April Favorites

I can't be the only one out there that goes through phases.
You know, that thing when you discover (or rediscover) something and it becomes your new usual for a bit. It could be a TV show, or a beauty product, or maybe even a sandwich.

You become obsessed just for a little while, and then it goes up on your shelf (metaphorical shelf, if it were a real shelf it would have capsized by now...) as an old favorite.

That's what this post is about.
I've decided to do a wrap up at the end of every month describing my new infatuations.

Here goes nothing ;)

1) Sherlock

Okay, so you remember my friend Kelsie, right?
Well she and her family really enjoy the BBC and started watching Sherlock when it started back in 2010 (or maybe 2011, I'm not positive). They told me how amazing it was and told me to watch it, to which I replied with "meh". This went on for YEARS, and every time it was brought up I would just kind of shrug my shoulders and tell them that I would get around to it eventually. 

Well, I finally watched it this month and OH MY GOD.

It's SO good you guys, and I kind of hate myself for not watching it when they told me to watch it.
I watched the entire series in less and a week (which yes is only 9 episodes, but they're each an hour and a half long). And I may or may not have watched seasons 1 and 2 twice since :/ I have a problem.
I'm not going to say a word about the plot, just know that it's awesome and I love it and I'm never going to doubt Kelsie and her sister again.

2) Candy Camera

 Candy Camera is a photo editing app, and it is awesome.
It has filters, you can adjust contrast and saturation, it even has different light effects.
I've spent HOURS messing around with this thing, there's just so many different options and possibilities.




Obviously it isn't something that you would want to use for ALL your pictures, but it can be really entertaining :)
My only complaint is that you have to take the photo IN the app, or you can't edit it.
You can't choose from your gallery or anything like that, which is boo.


3) Braids

I've been OBSESSED with braids in the last few weeks.
My hair is the longest it's been since I was 8 or 9, so now I can actually do things with it.
I finally mastered the fishtail braid the other day and I was RIDICULOUSLY proud of myself.

I just ordered book with a shit ton of hair tutorials, focusing mainly on braids.
I'm SUPER excited.


4) Bud Light Margaritas

OH MY GOSH.
These things are deadly and delicious.
I loved the lime ones that came out last year, but they just came out with new flavors: raspberry and mango. There was a lady at the grocery giving out samples and we HAD to try them both (obviously).
Erin and I ended up getting 10 and drank them all that afternoon.
Awesome ;)


This concludes my little wrap up for the month of April.
I'll be back next month with more of my new favorite things :)
I'll be here in between too of course, don't be crazy.

See ya ;)





ps: I'll be continuing my Disney challenge tomorrow ;)

Tunesday: Mr. Zimmer

I don't know about you guys, but I needed this today:

"Gumption" by Hans Zimmer

"The Holiday" is by far one of my favorite movie scores.
I've always loved Zimmer, and this is one of his bests in my opinion.

He was a wonderful way of bringing the emotions to the music, and that's why I love this piece in particular.

In the movie, "Gumption" is played when Kate Winslet (love her) finally stands up to the person that has walked all over her for years. It's a beautiful moment of strength and self confidence, hence the name of the song. Whenever I hear it I feel empowered, like Iris Simpkins is my spirit guide and I can do anything.

I thought I was going to fall over after work today, so I listened to this on my way home and it perked me right up :)

Enjoy!

Skinnies To Shorts

Summer is on its way, and we all know what that means...

SHORTS :)
This is a pretty big deal for me because I HATE wearing pants.
Seriously, if it was socially acceptable to wear long tee shirts and boy brief undies out in public, that's what life would be like for this lady (errrrrday).

I usually have a couple of staple pairs to get me through the summer, but this year I'm determined to add to my collection. And what a better way than making shorts out of old pairs of pants that I never wear anymore?

Skinnies to Shorts

I've tried to do this before and it NEVER turns out well.
It's such a simple project: mark, cut, wear.

But whenever I've done this in the past something always goes wrong.

I'll cut the legs at jagged angles or way too short, or that thing when you cut one too short and then try to make the other one even and then cut that one too short and it's never ending.

But now I think I've found a full proof way to convert old pants into new shorts with very little effort.

It took me less than 5 minutes.

What you'll need:
-pants 

(anything but jeggings)

-scissors

-marker

Step 1:
Lay your pants out on the floor (table? whatever).
Fold them so one leg is on top of the other (I suppose that that's hotdog style?)

