Speak to My Soul

This might be the toughest of Jenni's challenge prompts yet.
At least for me it's tough, because I love music. All of it.

It's so hard choosing 5 songs that speak to me or
bring back memories, because so many songs do that.

"Look After You"
by The Fray

My husband and I danced to this song at our wedding. We both absolutely love The Fray. They are incredible musicians! My husband told me he loved me for the first time on an evening after seeing The Fray for the first time together. We've seen three of their concerts together. Once in Florida, once in Vail, and another time at Red Rocks.

I'm only sharing one song today, but maybe someday soon I'll share more!

Home Really Is Where the Heart Is

For quite some time, years really, I've struggled with the definition of home. It's confusing for me, because I've resided in many different houses in various locations over the years. Michigan and Colorado are both places I've called home, and I currently live in Florida with my husband. Recently I've been referring to my northern Michigan hometown as home. The definition of home is not always an easy one, but it is an important one. Home seems to be many places for me, and over the years I'm sure it won't get any easier to define. That's the beauty of the word.

We often possess a strong desire to be rooted in one place, but, unlike a plant, I think having too many roots sometimes stifles our growth. Sometimes getting away from what you've always known teaches you priceless lessons. Passing years teach us that home is not always the roof under which you spent your childhood, and it's not necessarily simply the place you lived the longest. Home is so much more a state of mind than anything. Roots might keep you grounded, but don't let them hold you down.

I'm beginning to believe that home really is where the 'heart' is, and our hearts don't reside solely inside our chests. Our hearts exist with every single person we come in contact with. Each passing year grows our heart's capacity to add more and more people to the list of those we love. The more people we meet, the greater the bigger our hearts may grow. Thus growing our home. Our heart may grow big enough that home is everywhere, or at least with anyone who we've touched. That means home is not just in one location. Home really is where the heart is. Where do you keep your heart? Hopefully you leave little pieces of it with every person you meet in every place you go. Home is where the heart is.

my Michigan home

my Colorado home

my Florida home

Insomnia Helped Me Find New Music

Insomnia had me doing some late night online searching a few nights ago. I'm actually thankful it did, because I ended up finding a few new artists that I really enjoyed. It's been a while since I actually spent some time browsing music on iTunes, and I've missed not having new and inspiring tunes in my life. Thank you, insomnia, for helping me find new music.

I need more tunes for the old ipod touch

My little bout of insomnia began with me reading news articles on my iPod's USA Today app. I always tell myself that I'm just going to read a couple of articles, and then I always end up reading almost every single one of them. Clearly I have a problem stopping things I've started.

After reading an article in the music section of the news, I came across the name of an interesting sounding band in the article. I thought to myself "Hmmm, Dirty Projectors... that's a different name. Let's see what they're about". I ended up listening to quite a few samples of Dirty Projectors' music on iTunes. My Christmas list is going to include plenty of iTunes gift cards to purchase some new tunes! (:

Here's one of the songs I enjoyed by the Dirty Projectors:

I also enjoy these musicians:
Youth Lagoon   |   Cults   |   Local Natives

Songs for Your Saturday

Many genres of music interest me, and right now I just so happen to be on a bit of a country kick. It sort of reminds me of small town living. Listening to country music has been a nice little escape from crowded Tampa Bay. I've put together a country music playlist for the weekend. I hope you enjoy it.

{ here's a pretty shot from the country to set the musical mood }

chimney rock in Nebraska

I really, really enjoy music. My dad's side of the family consisted of flute, piano, saxophone, and guitar players. I have another uncle who plays various string instruments and is always discovering great new musicians. One of my cousins is an incredible violin player, and I had a brief stint with the saxophone in middle school. I come by my love of music honestly.

Happy Saturday!

Which one of these songs on my playlist is your favorite?
What kind of music are you listening to currently?

Thursday Tunes

I should do music posts more often, because....
well, because I love music.

Here are some tunes I am listening to as of recently:

1. Nunovo Tango by Dva. This song was on a cd my cousin sent me for my birthday. She always has pretty darn good taste in music, and she hit the nail on the head with this one. It's fun, plus I love the saxophone in it. Sort of reminds me of the days when I played the sax.

2. Who Knows Who Cares by Local Natives. This one was also on the cd my cousin sent to me, but I've been listening to a couple songs by them for a while now. Soothing and beautiful vocals/harmonies and instruments in this song. It doesn't hurt that they mention Colorado in this song either. ;)

3. Look After You by The Fray. We love these guys! I have seen them in concert 4 times now, and we had our first dance at our wedding to this very song. It usually makes me a bit teary-eyed. This is a beautiful song. The Fray just released their new album Scars & Stories this week. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

4. Everlasting Light by The Black Keys. Awesome. This song is just awesome. Admit it; you're snapping your fingers to this one aren't you? I am.

5. Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift feat The Civil Wars. This song has a very haunting sound. Not to mention this is from The Hunger Games soundtrack. Only 42 days until the movie hits theaters. Who's excited? Have you read the books, and do you like this song? I've been listening to The Civil Wars music since I came across this song, and many of their songs have a rather haunting sound. I can't stop listening!


What's your favorite song from my playlist?

Tunes on Tuesday

Today I simply wanted to share

some of my favorite music with you.

My playlists change a lot, but right now
I'm listening to the following:

Stereo Love by Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina. We heard this song a while relaxing next to a pool in Las Vegas, and now it makes me think of sunny skies and chilling by a pool. "Aaaah".

My cousin introduced me to this song.  Lovers' Carvings by Bibio. It starts out sort of slow, but after about a minute and a half the song becomes more upbeat and sort of makes me want to jam.

What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club. Not sure exactly what it is about this song, but I love it. I hope you enjoy this one! (The music video is fun too.)

This acoustic cover of an Outkast song is amazing. Hey Ya by Obadiah Parker is such a beautiful version of a great song. I challenge you not to sing along with this one.

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Have you listened to any of these songs before?

What are some of your favorite songs?

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Friday, Some Photos, and a Song

It's really been one of those weeks. Just thinking about it all makes me feel exhausted, and I'm really not that old (yet...). Sometimes I think that I don't have the right to be so exhausted, but more than anything I am mentally exhausted. Can I at least have that? While finishing moving everything out of our old apartment, I did multiple trips up and down the stairs by myself, and I am still more mentally tired than physically. Good thing I have decent health or I would be a train wreck here. I cannot even begin to imagine* how things would be if I was physically and mentally exhausted.

*(Oh wait, yes I can. I had a little meltdown earlier this week, but I think everything is good now.)

That being said, I don't have much mental capacity to get all philosophical on you now, so I am just going to share a few pictures that I took around my family's house. My hope is that these photos induce peace in a hectic day.

Happy Friday!

I also wanted to share this great song for a peaceful Friday.
Enjoy (:

My Cousin. The Rockstar!

I come from a very musical family, and I've always loved music. My cousin, who is a senior in high school, isn't much different. She began playing violin at age 5, and she's come a very long way since then. She not only plays the acoustic violin but the electric violin as well... among other instruments. (I told you she's a rockstar!) The girl has an amazing ear for music, can play just about anything that you throw her way, and she is just hands down an incredible violinist!

About two weeks ago, my cousin became part of a band called Eucalyptus. The band consists of my cousin and a classmate. She plays electric violin, and he plays guitar, piano, and he sings too. About one week ago, they won their high school's Battle of the Bands! The winner won the opportunity to perform at a local bar/restaurant... and perform is exactly what they did.

They played a great mix of contemporary music, self composed songs, and they even played a few audience participation songs like "Lean on Me" and "Hey Ya" by Outkast. I'll tell you, it was pretty entertaining listening to the entire audience shouting "Shake it! Shake it! Shake it!" during their cover of "Hey Ya". Their cover of "Boston" by Augustana even had me and my aunt a little teary-eyed. It was so much fun seeing my cousin on stage while playing as part of a band. She really is a rockstar! I'm so glad they won Battle of the Bands and that I had an opportunity to hear them play.

Eucalyptus was fantastic, and I hope they play again soon. (:

Best of Intentions

You know that old saying "practice makes perfect"? Well, it seriously does. For the most part. I mean there are probably some things I'll never perfect... like ballet, flying an airplane (I'll leave that to my husband), or speaking Mandarin, but I think that if I really wanted to do those things I would perfect them to the best of my abilities. That's where I think setting intentions for yourself really comes into play. When you do that, there's not a whole lot that will stop you from achieving your goals. Set goals and go for them.

I honestly find myself getting into trouble when I don't really know what I want to do... like now, for instance. My unemployment has given me a lot of time to think and reflect and figure out what it is that I really want to do for a living... although I don't think I'm quite there yet. I'm getting closer, and when I get there and decide what it is I'm going to set my mind to... I won't be stopped. That's just the way I am. When I know what I want, I go for it. Make the decision to do something, and then do it. Sometimes it seems like the hardest part is deciding what to do for a living. I know very few people who knew exactly what they wanted to do at a young age, and I know even fewer who love what they do. I think part of my problem with graduating from college with a degree in architecture is that I never really wanted to do it... I didn't enjoy it... and I could never really picture myself in that role. I think it's so important to set goals for yourself, reach for your dreams, and to not listen to what others tell you to do, because quite honestly your gut instincts usually know what's right for you. So make some decisions (that seems to be one of the hardest parts), set goals, and go for them.

