My Favorite Accounts On Instagram

Instagram has tons of accounts I love but I'm only going to list people that I check on daily. These are mainly fashion bloggers:

1.) Tara Milk Tea
https://www.instagram.com/taramilktea/

Tara Whiteman is an Australian art and design student who is now a blogger full time. Her instagram has a variety of flat-lays, fashion posts, travel, and food photography. Every post is amazingly beautiful so she is definitely my number one!

2.) Xenia Van Der Woodsen
https://www.instagram.com/xeniaoverdose/

Xenia is a German blogger from Hamburg. Her style is amazing and she is often traveling so I can't help but include her instagram on this list.

3.) Chantel Jeffries
https://www.instagram.com/chanteljeffries/

Chantel is an American DJ from Florida. She also has a YouTube channel which is how I found out about her initially. I love her charming personality and good sense of humor.

4.) Alexis Ren
https://www.instagram.com/alexisren/

Alexis is an American model who now has her own athletic brand and she's always traveling the world. She's very down to earth and open with her followers, which I personally respect and find makes her relatable.

5.) Josephine Skriver
https://www.instagram.com/josephineskriver/

She is my favorite Victoria Secret model - her personality is bright and her confidence I find really inspiring.

My Top 5 Favorite Fashion Bloggers

High-school was around the period of time that I was introduced to fashion blogging. I found this site called Lookbook where people would post their outfits from that day and you could basically like (they use the term "hype") any look and it would show up on the front feed of the website.

These are a few of my favorite fashion bloggers that I've been following over the years:

1.) Lily Melrose - http://www.llymlrs.com/

Lily is a UK fashion blogger with a very 60s style and I LOVE both of her blogs. She also has a youtube channel and posts regularly.

2.) Luanna P. - http://www.le-happy.com/

Luanna is a fashion blogger/student living in NYC. Her style is more grunge and rock'n'roll. She was the first person I noticed wearing creepers and ombré hair!

3.) Chiara Ferragni - http://www.theblondesalad.com/

Chiara is a fashion blogger from Italy who now travels the world and has her own clothing line. (It is hard not to stalk her instagram - right now she is in China!)

4.) Rachel-Marie - http://www.jaglever.com/

Rachel was one of the first bloggers I started following. I would say out of every blogger I follow, she has the most similar taste to mine. She's from Chicago and is now a stylist and full-time blogger in NYC. (Her blog is really great too and she often shares music playlists that are AMAZING).

5.) Adam Gallagher - http://www.iamgalla.com/

Adam is one of the few popular male fashion bloggers that I know of. All of his outfits are perfectly put together and he travels all the time too like Chiara - so it is really fun to follow their instagrams.

Do you follow any fashion blogs?
What are your favorites?

x,

Margaret


song of the post:
"Silhouettes" - Colony House

Not being able to find lyrics to songs

I recently discovered this AMAZING band that reminds me of a younger version of The 1975. The band is called Chase Atlantic. They're an alternative rock band from Australia and recently released an EP titled Dalliancé that has 5 songs on it. I'm a sucker for Aussie and Brittish bands (the accents doe)!

So far they only have one music video released and I'm sure in the future they will grow a larger audience.

I've been listening to them on Spotify and then of course, I want to sing along but I can't find the lyrics to any of their songs! I decided to transcribe my favorite song from their EP titled "Run Away".
Here is my attempt:

"Run Away" - Chase Atlantic

This isn't the first time we're running all of the red lights
You were trying to get in my head I was trying to get in your bed
Hold up now just a second
Back it up girl where we headed now
So before you change your mind just

Run away Run away with me Run away Run away with me
Run away Run away with me now now
Run away Run away with me Run away Run away with me
Run away Run away Run away with me now now

Oh wasn't given a warning
It's three o'clock in the morning
'Cause we've been circling all night long
Keep repeating the same damn song
Staring out at the window
Say the word and then we'll go
To any place that you feel at home
'Cause I know that you feel alone

Run away Run away with me Run away Run away with me
Run away Run away with me now now
Run away Run away with me Run away Run away with me
Run away Run away Run away with me now now

*jazz solo*

Run away Run away with me Run away Run away with me
Run away Run away with me now now
Run away Run away with me Run away Run away with me
Run away Run away Run away with me now now


If anyone can find a site with their lyrics please let me know!
Honestly it is sorta fun listening to the lyrics and trying to decipher them yourself :)

Hope your day is going well,

Margaret

song of the post:
"Anchor Tattoo" - Chase Atlantic

The Summer 2014 Anime Guide

For Summer 2014 dozens of animes were released and I've looked through them and narrowed down my list to 5. Here is a complete list of all the official animes if you are interested. 

These are the ones I will be watching this summer:

Barakamon

Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life 

Premier Date: July 6, 2014  

What It’s About: The story of a young calligrapher who moves to a remote chain of islands and his interactions with the people he meets there.

Ao Haru Ride

Genre: Romantic Comedy 

Premier Date: July 8, 2014 

What It’s About: After spending her middle school life ostracized for being too cute, a girl reinvents herself to be as unattractive as possible so that her friends won’t be jealous of her.

Sword Art Online II

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi 

Premier Date: July 5, 2014

What It’s About: A survivor of the game Sword Art Online joins an online FPS to catch a murderer who is somehow shooting people in the game and causing them to die in real life.

Free! Eternal Summer

Genre: Sports 

Premier Date: July 3, 2014 

What It’s About: Free! Enternal Summer is the sequel to last summer’s Free!, this anime continues the adventures of a team of male high school swimmers.

Glasslip

Genre: Slice of Life 

Premier Date: July 3, 2014 

What It’s About: Glasslip centers on the life of a 17-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a glass artisan.

