Tunetastic Thursday - Erick Baker "Unbroken Promise"

For some reason, I've been in a really lovey state of mind. I find that music tends to exacerbates moods and feelings. Naturally, I have been listening to just that type of music. Or at least music that has "mellow instrumentation, folk influences, acoustic sonority, a twelve-eight time signature and repetitive melodic phrasing." (Thanks Pandora for the descriptors.)

I've been a member of Pandora for quite a while. I joined when I was in college and have really enjoyed the music it's opened me up to. When I was planning my wedding, I first heard about Ray LaMontagne. Like with most good music I initially listen to, I become obsessed and listen to songs/artists on repeat until I hate them. I saw a meme once that described my process to a "T."

But I always come back 'round. Which brings me back to the oldie but goodie, my Ray LaMontagne station. Of course they play him, but they also play great artists like Amos Lee (who I've seen live - awesome!), the Head & the Heart, Bill Withers, and Van Morrison. One person I hear every now and again is Erick Baker. The song "Unbroken Promise" is really good and I love the way it makes me feel. Then again, who wouldn't want a man to sing them promises of the best love and plans for the rest of your life? I've shared the station here so you can enjoy the mix too.

What's on your playlist this week? Do you listen to music to put or keep you in a certain mood? What puts you in a happy place?

Tuesday Thriftovers - Closet Reorganization

We have limited storage options in our apartment. Ryan has a closet, I have a closet, and there's a closet in the living room. Mine is the biggest (surprise, surprise) but it works like quadruple duty. It acts as clothes closet, craft closet, hobby storage, and guest bed storage. Things just tended to get shoved in with no rhyme or reason. My crazy got a hold recently and that disorganization needed to change. Here's a disappointing before picture of the closet.

Basically, it was a disaster. I could get to my clothes easily enough but crafting supplies, wrapping supplies, workout gear, etc...was pure hell. So naturally when you start any good project you start with a blank slate. This involved pulling EVERYTHING out.

Didn't know all that stuff could fit in there could you? I was shocked too. 

Now I loathe my closet system. It's heavy duty but it's free standing and not anchored. (The back wall is brick which makes it difficult to get any useful closet system in there.) I do like the brass color though. But it's all "stackable" shelves. So unless you want to deconstruct the entire thing, you're stuck with how you initially put that sucker together. I didn't want to put the plastic drawers I had back in so I "relieved" my parents of this old french country style dresser. 

I started with a trip to the dollar store to pick up some baskets for colored pencils, markers, sharpies, etc. For about $5 I picked up everything I needed. Then I went to work going through all my craft supplies. I weeded out all the dried up markers, all the crusty paint brushes, and all the random momentos I don't need. Then I organized my clothes, getting rid of things I don't wear and folding up t-shirts to put in an empty drawer.

Here's what my closet looks like now.

My hobby and craft stuff is all organized to the right of the closet. The clothes on the top rack and left tower. I love it. It might not be the best closet set up but it works for now. Someday I'll have a professionally designed closet that has plenty of storage for clothes, exercise crap, and craft items. 

Next week I should have a good one. I went shopping in my parents basement for some upcycling ideas and came back with a few old drawers and crates. I can't wait to dive into those projects. 

I'm thinking about taking more pictures of the steps of the projects. I know when I pinterest I like to see the process steps. Is that something you would like to see? What are you working on this week?

Tunetastic Thursday - Vampire Weekend "Unbelievers"

My favorite radio station, WEQX, is always bringing me great new music. I heard this little diddy on the way to work on Monday and haven't been able to get it out of my head since then. I didn't catch the name of it that morning as I was rushing into work but thankfully EQX puts up their playlist online. I just went online that night and found out who it was. How I didn't guess Vampire Weekend was beyond me. I hope you like it. And if you haven't listened to EQX yet, do it. Go check them out. They stream online. It's free (after you pay your internet bill or go to the library).

After you listen to them for an hour or so and still aren't convinced they're the bees knees, know that they bring awesome bands and artists to the Capital District. In about a month, they'll host the annual Pearl Palooza. A free outdoor concert that lasts all day, with bands like Portugal the Man and Crystal Fighters.

What's been on your playlist lately? I'm always up for listening to something new. I'd love to know what you're into.

Lesson Learned: Always Wear Gloves

Ryan and I are part of a food co-op with the Berry Patch in Stephentown, New York. We decided on this co-op because we can spend our money on products we actually want instead of getting a box of stuff we won't eat. On Saturday mornings we head down to their stand in Troy's Waterfront Farmer's Market. Last week they had something new: jalapeno peppers. The hubbs, loving spicy food, thought they'd be perfect to pick up.

