Well hello there,
Three years ago I shared a list of my top 25 most played songs in iTunes and I figured it was now time for an update. There are quite a few songs on this list that overlap with the previous list, but then again the two are surprisingly different. When I look at the 25 songs below I can still pin point when each one joined the group. All the songs have a different meaning or memory that I can connect to the different parts of my life. For that reason, this list seems more like a representation of myself than anything else I could create.
1. Nicest Thing by Kate Nash - 143 plays
2. Re: Stacks by Bon Iver - 136 plays
3. Skinny Love by Bon Iver - 135 plays
4. Winter by Joshua Radin - 131 plays
5. What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie - 122 plays
6. World Spins Madly On by The Weepies - 122 plays
7. Wrapped In Piano Strings by Radical Face - 117 plays
8. Laundry Room by The Avett Brothers - 116 plays *
9. The Outdoor Type by The Lemonheads- 116 plays
10. I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers - 113 plays
11. Grey Street by Dave Matthews Band - 112 plays
12. Sunday Kind of Love by Etta James - 109 plays
13. Sleeping Sickness by City and Colour - 108 plays
14. I'm In Need by Mike Hale - 108 plays
15. I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie - 107 plays
16. We Sing In Time by The Lonely Forest - 100 plays
17. This Town by Joe Purdy - 99 plays
18. Jesus Christ by Brand New - 95 plays
19. The Freshman by The Verve Pipe - 95 plays
20. Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran - 94 plays
21. Mae by The Gaslight Anthem - 92 plays
22. From Eden by Hozier - 91 plays
23. Ho Hey by The Lumineers - 91 plays**
24. I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holiday - 90 plays
25. Dead Sea by The Lumineers - 90 plays
Honorable Mentions:
26. Above The Bones by Mishka - 90 plays
27. Set The Fire To The Third Bar by Snow Patrol - 90 plays
28. The Galway Girl by Steve Earle - 90 plays
29. I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston - 90 plays
It's fun to look back at the old list and see how my music tastes have changed, as I've discovered new musicians or gone through lulls in listening to certain bands. I think I'll always love these songs. Even if I go through times where I don't feel like listening to these bands at all, eventually I'll rediscover them and it'll feel like coming back home. Certainly this is only a small representation of the music that I listen to and greatly appreciate. It'd probably be more interesting to see a list of the top 50 or 100 played because I'm sure that would have varied much more over the years. Most of these have been near the top since the very beginning and I doubt some will ever really change that much.
What are your top played song? Do you think they represent your current music taste or a broader timeline?
-S
*fun fact: I chose this video because that Bonnaroo live stream was where I first discovered The Avett Brothers. I like to rewatch that performance every now and then to get a sense of the magical energy I felt that day, even from hundreds of miles away through a computer screen. My love has only grown for these guys and the beautiful music they create.
**After searching the interwebs for a while I was saddened to discover they must have taken down the original video. That recording (which I obsessively watched for months before they even released the song for purchase) was another favorite of mine. I was instantly captivated by the raw joy you could see floating around the performance. It honestly looked like they were having a blast and although I understand why they might take it down to get people to watch the official music video instead, I'm sad it's no longer available. The one I linked to just isn't the same.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Saturday, May 2, 2015
The One Where I Do It For Another Month
Hey Guys!
So last month I wrote a post telling you guys I was going to make my bed every day for the month of April. I'm happy to report that the aforementioned challenge was successfully completely. I even made my bed this morning out of habit, so I think the behavior has stuck.
At first the practice of making the bed seemed like such a chore, but by the end of the month it became a normal part of my day. The only time I didn't officially make my "bed" was when I slept on the couch while we painted my bedroom. I did however make sure to clean up all the sheets and blankets I was using as a way to continue the exercise.
