Category Archives: 5 Faves

5 Faves – Music Edition

Saturday, February 19, 2011

“Without music, life would be a mistake”

A day doesn’t go by without music being played at my desk, in my car, at the gym and even in the shower, it’s a large part of who I am as a person. I have wondered if you can tell the type of music a person listens to by looking at them, if so what would people think I listen to? Country? Pop? Rock? Hip Hop? Well, it would be ALL of those! I believe I have a very eclectic taste in music, I can go from listening to Brad Paisley to Ludacris, a little Michael Buble, Jay-Z and back to James Morrison… I’d say I enjoy everything other than Polka. Sorry, can’t say that does anything for me:)Here’s a little of what I’m listening to right now and a few of my all time favorites….

1. Amos Lee

Until last month I had no idea who Amos Lee was and now I can’t stop listening to him, my dad bought his newest CD Mission Bell and after listening to a few of the songs I had to buy his self titled CD. This has to be one of my favorites from the album, gives me goosebumps. Love his voice.

2. Lupe Fiasco

A certain 15 year old and I have been playing this song every day for the last few weeks, it’s on MTV Jams daily and on my work out music… his lyrics are not what you would assume from a “rap” artist. His new CD comes out March 8th and I’m really looking forward to it, so much good music!

3. O.A.R.

Junior year of high school, one of my first concerts sans the parentals… incredible. Since then I have seen O.A.R. 10 or 11 times, oh my I can’t remember! It’s usually at least once a year but last year their tour didn’t bring them close to Minnesota.. I’ve been going through withdrawal. According to a tweet I received from Richard On, they are hoping to include us on their 2011 tour. YESSS!!!! I will not miss it, that’s a promise!:)If you haven’t seen them, come with me… you will not regret it!!

4. Lady Antebellum

Their first album was amazing, I wasn’t sure their second could top it.. but it most definitely did. After watching the Grammy’s the other weekend, it just reaffirmed how talented they are. It was one of my favorite performances of the night! My most recent obsession from their CD is Hello World.. love love love.

5. Girl Talk

I’m always looking for new music to edit and workout to, so what did I do… oh I posted it on facebook that I was looking for new music. Miss Kellee suggested Girl Talk, I had one of his other albums on my computer but honestly never listened to it. So when she said that it rocked and was FREE, I jumped all over it. This cd has to be one of the BEST to work out to, and for those of us with Song ADD it’s PERFECT. He’s a mash-up genius! My brain doesn’t work like that, combining songs to make it flow perfectly.. no way Jose! If you have Song ADD like me, DJ Earworm is another great mash-up man!

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5 Faves – January

Monday, January 17, 2011

1. Trader Joe’s Kettle Corn

This was a last minute addition to the cart while grocery shopping on Saturday afternoon. Since baseball season ended in October I have been going through kettle corn withdrawal. It was one of the best things about going to the Twins games, so when I opened this up on Saturday (in the car, on the way home) I was ecstatic… it’s ALMOST as good, this will definitely tide me over until April!!!:)It’s delicious, salty and sweet… goodness!! It’s probably a good thing Trader Joe’s is a nice little 15 minute drive or else I might be there every day buying a new bag!

2. Award Show Season

It kicked off last night with the Golden Globes, or technically Friday with the Critics Choices Awards but I didn’t get a chance to see those. I was glued to my TV starting at around 5 with the E! Red Carpet, had to check out all the fashion as they arrived. Goodness, there were some horrendous dresses last night. Sometimes I really wonder how their stylist actually let them leave thinking “They look fantastic.” I definitely think the men took the cake last night for best dressed, they all looked so handsome and chic. Rob Pattinson, Ryan Gosling and Chris Hemsworth were at the top of my list for the men. The women on the other hand, well it was hard to pick a best dressed to be honest because I didn’t really like most of them.. sorry ladies! I had to give it to Eva Longoria, she looked PHENOMENAL!:) All three of these ladies kept it classy and stunning in black. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Hottie Chris Hemsworth — Delish:)

Some people were saying they loved this… I DO NOT GET IT… It looks like she encountered a tornado on the way to the red carpet, worst dressed FOR SURE!

