Listen: Surrogate

Surrogate is yet another one of my favorite bands to listen to. They are an indie band that originated here in Chico. They are coming out with their fourth album, Post-Heroic, tomorrow. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend their release show because it was being held at a local bar called La Salles. So far, I love everything they have come out with; I can't get enough of it. It is even better that they are a local band, but I hope that they can go on tour to promote themselves and their fantastic music. Take a chance to listen to their unique music and help support a local band. What local band do you enjoy?

Taste: Dutch Bros. Rebel

Dutch Bros. is one of my all-time favorite coffee joints ever. Right now, as we spring into #magic, they have decided to make Ruby-Red Grapefruit Blue Rebels. The Blue Rebel celebrating it's first year as an energy drink, and it is definitely a tasty one. I am not one who typically drinks energy drinks, but if I am going to get one, it will be from Dutch Bros. Why? Because you can get this delicious energy drink with ice and any Torani flavor you want, FOR FREE!

Today I was craving a sweet fruity bubbly drink, and a grapefruit Rebel sounded perfect! It was very sweet, but after letting the ice melt, I couldn't stop drinking it! It tasted like fresh ice-cold grapefruit sprinkled with sugar. I will definitely be getting this whenever I need a sweet caffeine fix, that is for sure! 

What is your favorite flavor to infuse with a Blue Rebel?

Smell: Paris Amour

Today was a simple day. It was warm with a cool breeze. I was going shopping downtown with my aunt and cousin, who are visiting from Southern California. To better enjoy the day, I wore a light top and skirt, and accented with Bath and Body Works Paris Amour body spray. It is sweet, fruity, and slightly floral-y. It seemed to work well with the perfect spring weather! I have always loved Bath and Body Works, especially love Paris Amour and Midnight Pomegranate.

I know everyone has a favorite scent! 

Which scent is yours?

See: Oreshura

Oreshura is an anime based off a Japanese light novel. Oreshura is short for "Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru", which means "My Girlfriend and Childhood Friend Fight Too Much".With only 13 episodes, it aired from January 6 to March 31. 

This slice-of-life anime is about Eita, a first year in high school who cares only about studying and getting good grades so he can attend a good college to become a doctor. He soon finds himself in the middle of a love battlefield, with four girls fighting for him. Overall I enjoyed the anime. It was funny, had a little bit of harem, and great back-stories. I feel like the show could have lasted longer, for more character development. I was also pretty disappointed with the ending episode...but that just means I will have to read the manga, which is still going on :)

Taste: Cinnamon Sugar Loaf

This bread will be the death of me. It is so delicious and so easy to make! It only takes about 8 minutes to make, and a torturous 50 minutes to bake, but it is SO worth it!

This is another discovery from Pinterest and the original recipe is from allrecipes.com. 

Try out this simple recipe and tell me how it tastes! I love it!

Cinnamon Sugar Loaf

~1/3 cup white sugar

~2 tsp ground cinnamon

~2 cups all-purpose flour

~1Tbsp baking powder

~1/2 tsp salt

~1 cup white sugar

~1 egg, beaten

~1 cup milk

~1/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; set aside.
2. In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar. Combine egg, milk, and oil; add to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened.
3. Pour half of the batter into pan. Sprinkle with half the reserved cinnamon/sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon/sugar mixture. Draw a knife through batter to marble.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing.
   (I couldn't wait, so we ate some and then wrapped it in foil!)

Smell: Classic Roast and Caramel

Coffee is something I cannot live without. The smell of hot coffee with a bit of caramel should be a perfume. I would buy that. After my morning class, I was walking out and could smell the coffee stand and I just had to go home a make some. Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, I have a Keurig. I absolutely love it! We have both the K-Cups as well as these handy-dandy reusable K-Cups so we can use our own ground coffee and save on costs and waste! 

We are currently out of fresh coffee beans, so I used a Folgers Classic Roast K-Cup.

And of course, I had to use creamer! We buy the Baileys non-alcoholic coffee creamers, and they are absolutely delicious and not horribly expensive either! I used the caramel flavored creamer today :)

It takes less than one minute for my coffee to be made, which is why I love this thing so dang much!

I went for extra creamer today as well, and I achieved a sweetness almost equivalent to a caramel frappe from Starbucks.

Do you need the smell of coffee to start your day?

What is your favorite brand of coffee beans? 

