What I'm Listening To Tuesday

For my second "What I'm Listening To Tuesday," may I present you with Al Green!!!

Fact: If I could only listen to music from one artist for the rest of my life, I would probably pick Al Green.

1.)Who/What/Where: For those of you who have not heard Al Green (tsk, tsk... just kidding!), he's a soul singer turned gospel/R&B singer. I am mainly into his stuff from the 70's, which has a soulful/funky sound to it. He may be an oldie, but he is definitely a goody! :)

2.)My Top 3 Picks For Songs:

*"Love and Happiness"- Best. Song. Ever.

*"L-O-V-E (Love)"- Fun to sing along to and makes you smile.

*" I Can't Get Next To You"- Funky, fine, and fresh ;).

3.) Pictures:

Now I'm off to do homework... as always! :(

You Can Be My Alphabet and I Will Be Your Calculator

(lyrics from Sia's "Academia")

Whew! This past week has been ROUGH! Midterms, papers, and assignments-- oh my! I seriously was up until after midnight every night studying, doing homework, or grading papers for the class I'm T.A.ing for! Bleh, no bueno! This week won't be too much better, but I'll take any improvement at this point!

It's been rainy the past couple of days, which usually means that I'm bundled up in a giant coat. Today, though, I thought I'd try to mix things up and wear something cute and bright to make the weather seem less dreary! So, voila! ;) Bright clothes always make me feel better on cold, grey days, and I am a big fan of purple and orange together. Also, get used to me posing inside in front of my huge picture window as the weather continues to get crummier!

Ooooh, and Ashley from Two Eyes In The Mirror was kind enough to include me in a Love Your Body Day (10/20) project over on her blog! She interviewed me and a few other bloggers about body confidence, and I was so excited to be part of it! All of the interviews came out really well, and you all should definitely go check them out (and her blog, because it's awesome!)!!! Click here to check it out!

Lil' Dexter was mesmerized by a garden spider outside the window ;)

Sweater: Kirra ($8 from PacificSun) Dress: Volcom ($10 from Macy's) Boots: ($? from Ross possibly...) Scarf: (bought from the airport in Bali :) )

Hope You're All Having A Good Weekend!!!

Drumroll, Please!

Oooh... I am so excited to tell you all the winner of my very first giveaway!

The winner is..... badabadabadabada (sad attempt at a drumroll)

Ali of The Drawing Mannequin!!!

Congrats girly! I think the earrings go well with your funky-cool style, and I can't wait to see how you style them! :)

Now, I would like to introduce my new feature --->

"What I'm Listening To Tuesdays"

Here's how it'll work:

I will pick one band/singer every week and 1.)describe them in a few sentences, 2.) list my top 3 picks of their songs, and 3.) hopefully post some pictures of them if possible. Sound good? I think yes! ;)

For my first "What I'm Listening To," we have Florence + The Machine

1.)Florence Welch and her various backing musicians have a sort of rock/soul sound. You've probably heard her song "Dog Days Are Over" in the movie (or ads for) Eat, Pray, Love. She is working on the follow up album to her first album, Lungs. I totally love her voice and flaming red hair!

2.) My picks for songs:

a.) "Addicted to Love"- amazing remake of the Robert Palmer song! First I heard of her, and made me immediately Google her! ;)

b.) "Kiss With a Fist"- fun, fast song that makes you want to jump and down and do karate kicks!

c.) "Dog Days Are Over"- probably her most popular song, but it's popular for a reason!

3.) Pictures!

Can you think of any bands/singers I should consider for What I'm Listening To Tuesdays?

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now

Hurray... it's my first giveaway!

Get excited people, because these bad boys are ridiculously awesome and perfect for the upcoming holidays of Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos! Don't worry if you don't celebrate either of those, because they are perfect for everyday-wear too! This is my way of thanking all of you amazing people who take the time to visit this blog, so Thank You and hope you enjoy!

If you have seen any of my previous posts, you might have noticed a slight trend in my choice of earrings--- the majority of them are Dia De Los Muertos themed and are all from The Farm Bakery, a small bakery/gift shop in my town. They have tons of really cool, unique jewelry, and a lot of it is locally made... perfect, no?! I loved these sugar skull earrings so much, I got one pair for one of you lucky people and one pair for myself! ;)

Note: Sorry to those of you without pierced ears! I'll get something for you next time around!

