Alt Groove Recap: 9.26.12

T O P I C S :

• EASTER ISLAND HEADS HAVE BODIES. Seriously, how did we not know this? or am I the only one?
• Rosa Parks did more than just sit! I think we all knew this, but I don't think we all knew just how much she did for the civil rights movement. Daniel McGuire wrote a fascinating book that I can't wait to read titled At the Dark End of the Street. She was actually a detective figure for rape cases :O
• The first male to attend a famous nanny college.
• Buy a ring for $2,499, get a free rifle.
• There's a cat named Skinny whose 41 lbs and up for adoption in Texas

E V E N T S :

• Stay in the Dark: Art show at SCSU in Earl Hall, October 8th through the 12th
• Post-it Show: Art show at SCSU in Earl Hall, October 15th through the 19th
• Durham Fair! September 27th through the 30th; my first time, can't wait!
• Lorraine Warren talkin' 'bout GHOSTS October 24th, 8pm at Lyman
• Vintage Steel: Show up at Fair Haven Furniture till January 11th

M U S I C :

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

TTFN!<3

-Avé

Tune in Tuesday: OK Go's OK Go

• Genre: Indie rock, power pop, pop rock
• Favorite track: "C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips"
• First Listen: Sophomore year in high school
• Released: March 2003
• Found out through: Probably my friend Ken
• Listen to this while you're: dancing in tennis courts. Or treadmill dancing.

This is a sneaky sneaky favorite band of mine. I honestly don't realize just how much I listen to them! They've been a mainstay in my iTunes library since high school; a band me and my friends bond over. We got to see them perform at Toad's Place. (Click here for my first concert review/blog post ever. complete with grainy cell phone pictures) I got to see them again and do a meet n' greet at Bamboozle. A really cool, genuine group of guys. What I especially loved about meeting them is their sarcastic humor that's scattered about their lyrics was prevalent in their casual banter.

Speaking of lyrics, I'm pretty sure that's why I love this band so much. Filled with metaphors and euphemisms, their eloquence is sure to impress. Their sound on this album is also pretty upbeat (even when their lyrics aren't). I also have to note that every now and then I take style ques from these gents. They do not fear patterns, to say the least.

TTFN!<3
-Ave

My Hair Regimen

In case you didn't know, my hair is not like everyone else's, so it requires a different routine Shocker right?  Many folks going natural jump into it not knowing everything about taking care of it, but that's OK! I'm going to break down what I do when it comes to basic hair care. This may not work for everyone, but who knows? maybe this info will be helpful to some! I know I get lots of questions from people of all hair types, so this post will be good for that too.

My hair is super thick, lots of shrinkage (I don't like that word because it sounds so negative; can we say extra coily or something? I'll work on that), and on the coarser side if I don't moisturize it. My hair is actually past my shoulders if I were to straighten it! This is just to give you an idea of how much hair I'm dealing with.

EVERY DAY

• When I wake up, I spray my hair with water and/or Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave-in Conditioner. Then I rub some of my Mango Shea butter mix through my hair and fluff out my fro. Time: 5 - 10 minutes.
• Every night I spray it with just water fairly lightly and wear my satin cap (when I remember) Time: less than a minute

EVERY 3 to 5 DAYS

• I try to make sure I rotate hair styles about this often. By style I mean hair clip, pulled back, pinned, etc...Time: style depending, but these styles usually take no more than 10 minutes
• I co-wash about this often. Depends on if I sweat or product build up; basically if I have to wash anything out between washes. Time: 20 minutes in the shower

EVERY 10 to 14 DAYS

• I Shampoo, condition, and detangle. If I shampoo any more often than that, my hair will seriously feel stripped of moisture and bounce. Since my type of hair is dry and it will never get oily on it's own, I really don't need to shampoo any more than that! Time: 1 to 2 hours

EVERY MONTH

• I try to twist my hair once a month (always after shampoo and conditioning). It's the best way to really get the butter through my hair so it's nice and moisturized. also the best way to detangle since I'm working with smaller sections. Time: 3 hours

EVERY 4 TO 6 MONTHS

• Trim! I know it's time to trim when I get a lot of single strand knots at the ends of my hair. I do this as I do my twists. Time: 4 hours (including twisting)

Thats about it! I hope this was helpful. If you have natural hair, what do you do differently? Feel free to ask questions :3 Of course, life gets hectic and I don't always follow this to the T; but for the most part it's pretty manageable!