I like keeping myself on my toes, so for the month of May I've chosen to follow along with a yoga video every day. There's lots of options for yoga practices on Youtube and I'm not planning on following any particular person, but if I find someone I really love I might stick to them. I do already follow Yoga with Adriene and Fightmaster Yoga on Youtube so I'll most likely start there. I also found this list to help widen my search.
I have been really lagging in the fitness department lately. No running, no yoga, some sporadic at home crunches and jumping jacks but nothing long enough to really get my heart rate up or build muscle tone. I went for a bike ride with my dad two weeks ago and haven't ridden since (although this weekend is really nice and I'm hoping to get out). Hopefully this will help kick start a fitness routine again (along with the use of my new planner).
Since April went by so quickly I had to choose a habit for this month pretty last minute... as in yesterday. I did pick one off of the list I mentioned in the original post, but I think I'd like to be a little bit more prepared next time. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't do yoga yesterday so this month isn't off to a great start, but I'm hoping I can get back on track.
-S
So last month I wrote a post telling you guys I was going to make my bed every day for the month of April. I'm happy to report that the aforementioned challenge was successfully completely. I even made my bed this morning out of habit, so I think the behavior has stuck.
I need some decorative pillows or something. Those are things I had as a child and completely rejected because I thought they were a hassle. Now I guess I see the point.
At first the practice of making the bed seemed like such a chore, but by the end of the month it became a normal part of my day. The only time I didn't officially make my "bed" was when I slept on the couch while we painted my bedroom. I did however make sure to clean up all the sheets and blankets I was using as a way to continue the exercise.
I like keeping myself on my toes, so for the month of May I've chosen to follow along with a yoga video every day. There's lots of options for yoga practices on Youtube and I'm not planning on following any particular person, but if I find someone I really love I might stick to them. I do already follow Yoga with Adriene and Fightmaster Yoga on Youtube so I'll most likely start there. I also found this list to help widen my search.
(source)
I have been really lagging in the fitness department lately. No running, no yoga, some sporadic at home crunches and jumping jacks but nothing long enough to really get my heart rate up or build muscle tone. I went for a bike ride with my dad two weeks ago and haven't ridden since (although this weekend is really nice and I'm hoping to get out). Hopefully this will help kick start a fitness routine again (along with the use of my new planner).
Since April went by so quickly I had to choose a habit for this month pretty last minute... as in yesterday. I did pick one off of the list I mentioned in the original post, but I think I'd like to be a little bit more prepared next time. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't do yoga yesterday so this month isn't off to a great start, but I'm hoping I can get back on track.
-S
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
The A-Z Book Tag
Hello Hello!
I posted a new video last week on my Youtube channel. It's just under 20 minutes long with tons of awkward jump cuts, but I covered 26 books so I'd say that's pretty good for my second time filming. When I told my parents about it my mom immediately asked who I expected to watch such a long video and I promptly answered, no one. At this point in time I'm just making videos to get better at it. I don't expect them to be perfect, let alone good. Making Youtube videos was something I talked about doing for a long time but would always come up with excuses not to actually do it. I don't have a good camera, I don't know how to edit, I feel awkward talking to myself, I'm too ugly, I don't know what to talk about, and the list went on. Now I'm finally putting all those doubts aside and taking action in my life. You know, the whole idea of you don't know until you try.
Who knows if I will continue to make videos for the long term or if this will eventually end one day soon after realizing I don't care about it anymore. The fun thing about making your own content online is that you can do what you want, when you want, and you don't have to pressure yourself into making something you don't feel like making (unless it's your job/main source of income, then that's probably different).
Honestly if you watch this video at all I will be entirely grateful and if you happen to stick around until the end, well I'll be shocked and awed.
Oh and P.S. I recently changed the name of my channel to GetaKloo and I can't decide if I like it or not, so let me know what you think.
