Vanessa Explains It All

Music Monday 11.2.09

Wow I haven't done a music monday in over a month! I usually tweet about music as soon as I find it or like something, so if you like my music mondays you would like my music tweets (if you aren't following me already @VanessaMeryl). I also post songs of the day, not every day but enough to keep you amused!

So anyway I tweeted about this but I will go in to more depth about this band Yeasayer, 

About 2 years ago they had this song out, 2080, and I didn't like it at first but the more I heard it the more I loved it. This is a fan created video, I mainly posted it so you can listen to the song:

Here is a live version of the song. I think it is interesting to see how a band changes a song for TV. Like making it shorter, cutting out parts, using different instruments or more digital elements. Plus I love live music and watching the way someone performs is always fun and interesting. Spazzy lead singers are always a bonus.

They currently have a new single out, Ambling Alp, which you can download for free here. It's no 2080 but I like it. Here's the song (no video yet)

What do you think?

Awesome Raffle

Hi there! Just wanted to pop in and let you know my friend Patty has organized a kickin raffle to benefit a little girl who recently lost her father. You can find details and purchase tickets here.  Tickets are $1 each or buy 5 get 2 free! AND the prize is worth over $300!!

 

I hope you consider buying some tickets, especially since it is for a good cause!!

Things I Have Learned In My 24th Year

Another list! Oct. 17th was my birthday, so before that I tried to sit down and think about what I have learned in the last year. I am not gonna lie, this last year was not my favorite. And that is putting it nicely. So this is kinda serious but here ya go:

• I am really horrible at "playing it cool." Like THE WORST.
• I have a great deal of patience. And it has grown this past year due to several things that were/are going on in my life.
• Being patient has brought me better things than I could have imagined.
• Sometimes things that are for the best are the hardest things to do.
• "If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
• Chances are worth taking.
• Friends and family are more important than anything.
• You should never be afraid to ask.
• I can be single just fine.
• I am a little crazy.
• I need to bee more selfless and nicer. You never know who you could meet.
• What's worth the prize is worth the fight.
• That lame quote "If you love something, Set it free... If it comes back, it's yours, If it doesn't, it never was yours." is actually very wise and not just a load of bull.
• You can make true and amazing friends from the internet.

So these aren't revelations I had this year, most of them I knew. But the knowledge of these things really came in handy. I must have been in a floppy mood when wrote this list therefore I am going to write another list of funny things I have learned this past year.

What are some words of wisdom that really came in handy for you this year?

The Creative Type Prompt #21

Check it out! It's all about "negative space" or what I call "white space."

And this is what I made:

 

Pretty simple. Also the first non scrapbooking layout like thing I have made. I just had this great piece of cardboard that did not need too much distressing and the need to get a strong feeling down on paper. Plus awesome Helvetica letters that Jeremy gave me. Since I had the idea in my head it took me about 5 minutes. the hardest part was figuring out if I was wanted to say "I Only Want You" or "I Want Only You" this was a huge predicament.

So I encourage you to play along with this prompt, especially if you are not a negative space kind of person!

Are you a negative space kind of person?

Things Not Many People Know About Me

Hi friends! I guess I have more to post about than I thought, so these next few posts are just going to be some random lists. Lists is how I like things.

This one is a list of things not many people know about me. I think it's kinda boring and I am really writing it for myself. But you guys seem to like my lists so I will share:

• I wave to farm animals when I am driving. Especially if the windows are down, then I might even holler hello.
• I touch the tip of my nose a lot when I am drinking (adult beverages).
• I think most Ravens fans are jerks and they would be my home team.
• I have exclusive dance moves for the car.
• I still have Hanson on my playlist and iTunes and I LIKE it so I'm not taking it off.
• I own a copy of Darrin's Dance Grooves (as seen on TV), that my friend gave me after they learned all the moves. Here's a sample just for you:

