Hugo

It is 100% safe to say that I am completely taken with this magical film! Everything about it took my breath away and stole my heart! First of... (click the following names to view their IMDB pages)... Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Emily Mortimer, and Christopher Lee in the same movie?!? Perfection! The colors were breathtaking, so rich and beautiful! I mean, look at the posters above! The costumes, hair and makeup were perfectly and wonderfully exquisite! Give me 20's and 30's era clothing and I am a happy girl forever! And I am very much trying to suppress the urge to cut an oh-so-cute 20's bob at the moment, thank you very much.  The cinematography, the sets, oh so glorious! And don't get me started on the story! It was gorgeous and worthy of a tear or two! So yes! One and all! I loved Hugo! I have yet to read the book that the movie was taken from, but I am going to change that at the soonest possible moment; be sure of that. If you are a lover of the cinema and all its history, if you love adventure and are a lover of books, if you love gears, clocks, automatons and machines, or if you simply enjoy being told a sweet story, I highly recommend this film! There is so much more I could say, but I will let you create your own opinions now.



If you would like to learn more about Hugo, you can check out the official movie site here

Till next time,

~Amara~

Books, horses, and Kindred Spirits

I recently gave my blog a new header which I am in love with! It is a close up of this picture...

Last spring, three of my dearest friends (Gabrielle, Isabella, and Sarah) and I had a photo shoot. Sarah was graduating from high school and she wanted to have a photo shoot for her senior pictures. We ended up getting some incredible shots of her and afterward, we all decided to do a bit of a shoot together. I took a few pictures of Isabella, but for the most part Isabella was the one working the camera magic. It was such an amazing day. Here are my favorites from the shoot.

Gabrielle is the adorable redhead. Isabella is the beautiful blond. Sarah is the lovely brunette in the plaid dress. And the Gorgeous creature above my head is Zoe. Gabrielle and Isabella are sisters and Sarah is their cousin. I sadly am no relation to these amazing women, but I have been deemed an honorary cousin. We are kindred spirits through and through.

We took these photos in Gabrielle and Isabella's yard. It is a beautiful peaceful place that I adore. This creek runs through their yard and it had rained a few days before the shoot so we were able to have a bit of flowing water. It was perfection! As for the horse friend, Isabella is a horse woman and she has five beautiful horses. Zoe is one of her five beautiful gals.

This last photo is my absolute favorite shot of the day!
Till next time,

~Amara~

Maestro Beethoven

 Hello everyone, It's the night owl here. This past weekend was wonderful. I am in the choir at my college and we had our concert this past Saturday and Sunday which went wonderfully. For the past 12 weeks we have dedicated many hours to learning Beethoven's Mass in C. It is a glorious piece for choir and orchestra. We joined forces with the San Luis Chamber Orchestra and had a magical time. This piece was written by Beethoven in 1807 as a commission from the Hungarian Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II. The piece was poorly received and Beethoven was said to have stormed out of the palace outraged. It sounds so crazy that the Esterhazy's wouldn't think this the most glorious of sounds. It is Beethoven for crying out loud!

The Mass in C is one of Beethoven's least performed works and highly under-rated. It was such an incredible honor to perform such a magnificent work of music. I am getting chills just writing about it! The work is 5 movements long and runs approximately 40 minutes. Quite a vocal workout! And for your listening pleasure, here are my favorite movements of the Mass: the last half of the Credo and the Agnus Dei which are the third and fifth movements respectively. Now humor me... here are a list of the parts that tear at me heart strings every time i listen. Watch out for them.

Credo:
You may have to watch this one on youtube. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this is my favorite version of this movement.
2:35- 2:59 (The harmonies and the way they weave around one another... glorious!)
4:30- 4:44 (Listen specifically to the horns in the orchestra. Its extremely epic with the chorus over top!)
Agnus Dei:
In its entirety, the Agnus Dei is my favorite but here is one bit to watch for...
1:20- 1:40 (After the chorus ends I just love that bit of orchestra. It sounds a bit circus like and that appeals to my ears. haha)






So Glorious! and if you liked it you can head over to youtube and hear the rest. It would even make great study music or cleaning music. Can you tell I love it and want the whole world to hear it?!?
If you made it this far, I send you my deepest thanks.

