Nostalgia Hits Me Hard Playlist

Hello Lovelies!

I don't know what it is about them, but I love nostalgic songs. Songs that talk about the beauty, the struggles, the innocence of times gone by. Songs that make me ache for times past. I love those songs. I have a whole playlist of them and I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.

1. Acadia by Marianas Trench

First off, this song is by one of my favourite bands ever, so that's pretty great. It describes the teenage and young adult years and growing up in a small town with your friends. The chorus says "Every memory comes on, when I hear that old song that we used to sing with the words all wrong". It talks about that old town being gone and how you can't return, but you have the memories. Beautiful, beautiful song.

2. Anne Leaves Green Gables by Hagood Hardy

Ever notice how songs don't have to have words to be nostalgic. This song is one of those songs. It's a soundtrack piece from, well, Anne of Green Gables. It's sad sounding, but beautiful sounding as well. I can't help but be taken back to years ago when we'd spend our summers at my Grandparents' farm.

3. Autumn Leaves by Ed Sheeran

This song is one of his lesser known songs, but I really like it. It's the perfect song to fall asleep to. It's a bit deeper; I can't tell if it's about the end of relationship or about the end of a person's life. "Float down, like autumn leaves. Hush now, close your eyes before the sleep. And you're miles away, and yesterday, you were here with me." It's a really pretty, soft song. Kinda sad, but definitely brings back the memories.

4. Old School by Hedley

I love this song so much. It's got to be in the top three favourite nostalgic songs. First of all, Hedley's Canadian, so that makes it ten times better. ;) I love the feeling of this song and the way the lyrics are written. It's so beautiful. "Why don't you meet me, down behind our old school? We'll waste away the weekend with perfect regard for how cavalier we used to be, that beautiful insanity. The apathy surrounding me, don't close your eyes or we'll fade away." Gahhh, amazing.

5. The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd

I don't know if this one gets to me so much just because I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan and Pippin is the one who sings it. It's almost folkish and the way it builds is so beautiful. I know I keep using that word, but they truly are beautiful songs. Pippin's, ahem, Billy's voice is so whimsical and the mix of the guitar with the violins and piano is gorgeous. It makes me teary every time I hear it. "And though where the road then takes me, I can not tell. We came all this way, but now comes the day to bid you farewell."

6. Vienna by Billy Joel

This one's an oldie but a goldie. It's about slowing down and letting yourself relax because your life is always going to be there for you. Your life waits for you, so there's no point in getting super stressed out about it. Which technically doesn't make it a nostalgic song I guess, but it makes me feel nostalgic, so it gets included in this list.

7. 18 Years by Daughtry

"18 Years" is quite similar to "Acadia" in my mind. It's about remembering the wild, fun teen years in your little town. You move on, you move away, but you never really forget the times you spent there. "We were young, we were wild, we were halfway free. We were kids on the run on a dead end street. Looking back in the rearview mirror, you know the view used to be much clearer. But we'll laugh and we'll cry 'til there's no more tears. Yeah tonight can we just hold on to those 18 years?"

What are your favourite nostalgic songs, if you listen to them?

And we're set alight.

Hello Lovelies!

Last Saturday, I had the amazing privilege of seeing Ed Sheeran live, in person, in 3-D, in all of his talentedness. I will try to convey the amazingness in words, but I am sure that I won't do it justice.

My friend from Quebec, Kara (if you're reading this, hi Kara!), came down the night before so we could go to the concert together.

After driving halfway, getting on the subway, getting on a bus and then getting on the subway again, we finally reached the Air Canada Centre. We got inside, found our seats and began freaking out at how extremely close we were, only to have a security guard come over and tell us that our tickets were frauds. Yeah, we'd accidentally bought fraudulent tickets. You can imagine our horror and panic. But, maybe because the arena is used to this sort of thing, or maybe because we were all so pretty, or maybe because I live in Canada, they let us stay. We had to move about eight seats to the left in a section directly beside the stage. The view wasn't quite as good, but we were all just relieved we weren't going to be kicked out.

And then Ed Sheeran came on the stage and all our worries about tickets went out the window. He was so amazing. With one guitar, two microphones and a loop pedal, he could sound like an entire band. Not only was he an amazing singer and guitar player, but to have the creative instincts to be able to layer and loop and build up all the momentum? That's insane talent right there.

Here's some of the pictures I managed to get throughout the show. I'm really proud of the way they turned out!

Photograph. One of my favourite songs off of the
new album.

I really like this picture.

During Thinking Out Loud, my mummy giggled with
 happiness the whole time.

The lights and smoke made for a really cool effect during
Bloodstream. Bloodstream live was such an incredible
experience. Honestly, there are no words.

The lights during A Team.

He was literally this close at one point. The camera I was using
doesn't have that great of a zoom. 

Leading the crowd in harmonizing during Give Me Love.

