A Look Inside: College Packing

As the last summer days keep flying by faster than I want them too, I finally have started to realize that I am in my last week of summer. I have said goodbye to most of my friends already. I will clock out for the last time at work. I will actually clean my room because this weekend, I will be packing up once again to head to school.

With all that in mind, this week and the next upcoming week are and will be a bit hectic. I must say, I realize now... as I procrastinate in packing more that I did not realize how much stuff one person can have. I swear to goodness it keeps multiplying on mee!
There it goes again! The stack of clothes grew!!

But anyways, with lots to pack, lots to do, lots of errands and such... for the next few days (and maybe weeks) this blog will be a smidge inactive. I need to finish packing and prepping for school. I beg you can all forgive mee as you probably are doing the same, or have just recently finished doing the same.

Either or, I know I am behind posting some things. I can promise that when I come back I will immediately get back on posting things! In the meantime, you can relax a little. Breathe! I know school is hard. But as a fun reward to you and myself, when I come back, I will have the following posts for you:

- Warped Tour 2013 Concert Review
- Honda Civic 2013 Concert Review
- {Movie}: Girl In Progress
- Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Powder Review
- Lollapalooza Video Mash- Up
- August OOTD Round- Up

&& Maybe a new music segment I'm thinking of starting!

Anyways... Keep your eyes, mind, and heart open! Wow, so cheesy...

Weekly Playlist: Motivational

Photo: DreamScapes

So a lot has been going on lately, my brother went back to school, my best friend left for school, I'm going to school very soon, work is hectic, our car is making scary noises, etc. Whether or not we like it, crazy, annoying, and stressful things happen in our lives, regardless if we could have prevented it or not. 

This week, hopefully in order to help keep your spirits up, which at least I need (stressful college packing!!), I thought I'd compile some songs that are meant to inspire you and remind you to keep living and enjoy the little things because after all, we're just humans.

With that in mind, good luck to you this week and the rest for whatever you have going on, from school to work to relationships to whatever!

1. Get Back Up- Toby Mac

2. I Won't Give Up- Jason Mraz

3. Hall of Fame- The Script

4. The Middle- Jimmy Eats World

5. People Like Us- Kelly Clarkson

6. Good Life- One Republic

7. Save the World- Swedish House Mafia

8. Roar- Katy Perry

9. Dare You to Move- Switchfoot

10. You're Beautiful- James Blunt

11. Not Afraid- Eminem

12. Humans- The Killers

13. Perfect Day- Hoku

14. Here Comes the Sun- The Beatles

Have a great weekend everyone! Stay Happy!

Any suggestions for additional songs? Any opinions about songs on the list? 

Comment and please let me know what you're thinking! Thanks guys!

Chicago Haul

This past week I was in Chicago for a few different times, hanging with friends and with family. Each time I had the privilege of going to different stores. Hanging in Chicago means quirky shops along with high brand names. This time along with hitting some of my favorite places, like H&M, we also went to fun thrift shops and random artsy shops.

H&M:

1. Loose Knit Ombre Sweater
This sweater I got on sale for $5! I must admit that when H&M has things on sale, the prices are beyond a good deal. This sweater isn't heavy enough for winter, but it has a nice spring and fall feel- which makes mee excited to go back to school.

2. Skater Skirt

This piece is a wonderful basic to have. The skater skirt is flattering on all body shapes and can easily be paired with sweaters, tanks, crops, or graphic tees.

3. Cat Print Dress
Cats are a big thing right now, and I'm not complaining. As a cat lover with allergic family members, I'll take anything cat haha. But this dress is super cute! The zipper isn't on the side, but on the back instead, which allow for a modern chic look. The material is also heavier, which makes this a good dress for the winter if paired with some funky colored tights.


Some artsy jewelry accessory store:

 4. Faux pinchers
So to my friends and family, it's no secret that I am a fan of using your body as personal expression. As a person with 9 piercings, I must say that I love the idea of body art. However, in respect with my parents' wishes, I am not allowed to get tattoos or stretch my ears until I am 21. With that in mind, I found these cool faux pinchers. [cocojewelry]

 5. Clay Nail Decals
I think Forever 21 sells the same thing, since the label on this says Love and Beauty. But I love nail things, so these two sets have a combination of cute bows, fruits, and sweets, and then modern punky studs, glitter, and gems.

