Top Songs of 2012

Don't get me wrong, I've got plenty of resolutions. 2013 is going to be kind of a big deal for me. But, the thing is.. Music is my favorite. So today's post is dedicated to the joy 2012's music brought me. **Be warned: I am bound to forget some amazing songs from the past year (I can barely keep track of what concerts I've been to this year, so please contribute your favorites in the comments! Also, this list is based on the whole album being awesome. For the most part I'm arbitrarily picking a single song I enjoy from the album even though the whole thing is great.)

12. Taylor Swift

11. The Killers

10. Motion City Soundtrack

9. Mumford & Sons

8. Jack White

7. Ellie Goulding

6. Imagine Dragons

5. Passion Pit

4. No Doubt

2. The Lumineers

1. Fun. Some Nights
Seriously. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Some Nights is my favorite album of 2012, hands down.


There are many, many other great songs that came out this year, but in order to avoid writing a novel, I decided to stick with my top 12: one for each month. I just know I'm forgetting a huge one or five, but for now I will continue to enjoy the fruit of these artists' musical loins. Here's to hoping these guys, as well as lots of great new artists, dazzle us just as much in 2013.

Be safe tonight, my friends. Cheers to the new year!

2012: An Egocentric Overview

Here's a very egocentric look at the happenings of 2012:

I fit in to these pants (I wouldn't dare try that today).
I got a blog makeover from this awesome momma-to-be.
I experienced many, many epic hangovers.
I visited Savannah, GA, Seattle, WA and San Francisco, CA.
I experienced some rapid hair growth (as well as some traumatizing salon experiences).
One of my cousins got married (and now she's expecting!), another one had an adorable baby girl and another one got engaged.
My Grandma made an amazing comeback after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
My best friend tied the knot and I got to be a maid of honor for the first time!
I got to be in a music video.
I completed the Whole30 (with amazing results).
I ate countless amounts of sushi (and posted photos on InstaGram every time without fail).
I decided to completely change career paths by going to PT school.. then decided against it.
I started two new jobs: a server and an editorial assistant for a magazine.
I completed two half marathons and even got my personal record.
I got my heart broken and learned how to be by myself for a while.
I saw Flogging Molly, Fun., Of Monsters And Men, Grouplove, The Joy Formidable, Bush, Rise Against, Cursive, Minus The Bear, Eddie Money, Foster The People, Kimbra, Gym Class Heroes and Zac Brown Band in concert.
I wrote my Womanifesto (& I suggest you do the same).
I survived the end of the world.. for the second time.
I watched this little blog double in readership -- thank you all so much for reading.
I decided to move across the country. 2013 = West Coast, here I come.

What all did you accomplish in 2012?

Christmas 2012

My Christmas was pretty great, guys. I made Christmassy treats, hand painted canvas bags to carry gifts, sang carols from the back of a truck with my nephews, drank lactose-free White Russians, played with lots of adorable puppies and spent time with my awesome family. It's been a crazy year and I'm excited for new challenges and life changes that are undoubtedly coming in the new year. I have lots of blogging ideas as well, but for now, I've still got a couple days of warm, fuzzy holiday feelings to enjoy (and a gnarly cold to get rid of). Happy holidays, my friends!

Christmas Confessions

1. I drank bowling alley wine with a t-shirt koozie the other night. I also bowled a 115 on my first game.

2. I wore this hat while dancing to Thriller and pretending to be white girl wasted at said bowling alley.

3. Throughout all of these shenanigans I was hacking my lungs out every five minutes because I've been sick ever since I got back from California.

4. I ate this dairy-infested bunch of deliciousness for a Christmassy breakfast with my family. #worthit

5. I ate more candy than I decorated with while making this gingerbread house.

6. I then proceeded to eat all of this sushi (with a little help from my sister). I've decided that New Year's resolutions have nothing to do with the "new year" and everything to do with the 28 pounds you gain during Christmas. I. Can't. Stop.

7. Aldi sells $1 bottles of wine. I probably should've never learned this.

8. I don't feel like tomorrow is Christmas and today doesn't feel like Christmas eve. Just call me Charlie Brown (Of all of the Charlie Browns in the world, you are the Charlie Browniest!). Here's to hoping 

Christmas carols & eggnog fix that right up!

These are my confessions. Hopefully I'm still on the 'nice' list.. ;)

How are you celebrating Christmas Eve?

Linking up here:

InstaFriday

It's Friday! And that means I get to dump all my random iPhone pictures and call it a blog post. Enjoy.

From top left clockwise: Oh hello there, giant man-sized "OaksterBong." These Bay area folks really love their weed. // Just an example of the ridiculous, butt-toning hills we encountered in California // The airport in Vegas: Slot machines & an oxygen bar #winning // Ziggy showing me all the changes my parents made to the house in the week I was gone: new basketball net and a slack line over the pool

Coloring time at work when we're not busy because we are children and I just so happened to choose THE ugliest dog to color in. You're welcome. // Showing off my voluptuous ass at a Mexican restaurant in my home town // Cinder-fella and Prince Charming at Drag Queens on Ice in SF // Ziggy feeling fatigued after playing constantly with the newest doggie addition to our family: Finnegan.

MONSTER FROG!!! This dude is huge and I found him very unfortunately as I was about to use the toilet where he was making himself at home. Just look at his size in relation to the toilet paper. Yea. I was terrified, and I am really not afraid of frogs usually. Look at him trying to escape out of this plastic cup!! Note to self: never use toilet again. // Zigz expressing how much she missed me while I was gone by jumping all over me and licking me excessively.

Happy Friday!

