holy, lackofposts batman!

we haven't posted in a while. that's rather lame, but you know what's not lame? michael scott.



- ashley xx

candide

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here we've got another blog about die mannequin! i can't help it...they're just so....good. care failure is probably the nicest person ever...she's so real, and talented! her and anthony bleed = musical match made in heavan. this is an acoustic version of their song "candide" (it's labeled wrong on the video), which is off of their latest full-length Fino + Bleed. this was recorded during their performance at 102.1 The Edge's Friday Night Live at Sound Acadamy on June 6, 2008.




this performance is also amazing (well, all of theirs are...but y'know), and needs to be mentioned here:



-ashley xx

Estee Lauder/MAC Cosmetic Sale...

Alright so this is a little late, but here is what I got from the Estee Lauder/MAC/Clinque cosmetic sale last Friday:

 

1) I got a couple of MAC blushes/bronzers because I've used them before, and love the quality of the product! 

I got this shade of powder blush for $12! Actual price: $18.50

Here's an idea of of the other shade I got for $12. Actual price: $21

 2) Next thing I bought was a MAC paint pot. The texture of this product is creamy and goes on very easily and looks like eye-liner. I find it works best if applied with a stiff angle brush.

This isn't the exact product, but they didn't have a picture of the actual thing on the website! Anyway this was $10, actual price $16.50

3) I bought this lipstick for Ashley. I've never tried MAC's lipstick before (and I'm not planning on trying Ashley's before I give it to her), but I can say that it looks like it would go on smoothly/ would be moisturizing!

Once again they didn't have the exact shade on the website, but this is pretty close. This lipstick actually gives me a headache because I can't pin down the exact shade. At the sale it looked like a soft pinky-red. When I looked at in my car it seemed more coral. Any pictures I take look pale pink-orange. Now that I'm at home it looks rosy. I'm definitely eager for Ashley to try it out so I can finally nail down what shade it is! Sale price: $10, actual price: $14.50

 
4) I bought an eyeshadow for Sam (it's actually part of her Christmas gift,so Sam you better not read this!). Anyway, I have a couple of MAC eye-shadows and they're pretty nice, and literally you can find a shade for anybody! They have so much variety! 

Agh yet again, no exact shade match on the website. I can only assume that some of the products I bought have been discontinued? Anyway, Sam's eye-shadow is actually a darker pink, with a rosy hue. Sale price: $10, actual price: $14.50

 5) Alright final thing I purchased at the sale was a Clinique Supermoisture foundation,. I have been searching in vain for the perfect foundation for months now, and will literally try anything at this point. I like foundation to have coverage, but at the same time be very light, because I hate looking too made-up. After trying this foundation, I'm pretty impressed. I found that it looks best if I put a make-up primer on first, then do a very, VERY light layer of the foundation (it becomes noticeable if I put on too much).

This is the "Pure Porcelain" shade. Sale price: $12, actual price: $30. Incidentally this is the best bargain I got at the sale.

My final thoughts on the sale are that you definitely get some decent deals, but don't go if you are claustrophobic in anyway, or are afraid of crowds because that place was insane! It was just one gigantic group of women after another, and every table was surrounded by people so I had to fight my in to just get a look at the products. 

Christy

xx

[EVERY PICTURE, EXCEPT THE FIRST ONE, BELONGS TO THE COMPANIES STATED IN THE CAPTIONS]

Winter Movie Picks!

With the holiday season brings plenty of holiday movies to be seen! It looks like it will be a good month for film as many highly anticipated movies are released in the coming weeks!

Last week, brought us Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, with Darren Aronofsky as its director. A lot of Oscar buzz has been surrounding this film...the creative aspects look fantastic, and Natalie Portman's portrayal of Nina has been described as incredible. I would say this is a movie to see.....technically it is a psychological thriller, but many have deemed it a horror film, and apparently there are a few disturbing scenes, so prepare yourself!

I think this coming week will be a very interesting one at the theatre. The anticipated film The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp will debut. I am a huge Johnny Depp fan, but not as much an Angelina Jolie one.....I dont know, I think I will pass on this one. If its one of those movie on the Movie Network one time....perhaps I will watch it but otherwise nothing besides the fact that Johnny Depp is in it excites me.

The third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series will also come out this week. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, and Ben Barnes does look like a pretty interesting film to see. And as a fan of the other two films in the series I will probably go out and watch it...however I have seen only 1 trailer for it, and have heard it only loosely follows the actual film. I will go see it, and I'll probably like it...but I feel like a classic series such as this one should have been better promoted at least!

The Tempest will also come out this weekend. Again, haven't seen a lot of promotion for this film, and with stars like helen Mirren and Djimon Hounsou, I thought it would be! Director Julia Taymor put her own twist on the traditional tale of The Tempest....but other than that not a whole lot of information has been released about it. The cinematography looks pretty great so I may go see it, but knowing our city it probably wont even come to our theatre!