Step 2:

Decide how long you want your shorts to be.
If you're going for a bermuda style, you'll want to cut a few inches above the top of the knee.

If you're more into daisy dukes (bold, I salute you;) a few inches below the back pockets.
And of course, anywhere in between.

Since I tend to cut them too short, I aimed to make them a little longer and planned to roll them to the length I wanted.

 Step 3:

 

Once you decide on a length, 

fold the bottom of the pant legs upward to create a straight crease where you plan to cut.

Bring the pant legs back down and mark where the crease is.

You only have to mark one leg.

Step 4:

Cut along the crease on the top leg.
Whatever you do, DON'T try to cut both legs at once.
It won't work, it's like when you try to cut a stack of paper all at once. The top piece will be fine, but all the others will be crooked and messed up.
Just cut the first leg first, line it up with the second, and cut the second one along the cut of the first.
They'll be even this way.

Voila ;)
Super easy.

I've found that different types of pants work better for different styles (looser pants are easier to roll, tighter pants make better bermuda shorts, ect.) but the biggest thing is making sure you get the cut and length that you want and that the legs are even (unless you're going for a crooked look, in which case, go nuts! ;)
After that, you're free to get creative with it :)
Fray the ends, rub them with scissors and sand paper to make holes, you could even paint them!
 Just have fun and feel awesome because you MADE THAT SHIT.

See you soon!

30 Day Disney Challenge: A Little Mermaid

Day 19:

an old disney photo of you

Sorry I'm a day late, I needed my mom to send me this photo ^^ ;)

So that's me (yes, I'm adorable) singing "Part of Your World" at my second grade talent show.

(The picture says that it's 1994 but it wasn't, this is from 1999 I think)

I remember that I signed up to sing the second the talent show flyer was posted, but I had nothing prepared. I must've picked up procrastination early in life because I remember it being only a few days until the show and still having no idea what I was going to do.

My mom stepped in and told me I was going to sing "Part of Your World". I'm guessing she chose this one because I watched The Little Mermaid on a loop in my even earlier years.

I spent the next few days listening to the song over and over and over and over, determined to kill it at the show.

 And we came correct. We dyed my hair and dolled me up; I even wore a swim suit with my fin because I thought it was more authentic (though I still felt the need to wear my little rubber rain boots... little Kat's common sense wasn't quite there yet...).

But yeah, I got up there and sang my little 8 year old heart out, and I remember it going really well :)

It's one of my favorite early(er) memories :)

I also dressed up as Snow White and Jasmine for Halloween (different years) and played The White Rabbit in Alice In Wonderland when I was 10.

Kudos to my mother, I had to have her look through all of our photo albums to find this ;)

See you guys tomorrow :)

30 Day Disney Challenge: High Hopes

Day 18:

a film that makes you happy

I can't believe I forgot about "A Goofy Movie".

Well, I didn't really forget about it, but for some reason it didn't occur to me that it was a Disney movie (cause I'm full of smart).

But yes, this is a movie that ALWAYS makes me happy :)

I think it's because I can totally identify with both Max and Goofy at different points in the movie. I totally get Goofy's desire to bond with his son, but I also can completely understand Max's wish to grow up and do things on his own terms.

Not to mention the fact that it reminds me of way too many family vacations.

I will say though, this movie made me think that high school was going to be WAY cooler.

I mean, can you blame me?

And I will admit that I totally have that and the other Powerline song on my iPod, and I may or may not listen to it on le regular.

But yeah, if you haven't seen it (I've actually met quite a few people that haven't) you definitely should.
It's a great coming of age / father and son bonding movie with lots of shenanigans mixed in.

Also, dancing bigfoot :)

Which Disney movie always makes you smile?
See you tomorrow :)

30 Day Disney Challenge: Long Live the King

Day 17:

a movie that makes you cry

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it on here before, but I am a straight up weeper.

Movies, TV shows, the occasional music video (seriously, go watch the Mirrors video and tell me you didn't sob a little), anything that's incredibly sad or overwhelmingly happy, I cry.

Sometimes a little, sometimes alot, it really depends on the situation.

So it can't be surprising that there are several Disney movies that make me a little misty.

But the worst one of all?

No question.

I can't even THINK about Simba finding Mufasa without wanting to weep.