Prepping for dinner tonight, mexican lasagna roll ups, I decided to stuff those suckers and bake 'em too. Little did I know, you should wear gloves when washing, cutting, or seeding them. Possibly wear a hazmat suit. MY FINGERS ARE ON FIRE. Of course, Ryan laughed about it, but his fingers aren't burning like the ninth circle of Dante's Inferno.

Some things that don't work to cool down tingly, burning fingers:
1. MK Cooling Eye Gel
2. Solarcaine
3. Hand lotion

Something that kinda, sorta works better than everything else: shampoo. Still tingles but after a half hour or so I'm either numb to the burning or it actually went away.

Bet your bottom dollar that before they go into my kitchen again, I'll have some latex gloves ready to go.

Tuesday Thriftovers - Bathroom Storage Crates

I have just about five dozen assorted soaps, lotions, and loofahs that I've collected through many a holiday, birthday, and shopping trip. We have zero cabinet storage for this stuff in the bathroom. Under the sink is dedicated to q-tips, cleaning products, the hair dryer, and the clipper set.  The drawers have my rarely used makeup, hair brushes, hair ties, and other random hair items. The stuff shoved in behind our mirror includes deodorant, tooth paste, bandaids, various medicines, and hand sanitizers. Our solution for this girly stuff (and towels) was a relatively cheap 6-tier shelf from Bed, Bath, and Beyond with baskets for toiletries and the bottom two shelves for our towels. But alas, we grew tired of the generic looking shelf.

When we went to Maine for our anniversary, back in July, we ventured into this discount furniture store right across the street from our hotel. It had a lot of unfinished furniture, knick knacks, but finished pieces too. My eyes caught these awesome wooden crates and from my perusing of pinterest I had MANY ideas. One of which was new bathroom storage. I convinced Ryan that we needed three. I wish I had convinced him of getting more.

Once we were home it took a bit more convincing for the stain (Minwax Wood Finish - Special Walnut 224). I did one coat and it looks amazing. I couldn't work my magic for the poly...so I let it dry for a few days. Then I went to town putting away all my crap...er...I mean girly stuff.

The crates are perfect height for Bath & Body Works hand soaps, most tall lotions, and two stacks of toilet paper rolls. I love it. I just now have to figure out how to store my towels. I don't trust the crates to not stain my white, white towels. I found the perfect basket for them online at Pottery Barn. Haven't quite convinced Ryan that we need a $159 hamper though....

The towel storage will most likely show up in a later post of Tuesday Thriftovers, once I figure out how to copycat it or change my mind. How do you handle storage in your bathroom? Any ideas for how to store my towels?

Tunetastic Thursday - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis "Same Love" featuring Mary Lambert

I grew up in a conservative household. I attended church and went to Sunday school. I was raised to be accepting and kind to others. But I was never really taught that homosexuality was okay. I didn't have a lot of exposure to  it and if it was ever brought up I was quickly reminded that "it's their choice, just don't tell me about it." Maybe because I was somewhat sheltered or maybe because I didn't want to know. I don't really remember when Ellen came out, I just knew that we stopped getting Time because that shouldn't have been news let alone the cover. And that was huge news and a big step for the gay community.

But I was raised one way and for the longest time I couldn't accept why they would need something like a marriage certificate. To me, it was a heterosexual thing. Marriage was defined as between a man and a woman. I felt that if other could get married to it would lessen the commitment and value of the word marriage. Call it whatever you want, just don't call it a marriage. I even thought that way through most of college when I was exposed to it and had friends who were gay.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that my way of thinking is no different than judging or condemning someone because of their skin. This isn't something they can change; it's not a switch you can flip every day. This is who they are. Who am I to tell them they can't have the same rights that I'm afforded because I love my husband. I'm no one and I can't.

This past decade has seen so much change it's unbelievable. While society has taken some rather precarious turns, some of the best change has been within the rights given to all of mankind. I believe a lot of it has been driven by courageous people who have dared to stand up for themselves and others. You don't have to be like a person to support them or their cause. I applaud these folks and I'm so glad they're supporting causes close to them.

