around the web in 10 links v1

For what I lack in posting on a regular basis, I am a pretty steady reader of a lot of things the internet has to offer. Found some great links I wanted to share with you this week.


Erin's pencil case souvenir idea, fantastic way to bring something useful home from travels.

Beautiful Feather note cards from minted.

Great early fall layering sweater. Helpful for anyone else who suffers from hot afternoons at a sunny window seat at work. I bought two.

Hating boats gets you blog traffic, who knew?

Is summer really over? Not if I can help it with my new jam.

Joanna's thoughts on single tasking. Is time to put the phone down for an extended period of time?

A DIY I definitely want to do, I might need help though....

Did you know you can freeze delivery pizza? I've started this trick and it's works so well.

A great place to find some staples, and some fun things. My most complimented shoes are a find from here.

I cannot stop listening to these funny ladies, I caught up on a few back episodes while watching people on the beach. I was not laughing at you beach people!

songs that speak something true

Who will love me for me
Not for what I have done
Or what I will become
Who will love me for me
~ JJ Heller

Happy Valentine's Eve - a little ditty about finding someone who will love you for you, which is what everyone deserves. Sending a little love out to all this weekend.

current favorite jam

I am so not cool, but this song is my new jam. I want to dance to this baby all night long - preferably in the comfort of my own living room. I also really love Bruno's pink blazer - I kind of want one - you know or maybe copy his whole outfit. Anyway I hope you enjoy this on a lovely Monday.

happiness list

I am pretty late to this party, but I am listening to “Let it Go” from Frozen on repeat now. Idina Menzel sang this when I watched the Oscars, and then the song won the award, and I was hooked.  Strong apologies to my work neighbors as I think I sing this out loud at some point while I am listening at my desk. What can I say, I was the little girl who wanted to play Annie whenever I got a chance.

Getting a lovely long weekend in warm sunny Florida. I am so glad to have a chance to escape the cold even for a few days. Something about 80 degrees makes everything feel better. Spring, here I am, and I am waiting for you.

I feel in love with my new way to cross off my to do list at work. I realized that I hated crossing out and not being able to look back later to get a handle on what I had done, I’ve started highlighting completed items – still easy to read, and adds a pop of color to my life (yep, I am a nerd).

The beautiful flowers I received as a thank you. It’s probably my favorite thing to tell people I have many secret admirers as this did come from a group of people. Orange roses are a new favorite – they are so vibrant.

Also, happy that I finally scheduled my appointment with my tax guy – it’s always a pleasure to visit Ray this time of year. Yes, it’s nerdy to like your tax accountant, but mine is pleasant and kind.

start the spark

James Blunt, where have you been? Oh you've been making my current favorite song, the one I cannot stop listening to on repeat, whenever I get a chance. Ironically, James Blunt was recently a joke on How I Met Your Mother, and what had happened to him and was he still as popular as he was in 2006. This song just makes me one happy camper. I hope you also enjoy!

how dare you

I cannot stop listening to this song. Sarah Darling has a few great songs out there that have made there way on to my current play list (some on severe repeat). Not only do I love "How Dare You" but "Home to Me" also is one that makes me pretty happy. I think it's time to plan a trip to Nashville.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

battle of the matts – round 2

Are you ready for the second installment of my “Battle of the Matts”? As you may recall, from this post, I had a week of concert ticket purchasing, which resulted in me with tickets to see both Matt Nathanson and Matt Wertz in concert within about a week of each other. I was lucky enough to have a friend willing to join me on my concert going adventures throughout the two weeks, and it was really fun to see to singers I really enjoy listening to.

Matt Wertz  was definitely a Pandora discovery a few years back, and now he’s one of my go to happy place music people.  Naturally, some of his songs have a breakup theme (something I realized I am drawn to, which is probably bad in a way, oh well), as well as some really happy songs that make me sing along (which I hope my neighbors enjoy). First off the venue for this show was much more intimate then the prior one, being at the Highline Ballroom. My friend and I were able to sit at a table right up front and have dinner and drinks before and during the show, I pretty much felt like I could almost touch the stage – or that at least the band could probably see me.  I really enjoyed being so close to the band and getting to hear so many of my favorite songs. I was sadly unaware of the latest album so I had not done my own due diligence in prepping for the show by spending the week prior just listening to the new stuff, however Matt played all my old favorites too. I was a happy camper based on the fact that I could sing along and annoy the man in front of me (sir – it’s a concert, you are supposed to sing along, not shoot dirty looks at those of us singing).

