BUMBERSHOOT!!

I'm going to Bumbershoot this weekend. What is Bumbershoot??? It's a music slash comedy slash visual arts festival in Seattle! I'll be there mainly for the comedy but hopefully to see some music too. I made a list on Twitter so I can keep up with my faves and hopefully find them and see them and laugh with them. :)

For today's follow Friday, I think you all should check out some comedians. Here are the links and deets.

Rory Scovel

He's hilarious. I haven't seen him live but I have enjoyed him on Doug Loves Movies and on The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail on Comedy Central.

Doug Benson

He does the podcast Doug Loves Movies and it is probably one of the most enjoyable podcasts to listen to. I love him and he was just announced as the surprise guest for the Saturday night main show. WOO!!

Matt Braunger

I am a new fan of Matt's so I'm looking forward to seeing his set! His podcast is Ding-Donger... which, yeah.

Paul F. Tompkins

He's a fancy fellow who does amazing characters. He's so quick and I know my stomach will hurt from laughing with him.

Pete Holmes

I have a crush on him. I can't explain it. I like that he's a weirdo with deep thoughts and yet, behaves like a child. It's confusing. He does a podcast called You Made it Weird.

I realize I listed only men. The feminist in me hates that but I do have some new ladies to watch and I'm excited to be fans of them as well. I'm just most familiar with the gentlemen above. The great thing about comedians is that they love to talk so all the people above have podcasts or are perpetual guests on podcasts. Go check 'em out!

Be sure to laugh today!

xoxo,

Liz

Aug Faves

I'm currently listening to Comedy Bang Bang and the host, Scott Auckerman continues to abbreviate the months and so now, it's in my head. Hence, saying "Aug" instead of "August."

I know you needed that explanation. You're welcome.

Some things and people and stuff came in to my life this month and now I'm in love and cannot live without said things. Here they are...

Starbucks now has Iced Coffee in the grocery store for my home use and your home use and it is magic. I love iced coffee more than most people. It's tasty and it's so hot outside all the time so iced coffee just makes sense. 

I know, I've already talked about this but it happened this month so I'm talking about it again! Hannah Hart's book "My Drunk Kitchen" came out this month and it is great and inspirational and fun, just like Hannah.

NEW PANTS! J Crew has some of the most beautiful articles of clothing. They suck me in. These particular pants are appropriate for work yet they have the structure of sweatpants. There is an elastic waistband as well as elastic bands around the ankles which is sweatpants but the material is fancy like work pants. My only negative of the pants is that I have dry clean them. I'm not adult enough for dry cleaning. But I'll try.

I discovered a new podcast and it features YouTubers. I am learning sooooo much about the people and the community of YouTube which is fantastic. Rhett and Link know how to keep people talking about their lives and the reason they got in to YouTube. It's inspiring to listen to as well as interesting to learn such intimate details about these people I watch on the daily. 

This needs no explanation. Obviously, it's one of my favorites that I have listened to upwards of 50 times already. Yes. And, yes.

Find things and people and stuff that inspires you and makes you feel pretty. :)

xoxo,

Liz

#NoFilter Show in Austin

Last week, I traveled to Austin on a Tuesday to see a show. I am a HUGE fan of Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart. They are amazingly talented women who have YouTube channels and book deals and a sketch show that went on tour. Unfortunately, they did not travel to Dallas so I had to travel to Austin. That's dedication. It was worth it. It was surreal seeing these ladies in person when I'm so used to staring into their eyes via my computer screen. Below is the opening number from their Boston show because I could not find a posting of the opening from Austin.

Hannah and Mamrie have some pipes on them. Grace nailed the rap in the middle of song which was awesome. I can not flow. Not even a little bit. I am easily tripped up on speaking. Hah.

Here are three things that could have been better:

1. Audio and video queues could have been smoother.
2. Chester isn't so great at the improv but he is GREAT at singing songs.
3. One audience participant was clearly super wasted and/or high.

And here are the things that I was delighted to watch:

1. Parody song of "Bang, Bang."
2. Truth or Dare on Stage
3. Live YDAD
4. Mamrie's ability to quickly fill in gaps with riffs. Her improv background is paying off in these shows because it lets people see her wit and her ability to observe and immediately react.
5. All three ladies working together when they're such good friends. The level of respect you have to have of your friends in order to trust them to perform a live show at your side has to be huge. 

