i was there : alt-j

Show: Alt-J

Hundred Waters

Location: The Metro

Date: 3.28.13

Favorite Song: So many to choose from. "Dissolve Me" has always been my favorite song on the album + while it sounded great live nothing could top "Fitzpleasure." That song was made to be performed live + the production to accompany it was perfection.

Memorable Moment: I can't really recall specifics, but there were several points in the night when I just got the worlds biggest smile on my face. As lame as it sounds, there are few other ways that can make me as happy as a perfect live performance can. The Metro that night was definitely my happy place.

Biggest Letdown: I wasn't too impressed with the opener, Hundred Waters. I also wish this concert could have lasted about 10 hours longer than it did.

This Show: was one of the best concerts I've been to in quite some time. My excitement was pretty high going into the night + Alt-J did not disappoint. This was definitely one of those shows that was completely worth getting to early in order to grab a front + center spot in the balcony. I'm so excited for them to come back for Lollapalooza.

old man. high fashion.

Meet Ali.

Ali walks by Zoe's workplace in Berlin every morning + she snaps photos of his stylish looks to put on her blog, What Ali Wore.

Perfection on so many levels. The little tidbits to accompany each post are great too.

james blake || voyeur

mount kimbie || made to stray

New album, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, drops May 27th. I'm looking forward to this one + their show at Lincoln Hall on June 8th.

one wish(list)

If I had one wish it just might be to own every single item on my ever growing Amazon wish list. Here's a look a few items on the very tip-top of my wish list that I'd love to add to my book + vinyl collections:

LCD | Ruvan Wijesooriya

Dieter Rams: As Little Design As Possible | Sophie Lovell

Overgrown | James Blake (pre-ordered)

Pulp Art Book: Volume One | Joni Harbeck

Kinfolk | Volumes 1-7

Random Access Memories | Daft Punk (pre-ordered)

Frida Kahlo | Hayden Herrera

a little bird told me : february

You should follow: @jacquesgreene, @HannahElliott, @bonnietsang, @Do312, @ohhappyday, @MattSebek, @thefoxisblack, @michaelroche, @jlyness, @em_wisely, @whimsyandspice, @wiLLLrice, @MarisaVictoria

chromophobia

I have a bit of a fear of color, which is probably why I love SFgirlbybay's home so much. The home of Bri from designlovefest scares me just a bit...

Dont get me wrong, it's lovely + styled perfectly, but wow is it bright in there.

And while it may not necessarily be for me, I do love the attention to detail.

 She's got some pretty great artwork as well.

And who doesn't love a bit of greenery to add some natural color?

via

sweet sixteen

Let me start off by saying that my laptop + iTunes library are quite old. I've had this computer since 2008 + I used to do a whole lot more listening to music in iTunes back when I first got it than I do now with the availability of all of the Spotifies + Soundcloud's of the world. Still, I'm not too embarrassed to share my top 16 played songs on iTunes because I really quite like them all still.

1 | Sufjan Stevens - Vito's Ordination | 119 plays

2 | Crystal Castles - Vanished | 113 plays

3 | The National - All the Wine | 97 plays

4 | Passion Pit - I've Got Your Number | 90 plays

5 | The National - About Today | 89 plays

6 | Okkervil River - For Real | 88 plays

7 | Santigold - L.E.S Artistes | 88 plays

8 | My Morning Jacket - At Dawn | 86 plays

9 | Bon Iver - Skinny Love | 85 plays

10 | Bov Iver - The Wolves | 82 plays

11 | Crystal Castles - Crimewave | 76 plays

12 | Bon Iver - Blood Bank | 72 plays

13 | Neva Dinova - Dances Fantastic | 71 plays

14 | Passion Pit - Cuddle Fuddle | 71 plays

15 | The xx - Intro | 70 plays

16 | No Turning Back - Gui Boratto | 67 plays

Anyone else willing to share their top plays?

i was there : local natives

Show: Local Natives

Location: The Vic

Date: 3.21.13

Favorite Song: I loved that they started the show off with "You + I," but my favorite of the night was "Columbia." It's recently come to be my favorite song from the new album, which I plan to share more on in another post. Honorable mention also goes to "Bowery." I had a feeling that would be a cool song to hear live + it was.

Memorable Moment: unbeknownst to me it was guitarist Ryan Hahn's birthday + the awesome Chicago crowd broke into a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday." I felt very proud to be a transplant Chicagoan at that moment.

Biggest Letdown: I don't have many complaints about this show, except maybe the chicks that were violently kicking our seats. I gave them a nice long death stare though (I'm quite good at those).

