Favorite Things

Happy weekend y’all! It is sweltering down here in Baltimore. It’s sweaty, sticky, tangibly hot, and not in a good way, especially not for my hair. That being said, I have been trucking along surprisingly well despite the unflattering humidity.

It has certainly been an interesting weekend, and it’s only halfway over. But you always know things are less-than-copacetic when it’s 6 p.m. and you started drinking at 4. Oh well.

Despite my slightly sullen mood at the moment, it has been a surprisingly good week, and I am officially excited again for everything that lies ahead this summer. Despite the ups and downs, all in all I have a feeling it is absolutely going to kick ass.

Alright, enough of my ranting… let’s get down to business.

Maroon 5, “One More Night”

Good lawd I love Maroon 5. I have seen them in concert three times now, the most recent a little over a month ago (and I was firmly planted three rows from the stage), and let me tell you, they never disappoint. What I love about One More Night is that it’s classic Maroon 5, less Moves Like Jagger and Payphone and more Tangled and This Love. Besides, anything that involves Adam Levine is always a good thing.

Essie Nail Color in Mint Candy Apple

I bought this shade of nail polish a few weeks ago and am absolutely in love. It reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream, minus the calories, and is equally delicious.

Walk the Moon, “Anna Sun”

This song is pure sunshine (hence the name.) It never fails to put me in a good mood and want to dance. I’ll press play for this insta-smile song any day of the week.

Bravo TV

Let me be real with you…. I love Bravo more than life itself. Without Bravo, I wouldn’t have Rachel Zoe/Taylor/Brad Goreski, Real Housewives, Jeff Lewis and his crew, Tabitha, Kathy Griffin and co., Patty Stanger, Bethenny, Andy Cohen, the Top Chef gang, Amy Phillips and all of her impression of the major Bravo players… pretty much every person on TV that I pretend to be close and personal friends with when in reality they have no idea who I am.

(54) Favorite Things

Friday, Friday. Gotta’ get down on Friday! Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend!

As cheesy as that YouTube hit is, it’s 100% stuck in my head today. This has been a very, very long week, and I am looking forward to some f-u-n.

One thing from this week, though, that I am not ready to sweep under the rug is my favorite “Favorite Things” post.

Shall we?

NBC’s Smash

I am officially in love with this television show. While earning my loyal viewing devotion really isn’t all that difficult, I am 100% a TV girl, my secret little-girl someday dream of becoming a big broadway star squeals in delight with every belted show tune, callback, costume change and shuffle-ball-change. To top it all off, the music is delish. I think I have listened to “Let Me Be Your Star”  87 times in one week. So good!

Essie Nail Color in A Crewed Interest

This peaches and cream shade is so lovely and sweet. A perfect springtime pastel. Slather it on for a picnic in the park or a beach barbeque.

Love and Olive Oil

This lovely culinary blog combines flawless recipes with eye-popping photographs, creating a feast for the senses. I just want to take a bit right out of my computer (if only that were possible… and calorie free, of course!)

Sophia Grace and Rosie Go to the Grammy’s

For those of you who are unaware of who these adorable little creatures are, I am sorry. I am in love with these children, who never fail to keep me endlessly entertained and put a smile on my face. This past week they were Grammy correspondents for the Ellen show. And, thanks to this, my dream finally came true. No, that the broadway star fantasy. This dream is much more grounded in reality. My future children (SG & Ro)… and my future hubbins (Adam Levine, obviously)… together. I can almost hear the hallelujah chorus.

(47) Favorite Things

It’s that time of the week again kiddies! I hope you all had an excellent seven days and have a wonderful weekend ahead of you. A good friend of mine and his band are playing their first show ever tonight, so I am supremely excited.

Alright, let’s get down to business…

Michael Logen, “St. Christopher (On My Way)” 

This lovely song is a find courtesy of One Tree Hill. To answer your question, yes, I do still watch OTH despite it’s rapid downfall post-high school years. That being said, the producers’ impeccable taste in music has yet to waiver. I cannot even fathom where my iTunes library and personal taste in music would be without OTH introducing me to MoZella, Keane, and my favorite Bethany Joy Galeotti. Michael Logen is an excellent addition to my ever-growing list and I will be extremely upset when OTH ends and I have to musically fend for myself again.

Essie Nail Color in Navigate Her

Normally, I’m not a fan of out-of-the-ordinary nail colors, but this creamy, dreamy avocado shade from Essie is simply delicious.

Florence + The Machine, “No Light, No Light”

At this point, I think it is fairly obvious how much I adore Florence + The Machine. With songs like “Shake it Out” and “What the Water Gave Me,” it is easy to see why I find her so infectious. “No Light, No Light” only further cements my belief that the world is a much better place with Florence in it.

J.Crew Natasha Top in Vivid Poppy

I am in l-o-v-e love with this flirty and fun blouse from J.Crew. I feel happier when I am wearing this lovely purple hue, and mixed with my bright green linen scarf and black BP Ginger Boots, I feel like I am wearing an instant hit, a timeless classic, and a million bucks.

(40) Favorite Things

Is it cheating if I want to make one of my weekly favorite things my Favorite Things Posts? I guess since I make the rules I am allowed to break them. But I have to think a little more about it before I make any major decisions regarding the subject.

Alright kids, without further ado, my favorite things this week…

Kelly Clarkson, “Gravity” (A Sara Bareilles Cover)

This could not be more perfect if it tried. Love me some Kelly Clarkson. Love me some Sara Bareilles. Put my two favorite crooners together, and it’s simply heart-melting deliciousness.

Essie Nail Color in Mango Bango

Early spring fever has officially hit, and I find myself longing for warm weather, sundresses, Ray Bans and sandals again. In the meantime, I am going to slather my nails with this creamy, dreamy coral shade, put on some island jams and make myself a mojito.