He has the voice of angels and unicorns and chocolate
all mixed into one.

The lights at the end of the show.

And here's just a little taste of his incredible voice. Please excuse the girl directly behind me, she sang along for parts of it. :P But seriously. just listen to this; it's amazing. Even if you just listen to the first 30 seconds.

It was an amazing concert. If you ever have the chance to see him live, take it. It will be one of the best nights of your life.

(And as you can see, I've done a bit of blog renovating. I originally put up the boat picture, but then I saw this one and couldn't help myself. It's just so cute!)

Concerts, The Microphone and A Camera: A Life Update

Hello Lovelies!

What is this post, you may ask? Well, realistically, none of you are asking this, but I'm going to tell you anyways. This is a compilement of a whole bunch of little life things that weren't big enough to make a post on their own so I've decided to stick them all in one! Apologies in advance, this will most likely be very random.

So first off, guess who's going to see 5sos in the summer when they come to Canada?!

Meeeeee!!! :D My cousin and I decided that we loved them opening for One Direction so much that we had to go see them again with they come! And this time we're bringing my little brother Jonathan, which might get interesting. I mean, if you're a 5sos fan, you know how they can get on stage sometimes.... ahem. Anyways! That'll be uber fun and I'm definitely looking forward to it!

And then, Ed Sheeran is coming to London, Ontario in June!

So my mum and I are hoping to snag tickets to that one when they go on sale later this week. I've been wanting to see him live for two years now and I missed him when he came last September.

So second on my life updating-ness, I've started recording! Some of you may have read in an earlier that I'm recording my own EP and that started this past week. I've got a selection of six songs that I'm doing and they're a mix of happy, upbeat stuff and deeper... stuff. Anyways, I'm really happy with them all and I can't wait for them to be finished! I have to admit, I didn't expect recording to be quite as exhausting as it was. I came home after four hours and just slept. I can't entirely decide on a name. I'm thinking I'll go with either "Nostalgic Maps", or something like "Page One", kinda to indicate that it's just the beginning.

Lastly, we're doing this really cool thing in my photography course and recently we had to shoot pictures for our personality walls, which is our culminating assignment that we work on through the semester. I was really happy with how the pictures turned out, so I thought I'd share them!

First, we had to do a self portrait in a creative way that
kind of showed who we were, so I've included a camera,
an old fashioned stereo, a travel trunk and a bookcase. I
have to admit, I was really happy with the way it turned
out.

The first category was something we use everyday. I use my
phone pretty much every day, but not for texting or social
media. I love listening to music and my phone is playing
it pretty much nonstop. 

The second category was something from the past and
this is the journal I kept when I was about twelve. I've
kept one since I was seven and I love going back and
reading them. 

Then was family. I took a picture of Jonathan, although it
was hard to choose one because he has so many
different facial expressions and they're all genuine
parts of him. 

Something blue. I don't exactly get why this was a category.
I was half expecting them to continue and say, "something
old, something new, something borrowed".

This was hands down my favourite picture. The category
was something we love to do so I took out a drawerful
of my old notebooks and scattered them on the floor under
my guitar. It's to represent the music and writing.
I may make this one the new background of my blog...

This category was something we love to wear. I love
these boots and they go with pretty much everything
I own.

Something around the house.

Something I value.This is another of my favourite photos
from this set. My family went out to Nova Scotia a few summers
 ago and while exploring the little town we were staying
 in, we found a jewelry shop. My sisters and I all bought a little
 bag of charms and then divided them up amongst ourselves.
We all ended up with one of these keys and I wear it on
 a necklace regularly. 

Something smaller than an inch. I still have all my pennies,
even though I can't use them anymore. This one
has my birth year on it.

Song of the Day
I completely forgot about these, oops. Anyways, today's song of the day is this one.

I love this song and it reminds me of 'Old School' by Hedley. And it's a Canadian band, which makes them ten times cooler. ;) Enjoy!

The Soundtrack of My Life Tag

Hello Lovelies, 

So I was doing some looking through blogs recently, just scrolling through the internet. And I came across a blog called "chimera" and she did this tag called "The Soundtrack of My Life" tag. I'm sure you know by now, I love anything to do with music and this looked really interesting so I figured I'd do it! And I'd love to see your guys' answers! Looking at other people's music always makes me really happy! 


1. Songs you listen to when you’re happy?

I have a few songs that are my happy songs that I listen to when I'm in a great mood. A few of those are "Waiting for Superman" by Daughtry, "Mrs. All American" by 5 Seconds of Summer, "Dance With Me Tonight" by Olly Murs, "Don't" by Ed Sheeran, and "Desperate Measures" by Marianas Trench. There are tons more, but those are my happy songs right now. When I'm in a good mood, I love listening to music with a good beat that's pop-y and happy. Something I can dance and jam to and sing loudly with the windows down.