I'd love some input, as we need to restock :)

See: Interpretive Rapping

I found Mister Epic Mann through Pinterest. His videos are hilarious. Especially this one. I literally laughed so hard I was crying. To truly enjoy this video, you have to watch it twice. Once to take it all in, and a second with Closed Captions, which are made automatically by Youtube. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do.

Feel: Pastels and Brights #coasttocoastchallenge

Coast to Coast Central has created the Coast to Coast Challenge, a new adventure for ladies all across the country. A group of friends were living across the states from each other, but still wanted to be connected somehow. They came up with a tradition where they dress up using the same theme, such as colors, prints, or even hair styles! This has now become a huge and super fun challenge for women all over Instagram and I try to participate as much as possible, even if I forget to post a pic!

Today's theme was Pastels and Brights! I had way too much fun picking an outfit, and this is what I came up with!

I just purchased these Jalate mint jean shorts at Ross this last weekend, and I am definitely in love!

*Front*

I have this Billabong beachy striped top that I had bought from a friends Instagram shop called College Girls Closets.

*Back*

It is light, soft, colorful, and I am obsessed with the cross back! 

Anything with a lacey, bow, cross, open-back, I will probably buy it!

I absolutely love it and can't wait for summer to come so I can wear it with all my swim suits!

And of course, I must include a pair of TOMS. I thought a classic washed-out yellow would be perfect as a pastel color!

TOMS are literally my favorite shoes of all times. I have 7 pairs. Yep, you read correctly, 7. You will eventually see them all; I may even write a post about them...

So there is my outfit today, filled with bright and pastel colors!

I'd say I passed today's coast to coast challenge! 

What about you? 

Make sure to join the Coast to Coast Challenge on Thursday! 

I will be sharing on Instagram and Twitter what the theme will be tomorrow :)

Listen: From Indian Lakes

*Not my photo, click to find photographer*

The only band that I have listened to today is From Indian Lakes. This small band from central California  has captured my heart in a way that is practically impossible to explain. 

I first heard F.I.L. play at Joshua Fest 2010. They were a relatively new band, and played on a tiny stage a short walk from the main stage. The only reason I went to see them was because their band name was interesting, and I was in the mood to hear some new music. As soon as they started playing,  I knew that I had found something special. Their sound was so unique and their lyrics were so poetic, unlike many other groups that I had heard at the time. After their short 15-minute set, my boyfriend and I purchased their EP along with some merchandise, and of course "liked" them on Facebook.

Fast-forward to the present time, and they have released their first full-length album called Able Bodies. I am literally obsessed with this album. Their sound has evolved a bit, and is very indie/ alternative rock-ish. The best way for me to describe it is GOOD. They have also released acoustic versions of every song on the album, plus a couple extra acoustic songs. 

*Able Bodies Cover Art*

My boyfriend and I took a trip down to Fresno last week during spring break simply to go to their first show before a big tour with Lydia. With my evening classes this semester, this was the only time on their tour that I would be able to see them. The music sounded almost identical to the album, from the guitar solos to the beautifully harmonized vocals. Because it was their first show, they played nearly every song from Able Bodies, and even included some more from their older EP. There were a couple of mess ups, but it was a fantastic show altogether and definitely worth the 8 hours of driving!

I would tell you my favorite song on this album, but I simply cannot choose just one! So I want YOU to tell me your favorite! Go find them on Facebook and listen! 

Which song do you love?

Welcome!

I have tried blogging before, and I was absolutely horrible with keeping up with it. I don't even know why I tried, considering I could never even keep up with my diary back in elementary school...BUT I am determined now!

A wonderful lady named Luci came into a class of mine last week and talked to us about blogging and showed us her blog, Luci's Morsels. I was completely inspired after listening to her talk about how she posts 5 days a week and loves it. I finally decided to give it another go, but with more determination and less embarrassment! I honestly don't care if somebody doesn't appreciate what I have to say or how I say it, I just want to be able to find a way to love my life and document it, and I believe I have a great way to post regularly!

My idea is this: Post an entry every day Monday through Friday and highlight one of the five senses. I don't believe I will be going in a particular order, but I will definitely have a different sense each day so in the end I will have used each one. By doing this, I believe that I will be able to focus on the little things in life and appreciate everything a bit more.

This is a weird day to start this, so I will officially start next Monday with one of my senses. Each of my posts will be labeled and put into the correct section which you can then click on a heading above and check out everything that I sense throughout my life. 

I am currently just working on creating an "About" section, and the overall look of the blog. OH! And I am on all of the fantastic social networks and you can follow me by using the links on the left!

Please, let me know what you think and let me know if I should change or add anything! :)