I used to watch The Lion King all the time as a kid, but stopped when I was like 7 and didn't watch it again until I was 13 or 14. And even though I knew everything that was going to happen, I was NOT prepared for the tidal wave of sorrow that hit me when Mufasa died. It was like... I had seen it before, but I didn't really understand until that moment. And it was HORRIBLE.

But if I keep talking about it, I'll probably cry so...yeah.

Which Disney movie is your emotional kryptonite?

See you tomorrow!

30 Day Disney Challenge: Simply Meant To Be

Day 16:

favorite disney couple

Of course I had to go with Jack and Sally :)

Like I said yesterday, I LOVE Nightmare Before Christmas.
I watched it all the time when I was a kid and Bryan surprised me with the DVD when it was re-released;

so it can't be too surprising that the Skellington and the Rag Doll have clutched the best couple title ;)

 

 

Jack is absolutely wonderful.

He's curious, imaginative, determined and a great leader.

It's no wonder why everyone in Halloween Town is in love with him :)

And that brings us to Sally:

I'm a bit of a sucker for unrequited love, so I loved Sally right away.

 She's sort of a trapped character, always looking for ways to be normal (which is pretty much impossible when you're the female version of Frankenstein's monster...).

Jack, being the "king" of Halloween Town, is completely unobtainable to someone like Sally, someone who spends most of their time hidden away from the rest of the world. He barely even knows her.

So of course, he's the man she falls in love with.

I guess they just won't ever be together...

Oh wait:

I'm also quite fond of a good old fashioned happy ending ;)

Which couple is your favorite?

See you soooooooooooooooooooon ;)

30 Day Disney Challenge: Lock Him In a Cage and Then Throw Away the Key

Day 15:

favorite villain song

I don't usually like the villain songs that much.

It's not that they aren't great songs, because usually they are.

It's just, it's the villain. Villains are bad.

Yes yes, some villains are misunderstood and tortured and I can't help but feel sorry for them, but I can't really recall any songs they sing.

So I went with "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" from Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

I LOVE Tim Burton's work.

I've been a little disappointed some of the stuff he's come out with in the last few years but I'm not going to give up hope ;) Nightmare is one of my all time favorite movies, and one of the main reasons is the music.

"Kidnap the Sandy Claws" isn't my favorite from the movie, but I think that is probably my favorite villain song. 

But I will admit, it is creepy as hell when you REALLY listen to it. You don't realize when you're a kid how fucked up some of their plans are, but they really are.

"Kidnap the Sandy Claws, chop him into bits, Mr. Oogie Boogie is sure to get his kicks."

Plus they talk about eating him.

Yeah, little bit terrifying.

What's your favorite villain song?

See you tomorrow :)

Tunesday: Samantha Barks

Hello all.
So I haven't done a Tunesday in FOREVER, and sadly even now I don't have anything new to share :(
So today, we're going back a few years.

"On My Own" performed by Samantha Banks

So, when I was searching for a video for my today's 30 Day Disney Challenge post, I may or may not have "accidentally" spent an hour youtube-ing the songs from Le Mis.

This clip is from the film version of Les Miserables that came out in 2012.
I've been a fan of the musical for years, and was really excited when the movie came out.

I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge Eponine, my favorite character and solid proof that girls get stuck in the friend zone too ;)

See you next week :)
(Hopefully I'll have heard something new by then!)

30 Day Disney Challenge: Rotten Judgement

Day 14:

favorite love song

This was another tough one.
Honestly, how do you pick a favorite?

Kiss the Girl, A Whole New World, Can You Feel the Love Tonight (aka runner up to today's challenge), I have a weak spot for all of them.
But after careful consideration, I've decided to go with "I Won't Say I'm In Love" from Hercules.

I always liked Meg, and I think the main reason is because my Grandma didn't.
She would never actually say it, but she totally thought that Meg was a whore. She would make that face that women her age would make when they saw or heard something vulgar, so naturally I thought she was cool.

It wasn't until I got older that I realized that my Grandma (Grammie ;) was right.

Well, she wasn't a whore, but she wasn't really a nice girl.

I have 2 main reasons to like this song:

The first reason is that this song reflects something that almost EVERY woman (and probably man for that matter) has felt at some point. No one wants to admit they're in love, at least not at first. Whether its a cute guy you've been talking to or an old friend that you've noticed in a new light, no one likes developing a crush. 

