Forever Halloween: A Review

I haven't written an actual, legitimate album review before. I have never really felt the need to. It's usually just a quick "hey this is fantastic go buy it you can thank me later here is a list of other artists they sort of sound like" at the end of another post, but I couldn't stop myself from writing a sort-of-review for The Maine's new album, Forever Halloween.

The new album feels very personal. It threw me off at first, because I try not to snoop on a band's personal life. If they want me to know something personal, they'll let me know some how. This is their way of doing that. I was really worried. I knew before I ever got the album in my hands that it would be personal from reading various interviews the group has done recently. Shedding your skin, being personal with your audience can backfire, and it really worried me. After their last album, Pioneer, broke free how could anything else compare? It's kind of like thinking you know someone and the one day they break down this wall that you had felt but never seen and you see this other side of them.

Official Website
Check below for an interview, where to buy, and tour dates!

It will put a lot of people off, but it will also bring in a lot of new people. There isn't a single song that didn't hit me in the feels. The song "Fucked Up Kids" struck me more than the others. It describes me so perfectly, and no other song by any other artist has ever done that.
Even if you don't connect with the lyrics, the melodies, drum beats, and guitar riffs will snag you and drag you down into the depths. The last full minute of the album's title track had me with my hands in the air like I was praising Jesus in a holy roller, Southern baptist church.

Of course it's being compared to their previous albums and I'm not the only one who was concerned. Many fans have said it's good but it just didn't WOW them like Pioneer and some feel like The Maine has reverted back to their Black & White days. I beg to differ.

• First, no other album will WOW you like Pioneer did. They will never be in that situation again. It got a lot of attention because they had just broken away from their record label, it was their first album that was really on their own, and people were curious. That situation fueled a lot of the angst behind the album and helped prove it's place in the rock world. This album WOWs in other ways (this album was recorded live, on tape. No one does that anymore, WHY ARE YOU NOT IN AWE?!).
• Second, this isn't the power pop record Black & White felt like. This album puts out a distinct vibe, not unlike their other songs but different enough to know they're growing up. It feels very...alternative? I could feel influences like Ryan Adams and Brenden Benson (who helped with the recording process) flow through.

But in order for some people to love it, other must hate it and the criticism will tumble forth from the interwebs. But most of all, The Maine seems happy with this album. They seem happy with and proud of what they have produced, and that's something to pay attention to. That's like dumping the whole jar of rainbow sprinkles on my ice cream cake. 

It shows that they're still growing and that's the best thing of an artist. Maybe they don't quite know who they are yet, but that isn't something to hold against them. I have yet to meet a single person, of any age, who knows who they are. I've met a lot of pretenders, but never someone who could, at the end of the day, say who they were with confidence. They are human and this record shows us that. 

They have delivered unto us a record worth our money, our pleasure, and our soul. 

The Maine has done an incredible job and, personally, I can't thank them enough for this album. 

Alter the Press! Interview with The Maine front man, John O'Callaghan

Preview and Download Forever Halloween on iTunes!

On Tour Now with: A Rocket to the Moon, This Century, and Brighten!

Now Playing

                I love finding new music. I love rediscovering old favorites. I’m always a little afraid when I listen to new artists. I’m really afraid that they’re going to suck and I just don’t want to find out. I love promoting bands (I do it all the time, for free, even though I know a lot of people aren’t going to take my recommendations). Once, I talked about the band This Century for nearly a month straight before I finally got someone I know to listen to them. She told me that “I talk about them way too much for them to suck” so she gave them a listen. They then followed us both on Twitter and I fangirled like you wouldn’t believe.

                Music is my thing. So is food. If there’s a job where I get to promote music and cook food all the time, let me know because I have the best qualifications around. I can’t create music yet, but I sure can listen to it. I listen to the classics, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, George Jones, Johnny Cash, my list keeps going but you get the idea. But I also love finding new things. I have a “sticky note” (the one that PC’s come with on the screen) that I keep up 24/7 so I can add a new artist and I have a note in my iPhone specifically for music.

                You’re probably in need of some summer tunes, so here’s a list of all my favorites so far this summer.  Some of them are long standing favorites and some are new discoveries, but they’re making their rounds every single day.

Matt Hires

Wilhelm Tell Me

Frightened Rabbit

Surrogate

Ryan Adams

Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

Local Natives

Lydia

Fall Out Boy

Pocono

A Day To Remember

The Raconteurs

The Chain Gang of 1974

As the summer goes on, I’ll rotate my list out. There’s tons of new music coming out as well! Never Shout Never previewed a new song from their upcoming album on Property of Zack and We The Kings is climbing the charts with their two new singles.

What are you playing this summer?

Summer Reading

Now, before you go off on me and complain that no one should be forced into summer reading let me explain you a thing. Books do things. Let’s start with fiction. Fiction books become not-so-fiction-y and become real places. They create worlds that anyone, young or old, can escape to because reality is pretty gruesome. They offer adventure and fun and magic and drama. The books that could be real with their people and scenarios set in our own little world offer potential answers to some of our greatest questions. The stories with completely imagined worlds and people and creatures do the same, while showing us what it means to spin a tale.

                Then there’s the non-fiction section. Knowledge is everywhere! You can learn about anything you imagine! From psychology, anatomy, and medicine to mechanics, and physics and chemistry; it’s all available. Ever wanted to know the difference between a llama and an alpaca? Or why some recipes use baking soda instead of baking powder? Has your mind ever wandered about why some goats climb trees and how in the world they actually get into the tree? I bet you’ve even wanted to own your own micro-brewery. Good news for you, there’s books on all of that and more.

                But my main reason for summer reading is that it’s the only time I get to choose what to read. In late August through early May, I’m forced to read this or that for class. Some of the books I’ve been forced into were great and some of them missed the buy-back date because they just needed to be on my shelf. But I still needed the freedom to get lost in a book that I chose, to get from it’s pages what I wanted from it, what it was meant to teach me. I’ve had to pick apart countless books for classes, and at some point I stop trying because I know it’s not what my professors want. So I start twisting the book to meet their guidelines and bullshit my way through a ten page paper that I couldn’t care less about.  When I read over the summer, I notice that it’s a happier time. I can mark in the pages (with a pencil, no highlighters) and dog-ear the pages if I want with no worries of the lady at the book store giving me the “you have to pay for that” stare.

                I’ve also noticed over my twenty years of life, that I feel more creative after I read. I have deeper thoughts, more creative ideas, and more questions that make me wonder about our world. There’s so much I don’t know and books offer a way to discover them. I had been moping around during the first week of my summer break because I just didn’t feel creative. I had lost that spark of imagination that I always relied on. Then, I read a book I had purchased over the weekend and it made me think. I have a notebook with me all the time and I started writing my thoughts, ideas, and questions down again. Books do great things.

                Some people give me that “well, I’m not a good reader”, but if you would read you could become a great reader! It’s not about how fast you read or what you read, it’s about the people in the books. It’s about their stories and their lives and their worlds and what you take away from it is what matters. It may take you six hours or six months to finish a book, the important thing is to just finish.

To make your life easier, I’ve made a list below of what I’m reading this summer with links to where you can find them. If you don’t already, get a library card. It’s amazing what that little card gives you access too. It’s better than money.

Looking for Alaska, John Green

Drinking With Strangers, Butch Walker

A Map of the World, Jane Hamilton

How We Believe, Michael Shermer

Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux

Under the Dome, Stephen King

World Made By Hand, James Howard Kunstler

                Not sure where to start? Do what I do: wander around the library or bookstore. Something will be sure to catch your eye! Ask friends for suggestions or hit up your favorite search engine and look for “ultimate reading lists”. You can even start with the classics! Whatever strikes your fancy! I would tell you to not judge a book by its cover, but that’s how I found a lot of good books! 

Penny: The Robot

Remember that project I told you I was working on at the end of my DIY post? Well, I'm about to reveal to you the most awesome creation I have ever put together in my whole entire life! But first, a little background. I'm sure that you've noticed by now I LOVE PINTEREST. I have thousands of pins and most of them are crafts. My mom taught me to crochet when I was a wee little lass (i.e. nine years old). I forgot about it for a while because making scarves gets boring and yarn was expensive for a kid with no income.

Then I started crocheting again in high school when I saw a few other people were learning how to knit. Picking up a hook again was just like learning to ride a bike, you never forget. I had to do a few refresher YouTube videos and asked my mom tons of dumb questions, but I got back to it. Then, I was looking for patterns (free of course, my income hadn't changed much) and found the world of amigurumi.