-S
I posted a new video last week on my Youtube channel. It's just under 20 minutes long with tons of awkward jump cuts, but I covered 26 books so I'd say that's pretty good for my second time filming. When I told my parents about it my mom immediately asked who I expected to watch such a long video and I promptly answered, no one. At this point in time I'm just making videos to get better at it. I don't expect them to be perfect, let alone good. Making Youtube videos was something I talked about doing for a long time but would always come up with excuses not to actually do it. I don't have a good camera, I don't know how to edit, I feel awkward talking to myself, I'm too ugly, I don't know what to talk about, and the list went on. Now I'm finally putting all those doubts aside and taking action in my life. You know, the whole idea of you don't know until you try.
Who knows if I will continue to make videos for the long term or if this will eventually end one day soon after realizing I don't care about it anymore. The fun thing about making your own content online is that you can do what you want, when you want, and you don't have to pressure yourself into making something you don't feel like making (unless it's your job/main source of income, then that's probably different).
Honestly if you watch this video at all I will be entirely grateful and if you happen to stick around until the end, well I'll be shocked and awed.
Oh and P.S. I recently changed the name of my channel to GetaKloo and I can't decide if I like it or not, so let me know what you think.
-S
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
My Week In Links 2
Hi guys and gals,
I've been a bad blogger recently and haven't kept up on things for the last couple of weeks. So let's get up to date, shall we?
My brother and his girl friend got engaged last week in Disney World! Disney is one of her favorite places and I had a hunch he would do it there, but none of us actually knew before it happened. We're all pretty damn excited about it though. They're adorable and I love them.
I really hope everyone saw this video of Anne Hathaway's lip sync battle with Emily Blunt. So perfect.
In case you haven't seen this either. OMG the excitement!! Like for reals this needs to come out already.
Also, apparently Adam Carolla made a movie about Paul Newman's racing career and it looks super good. What's better than one of Hollywood's finest men and car racing? Well probably a lot of things, but I'll definitely watch this movie.
I'm really late to the party on this one, but I just discovered Casey Neistat (yeah I know I'm behind the times). So I've been watching way too many of his videos lately and they're absolutely inspiring. Talk about someone who has worked hard and is living the dream. Just a reminder to keep doing what you love because you never know what kind of opportunities it will bring.
Saturday was Record Store Day. I picked up the two special releases shown above, but it was surprisingly disappointing this year. My dad and I got to RPM Records at 8:08 am (they opened at 8:00) and by then everything we really wanted was gone. Neither of us thought there would be so many people there right when it opened. I guess now we know for next year.
This is so accurate.
Candles, candles, I want all the candles.
I painted and redecorated my room last week. I'm currently working on a more in depth blog post about it, but there's still a lot of finishing touches that need to be done. I might wait until everything is done before showing it off. (hopefully it won't take too long though)
This pillow would be a perfect addition to the new room.
I also really love this Dirty Dancing poster.
I'm thinking this will be the next mug in my collection. Nothing inspires more confidence than Agent Carter. Know your value ladies and gents. They better be bringing that show back in the fall or else I'm gonna be pissed.
Finally, these because they're too funny not to share.
-S
I've been a bad blogger recently and haven't kept up on things for the last couple of weeks. So let's get up to date, shall we?
My brother and his girl friend got engaged last week in Disney World! Disney is one of her favorite places and I had a hunch he would do it there, but none of us actually knew before it happened. We're all pretty damn excited about it though. They're adorable and I love them.
This illustration reminded me of them (source)
I really hope everyone saw this video of Anne Hathaway's lip sync battle with Emily Blunt. So perfect.
In case you haven't seen this either. OMG the excitement!! Like for reals this needs to come out already.
(source)
Also, apparently Adam Carolla made a movie about Paul Newman's racing career and it looks super good. What's better than one of Hollywood's finest men and car racing? Well probably a lot of things, but I'll definitely watch this movie.
I'm really late to the party on this one, but I just discovered Casey Neistat (yeah I know I'm behind the times). So I've been watching way too many of his videos lately and they're absolutely inspiring. Talk about someone who has worked hard and is living the dream. Just a reminder to keep doing what you love because you never know what kind of opportunities it will bring.