TTFN!<3

- Avé

Alt Groove Recap: 9.19.12

Excited to be back on the radio! Yesterday was my first show for the semester :O) It airs every wednesdays from 6 pm to 8 pm (EST) on WSIN radio. I play alternative music of the groovy nature (mixed with other genres, of course) and I talk about current events, off beat news and topics, and functions on and off campus (for those online listeners, typically CT or NYC events).  I'll be posting the recaps here like I did last semester after every show; hopefully not this late!

• The Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts I went to this past May were amazing.
• I saw Radiohead again this summer too. 
• Newly discovered ancient text that involves key terms "Jesus" and "Wife." It was written at least 100 years after his death and he often referred the church as his bride so no, this doesn't prove he was married; but I still think it's cool that there's still ancient text to be found.
• Violent protests continue over the video that mocks Mohammed, but there are photos circulating of peaceful, nonviolent protests against the attacks with signs like "Thugs and killers don't represent Benghazi nor Islam" and "Sorry people of America this is not the behavior of our Islam and prophet." I feel these should at least be mentioned in main stream media to represent the people of Benghazi (and other muslim nations for that matter). If all we see are the extremists it's just not fair to the entire group of people.
• Romney is basically handing the election over to Obama; or at least 47%. Who is the 47% anyways? John Green lays it out quite nicely.
• After a seven day strike, teachers of Chicago returned to school this week. The teachers had concerns of the new evaluating system they had in place that bases teacher jobs on the standardized test scores of their students. If you had anything like CAPT, where for two months your curriculum HAULTS and they teach you how to take a stupid test rather than actual pertinent information for the class you're in, you would understand why this would concern teachers. Also, I just don't like standardized tests.

E V E N T S: 

• Vintage Steel: Art exhibit at the Fair Haven Furniture Store in Fair Haven, CT, now till January 11th. Features x-rayed guitars. I went to the reception; can't wait to tell you all more about it in an official post!
• Stay in the Dark: Photography art show at SCSU from October 8th through the 14th. Features photography only from the dark room to show it's importance.
• Durham Fair! 28th - 30th. I hear it's loads of fun with really great food. I'm going for the first time this year :)

M U S I C:

Trying something new! I'm posting the playlists I make for my show on spotify. This particular one features some live tracks from the shows I went to, so those you won't be able to hear (sorry!) But if you're interested, here it is! Eventually I'll become more spotify savvy but for now, this'll do :)

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST 

Hope you'll tune in next week!

 - Avé

Insta-roundup: food, friends, etc.

Night one of the Greek Odyssey festival was just me and the fiancé....And his family. He and his family go every night to help out with various tables and jobs. I got a classic gyro complete with tzatziki sauce and a delish slice of spanakopita. Looking back at these pics makes me so hungry!

Night two of the festival of COURSE I instagrammed my precious loukoumades. I also had a frappé, yummmmmm. I took my friend Danisha since we both want to make it to more festivals and fairs this season.

This bag was definitely my splurge of the month. Even though it was only $35, I'm trying my best to stick with a stricter budget. BUT this was justified because although I loved my book bag, It couldn't fit my MacBook Pro 15" circa 2008. I have to bring my computer on campus and this bag can fit that and so much more. Bottomless. Pit.

This is the type of burger my brothers eat. I was in awe of it's size; they finished it in about 10 minutes like, NBD.

Moose owns a tux. He's all set for the wedding.

Me on the homepage of LookSoup while the promotion week was in effect :3

I post on instagram all the time! If you want to see 'em before they make it to the blog, follow me @averenee

TTFN!<3
-Avé

Tune in Tuesday: "Think About It" by Flight of the Conchords

Image via

• Genre: Parody Folk, acoustic, comedy
• First Listen: June 2009
• Released: April 2008
• Found out through: Surfing Youtube, then watching their show
• Listen to this while you're: Contemplating the world's troubles

I have a crush on these New Zealand gents. Funny, witty, good tunes, and they have an accent! *swoon* I had a hard time whether to review the whole album or just one track. I sided with reviewing this particular track because the message of the song is always on my brain and it's also my favorite.