December 17th brings a movie I'm so excited about! How Do You Know starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson and Jack Nicholson, looks as adorable as it is funny. I love Paul Rudd! I think he and Reese Witherspoon would make an adorable couple for the movie. And Jack Nicholson's classic level of awesomeness means I will be seeing this on opening night!

Christmas Eve debuts an interesting film, that I really hope I get a chance to see. Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola, and starring Elle Fanning and Stephen Droff, looks quite interesting! Elle Fanning has grown a lot from her days in Daddy Day Care, and I'm assuming her acting has too. And its directed by Sofia Coppola! She has a way with film that is just breathtaking. It is only slated to be in limited release, but hopefully it will come to a theatre near me so I can see this film! :)

If you haven't already seen the following movies you should do so before its too late!

Due Date.......Well Christy is in love with Robert Downey Jr so how could we not see it?!

Love & Other Drugs...I like Anne Hathaway but I can put aside all her nakedness for some aborable Jake Gyllenhaal moments.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I........Seriously?! who isn't going to see this!!!

Lots of Love, Sam!

today's acoustic song is..............

    i saw B.A johnston play at a taco/ginger beer party, one rainy evening in london ontario during the summer, and he is so amazing! quite possibly the most B.A person in the history of ever! other B.A's could only hope to be as B.A, as B.A (whoa, trippy sentence, no?). i think he was dressed up like a sailor for the first few songs...but ended up shirtless, wet, and on the ground.  he played a solid set that included: grease lullaby, your roomate's a couchtard, and the song posted above (among other glorious B.A tunes!). he played an encore on top of a mini-van (his mother's previa!). he rocked his acoustic, and of course the keys....he was literally all over the place, tangling the crowd together with his mic cord. never have i seen such a small, chubby lumberjack-esque guy produce so much energy, and get so many people singing "i hate squirrels" at the top of their lungs. he was electrifying!

my little brothers' got a high schooler's philosophy down...

"they tell you not to do drugs...just because they don't want you to" "oh no, they distract you from your studies!" "well come on, it's fuckin' highschool, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO DRUGS".
  he was joking, of course! haha. he says the funniest stuff sometimes! oh cody, what would i do without you? my life would be so dull. 

  anyways, i just wanted to share some wisdom...i'm off to bed- for reals this time.
-ashley xx

mmmmkay

 yyoyoyoyyoyoyoyo, straight outta BC, CANADA, here's billy the kid! representin' the song of the d- i don't really know where i was going with that. moooooooooooooving on!

Again, info is taken from their myspace page!

Billy the Kid

Genre: Acoustic / Folk / Roots Music

Members: "Billy the Kid - Guitar, Piano, Harmonica, Voice, Songmaker.
Randy Cooke - Drums.
Joseph Karnes - Bass.
Garth Hudson - Piano 
Stan Behrens - Harmonica 
Ben Peeler - Guitar,Pedal Steel and Lap Steel"

"If we've met, you'll know that I have the words "GIVE BACK" and "LOST!" tattooed on me... ..Anyone that doesn’t know me is prone to ask the meaning of these words, forever inscribed into my body. "GIVE BACK" speaks for itself, but "LOST!"… well, that’s another story..."
Billy the Kid on Myspace.






and this song totally brings me back to march break of this year:

billy the kid. march 2010. kitchener.

omgggg im liek so artisticzzzzz0z0z

this post is kind of lame, but i'm too tired to try harder! ack

-ashley xx

rainbow connection

   today's acoustic song is:

    rainbow connection! originally performed by kermit the frog, in the muppet movie, but this is willie nelson's cover. i think willie nelson kind of kicks kermit's version in the butt, but that's just me! this song reminds me a lot of summer days spent in this place right here:

4-wheeler rides!

my poppa, he's the one that showed me this song!

-ashley  xx

FAREWELL TO SATELLITE, hello to winter.

hahaha, oh i'm so clever! 

   i just decided, right now, that i'm going to post an acoustic song everyday for the month of december! anyways....

   i don't know about you guys, but acoustic music seems to go so nicely with winter weather. i really like farewell to satellite (solo project of janae alyse). she has the voice of an angel, and has some really amazing vocal harmonies. she plays guitar, banjo, and also has some wonderfully simple percussion, which are only a few of the instrumental aspects of her music. i'm constantly listening to her when the weather gets all snowy and cold. her music also makes for a great lazy summer days kind of playlist! farewell to satellite is also about 75% of my sleep playlist! it's just some great music. did that paragraph kind of run on? oh well!

info/photos below are taken from her myspace page.

 Farewell To Satellite


Genre: Electroacoustic / Lyrical / Psychedelic.

