IPOD SHUFFLE

You know you've well and truly become a blogger when you see or hear something and automatically think - 'I could write a blog post about this.'

Well that has been happening an awful lot over the last couple of days, mainly whilst I've spent my days lounging around the house trawling through the depths of Spotify and generally not doing much else.

Music has always been a huge part of my life - singing in the Australian Girl's Choir until I was about 10 and playing the Piano and Clarinet up until recently. Although my passion for creating music has subsided, I still love listening, sharing and experiencing music - new and old, pop and alternative.

90% of the best times I've had in my relatively short life involve music, and I will never turn down concert/gig tickets when they're offered to me.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic and reminiscing unnecessarily - back to the point of this post. I want to share some of my favourite artists and songs at the moment. Please be mindful that I am a creature of change, so this list may well evolve significantly over the next year. But I guess that may be a good thing, as I'll have another blog post to write for you in a year's time.

The Vaccines - Live

The Vaccines are currently the best British band (in my opinion). Each song is so different, I don't understand how you wouldn't be able to like them. If you're a fan of albums with songs you can dance to but also just lie on the floor contemplating life whilst listening, I recommend 'Come of Age'. I saw these guys live when they supported Two Door Cinema Club in Sydney just over a month ago, and oh gosh it was a fantastic 45 minutes.
Enjoy my favourite song -

HAIM is a band that I have literally fallen in love with today and I'm well and truly kicking myself for not listening to them about 4 months ago when somebody recommended them to me. Wikipedia claims they've been compared to Fleetwood Mac a fair bit, and I would have to agree with the people that make those statements. The lead singer has an eerily similar voice to Stevie Nicks (whom I LOVE), and the whole all girl-group thing really makes my inner feminist happy.

Just realising how excessively long and boring this post may be getting, instead of explaining why I love all these songs, I've decided to compile a 'What I Listened to in January' playlist. Enjoy - 

+ Flaws - Bastille

+ Impossible - James Arthur

+ M79 - Vampire Weekend

+ Paint You Wings - All Time Low

+ Now - Paramore

+ Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

+ Only Love - Ben Howard

+ The World is Watching - Two Door Cinema Club

+ Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran

+ When I Was Your Man - Bruno Mars

Until next time,

Jess

WHAT'S IN MY BAG?

The 'What's In My Bag?' Tag has been a popular post and video that I've seen floating around lately, but it wasn't until I found Anna's blog (TheRosyFreckle) through SprinkleOfGlitter, that I was inspired to do my own version!
I charged up my camera (it's been a tad neglected since I got my iPhone 4 about a year ago...), emptied out my bag and took some photos. I don't really understand why I, and what seems like the majority of the human race, are so fascinated with other people's handbags - but I thought I would share the contents of mine with you all.

My handbag (Mimco - $249) was a very generous gift from my parents for Christmas. I'd been looking for a very simple, black tote with slightly long straps to use for Uni this year, and my Mum just so happened to pick out the perfect one for me!

(Clockwise) Magazine or book, Diary, Makeup/Medication Bag (H&M Paris), Sunglasses, a rogue Fantail (I honestly have no idea why or how it is in my bag), Lip Products, Compact Mirror, Hand Sanitiser, Headphones, Water Bottle (Less Talk, More Water), Hand Cream, Reading Glasses, Wallet (Bluebird), iPhone, Umbrella, Car/House Keys

Soap & Glory Hand Food ($11.95) and Dettol Instant Hand Sanitiser

MAC Lipstick (Hue), Maybelline Baby Lips (Berry), Rimmel Royal Gloss (Candylicious)

Reading Glasses - Maze +, Sunglasses - Sportsgirl

I really do carry way too much in my handbag, and it will only get heavier when I have to start lugging textbooks and notepads around with me. Oh the joys of student life!

I hope you enjoyed a peek inside my handbag. I'd love to see inside yours too, so link me to your version of the tag in the comments!

I'M GOING TO NEW YORK

Since 2009, my family has been talking about going on holiday to New York. Now, like most things my family talks about doing, it never happened. However, at the end of last year, my Parents decided that 2013 would be the year to do it (mainly because I've finished high school, and my younger sister is still in the years of school that barely matter).

This morning I woke up from a text from my Dad saying that he'd booked flights, and I pretty much fell out of bed. I immediately started a countdown on my phone, renamed my savings account 'New York Shopping Fund' and started creating a list of things I want to do and places I want to visit during my 16 night stay in the city that never sleeps.

The main point of this post is to share the list that I have started, and to see if anyone that stumbles across it has any suggestions for me. So here goes -


Jess's New York To Do List.

+ Ride in a yellow taxi

+ Buy food from a street stand

+ Read a book or write whilst drinking coffee in a Starbucks

+ Go to the top of the Empire State Building

+ Visit the Statue of Liberty

+ Pay my respects at Ground Zero

+ Buy my weight in M&M's from M&M world

+ Make myself poor in Urban Outfitters, Sephora, Forever 21, Bath and Body Works, MAC, H&M

+ Go on the Gossip Girl, F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Sex in the City tours

+ Go to Times Square at night time

+ Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

+ Spend a day in SoHo

+ Ride the Subway

+ Eat at the Cheescake Factory

+ Take enough photos and video to make a video scrapbook

+ Buy a new I<3NY shirt

+ Walk through Central Park

+ Have breakfast on the steps of the Met

+ See a Broadway Musical

+ Museums - The Jewish Museum, The Guggenheim, The New York Historical Society,

+ Visit the Upper East Side


I'm looking forward to exploring the little side streets that tourist books and websites don't tell you about, and being immersed in a different culture and location. Gah, I love travelling! Why is it so expensive?!?

