music monday: unbreakable smile - tori kelly

official music video.

first off, can we take a moment to celebrate my being DONE SCHOOL FOREVERRRRRRRRR!!
let's be real - i'll sign myself back up for something at some point because i'm a masochist...
but yes, your girl wrote her final exam last friday and survived the nightmare that was 8 final exams in 9 days.
special shout out to whoever placed two finals back to back - one at 9:00 am followed by another at 11:30 am.

anywhooo, if you've been a follower of my blog, you'll know i love me some tori kelly.

(see here, here andddddddd here.)

i just find something about her so endearing and home girl can sannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng.

though she's released albums in the past, her first full fledged album drops this june.

if you've listened to the radio in the last little while, i'm sure you've heard "nobody love" by now.

it's a great song but my heart rejoiced the moment i head the first notes of the title track "unbreakable smile".

this song is basically tori's response to anyone who doubts that a wholesome girl, like herself, can hold her own in the world of half-dressed, tone deaf/auto-tuned singers with no integrity. 

the first time i listened to the track, i was getting straight lauryn hill vibes.

i also nearly dropped my phone a couple of times as some of the lines were just, simply put, fire.

example: 

"but baby who knows, maybe i can sell out shows without taking off my clothes.

God made me sexy, i don't care if only i know."

though the produced version is amazing, i'm a fan of tori when she sings her songs stripped down and unplugged (see below).

anyways, back to work i go.

don't let anyone break those smiles, y'all.

:)

vanessa

music monday: mark ronson feat. bruno mars

anyone who knows me knows that i am a huge michael jackson fan!
obviously, he can never be replaced but i honestly feel like bruno mars is our generations' answer to MJ.
everything bruno puts out is "fuego" and his new song "uptown funk" with mark ronson is no exception.
"don't believe me, just watch."

:)

vanessa

music monday: winter wonderland/don't worry (be happy)

is it too early to start listening to christmas music because this song has been on the heaviest of rotations for the past couple of weeks.
y'all know that my love for both tori kelly and pentatonix runs deep.
so, whenever they join forces, i'm a very happy girl.

winter wonderland - pentatonix feat. tori kelly

37 days 'til christmas, y'all!
:)
vanessa

ps. y'all know, i'm a HUGE tori kelly fan (please see here and here).
so, when this happened last night, i can't lie, i lowkey fangirled.

#mamawemadeit

#weaintgottalivelikedisnomo

life lately - july 2014

it's been a while since my last blog post.
i'd love to say it's because i've been travelling the world but can only attribute my absence to laziness.
shameful, i know.

instead of trying to create multiple blog posts, i've decided to just create one extremely image heavy blog post that essentially sums up july 2014.

nico graduated daycare - kindergarten here he comes!
(this actually happened at the end of june but we'll add it here anyways...)

weekend getaway to NY:

reunited with my long lost love, logan while in brooklyn:

saturne's 90's theme bridal shower:

my sister (the MOH) threw this 90's themed bridal shower for my cousin and it was a blast!

as i mentioned in a previous post, i'm always chosen to be the bride in this game, lol.

the aunts and their mother.

  

me and zi grandmother.

cousins reunited.

bonding over their love of all things thomas and friends.

new found love of rings pops.

then (2011) and now (2014).

ziplining:

only one of us was excited to zip-line...

nico being nico:

find nico...

love these shots - captures the essence of nico.

only thing missing are some dragons and dinosaurs...

adventures with tania:

tania started playing this dumb game and it has taken over her life.

real life convo:

(tania): "oh no no no no nooooo!"

(me): "what?"

(tania): "i forgot i was in a photshoot, damn."

i hope you're all having a great summer.
i'd love to hear what you've been up to!
:)
vanessa

ps. because it's monday and because i've been listening to this song nonstop...
i present to you hostage by sia (if you're not already familiar).

for the vast majority of the song, i have no idea what she's saying but i love it just the same.
something about the beat makes me so giddy.

pps. any other big brother US fans out there?
it it just me or is this season actually really good?

team donny
OR

team zach.

ppps. just because i didn't get a chance to talk about this fool before he was evicted (praise Jesus) from the house...

shoutout to devin.

one of the most delusional people to ever play the game.

pppps. he has a daughter.

music monday: ed sheeran

a friend of mine suggested i listen to this song this morning and i am obsessed.

the arrangement is beautiful in itself but what sold me were the lyrics.

i mean, "i fall in love with you every single day"...*swoon.

ed (we're on a first name basis like that) was quoted as saying "thinking out loud" is his favorite song off his new album, X.

i agree, ed.

i agree.

:)

vanessa

music monday: mapei

all things swedish are pretty amazing, and mapei is no exception.
i came across her song "don't wait" recently and it has been on the heaviest of rotations ever since.
i'm excited to discover more of her music in the future but until then, excuse me while i listen to "don't wait" for the 100th time today.