This track questions what, what is wrong with the world today? It's pretty funny and light, but at the same time it's got a ring of truth to it, like most of their songs. For example, one of the lyrics in this song:

They're turning kids into slaves just to make cheaper sneakers. But what's the real cost? 'Cause the sneakers don't seem that much cheaper. Why are we still paying so much for sneakers when you got them made by little slave kids? What are your overheads?

It also has a groovy 70's riff. Oohhh yeahhh....

TTFN! <3

-Avé

September Feature: Jessie from Young Georgia Love!

What's your blog about?
Young Georgia Love is basically just a place that I want anyone and everyone to come to and feel better about themselves. I take the time to record some of the daily happenings in my own life, but for the most part I try to spread positive messages about loving yourself and living your life to the fullest.

What do you do in real life?
In real life I wear many hats. I am a junior in college right now studying to become a first grade teacher, hopefully in a full-service school in a low socioeconomic status area. I'm also a TA at my campus for a graduate professor; at school I also run the campus newspaper and I'm very active in the Student Activities Association. When I'm not at school, working or learning, I coddle over my adorable dog, Luna and her cat-sister Lola and baby-kitten-brother Seth Jr. I also try and spend as much time with my boyfriend, family, and friends as possible. I like to keep myself busy.

How did you get the name for your blog?
The name from my blog just sort of flowed out naturally. I'm proud of my state and I love the people and life here. I'm a young college student, making my way through a love-filled life in the grand state of Georgia.

What do you love about blogging?
I love the community. I know everyone says that, but it really is true. I also love the act of recording. Taking pictures and creating ways to remember. I eat that stuff up.

Do you have a name for your kitty yet?
Ha! We actually settled on Seth Jr. Our very good friend Seth pretty much drools all over him and we thought it would be funny to name kitten after him. I still refer to him as Kitten though. I think that may be his unofficial name!



Do you have any awesome posts planned?
I do! There are a handful in particular this month that I am really, really excited about. The month's theme over on my blog is "cherish" and I'm really excited about that!

Name three things you love.
I love Snickers candy bars. I love empty journals. I love haikus.

What inspires you?
What most inspires me is the outdoors. I love nature and hiking is by far one of my favorite past times. I'm a little too busy to do it very often, but when I get the chance, it's awesome.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
You see, here's the thing. I'm not completely sure. I want to be able to do everything. And I'm hopeful that that might be a possibility! If I had it absolutely my way, I would be an excellent teacher for a few years, then move on to opening my own bakery/coffee shop/used book store. It's really an awesome concept that I've been developing since high school. I would also like to design greeting cards on the sign, and maybe have a little business with that. Oh, and then I want a handful of rambunctious kids, too. 

How is Georgia different from the rest of the US, in your experience?
Georgia has a slower life, I think. Unfortunately, sometimes people mistake our slowness for lack of intelligence. But, really, it's just a calmer way to do things. The hustle and bustle of the city won't be found here unless you living it up in Atlanta. Other than that, you can expect lazy afternoons, neighbors who know you, and strangers who are willing to help in any way possible. Oh, and loads of sweet tea and fried deliciousness.



Blog // Twitter // Pinterest

Jessie truly is a sweetheart! It has been such a pleasure having her as a sponsor. Her blog is so optimistic and inspiring it's hard for me NOT to love it. Please make sure you stop by her blog and say hi!

TTFN! <3
-Avé

Greek Odyssey Festival

FUN FACT: My fiancé is Greek! Every Labor Day weekend his church hosts a huge Greek Festival filled with food, vendors, dancing, and LOUKOUMADES! I look forward to it every year and I usually go two or three nights out of the four, since it's free parking and it's the only time of the year to get Greek food this good.

Here's a basic breakdown of what they have at the festival--this is just what's inside the church! Outside there's three food tents, two live bands, two dance areas, and seating scattered about. They have a couple of events too. Every day of the festival, the priest does a presentation on the iconography shown in the art in the sanctuary. This picture really doesn't do the beauty of the paintings justice. Also, every night they have a group of talented kids and teens dress up in traditional clothes and do traditional dances. Not gonna lie, their moves make me a bit jealous.

Although there's lots to enjoy at the festival, my main reason for going is loukoumades. What are they? Sweet delicious balls of fried honey dough with cinnamon sugar on top *drools* They make them fresh, so they're always hot. When you bite into them, sometimes they burst with honey. I seriously have to learn how to make these!

