bands I love (new record season!)

If I could get paid in iTunes giftcards and vinyl, I would. Most of my paycheck goes there anyway. 

This fall, so many great bands are releasing new music. 

I can't wait. Starting in early September there will be a steady stream of delicious new jams to explore. 

And it's going to be amazing.

And we're all going to love it. 

Here's a sampling of some of the records I'm most looking forward to. 

Blitzen Trapper 

VII - September 30th

Avett Brothers 

Magpie and the Dandelion - October 15th 

Volcano Choir 

Repave - September 3rd 

Grouplove

Spreading Rumors - September 17th 

Oh Land 

Wishbone - September 24th 

HAIM

Days Are Gone - September 30th 

The Deep Dark Woods

Jubilee - October 1st 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

The Speed of Things - October 8th 

Lucius

Wildewoman - October 15th 

Cults

Static - October 15th 

The Head and the Heart

Let's Be Still - October 15th 

Arcade Fire

TBD - October 29th 

love.lauren 

things I love (a road trip!)

Last weekend I had a day off and an itch to get out of the heat (hello 113 degrees!)...so my dad and I packed up the car for a quick road trip north to a place I've been dying to visit. 

Historic Route 66 is home to all sorts of quirky gems, but I've had the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ on my mind since I first saw photos of it. 

$58 and a 3.5 hour drive got us our very own concrete teepee for the night, complete with a slanted wall bathroom/shower and a tv.

We wandered around, enjoyed the only movie playing in town, and took a quick drive to explore Petrified Forest National Park (gorgeous and eerie and moon-like). 

It was just as weird as I hoped it would be, and definitely worth the trip! 

love.lauren

things I love (a good list).

In 2014 (very, very EARLY 2014) I will turn 30. 

Woah. 

It's weird. But it's happening. Everybody's doing it. 

I think over 30 years I've done some pretty cool things. I've lived in 11 homes, been to 13 countries, gotten two degrees, bought a house, started a career, and had lots of adventures. 

But what is life without goals? SO. Here are 10 things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. :) 

1. Sleep in a teepee. 
2. Go back to Asia (hey Thailand!). 
3. Finish (mostly) decorating my house. 
4. Go to Joshua Tree. 
5. Go (or at least book!) a Hawaiian adventure. 
6. Get the next girls trip on the calendar. 
7. Hear lots and lots and LOTS of music. Out loud. In person. 
8. Make photo books of all my past exploits. 
9. Learn how to make something dissappear in Photoshop.
10. Master a great bloody mary. 

love.lauren

things I love (good AZ jams).

Over the weekend, I saw a tweet from my favorite place to buy music, about a contest to win tickets to a show at the Musical Instrument Museum. I didn't really look at what the show was, but I like the MIM and I trust that Stinkweeds wouldn't steer me wrong, so I thew my name in the hat. 

And I won. 

Tuesday came around, and I had a whole host of reasons why I didn't want to go (it was hot, I didn't buy the tickets so what was I losing, the MIM was far, I was tired, blah blah blah). Thankfully my dad said he really wanted to check it out, so I sucked it up and off we went. 

I'm so, so glad. 

We found ourselves at the Arizona Singer/Songwriter Showcase. Four of Phoenix's best musicians treated us to a night of chatty, sometimes messy music that was absolutely wonderful. It might have been one of the top five things I've done in Arizona. 

Really. 

It was such a great reminder of the talent that lives in this dusty state, and all four of them played music I would go to see again. And again. 

We heard from Mat Weddle, otherwise known as Obadiah Parker who blew up when his acoustic version of "Hey Ya" hit the world a few years ago, Brian Chartrand, Matthew Thornton (one half of the local duo Vinyl Station) & Jay Allan. 

The beautiful theater at the MIM sealed the deal. 

Every day more and more bands stop in Phoenix to play shows (which is amazing!!), but if this show taught me anything, it's not to forget about the wonderful music we have at our fingertips every day. 

Mat Weddle (Obadiah Parker) covering Let's Stay Together. 

The group coming together to sing Brian Chartrand's Barrelman. 

love.lauren

places I love (all of them).

I love an adventure. 

I'd rather spend my extra $$ on a weekend road trip, an overseas adventure or exploring a new local corner than just about anything else. 

As we start to plan out our Christmas trip to Thailand, I've got travel on the brain, and every spare moment is spent daydreaming about all the places I still need to experience.

The world is a big, big place.  

I've tried my hardest to make travel important, and I grew up with parents who totally supported that idea. I've gotten to wander around in all kinds of cool places: Nearly all the states in the US (I'm coming for you Alaska!), Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas, Vietnam, South Korea, the UK, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Turkey and Switzerland. And they were all different and wonderful and exciting. 

They all made me wish so hard that I could stay forever and made me yearn for the next place at the same time. 

My list is ever-expanding (and I hope I never run out of places to dream about), but here are 5 adventures I'm daydreaming about today: 

1. Morocco 
2. Cuba 
3. Alaska 
4. India 
5. A return trip to Greece

Where are you dreaming about? 

love.lauren

things I love (a good old ice cream throw down!).

I scream, you scream... 

It's hot in Arizona. Like really, really hot. 

So to beat the heat and stay sane, we have to get creative. This past weekend I hosted our inaugural Ice Cream Throw Down. It was a little bit drippy and ice cream making turned out to be more than a little bit stressful, but we ended up with some delicious treats and an excuse to get together. 

All my friends channeled their inner Top Chef and showed up with some great flavors. We had everything from a simple vanilla to salted caramel to coconut/macadamia nut/chai and apricot ale/beer nut concoctions. 

Needless to say, we had a great time sampling (and rating) all the flavors. 

Can't wait for the next food challenge! 


Here's a little video (and an onslaught of photos). 

love.lauren