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July 31, 2016

August Photo-A-Day...

Here is the photo-a-day list Fat Mum Slim made for August 2016...
How To Take Part In June Photo-A-Day:       
  • Using the list as inspiration, take a photo each day.     
  • Share it on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #FMSphotoaday. You can also share on your blog or on Facebook by joining her group.     
  • Check out other people's photos and like them or comment on them.

July 29, 2016

This Just Pinned: Week One Hundred & Fifty-Eight...

Here the highlights of my last few weeks pinning...
As always if you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.

July 27, 2016

Coming This Fall | Netflix Is About To Take Over My Life...

Netflix announced today that their Gilmore Girls revival will officially be out Friday, November 25th at 3:00AM EST and I am so beyond pumped, especially since there was a teaser trailer along with the announcement!

For those of you that haven't seen it, here it is...


I am so excited and I will definitely be planning a Gilmore Girls themed sleepover that I'm going to invite all my Gilmore Girls loving friends to and there will be lots of coffee and Pop-Tarts. I cannot wait!

In addition to new Gilmore Girls, Netflix announced that they would be releasing new episodes of Black Mirror on Friday, October 21st. So I am just super happy today.

For a list of all of the Netflix original series airing through 2017 check out this Variety article.

Are you excited for either of both or these series? Or maybe one of Netflix's other original series? Lemme know!

Movie Trailer | Split...

I was just sent the trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming film Split and I need to talk about it.  So can someone watch the trailer and come talk to me about it because I'm pretty excited about what I just watched.

Writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan returns to the captivating grip of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs with Split, an original thriller that delves into the mysterious recesses of one man’s fractured, gifted mind.  Following last year’s breakout hit The Visit, Shyamalan reunites with producer Jason Blum (The Purge and Insidious series, The Gift) for the film.   

While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.     

Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others.  Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.   

For Split, Shyamalan and Blum reassemble their core team from The Visit, the No. 1-grossing horror film of 2015.  Their fellow collaborators include producer Marc Bienstock and executive producers Ashwin Rajan and Steven Schneider.

Genre: Thriller           
Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula, Haley Lu Richardson
Written and Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by: M. Night Shyamalan, Jason Blum, Marc Bienstock
Executive Producers: Ashwin Rajan, Steven Schneider

How good does this movie look?! Do you think you'd go see it? Lemme know what you think.

July 26, 2016

Booze, Karaoke & Dancing | A Welcome Home Party For Chas...

Last week Chas moved back to New York after living in California for the past thirteen years, so in honor of her coming home we threw her a welcome home party this past weekend.

So the weekend started off with a bunch of us (Myself, Day, Chas and Amanda) meeting at Toni's house on Saturday so that we could all take the LIRR into New York City together (We always have a stupid interesting time on the train).

After arriving at Penn Station we got an Uber to take us to The Bryant Park Hotel, where Day got a room for the evening. We spent a few hours eating snacks, drinking, getting ready and catching Pokemon (Yes, a handful of us have been sucked into the world of Pokemon Go) before Alana met up with us at the hotel and we continued doing more of the same.

Once everyone was pretty we walked over to Japas 38 to kick off the evening in a private karaoke room with bad food and cheap liquor.
Here is what I can remember of our karaoke selections...

► "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj
► "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by N'Sync
► "Timber" by Pitbull & Kesha
► "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys
► "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5
► "Waterfalls" by TLC
► "Spice Up Your Life" by Spice Girls
► "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses
► "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
► "Super Bass" by Nicki Minaj
► "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child
► "Bye Bye Bye" by N'Sync
► "I Touch MySelf" by Divinyls
► "Wannabe" by Spice Girls
►  "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler

After two hours of singing like fools we were kicked out of our room and not allowed to take the left over booze to the main bar, which if we were allowed to do we probably would have stayed longer to show up the group that was singing out there. Instead we drank the booze we snuck out of the room and then headed back to The Bryant Park Hotel to go to The Cellar Bar, where we drank overpriced cocktails and danced to 1990's and 2000's music.
Eventually everyone by Day, Chas and I trickled out of the bar to go back to Long Island. We stayed and continued dancing until we decided we wanted a change of scenery. So we left (Danced up the stairs like fools to a song I cannot remember for the life of me) and walked down the block to hit up another bar that happened to just closed for the night. Since we were kinda drunk and it was late we just went back to The Cellar Bar and continued drinking and dancing there until we decided it was time for bed.

The next day we woke slightly hungover but hell bent on making it to our brunch reservation at Barraca (Which is where we were supposed to go for brunch the day after my birthday party this year but didn't make it because I was super hungover from being a sloppy double fisting booze guzzler the night before), which we did.

At Barraca the three of us split a ton of tapas and only ordered one drink each before heading back to Long Island.
I cannot even begin to explain how much fun we had and how excited we are that after thirteen year Chas is back in New York. This was definitely the first of many weekends of debauchery and I personally cannot wait for our next outing.

