Things I'm Loving

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1. Hozier

You've heard of this Irish folk-rocker if you've seen the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Lebron James's Beats commercial, or just don't live under a rock. He's been around for a short year and has already killed live performances on Saturday Night Live and the beloved VS Fashion Show. His song "Take Me To Church" can gut you in all of its 4 minute glory. At least, I think the 96 million plays on Spotify say much more than I could ever.

His first full length album came out in October, and just like Bleachers, it has taken me far too long to listen to it in its entirety. However, I have basically only listened to this album combined with a few other songs for the past week. HE. IS. SO. TALENTED. This is exactly the kind of genre of music that I love and adore and want to complete immerse myself in (until I need a song to dance to, then I resort to my beloved pop).

Songs to check out: "Like Real People Do," "Someone New," "In A Week," and "Cherry Wine."

2. Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Natural Lipstick in the shade N9

I got this sample sized lipstick in a birthday gift set from Sephora (along with a sample sized mascara). It's sort of a "my lips but better color", but more neutral toned rather than pink. It reminds me a lot of MAC's Syrup, but this is a little more matte looking and more brown. If I'm not wearing berries or reds, I'm wearing a plummy neutral, and this is definitely a color I'll be reaching for until I run out of my sample! The wear isn't fantastic on this, but since it is such a neutral color on me, I can go a while without reapplication and you probably wouldn't notice.

3. The Little Prince

I've read this book more than a few times. It's short, about 80-something pages, and it can pass as a children's book...but The Little Prince is so much more than that. My aunt and I were talking about this book the other day, as I saw the international trailer for the movie and told her about it. Then, I got inspired to reread it and did so in about 24 hours...If you haven't read about the little prince's travels through the universe yet, I highly recommend you do so.

Dior, via Man Repeller

4. Pre-Fall 2015 Collections

I am never, ever going to get over fall fashion. It's my favorite time of the year and getting to look at fall fashion for next year is already making me way too excited.

My favorites so far have been: Chloé, Naeem Khan, Elizabeth and James, Band of Outsiders, Christian Siriano (I LOVED him on Project Runway), Erdem, Prabal Gurung, Lela Rose, and Veronica Beard.

5. Having my old car back

I've been driving my mom's Jeep since August because my poor little Malibu has some recalls on it that have still yet to be fixed. However, I've stopped caring about that because I forgot how much I loved my car. It's so small and doesn't have blind spots and it's mine. Esteban will surely be coming back to Cleveland with me in January, mark my words. All he needs is a new stereo (he's older so he doesn't have an auxiliary outlet and funny story about the CD player...)

Okay, so the CD player in my car doesn't work. Or, I should say, it very selectively works. If I want to listen to a CD, I need to commit to a CD because I will be listening to it for months on end. Basically, the only time I can get a CD to work in my car is when it's the winter time. I choose my CD wisely, so either a mixed CD with some killer songs on it or something like Taylor Swift's Red or 1989 that I literally do not get sick of. It has to be below freezing overnight or else it won't work.

So, I pick my CD and go out at night. I put the CD in and wait for it to eject and for my car to tell me that there was something wrong with the disk. I don't take the CD out, I leave it halfway into the disk drive. Then I go back inside and let it sit like that overnight when the temperature is below freezing (anything above and it doesn't work, I couldn't make this up even if I wanted to). In the morning, before anybody warms up the car, you have to sit in it, start it, and immediately push the CD in. It should work and if it doesn't, then you have to wait until the next night and deal with the radio. If it does, then you're stuck listening to a mixed CD with the song "Beauty and the Beat" and "Thrift Shop" on it for a solid 4 months, irritating everybody you drive around.

Needless to say, Esteban might need to be fixed on the stereo front.

6. Mree


I found Mree (mreebee3 on Youtube) through either her Ingrid Michaelson cover or through her cover of "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. Regardless of what video got me hooked, it was a few years ago and I haven't stopped being mesmerized by her music since. She is the female Bon Iver, yet—dare I stay it—more whimsical and ethereal. She is the physical and musical embodiment of Anthropologie. Her voice is heavenly, her lyrics are beautiful, and I am constantly blown away by her incredible usage of the loop pedal and instruments. I don't know how she creates her albums, each song more layered than the next. Every one is perfect in their own ways and she has an entire Youtube channel as well as two complete albums to keep you occupied for quite some time.

Songs to check out: "Into The Well," "Monsters," her cover of "Blood" by The Middle East, and her cover of "Michicant" by Bon Iver.

What have you been loving lately?