Bio 

"............ I am the poetry of senses... ............ ...... .......... ................ .... ...... .. .. ...... .. .. ...... .... ...... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .........."

"There is something that has not come to birth in the usual way, which has neither been created and which remains undamaged. If it did not exist, it would be impossible to find a way out. ...... Being one in almost 7 billion people to share this planet (not to mention every other organism) is bound to shed a harsh light on the possible potential of one's importance in this world. But know this: Everything is the reason why everything else is".

Farewell To Satellite on Myspace.

The benefits of being the child of a cosmetician...

Lookie what I scored:

In case you're still wondering, my mother received some invitaions to the Estee Lauder, MAC, Clinique (etc) comestic sale happening in Markham, Ontario this weekend, and luckily my dad and I will be checking it out tomorrow. I'm hoping to find some really great deals, and I'll share what I find as soon as I can! :)
Anywho I'm trying to work from a hotel computer (my dad and I are on a university roadtrip) and it's not the best so that's it for a bit!

Christy

xx

Here comes the Grammys....

Last night brought us the Grammy nominations!! Some surprising nominations, and to be honest some disappointing nominations. But here are a few of the nominations and my picks for who will win this year :)

Record of the Year:

• Nothin' On You - B.O.B and Bruno Mars
• Love the Way You Lie - Eminem ft. Rihanna
• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
• F**k You - Cee Lo Green
• Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

My Pick: I would love to see a win for B.O.B and Bruno Mars! Its a cute song! But F**k You is such a catchy song, I wouldn't mind if it won either!

Album of the Year:

• The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
• Recovery - Eminem
• Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
• The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga
• Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

My Pick: Not a fan of Katy Perry's new album, or Lady Antebellum's...I feel like Lady Gaga is going to win, but shouldn't this album is eligible last year??

Record of the Year:

• Beg Steal or Borrow - Ray LaMontagne, songwriter (Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs)
• F**k You - Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence & Bruno Mars, songwriters (Cee Lo Green)
• The House That Built Me - Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin, songwriters (Miranda Lambert)
• Love the Way You Lie - Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem Feat. Rihanna)
• Need You Now - Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott, songwriters (Lady Antebellum)

My Pick: I love Ray Montagne! A Grammy win is definitely deserved for him, he just keeps getting better year after year!

Best New Artist:

• Drake
• Florence & the Machine
• Mumford & Sons
• Justin Beiber
• Esperanza Spalding

My Pick: Not going to lie....don't know much about Esperanza Spalding, and eventhough I'll never have Beiber fever, I really like that Canadians are represented on this list twice! Its been an excellent year for both Mumford & Sons, and Florence & the Machine! Both are fantastic in their own ways, if either were to win I would be overjoyed!!

Best Pop Vocal Album:

• My World 2.0 - Justin Beiber
• I Dreamed a Dream - Susan Boyle
• The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga
• Battle Studies - John Mayer
• Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

My Pick: John Mayer all the way! I may not love his personality in real life, but he has excellent songwriting skills, and is a wonderful guitarist.

Best Rock Song:

• Angry World - Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young)
• Little Lion Man - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
• Radioactive - Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
• Resistance - Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
• Tighten Up - Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney, songwriters (The Black Keys)

My Pick: Umm all of them?

Best Alternative Music Album:

• The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
• Infinite Arms - Band of Horses
• Brothers - The Black Keys
• Contra - Vampire Weekend
• Broken Bells - Broken Bells

My Pick: Again, all of them? Way to hard to pick just one, excellent choices this year!!!

Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Televison or Other Visual Media:

• Down in new Orelans (The Princess and the Frog) - Randy Newman, songwriter (Dr. John)
• I See You (Avatar) - Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell & James Horner, songwriters (Leona Lewis)
• Kiss Like Your Kiss (True Blood) - Lucinda Williams, songwriter (Lucinda Williams & Elvis Costello)
• This City (Treme) - Steve Earle, songwriter (Steve Earle)
• The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart) - Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett, songwriters (Ryan Bingham)

My Pick: The Weary Kind is such a beautiful song, so I hope is get the recognition it deserves!

Other Congratulations to:
The Black Keys - 6 nominations
Glee Cast - 2 nominations
Devendra Banhart -1 nomination
Broken Bells - 2 nominations

You can find the complete list at http://www.grammy.com/nominees and don't forget to watch the show Sunday, February 13th, 2011!

Love of love, Sam :)

die mannequin show review!

      i actually wrote this a few months ago (for a school project), but die mannequin is amazing, and i think it should be posted anyhow!  i'd also recommend you go see this band! they're super talented, and work super hard! also, check out their myspace: www.myspace.com/diemannequin.  

-ashley xx
 

Photo by: Ashley King

     I recently saw Die Mannequin perform at their Red Dog gig in downtown Peterborough on

the 22nd of September as a part of their fall Ontario/ Quebec tour, and it was (as always) well worth the cover charge, and the ringing ears days after the show.       

