Happy Friday! & Happy birthday to meeee! I'm unsure of what the weekend holds for birthday festivities but I hope all around its a lot of alcohol and positive vibes. I spent all day yesterday in the hospital so basically the only cure is those two remedies. Hope you all are planning an amazing, relaxing weekend. 

This week I am discussing an American woman photographer, Sally Mann. She is ultimately known for her large-scale black and white portraits. My favorite collection of her work can be found in her, Immediate Family, photographic book that was published in 1992. The images are a collection of her children, all under the age of 10, participating in daily activities. The book caused a lot of controversy because many critics thought of it as child pornography and neglect. She has contradicted the critics by saying her photographs are, "natural through the eyes of a mother, since she has seen her children in every state: happy, sad, playful, sick, bloodied, angry, and even naked." Currently, she lives on farm in Virginia and is represented by the Gagosian Gallery in New York City and the Edwynn Houk Gallery in New York City. 

All images © Sally Mann. 

Here's what I'm listening to:

My Girls - Animal Collective

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Owl Eyes - Devendra Banhart

Jalouse?

I've been having a serious blogging problem recently with being able to come up with material. I suppose this is my introduction to writer's block & I am at a complete loss at how to effectively treat it. Today is obviously no different. I thought I would just take this day to share some of my favorite photographs from when I travelled to my favorite place in the world, France, a year ago with my mom.

A quick synopsis of the trip: my mother & I traveled to France in July of 2012 to meet up with some family who were spending a few days in Paris after their cruise. The two of us decided to end up staying for about two weeks, traveling from various destinations in & around Paris, & then to the south of France to stay in Cannes. My two favorite aspects of the trip were visiting Monet's gardens in Giverny & in the south, Eze. If you're ever going to be in France, make sure you visit these to places.

Don't worry, this post comes avec beaucoup de jalousie, its normal.

All images are © Catherine Lowther 2014. 

If you want to see more images add me on Facebook, stalk my flickr, or follow me on instagram. 

Here's what I'm listening to:

Tergiverse - Peter Peter

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À la fin de l'été - Brigitte Bardot

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Je M'suis Fait Tout Petit - Georges Brassens

Feeling super French now? 

I made a playlist on 8tracks to make you feel like you're in the middle of a Parisian summer.

Grab a chocolate croissant, espresso, & a cigarette & press play.

Brazilian… Not like the People

For those of you out there that have never had a wax before.. brace yourselves, don't have a crap attack. For those of you that have, welcome. share my pain.

First of all, I am obviously not talking about your eyebrows. If you have not waxed your eyebrows yet…. this is your sign. Go. I'm sure you & everyone else around you will thank you.
But this post isn't about the hair that grows unfortunately on our faces or how to get rid of it… no, I am talking about the forbidden bikini wax.

My first bikini wax was in a strange Russian nail/waxing salon in New York City right near Madison Square Park. It was walking distance and it came up when I yelped it, yes. I yelped my waxer,  with decent reviews.. most importantly, it was said to be cheap. Seeing I am and was at the time, a college student, hell yeah, cheap & free are my two favorite words. There are definitely some things that should not apply to this method of free/cheap: sushi, underwear, haircuts… bikini wax?

I went alone because all of my friends in the city were guys and obviously going with me to get a wax was not on their to-do list. The salon was about the size of a closet with older women in the front getting manicures and speaking in some foreign language that I would assume is Russian. They escorted me back to a "room" with the typical equipment you'd see in any wax salon. I put room in quotation marks because yes, it had a door and walls, but the walls didn't reach the ceiling. There was about a two inch gap between their makeshift rooms and the actual ceiling, providing just amount of room for the entire rest of the salon to hear me if I ever dared yelp in pain. I undressed from the waist down, put the cloth they gave me to cover myself, and hopped up on their table. The woman came in shortly after, speaking in a heavy Russian accent and making small talk. Seeing as I asked for a brazilian, she began ripping me apart immediately. Yes, the rumors are true folks, it hurts! Shocking! *Secret: It hurts less when you go after a drink or two and a few pain meds. It isn't an unbearable pain and it is over rather quickly. Bonus: when waxing you don't get the painful ingrown hairs or itching you get from shaving. Overall, I would recommend trying a wax if you haven't before just for that reason.

My first experience wasn't that bad at all, even if it was a little weird. For $80 I was completely hair free for about a month. Cheap(er) waxing at strange Russian salons in NYC? Not bad. Whether its for the beach or the boyfriend, bikini waxes are not that scary and can definitely be worth the money!

