March Favorites (2017)

Hello, lovelies!

March was an extremely busy time for me, so other than the music category, my favorites aren't going to be quite as extensive as they've been before. But either way, I figured this was a good way to kick off April. (: So here we go!

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Music:

Ed Sheeran's Divide album launched during this month, and I've been OBSESSED ever since it came out. Some of my top picks are Dive, Perfect, Galway Girl, Happier, Heart's Don't Break Around Here, Supermarket Flowers, Nancy Mulligan, New Man, and Save Myself. (I just realized that that list is actually pretty long. Oops.)

Come Hang Out by AJR

I found this band by chance through Pandora, and I love how their music sounds. I think it's also cool that it's just three guys who make up the band and their songs are very upbeat and have a techno edge to them.

Hypnotized by Fever Fever

Acoustic guitars are my weakness. That's all I'll say.

I Don't Know, I Don't Know by Tall Heights

Tall Heights is a super underrated duo, in my opinion, and ever since I performed one of their songs with a friend, I've been branching more out into their music. Their harmonies are amazing, and I love that they perform with very simplistic instrumentals.

Chained To the Rhythm by Katy Perry

I think this song is super catchy, but it also has a really strong message of how a lot of times we get sucked into just doing things because society says we have to. I like that she almost challenges us to live through this song.

I also discovered some 5 Seconds of Summer songs that I'd never heard before off of old albums, and also became obsessed with those because I love all of their music. This band is a little rock, a little punk, and also still a band made up of all dudes so "boyband" would also be an appropriate term, although they're not quite as mainstream as One Direction was. (The songs I discovered were: The Space Between A Rock and A Hard Place, Story of Another Us, Broken Pieces, Lost In Reality, and Over and Out.)

Believer by Imagine Dragons

This song gets me super pumped up whenever I hear it, and it's definitely a perfect workout song if you need some motivation. The message is also great, and the lyrics focus on how pain can be used for good when you overcome it.

Break My Heart by Hey Violet

I really hadn't listened to Hey Violet's music before, but after hearing Guys My Age, I started listening to them more and found this song. Again, super catchy, and the lead singer's voice sounds pretty cool.

Love's Just A Feeling by Lindsey Stirling ft. Rooty

Lindsey is an absolute genius when it comes to composing and performing violin things, and I hadn't realized that she'd been working on anything with vocals accompanying the strings. She doesn't sing this song (hence the ft. Rooty), but she does play the violin portions for it.

Autumn by Lists

I love the season of autumn, and this song has that little edge of melancholy to it just like autumn does in reality. It's a really gentle and relaxing song to listen to if you just need something to have in the background.

Clouds by Before You Exit

This song was originally written in honor of Christina Grimmie when she lost her life, and since my community recently lost a sweet little girl, this song just hit me hard.

Heavy by Linkin Park

I heard this song while on a late night drive the other day, and I just loved the sound of it. The vocals are powerful yet gentle at the same time, and I think a lot of people can relate to the lyrics. (Side note, since it was the radio version I heard, it was clean, but the lyric video I found does swear once so here's your heads up if that bothers you.)

Matches by Cash Cash

This is definitely one of those songs with super sad lyrics disguised by an upbeat sounding instrumental, but I really like it overall. (But maybe I'm biased because the background of the lyrics has a sunset in it and I like those a lot.)

Oh My Soul by Casting Crowns

I found this song on a whim one day, and I mainly clicked on it because the thumbnail of the video had ballet slippers in it. This song's lyrics are amazing, and the music video was also incredible with the simple dance routine that was used in it.

No Burden by Cold Weather Company

More acoustic guitarrrrr! (I know, it's an obsession.) This song is also super relaxing, but the lyrics are a little bit sad at the same time. (On a side note, the Mostly Strings channel on YouTube is amazing for finding new music if you're curious.)

I Just Know by Jacob Lee

I love the vocals on this song, and it's so simple yet stunning at the same time. I'd never heard of Jacob Lee before, but I'm definitely going to check out more of his music because his voice is amazing.

Atlas Hands by Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Benjamin Francis Leftwich also has a song called Kicking Roses that I love, and I think he does a really good job at picking song titles that go along really cleverly with the song itself. I love his overall laid-back sound, and his voice is super relaxing.

Lemons by Woodlock

I definitely did NOT click on this song because lemons are my favorite flavor and they remind me of sunshine. Ha, definitely not. All jokes aside, I think this song would be great for a road trip because it just makes me think of open roads and huge skies. I love the simplistic harmonies and the happy sound the song has to it, but the lyrics also have weight to them.

Fashion + Beauty:

So you might know that I'm usually a very seasonal person when it comes to what perfume I wear, and Bath & Body Works is my favorite place to find good smelling things. But lately I've been wearing either my winter scent (the Tokyo Lotus and Apple Blossom, left) or my summer scent (Hello Sunshine, right) instead of breaking out my spring perfume. I'm not sure why, but I've just been loving how those both smell more than any other ones I have, and I've just been rotating between them based on what I'm feeling like that day.

Next up is the Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer. This smells like coconuts, which put me off at first because coconut scents aren't my favorite, but the actual formula itself is really nice. I have naturally high cheekbones anyway, so I just like to use it to bring a little life to my face and pretend that I went somewhere for spring break. (Side note, there are two shades, Bronzer and Light Bronzer, so if you're fair there's still an option for you that won't make you orange.)

This is the Nyx Sweet Cheeks blush palette that I recently picked up. I love Nyx blushes because they're pigmented and long-lasting, and I think the size of the pans in this are great for the price. You can't tell from the picture too well, but the first three shades in the top row (from the left) are mostly shimmer and work best when mixed with one of the other shades or as a blush topper rather than used on their own.

Miscellaneous:

This is going to sound super random, but my water bottle has been something I couldn't live without during March. (This isn't my actual water bottle, but this picture is the same color and design.) I tend to get dehydrated really easily, and I used to never bring a water bottle to school because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of it. But especially with Showcase (I'll explain more in a moment if you're confused) choreography and vocal stuff going on every week, I needed my voice to be in the best condition it could. I've also noticed that drinking more water this year has just made me feel more awake and my skin has hated me less too.

Aaand now onto Showcase!

So most of you probably know by now that I'm in an auditioned group of 32 vocalists, and every year we put together a massive performance that takes a ton of hours to pull off. There are full group pieces and small group ones, and every year we have an overall theme (this year it was Broadway). Our main Broadway-inspired pieces were songs from Grease, Ain't Misbehavin', The Wiz, Wicked, Mary Poppins, and Les Miserables. It was super fun to dress up in costumes and spend time with all of my friends to put on something special. I loved how different it was in comparison to last year, but also how both years we all came together to sing our hearts out and just have a good time performing together.

Aside from the big group pieces, I was also in a trio (we sang One Voice by the Wailin' Jennys) and a duet (we performed Spirit Cold by Tall Heights) which was also really cool to see coming together in the end. I'll include some pictures after this so you can see some of the costumes (but probably not all of them because that would make this post super looooong.)

(Fun fact: I'm the pair of legs on the far left of the picture, and my feet aren't actually touching the bottom rung of the stool we were sitting on. Because I'm a short person with small legs, the ends of my feet just sort of hovered next to the rung and I got an insane quad workout while singing.)

(This is my lovely friend who sang the duet with me, and we had a band made up of the keys, acoustic guitar, cajon, and an electric cello, which was SO cool.)

 

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Well.

There you have it! I tried to make this post shorter than my other favorites, but obviously that didn't happen. So...oops. Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading, and feel free to leave me comments of things that you're loving this month, be they songs, products, or whatever you've found. (:

That is all.

Cheers,