Takeout Tuesday - Lady Gaga Oreos

A different sort of Takeout Tuesday this week - I am so excited that I found the new full packs of the Lady Gaga Oreos!!  I finally found the mini packs at 7-11 recently, but I was really looking forward to finding these bright pink packs once they were out in stores.  

The package is a bright metallic pink color so it was very easy to spot on the shelf! The cookies are pink cookies with green creme to go with the Chromatica album theme, but taste-wise they are just different colored Golden Oreos (thankfully, haha).  I love that they did a special collaboration for the Chromatica album in such a fun and creative way and of course I always love trying out a new type of Oreo cookie! 

 

A Star is Born Soundtrack

Clearly as a big fan of Lady Gaga, I knew that I would go see the remake of A Star is Born, which came out here on October 5th.  But even if you're not a fan of Lady Gaga and think she'll ruin the movie (which, how dare you, haha), it was really such a great movie that everyone should go see it!

The concert performances throughout the movie were especially done really well, and the sound quality adds to the feeling of being at a live show.  There's so many different layers to the story between Jackson (Bradley Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga) that I think everyone will be able to relate to some aspect of it.  While technically it is a remake that has been done a few times before, the original music and the way the story has been adapted by Bradley Cooper and his fellow writers was done really well, in my opinion. 

The soundtrack mixes together songs from the movie, songs that didn't make it into the movie, and key dialogue that sets you up for certain points in the story.  I love that it's almost like seeing the movie again in a different way.  Lady Gaga is obviously an amazing singer, but Bradley Cooper's extensive voice training is really impressive here as well.  Everyone go see the movie (multiple times if you're like me) and get the soundtrack ASAP!  

Lunchtime Links for April 14th, 2017 - Kimi No Na Wa Movie

 In lieu of my regular Lunchtime Links today, I wanted to share some reviews for the Japanese movie "Kimi No Na Wa" / "Your Name" that is currently out in select US theatres.  This movie was a huge hit in Japan last summer/fall and continues to be really popular, with movie-themed pop up cafes doing really well in Japan.  The animation is really amazing, and I love the soundtrack as well.  The Japanese band Radwimps worked closely with the director to create all of the songs in the movie, and it's really a great compliment to the story.  If you have a chance to see this movie while it is being shown by you, I highly recommend it!! 

• NPR
• The Guardian
• Vox

Dashboard Confessional - July 22nd, 2015

"Hands down this is the best day I can ever remember..."

On July 22nd, while I was in Seattle, I had the chance to see Dashboard Confessional with Third Eye Blind again (I saw them in Philly back in June), this time with a Dashboard Confessional VIP package!  The VIP package was totally worth it, with an early pre-show meet & greet with Chris Carrabba, acoustic performance of a bunch of songs, signed pass, and a poster that I still need to go to IKEA to get a frame for, haha.  

Despite my brain short-circuiting the minute that Chris Carrabba said "Hi" during my turn at the meet & greet, I managed to take some photos and mostly just take in the fact that he was singing literally an arm's length away from me. He played a bunch of songs that they would not be playing at the actual concert, and it was such a great opportunity to hear some old favorites, as well as some covers/different songs. 

The concert was held in Redmond, WA, at Marymoor Park's concert venue.   It's an amazing venue with food trucks, real bathrooms (yes this is a major bonus for outdoor venues, haha), lots of alcohol vendors, and plenty of tables/seating for people to chill out in before the concert or between the sets. I was seriously impressed with how nice this concert venue was put together, and I would love to come see another show here soon if I am in town for one!

I mainly went for Dashboard Confessional, but I was once again very impressed with Third Eye Blind's live performance- so many great songs, and everyone knew all the words it seemed like.  Also, Stephan Jenkins is 50?! He seriously looked pretty much the same as he did in the "Semi-Charmed Life" video, with slightly longer hair, haha.

What a fantastic night with two amazing live bands! I love that they went on tour together, and now this makes me really want Dashboard Confessional to go on another tour immediately!  Over a week later, I'm still a little overwhelmed by the fact that I finally met Chris Carrabba....!!!