 If you're in the southern CT area around Labor Day weekend be sure to stop by the Greek Odyssey Festival. If for nothing else, the food! You'll definitely find me there next year (probably in line to get more loukoumades. or a gyro. or spanikopita. )

TTFN! <3
-Avé

Meet the Sponsors!

I'd have to say for my first round of sponsors, I have a lovely bunch! Some really awesome ladies here! Big thanks to each and every one of them :D 

For the post, I asked them to answer three things:

1. What do you do?
2. Name three things you love.
3. What's your favorite smell?

Alright, lets get to it!

Rachael from LOTS

Blog // Twitter

1. Hi my names Rachael and I blog over on LOTS. I've always called my blog a mish mash because it encompasses my life and everything that goes on within it but predominately focuses around me being an English girl that's moved over to the USA for love. You'll see anything from drunk cupcakes, life in Detroit, crafty tales to our crazy two kitties. 

2. Baking. Hunting for vintage goodies. The Big Bang Theory

3. Freshly cut grass

Shar from Shar's Soapery

Shop // Blog //  Pinterest  // Twitter // Facebook

1. I'm a full-time mommy and wife, a freelance writer, a student, and a shop owner! I run a soapery where I create homemade laundry soap!

2. Family! Eating! haha! :) Shopping!
3. The beach! :)

Ruzu from Princess Corner

Blog // Twitter // facebook // instagram: @princess_corner 

1. Hello, My real name is Luzmaria, better known as Ruzu, I live in El Salvador, Central America, I am a full time blogger, finishing my design career and learning photography. Sometimes I love design and building jewelry (future project). I like vegetarian food, desserts, the nature, vintage and fashion, you are going to see all of that and much more in my blog Princess Corner, so go there and let's be friends. 

2.  1. Art (many areas). Music. Style-Fashion.

3. mmmm Is hard to pick just one, but I love the roses smell 

Madison from Motivated Madison

Blog // Twitter

1. By day I work in data maintenance. By night, I explore the interwebs. This pretty much means I sit and check out 9gag, various blogs I follow, and read fan fiction. Oh, and wiki-hop. That's where you read one article, click on a link in it, and read that article, click on a link in it to read that article... It's a vicious cycle, but it's one that I do for hours at a time. Haha. 

2.  Harry Potter, cookies, and lazy mornings 

3. There is this scent that comes around in late fall/early winter right before it starts snowing. It's this crisp and fresh scent. And it's so lovely. The scent comes shortly before the first few snow falls and then it's gone until the following year. I love the scent even though I know it means snow and winter is on its way. 

Thanks again to all my sponsors. Please take the time to check out their sites! You won't regret it ;) 

TTFN!<3

- Avé

P.S. Kohl's gave my readers a 10% off code to use! It's over on this post.

Tune in Tuesday: "Electric Feel" by MGMT | Justice Remix

• Genre: Electroclash, French House, Experimental
• First Listen: Fall 2008
• Released: June 2008 (?)
• Found out through: Ex-boyfriend
• Listen to this while you're: 

This is one of those cases where I'm totally infatuated with the original, but the remix.....mmph.  It's not fair to compare the two because they're two different vibes. The remix gets me pumped, the original mellows me out. Justice has a signature raunchy bass that I absolutely adore. I wish I could say more about it but....I have a hard a hard time describing how much I enjoy this song. So you'll just have to listen!

TTFN!<3

-Avé

LookSoup [dot] com

Recently I was contacted by the fashion blog research director of LookSoup.com to use their website because they were interested in the content that I was putting on my little corner of the interwebs. They offered to feature my posts on their homepage for a week, which was really a cool incentive for me to check it out. I've spent a couple of hours fiddling around and I have to say I'm really excited about it! That being said, this is purely my opinion; LookSoup didn't pay me or any business like that.

wowowow there I am! 

What is this LookSoup you speak of?

This is a new and growing community of fashion lovers and influencers. It's a place for the like to share their fashion, style, products, etc... to a community that would be interested. Likewise it's a great place to find inspiration, trends, products, and other styles you may not have explored yet. They're goal is to "Spread the good style!"

I love that they use the word "look." It may seem trivial, but "look" implies so much more than "fashion." That's why across my blog I use "style" and my fashion/style tumblr is called avelooks. "Look" covers the entire ensemble from head to toe. That means makeup, hair, outfit--everything that makes up the final look. "Fashion" kinda lends itself to just clothes and may not take into consideration the entire composition of a look. Trivial but important, I think.

