25 more facts

Close to three years ago I posted 25 random facts on this blog... and 3 years prior to that I posted 25 facts to Facebook before I was blogging. I thought it might be fun to try my hand at it again.  My first fact will update one of the facts from the last time I posted this:

1. I own ALL of the Harry Potter movies on DVDs
2. New Orleans is one of the best places I've ever visited, and I've only been there once for 7 days.
3. My Bacon Number is 3, because I met David Arquette in NOLA, he was in the Scream Movies with Neve Cambpell and she was in Wild Things with Kevin Bacon.
4. I avoid Light Beer if I can (a girl has to grow up sometimes... if it's worth drinking, it's worth the calories, if it isn't worth the calories, water will do just fine).
5. I prefer wine tasting tours to bar hopping
6. I still drive a 2005 Chevy Aveo named Tiny Tim
7. Halloween might be my favorite holiday, followed by Christmas, then my birthday.
8. I've never been zip-lining
9. I discovered I am not a fan of heights if I don't have some sort of guardrail to hold on to.
10. Currently I'm OBSESSED with Taylor Swift's 1989 album.
11. My favorite restaurant is The Palace in Santa Barbara.  Well at least my favorite one that I can get to in an hour, Jaques-Imos in New Orleans would probably be my absolute #1.
12. My biggest pet peeve is intentional ignorance. Don't play stupid with me, it will make me want to punch you in the face. 
13. Asada nachos are my favorite snack/lunch/meal... bonus if they're from Dos Carlitos in Buelton or La Picosita in Santa Maria. (bet you thought it was going to be mac and cheese... trust me it was a tough decision to make)
14. I'd rather spend a weekend in a hotel than camping
15. I'd rather be at the beach if I'm working on my tan... but I'd rather swim in a pool (no sharks).
16. Confession, I prefer my Kindle to paper books... hangs head in shame, I'm part of the problem that is causing book stores (that I LOVE) to close.  I like to go to Barnes and Noble to check out books that I'd like to download.
17. I own multiple journals... that are still blank. I buy them with the intention of writing, then don't sit down and chronicle my life.
18. I am as excited as a tweenager about the upcoming release of the Hunger Games movie Mockingjay.  I've seriously considered pre-purchasing the tickets, but so far have refrained.  I'm slightly concerned that my boyfriend thinks I'm mentally 13.
19. I'm trying very hard to fight my genetic inclination to be a hoarder. I'm going to sell/donate a minimum of 3 large (yard waste sized) garbage bags of clothes/accessories that no longer fits/is no longer my style/has been hanging in the closet so long that it is dusty.
20. In the last two years I have learned how to make a grilled cheese sandwich that I will actually eat... the trick is to cook it slow on low heat... no matter how hungry you are. Trust me slow and low, it is the tempo. The Beastie Boys wouldn't steer you wrong and neither will I.
21. Out of all the concerts I've been to over the years, the best ones have all been country music. In order of greatness (although 2 and 3 are really close):
1. Garth Brooks (hands down, no questions)
2. Gary Allan
3. Dierks Bentley
22. I'd rather spend a casual night at home with people I love than a fancy night night out with someone that I feel mediocre about.
23. It's EXTREMELY hard for me to mask my emotions... unless I'm at work, then I'm a robot.
24. My favorite hot teas are: Hot Cinnamon Sunset by Harney & Sons (caffeinated) and Stash Licorice Spice (herbal){even though I hate black licorice, I love the tea... go figure}
25. By the time I post this, my blog will have reached 20,000 hits in 3 years and less than 200 posts. That excites and humbles me. Thank you for reading. I'll try to continue to keep things interesting so that you'll want to come back

Bucket List

I keep seeing things about people's bucket lists and thought I'd try my hand at my own list... While I don't have a terminal disease like the viral lists that have been popping up in my news feed, I figure it's always good to have goals, and to not be afraid to dream a little bigger (darling).

