My Favorite Things, May 20, 2016

Pink // Ashlee Craft

LISTEN

Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol. My new favorite energetic punk anthem, which makes me feel like a badass when I listen to it.

14th Street by Rufus Wainwright. I was especially obsessed with this song during this most recent January, and I still really love it now. It’s filled with deep evocative longing, & has a melody which is very memorable & makes you want to listen to it over & over again. Good song for break-ups, or other life transitions which involve breaking away from something or someone which has hurt you, while also expressing a resilience & continual moving-on from the situation, & towards something better.

Come On Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. I love that this song was recently featured in this list of happy songs to start your day with. The feel of it is a kind of optimistic, driving-dancing yearning, & it’s now one of my favorite songs. I always love when it comes on the radio.

We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister. Another one of my punk/glam rock favorites, I feel like this is a very good song for when you’re fed up with something & wanting better for yourself. It’s also a great song for fist-pumping along with, or dancing to alone in your bedroom as you’re getting ready in the morning.

EAT

Noble Organics Honeybell Blueberry Juice is seriously one of my favorite organic drinks EVER. It has the perfect tangerine juice flavor, plus a hint of blueberry, & it’s organic (I LOVE my organic food). It always makes me feel revitalized after I drink it, & I have a lot of respect for this brand. P.S. – I’ve tried a lot of the other flavors they make, & I’ve loved all of them too.

★ Mamma Chia Chia Vitality Beverages are another one of my organic favorites. They have flavors like Blackberry Hibiscus (which I’m yet to try) & Cherry Lime (WHICH IS AWESOME), & Strawberry Lemonade. I love my lemonades, & I also love beverages with chia seeds suspended in them. Chia seeds are loaded with Omega-3 Fatty Acids, protein, fiber, lots of other great vitamins, & antioxidants.

No Chicken Noodle Soup from Amy’s Soups. I just tried this for the first time the other day, & I loved it. It’s a nice vegan take on chicken noodle soup, with all the flavor of real chicken noodle soup, but without any meat. Instead of meat, there are small pieces of tofu flavored like chicken, so you don’t feel like the soup is lacking anything.

READ

7 Secrets to Becoming a Fashion Blogger. I love that this article ultimately sums up their tips with telling you to really be yourself, & let your personality shine through in your fashion blogging photos. That’s something I need to work on a bit more when it comes to my own fashion photos.

Congratulate Yourself – A Comic from Rookie MagI always love Rookie’s comics from Corrinne James, & this is no exception. All her comics are filled with an awesome style of illustration & really lovely, inspiring ideas for living a really cool, happy life.

Something Very Important : 10 Things Every Teenage Girl Should Know. This is one of my all-time favorite articles, ever. It includes a ton of awesome advice, & includes one of my favorite quotes EVER :

“When in doubt, listen to David Bowie. In 1968, Bowie was a gay, ginger, bonk-eyed, snaffle toothed freak walking round South London in a dress, being shouted at by thugs. Four years later, he was still exactly that – but everyone else wanted to be like him too. If David Bowie can make being David Bowie cool, you can make being you cool. PLUS, unlike David Bowie, you get to listen to David Bowie for inspiration. So you’re one up on him, really. YOU’RE ALREADY ONE AHEAD OF DAVID BOWIE.”

Danielle LaPorte on Purification/Energy Cleansing. Purifying makes room for new good things to enter your life.

WATCH

Baby Sloths Learn to Climb. SOOOOOO CUTE.

WEAR

★ Pure Ice Lavan-Dare Nail PolishI just bought some of this the other day & I haven’t got to try it yet, but it is the prettiest shade of pale-lavender-tinted gray, & I’m excited about trying it on!

TO DO

★ Burn a taper candle in my bedroom while I write in my go-to diary each day, my very own creation, Document Your Life : A Journal.

NEW AWESOME THINGS

★ Tomorrow, May 21st, is the one year anniversary of this blog!!! (Inserts birthday-themed emojis). My very first post, Newness, was partially from the first issue of Ashlee Craft / Assemblage and partially a blog post ode to new beginnings. Also, I was just reminded that March marked one year of Ashlee Craft / Assemblage being a somewhat-monthly zine, so that’s also awesome!

If you haven’t seen it yet, some releases since the last time I made a Favorite Things post (sadly, it was more than five months ago, in December of 2015!) : A Beautiful Question of When & Where (a poetry book), Flowers, One (a photography zine), & Issues 9 & 10 of Assemblage!

I am working on becoming a graphic designer, & so I have created a Portfolio that you can check out here.

I have some great products available in my Etsy shop. As it is now, you can buy a set of 4 hand painted note cards with either pineapples or owls!

★ Also, earlier today I made a new banner for Freedom Meadow Media’s website! Check it out!

 

Lots of happiness,

Ashlee

Poem for David Bowie

David Bowie - TopPop 1974 10

poem for David Bowie

I remember when I heard :
you disappeared like smoke rising; a phoenix in the open air,
a song drifting in empty through an open window
reminding me of the longing,
oh, beautiful longing,
of driving under bridges at night & through city streets
& of holding people close; oh, the beautiful longing
of reaching out to find things which are no longer there
& still hoping to feel a glimpse of them,
the things that never were but felt alive in their own heartbeats;
you disappeared the way light fades at the end of the day :
still golden even as the dark blankness of night creeps in;
a song playing on a record player on the floor
as the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes bloom inside & out,
I turned to face the music & it was there I found myself;
& the way the music sounded on the floorboards & ceiling
reminded me of why you were my hero :
reinvention, I said, over & over again repeating in the night;
you had a thousand names & a thousand faces
& like the birth & rebirth of a phoenix
you tore down & rebuilt yourself over & over
breathing life & color into the word EVOLUTION
& the flames breathed their life into you
as you became new things & new people
& found homes for all the limitless planets you wanted to become;
to prove that the outsiders were not really alone at all :
to answer your question, yes,
there is life on Mars

Poem inspired by this.

Playlist // Songs, #1

Classic songs that remind me of my teenage years.

Songs #1 // Playlist by Ashlee Craft

 

Listen to the playlist on YouTube

1. In My Life – The Beatles

2. Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles

3. Handle With Care – The Traveling Wilburys

4. Oh! You Pretty Things – David Bowie

5. A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles

6. Strawberry Fields Forever – The Runaways

7. Sail Away – Styx

8. Rhiannon – Fleetwood Mac

9. Dreams – Fleetwood Mac

10. Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues

11. Life on Mars? – David Bowie

12. Beautiful Day – U2

13. Starman – David Bowie

14. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin

15. Something – The Beatles

16. California Dreamin’ – The Mamas & the Papas

17. I Will – The Beatles

18. Father of Day, Father of Night – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band

19. Don’t Worry, Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin