/"i wanna be forgotten"
i cheated a liiiil' bit with this one, but i just couldn't decide between the two singles that one-man-band BDOD released this year. pure lo-fi, garagey goodness with ridiculous hooks. i can't wait to hear the full-length he's planning on releasing next year.
9. superchunk- "this summer"
superchunk can do no wrong in my eyes, but their last album left me a little disappointed. so when they released this perfectly-timed single that quite honestly could have been put out in 1993, i was STOKED! i'd missed you, superchunk.
8. bruno mars - "locked out of heaven"
this had to make the list, solely for being the first and only bruno mars song that i actually liked. and i more than liked it. is this guy's voice real life? oh yeah yeah yeah yeahhhh!
7. natural child - "baby"
these dudes released not one, but TWO full-length albums this year, so i had plenty of pickins when it came to their amazing brand of pure rock 'n roll. i kept coming back to this one, though...just about two minutes of smoky, '70s-style goodness. and i found a great live version!
6. pujol - "mission from god"
the first time i heard this song, i think i jumped up and ran around at hyper-speed like kevin mccallister in that home alone scene when he first realizes that he made his family disappear. by the end, i was almost definitely jumping on my bed and eating popcorn, shouting "i gotta know about youuuuu!"
5. the cadillac black - "tennessee mojo"
without a doubt, the cadillac black is one the best bands you've never heard of (unless you know me, that is). while their entire self-titled debut album is full of down-home, toe-tapping tunes that are perfect for drinking whiskey and donning cowboy boots, this one rose to the top of the heap for me. i want to marry the lead singer's voice. it's like sexy, southern-fried butter. couldn't find a video of the album track, but this live acoustic version might be even better. can i be from tennessee so i can get this mojo, please?
4. the mowgli's - "san francisco"
i didn't hear this one until november (after seeing the mowgli's live), but it was quickly thrown into heavyheavyheavy rotation on my ipod. like, i think i commuted back and forth to school for two weeks straight without listening to anything else. DO YOU FEEL THE LOVE?
3. carly rae jepsen - "call me maybe"
as i noted in a previous post, i still contend that this is the best pop song of all time. what's to say that's not already been said? this was one of those little earworms that you just couldn't avoid this year, no matter how you tried. but why would you want to? as my favorite writer, rob sheffield, said about this one: "This song once made me loiter two hours at an Arby's in Queens, nursing my curly fries, waiting for it to come on the radio. I could have just plugged in my iPod, but I wanted to hear it blast out loud and light up the room."
2. japandroids - "fire's highway"
words that come to mind when i hear this song: LIFE!!! YEAH!! WHOAAAAAAH! YEAH!! LIFE!! WOW!
...just listen and you'll see what i mean.
1. walk the moon - anna sun
this song has all the hallmarks of a truly great tune, in my opinion: it makes me smile, it makes me tear up, it makes me want to dance, and most importantly, it makes me want to sing along. YES! check out the lead singer's moves at 1:53. love.
i was inspired by my pal tony, after seeing this hilarious picture of the creepy "elf on a shelf" toy, to scour the internet in search of some more hilarious placements. people are pretty damn creative, i'd say.
ahhhh it's december! i just finished my comprehensive exams this weekend for my master's (to graduate in the spring!) and am so looking forward to a nice month-long winter break in new hampshire in just about a week. :) this month was a little slow, but i managed to check some more items off of the list.
speaking of which, i'm starting to come up with ideas for my 2013 list. if you have any great ideas, leave 'em in the comments!
7. take a boat ride: COMPLETED.
so this might be kind of a cheat, but i went to disney with my friend & her hubby and we did both the jungle river cruise as well as the "tom sawyer's island" thing, which involved a barge/ferry ride over to the island. close enough for me! 56. pop champagne: COMPLETED.
i spent thanksgiving solo this year, but decided to spice it up a bit with a breakfast of french toast and mimosas before my big meal of savory crockpot chicken sandwiches, stuffing, and broccoli. i managed to pop the cork without hurting myself, hooray! 77. find one new song that i like each week: COMPLETED.
lots of great new tunes! check out my november playlist for some of 'em. i also made a christmas playlist that you can enjoy while baking cookies, trimming the tree and binging on 'nog.
okay, so...i had a flashback to a commercial that used to make me laugh every thanksgiving/holiday season when i was a child, which involved a turkey running away from the thanksgiving table. i swore it was for butterball.
