Walking On A Dream

Hey haay party people!  I am back from the desert!  Well truthfully, I've been back for three days now but today is the first day that the Coachella glow is starting to fade and reality is coming back into focus.  I had the absolute time of my life and that was in spite of losing my ID, credit card, money, VOICE and worst of all, lip gloss!  (Cue: "Waa waa"). The whole weekend was an expression of utter epic-ness, I assure you and I am now on the road to recovery for all of the aforementioned misplaced items including my voice. Soon, I'll be looking forward and not backward but until then, I wanted to give one last shout out to the experience that is Coachella before we wave goodbye to it, here on Keeley Kraft (until next year, that is!). 

So I thought I'd give a little music debrief on the blawg since last week all of the airtime was monopolized with fashion-talk.  Now, I mos def need to preface my discussion of this topic with the fact that I am by no means a musical expert.  While I could give you a 2 hour dissertation on the merits of yacht rock, I am probably the last person anyone would come to for any musical shop-talk, outside of that genre.  Which is why, I stayed close to my Coachella "docent" throughout the duration of the fest and am delighted that I did.  But also note that, as a result, the majority of the credit for these artist mentions is due to her.

I saw some of the "favorites" and had to miss some others due to scheduling conflicts but in my humble opinion, Lana Del Rey, Girl Talk, Foster the People, and Lorde were all fantastic!  Outkast - ummm.. not so much, honestly!  I didn't get to see Pharrel (but I heard Gwen Stefani made cameo! Noooo!).  We also missed MGMT, Cage the Elephant, Muse, the Preatures, Classixx, Grouplove, CVRCHES, the Knife, Calvin Harris, Aloe Blacc, Sleigh Bells, Solange - all of which I wanted to see but alas, such is always the dilemma at these things.  Here are my top 5 shows that I actually did see, that I'm newly ALL. ABOUT.:

1. EMPIRE OF THE SUN
I've liked Empire of the Sun ever since I heard "Walking On A Dream" several years ago but their performance was so over-the-top phenomenal that they deserve my "Best In Show" award for all-around awesomeness.  IT WAS INSANITY!
Songs of note: Walking on a Dream, Alive, DNA

2. FUTURE ISLANDS
As I was informed of the Thursday night prior to day one, these guys made quite the splash after their Letterman performance and have been tearing it up since! The video of the performance went instantly "viral" and took everyone by surprise. Their lead singer, Samuel T. Herring, is quite the passionate vocalist and is a sight to see because he literally pours his heart into the microphone. 
Songs of note: Seasons, Balance, A Dream of You and Me, One Day

3. CHROMEO
These guys were so fun to listen and dance to and I think surprised everyone with their show.
Songs of note: Bonafide Lovin, Jealous, Night by Night

4. FLUME
My "docent" and her friends have coined a verb out of listening to these guys and after taking in the concert in person, I can attest, a gerund was needed to describe this feeling.  "Fluming" the act of listening to Flume in concert, is an experience not to be missed out on!
Songs of note: You & Me, Drop the Game

5. HAIM
I had heard of these badass chicks last year and was stoked to see them in person.  Let me tell you, they did not disappoint!  These three sisters know how to rock it FO SHO.
Songs of note: The Wire, Forever, Don't Save Me

I was not a huge Disclosure fan prior to the fest and we actually had to leave their concert early for "undisclosed" reasons (haha) and subsequently missed Arcade Fire too, which played after, but this Disclosure song has been running through my head on repeat ever since:

Give it a few listens, promise?

*Also, a shout out needs to go out to Flash Tats, which I posted about HERE.  Talk about a breakout role at the fest - these glittery temp tats were the BOMB DIGGITY!

Oh, and remember the watermelon shorts I posted about, way back here? Well, I wore them alright, and I even made this little GIF to show them off!

Hee hee!

So, that's all I've got for you today.  Thanks for indulging the incessant Coachella posts on here as of late.  Normal posting will resume after the hump [day].  Catch y'all on the flip side!

XOXO

It Was All A Dream...

"I used to read Word Up magazine, Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine.  I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped."

... And then I woke up and realized it wasn't just a dream - it was reeeeal life!

Now, not to employ the "humble brag" but to 100% totally brag as humbly as I can get away with: my Coachella crew ("Coachillin") as we've dubbed ourselves, scored some invites to the "notorious" Lacoste pool party this year.  It's a "dream" come true!  Altho', as psyched as I am, it's a loaded invitation as one is not only invited to attend but also to "bring it."  BUT since I am not one to shirk on my responsibilities... oh, it will be BROUGHT.  "And if you don't know, now you know..."  #RIPbiggie

It took some scrambling on my part but I've finally compiled my pool party look and believe me, y'all - it is so fetch.  Now, I'm going to preface my reveal with the admission that those of you who know me in person can attest to: I don't like to go somewhere and not make a statement - especially not this star-studded shindig!  So, here's what I've been cooking up:

Get 'em HERE.

Get it HERE.

Get 'sum HERE.

So fresh, right?  And dare I say, "JUICY"? LOL.

Now, just in case you were looking to source some hot desert pool party styles for yourselves but you're not willing to show up looking like a piece of fruit (or you prefer seedless ;) - I've got you covered (actually, not literally but who's objecting?).  I was drooling over these smokin' swimsuits before I made my final call:

Get it HERE.

Get it HERE.

Get it HERE.

Get it HERE.

Get it HERE.

Get it HERE.

So MAJOR!

