Huzzah! T#G Snagged a Versatile Blogger Award!

For once, my tendency to be kind of random and neurotic has paid off: A Worried Student honored me with the Versatile Blogger Award! It came as quite a surprise – he has so many wonderful followers and is such a talented blogger himself that I would’ve never imagined he’d pick me. So, if for some reason you aren’t already following him, make sure you head on over to his flipping marvelous blog (even if you’re not worried. Or a student. Or a worried student).

Anywho, with great power comes great responsibility, and therefore, it is my duty to provide y’all with seven facts about me and a list of versatile blogs that I absolutely adore. Please make sure that you check out all of ’em!

Seven Facts About Me

1. I’m neurotic when it comes to the types of posts I… uh… post. I worry that I write too much about culture, and not enough about jobs, finance, and tech. In other words, I worry that T#G isn’t versatile enough. I guess this award proves me wrong. #huzzah
2. I was born and raised in the South, so it drives me nuts when an actor/character adopts a Southern accent that sounds like it belongs to a person from the 19th century. It’s terribly inaccurate. I’m sure it’s the same way British people feel when American actors (except Johnny Depp) try to put on British accents.
3. When I was like four or five years old, I thought that boxed ice cream cones sold in grocery stores came with a scoop of ice cream in them. I was bitterly disappointed when we’d open the box and there would only be cones, but no ice cream. I was stupid. I was easily fooled by the photo on the outside of the box.
4. I watch “Friends” every night before going to bed.
5. When I was in the fifth grade, a friend told me about this book she was reading called “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” She said it was really good, and she offered to let me borrow it. I declined, and said  “I don’t like that sci-fi and fantasy stuff.” Dumbest decision I ever made.
6. If my entire wardrobe consisted of items from Kate Spade and if my home was decorated with items from Anthropologie and Crate & Barrel, I’d be the happiest girl in all the land.
7. “Finding Nemo” is Pixar’s best movie. End of story.

Even More Versatile Bloggers

Girl dans la Cité
A Little Slice of the Heavens
A Few of My Favourite Things
Coffee & Tacos
Wonderwall

Rules for the Award Winners

1. You’ve got to include the image of the award on your blog
2. You’ve got to write a post in which you link back to the blogger who nominated you
3. You’ve got to list your nominees for the Versatile Blog Award and let them know you nominated them
4. You’ve got to list seven random facts about yourself

Please Stop Everything You’re Doing and Listen to This Song

I know I don’t usually post stuff about music, but this song by Lily Kershaw is too good not to share. It’s like the comfort food of songs: perfect on a rainy afternoon, soothes your soul, and goes well with a good book.

Beautifully simple, beautifully sad, beautifully sung.

P.S. If you’re a fan of the TV show “Criminal Minds,” you might recognize this song from the latest season finale.

Monday Motivation: Don’t Get Too Comfortable

Interpreting Interview-ese

A fun and informative look at common interview questions and what they actually mean. Who doesn’t love a great infographic?! Source. 

Wanna Know How Much It Would Cost to Get Your Favorite Musician to Perform at Your Birthday Party?

If you’re looking for some form of entertainment for your next summer party, what could possibly be better than hiring your favorite musician for a few hours? Well, that is, if you’re a millionaire with at least $50,000 in cash lying around.

Data service company Priceonomics released a lengthy list last week of the prices famous musicians charge for private appearances. It’s important to note that the rates are based on information from a third-party booker that deals with collegiate concerts, so the prices listed below may be “negotiable.”

Surprising observations:

• LUDACRIS “only” charges $60K-80K for an appearance, which seems rather low compared to his star power (as an actor, rapper, and producer). Fellow rapper B.o.B, who has had a few hits, but hasn’t been around as long as Ludacris, charges the same amount.
• Indie bands like VAMPIRE WEEKEND and ARCADE FIRE cost a pretty penny.
• THE KILLERS want at least $500K to perform at a private gig – which seems like an insane price, considering the fact that their last big single came out four or five years ago.
• As Slate pointed out, white artists demand a significantly higher fee than their African-American counterparts. For example, MACKLEMORE demands at least $200K-$300K, while KENDRICK LAMAR demands at least $150K, PHARRELL demands between $125K- $175K, and FLO RIDA demands even less at $100K.
• I refuse to believe that OF MONSTERS & MEN (whom I love) and ONE DIRECTION (who, I will admit, I do jam out to) charge the same booking fee.

$100K and up

$50K and up

Which musician(s) would you hire if you had the money and were willing to spend it? I would probably pick Mumford & Sons, Death Cab for Cutie, Coldplay (but that price would make me squirm), or Train.

I Miss My Youth

I miss being a kid. My only responsibilities were running around and laughing a lot. And someone else was in charge of my hair. -Anonymous

Also, it was perfectly acceptable to scribble all over yourself with gel pens and fall asleep at 8 p.m. without any judgement. Adulthood is hard.

Beachin’

A group of my friends and I made a seven-hour road trip down to the beach this past weekend. The weather was beautiful the entire time, luckily for us. Sunshine, clear blue skies, and a warm spring breeze. There was a music festival going on, and while we didn’t get to go, we still managed to make the most of it.

Before we headed down to the coastline, I decided that my unofficial theme song for the trip was Jake Owen’s latest single “Beachin’.” I’ve mentioned the song before on this blog, and while I’m not really a fan of country music, it is still my JAM. It’s just so darn catchy – although the way he talks (sings? raps?) at the beginning of the song is a bit weird. In any case, the lyrics provided me with some inspiration for some of my snapshots during our three-day mini-vacation. Hope you enjoy!

The view of the beach from our condo. I added the lyrics to the chorus of “Beachin'” because clearly I haven’t already talked enough about that song.

“Sunshine”
This photo has no filter. The sand is honestly that white and clean.

“Blue lights”
Again no filter. If you look closely, you can see the moonlight reflecting in the gulf water off in the distance.

“Slow tide rollin'”
I took this photo with my phone while walking along the edge of the water and still wearing my maxi dress and beekeeper hat (at least that’s what Urban Outfitters described the hat as).

“White sand”

“Just a summertime strollin'”

One of my friends made these delicious little treats using chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, oats, and (undoubtedly) magic. They were the BEST cookies I’ve ever eaten, and I’m going to have to steal the recipe from her and share it with y’all soon.

“Chillin’, breezin’, sippin’, singin’ [no more] beachin'”
Grabbed some Starbucks on our way home. Beaching is exhausting.