What makes it different from other sites like it?

My first impression was like, alright, Pinterest/Tumblr thing for fashion only. But it has some key differences that really makes it special. Unlike other online fashion type communities that I've experienced, It's really focusing on personal style more so than what's happening on the runway. High fashion is cool and all, but I could really care less to be quite honest. Amongst all the shuffle on the internet it's hard to find real, normal, diverse people and what they are wearing and what they want. On LookSoup? Not so much so! You can find them much easier.

They also have this nifty thing called your LookSoup score. It's a way to measure the fashion influence you have on the site. You get points based on how many likes, collections and followers you get/have.  LookSoup breaks it down much better than I can right here.

___________________

If the site continues to go in the direction of predominately personal style, I will definitely be active on this site. I love to see what other people are wearing! I want to see user generated content ~ fancy way to say pictures (in this case) that people take themselves. If it turns into looking like a page out of VOGUE, they'll probably lose me there.

If you're interested in this sort of thing and have room in your digital life for one more community, I definitely recommend you check out LookSoup. I've added a button on the right sidebar towards the bottom if you're interested in seeing/following my page.


Big thanks to LookSoup for bringing their site to my attention!
TTFN!<3
-Avé

OOTD: Fall is coming

Fall has to be my favorite month. The mornings in CT are a becoming more brisk, so it's time for me to officially break out the cardigans *woop woop!* I wore this outfit to church, although I was originally going to wear this top out clubbing for a friend's birthday...but it rained, so we didn't go. I don't go out much so if I buy something for the night it has to be multi-functional.

D E T A I L S :

• Cardigan: H&M
• Top: Talbots
• Skinnies: PacSun
• Belt: Gift
• Heels: Torrid
• Necklace: Peabody Museum
• Hoops: who knows
• Purse: Urban Outfitters

I absolutely love these shoes. I have wide feet, and Torrid's shoes typically cater to that. Also they tend to be SUPER CUTE! I'd wear these to school if I could. They're comfortable but only for about an hour. Maybe if get some Dr. Scholl's....

M A K E U P :

• UD's NAKED Palette - toasted, hustle, sin
• Revlon Double Twist Mascara
• NYX jumbo eyeliner in black
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Sassy Mauve (463)

I got the top along with several other goodies from Talbot's because my friend added me to her list of friends and family for their mega sale. It was my first time shopping there so I wasn't sure what to expect, but there's tons of cute basics. The top retailed at $89.50 and I got it for $3.59. SERIOUSLY?! I'll have to do a post of the things I got from there. Huge thanks to Nicolette!

TTFN! <3

-Avé

Tune in Tuesday: Alabama Shakes' Boys & Girls

image via

• Genre: southern rock, soul, blues rock
• Favorite Track: "Hang Loose"
• First Listen: August 2012
• Released: April 2012
• Found out through: Karen from The Quiet Owl
• Listen to this while you're: cooking comfort food

When I find a band that I really like, like, reeeeaally like, they are all I can think about for a good while. Right now, Alabama Shakes is that band. I got so excited when I heard them on Karen's blog that I immediately had to find out more and eventually purchase the album. Boys & Girls is their debut album. I almost wish it wasn't because that means I have to wait for another album and there isn't a mass discography for me to fall back on to fill my fix. I had the same issue last year with Sleigh Bells...I'm so greedy!

Alabama Shakes is an awesome blend of grit, Motown, and passion; kinda like if you were to cross Kings of Leon with James Brown and Marvin Gaye. I love the bluesy riffs in songs like "Heartbreaker" and "You Ain't Alone" and the funk on tracks like "I Found You" and "Rise to the Sun." The whole album is a seriously great mix. The band has already made their rounds on the late night talk shows, so their's plenty of opportunities to see lead singer Brittany Howard's magnetic stage presence. I have to say I LOVE that the frontman of the band is a woman and the band isn't your typical bunch of dudes. It's just so refreshing.

TTFN!<3

-Avé

P.S. OF COURSE they're playing at Terminal 5 in NYC and the tickets are sold out. I have yet to go to that venue but everyone I want to see plays there and I always find out a little too late. ~le sigh~