Till next time

~Amara~

Eisley

So it seems as though this blog of mine is morphing into something entirely different than what I first anticipated. At the creation of this blog I thought that I would be strictly fashion blogging. Most of the blogs I read are fashion blogs so it seemed very logical. This blog had other ideas though. And so I am glad to say that this place is now formally a music inspiration blog. A music blog with fashion and photography and my other various hobbies sprinkled about here and there.

I have been an adoring fan of this weeks musical artists for many many years now! They hail from Tyler TX.  If you are not yet acquainted, meet... Eisley

    Eisley is a family affair with the three ladies and the gentleman on the right being siblings and the other gentleman a cousin. They are Chauntelle, Garron, Sherri, Weston, and Stacy DuPree. I love that they are related! It makes them feel really genuine. They have instant chemistry.  The seeds of the band were planted around 1997 when they were just youngsters and the inspiration for their name is just as amazing. If you are a Star Wars fan you probably already know. The name Eisley was inspired by Mos Eisley, a location from the Star Wars universe. And, what makes me love them even more is that they were home-schooled. For you see, I was home-schooled and I loved every minute of it.

Eisley is a rock band, but be warned that they are not your average rock outfit. In my own words I would classify their sound as fantastical, dream-like rock/pop.  They have three full length albums out and multiple EP's.  Their first album (Room Noises) is filled with dream-like tunes with lovely and magical lyrics of rabbits and being lost at sea. It is very youthful and full of lovely imagery. Moving ahead to their newest album, (The Valley) you can really see a new level of maturity. Their lyrics are less fantastical and are filled with the difficulties of life and heartbreak. Though the lyrics are not as magical as they once were their music still sinks into the soul and is magic to this girl's ears.

I have loved them from the moment  I first heard their music. So here is a bit of a listen. The first video is from their first full length album (Room Noises). The second is from their newest album (The Valley). The third is just one of my favorite songs from Eisley off of their 2006 EP (Final Noise).









The portraits in the last video were taken by the girls with their little sister. I hope you all enjoyed Eisley.
Till next time.

~Amara~

The Honey Trees

Welcome one and all, and prepare for an overflow of lush photos and lovely music. Today's musical artistry is my last of the local bands. I have no doubts that some of you have come across this duo in your internet browsing. Their music and photos have quite the growing fan base. Meet... The Honey Trees.

This gorgeous duo is made up of musicians, Becky Filip and Jacob Wick. They play many local shows and I have seen them a time or two. Their music is incredibly soothing, and their photos are simply magical. 

Gahhh! Can they be any more adorable! 

Well, you can find them on all of the usual places, itunes, myspace, facebook, etc. Also, Becky is an incredible artist, and one of my personal artistic inspirations. She has designed album art for a few bands including her own.

You can also find prints of her art for sale on her etsy shop. I am hoping to add her prints to my wall some day soon. So, there really is nothing more to say. I will leave you with a last video. 

A bit of local trivia: This video was filmed in the home of my friend Ben, of the Sassafras Union (from last post). Well my dear friends, I hope you enjoyed my favorite artists from my area. I am sure there are others that will find there way here eventually, but that is it for now(locally, that is). And, as always, I would love to hear about what you are listening to! 

