100 things to do in 2012: month in review.

welp, i just finished the last grad class of the semester, and i'm SO HAPPY. it's strange to think that my "summer" is starting already, but also kind of awesome. i've secured a wonderful, flexible freelance gig that will allow me to work from anywhere. which is great, since i am leaving to complete #14 (visit nashville) on sunday, and #1 (visit europe) on the 17th before heading home to new england to be a bridesmaid for the first time at one of my best friend's weddings, and theeeeen attend my cousin's wedding. busy, busy, dizzy! but i have a great feeling about this summer and am happily anticipating the great things it will bring! :)

2. make my own ice cream: COMPLETED.

i was bored a few weeks ago, and craving a sweet treat, but didn't have anything in the house. except half and half, salt, ice, sugar, and vanilla, that is. so i decided to make myself a little ziploc bag full of ice creamy goodness. i did something wrong because i shook that dang bag for a half hour without really anything happening. so i stuck it in the freezer and voila! yummy ice cream after like...45 minutes.

10. make $2,000 in freelance: CONTINUED.

i'll likely hit my goal in just under two weeks. woot!

29. watch 26 new movies, one for every letter of the alphabet: CONTINUED.

this month, i saw jeff who lives at home, which was honestly one of the best movies i've seen in a long time (mainly because i'm pretty much jeff). i also watched dear john on TV the other night, which was much less sad than i had anticipated. i love me some channing tatum.

46. make a painting: COMPLETED.

courtesy of a livingsocial deal, some great gals and i headed over to this genius place just north of orlando in altamonte springs called creative canvas and wine. basically, you pay one price for all the supplies you need to make a guided painting (sup, bob ross?) and you get to drink wine while you do it. SO GOOD! besides the "leaves" that look like hellfire in my painting (on the left), we made some pretty damn van gogh-esque sunflowers, wouldn't you say?

69. hang out with a band after a show: CLOSE ENOUGH?

well, it was just one member of a band (see below), and it was before the show, not after. but we had dinner and played apples to apples and stuff! i'm pretty sure i can count it.

77. find one new song a week that i love: COMPLETED.


i discovered so much good new music this month. namely, bass drum of death, who i wrote about a few weeks ago. you can check most of it out on this "mayan summer" playlist i lovingly put together on spotify. dig it!


78. go to a local punk show: COMPLETED.

semantics. it was more southern rock than punk, but i accompanied my friend to a show on easter/passover weekend which was appropriately but randomly held at a church. i praised the gods of rock 'n roll! and saw an entertaining local band, buffalo gun. oh, and the following weekend i saw some more punk-esque local bands at the hunx and his punx show.

top 5 names for taylor hanson's duggar-style reality show.

if you haven't heard the news, mr. hanson announced today that he and wife natalie are expecting baby #5. they're not even 30, so first of all, IS THIS REAL LIFE? second of all, i don't really blame his wife at all. get it, girl! i think you had the man locked down after #1, but you do you.

anyways, you just know that a reality show is on the way to document taylor's spawn...so i thought i'd help out the networks with some ideas for names. feel free to contribute your own!

1. mmmbrood

2. taydate

3. taylor-made

4. cinco de tay-o (okay, that's a stretch)

5. taylor, the creator

natural child/hunx & his punx at will's pub

i'm so stoked that i've finally rediscovered my formerly show-loving self in the past few weeks. there's nothing like seeing great live music whilst drinking cheap beer in a dingy dive bar. despite my now slightly more buttoned-up appearance, it's still one of the environments where i'm legitimately the happiest.

the will's pub show last night began with two local bands, tamtam the sandwich man and the magical sugar cookies (yes, really)-who entertained us with songs about hating your job as a pizza hut delivery driver- and girls on the beach, whose bespectacled and totally nerdy looks were the complete opposite of their loud, 60's-esque surfer rock, which they performed with cigarettes dangling out of their mouths. it was a sight to see.

most importantly, i had the fortune of seeing my favorite stones-y stoners, natural child, who completely won me over at last year's SXSW after my friend gleni and i sort of accidentally wandered into their set. they're completely hilarious (see interview below), "fascinating-looking" (to quote my friend who attended the show with me last night) and most importantly...really, really, REALLY good live (again, see below). somehow, all of their songs sound like that old classic that you love but can't put your finger on, yet are totally original and awesome at the same time. the dudes behind us pretty much summed up my feelings about them after their set: "i just wanna party with those guys." amen, brother.

and THEN! hunx and his punx played.

i'd be lying if i said i didn't buy my ticket for natty child, but i was familiar with some of hunx's bubblegum/garage-y pop tunes, and intrigued by the promise of ridiculousness after seeing some of his videos. my oh my, i did not realized that the man and his band had such a rowdy cult following. everything started out innocently enough, with people bopping along and acting normal. but suddenly, my friend and i were smooshed to the side as a full-on mosh pit broke out, people started crowd-surfing, cigarette smoke and fog filled the air, and general insanity ensued. after some chick stepped on my friend's bare toes for the 3rd time, we had to get out of there. but, as with most things, it was good while it lasted!

band i love: bass drum of death

i'm in the midst of a serious, intense love affair with a band called bass drum of death, and i'm not sure why these guys have been flying under my radar for so long. like, basically, from now on i'm just going to play the first video below when someone asks me what kind of music i like, because their entire album "gb city" pretty much embodies it. garage rock at its best: ridiculous riffs, perfect melodies, gritty, reverb-y vocals, sounds like it could have come from the 90s, recorded in a basement...yes yes yes yes.

oh, and i totally don't coincidentally think that the lead singer is a HPOSA (hot piece of stoner ass). that's crazy talk. but on the real...i must see them live at some point in the near future because it looks like they're pretty damn legit. VIDEO TIME!

100 things to do in 2012: month in review

march was a lil' slow, but no big. onwards!

10. make $2,000 in freelance: CONTINUED.

$905...almost halfway there!

29. watch 26 new movies, one for each letter of the alphabet: CONTINUED.

i actually saw 4 new movies this month, but only 1 counted towards my list: footloose. i know, i know. but it was better than i expected? also, just a word of warning: NEVER ever watch "me, you, and everyone we know". i apologize if you've seen it. literally the worst movie i've ever seen in my life.

46. make a painting: PLANNED.

thanks to a livingsocial deal, my friends and i are going to check out a nearby place called "creative canvas and wine" later this month, where you pay a flat fee for all of the supplies you need to make your own painting! plus, you can BYOW. i'm not sure how the painting will come out after a few glasses of riesling, but...

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

besides "call me maybe" and the new bieber tune which i regrettably LOVE, i found some other new faves.

dig 'em!

the black keys - gold on the ceiling

walk the moon - tightrope

natural child - hey little girl

tacocat - spring break-up

81. eat chicken and waffles: COMPLETED.

so, i attempted to check out the downtown food & wine fest here in orlando yesterday. of course, the minute i got there, the sky opened up and i had to run for cover under a bank awning. BUT! i was there, dammit, so i was going to eat. so i ate pork tacos, gumbo, and-woohoo!-chicken and waffles. they were delicious, and the perfect warm comfort food for my drenched, momentarily-grumpy self. check!