Sometimes I think if I just followed my own advice I'd be in much better shape, but there's no time like now to start following it. I typically have the best of intentions, and I would like to have some great ones for myself. My goal for the future is to do less thinking and analyzing and more action! Now I just need to follow through with that. Instead of worrying about what might happen if I do things, I should worry more about what would happen if I didn't do them. I hope to become better at failing, because, to be honest, the more I fail the more I'll learn... about myself and my capabilities. I know I'm not a failure, but sometimes it sure feels like it. My strengths sometimes fade to the background when I get down on myself, and I hope to remember everything that I am good at... instead of focusing on what I'm no so good at doing.

The worst thing that could happen is never trying something that I could be great at, and I would never know how good I could be at it. So I hope to keep that in mind and try every and anything that sparks my interest. Why not, right? I'll end with some lyrics of a song from Rent.

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Lyrics from

"No Day But Today"

The heart may freeze or it can burn
The pain will ease if I can learn

There is no future
There is no past
Thank God this moment's not the last

There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret-- or life is yours to miss.
No other road
No other way
No day but today

There's only yes
Only tonight
We must let go
To know what is alright
No other course
No other way
No day but today

I can't control
My destiny
I trust my soul
My only hope
is just to be

There's only now
There's only here
Give in to love
Or live in fear
No other path
No other way
No day but today

Graduating... not a failure.

Studying abroad for 6 weeks... not a failure.

Happiness in love... definitely not a failure!

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I just might take a look at things that I have accomplished and remind myself that they are not failures. I've learned so much, and I don't ever want to stop learning. I want to keep growing. Here's to a new way of looking at failures and success! :)

I love Red Rocks! Even more than that, I love attending concerts there. It's tough to beat a concert venue that's naturally beautiful, has a skyline view of a large city, allows you to watch the horizon light up and twinkle while the sun goes down, and seemingly make every musician's music sound just perfect. I could go on and on about why I love Red Rocks and its amphitheater.

This picture was from a visit to Colorado while I was in college... and I commented that I really wanted to make it to a concert there some day. I'm so glad that I've been fortunate to see a few concerts there.

My first concert at Red Rocks was shortly after moving to Colorado. My uncle had bought tickets to see The Fray, and my aunt willingly gave up her ticket so that I could go to the concert with my uncle and cousin. I'll be honest... that concert and the experience just about moved me to tears. Being in a new place, doing something I had wanted to do for so long, listening to an amazing band... it was all so overwhelming! Needless to say, my first concert at Red Rocks had me hooked. 

I've seen The Fray at Red Rocks twice now. Nate took me to see The Fray about 6 months after we started dating, and that had been his first time seeing a concert at Red Rocks. It was such a memorable concert for both of us. Despite being rained on almost the entire night, The Fray played one of the best concerts that I've ever seen. Torrential downpour did not keep us from having a blast while listening to some of our favorite music. It's hard not to have a good time at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. Put it on your bucket list... you won't be disappointed.

* people filling in the bleachers for a concert *

Just a couple of nights ago, Nate and I went to a concert at Red Rocks. Nate's early birthday present was tickets to see Ryan Bingham and Willie Nelson play at RR Amphitheater! No disrespect to Willie Nelson, but we actually went more to hear Ryan Bingham play... unfortunately he didn't play as long as Willie Nelson & his family did. Ryan Bingham and his band were great! We're still in awe at how he can play the guitar and harmonica simultaneously. The whole time Ryan B. played.... we had to listen to his music over chatty girls in front of us. Apparently they were only there to see Willie Nelson. Ryan Bingham's going to be big some day too!

* Willie Nelson and his son Lukas Nelson *

Even though we went more to see Ryan Bingham, Willie Nelson was just amazing! While walking to the car, we both agreed that we may never see him in on tour again. It's pretty awe-inspiring that Willie's still out there touring at the young age of 77! Wow. 

Red Rocks draws some amazing talent to its stage, and the venue always makes for a great concert. Not to mention, you're surrounded by scenery and landscape that are older than time. I've yet to see something there that I have not walked away from a different person.