Sassafras and Briertone

I know that it is no longer monday, but here is my music post for the week.
We have such great talent here in my area and I love sharing it with people! This past Friday I went to a concert at a local Brewery. A few local bands played their music and to keep with my local music scene theme I will introduce them. First, meet The Sassafras Union,

        From left to right: Phil Salucci, Kate Feldtkeller, Benjamin Ayers,  Madalyn Hunt, Jaren Rowan, Joe Malfo

The Sassafras Union is a local band (for me that is) from Santa Maria, California. Not only is this group great, they are also all friends of mine. Ok so that may make be biased, but I do really love their talent. Sassafras has been together for about two years now and have a great fan base in our area. They are a mix of folk, indie, rock, blues, and americana. All of the members are incredible musicians and can play just about anything and everything. Phil is one of the vocalist and the guitar magician.  Kate is the violinist. Ben is the founder of Sassafras. He is a vocalist, guitarist, banjo(ist?), and pretty much anything else. Maddy is a vocalist, and also plays the cello. Jaren is the drummer and occasional glockenspiel player. And, Joe is the bass player. They have such great talent and work so well together and three of them are still in high school! They also have a facebook page here.

If you would like to take a listen here are the tracks from their EP.

Secondly is Briertone.

The concert was a release party for their new EP. This local band is a mix of indie, and southern rock. Here is their newest music video which also premiered at the concert. And like my last post's video, you can see the surrounding hills and raw country of my corner of the world.



Let me know what you are listening to, for I adore finding new music and greatly appreciate listening suggestions!

Here's to a great Wednesday evening!

History of Painters

Life has been going by at a speed that is too fast for my liking. October is here and I hope time slows a bit so that October loveliness can be enjoyed fully. As with many other bloggers, fall is my favorite season and I am so happy for its arrival.  

On a different note, I have decided that I will make Mondays my music inspiration day. If I were to pick the one thing in this world that means the most to the health of my heart (besides the fellowship I share with people I love and adore, of course), it would be music. I love every thing about it, both listening and playing. I play the violin, a bit of piano, and I love to sing. I am also trying to teach myself the cello and guitar. But I find listening to music just as heart filling as playing it. So, I have come to decide that I will share the music that inspires and makes me happy.

I have decided to begin with local bands that I love from my area! For my first music post I have chosen not only a local favorite, but one of my absolute favorite musical acts period... History of Painters. They are a local band from San Luis Obispo, California. I can not say enough about how amazing these guys are! They play quite a few local gigs, but I hope they get more exposure, for they are truly talented. 

This second video was filmed for a nationwide contest where they received  6th place! Also, you can get a peek at where I live in this second video for it was filmed on location here on the Central Coast of California! I am so blessed to call it home!
If you like what you here you can find them on their myspace, reverbnation , or facebook pages.

There are few things that give me more pleasure than sharing musical findings with people. I would love to hear what you are listening too!

Straight To You

And just like that... Summer is over.  The last few weeks have been incredible! So much has happened and I have so many great memories to treasure. First of all... this past Wednesday I went to L.A. with a dear friend of mine to see a concert.

For those that don't recognize this gorgeous profile, let me introduce you... Meet... Josh Groban.  Mr. Groban has been a constant companion to my ears for many many years now. I remember chilling on my bed at 12 years old with my walkman CD player (oldschool right? haha) and Josh's voice serenading me into that magical place that only great music can take you.

The concert was incredible! I saw him live last October for the first time and it was a small venue and a really relaxed feel, but this was out of this world. First of it was at the Staples Center in L.A. The feel of the stadium was electric! It was a full house and the energy was amazing! The stage was spectacular.

The back ground wall was all white, and they would project different things onto it. Beautiful. These pictures were taken from the concert program. 15 glossy pages of gorgeous pictures....

We also got to visit a few thrift shops, then we headed home Thursday and cought a showing of Steve Carell's new flick "Crazy Stupid Love". I am not normally a fan of Carell's, but we went for the reason that Josh Groban had a small roll. Haha. He only had 2 small scenes, but It was worth it.

The moment I got home my family and I got in the car and headed for San Diego. I was exhausted. I was seriously home for about 3 hours and then back on the road again!! It was great though. We visited the San Diego Zoo! I had never been there before and we had a grand ol' time. While we were there I fell in love...

 with a Koala! Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen in your entire life?!? It was amazing how he just balanced there. Not a care in the world. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

We got back home Saturday and then half an hour later went to a house concert at a friend's home! It was great with a local band and great catered gourmet pizza! Over all a wonderful last week of summer.