   

      The show started promptly after the opening act, Dearly Beloved, after  some sound checks and stage arrangements. Care Failure (lead vocals/guitar), staggered on stage after “Crazy” by Patsy Cline finished playing, picked up her guitar (fellow band mates following her lead), and the energy started right away.

     They opened with an older track, “Autumn Cannabilist” , off of their first EP - “How to Kill”.  The heavy, dirty guitar riffs filled the room. The crowd full of die-hard fans cheered, and the mosh pit started to grow, and pulse. The ground started shaking, and that’s when you knew the show had really started. They played several songs off of their newest release “Fino + Bleed”,  including “Dead Honey” , the danceable/partyable “Bad Medicine” (which included Care singing into a megaphone to achieve the similar sound off the CD), “Locking Elizabeth”,  among others.

Photo by: Ashley King.

     Keeping in the tradition of a Die Mannequin show, they didn’t play it anything like the album version. Care Failure changed up the vocals a little, adding a lot of audience participation, which was made easy due to the small, personal nature of the show.  They also added some musical interludes, giving the songs more emotion, and more opportunity to mosh/dance/enjoy the music. This powerful track was only the start of the compelling, sleazy, dirty, raw rock n roll show.

     Care Failure lunged herself around the stage, like a gracefull ragdoll. Crawling, jumping, and dancing to the sleazy, energetic punk-esque music.     She didn’t let her guitar pose as an excuse not to move. She threw herself into the crowd, and made it to the back of the venue, all without missing a single chord on her guitar. Anthony Bleed (bass),  Dazzer Scott (drums) and Stacy Stray (guitar), provide the backbone to Die Mannequin’s stage performance, keeping it solid, while providing a chaos of their own.

    Overall, they made sure they worked the stage, the crowd, the pit, and even the venue. They are a must-see for anybody that craves good ‘ol  personal, small-scale rock show.

the legendary apartment 3. (the making of the dinner guest stop-motion)

so, a couple of saturdays ago, while shooting our stop-motion, we ended up having quite the adventure. and i will depict this adventure with pictures! woo!

     it started of as planned - we shot the junk we needed, la-dee-da. after a while, my camera's memory card filled up, and i had to go upstairs to my place (i live in the building it was shot in) to upload the photos. 

 

 i come back downstairs, to find sam. but where were the guys? "um, your creepy neighbour invited the boys in for beer," she said. i was confused. "what creepy neigh-" just then- the door of apartment 3 opens up, and out comes andrew...

the legend...

i instantly recognize him (as the guy my mom's been crushin' on since we moved in 6 years ago), and hesitantly go in. there are the guys, sitting in his living room, beers in hand. "seems safe enough" i thought. i plop down on the couch, accept a beer from andrew, and the adventure begins.

apartment 3. this photo taken by andrew

 he was extremely dumfounded by the musical talent of biglight. he also thought they were twins - and that their names were dylan and dave. he kept insisting that they were "at the right place at the right time". can't even count how many times i heard him say that. then, atfer a while it became "the right gene-pool at the right time!".  

anyways - after insisting to the boys that they should get into celtic music, and making us watch a performance by the great big sea that he recorded on his tv (he struggled a bit to get this working - in his drunken state) we decided to leave.
before we left - andrew got serious. he told the guys that he wanted to take their guitars for compensation for the beers. i instantly thought of an escape plan. i was ready to take this dude down - but then he started laughing, and i knew that everything was going to be okay. we left, and ended up at several other places, and i got in around 4am. all in all, it was a fun night. i also will never look at andrew from apartment 3 the same way again....what a cool dude!

and here are some more random stills from the video:

 

 

                                        

don't forget to check out the video, a couple of posts down! and of course, check out the band's myspace - www.myspace.com/biglight    

:)

-ashuuuuuhley

       xx

A favourite pastime...

Here are the aforementioned collages that I made today: 

No real theme or anything here, I usually just choose pictures where I like an outfit, or the way the photography was styled, or if the concept/story is particularly captivating, that's another part of it...

Christy 

xx

With Winter Comes...

So this cold weather has me thinking of outerwear trends and with that came an urge to look at boots so here are some of my picks for this winter...

topshop.com, $170

topshop.com, $170

topshop.com, $170

Asos.com, $94.82

Asos.com, $86.20

Asos.com, $172.80

urbanoutfitters.com, $358

urbanoutfitters.com, $178

urbanoutfitters.com, $168

These are just a few I really liked, all towering heels, but there might be another edition coming with more rugged/flat boots... ;)

Christy

xx


[ALL PHOTO/PRODUCT CRED BELONGS TO THE COMPANIES I STATED IN THE CAPTIONS!]