Saturday was Record Store Day. I picked up the two special releases shown above, but it was surprisingly disappointing this year. My dad and I got to RPM Records at 8:08 am (they opened at 8:00) and by then everything we really wanted was gone. Neither of us thought there would be so many people there right when it opened. I guess now we know for next year.
This is so accurate.
Candles, candles, I want all the candles.
I painted and redecorated my room last week. I'm currently working on a more in depth blog post about it, but there's still a lot of finishing touches that need to be done. I might wait until everything is done before showing it off. (hopefully it won't take too long though)
This pillow would be a perfect addition to the new room.
I also really love this Dirty Dancing poster.
I'm thinking this will be the next mug in my collection. Nothing inspires more confidence than Agent Carter. Know your value ladies and gents. They better be bringing that show back in the fall or else I'm gonna be pissed.
Finally, these because they're too funny not to share.
-S
Thursday, April 9, 2015
I Might Actually Need a Planner
Wow. Last week was busy and productive which felt super good. Last Tuesday I had book club and then my friend and I went out to dinner afterwards. On Thursday my dad, brother, brother's girlfriend, and I all went to see the Red Wings play in Detroit. Even though the Wings' loss was disappointing for my first trip to the Joe, it was still a lot of fun just to be there.
Ever since I figured out my life needed more structure in order for me to actually get stuff done, I've been trying hard to keep a semi scheduled day. There's still plenty of things I need to work on, getting in regular workouts, sticking with a steadier schedule for blogging, being more proactive about searching for a second job, but I finally feel like my life might be moving again.
For the last few months I have been feeling stuck. I think we all feel that way from time to time. We look around and notice that we've been in the same place for the last six months, and what we've been doing doesn't feel like enough anymore. We get bored with the monotony of day to day life. This feeling can drive people in all different directions. It's not an easy battle and there's no one solution.
So I updated my resume and applied for a job. I picked out a new paint color for my room. I bought a couple succulents. I started making my bed every day. I went to book club and talked even though I've never been a talker in group settings. I listened to my favorite new album as many times as I wanted. I told myself that I'm beautiful and confident while striking a power stance in front of the mirror. I didn't let myself get defeated, and when I did have a low day I tried my hardest to have a better day tomorrow.
Spring brings out the best in me. I'm naturally happiest in the summer and fall, but most productive in the spring. Spring always gets my gears moving; thawing out the cold winter stiffness and managing to unlock all that energy I store away during the snowy months. It's still weird for me to be this enthusiastic about living. It's nice to be making goals again, even really big unrealistic ones, and to enjoy planning out my days. I don't expect to be happy all the time, but I am happy for the most part. In a time of new beginnings I'm starting to feel like it's just where I belong.
Mostly throughout high school, but even in college, I kept a planner. I wrote everything down in color-coded fashion and always looked forward to crossing off entries. I've been a list maker and a note taker my whole life. Getting things down on paper was the only way I could keep everything straight, but my life post-college didn't seem conducive for a full time planner. I didn't have enough going on for me to justify even buying a calendar.
I kept telling myself I wanted to be the type of person who needed a planner again. I wanted my life to be busy and for my time to need scheduling, but the only thing this was doing was making me more frustrated. Then about a week ago I realized maybe it's not about waiting for a "real" job or a busier life, it's about getting the most out of my time right now. If I have so many things I want to do, why am I waiting to do them until I have to squeeze them in? Maybe getting a planner will make my life busier just by allowing me to set specific schedules. I know that if I dedicate certain times of the week to work out or film videos I will get them done. I won't be able to put off doing things the same way if I can see it all in front of me. Keeping a schedule in my head can only get me so far.