...but i just tried to find it and all i can find is this swanson chicken broth ad which appears to be from the last few years. am i going insane, or does anyone else remember the original running turkey spot? THANKSGIVING PROBLEMS!
last night was SO MUCH FUN! as some of you probably recall, upon discovering the viral youtube sensation that was walk off the earth's cover of gotye's "somebody that i used to know" in january of this year, i went through a few-week-long obsession where i pretty much watched it and their other amazing videos all day, err'day. i've since calmed down a bit, but i was able to see WOTE at their sold-out show show here in orlando, and it was legit so magical, guys.
stuff!
1. i had gotten my ticket, but my friend didn't get a chance to get hers before the show sold out. i had posted on the band's facebook page to see if a fellow fan had an extra ticket, and the super-sweet lady in the band, sarah blackwood, responded and told me to email her. she put me on the guest list (!) and i gave my friend my ticket. SO NICE!
2. the opening band, the mowgli's (above), are my new favorites despite the grammatical incorrectness of their name. they were all fabulous california flower children and i'm sensing that they're ones to watch. great energy and i had total crushes on all the boys in the band. loving their song, "san francisco," which you can check out below.
3. julia nunes followed. i had never heard her music before, and she had a phenomenal voice. she was pretty amusing on stage and sang a song about pizza burning her mouth. in between her set and WOTE's, the dude from the mowgli's came into the crowd and serenaded a birthday girl with an acoustic version of say anything's "alive with the glory of love" (a song about the holocaust, so that was weird).
4. walk off the earth was fanfriggintastic. they played a great mix of their originals & covers,
which included rihanna's "man down," B.o.B.'s "magic," fun.'s "some nights" with julia nunes, and a live re-creation of their video for "the backin' up song." there were confetti and beach balls and balloons released into the audience at several points (loving the chaotic photo i captured of that madness), more than one sing-along, a panoramic crowd shot with the band, and plenty of instrument tossing.
pictures!!
below is the mind-blowing video for their fantastic first major-label single, "red hands," which was shot in one take, and directed by a kid i went to emerson with. the unedited version is worth a watch, too, and basically made my brain explode! i have also been digging their cover of nirvana's "polly," so i threw that on here as well.
i just got back from a long weekend in vero beach, a quiet little oceanside town that's less than two hours from orlando. i had been last year and fell in love with this hotel, the vero beach hotel and spa, so this year i returned and fell even more in love (if that's possible). it was a great little escape from the daily grind, the weather was perfect, and i enjoyed one of the most fascinating nights of my life there, to boot! highlights:
- the hotel's nightly wine hour. so much wine. fo' free! the first evening, i made the acquaintance of a really sweet british couple who were on "holiday." the next night was like a full-on seinfeld episode, with a possibly insane, fascinating doctor (who has a wikipedia entry and is the subject of a documentary), an awesome older dude from san fran who played guitar, and really some confused canadian couple. at one point, the awesome older dude stood up to make room for another guy. "no no, sit down!" "no, i'm good." "no, sit! i'll bring over a chair." "i'm fine!" "seriously, i'm going to get a chair." "I LIKE STANDING!" this went on for five minutes and i was laughing hysterically. you kind of had to be there. but like i said, seinfeldian. the doctor then told us of how he reversed diseases and how we're supposed to exercise according to lunar cycles and...no idea. but it actually all kind of made sense, at least while i was drunk on chardonnay. he's either the smartest man in the world, or the craziest. or both.
-this adorable restaurant, lemon tree, which has the BEST sandwich i've ever had in my liiiife: sliced chicken breast, bacon, swiss cheese, and guacamole on focaccia...aaaand they serve you complimentary sorbet for dessert!
-collecting seashells on the beach and bonding with all the other cute seashell-collecting people
-having mimosas & an amazing blackened mahi mahi sandwich at the hotel brunch on the oceanfront outdoor patio (um, why am i talking about going back to boston again?)
-going to mckee botanical gardens, which was cool as-is, but even cooler because they were showing an exhibit by this glass artist, frabel. pictures below!
it's been quite an eventful month! in the past two weeks, i've attended the orlando film festival, saw emeril cook at macy's, went to halloween horror nights, and secured a sweet spring internship working doing marketing and PR for the enzian theatre and florida film festival. good times, good times.