6. Polaroid Earring Set
Mostly as a sucker for the cute packaging, this earring set is really cute. Each set has a different polaroid picture with three sets of earrings.

Different Thrift Stores:

7. Diana MoMa Camera

I find this a wonderful steal! For $15 dollars I got a camera I have lusted over for such a long time! It even came with flash! But this camera is a film camera, which creates nice dreamy airy like pictures.

8. American Eagle Lace Shorts

One of the Thrift Stores I like to visit is actually a chain, Plato's Closet. This store only carries recent trends from popular name brand stores. So with lace being a popular trend this summer, I decided to grab a pair of shorts to match.

9. Modern Color Pop Patterned Sweater

This sweater is beyond spunky! I love it's fun pattern, but also its bright orange pop of color on the hem. The sweater is a partial crop top, and it will be perfect to wear in the fall with a skater skirt or high waisted jeans.

9. Graphic Tee

Normally I don't buy t-shirts, unless its from a concert or a charity.. but this one was so fun and different, giving off a fun meaning. The shirt reads "We don't create trends we avoid them, styles change, good taste doesn't".

10. BP Oxford Shoes

Oxford shoes tend to be associated with preppier looks, but lately these shoes can be paired with dresses and other nicer pieces of clothing for a more hipster or retro style. These shoes are also padded and have a comfortable sole.

11. Forever XXI City Name Sweater
This is yet another recognized store brand I found at the thrift store. If you haven't figured it out yet, I like sweaters and heavier pieces since I go to school in Minnesota, one of the coldest places.

Warped Tour Haul

So this post is a little late too... considering Warped Tour took place in July. But this post is to show everybody how amazing Warped Tour is. You get all sorts of free stuff, like music, posters, and other things. I got to meet bands, go to signings, and hear some of the best music.

Anyways, while not all of these things can be found... here's my Warped Tour Haul

1. Born Legends "Schmitt Faced" Tank
This print is only available as a tee online, but it doesn't take much to turn it into a tank.

2. Sumerian Record Sticker

3. Vans Stickers

4. Beebs and Her Money Makers Temporary Tattoos

5. Man Overboard Sticker

6. Vans Reusable Eco- Friendly Bag

7. Tonight Alive Signed Polaroid

8. GOLDHOUSE Signed Polaroid

9. Jeffree Star Signed Polaroid

10. Guitar Keyboard

11. Sleeping with Sirens Signed Poster

12. PETA magazine

13. Kia Soul Bandana

14. We Came as Romans Signed Poster

15. Victory Records magazine

16. Tonight Alive Eco- Friendly Bag

17. Tonight Alive Pre- Order CD (not pictured)

18. GOLDHOUSE CD

19. GOLDHOUSE EP

20. Victory Records Sampler CD

21. American Rag magazine

22. Official Warped Tour Magazine

23. Jac Vanek "The Most Important Things are the Hardest to Say" Tee

24. Monster Aesthetics Tank

Concert Review: Lollapalooza 2013

Day 1:

The Killers

New Order

Imagine Dragons

Atlas Genius

Twenty One Pilots

Grant Park

2 August 2013

Today was the first day of Lolla!! Holla it's freaking Lolla weekend!! I am super excited to write this post, after my first day at Lolla. I am now no longer a Lolla- virgin, and I can say that I am a true Chicagoan now. And my friend from Wisco came down to visit mee, so we could attend together.

The one thing that's hard about going to concerts with people you haven't before is that you don't know how to gauge their reactions. I had a great time seeing a true festival, and I got to experience all the different people and reactions and things and everything! But my friend was extremely judgey and got kinda annoying.

The train ride starting the day was quite insane! The train was beyond packed, the car had every eat filled and there were people standing the aisle. I think there was also a few baseball games going on at the same time as Lolla.

