Val's Fav Albums 2k13

Welcome to my highly neglected blog :-) I'm currently on winter break and slightly bored so I wanted to share my favorite albums of 2013 with the internet. 2013 had a lot of great music in all genres but I have narrowed down my absolute favs to just a few. I am not an expert in music (lol). I just dig whatever sounds good to me! I chose these albums because 1) they have been on repeat since I first listened to them and 2) they are A+ beginning to end. Also, they are not in any type of order.

Pity Sex / Feast of Love

Fav tracks:

Keep

Drown Me Out

Sedated

Drawstring

Ugh, Feast of Love is just so good. 

Everyone needs to listen to it, like, right now.

Citizen / Youth

Fav tracks:

The Summer

Sleep

How Does It Feel?

Sick and Impatient

Youth definitely grew on me. When I first heard it at the beginning of summer, I was very "meh" about it. I listened to it more and more, however, and now I love it.  

Lemuria / The Distance Is So Big

Fav tracks: 

Brilliant Dancer

Oahu, Hawaii

Chihuly

Public Opinion Bath

I don't know what it is about this album but I love their sound! 

I love the female voice and the drumming definitely stood out.

Thee Oh Sees / Floating Coffin

Fav tracks:

Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster

Strawberries 1 + 2

Sweets Helicopter

Minotaur

This was my most played album during summer and because of that, it reminds me of the beach! I feel like there's a lot of bands out there trying to have a similar-ish sound but Thee Oh Sees have it down. 

The National / Trouble Will Find Me

Fav tracks:

Don't Swallow The Cap

Sea of Love

Graceless

Humiliation

This one took a second listen for me to actually appreciate it. I listened to it for the first time when it just came out and didn't think much of it. I recently listened to it again and it's seriously been on repeat for the last few weeks now.

Yo La Tengo / Fade

Fav tracks:

Is That Enough

Well You Better

Paddle Forward

Before We Run

This album has also been on repeat lately and it was definitely my go-to album during finals week. Fade is so chill and some songs put me in a really good mood. 

Some honorable mentions:

• Camera Obscura / Desire Lines
• The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die / Whenever, If Ever
• Balance and Composure / The Things We Think Are Missing
• A Great Big Pile of Leaves / You're Always On My Mind

And one slight disappointment :-(

• Touche Amore / Is Survived By

It's not that it was necessarily bad, I'm just not digging Touche's sound on this album. I heard some songs live though and they were more enjoyable than on record.

That is all... hope I didn't miss anything.

Winter/Spring Quarter '13 in Photos

Winter quarter was when Jose, Marcos, Vanessa and I moved into what is now known to us as "haus". I gathered some photos that I took since moving in together and decided to put them in a blog post to share with the Internet! Yay.

I'm 99% sure this is from the first day we moved in.
Vanessa is missing because she was still in New York at the time.

I always thought this photo looked cool!

This was my little setup for a while. It's different now.

Our house!

I turned 21! Having dinner for my birthday.

One of very few photos in my phone from my 21st birthday party!

Our living room.

We tried Eureka for the first time!

We cooked together a few times, this was one of those times.

We went to a Japanther show together! One of the best shows I've been to.

This was my costume for the Halloween party we had in February.
This needs to happen again.

Pangea!
We randomly went to the Echoplex together and also saw The Lovely Bad Things.

My grandmother passed away during this time.
It was the first time I experienced losing someone close to me that I cared about.
This photo is from that night. I miss her a lot.

We tried more BURGERS! This one is from Rounds.
It reminded me of a Krabby Patty.

Vanessa and Jose. I just really like this photo.

We met some new people!

Went to some job interviews together.

Became bigger fans of beer and cheap wine.

Went to some parties together. This was beforehand.

Got the cutest kitty! Beyonce.

Walked around school on a day off, just because.

Had sushi and beer with good friends.

I finally checked out the arcade next to Mt. Sac!

Vanessa and I hiked Mt. Baldy. 

More beer!

Checked out Rhonda with Paul and Vanessa.