• • 
     
• I have an irrational fear of grocery stores.
• When someone comes near me in a grocery store I pull my cart to the side and pretend to be comparatively shopping, even if it is an item I'm not interested in, until they go away.
• I love the color green, but I don't like green candy unless it is apple.
• I leave post-it notes in stores with sweet sentiments for someone to find.
• I hate peeing.
• I loathe Regina Spektor. A friend texted me recently and said she had an extra ticket to see her, would I like to go. I immediately questioned our friendship.
• I usually name my possessions that cost over $200.
• I would rather break a bone than have anything happen to my teeth. My parents paid a lot of money for every kind of orthodontic contraption invented to be installed into my mouth.
• I hate feet.
• I do at least one sudoku puzzle every day.
• I am scared of certain chairs. I know them when I see them.
• I prefer an odd number of anything.
• I used to be a cheerleader. Apparently that is surprising to people. But I would coach right now if given the opportunity
• I get in the shower on one side and I get out on the other.

Well that's it. Sorry no dirty little secrets or anything. I don't really have any of those. 

What is something about you that not many people know?

A List of Lists

I told you, these days I am not very exciting. So I thought I would post about my list of lists. I've already shared with you that I keep a list of potential and future tweets on my phone. You know, in case I'm not feeling too creative or I feel I have tweeted too much in one day. Well, I have about 25 other lists in my hand note application on my iPhone. Here are a few of them, with explanations.

• End of Summer Playlist - for songs I wanted to make into a CD. I should rename that for the fall. Really.
• Gifts to give - handy for the holidays, most of my friends and family have their name in there followed by something I thought would be a good gift for them. I keep this list all year.
• A Birthday wish list - duh, things I want for my birthday which usually recycles into a holiday wish list.
• Dog names - My dad is eventually getting a dog and I am the master pet namer and super prepared.
• CDs - a lengthy compilation of CDs I want to buy.
• Books - that I want to read.
• Scrap pages - ideas for pages.
• Things to say - like british sayings or funny things old or southern people say (shout out to my southern friends!). Ex- "ginger peachy" as in "OH! I am just ginger peachy today. I have already started saying "Hug ma neck" that one always gets a smile.
• Places to go in Baltimore - that's pretty self explanatory .
• Blog Topics - I should look at this one more often!

And cos I can't go without pictures, this made me laugh today:

 

And please help me end this debate:

Do you call it a mix CD or a mixed CD?

The Creative Type Prompt #20!

Hey all! New, fun, and totally do-able challenge up today at The Creative Type.  It's all about masking! I know you Studio Calico ladies LOVE the Maya Mist (as do I!) so I encourage you to play along!

Here's my layout:

 

I stamped the word "little" and cut it out, then used temporary adhesive to place it where I wanted it on my cardstock before anything else was down.  Then I misted over it, took the letters off and stamped the letters in the white space.  I LOVE my mists so this prompt was a great first official DT challenge for me!

And I used a Studio Calico kit to boot!

I really hope you play along, this design team is so fabulous and inspiring!

Have you tried masking before?

A list!

Hi friends! Tonight you get a wine induced post. I’m sorry I haven't been around lately. Truth is I haven’t had much to say. My boss closed my café, so I have been on unemployment since late August while my best friend/business partner and I try to buy the building from him or start our own café elsewhere. A lot of waiting around. And then I have a new guy situation...which I can and will talk much more about later. I know you have missed my tweet lists so here is a random list for you:

 

• I started reading the Harry Potter books, I have read 3 random ones before. But I am determined to read ALL OF THEM by the end of the month. Plus my very best friend has never even seen the movies AND my guy hasn’t either. He will be easier to convert than my best will be. 

•  Golly I miss my best friend. I used to see her every day at work. Good thing I am spending Monday-Tuesday (maybe Wednesday) with her cos her husband is out of town!

• I’m currently watching Elizabethtown. It’s a really horrible knock off of Garden State. But I love Kirsten Dunst and the music is really good. You can’t go wrong with Ryan Adams (musician) and Orlando Bloom (except in those awful pirate movies). But look how gorgeous he looks here:  

  

•      

• That’s right. I am NOT A FAN of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I’m sure that just lost me all my reader friends.

