I have a fairly eclectic taste in music and more recently I've been drawn towards more indie rock or just rock. I hate most pop music.... especially the over synthesized pop music of today. However, when I'm feeling a bit down or want to dance around the house when no one else is home... there is one track I go to each and every time....
As slightly embarrassed as I am to admit this, my hands down pop music guilty pleasure is "Push the Button" by the Sugababes. I'm not even necessarily a fan of this girl group, but listening to this track never fails to make me happy. I just want to get up, dance, sway my hips and push the freaking damn button! Also a worthy mention, how HOT is the music video for this?! Heidi Range just sizzles on screen. (Plus, how enviable is her midsection here! Absolutely womanly gorgeous abs.) "Push the Button" was recorded by Sugarbabes 2.0, which happens to be my favorite incarnation of this girl group. (This isn't a really fair statement either because Sugababes 2.0 happens to be the only incarnation I've ever listened to.) Now to the Sugababes' credit, these girls mostly perform live and sound even better singing acoustic. Not many girl groups, bands, solo artists can claim that. So here it is.... "Push the Button" in all it's girl group, pop, high heel, sexed up, dancing, musical glory:
There is something incredibly comforting about a nice cup of tea at the end of a long day. It's become a nightly ritual for me. Most nights before I go to bed I sit by my desk, reading blogs, buying new music, browsing the internet, reading books, writing letters or whatever else happens to suit my fancy at the moment... but whatever it is I'm doing, it is most definitely over a pot of tea. I have my little antique teacup & saucer a friend gave me from London and my requisite little pitcher of milk on my desk at all times. I've got stubborn tea stains I can't seem to get rid of and because of the late night dose of caffeine, I'm up til almost sunrise most nights. During the early morning I feel like I think the most clearly. Something about the calm silence, the glow of candles, and the welcoming isolation one gets in the early hours that just sets my mind aflame. Words from my mind flow from my fingers striking keys on a keyboard or fluidly maneuvering my pen on top of paper. This is when I write letters to my friends. This is when I write my stories. This is when I think about my life. This is when I feel most peaceful.
In the evenings, my dogs lie at the foot of my bed until I transfer them to their own beds before I turn in for the night (morning more like) and turn out all the lights. Although my dogs don't sleep on my bed overnight, they do get tucked in at the foot of it where they have a warm soft velour blanket waiting for them. I've tried having them sleep in their own beds directly but they seem to want to take part in my nightly activities. Being a spoiler rather than a disciplinarian, I really can't be bothered to put up with their cries. As long as they stay in their own beds when I go to sleep, I'm not going to fight their insistence on spending a few hours on my own.
Apart from the nights when I do go out, this is my nightly ritual. Something about it relaxes and centers me. During these times I become grateful to the comforts of home. I reflect on my wants, my past, my present, my future. I take the time to remind myself what is most important to me. In the morning when I wake, I feel refreshed, ready to traverse the path that lies ahead of me.... comforted by the fact that at night, I have my pot of tea to warm me.
Pieces from the Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso exhibit at the De Young Museum. This current exhibit has on display Picasso's personal collection. The paintings, drawings, and sculptures featured are pieces that the renowned artist kept in his private collection, seen only by his close family and friends. In fact, it wasn't until his children donated the collection to the Musee National after Picasso's death did the public have the privilege to view these works of art. I was absolutely moved by this exhibit because of how personal it really feels. Being his private collection that he held onto until his death, you feel a connection with the artist because it almost feels like a glimpse into his personal life. An absolute must see.
Welcoming...
Madeline Isabella
My cousin Patricia who was 37 weeks pregnant gave birth to her beautiful daughter, nicknamed Maddy, this past Friday morning at 2:38am. My whole family has been excited and anxiously waiting her arrival because she is the first grandchild (grandma is my Mom's sister) on my mother's side of the family. The picture on the left is me with Maddy on day one, and the picture on the right is me with Maddy on day two. Maddy is just the sweetest little thing. She's the spitting image of father according to his baby pictures. I'm so excited for my cousin and her new family. I can't wait to snap more pics of Maddy. I feel incredibly privileged to be able to see this wee little one from day one and looking forward to her growing in the many coming days to come.
Taking...
Pictures! Lots and lots of pictures to be exact. Sunday morning my friend Joy asked if I could take pictures of her and her daughter Sidney. I happily obliged. We headed to the small and foggy beach town of Pacifica in search of the perfect place. The fog lifted around noon and although it made for beautiful weather, the bright noon sun really wasn't helpful in regards to taking photos. That said, we hung around anyway and managed to produce some beautiful photographs. However, I was eager to take more photographs of this gorgeous mother/daughter duo in better light, so I've scheduled another photo session that I'm really looking forward to next Sunday. This time around we'll be frolicking about San Francisco early in the morning. Sooooo looking forward to some more time with my favorite mother/daughter duo.
Missing...
Lots of things. I finally got around to updating my iPhone and I've finally added new pictures and deleted some very outdated old ones. Looking through them I felt the pangs of nostalgia because most of the pictures are from my travels. So here's a sampling of some of my favorite iPhone "camera roll" pictures.