Because when you think about it, being in love is kind of crazy. 

It makes your heart pound and ties your stomach in knots; it can make you laugh or cry or make you angrier than you ever thought you could be. It can make you strong and weak at the same time, or even make you want to change things about youself. 

All that just for the love of another person? Sounds pretty insane to me.
But guess what? We've all been there.

But what's even stronger than feelings of love?
Fears of rejection. That's why we won't say we're in love.

The second reason is that me and one of my best friends in junior high / high school used to sing this ALL THE TIME.
We took voice lessons together and would sing it constantly (though I can't remember if we ever actually performed it anywhere...) She was Meg, I was the Muses (cause I'm all wise and shit).

But yeah :)
Which is your favorite?
See you laterrrrr!

30 Day Disney Challenge: It's Enchanting

Day 13:
favorite disney kiss

Choosing a favorite Disney kiss is kind of like picking your favorite Michael Bay movie; they're all essentially the same. Seriously, some of them are almost identical.

But this one is different.

For those of you who almost forgot about Enchanted, let me take a moment to remind you about Nancy:

Nancy (Idina Menzel) was Robert's (Patrick Dempsey) girlfriend (maybe even fiance? I'm not positive) before Giselle (Amy Adams, I'm name dropping like crazy) came into the picture.

Nancy has to be the most understanding woman IN THE WORLD.

Let's try on her shoes and go for a walk, shall we?

Imagine that you have been dating a man for 5 years (their relationship is a kindergarten-er!).

You come over to take his daughter to school (with whom you are trying to make a connection) and he falls out of the bathroom with a naked woman.

Seriously, would you react differently?
(no, you probably wouldn't)

But she cools down and realizes that he is probably telling the truth and is able to let it go (AH! Frozen fans will get that one ;).

But then she starts to notice that Giselle brings out a different side of Robert,

a hidden romantic side that she had never seen before.

But, like any other woman who spends 5 years with a man, she tries to make it work.

But then this happens:

And the award for the most selfless woman in the universe award goes to...!
Seriously, I know it's a Disney movie so it's EXTREMELY sugar coated, but still.
I know that the whole "if you love someone, let them go" has been done before, but I was still so surprised at how understanding her character turned out to be.

How strong do you have to be to accept that the man you love is meant to be with someone else?

But that's not the best part ;)

The best part is that EVERYONE, even Nancy, got their happy ending :)

^^and yes, Enchanted was cheesy as hell, but I LOVED it ;)

Which Disney kiss was your favorite?
See you tomorrow ;)

Vanilla Coconut Easter Cakes

Easter TOTALLY snuck up on me this year.

I love holidays, and I'm usually more than prepared when the day comes around. 

So I was in uncharted territory when I had to make last minute cupcakes.

Whenever I make cupcakes (or any cake), I try to do it in steps. I'll make the cake(s) one day, freeze it (or them) and decorate them the night before the event. So, the actual execution takes 1-2 days. Not too bad right? Well, believe it or not, I spend more time thinking about my cupcakes than I do actually making them.

Seriously, I don't know if that's normal or not, but it's just how I work.
I think about the cake, the flavors, the frosting, how I want to decorate, color schemes, mediums and ingredients and how I'm going to get it all done as quickly as possible before any actual baking occurs.

So whenever I have to do something last minute (very rare) I usually chicken out and find a recipe online for something classic and simple, cutting out any need to be creative.

But this time I said NO, and came up with an incredibly simple yet adorable Easter cupcake idea.

Vanilla Coconut Easter Cakes

I don't know how I never thought of this, 

but shredded coconut as Easter grass is one of the EASIEST holiday designs ever.

It literally took me less than 20 minutes to decorate these.

My friend Erin and I made these together to take to a Easter BBQ. We didn't even decorate them until this morning, and I still had time to come home, shower, pretty myself up (mermaid hair! :) go to Easter brunch and go to the BBQ at noon.
Awesome :)

It's just vanilla cake in lavender colored liners (you could totally dye the cake if you had clear liners), cream cheese frosting, dyed shredded coconut and Whopper eggs.

I opted for boxed cake mix and canned frosting for the sake of time, and made the cupcakes last night.

Once they were cool and frosted I rolled each of them in different colored shredded coconut (pink, blue, green, and yellow) and Erin arranged the candy eggs.