• I was really sick for 2 weeks, totally lost my voice. I could only whisper and even that was a challenge. But I am much better now

So no job and no voice have resulted in me not doing too much lately. Hence no blogging.  BACK TO THE LIST!

• I know that in the song “Summertime Clothes” by Animal Collective they say “when the sun goes down we’ll go out again” 16 times.

• I seriously need to learn how to use photoshop. Any good tutorials? (aside from my love Mandi, who is a great teacher I am just a bad student) 

• I visited Katie and her husband Steven in August (right after the café closed) and I totally adore them! They are such sweethearts and really helped distract me after all the cafe drama. I cant wait to see them again.

• I am desperate to go on some kind of overnight adventure. But not having a job means I’m pretty broke. I SAID IT! I had to cancel my Chicago trip with lovers I adore cos of stupid money. 

• MY BIRTHDAY IS OCTOBER 17^th. Just saying. I used to loathe my birthday but now I really look forward to starting anew each year. 

• My Dad might  (and by might I mean is eventually) get a puppy! Or a dog, I’m trying to convince him to adopt something small.  He had a HUGE fluffy thing that I was not a big fan of…sorry Dad.

• Skinny Love by Bon Iver is one of my favorite songs in the entire world. Just tugs at those heart strings, ya know: 

  

• Ingrid Michaelson did a lovely version of the song: 

  

• I think people use the word sweet too much.   

•  I miss my brother. I haven’t seen him in over a year. Damn Airforce. He is 2.5 years younger than me. I cant wait til he comes home in December! He has no idea the fun we will have.

• I’m really excited about these design teams! Cos that means I will scrap more. Which I should be doing anyway. New boy has been a HUGE inspiration though!  

• I decided I am only going to use one space after a sentence. My college professor would appreciate it. 

  
Have you ever waited for something for so long when it is finally happening you can't believe it? I know how you feel! 

 

 

 

 

YAY!!!!!

Tomorrow (perhaps) I will explain why I have been so absent lately.  But today I have very exciting news!!!

First off, a few weeks ago I was jacked* over at ScrapJacked.  It was such a surprise!  I can't believe I haven't blogged about it.  Or maybe I did?  I was super sick and dead to the world for two weeks.  But man I was so flattered. Here's the layout:

They chose to jack* this layout that just a few days earlier I had submitted for their design team call.  So I thought that was a little ironic...little did I know....

I've been chosen as a Jacker!!!  Check the official announcement on their page.  

I am so excited! I started scrapbooking about 2.5 years ago and, as we all know, the world of internet scrapbooking websites is HUGE.  ScrapJacked is one that I have always loved and looked forward to.  EEEEK!!! I'm so excited! I love all the girls on this team!

*jacked or to jack means to use another scrapbookers layout (page) as inspiration to make something of your own.  Usually the two layouts will contain similar elements

The second part of my news is that I have also been asked to join The Creative Type design team!  It hasn't been formally announced on their blog but I think the four of you who read my blog probably already know hehe.  

I have always had an obsession with fonts, and recently it has grown.  So this challenge blog is perfect for me! The ladies on the team are all very talented and some of them are my sweet friends!

Needless to say I am very flattered and so excited to be on these teams!

How have you been!? 

Music Monday 9.28.09

One of my favorite songs of the summer was "My Girls" by Animal Collective.  I know I have raved about them before, you can read that post here

Here is a video for the song:

The song is kinda long but a great workout or driving song for sure.

So today I stumbled across an inevitable cover of the song changing 'girls' to 'boys' and I actually quite like it. It is done by a band called Taken By Trees.  

Here is the video and an article and here is just a fan made video with the song:

I went on to listen to more of her stuff and I really like it! She has a voice similar to the lead singer of Camera Obscura, a recent favorite of mine who you should also check out.

What do you think?