Overall, I give the Austin No Filter Show 4.5 Grace Faces. Just kidding. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am really glad I made the effort to go. I wish I had the opportunity to meet each girl in person and hug them and let them know how much I admire their creativity and work ethic. It is inspiring. I laugh and laugh with them while watching their channels. I have an on-going work in progress playlist of my favorite videos. If you have time to get stuck in a k-hole of YouTube vids, I recommend starting with the playlist and then branching out on your own!

Korean BBQ & Singing Songs Loudly

Jose's birthday is this week so we celebrated with lots of meat and lots of singing. A tradition for Jose's birthday is Family Karaoke which for those of you not familiar, is when you and all of your friends are in a private room and you perform for one another. Or in our case two people have the microphones but everyone ends up singing every song anyway. Prior to karaoke, we went to Koryo Kalbi for Korean BBQ which was excellent. We decided to get a combo platter of meat to cook at our table. It was very interesting. I have never been super adventurous when it comes to food but with the help of friends, I have tried so many things in the past few years. I would never have chosen to eat Korean BBQ by myself. 

Beef

Our Server Cutting the Meat with Scissors

Kevin who sat next to me, was incredibly enthusiastic about trying everything. I think his general excitement helped me to be excited. 

The Whole Crew

And here's a shot of the whole table but unfortunately, you cannot see everyone...

And here's Jose with his cake.

Megan made a peach cake from peaches bought at the farmer's market because she's ultra-fancy. Megan is our group mom who bakes cakes and buys birthday cards and keeps everyone happy. I am always thankful for her and her generous spirit!

At karaoke, people got in to it. There was singing and dancing a lot of soju. What's your go-to karaoke song? I think my go-to song is Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" or if we are going classic, Madonna "Like a Prayer" because I'm an incredibly classy lady. :)

As a group, we enjoyed "Stereo Heart" and "Wonderwall" and "Moves Like Jagger."

I hope you had an excellent weekend and are looking forward to the week. It's a holiday weekend which should make this week move really slow but I'm hopeful it won't be too bad. 

xoxo,

Liz

Shake It Off

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Let the chair dancing commence right now. Which dance style is your favorite? I think the moments I like best are when modern dance Taylor throws the sheet up and it lands on her head. I also like when rhythmic dance Taylor attempts to jump with the ribbon stick thing. Girl does not have ups.

People are already doing lip syncs and parodies around this video which I think is a great way to celebrate this fantastic music video.

So, follow Taylor Swift on social media because I'm sure there will be more singles and more announcements.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylorswift13

Instagram: http://instagram.com/taylorswift

Haters gonna hate... hate hate hate hate....

I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake shake.

xoxo,
Liz

Boom. Fantasy Football.

Tonight is my fantasy football draft. I'm in one league. It's with work people. Some people are competitive and some just do it for the social aspect of it.

I do it so that I care about the NFL a little more than I used to.

I enjoy watching football. I enjoy watching football more when I have some skin in the game and can brag the next day that my team beat some yo-yo's team. Fantasy football allows me to enjoy football while my status as a Dallas Cowboy fan often disallows me from enjoying football...

There are two things I currently hate/am annoyed by/wish would go away in the NFL. Those two things are:

Tony Romo

&

Johnny Manziel

Both humans can choose to leave football tomorrow and I will rejoice and potentially throw a party. I strongly dislike these two quarterbacks for incredibly different reasons. Tony Romo has been an emotional roller-coaster to my Dallasness. He's so inconsistent. He loves throwing interceptions at just the right moment to send the entire city into cardiac distress. Restaurants and bars have desserts and drink poking fun at Romo and his turnovers. 

The Tony Romo

apple-cinnamon "turnover" with vanilla ice cream ...and we won't fumble it on the way to the table

Cute, Max's Wine Dive. 

And now, that other (for lack of a better word) asshole of a football player, Manziel. He's arrogant and rude and above all, an Aggie. I have no further comment. He's just not a cool dude.

Wish me luck this evening. Often, I get too excited to fill all my starting positions and will be the first to draft both a defense and a kicker. Just deal with it. :)

Hopefully I won't drink too many beers at Hooter's around my fellow league-mates. Also, forgot to mention, I am one of two girls in a league of 20. Don't worry, we have two divisions so I'm just drafting within a group of 10. 

xoxo,

Liz

Not Too Deep: Grace Helbig has a Podcast

You're Mondays just got UPGRADED!! Yesterday, Grace Helbig announced that she has been making a podcast AND it is audio and visual. Every Monday, there will be an audio podcast and then on her YouTube channel, there will be the visual portion. The visual portion is going to be YouTube challenges made dumber. Basically, this is magical. YouTubers have gotten creative with new challenges to do with their friends because vlogging is only so entertaining. Watching people do challenges on YouTube is like watching a game show that can actually keep my attention. Most of the time, these challenges are only a few minutes long.