I'm excited to get a little fruity as I bake in the scorching heat but moreover, since I've yet to meet someone who didn't swoon over a slice of cool watermelon on a hot summer day, I'm expecting to be the life of the party!  See what I did there?

Oh, and this post "is dedicated to all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothing.  To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustling in front of.

It's all good, baby baby! "

The Palm Desert Strut

Sup y'all?  Howz your Tuesday hangin'?  Today, in keeping with the proposed common thread for the posts this week, I'm going to post about Coachella style and fashion.  I bet you all didn't see that one coming from a mile away.  Yes, the obligatory Coachella fashion post is ripe pickins for a blogger such as myself and I am not about to miss out this opp for nobody or nothing - no siree bub!

So let's cut to the chase... I'm not going mince words here because we've got a lot to get through... In other words, there was a flagrant disregard for editing on my part with regard to this topic so this isn't going to be your standard stop-and-chat style post.  Buckle up and get ready for a thorough ride of inspirations.  Brrrrrrm brrrrrum:

Get it HERE.

Get them HERE.

See my post on Flash Tats.

Get some here.

Find out how to DO THIS YOURSELF, here.

And now, for a good ol' fashioned round up for you all to outfit yourselves in a similar fashion. BOOM.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Aww yeah... Pump up the jam, pump it up!  I'm gittin' amped!

A Hair-Brained Idea

HOLA COMPADRES!  Welcome to the start of a new week! (How's that for positivity?!)  I hope your weekends were swell!  Mine was eventful, to say the least.  It even included winning a bet in which my friend has to buy all of my drinks whenever we hang out for the next two months (I have a feeling I won't be seeing him much during the next few months :) and ended with attending a WrestleMania party - which was WILD! (Spoiler alert: The Undertaker got taken! TALK ABOUT AN UPSET! #ThankYouTaker).  Anyway, fun times.

Speaking of fun times, this upcoming weekend I'm heading to C*O*A*C*H*E*L*L*A.  Woot woot!  This will be my fourth year attending the epic music festival in Indio (Palm Springs), CA and needless to say, I. AM. PUMPED.  To lead up to my departure, the posts this week will have a Coachella theme to them, so if you're not going and me talking about it is like rubbing salt in your jealous wounds - consider yourself warned. :)

Now, if you know anything about Coachella, you know that the festival is just as much about the fashion and the scene as it is about the music.  I would be lying if I told you that I hadn't had my outfits for each day that I'll be there, planned out for a month already (buuut keep that to yourselves).  Falling under the general fashion umbrella, hair styles are not something to be overlooked in the planning stages either!  The first year I went, it was totes the thing to have those feather extensions in your hair, then it was the 70's style hippie headbands, and then it was flowers and flower crowns, then headdresses - but one thing is unequivocally certain: braids are always accepted.  They supersede all other hair trends as they rank high on the scale of hippie expression.  Thus, if you can figure out a way to weave a tiny braid in and amongst your hairs, you are as good as golden.  (I am speaking generally to the ladies here but I doubt a lad would be turned away if they showed up sporting one too).  Lucky for me, I came across this super sick way to incorporate the small braid at this place on the internet called Pinterest, and lucky for you all - I'm going to share it with you!!  You flock of lucky ducks, you!   Behold:

Pretty groovalicious, huh?  Now if you're going too, consider this my official permission to use the style too but with the caveat that if we run into each other and we're both rocking this braided hair headband, you have to say I found it first... Deal?  K cool.

Happs on the Monday, y'all!

The Difference Between Mean and Women

Earlier today my mom sent me the following email but the subject of the email was titled "The Difference Between Mean and Women"...  After reading the article, I'm certain it was a Freudian slip, but I guess that's just one woman's b̶i̶a̶s̶e̶d̶ opinion ;)  Here's what the email contained... What do you guys think?  Freudian slip or innocent typo?

Let's say a guy named Fred is attracted to a woman named Martha. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: "Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?"

And then, there is silence in the car.

To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Fred is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Martha is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily towards, I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Fred is thinking: ...so that means it was...let's see...February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means...lemme check the odometer...Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Martha is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Fred is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Martha is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Fred is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90-day warranty...scumballs.

And Martha is thinking: Maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Fred is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their...

"Fred," Martha says aloud.

"What?" says Fred, startled.

"Please don't torture yourself like this," she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Maybe I should never have...oh dear, I feel so..."(She breaks down, sobbing.)

"What?" says Fred.

"I'm such a fool," Martha sobs. "I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse."

"There's no horse?" says Fred.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" Martha says.

"No!" says Fred, glad to finally know the correct answer.

"It's just that...it's that I...I need some time," Martha says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Fred, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

"Yes," he says. (Martha, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

"Oh, Fred, do you really feel that way?" she says.

"What way?" says Fred.

"That way about time," says Martha.

"Oh," says Fred. "Yes." (Martha turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

"Thank you, Fred," she says.

"Thank you," says Fred.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Fred gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a college basketball game between two South Dakota junior colleges that he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Martha will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification.

They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.

Meanwhile, Fred, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Martha's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: "Norm, did Martha ever own a horse?"

And that's the difference between men and women. 

People!  I am befuddled! Is this TRUE???  Do men really not think about relationships hardly at all?  I just don't believe it... Because I can certainly attest that the aforementioned female inner-monologue is wholly accurate (but shhh don't tell anyone that :).

If this is a realistic representation though then, I mean, WOW.  Just wow.

MORAL OF THE STORY: "Mean" are from Mars and Women are from Venus.  #truth.

Ponder that as you embark on your weekends! :)

XOXO