Jenny Lewis & An Evening in New Haven

Last night, we went up to New Haven for the Jenny Lewis show at College Street Music Hall. I LOVE Jenny Lewis, and I was so excited when I heard she was going on a mini tour this year. In case you haven’t heard any of her music, here’s a playlist with my personal favorite songs by her. (Most of her bigger hits are on it along with a few songs by Rilo Kiley.)

We got down to New Haven around 5:30pm. After parking, we walked to Mamoun’s Falafel.

I got the falafel plate, and wow! It was SO good. Then we got baklava for a dessert. That has got to be in my top 10 favorite desserts. So delicious!

Coolest elevator button design! And the most awesome pink wall outside the elevator. So much color!

And now, the concert…

There are a few of the better photos I took. I forgot to take any pics of the opening act, Karl Blau, but he was awesome!

Jenny Lewis totally exceeded my expectations. She did the perfect mix of songs, (including NEW SONGS!!!) and she sounds even better in person. Her voice is just so beautiful. The band was awesome, too!

We got seats in the second row of the balcony, and they were actually pretty great! I could see the whole stage perfectly.

The two songs I wish she had done are “The Voyager” and “Under The Blacklight” by Rilo Kiley. But she ended the night with “Acid Tongue,” another one of my favorite songs by her, so I’m happy! She also did “The Big Guns” AND “Just One Of The Guys.” Yesss!!!

I’m so happy I got to see her in concert. She said she was working on a new record, so I’m hoping she goes on another tour so I can see her again!! 100% did not disappoint.

My last day of school is this Thursday, and I’m VERY ready. Going to this concert made me forget about ALL the studying for finals I have to do *sobs*. For a good 2 hours, it felt like I was already out of school. But it was a nice distraction 🙂 I’ll be listening to her on repeat this week because all the songs are stuck in my head!

I hope you have a great week!

I Sewed A Skirt!

GUYS. After a year of frustration with my sewing machine, I finally did it.

I sewed my first piece of clothing!

I’m not a huge skirt person, however, so I don’t think I’ll wear it out anywhere. It’s not totally seamless anyways, and I’d hate to go out and ruin it. The area where I tried to sew over the elastic band is a mess. But other than that, I’m super happy with it. I hemmed it pretty well, too! (At least I think I did…!)

I ordered some new fabric, and I’m super excited to get to work on my next project. Hopefully by the end of the summer I have at least one garment that is pretty seamless so I can wear it!

Sewing has been an on-and-off struggle for me. Like all crafts, it’s fun once you get going, but if you don’t have the right materials and skills, it can be soooo frustrating. Once I start something new, I either a) get bored and never try it again or b) keep doing it until I get better! For sewing, I can tell it’s b.

I’m so happy I finally decided to just start sewing again last weekend. I’m pretty proud of this skirt! If you have any beginner sewing tips I should know, please tell me!

Happy Wednesday!

Josie

Three years!

Today is my three year blogging anniversary!

Three years ago today I was thirteen, in eighth grade, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with this blog.

Today I am sixteen and in tenth grade. I still don’t really know what the “point” of my blog is… but I’ve learned that that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think that’s what I love most about blogging. If I have an idea, I just start writing. There’s no template or guidelines I have to follow regarding what I can and can’t write about, and for me, that makes it ten times more fun.

I’ve had a blast writing posts and taking photos to share with you all over the past three years. I just wanted to pop in today to say thanks to all the readers who have been reading my blog for three years, two years, one year, or even just a day. It means a lot. I hope I’ll still be writing on here three years from now!

Happy Monday!

The Beach

Last Saturday, we took a quick day trip to the beach in Rhode Island. Unlike the obnoxious 80 degree weather we endured this week, it was only in the high 50s/low 60s that day. We braved the slight chilliness and had fun playing catch, sticking our toes in the freezing cold water, and collecting pretty rocks. When we first got there the sky was super foggy, but after about ten minutes it cleared up and looked beautiful! I brought my camera, so I thought I’d share a few photos…

Have a great weekend!

Thoughts and Photos

Remember me? It’s been a while.

I’ve been on a bit of an unscheduled hiatus here. I suppose it wasn’t a great idea to share my resolution of “write one blog post a week” with you all. I thought it’d encourage me to share more and get inspired each week, but honestly, it just made blogging a total drag.

Don’t get me wrong… I still love blogging and I like schedules. I just really dislike blogging schedules. If I have a post idea, I’ll plan it out, write it, and publish it. Coming up with things while they’re fresh in my mind just works better for me. Is anyone else like this?

I’m not saying that I won’t try/shouldn’t write on here once a week because that’s honestly my ideal goal. I used to have this mindset that if I couldn’t keep a habit, it was never meant to be or it was never going to happen. However, I have grown, and I now realize that just because it’s not January first doesn’t mean you can’t make resolutions or start a new habit.

From now on, my resolution is to find inspiration from SOMETHING once a week. Whether it be on Pinterest, at school, or just in my day-to-day life, I want to look at something and be inspired to make, share, or write something in whatever form I choose.

Alright, I’m done preaching. I’m excited to work on this new resolution! Now I’ll share a few photos of things I’ve been up to during my hiatus…

First, I went to New York City for a day and explored Brooklyn for the first time. My mom got tickets for my birthday to see the David Bowie Is exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, and it was amazing! I couldn’t take photos in the exhibit, but if you are at all a David Bowie fan, I highly recommend seeing this exhibit to learn and appreciate more about him. Everything was so amazing to see in person, especially the costumes!

I was dying to go to Strand Bookstore, and I am SO happy we squeezed in some time for it. I could probably spend an entire day in there. It was definitely the coolest and biggest bookstore I’ve been to.

Then, I celebrated my actual birthday! I turned sixteen on April 7. We went to see Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson’s new movie. I looooved it!! He’s pretty much the coolest, and I’d like to live in each of his movies. I spent time with my family that weekend and ate a lot of cake. It was a pretty good birthday. I’ve been on break this week, and this past Wednesday I got my learner’s permit, too! Yay, sixteen.

Finally, spring break. This week has been pretty chill, but it has gone by way too fast. I definitely needed a break from school! I made crepes, started a garden, bought some books, saw A Quiet Place (5 stars!!), watched lots of HGTV, and went shopping. Now I’m counting down the days until summer beak. I am happy that it’s been warm, however. I just bought my first pair of shorts for this year, and it got me so excited for WARMNESS!!!

That’s all for today. I WILL be back very soon with fun posts! Can’t wait to share some inspiration with you…

Happy Sunday!