This is just the beginning, I can’t wait for the next award show… and to end it all with the Oscars! Looks like I’ve got a month or so to see all the Best Picture Nominees:)

3. Blue Valentine

There is no doubt why Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling were nominated for golden globes last night, their roles in Blue Valentine left me absolutely speechless. I saw this on Saturday evening, left the theater in awe of their performances but also with such a heavy heart. It’s an incredible display of the downfalls of a marriage, to watch them fall in love and then break your heart as it crumbles. They both deserve to be nominated for Oscars, no question about it. This might not be a movie for everyone but I really wanted to see it after all the buzz about their performances, and I’m glad I did.

4. The Help

With the start of the new year, I was trying to read more and watch TV less… so I’ve been on a hard core book kick! I finished 3 books and on to my 4th in 2 weeks, they have all been amazing but I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett on Friday. I came home from meeting friends for happy hour and proceeded to stay up until 2:30 determined to finish it! I don’t want to give anything away, but this book was an insightful look into life in the south in the 1960s during Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights, seems fitting considering today is Martin Luther King Day!:)Thanks LL for lending me this book!!!

5. Eric Hutchinson

He’ll be releasing his second CD sometime this spring (fingers crossed) and I can not wait! I have been listening to his first one on repeat lately, it’s one of those where I love every single track and it is my happy music. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him 3 times in concert and he is quite possibly one of the best entertainers. If you get a chance to see him, I promise you will not regret it! So not only do I love his music but I follow him on twitter and I about died yesterday when I saw he tweeted his favorite 90s playlist.. are you kidding me? Who doesn’t love 90s music?? Made me about 100 times cooler than I thought he could be!

Check out this video of one of his infamous mash ups with two of my favorite songs!

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5 Faves – November/December

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Since November flew by so fast and December seems to be doing the same thing I figured why not do a combined 5 faves for the two months!

1. Tiffany & Co

My birthday took place in the month of November and we’ll just say I’m in my “mid 20′s”, and I have officially joined the group of women who own a piece of jewelry from Tiffany! I’ve waited patiently my whole life for a little blue box… I may be a little obsessed with the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  Anyways, my parents gave me a gift card for my birthday so I had the pleasure of going and picking out my birthday present… my first ever little blue box. I felt like a little kid in a candy store… so many pretty things. I finally picked out this beautiful right hand ring… I’m obsessed with it. It’s mesh like and just… ooh I’m in love with it:)Thanks M&D for the best birthday present and my first official piece from Tiffany’s.

2. Water for Elephants

One of my FAVORITE photographer friend’s Gail recommends the best books ever… if you aren’t reading her blog on a regular basis you are missing out on her incredible writing, beautiful photography and best book suggestions. I tweeted to her a few weeks ago asking for some new books and I went straight to Barnes and Noble to purchase Water for Elephants. I may have heard Rob Pattinson was going to be playing the lead in the movie adaptation, which made me even more excited to read it. Well Gail did not disappoint in her recommendation… holy cow this book was good.. the bit of animal cruelty in it was hard to stomach at some points but it was well worth the read. If you’ve already read the book then please go check out the trailer for the movie… ahh I’m so excited… it looks SO good. Thanks again Gail for another fabulous book!

3. Christmas Decorations

Walking into my friend Lauren’s apartment after Thanksgiving was literally like walking into the North Pole… white lights everywhere, two Christmas trees, candles that smelled of REAL trees, holiday decor EVERYWHERE.. It was a little piece of heaven. It got me into the Christmas spirit so fast, I went home and started to put up my Christmas decorations. Last week a few of us girls went over to our friend’s house to help them prep for their holiday party… boys don’t know how to decorate as well us girls… Needless to say I had a BALL! Christmas lights galore, beautiful REAL tree, stockings by the fire… I have to say, it looked like Christmas threw up.. and I LOVED IT!:)

Here’s a picture from my awful point and shoot, for some reason I didn’t think to bring my camera… ugh… silly me.

4. The North Face

Living in Minnesota, you need to have a heavy duty-can withstand a blizzard winter jacket… that’s where North Face comes in handy. I am obsessed with their product, I think I have 3 or 4 jackets and just purchased my first pair of snow pants in YEARS! They are amazing… definitely kept me warm and dry while I played outside in the snowmaggedon we had the other weekend. If you’re looking for last minute holiday ideas, this is the place to shop… from their snowpants to their hats/mittens/scarfs… you know you’re getting a high quality product!:)

5. Pretzel M&Ms

If you’ve been reading my blog at all, you’ve noticed I am a tad obsessed with M&M’s… just a little bit:)I have to say I was a little apprehensive when they announced this new flavor.. Pretzel. I was OH SO WRONG… salty and sweet, in one bite.. are you kidding me?!  Yep, I am officially hooked.. love them!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, I’ll be doing a few blog posts before the new year and then it’s back at it consistently in 2011:)

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5 Faves – October

Friday, October 29, 2010

1. One Day by David Nicholls

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly and Gail Werner for writing about this book! I finished it this week and LOVED it, I waited until after I read the book to look up who is playing the characters in the movie adaptation… needless to say I am SO happy of who they have casted!!:)It is such a fantastic love story, Gail was so dead on when she compared it to Ross and Rachel on friends… which made me love it that much more!!