This Show: was my first ever show at The Vic + also my 100th "I Was There" post! Quite a big deal. I know it's probably shocking that I've never been to The Vic before, but every time I've had tickets for a show there they've sold out + moved it over to The Riviera. I was a big fan of the venue. Oh! + I also gained a new concert buddy at this show. That's always a win.

up close + personal

I am quite girly in the sense that I like make-up, but I've never really invested much time or money in products in hopes of reaching perfection. I make an effort to look nice (almost) every day. That's all that really matters, right?

Apparently getting an A for effort (okay, fine a B) doesn't cut it anymore. Sadly, I had learn this the hard way from a male make-up artist at Nordstrom. Talk about feeling inadequate! I know he was just trying to help, but I left feeling really insecure about my overall beauty routine. It didn't help that a few nights later I met some women that went on + on about their favorite beauty products at Barneys. Please note: I've never even stepped foot in Barneys.

I actually love the fact that I'm pretty thrifty. The funny thing is, I actually just set a goal for myself to get my beauty routine locked down by the end of the year/by the time I'm 27 (!!!). It's funny the way timing works out that way. I'm not going to let these encounters turn me bitter though. If anything, it's probably just the fuel I needed to really go through with this challenge. I'm just going to do it in a very me way -- still be relatively thrifty + not at all pretentious like these people I just met.

Here's a few of the products I've either snagged already or plan to purchase very soon:

1. NARS Lip Pencil, Mexican Rose | 2. MAC Eyeshadow, Shroom | 3. NARS Concealer, Honey | 4. Lorac Powder, WD 2.5 | 5. NARS Lip Pencil, Frivolous | 6. Benefit Brow Zings, Medium | 7. Benefit High Brow

As for my skin? I know I'll likely need to find what works best for me, but I'm going to start off with Anna's routine from Door Sixteen. She seems to do everything so perfectly, so it seems like a good enough place to start...

1. Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser | 2. Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment | 3. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Oil | 4. Clarisonic Mia

I feel pretty clueless when it comes to this stuff, so I'd love any other recommendations or must-haves.

1 | 2

gui boratto || no turning back

Hearing Gui Boratto's "No Turning Back" for the first time in 2010 was quite honestly a spiritual experience for me. I've been obsessed with the song + his music ever since, yet I still have not seen him perform live. That isn't to say that I haven't tried though. There's been a series of cancelled shows + other mishaps have prevented that from happening, but not he is back in Chicago + performing this weekend.

...but it's at the new + improved (?) Castle. I've been to Vision once before, so I have a feeling the scene there isn't all that different + my heart sank a bit when I first heard this news. I just feel so conflicted. Do I go + see someone I've been dying to see for years perform at some place awkward? Or do I hope that one day the stars will align + I'll get to finally see Gui at the most perfect venue?

I'm having a really hard time with this decision.

photographs

I'm a big fan of Debbie Carlos, so you can imagine my excitement when I learned that she has a new book coming out with all of her gorgeous images. I pre-ordered it on a bit of whim, but for $20 it was hard to pass up. 

I've been trying to hold off until after Costa Rica, but I have this print of hers on my wish list as well:

everybody else don't mean a thing

digital toolkit

Day One

If you're like me + like to keep notes on different things, then I highly recommend the Day One app. I've started using it for this little series, but I also see it as a great resource for any business or creative types out there. I also love that you can add photos + tags to each post so it makes it easy to sort through the different items. If you're looking for a digital journal, I don't think they come any better than Day One.

Moves

I've been living in Chicago now for 7+ years without a car, so I know I put in my far share of miles just from walking. I've always been curious to know what my long translate to in terms of actual steps. With Moves, you can keep track of steps while walking, miles while running + apparently miles while biking, but I haven't gotten to test this one yet. I have some concerns that Moves is killing my battery life a bit faster, but otherwise it's been pretty fun to track my performance.

Currently

This Google Chrome extension has been on my shit list as of late, but I guess I have this horrific Chicago weather to blame more than the actual extension itself.  Living in the Midwest, you find yourself checking out the weather quite frequently because you really never know what the next day (or hour) might bring. Currently is just an easy extension built right into your browser that keeps you updated on the latest weather. Additionally, this customizable extension allows you to pick the color. I chose black because Chicago's five day forecast brings me to a dark place.

Feedly

Google Reader is dying + all of the cool kids are moving to Feedly (or so says Mashable). Feedly has had over 500,000 new members in two days since the announcement about Google Reader going away. I've migrated myself + have to say that the interface is pretty great. It always takes a little time to adjust to these new things, but I think Feedly is a fine alternative.