Dug Up from the Drafts: "There's More to Me than Makeup" Tag

Totally random and unrelated photo. View from my bedroom window, taken in January. The window has a screen, 

hence the blurriness. I played with editing, but eventually decided on the original. I hate making posts without pictures!

Hello, dear readers,

I know this is another tag, and an old one at that, but I actually have a fairly decent reason for it. This is the second of the drafts that I promised to post. At last, my "Posts" box will be empty of anything but published blogs. I'm not changing the font on this one, because I rewrote the answers to suit my current situation. 


1. Do you go to school? If yes...what is your favourite subject/ what is your major?
Yes, I go to school. My major is Communications, with a minor in Spanish. Within Communications, I love film classes. However, I'm not going into the film industry; I just find those courses extremely interesting and fun. 

2. Do you work? If yes...what is your job?
I don't work at the moment, but I am looking for a summer job. I hope to find one, but, if not, I may end up taking a class instead. I do have an unpaid blogging internship online for CHAOS Magazine, and I'm applying for a copy editor internship at another website. It's also unpaid, and I'll tell you what it is if I get the position.


3. Do you read? If yes...name a few of your favourite books and/or magazines.
Yes.  Some of my favorite books are the Harry Potter series [in English and Spanish]; Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; American Gods and Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman;  The Princess Bride, by William Goldman; The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory; Bookends by Jane Green; The Looking Glass Wars trilogy, by Frank Beddor....Honestly the list could go on and on and on.
As for magazines, my favorite is probably Marie Claire. 


4. Can you cook?
I can't properly answer that, because it's not that I can't cook; I just don't cook. I'd like to learn, but I lack motivation.


5. Do you have any siblings?
Yes. I have a sister, aged 24, and a brother, 27.


6. Do you speak any other languages?
If I were to be immersed in a Spanish-speaking environment, I think I would be able to quickly improve my spoken Spanish. I am fairly fluent as far as reading, writing, and understanding, but I could use more practice speaking. I've studied for a little over eight years, so I should hope I would pick it up! 


7. If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I'd love to travel all over Europe and the UK, just to experience the culture and the sights [The shopping wouldn't hurt either!]. Specifically, I'd like to visit Spain or another Spanish-speaking country for the reasons mentioned above. 


8. What is your idea of the perfect date?
I don't have anything specific in mind. Honestly, I think the most important thing is that it goes well!


9. What is your dream career?
I'm not 100 percent sure, but I would like to explore the world of publishing/publications. I'm also fascinated by the idea of translating books for a career.


10. Are you athletic...do you play sports/work out..or are you a couch bunny?
I'm athletic in the sense that I love working out and keeping fit. I absolutely do not play sports. My hand-eye coordination doesn't exist, and I don't have the patience for team sports.


11. What are your three favourite things (that have nothing to do with makeup/beauty)?
I'm going to skip friends and family, because they're people, not things. As far as tangible "things," I would say film, books, and music. How much more generic can I get here? More intangible things would be singing, traveling, and working out. 


12. What is the BEST thing about you? 
I love the fact that I'm easily amused by pretty much everything, which makes other people laugh as well. That probably isn't the BEST thing about me, but it's one of my personal favorite qualities.


Ahhhh, the sound of complete silence from the "Drafts" area of my profile. How I adore it. I'm not entirely sure when I initially wrote this, but it was probably before or during last fall. Like I said, the answers are up-to-date, having rewritten them yesterday. I didn't think it would be necessary to show you the old one because things have changed, and it no longer contained inaccurate information.


Have you done this tag? I think it's fun to read about the lives, loves, and dreams of other fashion/beauty/lifestyle bloggers. We all have a certain amount of "girliness" in common, but it's nice to see what else is going on with everyone. Maybe we have more in common than we thought [or even less]! 


In any case, enjoy your day, whatever you happen to be doing!


xEsther

And the Concerts Keep Coming: Jon McLaughlin Hits the Road

Hello, dear readers,

As you may have noticed, this post is about yet another concert. I feel like that's all I've been posting lately, but it's so exciting! I'm going to see Jon McLaughlin in Minneapolis, MN, on June 5th, and I am more than thrilled. It's part of his Promising Promises tour to promote the album of the same name that will be launching around that time. McLaughlin is another of my top three favorite male singers. He plays multiple instruments, all wonderfully, I might add, and his lyrics are deeper than your average Top 40 pop hit. That's not to say he doesn't deserve to be in a "Top ..." list; he really does. You may remember his hits "Beat of My Heart" and "Industry" from a few years back; they were played on several radio stations for a long period of time.

In any case, if you're in Minneapolis, you should check out his concert. Tickets are available here, and if you don't live there, here's his tour schedule. If he's playing near you, and you've never heard him before, check him out on YouTube and see what you think. I'm biased because I have seen him perform, but it was a short set at a free event.

For the record, no one is paying me to mention any concerts. McLaughlin and Eric Hutchinson just happen to be two of my favorites [Jason Mraz is the third, but I'm not thrilled with his new album.]. I'm super enthusiastic about going to concerts, especially because I've hardly been to any, so I want to share with you what I truly believe is fantastic music.

My posts will be beauty related shortly, but I find it fun to write about my interests and the goings-on in my life. I enjoy the fact that it makes me feel closer to my readers, even though I can't see any of you!

So see if you like his music, and definitely get tickets in Minneapolis if you'll be there on June 5th. What if we ran into each other?

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

xEsther

Rockin' Out with Eric Hutchinson

Meeting Eric Hutchinson!  (I'm on the right; my friend, Beth, is on the left)

Hello, dear readers,

Today's post is just an update on the Eric Hutchinson concert and what it was like to meet him and see him perform. I've been singing all of the songs on his new album non-stop since Monday, April 23, so I feel like this is an appropriate topic. As it turns out, my friend and I were not the only winners of the "Meet Eric Hutchinson" contest. In fact, the other girl and her guest were already tipsy when we went to meet him behind the kitchen area. It was quite a strange meeting place. They were also much louder and bigger than we were. In general, they were much more aggressive in conversation. We only really got to say "Hi, nice to meet you" and our names before the other girls started talking.

We had also wanted to sing one of his songs for him, because we harmonize to them all the time. Needless to say, we didn't get the chance. As for feeling starstruck, it didn't happen. He showed absolutely no personality, and he looks happier in this picture than he did actually talking. It was a meeting of approximately five minutes. He also came out after the show so anyone could meet him, which I felt negated the purpose of the contest. Maybe no one else got pictures, or the line was so long that not everyone stayed. 

We were pretty disappointed after meeting him, simply because we barely got the chance to say anything, and he exhibited about as much charisma as a doorknob. However, we changed our minds a bit after the concert. He was amazing, a completely fantastic performer and entertainer. He must have been saving his energy for that. [We can hope, right?] We had a wonderful time dancing and singing along at the top of our lungs. He sang somewhere around 20 songs, I believe, three of which were not his own. It lasted an hour and a half, after a very subpar, 45-minute, opening act. 

Overall, I think I can speak for us both when I say that we're pretty thrilled to have met him, despite his lack of enthusiasm before the concert. And, hey, we came away with a great picture of us!

That just about sums up the event. I can't really do it justice through a blog post, but I can tell you that we had an absolute blast! I'm going to buy his new album today; listening to it on Spotify was only acceptable in order to learn the songs before heading to the concert.

Well, that's all, folks.

Have a thrilling Thursday!

xEsther