The Pinterest Inspiration

I still don't know how to pronounce it, but I learned all about it (from Wikipedia). It's the Japanese art of crocheting or knitting small stuffed animals or anthropomorphic creatures. It went beyond just the scarves and gloves that everyone was tired or receiving (even though no one would say it). Plus, who doesn't love stuffed animals?! I MEAN COME ON! They're so cute!

So I came across this on Pinterest and knew I had to make it! Problem number one: it's a sewing project. I may have taken apparel development (one AND two) in high school, but that doesn't actually mean I can sew anything. Problem number two: there was no pattern for either a crochet one or a sewn one, so I would have to do it all on my own. I had never done that before. So I added the picture to my pile of "things to attempt at one point because you're too much of a scaredy cat to do it now" folder. I forgot about it for a while, like...three months. Then I was cleaning out my computer (pictures pile up) and found it again. After staring at it for a few minutes, I decided to give it ago.

And now...I give you...RP743! or, as her friends call her, Penny!

Not bad? She's made entirely of acrylic yarn (Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice in charcoal grey), stuffed with polyester fiber fill, and a handmade glitter bow. In all, she took about three days to make. There are a handful of changes I want to make on the next, which is in progress. Her eyes were handmade by a wonderful lady on Etsy and guess what?! 

THEY GLOW IN THE DARK. How cool is that?! You can buy them over at Designs by Devlin on Etsy. There are lots of colors and sizes and of course they all glow in the dark! I'm currently working up a full biography for Penny that will come with her when I get her set up in my Etsy shop. It will be a while because I want her bio to be perfect and a direct reflection of who I imagine her to be and because I'll be away on vacation this coming week. 

I hope you love her as much as I do! 

Handle The Heat's Rosemary Cheese Bread

Gah, I love carbs.
  They're just so....good. Pasta, bread, and potatoes are my favorite things (other than cheese and chocolate). My heaven would be made of bread with bottomless fondue. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing.

So OF COURSE I jumped at the chance to make this delicious loaf. It has a fantastic flavor, and I don't even like whole wheat OR rosemary.

The "white bread" part is scrumptious. Why has it taken me so long to realize that black pepper is the perfect addition to cheese bread? I've made garlicky cheese biscuits for years and I'm definitely adding a substantial amount of cracked black pepper to the batter.

 

Just look at the cheese seeping up through the crust. You can even see the little specks of black pepper. There's a bit of cayenne pepper as well and it adds a completely different heat than the black pepper. It isn't spicy though. It sort of...melds? Just eat the bread. It's delicious. 

 

I was afraid it would stick (mostly because I don't have the best track record with cakes and breads releasing from their pans), but it slid out just like it was meant to. I even broke out the cooling rack and everything. That's how good it is: I actually followed directions. Okay, so I mostly followed directions. 

If you're on Pinterest, you may have seen the posts about the "Valentine's Day Pound Cake" where the baker, in a stroke of genius, made a pink pound cake, baked it, then cut into slices and cutting out shapes then put it back in the loaf pan with normal pound cake batter and baked it? I attempted that with this recipe, instead of swirling it like you're supposed to. 

Yeah, that didn't work out too well. That brown blob of rosemary goodness? It should be a flower. It tastes like it was baked in God's personal oven, but it looks like a two year old's ball of Playdough. The rosemary batter didn't rise as much as I expected, but I think that may be because (a) my wheat flour is a little old and (b) I got lazy and didn't measure out the full tablespoon of baking powder. 

This isn't the only delicious recipe over on Handle The Heat either! Her site is full of wonderful flavors, both savory and sweet. She's also just published a cookbook! It's all bout ice cream sandwiches, and let's face it: who DOESN'T love a good ice cream sandwich? 

DIY Bedroom Redo

EXAMS ARE OVER! 

I did it! Two years of college are DONE. I did a dance. I danced out of my last final like I had just left the set of Dancing with the Stars. 

Okay. I didn't dance out. I packed up my dorm and then checked my email every ten minutes for my final grades. (which, if you MUST know, I finished this semester with a 3.6 which means I made Dean's List!) 