First picture is of souvenirs being sold in Paris found in small permanent carts along the Seine. This absolutely makes me miss being on vacation. I miss shopping for hidden and unique items to bring back home. I miss bargaining with street vendors for souvenirs. You figure you're not going to see them anytime soon, so you might as well take the piss out of them and annoyingly bargain as hard as you can. In my case, any money saved went towards sweets for my later consumption.
Second pic is of me with purple hair and short bangs! My hair was like this for nearly two years, 2009-2010!! I miss it but I'm so lazy I got tired of the maintenance. My current hair is just dark brown and currently sports severely grown highlights that haven't been retouched in 6 months!
Third is a picture of me holding my favorite combo of strawberries & butter pecan gelato. The particular serving I have in hand is from Holy Gelato. I have eschewed carbs at the moment and although I don't find it too difficult to avoid them, there are just some moments when my mood can ONLY be improved by some form of sweet creamy frozen dairy.
Fourth, I miss checking out well dressed men.... especially in London. Why you ask? Because there are many well dressed men in London. You know the cardigan, plaid shirt, fitted jean, leather loafer wearing type of man that you can just imagine possesses insanely great taste in music (aka same as mine) with at least a dozen tattoos. Okay... a tad specific there and not necessarily a rarity in San Francisco & Chicago (places I currently both call home), but they just don't possess proper British or European accents. Which when it comes to dating men, is a prerequisite in my book.
Tea Parties! It was my grandmother's 75th birthday and I hosted an intimate all ladies tea party. Not one for convention, the menu included Asian and British treats to please mine and my grandmother's tastes. It was a haphazard effort having had only 30 minutes to prepare. Nonetheless, with Debussy softly playing in the background, the tea went down smoothly and the treats scarfed down with glee.
Watching...
X-Men First Class . I must first say I am a huge fan of the comics and the original cartoon series. I was fanatic and for a while my whole childhood revolved around the X-Men. That said, I pretty much hated the first three movies, especially X-Men the Last Stand. So I went into the theater not really expecting much from this film. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed this movie but I did leave the theater a little bit unsatisfied. I loved that they explored the depth of Charles Xavier's and Eric Lensherr's friendship. Although, I would have liked to know more about the other mutants' backgrounds and the lack of it left me a bit unsatisfied. What I do love about this movie is that you meet the characters before they become the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. If this is a reboot to the series, I am looking forward to the future movies, the characters they'll introduce, and the story lines they can explore.
Listening...
To Bedouin Soundclash. Just a deliciously gorgeous album. I could probably drive all night listening to this band. I have a thing about setting the mood with music matching it with whatever it is I'm doing... a good example being specific drives in the car. I love listening to jazz on rainy nights and I love classical violin concertos on cold late nights. I get very specific about music played in my car and this is just perfect for a summer evening. It reminds me of hot summer nights driving around with the windows down, warm wind blowing in your face, and the city coming alive with lights & people's drunken laughter. Something about their alternative rock sound with reggae influence leaves me energetic but relaxed. Just perfect for those late summer nights that quickly turn into mornings.
Visiting...
The Legion Of Honor Museum. For probably the twentieth time this year, I visited this museum. I took Art History classes here this past spring semester and I've grown very fond of this place. Having had lunch with my parents just a few blocks away, we decided to visit despite the crowds on free first Tuesdays. Pleasantly surprised, it wasn't too crowded. Isabelle de Borchgrave's Pulp Fashion exhibit is really worth a visit. The meticulous craftsmanship of her work and visionary use of paper is incredible. I have seen this exhibit 5 times and each time I discover something new, leaving even more appreciative of her work than the last.
Walking...
The dogs. Having drank a ridiculous amount of wine the past few days, I decided to detoxify myself via quality time with my dogs and cucumber infused water by the gallon. I took them on a trip down to Half Moon Bay for lunch and then stopped at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica on the way back home because my dogs desperately needed a bathroom break. Once there, we decided to take a hike up towards Rockaway Beach and was pleasantly surprised to find a late afternoon farmer's market. I stocked up on leeks, fennel, beets, and bought some lavender for my garden. If I get ambitious enough tomorrow, I might actually plant it. If not it'll turn into honey lavender ice cream. The dogs spent the day chasing after birds, avoiding the water, and surprisingly tailing me wherever I went. (This is a huge surprise because being Jack Russell Terriers they relish their independence away from me and tend to run away anytime they're off leash.) Overall, it was a lovely day had by all.
While searching through my music library I became nostalgic for some good ol' Pete Doherty & Carl Barat vocals. Thus resulting in me spending the day playing the "Libertine" album over and over and over. I've been a long time fan of The Libertines and really wished they'd get back together to make more music. The self titled album The Libertine was my record of the year for 2004 and spent the whole of 2005 nursing a massive crush on Carl Barat. I remember driving around in my car with the windows down and blasting their music for all to hear. I loved singing along to "What Became of the Likely Lads" because I loved the alternate vocals of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat especially on this track. Just a fucking awesome song. The Libertines were and still continue to be an exemplary representation of the British rock scene. The song "Don't look back into the Sun" is what introduced me to the band in 2003. So by posting and sharing these videos I'm hoping it'll induce some Libertine nostalgia, or better yet, introduce them to some new listeners.
"I don't mind living in a man's world, as long as I can be a woman in it."
"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