2. Songs you listen to when you’re sad? 

I don't know if I listen to music when I'm sad or mad more. But I think when I'm generally like that, the songs I listen to are "Backseat Serenade" by All Time Low, "Familiar Taste of Poison" by Halestorm, "Don't" by Ed Sheeran (yes, I know that one's on my happy list as well), "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran, and "Don't Let Me Go" by Harry Styles (I know this isn't actually an official song, but I may or may not have downloaded it off of youtube). I guess, looking at this list, lots of songs about being alone. I wonder what that says about me...

3. What was the last song you listened to?

The last song I listened to was "English Love Affair" by 5 Seconds of Summer. I love that song. 

4. What’s the most musically involved you have ever been?

Well, I've been in my fair share of singing recitals and I've been in a few plays, but I think the most musical thing I've been involved with is something I'm currently involved with, which is recording my own EP! Which I'm insanely excited about. 

5. Name four or more flawless albums.

Ooh, this is tough! Hmm, I'd have to say Baptized by Daughtry is definitely one. That album is just beautifulness. X by Ed Sheeran. And Ed Sheeran is flawless too so I love that one. 5 Seconds of Summer by 5 Seconds of Summer (10 points for originalness boys). And their live album, LIVESOS is truly flawless.  Oh! And of course! An album I grew up on, Come On Over by Shania Twain, love that album. Hmm, what else... I quite like FOUR by One Direction, although I don't know if I'd call it "flawless".

6. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?

Hands down, Anne of Green Gables OST. Hands down, 100%, no debate. That soundtrack makes me feel... things. And I love this gif. :)

7. What was your last musical “phase” before you wisened up? 

Alright, I'm not gonna lie, this is still pretty
hot.

Oh dear, definitely One Direction. And I don't just mean, I liked their music. I mean, I would reblog pictures of Harry Styles' arms or Zayn's pout. I would get chills when they'd sing "Rock Me" because that was the raunchiest song they had. I still like their music, but oh my word, I was truly obsessed. *Hangs head in shame*

8. What’s your “guilty pleasure” that you hate to admit to liking?

Hmm, I actually don't know about this one. I don't really feel like I have a "guilty pleasure". I mean, it's always hard to admit to liking these guys:

Or these guys:

It's just hard admitting it to music snobs, who many of my friends, God bless them, are. 

9. Song that makes you lose your shit at a party?

Pfft, definitely Anaconda. ;) Shaking my little, white behind all over the place. No but seriously, I have no clue. I don't even know what type of music is played at...gulp... parties. I mean, my type of parties are Disney karaoke or Doctor Who fests. So, according to my sort of party, I'm gonna have to go with Make a Man Out of You. 'Cause when that song comes on, errbody better move outta my way because I know all the actions to it and I even know the Doctor Who version. Don't. Mess. With. Me.

10. Song you play on your headphones when out and about?

Usually "September" by Daughtry or some sort of All Time Low. 

I hope you enjoyed that! I know I certainly did.

I'm tagging:

 

Ali from Aliology 

Kat from (Almost) Completely Mad

Andrea from Sempiternal Reader

Until the next time we communicate via our screens!

Float down, like autumn leaves.

Hello Lovelies!

Recently, I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with my dear, dear friend Kara. She's really pretty and really sweet. We were up at my Grandparent's farm and decided that it would be a cool idea to do a photoshoot. So off we went into the wildness that was my Grandparent's backyard and shot some pictures.

This one of my favourite pictures
from the shoot.

I love the lighting in this photo and the contrast of the
background.

Laughter is the best medicine.

I feel like this picture should be on a country music
cover. 

Another one of my favourites. The warm lighting and the
grass looks so country!

For some reason, this song reminds me of the song Autumn
Leaves by Ed Sheeran, which inspired the title of this
post. I really like this type of picture where the main
subject is out of focus and something small is in
focus.

Her eyes are stunning. I'm jealous. 

*Insert Little House on the Prairie theme song*

Another one of the in focus/out of focus pictures. I really
like the vibrant green in the background.

She's so puuurrrttttyyy.

I really like the whimsicalness of this picture. 

Gahhh, I love this picture.

Is it just me who feels that black and white pictures hold
so much emotion?

In focus/out of focus. Again.

I'm actually kind of happy that
the barn is falling apart because it makes
a wonderful spot for photos.

I also really, really like this picture.

I dunno know about you, BUT I'M FEELING TWENTY TWO. No, just kidding. I dunno know about you, but I'm actually looking forward to fall. Not so much school, but the warm sweaters, the baking, the pretty leaves, the cool air, getting to start lessons with my songwriting and singing teachers again. And this fall I'm going to get to teach a class on songwriting in the family co-op I'm in for kids grade five to grade eleven, which I'm actually stoked about.
How have your summers' been?

Song of the Day

This is the Ed Sheeran song I was referring to up in one of the photo captions.