To Enter:

1.) Follow this blog through Bloglovin' and/or Google Friend Connect (tell me which you're following with)

2.) Leave a comment telling me your favorite type of flower [this is Showers of Sunflowers, after all ;) ]

3.) Your blog link or email address so that I can contact you if you win

*One entry per person*

*Ends Monday 10/18 at 9pm*

*Winner will be chosen randomly*

***Giveaway now closed***

Nothing But Blue Skies Always On My Mind

(Lyrics from"Blue Skies" by Jaymay)

What?! Two posts in one week... it's a miracle! ;) Ok, so that might not be very impressive, but I have been quite productive today, so feel free to applaud anyways haha! I took my dogs for a mini hike on what was once a really cool trail, but is now sadly being developed, which led to us being asked to leave :(. I also finally went to the post office to pick up my giveaway prize that I won from Cristie over at The City Birds Nest! I was super stoked to win, especially since her blog is amazing, and also since she painted it herself! If you haven't visited her blog, head over there when you're done here!

Seriously, how cute is that?! :)

On the not so productive but oh so fun side, I broke my month long streak of not buying clothes and got a new dress, a cardigan, an awesome wallet, earrings, and a winter coat. Whoops! ;) As for this outfit, it is something that is pretty much my exact style. I have always loved peasant-y, hippyish styles (my grandma raised my mom as a flower child, who in turn raised me as a flower child), and there is nothing as comfortable as a flowy skirt, especially one with big pockets that can hold all of your stuff! I prefer to wear this one higher, as a pseudo dress over tanktops, because otherwise it makes me look shorter and more squat than I already am... no bueno! I also am a fan of wearing scarves and bandanas in my hair; I feel less preppy than I do with headbands, but they still serve the same purpose. These gladiator sandals are falling apart, and I'm so sad because I haven't found a pair that I like as much! I am going to have to retire them soon though, as there is a giant hole in the bottom through which rocks poke my poor little footsie! ;) Anybody know of a place to get cute, semi cheap sandals?

Excuse my highly visible bra straps... oops! :o

Tank top: ($5?) Skirt: American Rag ($10 from Macy's) Belt (worn backwards): ($8 secondhand from CrossRoads) Sandals: Roxy ($15 from Macys) Scarf (worn as headband): from my grandma

Me contemplating whether to do homework or go shopping... guess which one won!

Also, I have a giveaway planned for the near future, so stay tuned!!!

Must Be The Season Of The Witch

I am ready for Halloween. No, I haven't figured out my costume or made plans or really done anything, but I am still ready. It's my favorite holiday, and once Fall rolls around, my mind gets consumed with costume ideas! ;) So while this outfit isn't a costume, the bow and bell sleeves make me feel a little like a witchy woman (especially with my hair dark now)... thus the post title.

This is only the second week of school, and it's pretty much kicking my butt! Last Saturday, also known as my only day off from school and work, I took three naps... and one of them was on the floor! As a result, I have been just too darn tired to put much effort into my outfits, especially since our heat wave from last week took a dramatic turn towards the brrrr cold/rainy-side of things! The only thing that has been making me dress in anything other than jeans and sweatshirts is T.A.ing, for which I try to at least look somewhat presentable.

Oy Vay... starting to look so pale :(

Dress: Luxe ($10 from CrossRoads secondhand) Shoes: Lucky Brand Shoes ($50 from Macy's) Lace Bandeau Top [worn under dress]: Free People ($20 from Macy's)

Got any costume ideas?

Ratattat (or All Inked Up With No Place To Go)

If you've read any or all of my posts, there is a pretty solid chance that you have seen little bits and pieces of my tattoos. But, there is also a good chance that you haven't seen them in their entirety unless you've visited my flickr page. I know that people often have very strong opinions about tattoos, which I fully respect, but I also think that it is a very personal choice (displayed in a very public way ;) ) to get them, and that one person's tattoos should not affect others. My mom has six tattoos, so I grew up thinking of tattoos as normal. Plus, the town I live in is very liberal, and tattoos are very common, so I always assumed that I would get at least one. Well, this past spring/summer, I ended up getting 3! I found a tattoo artist whose work I loved (he also did a bunch of my boss's work), and he was moving to San Francisco at the end of summer, so I wanted to get them all done before he left (yes, I'm too lazy to drive 1.5 hours to the city to get a tattoo!). These are posted from the most recent to the earliest, because that is the order in which I downloaded them, and I am too tired to fix it!. ;) Also, if you have any questions about tattoos (i.e. pain, ideas, artists, etc), please feel free to ask!

Note: Please remember when commenting that regardless of whether or not you like tattoos, that I clearly do like them, and I especially like mine! So please keep comments positive! :)

Do You Have Any Tattoos?