Bath and Body Works’ True Blue Need a Margarita Scrub

Not only will this citrus scrub have you smelling EXACTLY like a margarita, but it will also have you salivating after one. A warning to the wise, though… although it may smell like a margarita, it does not taste like one.

Jessica Simpson Fragance in Fancy

This perfume smells AMAZING and I get compliments on how tasty I smell all the time (though, I did have one friend tell me I smell like bug spray…. guess you can’t please everyone.) Although most stores try to charge you 49 bucks for this beauty, I am going to let you in on a little secret: TJ Maxx sells this sucker for $19.99!!! Which is exactly why I stocked up and bought, not one, not two, but three bottles of Fancy yesterday. The checkout girl felt the need to ask me whether or not I liked the way the perfume smells, since me scooping up three boxes of this stuff wasn’t indication enough. Uh, gee, you think?

(33) Favorite Things

Thank god it’s Friday. I woke up this morning completely nauseous with a crazy bad migraine (so much for taking my car to get fixed at 8 a.m.) and the only thing to get me through today was the fact that, because it’s Friday, we have reached the next Favorite Things post!

Who is as excited as I am right now? Because, let me tell you, I am really excited.

Let’s do this.

The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern

Okay, so I am barely into the first chapter and I am already in l-o-v-e love with this book. I have been looking for a good read for awhile now, and while I have many books on my literary list to check off, I couldn’t seem to get sucked into their story lines. With The Night Circus, I was immediately enthralled and eagerly anticipated the read from first glance in Barnes and Noble.

Nordstrom’s BP Ginger Boot in Black

I have been obsessed with these boots for quite some time and haven’t been able to find my size ANYWHERE. But, after stalking my local Nordstrom’s shoe department and website day in and day out for a month, I finally found my pair. I am happy to report that these boots were 100% worth the wait.

Essie Nail Color in Topless and Barefoot

It wouldn’t be a Friday Favorite Things without a splash of Essie, now would it? This week’s current favorite shade is creamy and delicious and reminds me of a piping hot cup of cafe au lait. Yum.

Kelly Clarkson, Live from the Troubadour, October 19, 2011

I really have been on a Kelly kick this week. Having always been a fan, I was lucky enough to see her in concert about five or six years ago. While this video certainly isn’t anything like the real thing, her amazing set of pipes take center stage in this delightful 20 minute video. My favorite performance? Her rendition of My December’s “Sober,” which can be found around the 13 minute mark.

(27) Favorite Things

Woohoo! It’s Friday and time for the post I look forward to writing every single week.

This week I slowly eased myself back into reality, while desperately trying to bask in my ever diminishing post-vacation glow.

To make the transition as smooth as possible, I really relied on the comforts of life (music, television, food, etc.), and while most are just mindless fodder, some have turned into full-blown obsessions.

Jon McLaughlin ft. Sara Bareilles, “Summer is Over”

In general, I think Sara Bareilles can do no wrong (I choose to ignore her latest album Kaleidiscope Heart, which pails in comparison to her debut record Little Voice), and in this duet with Jon McLaughlin, she reminds me why I love her oh so much. To say it’s been on repeat on my iPod the past couple of days is an understatement, lets just leave it at that.

How I Met Your Mother

I initially started watching HIMYM as a way to fill time while television series are on hiatus. I started with season 1 on Sunday, and have now watched every episode in order through season 4. While I had caught random reruns on television before, I was completely unaware of how wonderful HIMYM was. Super cute, super obsessed, and super dying to meet the mother.

Winter Spiced Lattes

There is an amazing restaurant/coffee shop in Baltimore that I like to go to with friends whenever I want to grab something to eat that is less chain food restaurant-y, and more yummy delicious. When I was there yesterday, my meal was so tasty, but the standout was the winter spiced latte I got to accompany my meal. With ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, orange peel,
cloves, cardamom & whipped cream, it was the perfect sweet compliment to my savory soup and sandwich, and I cannot wait to have another one ASAP.

Essie Nail Color

I do have a bit of a nail polish obsession in general, but Essie nail polish is absolutely my favorite… it comes in the best shades and doesn’t chip on my nails nearly as much as OPI. Right now I have their pale pink glitter polish slathered all over my fingertips and tootsies, and though I know it will be a bitch to get off, at the moment I am loving the extra sparkle.

(6) “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things…”

It’s Friday! Although the past seven days have been vacation time for me, knowing that today is the end of the week makes this Friday seem all that more promising. It really has been a great week, but I have so many more great things coming up between now and January 16th when my vacation ends that I am excited to see what is going to happen next.

New Year’s Eve is tomorrow and I think for once in my life I might have a shot at a bangin’ end of the year celebration. So while I mentally and physically prep myself for the drunken dancing insanity that is coming tomorrow, I wanted to share with you the things I have been obsessed with this week.

Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s cover of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”

This video could not be more adorable if they tried. Zooey and Joey really are a perfect pair. Absolute magic.

Kelly Clarkson’s 2011 iTunes Session

I am a die-hard Kelly Clarkson fan in general, but I am particularily enjoying the stripped down versions of “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “Since You’ve Been Gone,” and “(What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You) Stronger.” Go Kelly go!

Regina Spektor 

I have always loved Regina Spektor and saw her in concert in 2008. I personally think Begin To Hope is her best album, by far, to date, but I have recently started playing “Hero” and “Us” on repeat.

Essie Nail Color in Fiji and Splash of Grenadine

Splash of Grenadine

I love both of these Essie Nail Colors. They are great because you can wear them all year round; they pop with a tan in the summer and compliment paler skin tones in the winter. Love.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

So nice, I’m seeing it twice.