Either or, we made it in time to see Twenty One Pilots from the back. Which was amazing ! They put on a an amazing show, just like they always do. Afterwards, we got to wait and see Atlas Genius about 8 lines from the stage. It was amazing, since they also had blow up balls thrown into the audience. I got one too! Except it was covered a bit in mud, so I had a fun day of being slightly muddy. Afterwards, we headed to Imagine Dragons. Which was fun ... except that their stage had a 10ish minute blackout. AKA no music, no screen, no anything. We debated leaving, since we did pay to see music, but thankfully they pulled it together and everything was simply amazing! The music on the radio for Imagine Dragons does not do them justice. I went out and bought their album afterwards -- the energy and emotion that  came through their music was wonderful.

New Order was after Imagine Dragons, but we didn't really know them. We just sat and listened because they were before The Killers. Which speaking of which, oh my goodness. The Killers was worth the whole price of Lolla!! They were amazing and my hope in music was simply renewed! The playlist was everything from Somebody Told Me to Humans. Words can't even describe how amazing the music was, the set was amazing and the music was beyond perfect. I sound like a stupid fan girl ( I Know) but nothing compares to how amazing it was. We were only about 10 or so rows from the front, but when we fought our way out of the crowd, it kept going and going. The crowd spanned 2 stags! Which was beyond amazing. There were also lights and glow sticks that were being tossed around too!

Twenty One Pilots

Atlas Genius

Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons

The Killers

The Killers

We Love The Killers <3

Day 2:

Mumford and Sons

The Lumineers

Eric Church

Ellie Goulding

The second day of Lolla was amazing. The weather was just simply perfect, and we managed to smuggle in some popcorn! We started the day listening to Ellie Goulding in the lawn. Ellie Goulding is an amazing performer, she looked amazing and she sounded amazing. The crowd was so excited to see her, and everybody was singing along and dancing.

However, we only got to stay for a few songs, since Eric Church was playing right afterwards. So we headed towards the other stage to go listen to Eric Church. I personally am not a country fan, but he put on a good show. The most interesting part was that we could still hear Ellie Goulding playing, so I got the privilege of hearing a country version of Lights. Country music still isn't my thing though, considering a lot of the music had to do with beer or other things. He even opened two cans of beer onstage and poured them on himself.

After the Lumineers played, and I was surprised by how many of their songs I actually knew. Their music was really good, and they had a fun energetic vibe to them. The crowd seemed pretty into it- and we had the perfect lawn seats. So we were able to sit and eat some good food, while enjoying the show. But we were mainly interested in seeing The Lumineers since they were opening for Mumford and Sons. Now I wasn't a huge Mumford and Sons fan, but I have to say after their set I respect them so much. Their music was so lively, and we were able to tell that they were so grateful to be standing on that stage. They went through and played all their hit singles and almost every song off of their albums. My friend and I had fun singing along and even dancing with some random strangers. The most amusing part was between songs, we could hear the EDM music coming from the Perry stage. And I have to say that Indie Folk and EDM does not mix well. But it was fun because at one point, there were even fireworks to the sound.

Ellie Goulding (on Screen)

Eric Church

Mumford and Sons

Day 3:

Vampire Weekend

Two Door Cinema Club

Tegan and Sara

The Mowgli's

Alex Clare

Makeshift Prodigy

Last day of Lolla was super busy! We squeezed in so many different bands. Our day started of with finding Makeshift Prodigy, a band thats actually from Chicago land. They put on a good show, but the crowd was pretty small for them. Which is understandable, since I had seen them as an opening act for a $15 show before.

Afterwards, we headed towards Alex Clare. As much as I love his single Feel So Close, the rest of his music was not the same type of dance pop. But his music was still good and everybody seemed excited to hear his set. As soon as Alex Clare was over, we rushed to hear a few songs of The Mowgli's. I didn't expect them to be so popular, but their stage was overfilled and we ended up listening to them on the sidewalk. I was super happy to hear their music, and I love the new alternative indie sounds.