Here's what I'm listening to:

Drunk in Love (Remix) - Beyonce ft. Kanye West

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Savage - Ben Kahn

I have been so so bad at posting lately. Not posting is the new black? ...obviously not but work with me here. This week has been crazy for me, between tests, my boyfriend staying with me at my apartment, and the concert on Wednesday, I've had no time for myself or my blog! I'll make it up to you I promise! xx

I thought I would utilize this post to brag about my experience on Wednesday night. My boyfriend and I went to the Kings of Leon concert in Philadelphia! It was so awesome!!! I cannot express my pure love for this band ever in a post. The emotions that I get when listening to their music is insane & brings back instant memories. I always used to plug in my iPod and play just their albums when I first got my license. I would drive around in my Jeep Wrangler in South Jersey, with the top down and the doors off, and just get completely lost, all the while Kings of Leon playing. Just playing some of my favorite songs brings back these memories of almost complete innocence and just not caring about anything in particular.

This is also my formal apology to anyone that attended the event & had to listen to my drunk singing (yelling) to every song. I wouldn't be attending any event, even my favorite band's, without my flask in my purse & spiking a drink. We went with the classic college student choice: cherry Burnetts & sprite. Not so bad on a budget… hello spiked shirley temple? Combine a bottle of Burnetts with my favorite music and this is what will happen. So again… sorry anyone/everyone that attended.

Today I've been trying to ignore the fact that its forty degrees outside with snow on the ground here in Philadelphia. So far I've spent the last two hours looking up concert schedules for the next few months & its safe to say I'm so excited for who is coming to the area!

 For my birthday my parents bought me two tickets to Kings of Leon, one of my all-time favorite bands, and I'll be seeing them tomorrow night with my boyfriend!! I can't even begin to explain how excited I am for that. I love absolutely every single song by this band, but my all-time favorites are:

Pickup Truck - Kings of Leon

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Fans - Kings of Leon

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Mi Amigo - Kings of Leon

I bought my tickets to Chromeo this afternoon too. They will be here in May and I am so excited. They just seem like they would be so fun to see live. I don't expect to be completely blown away with musical talent, but I am expecting to have an amazing time. I plan on getting intoxicated beyond belief, painting my face, and acting completely crazy. For those who haven't heard of how fun Chromeo is, here are some of my favorite songs:

Over Your Shoulder - Chromeo

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Mama's Boy - Chromeo

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Night by Night - Chromeo

I also plan on embracing my inner-frat boy and seeing one of my favorite live bands, Dave Matthews Band. They will be coming in June & I am super stoked about that. They are the epitome of having a good time in the summer. Complete with tailgates, cheap beer, and summer sun, aka the recipe for an amazing night. I've been a huge DMB fan since as long as I can remember & I have seen them live multiple times & have always had the best time. I honestly could never pick a few songs to show you that are my favorites by Dave Matthews because every song is amazing, but seeing them live is a completely other experience. If you have the chance to see them - take it! 

Who are you getting your tickets for this concert season? 

Scrolling through my bloglovin' and my subscribers list on blogger, everyone is writing about their valentines day. I get it, everyone got flowers and chocolates from their daddies and/or boyfriends. YAWN.

I don't have anything of particular interest or topic to blog about today, but I thought I would just brighten up some people's mondays. Below are some videos I watch when I feel like I need some laughs.

This would be me if & when I am a parent: a total asshole. 

Remember vine? This is my favorite.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, valentines date or not! 

On Being Stood Up

Being stood up is the worst feeling in the world… especially when its your dad who is the culprit. I see him every few weeks to get dinner or lunch & we catch up on our lives & the family…. or to eat a free meal. oops. It was no surprise that when I reached out to him a few nights ago to get dinner, he agreed & we settled on 6pm for dinner. I was in the shower at 4:30 (amazing feat for me) & completely dressed & make-up on by 5:45. I waited on my couch for him to call me at 6 (like he normally does) to meet him downstairs…. When I had not heard from him since 3, I called him from my couch at 6, & he didn't answer. Finally, 6:15 rolled around & I got a text: "Sorry".

I know that people get sick, which was his excuse, or something comes up. It's okay. We're human. Regardless, the feeling of getting all dressed up & no where to go is horrible. Whether its your date, or your dad, it just all around sucks. I ended up spending my night in my adorable outfit & red lipstick, & made myself homemade pad thai with tofu… which I proceeded to eat on my couch with my dog.

I actually had tights and a dress on for once; I looked good! It was disappointing that I didn't get to be able to go out. I wish it was earlier because I would've gone out & just got a cup of coffee, just to have had some reason to have gotten dressed up. At least I was able to catch up on the recent episode of Shameless with a belly full of delicious Thai food. I know how Fiona feels to have just a shit-ton of negativity building up on you at once.

 At least I'm not getting arrested on coke charges. 

Ok World… I Can Take a Hint

I'm not usually one to read to into things or be superstitious. But after yesterday…. I can take a fucking hint world!!