2. Jessica Simpson Grey Heels

I almost forgot about these shoes I bought earlier this season but I wore them out yesterday, while sitting at Starbucks finishing my book I had two different women comment on them:)It’s always nice to hear those kinds of things… thank you kind women and your appreciation for adorable shoes!

3. Joshua Radin – The Rock and the Tide

Loveeee this CD… it was on a few times on my drive to Iowa last weekend, just love his voice. I originally heard of Joshua when he was on Ellen, because he sang at her wedding..:)If you’re looking for new music, I highly recommend it!

4. Halloween

One of my favorites holidays of the year, I used to love dressing up and going trick or treating.. all the candy, the super creative costumes… what kid doesn’t like that?! As we get older, we don’t get to experience it the same way but we still get to dress up!!!:)I’m going to be little red riding hood this year, still have to go out and find my little basket to carry full of goodies (aka halloween candy) but otherwise it’s pretty close to being DONE! What are you going to be this year? Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!:)

5. The Ellen Show

Yes, I am obsessed with Ellen. I record her show every day and laugh my butt off every time! I was catching up on a few episodes today, specifically this weeks episode with David Beckham… oh my gosh, you must watch it on YouTube… HILARIOUS! I also love it when she scares people… I personally DO NOT like being scared… I freak out, I’m a terribly jumpy person,  but watching other people get scared = AMAZING! Here’s a little montage of Ellen scaring people:) If you aren’t watching Ellen, you are missing out on your daily dose of laughter… makes my days so much better!

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5 Faves – September

Sunday, September 19, 2010
1. Food Should Taste Good – Sweet Potato Chips
These are quite possibly the BEST potato chips I’ve ever had and I can tell you I don’t even like sweet potatoes! I don’t know what it is about these but my friend Katie said they were just amazing, I will say I doubted her but once I tried them I was HOOKED! Not only are the delicious tasting but they are ALL NATURAL… aka none of that bad stuff:)Now I know they don’t count as a “veggie” but dang they are GOOOOD! They are perfect partner to my M&Ms, I’m all about salty and sweet! Next time I’ll have to try one of there other 9 flavors!
2. The Weepies
Thanks again to my little iTunes Genius, you suggested yet another AMAZING group… I heard The Weepies for the first time after their song was in an episode of One Tree Hill and in the movie Because I Said So, it was their song called World Spins Madly On. Their new CD came out last week and I was listening to it a little on iTunes and fell in LOVE with the song Please Speak Well Of Me. I was needing some new music to listen to, so this came at the PERFECT time!!! If there’s any great music out there that you think I’d like, send me an e-mail or a message on here… I’m always up for new bands or artists!
3. Fall TV Shows
My DVR is all set up for the new seasons of shows to start this week, it’s the best time of year! Favorite shows are coming back FINALLY and new shows are starting up! Shows I’m most excited for their return: Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, The Vampire Diaries, Glee, Parenthood, The Biggest Loser and Big Bang Theory. Yes so that’s just a few that I’m REALLY excited for:) I’m curious to check out a few of the *new* series like No Ordinary Family, My Generation and The Event.  So far it’s shaping up to be a good fall lineup, between the 2 DVRs in our house… they will be busy every night!
4. Sweatshirt Weather
It seems summer has officially said goodbye since the forecast for the next few weeks doesn’t break 72, but that’s okay because it means it’s time to whip out the sweaters and sweatshirts. My go to outfit… a pair of jeans, sweatshirts and flip flops or my UGGS… it screams fall weather and I couldn’t be more excited to be able to wear it!!
5. Starbucks Vanilla Non Fat Lattes
I am a teeny, tiny bit obsessed with Starbucks and their lattes, if I could I would go every day! With the cold weather it just seems to fitting to grab a latte, some of their to die for coffee cake and curl up while trying to finish #3 in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series.

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