How to make colored coconut (so so easy):

Fill a ziploc bag with the desired amount of coconut (I did about 6 ounces of each color, did 5 cupcakes green, 5 pink, 3 blue and 3 yellow and still had left overs for each color). 

Pick out your color. 

Take a shot glass and fill it about a quarter full of water (.5 ounce). If you're going for dark vivid colors, drop 3-4 drops of food coloring into the water. For pastels, one will do. 

Pour a small amount of water into the bag (just a splash), reseal the bag and shake until the coconut is evenly coated. If it isn't as dark as desired, add another splash and shake (I would do about 3 splashes and if it still isn't dark enough add the food coloring directly, just so the coconut doesn't get soggy). 

Seal tightly in an airtight container (or just the bag) until you're ready to use it.

They shifted a little during transit, but all in all I think they turned out well :)
Like I said, this was kind of a last minute idea, so I was very excited that they were a success :)
Erin and I had fun making them, and I'll probably do some variation of this next year (maybe chocolate cake? ;)

See you soon :)

30 Day Disney Challenge: Looks Like She's the Queen

Day 12:
favorite disney outfit

I'm sure I've said it on here before, but just in case I haven't:
I LOVE HALLOWEEN.

I have ever since I was a kid, although my reasons have evolved.

When I was younger, I was all about the scare factor. Horror movies, haunted houses, scary stories, the whole shabang. As an adult, (although I still love all of that) I've gotten REALLY into elaborate costumes and make up. I went as a Forest Sprite a couple years ago and it got me totally hooked.

I know what you're thinking:
"Kat, what does this have to do with your favorite Disney outfit?"

Well I'll tell you: I have been trying to put together a "Snow Queen" Halloween costume for YEARS.

I've watched all the make up tutorials, I've searched and searched for the perfect costume (try typing "snow queen" into any costume website, and behold the nothingness), and every year something happens to crush my dream :(

I was SO CLOSE one year. 

I ordered an angel costume and had plans to alter it (dye it, cut it, all sorts), but it never came in the mail.

I ended up being a pirate :( lame.

But back to Elsa.
When I started seeing all the stuff for Frozen I almost squealed when I saw Elsa's "snow outfit". It was just so PERFECT, it was exactly what I had always pictured when I imagined my dream costume. Sadly, this is a bittersweet end to my costume search, especially since I probably won't ever be an Snow Queen now. The costume will be WAY too mainstream for the next couple years, and it just doesn't seem as original anymore :(

But yeah, do you have a favorite outfit?
Tell me about it :)
See you tomorrow!

30 Day Disney Challenge: Riff Raff

Day 11:
favorite singing voice

No competition whatsoever, the best singing voice award goes to (imagine a drumroll)....

the voice of Aladdin!

Don't get me wrong, Disney has had dozens of incredibly talented singers throughout the years. But to me, Aladdin's voice is by far the best :)

"One Jump" is by far one of my favorite songs from the movie :) I mean, they're all great, mainly because he sings in most of the songs ;)

I got to help my choir teacher choose our end of the year medley my freshman year and I BEGGED him to let us do Aladdin (spoiler: we did Aladdin ;)

Disney is infamous for using separate artists to record the singing and speaking voices for their characters.

Aladdin's singing vocals were provided by Brad Kane.

Brad hasn't really done much in the last few years (singing wise anyways), which is a bummer since he did so well voicing Prince Ali.

^^ this video made me smile WAY too much

Who was your favorite Disney singer?
See you sooooooon!

30 Day Disney Challenge: Kitty & Googly Bear

Day 10:

favorite speaking voice

A tie I couldn't break: Sully & Mike :)

The voice acting is by far one of my favorite aspects of Monsters Inc.

I've always loved Billy Crystal and John Goodman, so when I recognized their voices when the movie came out I was so excited :)

I've always enjoyed how animators have an uncanny ability to make the characters look like the voice actors who portray them, even when they look completely different. Their movements, their facial expressions, you can totally see John & Billy in these monsters :)

Another reason why these guys tie is because I think their performances were really enhanced by each other.
Although they are both awesome individually, I think it was the combination of the two of them that really made the movie. I can't imagine any other actors playing these characters, and I'm so glad they both came back for Monsters University (which I haven't gotten to see yet :( boo.)

^^John Goodman's face is the video cracks me up everytime

Who has been your favorite Disney voice?
See you tomorrow :D