Tegan and Sara were after. Their music was so fun and pop filled. I enjoyed how much everybody sang and danced to their music. It was also fun how much they interacted with the crowd. Instead of just singing, or doing call outs, they would read the posters fans brought and comment on them. Or they would point out certain people in the crowd. It was very closely emotional. It was also funny how they referenced when Sara fainted at Lolla a few years before, as someone brought a poster that said Sara will survive Lolla! Poor girl, but she did make it this year.

I didn't really know Two Door Cinema Club, but I know their name as a band. However, their music was really good. But it was a little difficult to hear since we were sitting in the lawn at the stage next to it. The reason why we chilled a stage away was because we were waiting for Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend was an amazing show! We were fairly far from the stage, but we managed to find a spot along the fence, so we got to sit on uncomfortable poles. However, the pain was worth it. I never really listened to Vampire Weekend, but I was amazed at how many songs I knew. Everybody sang and danced, and Vampire Weekend seemed really grateful to be at Lolla. They kept thanking everybody for listening to them. I also forgot how cute the band is...

Tegan- Tegan and Sara

Sara- Tegan and Sara

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

{Movie}: The Last Exorcism Part II

The Last Exorcism Part II

Directed by: Ed Gass- Donnelly

Starring: Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark

Genre: Horror

Rated: PG- 13

Year: 2013

Thoughts: Beware! Warning! This may contain spoilers!

This movie is a continuation from its previous film, The Last Exorcism. While the last film was pretty interesting, in that it followed a priest and contained home made filming and third person filming, this film was done completely in third person filming. Which is not as exciting, since the horror of the unknown in personal filming was really terrifying in the original film.

However, this film does a good job of attempting to carry on the idea of Nell being possessed. However, if you didn't see the first film, it would be really difficult to understand what was going on in the film. The idea was completely the same as the last film though, with the ideas being pretty similar. Nell didn't know she was possessed and then she thinks something is slightly wrong a bit by bit. Until at the end, an exorcism is performed and everybody suffers, except for her.

This movie was very similar to other exorcism movies, except that it was really predictable, and the acting wasn't that good. The jump scares weren't too predictable also, considering that they were all used in the trailers. The effects on the house after the exorcism was also really bad too, since everything started bleeding. Then later when things began to catch on fire, they are really uniform and don't appear to be burning at all. The movie wasn't too terrifying, although I give the film credit for the creepy and sudden death of Chris. Otherwise, there was nothing good, just that the director wanted a sequel for the first film.

Rating: 3/10

Any suggestions for movies to watch? Any opinions about the movie? 

Comment and please let me know what you're thinking! Thanks guys!

A Look Inside: Chicago Goodbyes

 

So this week was the last week of summer with the girlies. Everyone starts heading off to college today and tomorrow, while I still have a week left.

But for a fun last hoorah, we headed down to the city. After a confusing round up of everybody, we headed to Ed Debevics for lunch. If you've never eaten there, or heard of it, Ed Debevics is a fun mock 50's style diner. The only twist is, each waiter and waitress has a distincnt personality, most of them being rude. We had the pleasure of having a grown up girl scout as our waitress, and she did not spare us haha. We were made fun of for only drinking water, for sharing fries, and for other random things. She tried to set us up with some of the waiters as dates too. Another fun thing from Ed Debevics is that at the top of every hour, all the workers sing and dance.

 

Afterwards, we said bye to one friend, as she headed to work. (Yes, she's so lucky... she works in the city at a Francesca's!) Being part of the Asian Trio, we headed off to do our own thing. AKA we headed off to Insight Studios, a piercing and tattoo parlor. I love this place, getting four piercings from Bob Jones, the in- house piercer. However, it was not my turn to get pierced, my best friend wanted and then backed out of getting her cartilage pierced. I on the other hand, lost a piercing, since I needed to take out my industrial piercing.

With 2 hours still left on our meter, we decided to walk around the area. & we found our cute new hipster area of Chicago. There was a lomography store, different thrift stores, and cool nooks of artwork.

