In honor of my Tio’s birthday I thought it would be a perfect day to discuss the latest San Diego Follow My Fork day! If you are new to the blog, my uncle runs an Instagram account called Follow.My.Fork (which you can find here) where he posts all about the really yummy food he eats, mostly around his home in San Diego. He always takes me and my brother on food outings and this last one was my belated birthday gift.
We always do at least a 3 course outing and this was no exception.
“Life is a game, where the player must appear ridiculous.” – Violet Crawley
Or as close to it as you can get in Southern California, which is apparently in Pasadena.
I turned 24 this weekend. A very strange feeling as I told my cousin, I still feel like it was just yesterday we were playing Hide the Wii remotes on my 13th birthday but here we are. My mother likes to say I have Peter Pan syndrome so the past few years of birthdays realizing I am, in fact, growing up have been very bittersweet.
When Halloween sneaks up on you and you realize that you have yet to figure out a costume. No need to panic. Shop your closet. There are a ton of costumes you can put together if you just get a little creative.
So step right up and I will show you how I shop my own closet to put together 5 Last Minute Halloween Costumes.
RED (Taylor’s Version), or RED 2.0, as I have been calling it, came out today. I thought I would write my first impressions review as there is no way for me to have a full opinion of the album as a whole until I have listened to it a bazillion times for a week straight.
Before we get into it, the background context on my relationship to RED, the original.
It is my favorite Taylor Swift album. For sure, the one I have listened to the most. The one with my favorite Taylor Swift song. It was also the album for which I went to my very first concert at the start of my freshman year of high school. I have distinct moments attached to songs from when it came out my 8th-grade year. Thus, I am sure I will have a lot to say as the album is very near and dear to my heart. So here we go, a non-comprehensive first impressions reaction review, as I listen to the rerecorded songs for the first time.
Songs I Listened to First:
Here are the first 5 songs I listened to in the order I listened to them. In between each one, I then listened to the original version for comparison.
All Too Well 10 min version
“It’s supposed to be fun turning 21” may be my fav new lyrics in the 10 min version. It made me actually pause the song to process those first 5 minutes.
This will probably be an unpopular opinion- remember all my opinions are subject to change with continued listening- I was… underwhelmed? I don’t know I didn’t love it like I thought I would love a 10 minute of this, one of my all time favorite TS songs, but I didn’t.
My favorite parts of the song were all the ones from the original version. Is this because I don’t like change or because I don’t think all the extra lyrics bring anything that makes the song better than the original condensed version. We will find out after I listen some more.
The Last Time feat Gary Lightbody
This is my favorite song. It started and my breathe caught in my throat. I just sat with my eyes closed and listened to it to soak it all in. Is it… more beautiful than before somehow. The opening chords feel echoey and I love it. I think the strings underscoring the song are amped up to extra stunning. Whatever the new drum sound thing going on at the beginning I could do without but yes to the extra strings.
Is Taylor’s part slightly different?? Sounds great though.
The harmonies are on point. I have nothing further to say for this song at this time.
“You break my heart in the blink of an eye” Yes yes you do song.
Treacherous
1 minute in, is the very subtle harmony voice new?
Upon review it is just more noticeable now.
The maturity of her voice now really changes the tonal quality of this song. The softness of the original isn’t there but there is a different depth to it. “This slope is treacherous and I I I like it”
Although I really miss the more airy quality of the original bridge, it sounds more full in this version which isn’t bad at all just different.
All Too Well
This is the 5 and a half minute version.
The way she sang the end of the first verse hooked me, too good.
Ooh… the subtle echo part before the first chorus… I don’t think I like it.
“Maybe I asked for too much” The emotion. Strong. Great. Love it.
Short and sweet review. I still love this song.
State of Grace (acoustic version)
Again the drums. Scale it back, this is too harsh.
This song had a lot more of the airy softness that is in the original album. Which when listening you can tell the main difference is just how much her voice has strengthened but hearing her purposely add it into this song was lovely.
This song so far has given me the most OG RED vibes. I really enjoyed it. “And I’ll never be the same”
Then after this I went back to the beginning of the album and listened to them in order.
With the new from the Vault songs the album is now 30 songs long totalling 2 hours and 10 minutes. The album came out for me at 9pm PST meaning I did the first five song listen and then went to sleep to prepare myself for a 2 hour intense listening session in the morning.
Red, the song, sounds exactly the same, so does I Knew You Were Trouble.
Opening of 22 sounds more pulled back, original her voice and the drums are on an even plane but now drums are in the background for that part.
I may like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together better now, while Stay Stay Stay is not as good on this version. I also don’t think I like Holy Ground 2.0 as much either… I can’t tell why yet.
Everything Has Changed Feat: Ed Sheeran2.0 is slightly slower than the original and Ed’s vocal lines are also a bit different on his verse and some of his harmonies. I’ve seem them sing this live and I think the new version has more of that “live” quality versus the original recording.
Begin Again still perfection. The harmonies sound like they may be crisper too. It’s gorgeous.
Girl at Home is a completely different song. Now it sounds like it could have been on 1989 instead of RED. I like it. I love the original but this is fun.
Songs ‘From the Vault’ Surprises:
I really liked Nothing New feat: Pheobe Bridgers.
Message in a Bottle felt like something I could see in a movie soundtrack.
Forever Winter and Run Feat: Ed Sheeran are beautiful. Will be playing on repeat for a while.