July 21, 2016

Domestic Violence...

Last night one of my friends called me around 11:30pm but I accidentally hit the decline button because I was in bed and Justin was asleep. I immediately hopped out of bed and tried to call them back but I got no response after trying to call them back a few times, so I went back to bed.

Earlier this morning I got another phone call from the same friend, this time I was able answer and my friend proceeded to tell me that they were trying to call me the night before because their significant other attacked them. They told me all of the details and I was just beside myself that I didn't hit accept when they tried calling last night.

Thankfully my friend was not seriously injured physically but the emotional damage has been done and they have, rightfully so, been a complete wreck since the incident. I've been doing my best to be supportive and do whatever my friend needs me to do (Mainly trying to not get too angry, so I don't get upset and upset them more) but I know not everyone may have someone to turn to during a situation like this. So I just wanted to post so links to different helplines...

National Domestic Violence Hotline 
PO Box 161810
Austin, Texas 78716
Phone: 1-800-799-7233
TTY:1-800-787-3224

Battered Women's Justice Project 
c/o National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women 
125 South 9th Street, Suite 302 
Philadelphia, PA 19107 
Toll-Free: 800-903-0111 (Ext. 3)
Phone: 215-351-0010 
Fax: 215-351-0779

Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence 
Family Violence Prevention Fund 
383 Rhode Island Street, Suite 304 
San Francisco, CA 94103-5133 
Phone: 800-313-1310 
Fax: 415-252-8991  

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
NCADV's Main Office 
One Broadway, Suite B210 
Denver, CO 80203  
Phone: (303) 839-1852 
Fax: (303) 831-9251

National Network to End Domestic Violence
1101 S Street NW, Suite 400 
Washington, DC 11009 
Phone: 202-543-5566 
Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
TTY: 800-787-3224 
Fax: 202-543-5626 

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence 
Phone: 1-800-537-2238 
TTY: 1-888-Rx-ABUSE; 1-800-595-4889 
Fax: 717-545-9456 

Resource Center on Domestic Violence, Child Protection and Custody
NCJFCJ 
P.O. Box 8970 
Reno, NV 89507 
Office: 775-784-6012 
Phone: 800-527-3223 
Fax: 775-784-6628

July 18, 2016

Cry Me A River | Our Annual Rafting Trip...

As we do every third weekend in July, my friends and I went on our annual rafting trip this past weekend. And like years past we spent the weekend drinking, eating junk food, rafting, sitting in front of bonfires and dealing with a little bit of drama (Or a lot of drama but it's not my drama to talk about, so there will be no juicy stories).
But yeah, despite the aforementioned drama this was one of the best rafting weekends we've had. We spent Friday antique shopping and I got some neat new pieces to add to my bookshelves. We had perfect weather for rafting on Saturday. And we got home without hitting crazy traffic on Sunday.

So all in all, we had an awesome weekend and I can't wait to do it all again (Minus the drama, hopefully) next year.

July 14, 2016

July 7, 2016

Out Of This World | Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey...

As kid I totally loved the circus and even as an adult there is still something about it that makes me nostalgic for all of the excitement that it brings. And there are getting even more exciting over at Ringling Bros & Barnum and Bailey because they are about to introduce their new technology driven show Out of This World. Which is a new circus experience that portrays a story of adventure through fire, ice and is led by the most innovating technology. The show will include a variety of acrobatic, aerial, trapeze acts and many more. Performers gather from Chile, Mexico, Paraguay and all around the world to bring unexpected surprises and amazing entertainment.


Some of the new technology features the show includes:

Projection Mapping
For the first time Ringling Bros. will be integrating projection mapping to help bring their epic space adventure to life in arenas around the country. Projection mapping utilizes specialized software that takes programmed 3D images of the production and optimizes video to project around the shapes and surfaces that have been programmed into the software. 
Portal Display
Ringling Bros. is known for its elaborate and intricate portals. The portal for Out of This World is one of the largest in their history. Included in this portal are two screens that will be used to augment the projections within the arena. They will also be available and have opportunities during the pre-show for interactive communication with audiences. 
Spotlight Tracking Technology
This tracking system can help light everything from performers to animals to props throughout the show. The system allows us to flawlessly follow and light fast-moving skaters, as well as opening a world of possibilities for various effects that could never have been accomplished with a hand-operated follow spot.  

Puffersphere/Pufferfish
The puffersphere is a round LED hi-resolution projection. In the Out of This World, the narrator will tell the story of our space odyssey in this globe. 
Out of This World kicks off in Frenso, CA tonight (July 7th) then they will travel throughout the U.S. To check local listings for a show near you check out the Ringling Bros official website.

This post is sponsored but I did not receive monetary compensation, I just thought it was neat and I should share.

July 6, 2016

Still Getting Ready For Japan & Hong Kong | Tattoo Issues....