It's Gonna Be May

Today is one of the best days ever, especially if you're a fan of N*Sync/Justin Timberlake!  I saw this online a few years ago, and ever since then I've had my own "It's Gonna Be May" photo on my calendar every April, haha.  I wonder if Justin knows about this holiday yet... 

Andy Cohen X Lady Gaga

This past Wednesday evening, Lady Gaga was the special guest for Bravo's Watch What Happens Live ExtravaGAGAnza, and it was AMAZING!!!

Since the link to the Watch What Happens Live video page gets updated pretty regularly, here are all of the clips I could find so far, it was such a fun show to watch!

- Favorite Costume
- Plead the Fifth
- Housewives Tagline
- Edge of Glory Hole Game
- Aftershow #1
- Aftershow #2
- Aftershow #3
- Aftershow #4

Last but not least, Lady Gaga drunkenly putting makeup on Andy is awesome, haha.

Lunchtime Links for August 27th, 2013

• The Pioneer Woman: Breakfast potatoes. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: 1 minute microwave chocolate mochi doughnuts. 
• Picky Palate: Roasted banana and Nutella s'mores bruschetta. 
• Buzzfeed: N'SYNC then and now.
• Averie Cooks: Soft and gooey loaded s'mores bars. 

Justin Timberlake & Jay Z

I am super excited to be headed to the Justin Timberlake and Jay Z concert tonight, woohoo!  I have been listening to both of their new albums recently but I'm still hoping for lots of their old songs, fingers crossed!

Side note: a while back Jay Z officially deleted the hyphen from his name, or rather, "sold it"? Sure, this man can do pretty much whatever he wants to at this point, haha.

The Package Tour - June 14th, 2013

Last Friday night, all of my 90s - early 2000's dreams came true, in the form of the Package Tour: featuring NKOTB, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men.  I don't care who you are or what your musical tastes are, there is no way you could hear any of their songs and not want to sing along and dance!   Unfortunately the lighting wasn't great for taking photos on my phone, but it was an awesome night with my friend R, filled with so many fun dance moves and cheesy ballads... I loved every minute! 

And yes, that's a shirtless Jordan Knight, hot hot hot.

New Justin Timberlake CD

He's baaaaaaaaaaack!!

I enjoy going out to physically get CDs when they come out, and this new Justin Timberlake CD was no exception.  The 20/20 Experience CD came out last Tuesday and I've been listening to it in my car ever since.  The mood of this CD is definitely very different compared to his last CD, with the most notable difference being the song lengths.  I think each song on this new album is at least 7 minutes long, haha.  I am so so happy that JT is back to making music, and looking as dapper as ever!!

!!!!!!! Justin Timberlake !!!!!!!!!

On 12:01 EST yesterday, Justin Timberlake posted a somewhat cryptic tweet with a link:

http://countdown.justintimberlake.com/

I'm no Nancy Drew but I think it's safe to say that Justin is FINALLY back to making music??????

If there is a tour in the future I am definitely going, he is AMAZING live and a fantastic performer! I can't wait to find out in 2 days what the big announcement is!!

Lady Gaga's Meat Dress

Here it is folks - the real deal Lady Gaga Meat Dress from the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards!

The infamous dress is a part of an impressive collection of female artists' clothing, personal items, and historical memorabilia as part of the "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power" exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.  In addition to a few pieces from Lady Gaga (including her childhood piano), there are lots of stage outfits and other pieces from artists ranging from Billie Holiday to Taylor Swift.  It's a great exhibit and a fun opportunity to see these pieces up close and in person!

And for anyone that is still wondering - yes, real meat was used to make this dress. And yes, it has been preserved for display purposes, haha.

AC Birthday Weekend - DJ Pauly D!

For part of my birthday celebration, a few girl friends and I met up in Atlantic City for a night.  It was so much fun and I had a wonderful time!!

As you might be able to guess - the main event for the evening was seeing DJ Pauly D at The Pool After Dark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This actually wasn't part of the original plan, but as luck would have it he announced that he'd be at The Pool a few weeks before this specific weekend.

Ok yes, I have to say it - I didn't think it was possible, but he is even cuter in person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Happy (Belated) Birthday Lady Gaga!

So, I scheduled my posts wrong and yesterday was actually Lady Gaga's birthday, whoops.  I'm sure she will find some way to forgive me, us being such close friends and all...haha.