I have been having some particularly rough days the past few days. Between my borderline daily cry-seshs because math SUCKS, troubles between my boyfriend & I, & family issues that are always underlying everything, it hasn't been that great of a month so far. It doesn't help that I always carry around a particular aspect of pre-requisite negativity & cynicism that I apply to everything. Basically, I've been finding it extremely difficult to be happy about much lately, let alone be positive.

The signs began when in my biology lab yesterday; I was able to keep the tulips that no one wanted after they had been examined. (Don't get me started about how much of a joke my biology class is…) The flowers were a secret win for me, being that I'm looking for any way to make my apartment look prettier. My day was pretty much made already after that.

Then as I walked down Market Street with the flowers in one hand and my coffee in the other, I stopped in the middle of the street after I noticed a face-up penny. I always either flip them face up or pick them up & keep them if they're face up already. Everyone knows a face up penny brings good luck! But then, literally as I was putting said penny in my pocket, I looked up &over at a newspaper box and someone had posted a sticker on it reading, "smile".

Like I said before, I'm not one for signs or superstitions or anything of the sorts, but damn! Amazing is right! In the matter of fifteen minutes the world was basically telling me, "God dammit! Just be happy! Smile! Be positive."   As I sit behind my keyboard with my pup laying at my feet, hot coffee on the table, & flowers at the windowsill, I really don't have it that bad. Sure sometimes things suck, but sometimes things are pretty okay. I just need to refer to my tattoo & my positive ring more often. Thanks world - I needed it.

I promise to stay positive.

Here's what I'm listening to:

Tough Love (Pablo Nouvelle Remix) - Sailor & I

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Reprise (T.Hemingway Remix) - Gold Panda

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Zebra - Beach House

Why I'm Wearing Black on Valentines Day

Happy week-of-Valentines-Day! The most loathed holiday by singles everywhere…. and me. Mostly because I hate everyone that is obsessed with a stupid Hallmark Holiday & the color pink. The only time I've ever owned something pink was a pair of underwear my boyfriend mistakenly bought me. I mean lets be honest… when am I not wearing black? Refer to my favorite quote, "I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color." Of course I apply this to every other day of the year so why not the oh-so-sacred-V-Day. Vom. If there is anything ever related solely to the color pink I'm obviously not about it... especially a holiday.

Holidays in particular have never really been my "thing". My pessimistic personality is probably mainly the reason, but I always feel extremely disappointed & let down. I always secretly get my hopes up that my birthday will always be super fun & people will care that I was born more than I do, or that my boyfriend will always show up and whisk me away on some amazing date on Valentines Day. None of that ever happens. I celebrated my birthday last year with my parents and a friend at a Japanese restaurant in New York. Sure it was delicious and free food is aways a plus, but I wish I was drunk somewhere instead. And to be honest, I can't even remember what I did for V Day last year with my boyfriend of the time. I guess it obviously wasn't anything particularly different than any other day.

I do believe strongly in the concept of: why only celebrate your love for each other on one day, when you should be celebrating it every day. No matter how corny or lame that sounds, it is true. Hating the holiday is also the perfect excuse for me to not wear pink; & for me to not get completely pissed off when my boyfriend doesn't take me on that "amazing" date I will always wish secretly wish for.

Even if Grumpy Cat is my spirit animal & I will be dressed head-to-toe in black, I will always secretly look forward to my boyfriend surprising me on any holiday. I've just learned to not get my hopes up. I don't plan on celebrating it at all this year & just wearing my signature color, black, like every other day. So if you're one of those people that is going to be dressed like the color pink exploded on their bodies on February 14, I condemn you to death.

Here's what I'm listening to:

Thirteen Thirtyfive - Dillon

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Dance Little Liar - Arctic Monkeys

I should really say, "what I'm trying to read". I've always been an avid reader. I go through on some serious book binges and have been since I was taught to read. Unfortunately, reading when I am a full-time student is a challenge. Finding time to read for pleasure is something that I constantly struggle with & am really hoping to improve upon it this year. Below I have listed some books I am hoping to read within the next few months. What books have you been reading lately?

1. This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald has always been a favorite writer of mine. I recently picked an old copy of this at a local book trade & can't wait to begin this. 

2. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Reading books or watching documentaries about our eating habits is an obsession of mine. Changing the current state of the US food industry is the career path that I am currently on. 

3. The Great Santini - Pat Conroy

Pat Conroy is an amazing author. After a recommendation to read, The Prince of Tides, I fell in love with his work. I recommend that book to anyone, its beautifully written & a beautiful storyline. 

4. Beach Music - Pat Conroy  

My obsession/love for Conroy continues.

Here's what I'm listening to:

Think of You (RAC Mix) - MS MR

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Run - Daughter