Here are some of my favorites:

Louise of SprinkleofGlitter and Alfie make each other laugh.

Alfie tries to annoy Louise.

Tyler and Miranda Sings do the photobooth challenge.

Grace and Sawyer Hartman try to keep a straight face while reading "50 Shades of Grey."

Tyler and Marcus Butler guess the YouTuber.

Marcus and Tyler do impressions.

Zoey and Miranda do the 7 Second Challenge.

Grace and Shane Dawson guess the YouTuber.

I put them all in a playlist. I'll probably add to the playlist as I locate all of the magical challenges there have been. There are so many. They're great. If you like competition, you should watch these. 

So, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Soundcloud so your ears can be entertained while you pretend to work at work. :)

You're welcome.

xoxo,

Liz

Instant Regret

Do you ever crave something {or someone} so badly that you must have it {him} and then you get it {him} and instantly know you made the wrong choice?

Welcome to the constant struggle of my life.

On Saturday night I found myself alone, watching "Tangled" on ABC Family and craving ice cream. This is a true story. Because I did not want to put on clothes to go to the grocery store, I went to Sonic and ordered a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Master Blast. This treat is new to me and I must say it was delicious... at first. Two hours later, I laid in bed trying to sleep as my body metabolized all of the sugary goodness of my late night treat. I basically did not sleep. My brain was at war with my body in a fight to stay cool and comfortable which just didn't happen. Instant regret.

Similarly, on Thursday I craved something a little different but did not actively pursue anything. I know that if I had pursued something, it would have happened and the whole weekend would have been full of feelings of regret. Definitely not peace. Not contentment. Not happy. Not satisfied. Not special.

Instant. Regret. 

I'll gladly take the feeling of food regret over the disappointing, disapproving feeling of emotional regret. I guess this is one difference in maturity. Often, I think I have not matured in the past few years and then a stumbling block appears. And I choose differently. I choose myself over temporary relief.

"We all have regrets, but it's important to learn from them and not dwell on the things you cannot change." - Hannah Hart, "My Drunk Kitchen"

What a positive note to start the week off with! Or not... I'm not quite sure. Here's to making choices that are not followed by instant regret. I hope your weekend was full of mature, happy choices or at least fun choices!

xoxo,
Liz

Some Q&As about Beauty

As much as I try to come up with blog ideas, sometimes my brain turns to mush and I found these Beauty Q&As on Zoella's blog from like the beginning of time so I decided I would try to answer them too! Isn't that fun? Heck yes it is. What is my theme for Thursdays? Throwback? I think this counts. It's from 2009. :)

Via

• What’s your favourite eye shadow colour to wear? Half Baked & Bootycall from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I like neutral colors with gold undertones. 
• What’s the one product you would not leave your house without? I don't leave the house without an EOS lip balm pod thing. Currently I'm rockin' the sweet mint one but I like the lemon one as well. The really fruity ones are often too sweet for me. 
• What’s your favourite makeup look ? Winged eyeliner! I haven't fully figured it out but I want to be awesome at it. I should practice more...
• Which feature do you play up the most? My hair or my boobs. I'm single. Don't judge. 
• Which feature do you try to downplay/cover up? My teeth. I got dealt a fairly annoying genetic mouth situation so there's some plaque and discoloration. Whitestrips can only go so far.
• Your favourite makeup brand, if you could pick only ONE to exist? Urban Decay. I'm obsessed with their palettes and I could learn to love everything they make.
• Which product have you re-purchased OVER and OVER again? Benefit They're Real Mascara because it actually works really well and my eyes look open and feel open after putting it on. I still enjoy trying all of the new drugstore mascaras but so far nothing compares to this magical product. 
• Which product would you NEVER repurchase again and why? Diorshow Black Out Mascara. For the cost, it doesn't live up to the hype. The applicator is bulky and the formula appears clumpy. 
• One beauty treatment you would always PAY to have done? Pedicures. I'm terrified of cutting my own cuticles. I also enjoy someone rubbing my feet. Sooooo relaxing.
• One beauty treatment you would NEVER pay to have done? Fake eyelashes. I'm not the kind of person that needs to have crazy eyelashes every day. If I need more drama, I'm fully capable of putting them on myself. 
• One beauty trick you can share with everyone? Keep Q-Tips handy for touching up around your eyes after putting makeup on. It's really easy to dip one end in makeup remover and use it to get rid of any shadow or liner that appears out of place.
• Best advice you've ever been given regarding beauty and makeup? Wear makeup because YOU want to wear. Not because you're trying to impress a guy or a girl or your mom. Wear it because it makes you feel pretty or put together or confident. Also, moisturize. 