And todays outfit...

School began for me today; though I can not complain one bit because of the fact that the day consisted of piano this morning and ballet at 5:30. Great day!!! This is my last semester at our community college and it is a very east one.

This book and bumblebee locket was a gift from my parents for my birthday last month. I adore it. It is from the lovely Molly of the etsy shop MollythePirate. Check her out here

And here is Mr. Groban for my enjoyment and hopefully yours too. Have a great week my dears.

Outfit details

Dress, belt, shoes: Thrifted

Locket: MollythePirate on etsy

Socks: Kohls

Tale as Old as Time

This past week has been quite busy and my brain is some what fried. But It has been great. We began VBS week at my church yesterday and it is going really well. For those who don't know, VBS (Vacation Bible School) is a weeklong daycamp of sorts for kids that churches put on during the summertime. I have been in charge of certain things for it and have been prepping for the past week. Our church's VBS theme this year is PandaMania! I will have to do a post on it soon!

Saturday, I went on a photo shoot adventure with my friend Natalie. Our theme was "the Disney character who you feel a connection to".  So we picked our Disney "twin" and then we gave it a modern twist.

 I chose Belle. Beauty and the Beast is/ has always been my favorite animated movie! I love everything about the movie. The music never ceases to make me smile, and the story fills my heart with a whole lot of happy.  I have always felt that if Belle were a real person, we would be kindred spirits. So, Here is my modern interpretation of Belle. The bow is actually a belt that i made into a bow and then covered it with painters tape. (I was in a hurry and didn't have time to buy material so you gotta work with what you've got) I actually used this tutorial and it was very helpful.

Natalie picked Jane from Tarzan.

Gah! Natalie os so lovely in front of the camera. She is incredibly talented. She made that skirt by hand the night before the shoot! I love how Victorian it looks!

 It was a lovely day of frolicking and mingling with thoughts of Disney! Do you have a favorite animated movie and character you feel a connection too?



On Me: 
Bow: Handmade 
Lace Dress: F21
Blue Tank: Birthday gift
Skirt: Buffalo Exchange in San Francisco


On Natalie: 
Skirt: Handmade
Locket: Found it on the street! (can you believe it?!)


Listening to: The Adjustment Bureau OST "None of Them are You" by Thomas Newman

Quest for Camelot

Faeries, Dragons, Lances... Oh my!
The world of magic and knights took hold of the Central Coast over this past weekend and I ventured in with two great friends Sarah (She also went with me to the mission) and Jackie. We headed over to San Luis Obispo on Saturday to soak in the grandeur that is the Renaissance Faire ...

There was lots to see and many fun people walking about!  Every stall was decorated with great finery and was filled with even greater treasures. This was my second time attending a Ren Faire. My first was three years back in Colorado. It was the most spectacular place ever! This one here was a lot smaller but still loads of fun. Jackie even got a proposal from a local...

She declined gracefully. He was crushed, but he dealt with it well. hehe.

Henna!! Sarah and Jackie got beautiful ankle tattoos. I got these on my arms though by this time the paste was beginning to crack. Right now it is all off and is a bit darker than the orange showing through. They represent the f-holes of the violin family (Violin, Viola, Cello). I play the violin and a bit of cello. I have a thing for the string family.

We were in attendance for the Royal Jousting Tournament. It was perfectly thrilling! And Lady Victoria of England had the most glorious hair! 

Now onto treasures...

This was beautiful but I did not have the funds for it to be mine....

I did get to bring these lovelies home though...

Ear-cuffs are my favorite jewelry item hands down. I was happy to add this one and one other to my collection.

Another love of mine is watches. Mostly old fashioned watches with gears. I find gears to be beautiful in the way they move and work together. Yes. I am a steampunk fan. You can't tell in the picture, but the necklace is round and on the backside you can see all the gears tinkering away. When I saw this I almost died. So, rather than allow that to happen, I brought it home to be with me forever.