loving this song

i could drink a case of you.

I love this song and this video so much.

James Blake - A Case of You from rv on Vimeo.

this is freedom

The hair just keeps getting shorter. It feels good. So liberating! Ladies, if you have any desire to cut all of your hair off, you should do it. I fully support you. Also, as a bonus, I have noticed that it keeps away a lot of sketchy men that might approach you if you had long hair. Really, it's a win win. Win. If you need more reasons for going short, please let me know. I am going to try and refrain from going on and on about short hair here.

Recommended reading: "In defense of the short-haired woman" on Jezebel. 

some tunes

This mix is totally overdue. But I finally made one! Consider it a Christmas present- a playlist that has nothing to do with Christmas at all. 

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Download here.

1) First Aid Kit- Tangerine

2) Mates of State- Desire

3) Youth Lagoon- Seventeen

4) James Blake- A Case of You

5) Feist- Get it Wrong, Get it Right

6) Bombay Bicycle Club- Lights Out, Words Gone

7) St. Vincent- Surgeon

8) Rihanna- Drunk on Love

9) Dr. Dog- Uncovering the Old

10) Dead Man's Bones- Pa Pa Power

11) Tennis- Deep in the Woods
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And here are the adorable Swedish sisters, First Aid Kit, covering Fleet Foxes from a while back.

best of 2011

Image here. 

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Wait, 2011 is already almost over?  Where did the time go?  While I'm figuring that out, here are the albums that I enjoyed the most this year.
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Beirut- The Rip Tide

Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues

Thao & Mirah- Thao & Mirah

St. Vincent- Strange Mercy

Feist- Metals

Bon Iver- Bon Iver

Cults- Cults

James Blake- James Blake

Youth Lagoon- The Year of Hibernation

Mates of State- Mountaintops

i'm back, for now.

I know I've been missing in action the past few months, but graduate school took over my life.  I mostly wrote papers and stressed out about my lack of free time.  All of my time was spent at internship, the social work building, and coffee places.  And since finals, I now have this crazy amount of freedom, but it's just been hard to get back into the swing of things.

Colorado has been good for me in discovering new places and making new friends.  It's quite an adventure.  But now I'm back home in Michigan for winter break. There's been lots of knitting, online television, and mom's cooking. There's just something about home.

this is the most accurate thing I have ever read.

I highly recommend that you go out and buy this book. Mindy Kaling is amazing.

From Mindy Kaling's, "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)"-

Why Do Men Put on Their Shoes So Slowly?

"I have a serious question, and it is a sexist question. But it is a pretty gentle and specific form of sexist question, so I think it's okay.

Why do all the men I know put their shoes on incredibly slowly? When I tie my shoelaces I can do it standing, and I'm out the door in about ten seconds. (Or, more often, I don't even tie my shoelaces. I slip my feet into my sneakers and tighten the laces in the car.) But with men, if they are putting on any kind of shoe (sneaker, Vans, dress shoe), it will take twenty times as long as when a woman does it. It has come to the point where if I know I'm leaving a house with a man, I can factor in a bathroom visit or a phone call or both, and when I'm done, he'll almost be done tying his shoes. 

There's a certain meticulousness that I notice with all guys when they put their shoes on. First of all, they sit down. I mean, they need to sit down to do it. Right there, it signals, "I'm going to be here for a while. Let's get settled in." I can put on a pair of hiking boots that have not even been laced yet while talking on my cell phone, without even leaning on a wall.

I don't have any real problems with it, except when you've done a whole snappy/sexy exit conversation with a guy leaving your place and then he tacks on an extra eight minutes as he puts on his shoes."

happy birthday to my favorite

Dearest Sarah, Happy Birthday! I miss you and us.

beer-filled week

Last week was a busy week. Not just because of school, but also because of beer. First was Ignite Denver on Wednesday, which was an awesome event where people in the beer community came on stage to talk about their experiences with beer for 5 minutes. It was so cool to see all the beer nerds in one room together. There was also unlimited local beer. 

Then on Friday, I worked the Women Enjoying Beer booth at GABF with the wonderful Ginger Johnson (first picture). She is such an amazing, hard-working woman who is so passionate about educating women about beer. I'm so glad I got to meet her. I also think everyone needs a Women Enjoying Beer shirt, they were a big hit at the festival!

And finally, on Saturday I was able to experience my first official GABF with my new friend Ellen. Phew, it was overwhelming and amazing at the same time. So many beers to choose from! So many breweries from across the country! I thought a Michigan Beer Festival was overwhelming, and this took it to a completely different level. Man, the beer scene in Denver is great. 

hot cold

Chacha girls vintage dress, thrifted belt, Muji bag, Saltwater sandals, vintage sunglasses via grandma.

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Denver weather is confusing. These pictures were taken over the weekend when it was really hot out. I'll leave for class in the morning and it'll be cold fall jacket weather. Then by the time I leave the building later on in the day, it's super hot summer weather.  I mean, I obviously prefer this over it being cold all the time, but this is just throwing me off. I feel like I need a wardrobe change in the middle of the day.  -I'm sorry I just wrote a paragraph about weather. My brain is majorly drained from graduate school. It's kind of kicking my butt. and I am currently writing this instead of working on a paper due tomorrow. Oops. 

Also, GABF week is going on in Denver now, and there are so many beer events! So many amazing breweries are in town! It's so wonderful, and I can't wait to experience GABF on Saturday. I've been looking forward to this for months! Alright, I just need to get through tomorrow.