Highlights:

Favorite Songs: 5:19 as the original closer, Get to You, Someone Like You

Philanthropy: Finding out about the Mocha Club, a great charity helping out in Africa to provide clean water, among other things to those in need

Bonus: For the encore playing snippets of favorite songs, often after an audience member shouted it out, before bringing back the band and the opening act to finish the show

So, you may be asking, who won my battle? Well, I’ve been listening to Matt Wertz for two weeks solid since the end of his show, and trying to see when he’s coming back to town again, so I think he’s the winner from that alone. Both shows were so different, but I truly enjoyed the smaller venue and feeling more a part of the experience.

 

battle of the matts - round 1

There was a week in September where I went a little crazy and purchased concert tickets for a few shows in back to back settings. It was really one of those, on Monday – hey want to see Matt Nathanson? On Tuesday, hey want to see Matt Wertz? Finally on Wednesday, I think I looked at a show and had to be like, Jill, concerts are great but isn’t this like a bit insane? So I took a bit of a breather and decided to go with seeing two of my favorite songwriters in concert in two consecutive weeks.  Upon going to the first concert this week, I’ve decided to call this the Battle of the Matts.  Seeing as these are two artists with the same first name, and well are two of my go to music choices when I am ready to jam, I thought it would be fun to host my own battle of concerts (some of you who read the title were really hoping I was dating two guys named Matt, right? Well so does my mother – get in line).

First up was Matt Nathanson, who has a new(ish) album – Last of the Great Pretenders, that I frequent on Spotify nearly daily. The show was at Terminal 5 – which was a first time for me at this venue.  Josh Radin was the opening act- another one on my list of artists that make me happy.  Matt Nathanson was funny, his stories were great, making me laugh. One of my favorite song openings, was when he explained he wrote the song for an ex-girlfriend as a hope of getting back together, they didn’t, but she provided enough material for five albums (clearly my documentation of the story is not nearly as good as his). He was good natured and humorous throughout the show – I thought well if he ever wants to try his hand at standup that might be a good backup career.  I really enjoyed the music, the band did a great mix of newer songs and some of the old classics. I loved getting some of the stories behind the songs I often sing at my desk at work (only when my neighbors are gone), but it definitely put a personal spin on so many songs I love.

Highlights:

Favorite Songs: Sunday New York Times, Mission Bells, Annie’s Always Waiting

Audience Participation Moment: Tiny Whitney (encouraging everyone that they have a tiny Whitney Houston trapped inside them)

Bonus: For the encore the band reappeared dressed as Poison and performed Poison songs before closing with Faster

Right now this feels like it’s going to be tough for Matt Wertz to compete with, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. 

photo via pinterest

everybody's got their demons

A video of a song I cannot stop singing this week. I saw Brett Eldredge in concert a few months ago, he was late due to air traffic control, but totally made up for it with giving me this little ditty to sing along with.

party like its 7th grade

When I was in middle school in the mid 1990s, we use to have dances all the time which were probably the best thing ever. I remember the first time one of my friends and I were like should we go to the dance in sixth grade, when we were the babies of middle school. It seemed like such a big decision to go, and well dance – and it’s not like I grew up in the Footloose town. I just remember that not many sixth graders got to go to the dances, particularly in the fall of that year, by the time you were a seventh grader parents got over that fear of letting you go to a chaperoned outing (or finally figured out they could go out for dinner by themselves by letting you out of the house for 3 hours on Friday night). In true form these days, I’ve been listening to a heck of a lot of music from those formative years. I remember slow dancing to Boyz II Men (wow, some of those lyrics are racy, did I get it then?), grooving to TLC, and the weird dance the girls made up to “500 Miles” – we thought we were cool, but I prefer the notion of tragically hip.  I also remember wearing bigger clothing then I probably wear now as that was all the rage – it was like a flip between 7^th and 8^th grade when the more fitted clothing made its way back into the norm. Definitely enjoying the trip down memory lane provided by Spotify these days – some of the recommendations are so spot on it is scary!

PS – my seventh grade self -  loved me some JTT. Oh those hours of watching Home Improvement.

(photos via pinterest via )