Anyway- the fab Lady Gaga is now 26, which makes me in awe of how much she's accomplished and all the work she's put in to her craft at such a young age, and also makes me feel REALLY old. 

If any of you have seen the full "Marry the Night" video, you'll know that it is pretty crazy, and in my opinion, pretty epic.  There's certainly a lot going on in the video, so to speak.  Here's my favorite quote from the video - I find it to be much more thoughtful than one might expect from a music video:

When I look back on my life, it's not that I don't want to see things exactly as they happened, it's just that I prefer to remember them in an artistic way.

And truthfully, the lie of it all is much more honest because I invented it.

Clinical psychology tells us, arguably, that trauma is the ultimate killer. Memories are not recycled like atoms and particles in quantum physics. They can be lost forever. It’s sort of like my past is an unfinished painting, and as the artist of that painting, I must fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again.

 It’s not that I’ve been dishonest, it’s just that I loathe reality. 

Lady Gaga - "You and I" video

One of my favorite songs from Lady Gaga's Born This Way album is "You and I" - she's done slow versions live in concert, and a quicker-paced one on the album itself.

The official TV premiere of the video is going to be on August 18th (TONIGHT) at 7:49pm on MTV.  However Gaga Daily has the music video up on their site here!!!

As usual Lady Gaga does not disappoint in the "What the F is going on" category, haha.  Enjoy!!

Lady Gaga + Tumblr

As if Lady Gaga wasn't one of the more social media-savvy pop artists out there already, she's gone and created a Tumblr account, woo!

It's called Amen Fashion and there's already a few photos and posts up already, including this first one that scared the crap out of me, hahahah. <3 you Lady Gaga!!

  

(Photo courtesy of Lady Gaga/Amen Fashion)

DC Summer Concert Series + PAUL Picnic

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Colston for PAUL USA

I recently received some information from PAUL Bakery in DC that I thought would be worth sharing, about a fun concert series taking place every Tuesday this summer. 

During the duration of the concerts, the bakery will be selling a picnic dinner - what a great idea!  Even if I wasn't going to the concert, I am tempted to pick up one of these picnic dinners for dinner at home, haha. 

Here's the details on the concert and the picnic dinner, for anyone that is interested!

Enjoy a free live concert in front of PAUL Bakery Penn Quarter at the US Navy Memorial every Tuesday from June 7th to August 30th for "Concert on the Avenue" from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.

Come and grab our special PAUL Picnic Dinner to eat outside while listening to music under the stars!

$11.95 for baguette sandwich, cold drink & slice of tarte or macaron!
(Offer available every Tues. night this summer as of 5pm. PAUL will also be open until 9pm on the nights of the concert series.)

PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Colston for PAUL USA

 
About the US Navy Memorial “Concert on the Avenue” Series:
- Free and open to the public. No RSVP required, but seating is limited.
- Free, live concert performed by the U.S. Navy Band every Tuesday evening June 7-August 30 on the United States Navy Memorial Plaza.  Musical performances include patriotic, country, and rock music + Broadway show tunes.  Select performances also include the Coast Guard Band, a Navy drill team demonstration and a 50-state flag presentation.
- Concerts are subject to last-minute cancellation due to inclement weather. Call (202) 737-2300 for more information.http://www.navymemorial.org/Events/ConcertsontheAvenue/tabid/196/Default.aspx

Lunchtime Links for May 13th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Yogurt cake.
• I Love Peanut Butter: Peanut butter biscuits.
• Glee: Recap from TVGasm.
• Serious Eats: Goat cheese brownies.
• In Good Taste: Olive oil lemon cake.

Lunchtime Links for April 28th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Cleaning a greasy stovetop.
• Top Chef All-Stars: Recap from TVGasm.  
• Little Bitty Bakes: Cadbury mini egg chocolate chip cookies.
• Harper's Bazaar: Interview with Lady Gaga.
• Ramen & Friends: Trader Joe's bento box.

Lunchtime Links for April 26th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Quick lunches under 400 calories.
• Lady Gaga: Takes a fall from the piano like a champ. 
• Tasty Kitchen: Homemade bagels.
• Bella Nutella: S'mores French toast.
• Real World Las Vegas: Recap from TVGasm.