Did you catch that? Shine Bright Like a Diamond... Thanks, Rihanna. Anyway, emerald is Pantone's Color of the Year. I'm totally digging it, which surprises me since I typically like lighter, less rich colors. Now that I type that, I wonder...does that make me bland? Whatever. I'm comfortable with boring.
So, the reason I care about emerald is because I'm working on a photo shoot for next week, and I need to figure out what colors to put with Emerald. Um...white and black? That's my go-to combo for basically every color. Or, I'm loving every color in the Fashion Color Report for Spring 2013 but African Violet (I love deep purple, but light purple...not for me). So, maybe things aren't so bad. Maybe I can make emerald green work...
And while I'm on a music kick, have you heard Justin Timberlake's new song, Suit & Tie? I like it. Probably because he made my senior year of college amazing with Bringing Sexy Back. Or maybe it's because I love dressing up. Speaking of which, I need to figure out what I'm wearing to Law Prom in February. If you have any suggestions, send them my way.
Carrie Underwood performed in Des Moines last Friday night. Since Jessica's husband was out of town, she offered to take me instead. I obliged, of course. Who wouldn't? The concert started off pretty great. Newcomer Hunter Hayes opened for her and sang one of my favorite songs, Wanted. Watch his official video here. He was adorable.
While we were waiting for the big show to start, we were upgraded from section 205, to section 101. Basically, we could see Carrie's facial expressions up close (no need for those big screens). We were happy girls! The concert was wonderful even though I'm pretty sure Carrie lip-synched a couple songs in there (I don't blame her; she had a cough and rough voice). However, we were lucky we saw her when we did because she canceled her show on Saturday night in Kansas City. Thanks for a good time, Jessica! Our seats were WAY better this time than our tickets to see Rascal Flatts at Iowa State Fair were this summer...
I've mentioned before how much I love music (read about it here). I love to sing...even if I sound terrible. I always sound really great in my head, so that's all I care about. Anyway, below are some of the tunes I'm loving right now. The first song was the main song played at the Olympics, and the second song was performed at Cassie's wedding.
Also, this week I was watching Ellen (it's the first week of her 10th season), and this guy was on the show (and then I saw him on The Today Show this morning). Apparently he's an American sensation...
Sometimes, I feel it's necessary to share a little love. I adore Taylor Swift. I think she's quite remarkable. I think her music is honest. I like that she actually writes her own music (or at least most of it). I like that she's real (or at least she seems like it). She's not super caught up in all the hoopla of Hollywood (and Nashville?). She takes funny pictures of her cat. She has a sense of humor. She's not dumb and can actually formulate complete sentences. Anyway, I think she's cool. One more reason I like her, she's releasing a new album, Red, on October 22. That's only 13 days after my birthday. So, I'm going to consider this my birthday present from Taylor. Thanks for that.
Here's an interview of Taylor talking about her new album. She's wonderfully candid. One more reason to love her. Also, I feel it's worth noting that I've purchased every one of her songs. I have her first CD (the one where she threatens an ex-boyfriend by calling him gay). I bought it when I was a junior in college and listened to it during my hour-long-each-way commute to my apprenticeship every day. We bonded.
Taylor Swift concert | Des Moines | 2010
Thanks for going with me, Heather!
Yes, I made Heather take a picture of me in front of Taylor's tour bus/semi.
Growing up, I wasn't allowed to listen to "secular" music. If it had drums or any sort of beat, I wasn't allowed to listen to it. However, my sister didn't really care about the rules, and broke nearly every one of them. One of them, of course, was the music rule. Looking back on it, I can understand why my mom was so strict, but I still have a place in my heart for one of my first "bad" songs I learned - Wannabe by Spice Girls. I also remember when my sister and I conned my mom into letting us rent Spice World at EZ Stop in Larimore. I'm pretty sure mom had no idea what it was about (and we probably watched it after she fell asleep). Anyway, tonight was the closing ceremony for the 30th Olympiad in London, and The Spice Girls performed. It brought me back to my middle school days...and my love for Baby Spice. Also, Posh looked awful. I think she forgot some of the words and she looked completely uncomfortable dancing around on the top of her car.
However, after watching the original Wannabe music video, I'm realizing Posh didn't really contribute much to the music. How on earth did David Beckham notice her? She wore all black and barely sang...
This weekend, I stayed in Ankeny and took advantage of some fun things to do locally. Normally, I like to spend every weekend in the summer (or any season, really) away from home. I love to visit friends (especially in Minneapolis), but with Josh leaving for law school, I'm trying to stay home more than "normal" to take advantage of any extra time we can spend together.
Anyway, on Friday night, Minna invited me to White Oaks Vineyards for her birthday. The winery is in Cambridge, which is about a 20-minute drive from my house. Josh and I went there last year, but we didn't know about the free music Fridays. I think I might have to take advantage of this more often! Together, our group bought one bottle of each wine, and two of Celebrate, since it was delicious and seemed appropriate for Minna's birthday celebration.
On Saturday, we headed across the street from Minna's house to the Des Moines Home Show Expo. We toured eight of the 12 homes. My favorite was this one. I loved the Cape Cod style, however the spiral staircase in the turret was a little much. I prefer a more direct route between my floors. One special touch I felt was very appropriate for an Iowa home show, was a feature of Templeton Rye.
Here's a little video about the history of Templeton Rye, if you're curious.
Then, we headed over to West Des Moines to check out the new Whole Foods. Sometimes, I don't understand why people think Whole Foods is a "high-end" grocery store. Twenty-one of their vendors are local. It's not like these things are imported from Europe, folks. Plus, the prices of many of the "mainstream" gluten-free products were lower than HyVee...so I think I'm probably going to become a loyal customer.
I didn't want to get caught up in the excitement yesterday, so I only bought a couple of things. I couldn't resist the chipolte ranch (it's g-free!), honey nut rice cakes (also g-free), and chocolate milk from Picket Fence Creamery. I think I have quite a few trips to Whole Foods in my future.
There. I said it. I like hymns. I like singing them. I like the familiar tunes. One reason I like shopping at Hobby Lobby is I get to sing along to the music. I know not many other kids grew up singing hymns every day at school and then at church three times a week, but I did. And I'm not bitter about it. Yes, it's a bit different from most people. But, seriously, who said I was like most people...really...
Anyway, my favorite right now is Untitled Hymn sung by Chris Rice. It's really great and makes me feel empowered and close to Jesus, which I guess is why some people refer to it as the Come to Jesus song...
A few of my other favorite Christian musicians right now are JJ Heller and Laura Story. Minna, Angel, Jill and I saw JJ in concert last year in Dubuque. It was great. She's so sweet and her husband, Dave, is equally as adorable. JJ is sort of like a Christian version Norah Jones. This is one of my favorite JJ songs, What Love Really Means. I hope she comes back to Iowa again for another concert!
Another song by JJ I adore is the Boat Song. It's up-beat and so sweet. The music video is pretty cute, too.
Laura Story is also pretty cool. Her style is much more traditional hymn-like, but I like it. One of my favorite songs from her is Blessings. It's kind of sad, but it's good.
So, there you have it. I dig hyms and Christian music. They make me feel so much more at peace when I listen to them. Not that I don't enjoy a good Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, or Michael Buble song every once in a while. There's a time and a place for them all. You should see my iTunes...it's a crazy jumble of all sorts of tunes. And I like it that way.
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