100 things to do in 2012: month in review

july was, to use a phrase that is completely over yet still awesome, WINNING! i think i crossed off more items this month than any other so far.

6. go to a show at the social: COMPLETED.


if you missed my post about the best coast show a few weeks ago, check it here! 

8. meet a celebrity and take a picture with them: COMPLETED.

all i have to say is..."PROSTITUTION WHORE!" i also asked her what her favorite recipe is in her cookbook, and she said the chicken bruschetta. i didn't really respond because i was astounded by her tan.

48. bake and decorate a cake: COMPLETED. 

made my signature recipe, the best banana cake everrrr, for the 4th of july. it was a completely random choice for independence day, but it's something i'm good at, okay?!

68. feed the ducks in the pond at my apartment complex: COMPLETED.

threw some old rolls their way before heading out of town a few weeks ago. they started quacking and following me like an angry, hungry mob. cuties!

77. find one new song that i like each week: COMPLETED.

so much goodness!

the henry clay people - "hide"
eternal summers - "millions"
ty segall - "i bought my eyes"
havana brown f/ pitbull - "we run the night"

82.  give money to a busker: COMPLETED.


while wandering around boston, i saw this guy who was cranking some kind of organy-sounding instrument that he apparently made himself. it was awesome.

92. perform a song in public (live or youtube): COMPLETED.


i've rediscovered my dancing roots in the past month, and took my first classes in 8 years - modern and hip-hop! it feels great to be in the studio again. i've missed it so much. so i've performed choreography at least a few times in the past month! i also accompanied mi madre to a jazzercise class which was, um...AWESOME. shimmying to usher's "scream" with mostly middle-aged women? sorry, but that's amazing and you're sadly mistaken if you feel otherwise. might even go once more before i head back to flo rida.

97. make my mom's potato salad recipe: COMPLETED.

also made this for the 4th. it's the best ever. secret recipe! i feel privileged to have it.

for those of you keeping track (just me?), i think i'm at about 31ish on the list! gotta get moving. but i'm also teaching myself french, so i feel like that should count as an honorary item. or something. right?

5 things i love right now

because, dang, there's lots to love right now.

1. this performance on "so you think you can dance?" from "step up: revolution":




2. haagen-dazs salted caramel truffle ice cream:

3. this quote by rainer maria rilke:

"have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms written in a very foreign language. don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. and the point is to live everything. live the questions now. perhaps then, some day far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing, live your way into the answer."

4. these awesome picnic food ideas (who wants to plan one before the end of the summer?)

5. this japandroids song 


what are you all about right now?!

show review: best coast at the social

i made my first visit to the social on this past monday night - a sad, sad thing considering i've been here in orlando for almost a year, but whatever. i accompanied a friend to see perpetually-angsty-but-still-sunshiney-sounding best coast, a duo that consists of bethany cosentino and bobb bruno, with various other musicians filling in.

first: the social is SMALL! in comparison to will's pub, i felt like there definitely wasn't as much room to move around, but it was still a cool venue nonetheless, and we got there early and secured a decent spot.

those darlins (above), from nashville, opened and were not quite my style but had great stage presence. and one of the chicks had crazy eyes; LOOK! i also wished my hair could look like that. i was semi-familiar with them since i'm pretty much obsessed with every other non-country band out of nashville. and i read when i got home that their song was in this kia commercial which explains why it sounded so familiar to me when they played it.

and then...best coast! bethany was wearing a flower child headband and was sweet and fun onstage. she thanked us for selling out the first night of their tour (which, i had no idea about) and dropped f-bombs and joked about mickey mouse getting wasted. sigh. then some guy in the audience bought the whole band jaeger shots which was pretty funny.

despite the tour being for the new album, "the only place," everyone just wanted to hear old songs, which you could tell bugged her. "we have a new album...if you didn't know.." bethany quipped at one point. yikes!

throughout the set, she reminded me a lot of liz phair in both her voice and songs, which i hadn't really thought listening to their albums. but i dug it! i tend to prefer heavier, more upbeat stuff and the show dragged on a bit in the middle (at one point i think i found myself daydreaming about how cool it would be to see someone like bass drum of death here) but overall, i was really impressed.

100 things to do in 2012: month in review

so, this year is legit FLYING by, no? i kind of can't handle it. this month was a lil' slow, but i crossed off a whopping 3 items (45, 53, 67) on friday night when i had a slumber party with three of my gal pals at my friend's new place in massachusetts. i'm not sure if it was the hazy-hot new england summer weather, my friend's impeccably-decorated 250 year-old saltbox house, or the copious amounts of sangria we consumed during the evening, but it was one of those nights that you just felt some palpable magic in the air.

the four of us pitched in to make a wonderful summer dinner: lime-rubbed shrimp and avocado-grapefruit salad (pictured below - believe me, we were all skeptical, but it was delicious) and later, gathered on the deck (partially pictured above) to chat, laugh and drink more sangria before making some s'mores. most of us crashed pretty early during a viewing of "the princess bride," but we woke up the next morning to enjoy fresh fruit salad and homemade brie rolls while watching the pilot episode of "the wonder years" on netflix. a perfect grown-up sleepover, if you ask me! it reminded me of how satisfying it is to unplug and be present enough to enjoy some of the simple pleasures in front of you. i found a quote that hit home for me today and reminded me that, no, i don't need to do everything all the time, and "in the moment" can actually be a pretty sweet place:


we’re so caught up in trying to do everything, experience all the essential things, not miss out on anything important … that we forget the simple fact that we cannot experience everything. that physical reality dictates we’ll miss most things. we can’t read all the good books, watch all the good films, go to all the best cities in the world, try all the best restaurants, meet all the great people. but the secret is: life is better when we don’t try to do everything. learn to enjoy the slice of life you experience, and life turns out to be wonderful.

on that note, a bit o' my life in june!

45. have a candlelight dinner: COMPLETED.

okay, so it wasn't romantic, but there were candles. and they were lit. SO THERE!

53. roast marshmallows over a fire: COMPLETED.

it took a while for my friend's hubby to get the thing started in their new fire pit, but i was crushing s'mores in no time.

54. take a bubble bath: COMPLETED.

after a day of feeling particularly crappy, i decided to treat myself to a nice, long soak because i never, ever do.

67. visit a friend in another state: COMPLETED.

massachusetts totally counts now that i'm a floridian! ;)


77. find one new song i like each week: COMPLETED.

so many gems, including basically the entire new album by pujol, united states of being. others!!

sleeper agent - "get burned" 
jeff the brotherhood - "sixpack"
guided by voices - "class clown spots a UFO"
apollo ghosts - "what are your influences?"
japandroids - "the house that heaven built"