29. watch 26 new movies, one for each letter of the alphabet: CONTINUED.
at the orlando film festival, i saw a so-so movie called "five hours south" about an italian cop that tries to make it as a breakdancer, and an awesome movie, "the story of luke," about an autistic 25 year-old trying to make it in the world. the best part? lou taylor pucci, who plays the title character, was there to chat about the movie! i'm a longtime fan, as he was in some other good indies like "thumbsucker" and "the chumscrubber," not to mention an episode of HBO's "girls" (he played the hometown pharmacist). when i shook his hand after the movie, i complimented him on his performance in the show and then felt awkward because i realized that half of his on-screen time was an awkward sex scene. oh well! also, i'm watching "rock of ages" right now and as expected, it's HORRIBLE. the musical is still my favorite thing ever though. 31. go to universal studios: COMPLETED.
i attended halloween horror nights for the first time and it was enjoyable, but FAR too crowded, even on a thursday night. we showed up at 7pm, and made it into a grand total of 3 houses by 2am, in addition to seeing a bill-and-ted-themed theatrical performance. i'm happy i was able to check it off the list, though! 59. successfully submit an essay i wrote to another anthology: SUBMITTED TWO.
sent in an essay i wrote about my 2011 experience at south by southwest to an anthology about young travelers, and submitted one about my european travels to a women's travel writing anthology. hoping to hear back by the end of the year! 77. find one new song that i like each week: COMPLETED.
i made a fun fall playlist with some of my recent favorites. dig it! 78. go completely soda-free for a month: COMPLETED.
this one wasn't extremely hard, since i don't drink soda unless i'm dining out. easy-peasy!
“No mustard on it? Does that mean you want mayonnaise?” the mystified sandwich slinger offers, holding up my roast beef sub like a newly baptized child, the slightest bit of drool gathering in the right corner of his mouth. “Nope! No mustard, no mayo. No...sauce,” I politely call back to him over the counter, as I begin to actually consider the reasons for my apparently peculiar response. For most people, condiments don’t necessarily inspire a reaction akin to someone offering them a sweat-soaked sock on a plate, but I’m truly disgusted by most sandwich toppings, with the exception of barbecue sauce and ketchup. Even then, I’ll usually order them on the side; I’m not so comfortable as to allow anyone to douse my deli meats. I’m not scared of condiments, like the chick on Maury who ran away sobbing as the producers taunted her with a heaping plate of mustard. This is no phobia, to be sure. Just pure and utter revulsion.
A summer of pool parties at Mrs. Husted’s house in the summer of ’91 meant a good two months of Miracle Whip-laden sandwiches for lunch. Since then, I’ve forever associated mayonnaise with bathing suit wedgies, mosquito bites, soggy turkey-on-wheats, and water trapped in my ear. Over the years, I’ve become skilled at recognizing the whipped abomination under all of its aliases and in all of its incarnations, including “aioli” and “remoulade.” As far as I’m concerned, you can put the mayo in the gourmet kitchen, but you can’t put the gourmet kitchen in the mayo (actually, I don’t even know what that means).
The mustard? Well, that was a bit more traumatic. While I can’t recall the occasion—perhaps a christening or birthday party—I’ll never forget the sheer embarrassment that haunted me for years after the incident. My entire family was gathered at my aunt’s house in Syracuse, New York. Ever the weirdo that lurks around the buffet table to get the first of the lasagna at a catered event, or stalks the waiters for a fifth serving of stuffed mushrooms at a wedding, I snuck away from my happily socializing relatives and onto the enclosed front patio, towards the holy grail. I could see it from afar. A beautiful basket of chips and nacho cheese sat, untouched and uncorrupted. Mine, all mine! My six year-old eyes lit up, and I dove in, grabbing the biggest Tostito and claiming it as my own. I scooped a heaping portion of the dip, preparing myself for pure hedonistic indulgence. What I received instead was a mouthful of dijon-flavored disaster. This ain’t no velveeta, my suddenly southern mind concluded. So naturally, I reacted in the only manner that a first-grader who just had her taste buds and sensibilities assaulted by spicy mustard could.
I opened my mouth and let forth a yellow-tinged fountain of drool onto the porch.
I looked around feverishly for napkins or paper towels. Nothing. Alone, confused, and still drooling, I suddenly heard footsteps and froze. Paralyzed with fear and rendered mute by the mustard, I slowly turned around to find myself face-to-face with a family friend/handyman/all-around random dude that had likely just wanted to enjoy some chips and was unprepared to encounter a small child that was frothing at the mouth. His eyes widened as he took stock of the scenario before him. “We’ve got a mustard meltdown,” he shouted, to no one in particular. Curious family members began to gather, wincing and cringing as if they were watching a UFC fight. After what seemed like hours of humiliation, my mother got wind of the situation and rushed to my aid with an industrial-strength paper towel. “Oh, sweetie,” she shook her head, liberally swiping the sheet across my lemon-colored lips. “Nacho cheese,” I sputtered. She nodded towards the crowd, repeating “nacho cheese,” as if that somehow explained why her child was spewing hot mustard onto the floor. No, it certainly wasn’t my cheese. Or anyone else’s for that matter. And people wonder why I still dip my chicken nuggets in honey.