I now tag anyone who reads this post to answer these same questions! What are your favorites? Least favorites? Splurges? 

Now off to Sephora to check out what's new!

xoxo,

Liz

Back to School... College Advice

Here are some things I had or knew prior to going to college:

University of Texas DKR Memorial Football Stadium

1. Basic Tool Kit - You never know when you will need to make a hole in a wall or hammer some stuff or put together some sort of ikea chair.
2. Walk around the campus. Become familiar with buildings and landmarks. Lessen your stress level for the first day of classes by being confident that you will not get lost. :)
3. Join a group or club that makes the campus smaller and gives you the added benefit of built in friends.
4. Go to class. Even if there is no way to take attendance. Go to class. Every professor is different and some will follow the book and some will just go on tangent after tangent. For the latter, you will fail their tests, every single time if you did not go to class. 
5. Buddy system. Party invite? Take a buddy. Walking to get coffee after dark? Take a buddy. Left your laptop charger somewhere? Take a buddy.

Here are some things I wish I had known or had:

College Life as a Longhorn Band Member

1. Find a physical activity that you like to do. Something to make you stand up from your computer or TV or queso so you don't gain weight. Your high school body is now gone. I don't know why but college makes your adult body show up so make it a good one by moving around.
2. Never take a business school weed out class unless you plan to go to business school. I'm looking at you, microeconomics. Take classes not pertinent to your major at a community college. You don't want to be in that class. You have zero passion for supply-demand graphs. Everyone else in that class has a passion for supply-demand graphs. Therefore, you're screwed.
3. Take naps whenever possible.
4. Never think you can study in your room when you have a roommate. You'll probably end up on opposite schedules and being in your room all the time will just annoy the roommate. Find a study place. Preferably a place where you don't have to buy things to stay there. Like a library. Or a common university area. If your college has a law school or an architecture school, their libraries are going to be the best and the quietest. Those kids are intense.
5. If your degree allows for a semester abroad, do it. I did not have the opportunity but every day I think about the adventures I could have had while young and in a foreign country making new friends and eating new foods and dancing. Just all the dancing. Study abroad. Your adult self will thank your college self. I promise. 

College is a great time. Make mistakes. Find yourself. Learn how be a functioning member of society. While a college degree is a necessity, it's your experiences while in college that make you into a human. Your experiences will give you stories to tell your peers and eventually, maybe, your children. Try to look at college as more than a way to get from A (high school) to B (high paying, professional job). 

And finally, take all four years. Hopefully, it'll be the only four years you'll have to yourself to make the most awesome decisions.

Hook 'em. 

Liz

"My Drunk Kitchen" from YouTube to A BOOK!!!

I am so extremely excited for Hannah Hart's book that will be arriving via the Amazon Fairy at my door this evening. This angel has delighted me with YouTube video after video as well as pun after pun. If you have not watched her series, you should. It'll make you take things a little less seriously, have some fun if you will.

A user on Tumblr posted this series and I have recreated it here because it is very exciting. I mean, she wrote a book. She took two things she loves, learned basics of Internetting and now is an author. Cheers to you, Hannah!

Y'all, it's so exciting. 

One of my favorite MDKs

Hannah has a lot of passion for people as well as cooking. I enjoy her positive attitude as well as her ability to encourage everyone around her to dream dreams. 

"Be the person you want to be, not the person you think you have to be."

Now off to buy a bottle of wine!

xoxo,

Liz

I got behind...

Last week was an incredibly busy week with a very strange schedule. Due to lack of sleep and brain cells, I did not post on Thursday or Friday. And now, today, I'm late and overwhelmed with the sadness of Robin Williams' passing. 

He brought so much joy and laughter and wisdom to my life. He will be greatly missed. The comedy community has responded with such kind words and quotes from his career. It's beautiful and has brought me to tears at least four times so far. 

Let's all take a moment and do as Paul F. Tompkin's suggests and reach "out to the troubled people in our lives and let them know we are here for them. Because Robin Williams was there for us."

xoxo,

Liz

Giving Friends Advice

Apparently, I'm a person who gives people advice. Whether those people are people I love or just acquaintances, I'm am often sought out in order to listen and then report back on my findings.

What does it mean to give advice to someone?

Does advice come from personal experience or something you read or from being able to read the person and tell them exactly what they want/need to hear?