Once the meter ran out, we headed towards the center of Chicago, Millennium Park. A new thing that just started popping up all over Chicago is Divvy. A new bike company where you can ride and drop off bikes for a small fee throughout the city. It was a fun time! We rode throughout Millennium and Grant Park, then headed through Museum Campus. What made it fun was it was something completely new that we've done in the city, and we got to see the sunset behind our wonderful skyline.

All in all it was a super fun day and I'm going to miss my best friends so much during the school year. That's the hard thing about college, leaving one group of friends for another.

{Movie}: The Big Wedding

The Big Wedding

Directed by: Justin Zackham

Starring: Rober DeNiro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Ben Barnes !!

Genre: Comedy

Rated: R

Year: 2013

Thoughts: Beware! Warning! This may contain spoilers!

YAY ANOTHER BEN BARNES MOVIE CAME OUT!! and if you couldn't tell already, Ben Barnes is one of my favorite people in the world. Anyways besides Ben Barnes (who didn't get much credit for this movie), this movie has a really star filled cast; Robert DeNiro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Topher Grace, Amanda Seyfried,  Robin Williams, Susan Sarandon.

The plot for this movie has a good idea, a divorced couple must pretend to be married in order to please the Groom's biological mother. However, while the idea is a good one and set up for a very humorous situations, the film did not do a good job of exploiting everything it could off of this idea. There were really funny moments, like the squabbles between characters and the really stereotypical moments. But at the same time, some of the humor came from racist things- which may or may not be funny for some people. I found some funny, but I found some pretty offensive.

The acting on behalf of all the actors was really good though. Amanda Seyfried and Ben Barnes did seem to have a genuine love, joking and fighting like married (or almost) couples. It was also really interesting to watch Ben Barnes speak in an American accent. He also spoke Spanish, since he was adopted from Colombia, and he spoke in Chinese, since his character learned a few languages from Harvard.

The movie wasn't bad or anything, it just seemed that not that much happened within the 90 minutes. I have to say, without Ben Barnes being in the film, I probably would not have watched it. But in all honesty, since he is in the cast, I'll still probably watch it one more time. 

Rating: 6/10

Any suggestions for movies to watch? Any opinions about the movie? 

Comment and please let me know what you're thinking! Thanks guys!

{Movie}: Red Lights

Red Lights

Directed by: Rodrigo Cortés

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Robert DeNiro, Cillian Murphy

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Rated: R

Year: 2012

Thoughts: Beware! Warning! This may contain spoilers!

Recently after watching In Time and Batman Begins, I was kinda in a Cillian Murphy mood. I love his acting and let's face it, I don't think he's that bad looking either. But, I found his new movie Red Lights and thought I'd try it. The movie was pretty good, despite never hearing about it before in theaters or commercials. The cast was pretty star studded, with the main four main characters being Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murpy, and Elizabeth Olsen.

The movie starts with a rather mild thriller scene, a seance. In this scene we see how the Dr. Matheson and Tom work together. The two characters work together to display frauds, in an attempt to find real supernatural powers, like telekinesis, a sixth sense, or psychics. The most interesting part is realizing all the tricks that the frauds use in order to act like they have these powers. The big challenge though is exposing Silver's fraudulence. Tom becomes obsessed with his work, and while he is a good partner to the Doctor, he disobeys and goes after Silver.

The movie uses cool techniques like floating and spoon bending. The most interesting thing is that because they are trying to investigate Silver, we as an audience are also attempting to figure out the Red Lights (what makes the people frauds). The back story of the characters are also kind of interesting, slowly revealing itself little by little. And at the end, the backstories of the characters all make sense and create a complete plot line of why certain things happen.
The one thing that kind of threw me of is that Tom is actually a psychic telekinetic, which is revealed at the very end. After watching the movie again, I could see how this is possible, but I didn't guess that at all during the movie.

The only part I thought was unnecessary was the fight scene in the bathroom. The whole film could have been fine without it, but I think the director thought it necessary to include some violence in the movie, since it was such a fierce competition between the two men. Honestly, the scene was pretty useless and kind of long for its minor role in the plot.

Rating: 8/10

Any suggestions for movies to watch? Any opinions about the movie? 

Comment and please let me know what you're thinking! Thanks guys!