What animes are you watching this summer? Leave me a comment - I'd love to know.

I'll be doing reviews on these once they end in the next few weeks. I usually wait until all of the animes have started up a few weeks (so that I can go on a watching spree)!

song of the day:

"The Wild Life" - Vacationer

George Washington's Birthplace

Last summer when we had a British guest and we took them to see George Washington's Birthplace. I never blogged about it and I thought I would share my experience.

George Washington's birthplace is a historic landmark (& national monument) and is taken care of by the National Park Service.

If you want more information visit: http://www.nps.gov/gewa/faqs.htm

The main page describes it as: 

"In the heart of the Northern Neck of Virginia stands a tribute to America’s founding father, George Washington. Although only here a short time, the ideas that Washington learned here, helped shape the man he would become and forever alter the destiny of the United States of America."

Not many people have heard of it, because it is a very small place to see. He was born in a very modest house compared to others in the area (like Stratford Hall - I'll be making a blog post on that later!)

These are some of the photos of the information center (brick) and the memorial home (white).

The thing is - this Memorial house is only a replica of the actual house. No one knows for sure what the house actually looked like. The reconstructed house is based off of how most middle-class colonial Virginia planters homes looked like around 1730.

The house might be small - but the view was really nice. This place is secluded and not over-crowded with tourists (like it is at Mount Vernon or Gunston Hall).

Pope's Creek Plantation is about 80 miles from Washington, D.C. and I think if you live in the metropolitan area, it's a great day trip. There is also Westmoreland State Park and Stratford Hall which are only a few minutes away and great places to see as well!

I've also decided to add a song that I've been loving at the end of each of my blog posts. What do you guys think of that? Feel free to leave a comment!

x,

Margaret

Song of the day:

"I wanna get better" - Bleachers

Don't Let People Bring You Down | How To Tell If Your "Friend" Is Really Your Friend

These past few weeks due to certain situations, I've really started to think about who my friends really are, and if I'm surrounding myself with the right kinds of people. Therefore I thought... why not make a blog post about it? Maybe some of these tips can help you too :)

I've been stuck in this never ending spiral of negativity with some people close to me and I don't know how to get out of it. I don't even completely know why it exists.  I feel like I'm being judged every time we have a conversation. Well, I know I am. I know that no matter what I say to them, it will be taken out of context.  So I'm trying to be quiet.  I'm tired of being the center of all the jokes, and then whenever I'm not in the group, they gossip about me. I got to thinking about... why I spend my time with these people? Are they worth it? Do they appreciate me? Maybe they care somewhat, but based on the majority of their actions... I believe it's best to no longer surround myself with them.

Some ways to decide whether or not they really are treating you as a friend:

1. Do they listen to you?
Real friends should be sharing problems and getting feedback. If your friend always talks about their own problems, and is bored whenever you mention your own... they really aren't acting like a friend.
Also... do they remember what you tell them? Do they really seem to care?

2. Do they communicate with you?
Does your friend share what's going on in their life? Do they try to talk to you at least every week or so? 
You should be able to freely open up to someone, if you consider them a close friend. Are you afraid to share your views or thoughts on controversial things, because you think they'll have a different opinion? That's something you need to ask yourself. Even if they disagree, they shouldn't shut you off because of it.

3. Do they gossip a lot?
This is a huge one. If your friend gossips a lot around you, then most likely they gossip about you too. If they are constantly running down other people, then chances are... they do the exact same to you, as soon as your back is turned. 

4. Do they make time with you/support you?
Friendship is all about spending time with one another. A true friend will make time for you, even if they have a busy schedule. If they're always saying that they are busy, or cancel on going to the mall, or the movies, or just to hang out... they probably don't care about seeing you or spending time with you. If your friend has plenty of time to play video games or hang out with his/her significant other, or their other friends, but never with you... then you're a last priority in their book. I would consider asking yourself how much they really value the friendship.

5. Do they make you happy?
I haven't seen this one in any sort of list... but I felt I had to include it. You should never waste your life surrounding yourself with things that upset you. If you are constantly fighting with your friends, or they continue to bully you or bring you down... Don't waste your time with that!!! DON'T!! There are so many better people in the world that you have yet to meet. You can always make new friends, and better ones at that.

That's my bit of advice. I'm still trying to put on a smile.

Sometimes it's best to just move on and... I'm looking forward to the new school year ahead of me! :)
I appreciate the small amount of followers that I do have on Blogger and I hope this post has helped you in some way.

xx,
Margaret

July 2013: Music I've Been Loving

There's one site I recently found that is AMAZING for making playlists! It's called Grooveshark.

Link to the playlist: http://grooveshark.com/playlist/July+2013/88641072

Here's a list of all the songs on my current playlist:

1. Counting Stars - One Republic
2. Dreaming - Smallpools
3. Handshake - Two Door Cinema Club (Remix)
4. Love Somebody - Maroon 5
5. Mermaids - Jinja Safari
6. Intro - The xx
7. De Do Do, De Da Da - The Police
8. The Boys of Summer - The Ataris
9. Tongue Tied - Grouplove
10. Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
11. Australia - The Shins
12. Lamplight - Bombay Bicycle Club
13. Shuffle - Bombay Bicycle Club
14. Kokomo - The Beach Boys
15. Transatlanticism - Death Cab For Cutie
16. Fine China - Chris Brown
17. Trojans - Atlas Genius
18. Smile Like you Mean It - The Killers
19. Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
20. Gone, Gone, Gone - Phillip Phillips
21. Satelite - Dave Matthews Band

I hope you enjoy! :)

xx,

Margaret