Another roommate dinner. :)

I met the cutest REAL owl!

Complimentary photo of the roommates and I.

I did the hardest hike in Palos Verdes, which apparently isn't even that hard! 

This is a photo of my laptop today.

You are now semi-updated with my life.
Goodbye!

Swimsuits 4 Summer '13

Spring is here and sooner than you think, Summer will be too! Obviously~ this means it's time to start busting out the swimsuits. Here are a few pieces I have already purchased and plan to wear.

American Apparel Nylon Tricot High-Waist Swim Brief $25

Although I think the top is lovely too, I only got my hands on these 50's inspired swimsuit bottoms. These come in a variety of colors--more of which I'd love to own. Normally, I wouldn't gravitate towards the color red but for whatever reason, I decided to go for it. No regrets here as I fell in love with the color when I received them in the mail.

Forever 21 High-Waisted Retro Print Bikini Bottoms $12.80

As you can see, I'm really into the high-waisted 50's inspired style at the moment. I feel like this style flatters many body-types and accentuates curves. I found these a few weeks ago at Forever 21 and I had to get them because 1) I thought the print was cute and 2) THEY WERE ONLY $12.80. So cheap if you've ever been swimsuit shopping. I believe Forever 21 has this style in other prints and colors.

ASOS '50s Halter Padded Bikini Top $23.74

First off, I have to say that everyone should check out asos.com if you haven't already done so. Great prices + they offer free shipping ALL THE TIME. I bought this top last summer but I know it's currently still available for purchase. I plan to reuse it this summer since I didn't really get much use out of it last year AND it's a great mix & match piece. I plan to wear this top with both the AA and Forever 21 bottoms.

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Fav Songs from Films

A few days ago I was thinking about some of my favorite films and the awesome songs I have discovered because of them! Thus, I have created this play list. Enjoy:

Jaan Pehechaan Ho by Mohammed Rafi from the film Ghost World 

Ca Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrans from the film Ruby Sparks

 Le temps de l'amour by Francois Hardy from the film Moonrise Kingdom

 In The Waiting Line by Zero 7 from the film Garden State

  

Let Go by Frou Frou also from the film Garden State

Playground Love by Air from the film The Virgin Suicides

The End by The Doors from the film Apocalypse Now

New Dawn Fades by Joy Division from the film Heat

So these are eight songs that I could think of, for now. I recommend checking out all of these films in general; they're all amazing.

Greetings

First and foremost,
W E L C O M E
I feel so hip and up to date. To start off, I thought I would share a couple of beauty related items that I have been thoroughly enjoying throughout Winter. I know, how superficial of me, but sometimes I love girly crap too!

MAC lipstick in 'Diva' & lip liner in 'Currant' combo

This has to be my favorite lip combination of this winter. I had been looking for the perfect dark-without-being-overly-dramatic shade to wear on nights out. Lucky for me, I found it on a sporadic trip to the MAC counter on Christmas Eve. 'Diva' is perfection. I don't always feel brave enough to wear bright red lips so this shade is perfect for me. Not to mention it's matte AND doesn't leaving my lips feeling dry! As for the lip liner, it's also great. It matches perfectly with 'Diva' and helps me achieve a more precise look.

American Apparel nail polishes in 'Imperial Purple' & 'Mouse'

These have been my go-to nail polishes for the past couple of months. I got both on the same trip to AA. 'Imperial Purple' was regular priced and 'Mouse' was in a box with other nail polishes marked for $1. $1?!? I thought the quality of 'Mouse' was going to suck because of that, but it actually turned out fine. I have no idea why it was in that dollar box but I'm glad it was because I absolutely love it. It's such a subtle color, and that's exactly what I like about it. Plus the name is so cute. 'Imperial Purple' is awesome. I love that it's so dark it almost looks black from afar. It's a lovely spin to classic black nails, which I also love.

That is all for now. I'm excited about this blog and I plan on doing more posts like this one, as well as others discussing films, music, fashion or anything really. Yay.