:)
vanessa


edit: i just stumbled upon an acoustic version of "don't wait" and *tear, it's beautiful.
https://soundcloud.com/mapei/dont-wait-acoustic-version

music monday...even though it's tuesday :(

things i love #15415123: seeing people realize their dreams.
when these people come from toronto, it warms my heart even more.
enter cassandra steele.

cassie steele is both an actress (whaddup degrassi?) and a singer.
i'm obsessed with her new single, mad, and thought i'd share :)

happy tuesday!

:)

vanessa

music monday - dreams (cover)

happy monday!

i just stumbled across this cover fleetwood mac's "dreams" by dana williams and leighton meester.
yes, blair waldorf.

i'm a big fan of the original and this cover definitely does it justice.
i've never heard of dana williams 'til now but love her voice.

:)
vanessa

ps. this reminds me, i never did learn how to pay guitar..

music monday: 90's girl groups

i found this video the other day and haven't stopped playing it. 

the 90's was such a great era in music and it's great to see some of the best come together for this performance.

the majority of music today is going nowhere fast, so it's nice to reminisce on the "good 'ole days".

(so thankful my eldest sister and cousin had such great taste in music

how else would i have learned the lyrics to the entire "crazy sexy cool" album?)

 

alicia keys, swv, en vouge, tlc - bet awards 2008

:)

vanessa

ps. can i just take a moment and...

"when i look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child

that no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid. 

thank you."

 and in true j-law fashion...

better luck next year, katniss.

music monday: yuna

i'm a big lover of music - i count my ipod as one of my most prized possessions.
so, i'm always looking for new artists and/or music to obsess over...

well, today was a great day because today i discovered yuna, a malaysian born singer-songwriter.

i have no words to describe her sound but if you're a fan of fiona apple, janelle monae, erykah badu or lana del ray, i'm sure you'll love yuna!

i'll leave you with this performance of one of my favourite songs off her new album, nocturnal.
girl can sannnng AND she's fully clothed - a rarity these days!

someone who can 

i'm always looking for new songs for my ipod.
if you have any good ones, send away!

:)
vanessa

yeezy taught me

"there are two types of people in the world - haters and dreamers.
the only difference is one thing - haters forgot about their dreams. 

or better yet, haters gave up on their dreams."

on monday night, i attended the very last show of kanye west's yeezus tour and it was hands down the best concert of my life.
the concert was originally supposed to pass through the air canada centre on november 12 & 13th.
but somewhere along the tour, a bus crashed and the 60-foot screen that kanye deemed crucial to the show was broken.
as a result, our toronto dates were rescheduled to december 22nd & 23rd.

at first i was like, this guy is so dramatic - just come on stage with a mic and rap, screw the screen.
but after witnessing the magic that was yeezus, i take back all my words - the screen was essential.
this was also the first concert i attended that started promptly with opening act, kendrick lamar, kicking off the show.
hell, when i took my cousin to see the jonas brothers in the summer, those fools arrived over an hour late.

kanye's set was a solid 2.5 hours.
according to setlist.fm, he performed 27 songs including through the wire which remains my favorite kanye song to date.

towards the end of the show, he said something to the effect of "because this is my last show of the tour and i'm in toronto, i have to do this for y'all" and proceeded to rap his verse off drake's forever for the first time ever live.
and then this happened...

toronto's own drake came out and performed forever WITH kanye and a tear nearly fell from my eye.
i tried twice in vain to see drake in concert this year - OVO fest in august (shoutout to ticketmaster for selling my ticket without my knowledge) and then 'would you like a tour' in october (shoutout to my school for scheduling two exams the next morning).

he also performed "all me" and then went on his merry way. 

christmas came early, guys. 

kanye then performed all of the lights (cue the pyrotechnics) which transitioned flawlessly into good life.

he then performed bound 2 and had the crowd sing the hook along with his cousin, tony williams.
kanye thanked the crowd, shook some hands and proceeded off stage.

and then, much like at the club, the lights came up and the party was over. 

all in all, an amazing night spent with my bff, avery and my boys, yeezy and drizzy.

and for all you non-kanye fans, i'm happy to report that he promised that we would "turn all the way down" in 2014 and that you would get nothing but positivity from him in the new year...

any other kanye fans out here?

:)

vanessa

fab 5 - christmas songs

with just nine days left til christmas, i decided to share my top 5 all-time favorite christmas songs in a new series i'd like to call "fab 5".

seriously, if any of these songs come on just know that it's about to go down.

*an honorable mention must go to "carol of the bells" - my most favorite instrumental christmas carol of all-time.

david foster/trans-siberian orchestra/destiny's child/pentatonix - doesn't matter who's covering it, know that i am humming along.

what are some of your favorite christmas songs/carols?

:)

vanessa

but sometimes...

my sister introduced me to tori kelly months ago and i just fell i love with her voice.

if you're not too familiar with miss kelly, she is a singer-songwriter, who like many other artists today, got her start on youtube.

she recently dropped her debut ep and i just love the effortlessness of her songwriting style.

my favorite song on her album is "dear no one".

it has been on repeat for the past two weeks and i don't see that changing anytime soon.

as my other sister described it, it's kind of an in-between love song about being content with life but being ready for whenever that special person walks into it ...

happy monday!
:)