I'm guilty of all three. Or I've used all three. I prefer to listen. When someone approaches me, I gladly sit back and listen to everything they have to say. I internalize. I analyze. And depending on the person, I speak.

Whether I'm educated or not, I will tell you something or give you a link to an article I read or a YouTube video I watched or tell you someone you also know that has personally struggled with similar issues. Resourcefulness is one of my strengths. Like a sponge, I soak up as much knowledge and then I spew it out at an appropriate moment, hopefully.

Recently, my friends have either intentionally or not, sought out my listening ears for some advice. I hope that I have delivered helpful, inspiring words. I'm constantly in need for comfort and affirmation, I totally understand the need to have someone empathize with you on a situation or a relationship or a career choice or parents, etc. Often, I don't feel qualified for giving advice because I feel like my life if not where I wanted it to be 10 years ago. Is your life where you wanted it to be 10 years ago? I guess I should be comforted by the fact that life happens regardless of my plans and I am thankful for people that can guide me along the way. I guess I'll keep trying to help where I can but don't hold it against me.

I'm still trying to figure all of this crap out.

So are Grace & Mamrie... from two years ago...

xoxo,
Liz

#SUMMERBREAK

I finally caught up on Summer Break. For those of you not in the know, it's a series on YouTube that follows around some teens in southern California and it is CRAY.

Source

Source

Source

Basically, short 5 to 15 minute episodes are posted online and in between these postings, social media events are taking place. The kids are on Twitter and Insta and Snapchat interacting and reacting to whatever episode was just posted. Obviously, there are a lot of behind the back conversations that occur and then they find out and shit hits the fan.

It's even more intriguing because in this world of technology, these kids are basically forced to have face-to-face conversations about their issues for the series instead of only being passive-aggressive on Twitter.

I love it. I wish I had their balls. They are brave. They are also real, real dumb. And whiney. And typical high school kids.

Are you hooked? Does it remind you of "Laguna Beach" like maybe a little bit? I think it's the nostalgia of it that hooked me last summer and it is the drama that has kept me coming back for more!

xoxo,
Liz

Adult Kids & Making New Friends

I love celebrating birthdays. This weekend I was able to celebrate Sid's birthday with a grown-up spin on an eight-year-old's birthday party dream: driving fast cars around a track and being able to brag to your friends, that you are indeed the fastest and best go-kart driver ever. I didn't drive. I just watched. The wind really messed up my bangs.

::Go-Karts for Sid's 30th Birthday::

::the men making guacamole::

::super cute party hats::

As I near my thirties, I feel that people don't come out unless there is a major reason such as a birthday, a promotion or if someone is moving away for a new opportunity. People have gotten lazy and most likely, comfortable with their couch and a Netflix marathon. Don't get me wrong, I love and sometimes, live for a Netflix marathon. I can't go out both Friday and Saturday night anymore and feel good about myself. Weekends are for chores and catching up on TV and running and one social activity. But one social activity with a large group of friends, doesn't help my single status. After several weekends of similar social outings, the impossible task of meeting a dude has come to the top of my mind. I guess I will have to change my attitude about one social activity a weekend and rely less on my already taken friends for plans. Is there any other way? Besides online dating, how do people meet new people now? Technology is great and last week I read several articles on this same topic. Everyone seems to agree that technology is making people more introverted and it's really difficult to make new friends as an adult. Sometimes, I wish I had an excuse like "I'm new to this city. Please be my friend so that I don't get lost." If only, this was the case.

How do you meet new people? Do you feel constantly stuck behind a computer screen or your phone screen just making new Internet friends? I love Internet friends but some people in my city would be really nice too.

xoxo,
Liz

Let's Get Fit!

Today for Follow Friday, I would like to highlight some of the fitness accounts from around the Internet.

Website:

The website isn't the most user friendly because at every turn a rainbow or a unicorn could potentially pop out. What I love about TIU are the weekly schedules of workouts because they vary every single week. This way your body doesn't have time to get comfortable with one type of exercise.

Source

Instagram:

Jessica Massey is a blogger turned trainer. Her Instagram account includes HIITs and other challenges on a frequent basis.

Source

Shawn Johnson started a fitness website and the Instagram account has lots of fitness inspiration as well as challenges.

Source

YouTube:

I adore Cassey Ho of the channel Blogilates. She does workout routines for free and is always so full of energy! It's hard to not get jazzed to work-out when you see a new video by her. If you're on a budget for get your workout on but need help in planning out workouts, YouTube is a great source. There are several fitness gurus to choose from in order for you to get your work out on.

Now, go get our squat on!

xoxo,
Liz