The Very First Night is a great song to have as the last one before All Too Well 10 min. It is incredibly catchy and is like a mix between Lucky One and Starlight. A song you can dance while doing your makeup too.
Overall First Impressions After Listening to the Full Album:
The original RED to me seems like a more raw scaled back version compared to the Taylor’s Version which has a more produced feel. There is a lot more added tonal qualities in the accompaniments coupled with a juiced up drum section that I am not sure I like better than how it sounded.
All of the songs have a fuller sound than before, much to do with her voice and how she sings the lines. There are fewer lines she throws away when she sings- a good adjustment, it helps with understanding the lines.
This album is still so so good. Dancing around my room, belting the lyrics alone in the car, adding songs to your party with your friends playlist good.
Alright that is all I have for you from my first impressions. This was a tad bit longer than a quick first glance post that I expected it to be… Hope you enjoyed. Do you have a favorite song from RED?
Let me know if you would like me to do more music reviews. Be sure to subscribe to the blog and follow along with me on // Pinterest // Instagram //
I’m back with a part two to my ‘Fashion Student Friend Dresses Me’ series!
This week, we wanted to create outfits based on events or themes. It was so fun to have a reason to dress up and get out of my same rotation of sweats.
The inspiration for this day was to not only have an outfit for a museum, but to dress as though you could be a painting in a museum. I think she did a great job at that. I love how all the pieces came together.
Monday- Disney Trip
Outfit Details: Anniversary Gold Mickey Ears, Cinderella Tee- Lauren Conrad, Old Navy Denim, Target White heeled boots, Loungefly Cinderella Backpack
While I would probably not wear these shoes to Disneyland, as I like my feet too much, I love the way they look with this outfit. I also love that I have this new cutey Cinderella Backpack to match my Cinderella shirt. Courtesy of my cute friend who styled me this week. 🙂
Tuesday- Celeb: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift Evermore
Outfit Details: Old Navy Jeans, Kohls Fuzzy Socks, Forever 21 Gray Knit
It was an unusually gloomy day on Wednesday and so it was perfect to go for an Evermore inspired Taylor Swift. How much more comfy cozy can you get to dress like a celeb than this??
Wednesday- PINK DAY
Outfit Details: Old Navy white long sleeve, thrifted Pink stripe skirt, pink bandana, Everlane Day Glove Heels in Pink.
On Wednesday’s we wear pink! Strawberry Shortcake inspired Pink that is!
How SWEET is this outfit? Feminine and simple and sweet just like Strawberry Shortcake. I love how simple yet classic this outfit is.
Thursday- Preppy
Outfit Details: Forever 21 Collared sleeveless top, Old Navy Black Cardigan, Navy Keds, Borrowed from my friend plaid skirt.
A preppy inspired look for when you want to look studious. She had to loan me this skirt since I only own two skirts (the other ones you see above) and I love how it looked both on the outfit and on me. Now I’m wondering if I should invest in one for myself? Hmm.
Friday- Game of Thrones
Outfit Details: Charming Charlie Poncho, Old Navy Black Turtleneck, Old Navy Black Jeans, Black Doc Martens, My brother’s Wooden Sword (Ha!)
I have never seem an episode of Game of Thrones but it was fun to make the edit of myself for this outfit. I love this outfit a lot. It is super cozy but the poncho just adds a little something extra. California please have another cold day so I can wear this!
Saturday- Royal Wedding
Outfit Details: Gifted Polka Dot Dress, Everlane Day Glove Heels, My mom’s shawl, Homemade Hat
And we have a winner folks! It’s a show stopper for sure. There is nothing that needs to be added to this. So cute and stylish and feminine. The hat is that cherry on top type of touch and I really need to wear this dress more often!
I have so much fun when we do styling challenges together! How do you think she did this time? Which look is your favorite?
For the blog this week I thought it would be fun to do a challenge. Way back in my sophomore year of High School, this same friend wanted to dress me for a week. (I swear it was the week I got a compliment on my outfit every single day. Since I was wearing something other than a tee, flannel, or sweatshirt with my jeans.) Fast forward about 6 years and she is now a fashion student and I thought it would be fun to have her try and dress me for a week again!
The catch with this challenge this time is I don’t have a full closet of clothes in my dorm and she couldn’t bring me anything. We Facetimed before the week started to compile the list of clothes and the WIFI did NOT play a helpful role in this matter. I think the call dropped no less than 10 times.
The story begins with a girl wanting to try her hand at learning a useful skill.
As a typical movie plot line does, it includes the fun beginning moments and the excitement, and then goes headfirst into the downhill spiral that is the confrontation. The moments in the middle where hope seems lost and you aren’t quite sure how it will all turn out. In this case, the confrontation begins and ends with an evil antagonist known as the sewing machine, bent on the demise of our main character’s hopes, dreams, and patience.
I am that girl. That was my sewing machine. And this is that story.
(Instructions on how I made the Utensil Holder are at the bottom of this post!)
I have been a fan of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series since I was in 5th grade right before the final book came out. When I first learned of the musical I was skeptical. I mean how could I not be after the movie… *shudder* But then I started following along and realized it was nothing like the movies. For one they had a blonde Annabeth.
So of course when I found out the musical was touring I had to see if I could get tickets and 8 months later I finally got to go.
Here is everything you need to know about why the Lightning Thief is the perfect musical for Percy Jackson fans!