what they wore :: colored skinny jeans

Nothing says spring quite like color, am I right?! I've had these purple skinnies from Target for a couple of years now, and I can't wait to wear them every season. (They are paired with my DeadBuryDead tank... I've posted about them before and I love all of their stuff!) If you're in the market for some good, colorful jeans, allow me to assist.

First up: Old Navy. I always seem to forget about them, yet they always have what I'm looking for (a.k.a. cheaper chambray than anywhere else).

Second: Alloy. Does anyone else remember flipping through their catalog as a teenager? Somehow they evolved into still being perfect for me at this age. Not sure how that's possible... but I like it!

And if you're into pastels, check out Love Culture. Affordable and cute!

My favorite thing about these pants is that you can easily pair them with a breezy, neutral tank or prints. Get crazy! ;)

music monday :: caroline smith

Happy day after Memorial Day! I hope you all had a fun long weekend filled with no work and lots of food & friends. I know I did!

To start off your week, here's a chick I've been listening to all weekend: Caroline Smith. Also known as Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps, she's a true soul sister. She has this incredible voice that transports you to another time and place. And best of all, she writes from the heart and you feel it, and feel her influences. Her latest album came out in 2013, called "Half About Being a Woman." I highly recommend it!

image via google

Here are some of my favorite tracks:

friday favorites :: chelsea peretti and other good things

I am exceptionally grateful for long weekends. Memorial Day has to be one of my favorite long weekends because everyone takes off early anyway to make it even longer. And this is how I feel about Mondays in general:

Is anyone else obsessed with Chelsea Peretti? Her character Gina is the best. Which brings me to my first Friday Favorite:

23 reasons why Gina from Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the best. Because YES SHE IS.

There was a fugitive goat running around where I grew up... I told my good friends who live there that they should capture and keep it. Then they sent me an email saying, "Did we tell you we've decided we are getting goats next year? Because we don't remember talking to you about it..." BOOM. I'm a mind reader!

I've been loving Kinsey's coffee recipes. They sound so good!

Life has been a bit stressful lately, so here is some music for your weekend that will hopefully de-stress you too:

happy graduation!

Today is my little sister's graduation from the same college that I went to. (I know we look like twins... but she's six years younger than me!) We didn't always get along growing up because of our age difference, but I am beyond proud of this little monster. She is awesome and I am so excited to celebrate her graduation... it's such a huge step in life and I can't wait to see where she ends up working and how everything turns out.

I worked on this mash-up last night and it reminded me of Angela because it talks about being a girl and the struggles of the real world... Something she is about to face more than ever. I know that she will be fine no matter what she does... if anything, my life is the perfect example of what to do and what not to do! She can just look at me and learn :) But I wanted to share this to honor her and to tell her that she can do whatever she wants to in this world. Ang: even though jobs are hard to find, even though there are a million different options at your fingertips, and even though you will think "I can't do it" a thousand times, you will succeed. I believe it.

This one's for you, Seester! Love you!

spring cleaning.

In lieu of a WTW post today, I'd like to to talk about the joy hell that is spring cleaning. I have spent all morning cleaning my mess of a room and re-working a couple of things. Sometimes I feel like straightening up your space is akin to those things you're supposed to do, but never want to do. Like going to the gym or avoiding mac & cheese (yeah right). But I will say this: after it's all said and done, after you're covered in sweat and dust and have thrown out a bunch of crap you didn't know you had... you will feel rejuvenated 100% of the time. Guaranteed!

Here are the ten steps of my spring cleaning (PS - motivation is by far the hardest part):

1. Woke up and watched the DVR'd season finale of The Voice. 

2. When it was over, watched one more episode of something else to avoid cleaning.

3. When that was over, dragged myself upstairs.

4. Stood in the doorway for a good five minutes staring at all the crap on my floor. Decided to tackle it from the doorway to the bed.

5. Put away an absurd amount of shoes.

6. Took everything off of every surface to dust. (This was by far the worst thing.)

7. Paused to buy a new Kate Spade wallet when my friend alerted me to a surprise online sale happening today.

8. Used a tiny handheld vacuum to get the dust off all the baseboards and corners. I can never bring myself to haul the big vacuum upstairs...

9. Tried to figure out how I could possibly relocate the stuff that just sits on my floor daily with nowhere to put it, when DING! Light bulb moment: asked my roommate if I could use the coffee table that's been sitting without a purpose in our upstairs hallway.

10. Dragged the coffee table into my room, and finally put that tapestry/scarf from India to good use. Overjoyed that I now have a place for my record player, records, books, and a bit more storage. Plus, it looks pretty!

It's really not that bad once you get going... and it feels awesome to have knocked it out in a morning. So if you're a procrastinator of cleaning like me, in the words of Nike: just do it. You won't regret it! And in case anyone cares, the stuff in the picture is as follows: the old Yamaha guitar I taught myself to play on in college; Johnny Cash autobiography (with a little cat book holder paperweight thing that I love); picture of me and my best friend on her wedding day; The Lone Bellow record; my Crosley; faux sheepskin rug from IKEA; tapestry from India brought back by a friend.

Happy spring cleaning!

the talk :: the bachelorette & to do (play)lists

Guys, last night was the start of yet another season of The Bachelorette (no shame). Naturally, I rimmed my wine glass with pop rocks and broke out the Trader Joe's truffles. I guess ABC has decided that we must have an opera singer as a contestant for all seasons moving forward, and there cannot be a shortage of guys with long hair. (Although most of them got the boot the first night in.) Also, the "journey count" is back on! Last season the word "journey" was said no less than 32 times. I think that will continue to decrease as "adventure" makes a comeback. Thoughts??

Today I'm thinking about making a to do list. There are couple of reasons why I have been avoiding this. 1) It likely means that I will have to dust my room. I despise dusting my room. 2) I'm lazy. (So obvious.) But I have to admit, I always feel better when the list is crossed off and I'm sitting on a freshly made bed looking at my newly organized and clean things. My faux-sheepskin rug will no longer be dirty and shoved halfway under the bed. There won't be makeup all over my dresser from getting ready in the morning. Six pairs of shoes won't be scattered haphazardly all over the floor. My duvet won't be bunched at the bottom of my bed (you all know what I'm talking about). 

Real talk, people! I need an intervention for keeping things neat & tidy. The only way I can really straighten up is if I have music to get me through it. So here is your Tuesday To Do Playlist! If you need to clean or dust or keep your sanity, give these tracks a listen.

∆ Matt & Kim - Cutdown

∆ Ingrid Michaelson - Girls Chase Boys

∆ The Script - Six Degrees of Separation

∆ Sarah Jaffe - The Body Wins

∆ Kings of Leon - Wait for Me

∆ Blackstreet - No Diggity (throwback!)

∆ Volbeat - Lola Montez

∆ Van Morrison - Into the Mystic

∆ The Airborne Toxic Event - Changing

Get motivated!

music monday :: sarah jaffe

image via google

Sometimes you drive to work in the early hours of the morning and hate everything on the radio, but can't be bothered to plug in your phone for Spotify. And sometimes your change the station just as an amazing song is in the middle of a glorious part that grabs your attention.

Hello, Sarah Jaffe.

Obviously, I love this girl by default since we share a name (with an "h"). She gives back through a guitar and her songwriting, and we are the same age. Plus she's toured with a whole bunch of amazing people. So much to love! These are times when I kick myself for not knowing when people burst onto the music scene. For Sarah, it was 2009. Her last album came out in 2012, although I can't wait for more! Thank you, WTMD radio, for playing the magic that is SJ.

UPDATE: Sarah has a new album coming out in August 2014!