With the trip fast approaching there are still a lot of things that Justin and I need to do to get ready, and as of the Monday I've added another item to my list of things to worry about in terms of going to Japan. My tattoos, which is honestly something I didn't think about until watching one of Anna Lee and Jesse's current Japan Vlogs where they mention that Jesse might have to cover up his tattoo to go somewhere.

So I started doing some research into tattoos in Japan and apparently in some places (Especially onsens, public pools and certain gyms) tattoos are frowned upon because of the association of tattoos with the yakuza.

Upon realizing this Justin and I started looking up the rules of various places we are visiting, such as the Shinjuku Robot Restaurant and Tokyo Disneyland, and they really do have rules on tattoos.

According to the Shinjuku Robot Restaurant's rules, which are apparently in place "to discourage trouble from yakuza and other organized crime gangs from entering the venue" the following things are not permitted...
  • Sunglasses 
  • Tattoos (You must ensure that you cover them if you have any) 
  • Costumes or large wigs 
  • Crime organization members 
  • Drunk customers 
  • Masks
And under Tokyo Disney's "For Everyone's Safety and Enjoyment" section of the website it says the following activities are not allowed in the Park...
  • Possessing hazardous materials
  • Selling or displaying items for sale
  • Distributing fliers
  • Exchanging, transferring, buying or selling tickets among Guests
  • Public gatherings or speaking
  • Commercial photography or other activity
  • Public transmission or recording of any kind that may inconvenience other Guests, etc.
  • Wearing inappropriate apparel or tattoos
  • Any act that may impede the operation of the Park or any associated facility
Despite the above rules, a number of forums I've read said that places like Tokyo Disneyland only get upset about tattoos if the tattoo is offensive. But I'll be investing in either some Dermablend Quick-Fix Body foundation,  Dermablend Leg and Body Cover Broad Spectrum SPF 15 foundation or some band aids because I don't feel like taking any chances.

I need to do some more reading on the topic, so I'll let you all know how my research goes. If you have any first hand experience with tattoos and traveling to Japan I would love to know about what you dealt with and how your dealt with it. Or if you've ever had to cover up your tattoos what products you've used because I've never had to do it before.

In terms of tattoos in Hong Kong I haven't looked into that but we have a patron at the library who is from mainland China and she said that I have nothing to worry about especially since Hong Kong is such a "liberal" place. I trust her, but I'm still going to do some research.

Fourth Of July Weekend...

As did the majority of the country, I celebrated 'Merica with my friends and family this weekend. So here is a recap of my Fourth of July weekend...

We started off the weekend by having a beach day on Saturday. Myself, Justin, my sister, Day, Erin and some other friends hit up the beach for basically the whole day before getting tired and semi-parting ways.
After the beach Day and I went shopping for the party at Toni and Tom's house the next day. So we went to a bunch of different stores looking for clothing, food, drinks and party supplies before we got crazy hungry and picked up Justin (Who had taken his own car to the beach and when straight back to our apartment once we were done there) to get dinner. We went to our favorite little taco place and then out for a few drinks before calling it a night.

Sunday we threw an inappropriately named/themed party (Which if you follow me on Snapchat, you know all about) and even though there were only six of us, we had the best time ever. Like really, I cannot tell you how much fun Justin, Day, Toni, Tom, Amanda and I had just bullshitting, drinking and eating lots of food.
The actual Fourth of July was a really low key day because Justin and I had partied hard the night before (Justin more so than me but I am always cool with being lazy), so we kinda just stayed in bed all morning and then hung out like bums in our apartment for the rest of the day.

So yeah, that was my Fourth of July weekend. I hope you all had an awesome Fourth! And I would love to know what you did and how you celebrated.

July 1, 2016

Month In Review: June 2016...

♥ Justin getting us tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway before Lin-Manuel Miranda left the show.
♥ Seeing Beyoncé at Citi Field with my sister.
♥ Random evenings in with my friends.
♥ Spending an awesome Father's Day with my family.
♥ Celebrating Andrew's 30th birthday.
♥ Finally getting to the beach.
♥ Having a dinner date with Phil.
♥ Buying tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway again next spring.
♥ Being told a very awesome secret that I can't share just yet.
♥ Planning parties with my friends.
Mexican Food & A Concert | Beyoncé At Citi Field
The Story Of Wednesday Night | Hamilton On Broadway
Life Update | Personal & Library Life
 

♥  Princess Mononoke (1997) ♥
♥ Against The Grain (2016 - Present)  ♥
♥ 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) ♥
♥ Vintage Flip (2016 - Present) ♥
♥ American Gothic (2016 - Present) ♥

This Just Pinned: Fourth Of July Edition...

Since the Fourth of July is fast approaching, I thought I'd share my favorite 4th themed pins...
(via: Noble Pig)
(via: Holicoffee)
(via: Merican Made)
(via: Craftiments)
(via: Watchabuy)

As always if you want to see what else I have up on Pinterest you can check out my account here.