The sandwich artiste’s voice snaps me back to reality. “...So, no horseradish?”
happy fall! i swear, it seems like just yesterday that i was ringing in 2012 on a cramped boston apartment couch, sandwiched in between one of my best friends and a semi-creepy guy trying to get me to cook dinner for him. but i digress! despite my gallbladder debacle, i still managed to make progress on my list this month. who wants to go to halloween horror nights at universal in october to help me check that one off?!
29. watch 26 new movies, one for each letter of the alphabet: CONTINUED.
i did see "celeste & jesse forever," which was great, but i'd already crossed off "C" with chronicle earlier in the year. however, i went to "pitch perfect" last night-HILARIOUS, btw- so i'm one letter closer. on a sidenote, people were like, clapping randomly after performances in the movie? which i thought was really odd.
76. win a trip: WON A HOTEL STAY!
so close! i entered an instagram photo from my summer travels into a sweepstakes doubletree was running and was one of the winners! i got a sweet prize pack with certificates for a 2-night stay, plus a beach towel, luggage tag, tote bag, computer screen cleaners, baseball cap and tin of their signature chocolate chip cookies! if i somehow win a flight by the end of the year i'll count this one as complete.
87. take a spontaneous day trip: COMPLETED.
last sunday, my roommate and i decided to head to downtown disney for the day - i know many people think i live like, in the magic kingdom, but i'm actually about 40ish minutes away, so this totally counts as a day trip. we enjoyed a lovely lunch on the water at fulton's crab house, wandered in and out of the shops among the tourists, and topped it off with some legit hot fudge sundaes at ghirardelli's. a perfect sunday!
oh hey, guys! haven't updated in a while - blame it on my no-good gallbladder, which led to 2 surgeries, 2 days in a row. it's been almost 2 weeks now, the GB is gone, and i'm pretty much back to my old self. all is well!
anyways, did y'all watch the emmys? i was overall sort of unimpressed with the fashion statements, though i was happy that aside from the sea foam green and oranges, there wasn't one dominating color like usual. after some careful consideration, i've picked out my favorite & least favorite red carpet looks.
BEST-DRESSED: padma lakshmi
you know that phrase, "there's always someone prettier than you"? i think padma is that person. for like, everyone.
amy poehler
simple, gorgeous, elegant. love it! heidi klum
a little split from seal did her good, i guess!
WORST-DRESSED: lena dunham
don't get me wrong. i love, love, love lena and "girls." but this frock is just not a good look.
elisabeth moss
this one reminded me of a brat pack movie prom dress. vintage in the worst sense.
portia de rossi
no words. girl looks like she's going to try and hide in the desert.
i'm slackin'! i blame it on the fact that i started my second (and final!) year of grad school on august 21st, so much of this month was spent running around and getting ready for the craziness. hopefully i'll make up for it in september!
16. go to the icebar in orlando: BOUGHT A GROUPON FOR IT.
i got really excited when i saw an offer for discounted admission for 2 to the icebar in my inbox and jumped on it. now i just need to, um, actually go.
29. watch 26 new movies, one for each letter of the alphabet: CONTINUED.
watched "youth in revolt" with michael cera, which was pretty terrible, and an old one called "a lot like love" with amanda peet and ashton kutcher. kind of cute.
61. watch one of the harry potter movies: ATTEMPTED.
ugh, i really tried to stay focused when one of them was on TV recently (the 2nd one? actually i have no idea), but i found myself muting it so i could listen to music, and i'd be lying if i said i was paying attention at all. i don't know if this one's possible, guys. just no interest.
77. find one new song that i like each week: COMPLETED.
found a bunch of goodies & i'm working on a fall playlist with some of them, including this motion city soundtrack tune. apparently they're still doing things and this video is one of the best i've seen in a while. i'm still not sure i get it.
the result of boredom on 2 transatlantic and 4 domestic flights this summer...i present to you: GAK CITY: a parody of tyga's "rack city" and an ode to '90s nickelodeon! the shows included, in order, are: double dare, 100 deeds for eddie mcdowd, hey dude, are you afraid of the dark?, wild 'n crazy kids, clarissa explains it all, doug, rugrats, the adventures of pete & pete, legends of the hidden temple, salute your shorts, the secret life of alex mack, GUTS, and all that...plus a bunch of fads. can someone help me make a super-awesome youtube video for this? until then, you'll just have to rap along. if you know me IRL, i'll gladly do it live.