A few songs have been produced over the years that teach messages of love and acceptance. The most recent one is "Same Love" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert. I love the lyrics so much that I always get bummed when I inevitably pick up the song halfway through on the radio. I think of all the struggles I never had to go through because I liked men. I've had it really good. There are so many still struggling because they're not yet accepted and live in countries where who they love is punishable by death. But it gets better. There are so many people to support you no matter the differences.

Whenever I get down, I try to remember the wise words of Dr. Seuss: “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” I hope you remember the words too.

Tuesday Thriftovers - Fisherman Jar

I have many glass jars laying around the apartment. One might say I'm borderline hoarder but of course, it's not that bad. I even recently said I have too many and won't keep new ones until I use the ones I have for various projects. (Go me!) They're mostly empty wine bottles, salsa jars, and ice cream toppings. Hey, life's better with booze and processed foods.

I've had this one jar for a while; I may have even pilfered it from my mom. She found it outside digging in their backyard, I think. I loved the blue-green color of the glass which is unlike most of the food jars I have. Our bedroom has a beach theme to it and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to add another decor element but I didn't want to just stick the bottle there in with the other items on the mantle. I happened upon this great little tutorial and got to town.

The tutorial shows you how to tie a fisherman's net over jars and bottles. My bottle is 11 inches tall and the twine started at 8 inches. I'm not sure how tall her bottle was, but she called for 1.5' of twine. I used 2.5' and still ran out. To be safe, I'd quadruple the length of your bottle - not just the part being covered with the netting. Needless to say the bottom of my bottle doesn't look fantastic but overall it's pretty decent. It ties in pretty nicely with our beachy theme.

For about twenty minutes worth of my time I've got a nice additional for the mantle and one less bottle. What are you working on this week? Do you have any ideas of what I should do for those other bottles?

Tunetastic Thursday - Capital Cities "Kangaroo Court"

Well, it's not the day I'd hope to post about this but that's fine. Starting today, and on Thursdays from now on, I'll post about a cool new band or song that I've been completely obsessed with. Believe me when I say it happens often. Some of the recent song obsessions have been, "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake, "Royals" by Lorde, and "Love Somebody" by Maroon 5. Speaking of which, have you seen that video?! Holy crap.

My music taste is all over the place. Some country, alternative, rock, R&B, and pop. I'm always up for listening to something new. It might take me a few listens to get into the music, but I get there eventually. Sometimes. Occasionally. My husband introduced me to my favorite band, The Decemberists, who I first didn't like because I thought Colin Meloy's voice was too whiny. I mean, some people could still consider it whiny, so to each their own. Then after listening to them periodically over a year (yes, a year), they slowly snuck their way to the top where they still sit. Go on tour already would you! I need to see you live.

Even though my commute is now seven minutes long, I still like to listen to the radio for music in the mornings and in the afternoons on my ride home. The first channel that is inevitably on is EQX. If you like alternative (and eventual top 40), this is most assuredly the station for you. It's broadcast out of Manchester, VT and reaches the capital district in New York but you can stream it online. New music is always on, including national and local artists. It's fantastic. 

Without further adieu, here's the song of the week. "Kangaroo Court" by Capital Cities. It's a new single off their debut album, "In a Tidal Wave of Mystery." I first heard their "Safe and Sound" track, which is now on most top 40 stations. Go EQX for always being ahead of the curve (seriously love those guys)! It's an awesome song and even though there's no official music video it's great to listen to, bob your head to, and lip sync in the car to. The video for "Safe and Sound" is neat though, be sure to check that out as well.

I hope you like the song. Share your favorite band or song of the moment; I'd love to listen to something new.

Happy August - Happy Birthday!

Today is August 2, 2013. I know, you could probably tell from the time stamp. But today is my mom's fiftieth birthday. Happy birthday mom! She's always been there for me and I'm proud I get to call her my mom. We're celebrating on Sunday and I'll post some pictures of our cookout.

As I get back into the swing of blogging again. I figure I can start off with cool stuff for you! At the beginning of every month I'm going to put out a printable that you can download, print, and put in a document frame. I have this one on my mantel right now. (I'll even admit I put it out a few days early - but no one would notice so it's all good for me.) I hope you like it because it's nearly impossible to do word association with August. If you have any suggestions for events or words you think of when you think August feel free to leave a comment.

August Printable Mash Up

I'm going to try and post 3-4 times a week from now on. Because I know you're that interested in what's happening around here. I mean who wouldn't want to read about a normal life? I've fleshed out ideas for Mondays and Thursdays. Be on the look out for a new post on Monday! I'm truly excited about getting back into things. I hope you are too.