If I haven't got something on this list that you think I should do while I'm in New York, leave a comment below! 

25 FACTS ABOUT ME TAG

After browsing through some of my favourite blogs (which I should really get around to making a page for or writing a post about), such as Zoella and Sprinkle of Glitter, I've been inspired to do the '25 Facts About Me' tag. Even though nobody really visits my little piece of the internet, nor care about what I have to say, this might be a chance for me to really have a good look at myself and what makes me one weird individual. So, here we go...

1. I hadn't left Australia prior to my trip to France in April last year.... that's 17 years and 2 months stuck in the same country. 

2. I set myself a book-reading target at the start of each year. For 2013, its 50

3. My fear of failure has prevented me from trying new things

4. I love seeing people enjoy food that I have cooked for them

5. Since joining a gym in August 2011, I have lost 20kg and hope to continue becoming happier and healthier

6. I enjoy making new friends, but hate having to be the person who speaks first

7. I topped the year in 5 out of 6 of my HSC (final year of high school) subjects

8. If I find a TV show I like, I have to watch every episode available ASAP (finished season 2 of Pretty Little Liars in 3 days)

9. I have 1 sibling - a younger sister

10. Never had a boyfriend, never been kissed

11. My absolute favourite book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

12. I'm currently saving so I can hopefully go on a University exchange to the UK in my 3rd or 4th year of Uni

13. I'm obsessed with Nazi Germany and WWII history

14. When I was 16, I had a chunk of my hair died blonde, so I could die it bright colours. I still have about 5 cm of this chunk in my hair (Worst. Decision. Ever.)

15. Anxious about nearly everything

16. My favourite movies are The Notebook, School of Rock, The Help, Crazy, Stupid Love, the entire Harry Potter series, Dracula and anything Tim Burton

17. From the age of 1 to 5, I had a teddy bear named Teddy. My Mum lost Teddy, and she replaced him with a dog who I named Puppy. I still have him, but he now only has 1 arm

18. My sister and I have 1 million nicknames for our Spoodle, Ollie. He pretty much responds to any noise projected in his direction

19. I played Softball for 5 years, and Soccer for 7

20. My first job was at McDonalds

21. Between 2010 and 2012, I saw just under 50 bands live

22. I've never broken a bone *touches wood*

23. There are over 100 things on my bucket list

24. I wish I was more self-confident

25. I want to will publish a book in the future

To whoever is reading this - I dare you to complete this tag as well. Leave a link to it in the comments below, and I would love to have a read!

Until next time,

Jess

ROAD TRIP

Finally finishing one of the most hectic years of my life, which also happened to be my final year of high school, I thought I would have 5 or 6 months of endless free time and boredom before I started Uni. Oh how I was wrong! Since graduating, I have worked quite a bit, caught up with friends and tried to minimise my ever-growing pile of books I want to read. Having not been as relaxed as I would have liked, 5 of my friends and I set out on a road trip/weekend getaway last weekend.

On Friday morning, the 6 of us piled ourselves and our bags in to 2 cars. We set out on our 2nd road trip after Schoolies in November. Having passed my driving test in December, I volunteered my (lack of) driving skills. This road trip happened to be my 2nd time driving on freeways, with the 1st trip ending terribly (but that's a whole other story I'd rather not have to un-repress the memories of). I'm proud to say that I did alright, and managed to get up and back safely!

Despite it being Summer, and having travelled over 200km to the usually sunny, warm and lovely Forster, the weekend was spent mostly inside due to Australia's currently horribly cold, wet weather. However, we still managed to have a great time inside the apartment, passing the time with plenty of eating (mainly peanut M&M's), card games and a Game of Thrones marathon.

There may have also been a fair amount of pleading on my part for a couple of games of Cluedo. In my family, I ALWAYS win Cluedo, so to say it was disappointing that I lost the first two games of five is an understatement. Having not played in a fair while, my detective skills were rusty, and it took a few games to fine tune them once again. But I was victorious eventually! It was also pointed out that I may need to work on becoming a more gracious winner.... Loser's get upset when you thrust your excellent sleuthing victories in their face. Weird, I know!

This weekend was just another frustrating reminder that my current and seemingly responsibility-free teenage life will all too soon be coming to an end. After being offered a place in a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney, I enrolled in the middle of January and will be starting classes in exactly a month. I still have the next month to spend with friends and my family and cherish every moment - including my 18th birthday (FINALLY!!!!!!!). Everything is so exciting, but mildly terrifying, as I attempt to dip my big toe in to the pool of adulthood - although I can't help feeling that there is someone lurking in the shadows, just waiting to shove me in when I am least expecting it.

I'm hesitant to belly-flop straight in, but who knows what great things could be waiting for me once the massive splash subsides?

Until next time,

Jess