I tried to convince myself I could get by with just the calendar on my phone, but putting reminders in your phone isn't the same as physically writing them down. So now I'm on the hunt for a cute but reasonably priced planner. There's so many options in the calendar/planner/organizer category that it's hard to know where to look or what exactly I want. The ones above are from PlumPaperDesigns on Etsy and I think they're my top choice at the moment. I like that I can choose which month to start on and the covers are all really cute.
Feel free to share recommendations or any sources for planners you guys love!
-S
Ever since I figured out my life needed more structure in order for me to actually get stuff done, I've been trying hard to keep a semi scheduled day. There's still plenty of things I need to work on, getting in regular workouts, sticking with a steadier schedule for blogging, being more proactive about searching for a second job, but I finally feel like my life might be moving again.
For the last few months I have been feeling stuck. I think we all feel that way from time to time. We look around and notice that we've been in the same place for the last six months, and what we've been doing doesn't feel like enough anymore. We get bored with the monotony of day to day life. This feeling can drive people in all different directions. It's not an easy battle and there's no one solution.
So I updated my resume and applied for a job. I picked out a new paint color for my room. I bought a couple succulents. I started making my bed every day. I went to book club and talked even though I've never been a talker in group settings. I listened to my favorite new album as many times as I wanted. I told myself that I'm beautiful and confident while striking a power stance in front of the mirror. I didn't let myself get defeated, and when I did have a low day I tried my hardest to have a better day tomorrow.
Spring brings out the best in me. I'm naturally happiest in the summer and fall, but most productive in the spring. Spring always gets my gears moving; thawing out the cold winter stiffness and managing to unlock all that energy I store away during the snowy months. It's still weird for me to be this enthusiastic about living. It's nice to be making goals again, even really big unrealistic ones, and to enjoy planning out my days. I don't expect to be happy all the time, but I am happy for the most part. In a time of new beginnings I'm starting to feel like it's just where I belong.
Mostly throughout high school, but even in college, I kept a planner. I wrote everything down in color-coded fashion and always looked forward to crossing off entries. I've been a list maker and a note taker my whole life. Getting things down on paper was the only way I could keep everything straight, but my life post-college didn't seem conducive for a full time planner. I didn't have enough going on for me to justify even buying a calendar.
I kept telling myself I wanted to be the type of person who needed a planner again. I wanted my life to be busy and for my time to need scheduling, but the only thing this was doing was making me more frustrated. Then about a week ago I realized maybe it's not about waiting for a "real" job or a busier life, it's about getting the most out of my time right now. If I have so many things I want to do, why am I waiting to do them until I have to squeeze them in? Maybe getting a planner will make my life busier just by allowing me to set specific schedules. I know that if I dedicate certain times of the week to work out or film videos I will get them done. I won't be able to put off doing things the same way if I can see it all in front of me. Keeping a schedule in my head can only get me so far.
I tried to convince myself I could get by with just the calendar on my phone, but putting reminders in your phone isn't the same as physically writing them down. So now I'm on the hunt for a cute but reasonably priced planner. There's so many options in the calendar/planner/organizer category that it's hard to know where to look or what exactly I want. The ones above are from PlumPaperDesigns on Etsy and I think they're my top choice at the moment. I like that I can choose which month to start on and the covers are all really cute.
Feel free to share recommendations or any sources for planners you guys love!
-S
Friday, April 3, 2015
Joining Booktube
I'm very excited to say I made my first book related Youtube video the other day. I made a video last spring talking about makeup and hadn't felt inspired to make another one until now. Since I've purchased quite a few books recently, I thought, "why not a book haul video?" Personally I love book haul videos. I follow a lot of Booktubers so I've been contemplating making a book related video for a while but never followed through with it... until now.
There are lots of "ums" and "so yeahs" that I hope to decrease in the next video. I figure things can only improve from here, and I'm sure it'll take time for me to develop a good rhythm.
Thank you for watching! Please feel free to like and subscribe and all of that stuff.
-S
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