More Travels

Some of my favorite things about San Francisco in no particular order: epic parks/playgrounds, art everywhere, ginormous trees, bridges, quirky shops, gardens and Christmas decorations. What an exciting place. There were things to do every single night. We went to an art festival, a comedy show, a festival of sorts that had games for adults (the simulated burglary with lasers that set off an alarm when touched was a big hit; I lasted about two seconds before hitting a laser with my shoulder. Fail.), Drag Queens on Ice, a philanthropic gallery opening, a Japanese tea garden and we even saw a man walking around wearing only a vest and some sneakers. There are far more recycling bins than trashcans and vegetarian options even at burger joints. This place is crazy, crowded, creative, expensive, forward-thinking and wonderful. Very exciting.

What I Wore

 Dress: Steve Madden // Coat: Dillard's // Boots: Steve Madden // Classy Hand Stamp: Myrtle Beach Bars

 Dress: David's Bridal (my bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding!) // Shirt: AE // Blazer: Hurley

Sweater: F21 // Cardi: F21 // Turtle Neck: Target

I have worn so many other things, however my access to full-length (dirty) mirrors is very limited these days. I have to resort to drunken bathroom mirror pix in hotel rooms and bars! That box in the background = me moving out of my room. Maybe this will force me to dress up and take quality photos more often.. Who knows. Sometimes I find and take photos with unicorns, so anything is possible.

Linking up here

SF Eats

San Francisco is no place to worry about calories. At least that's what I told myself during the week I was there. Look at all these wonderful things! Goat cheese and pesto pizza, ahi tuna salad, beef tongue slider, quinoa, omelets, veggie burgers (and every other kind of burger), pasta with clams and the best burrito I've ever had.. ever. Did I mention how every coffee shop had dairy-free creamer for me to enjoy painlessly? I even had an amazing cucumber-esque cocktail in a speakeasy located behind a bookshelf requiring a password to get in (and it was the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. How appropriate!). Also, there was no Publix to be found. The local market we went to had all kinds of organic, cage-free, grass-fed and dairy-free options and Farmers markets during weekdays. Amaze-balls? I think so. I give SF two thumbs way, way up for their food.

Music Monday

I spent the weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC with my friend Mike for the Marine Corps Ball. Needless to say, we partied hard. I only captured a few gems on camera, but I'll go over some of the highlights.

This photo was taken Saturday afternoon when I was finally able to get out of bed without feeling nauseous. Yea, it was one of these kinds of hangovers.

I stole Mike's fancy gloves so I could be maniacal in a ball gown. On the drive from NC to SC we saw a very creepy, maniacal bald man rubbing his hands together like so while waiting at a stoplight. It warranted imitation, clearly. I also plan to do this at every stop light from now on (Mua ha ha ha).

This would be a series of lovely photos taken at a piano bar where the mean age of the population was about 60. They were all pretty impressed that I knew all the old folks' music and I was pretty impressed to learn that the cute couple was actually celebrating the finalization of their divorce. Good stuff, right there. Also, a very drunk old man picked up our entire tab. Excellent.

On the left you will see the piano man himself and Mike getting his dance on with the old men. The photo on the right was taken after the actual ball when we barhopped downtown and that guy on the mechanical bull paid for me to ride the bull even though I was wearing a dress. Due to the peer pressure of several very large Marine men, I did in fact ride the bull and started a chain reaction. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on how well I covered my ass) I don't yet have a photo of this, but there was a video taken. If I can find it, I'll see if it's G-rated enough to post. Some other highlights included learning what the word "calabash" means, drunk girls shrieking and hollerin' at these servicemen, a big dude hurling his body over a van seat much like a dead fish while telling everyone that he's an alcoholic and watching him devour two whole pizzas in a matter of seconds. It was a good time. Here are some of the tunes we listened to during our adventures. Happy Monday, friends!

 

SF Photo Dump

I wasn't sure where to start, so I figured a photo dump was most appropriate. Don't fret, my friends, I've saved all my drool-worthy food photos for a post all its own. We saw gigantic Christmas trees, fabulous street performers, sea lions, the craziest stores, the most epic playground, a guy walking around in only a vest and tennis shoes, a wasted guy try to break out of the BART train with an ink pen, sky scrapers, A LOT of mentally unstable individuals, ice skating drag queens, a UNICORN and we even won that beauty of a photo up there in a raffle (apparently it's a changing station in Denmark?). I've got plenty more photos, but for now I must pack because this guy's jet-setting again to North Carolina tomorrow morning. Marine Ball, here I come! Regularly scheduled blogging to return next week. Have a great weekend, friends!

Guess Who's Back?

Kensie's back. Tell a friend.

I have approximately 342,567,677 photos to show you and stories to accompany them, but I also have a ton of work to catch up on, e-mails to answer, snuggly dogs to cuddle and stinky people to see, so for now I leave you with this photo and the promise of seeing a real-life unicorn in the very near future. Yea. That's what happens when you read my blog. Unicorns. Boom.

PS: Yes, that was a Slim Shady reference. And yes, I did sing all the lyrics to "Lose Yourself" on the drive from Orlando this morning.

PPS: I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO. 

That is all.

California, Here We Come!

I'll be in San Francisco for the next week! Try not to miss me too much. Also, keep your fingers crossed for job/housing opportunities. In fact, keep your toes crossed too. I might be able to update you guys while I'm there, but if not, have a fabulous week and check back next Wednesday-ish for lots of fun adventures. I'll be sure to wear flowers in my hair. ;)

Music Monday: Big Ticket

Great bands, booze, new friends, corn hole, dancing and gratuitous head banging.
Another successful Big Ticket Concert Jacksonville style.

Check out last year's concert here.