photobooth love

 l to r: 

Zach Porter, me, Cameron Quiseng & Michael Martinez from the band Allstar Weekend.

They are one of my favorite bands to listen to when you just want upbeat, fun, summertime music. They are also really nice and pretty good looking, so that doesn't hurt either ;) 

check them out here!

instafriday

Goodness, where did this week go. It amazes me how fast time flies as you get older. Alas, it is Friday & that means it's time for the weekly iphone dump!

I've really been loving the look of Instagram photos without the borders lately. It makes them look cleaner.

Went to the OC Fair and saw Allstar Weekend & Hot Chelle Rae in concert.

I've been busting my butt in the gym the past few months. This little piece of motivation was on my treadmill today.

Some days I just wanna drink my lunch! Mmmm strawberry swirl from Jamba Juice

photobooth pictures are the best

Hot Chelle Rae onstage

"I always catch the clock it's 11:11 now you wanna talk"

i love the camp

celebrating birthdays 

linking up at

where words fail, music speaks

I love listening to music.

I'm a huge, huge music fan. 

One of my favorite things to do is just lay in bed or on the floor with the lights off and music playing. There is something about doing this that makes the lyrics and melodies sound so pure and raw to me. Maybe it's just because there is nothing else to distract me from the music and it has my full attention, but nonetheless, it sounds way better to me this way.

This is the latest playlist in the rotation that I have been listening to on repeat. 

If you are looking for some new slower jams, check out these songs. This is a great playlist to turn on at night and just relax to. Most of the artists are my trusty go-to's, but a few (Tyrone Wells, Hunter Hayes) are new finds that are worth checking out! They are both phenomenal singers with even better lyrics. 

If you have any song suggestions for me, leave them in the comments! I'm always looking for new music!

"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music." - Billy Joel

"They don't even know what it is to be a fan. Y'know? To truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts." - Almost Famous

Instafriday!!!

Early morning drive to LAX

sent this photo to my mom before boarding with the caption "on my way to see you!"

plane tunes

quick layover in VEGAS!!! 

didn't gamble here, but I did lose $20 at the indian casino in Traverse City :(

drinking margaritas with my grandma

89 years young and the most polished, put together, sassy woman i know

clever chopsticks at Noodles & Company

I love a good street fair

redlight photos in the car with my cousin

we can never take nice photos

found the oscar mayer weiner

sunset between the trees on Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City

i love a good game of scrabble

carnival lights are so pretty

real life pinning ;)

we got to see Grand Funk Railroad perform at the Cherry Festival - some kind of wonderful is one of my favorite songs

afternoon sun shining through the clouds on East Bay

sunset on West Bay

i love Michigan so so much

linking up here:

a little R&R

I spent the past 11 days back home in Michigan visiting family and friends. It was so nice to get away from work and all the stresses of daily life and unwind. I didn't even take my macbook with me in an effort to disconnect from everything for a bit. I even managed to stay away from Facebook & Twitter for the most part (huge for me) and let me tell you, it was so nice!!

I got to hang out with my dog, the super cute bichon friese Rocky, everyday!

he's the cutest!

We also had a BBQ one day for some of my family as a late fourth of July celebration. My dad manned the grill cooking up burgers & hotdogs.

 I, however, did not eat any of these burgers! I had a morningstar farms breaded chicken patty instead! 

and while my dad was grilling, my mom & I had a mini photo shoot. I was trying to teach her how to use a dslr. For every blurry photo that ended up on my camera we got a few clear ones! win in my book :) oh and summer twirly dresses are fun!

My grandma out on the back patio enjoying the sun.

 My other cute grandma getting ready to take off at the end of the night.

Later in the week, we headed up to Ann Arbor to meet my uncle for dinner and walk around. I love the Michigan campus. It is so beautiful and brings back so many great memories of college.  We strolled through Nickels Arcade.

 Ann Arbor has so much character.

 The legend at Michigan is if you step on the M before your first blue book (essay test) you will fail it. I avoided stepping on it all 4 years of college. The best part was in winter when there was snow on the ground. People would walk way around the center of the Diag in order to avoid it since they couldn't see it. However, the day I graduated, one of the first things I did was walk over to it and step all over it!

 The diag is tree filled and lovely

 My parents in front of the Graduate Library

 Pretty wild flowers.

 and fountains.

 Go Blue!

We  strolled along State Street, 

 and by the Michigan Theater.

 Near the end of my week at home, we headed up to Northern Michigan for a few days of lake living. Even though I live 10 minutes from the beach & ocean in California and go just about every weekend, nothing beats the fresh water lakes and small town life of Northern Michigan!

Stopped to smell some gorgeous flowers!

 

It was a great week in the Mitten state and I came back to California refreshed and ready to get back to everyday life (even though I do miss home).

More to come tomorrow about my trip in InstaFriday!! It always amazes me the amount of photos I take on my iphone!