Then, promptly after I  got home and stowed all my college stuff in the middle of the living room floor, I got sick. I went to Urgent Care and they thought it was a. Mono b. Strep Throat or C. a sinus infection. They also I was 25, not 20. Turns out it was none of thee above and they just gave me a z-pak and GUESS WHO IS 98% BETTER TWO WEEKS LATER?! This girl. 

You guys are such good guessers. 

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! 

       My niece graduated from high school! I couldn't be more proud! She did excellent all four years, and she'll be going to school in a neighboring city this fall. AND she held down a part time job her junior and senior year. She's the bomb, and our whole family was over the moon at graduation (except for the valedictorian speeches. there's a special place in hell for people who quote Dr. Seuss at graduations).

the entire class of 2013 during the Principle's Address

Then, I decided to re-do my bedroom. I originally designed my room when I was 15 or 16, maybe younger. Two walls were frosted (cantaloupe) melon and the other two were this awful hot pink color that nearly glowed in the dark. Then I went through this stage where I drew shooting stars on EVERYTHING and decided to paint one on my wall. Dumbest idea I've ever had, especially when you throw in the fact that even my stick figures look like they have a strange, incurable disease from a foreign galaxy. 

The important thing is, that it looks like this now! 

You bet I painted it white! I used a color called "snow storm". I don't know if you guys know this, but I like glitter. So when Pinterest told me that you can buy glitter designed specifically for paint, I was all over it. I poured a pack of the Valspar glitter in my one gallon of paint and it looks amazing! I couldn't get a nice picture of it, but it looks like I have never-melting snow on my walls and fairies live under my bed. 

 The other great thing? All I had to pay for was the paint, primer, and glitter. All the art was given to me for birthdays and holidays. The owl "pop art" below was made by my best friend (who also gave up her Thursday afternoon to actually help me paint. What took me 7 hour on Wednesday, took us three on Thursday).

 And this trashcan? Yeah, it's made from recycled Japanese magazines. I bought it at Bed, Bath & Beyond two years ago for my first dorm room. It's incredibly sturdy and withstood a bit of water (our shower overflowed a few times, what can ya do?).
This chair used to belong to my grandfather. It was the ugliest, 70s orange you had ever seen. My mom started to paint it white a few years ago, but it got pushed to the back of the DIY pile. I grabbed a can of fluorescent pink spray paint and went to town.
 Some of the orange was still showing through, and it had been roughed up some through various moves (and two floods). But I wanted to show it's history, so I didn't prime it or sand it. I don't actually sit in it either, it just stands here to hold all the stuff I don't have room for.  Then there's this mirror. It was a yard sale find that my sister had hanging in her house for as long as I can remember. She gave it to me a few years ago when she moved house. It used to be red, like London double-decker bus red that had been sitting in the sun too long. My dad had some black, semi-gloss spray paint so I used it. Be sure to cover the mirror with newspaper/paper towel and painters tape to not actually paint the mirror (I may or may not be speaking from experience here).

So what do you think?! Not a bad job for my first entire-room project and not knowing what I'm doing. I'm most proud of the paint job, however. It was the first time I had ever painted anything other than a small canvas. Usually when we paint a room, I'm either not allowed or given the task of painting trim, because no one looks down at the trim or we're covering it up with baseboards.

Have you ever done a whole-room re-do that you're exceptionally proud of? Let me know!
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I've also been working on another little project, which you'll see later this week! But until then, you can see a sneak peak over on my Instagram!

Sundays

Welcome to Hell Week, where students die trying to finish last minute projects and papers in the hopes of making up all that slacking after spring break.

It was a rough one, but now I’m just days away from finals. While I’m withering away in the stacks at the library, I thought about the past few weekends where everything just felt perfect.

The more stressed I get, the more I desire to be at home with people who let me have emotional break downs because college is way more stressful than I ever imagined. These few weekends home meant the world. Sundays are my favorite and this is how  I spent mine...

Sunday morning  muffins with a big cup of coffee with the cold air making my nose run.

Sunday afternoon, I melted the last bit of chocolate in the pantry and dipped my animal crackers in it while playing on tumblr studying.

Then I napped with my favorite pup. 

It was simple, but it meant the world. So here's to a weekend with simple, good things before we have to go back to the real world.