• Travel More
• Europe
• Visit the Louvre
• Go to Greece
• Ride in a gondola in Italy
• See the Tower of London
• The Coliseum in Rome
• The beaches in the South of France
• Drink wine in a Cafe in France
• Visit the island my grandmother was born in in the Azores
• Visit Ireland
• Stonehenge
• Australia
• Sydney Opera House
• The Great Barrier Reef
• The Outback
• High Five a Kangaroo
• Spend significant time staying in New Orleans
• Go back to the Big Island of Hawaii
• Go to NYC 
• see a play ON BROADWAY
• Central Park
• Statue of Liberty
• Radio City Music Hall
• Middle America
• meet some awesome internet friends I've made over the years, I'd love to see you in person at least once or twice in my lifetime.
• Pacific Northwest
• Seattle
• Portland
• Chicago... and taste test the difference between Chicago Pizza and New York Pizza and declare a winner once and for all.
• Write a novel (or maybe finish one of the many I've started)
• See Green Day in concert
• Take a digital photography class and really learn how to use my camera to it's abilities and become a better hobbyist photographer.
• Find a career that grows me, instead of just having a job to pay the bills
• See the big waves at Mavericks
• Find new favorite places
• Sing Karaoke with Taylor Swift
• just seeing if you're paying attention
• Go to a Spurs basketball game, a Cowboys football game
• Learn how to decorate cakes/cupcakes beyond my current skill levels
• Have a house with a library/art studio in it
• pay off credit card debt, so that my family isn't stuck with extra bills
• goals can be responsible ones too 
• Learn to be spontaneous (Can you do that? Is it like planning to be unpredictable?)
• Learn to truly forgive, forget, and let go of old drama

I know this list is far from finished, and some of the goals are loftier than others, but what's the point of having dreams if they have to be based in reality? 

I plan on adding to this as I come up with more ideas and crossing off items that I complete as time wears on. 

Album Review: Taylor Swift 1989

Taylor Swift: Shake it Off 

Artist:  Taylor Swift
Album: 1989
Point of Purchase: iTunes (pre-order baby!!)
Price: $12.99

Thoughts:  Okay, not even going to lie, I've been excited and on the edge of my seat for this album since I head "Shake It Off" awhile back... you know when Kelly Clarkson posted the link to the video on her Facebook page. I'm 33 years old and dancing in my seat like a tweenager.  Last night I watched an episode of the Graham Norton show simply because Tswizzle was a guest on his couch, and there's an InStyle magazine on my BF's couch that she graces the cover of. I feel like I should be embarrassed at the extent of my fangirlishness when it comes to Miss T, but really, I'm not.  I want to bake cookies and talk about boys with her... is that weird? Probably... I'm going to go ahead and embrace the fantasy. My name is Lauren, and I'm a Swifty. 

Track Listing/Favorite Lines:

1. Welcome to New York: Everybody here wanted something more
   Searching for a sound we hadn’t heard before
2. Blank Space: darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream
3. Style: Cause You got that James Dean day dream look in your eye
   And I got that red lip classic thing that you like
   And when we go crashing down, we come back in every time.
   Cause we never go out of style
4. Out of the Woods: The night we couldn’t quite forget
   When we decided
   To move the furniture so we could dance
   Baby, like we stood a chance
   Two paper airplanes flying
5. All You Had To Do Was Stay: people like me wanna believe you when you say you've changed
6. Shake It Off: Just think while you been getting down and out about the liars
   And the dirty dirty cheats of the world
   You could have been getting down to this sick beat
7. I Wish You Would: I wish you know that I miss too much to be mad anymore
8. Bad Blood: Band-aids don't fix bullet holes
9. Wildest Dreams: Say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams
10. How You Get The Girl: I want you for worse or for better
11. This Love: This love is a life back from the dead
12. I Know Places: Lose lips, ships sink, all the damn time, not this time
    Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it
    My love, they are the hunters, we are the foxes
    And we run
13. Clean: And that morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean

Bonus Tracks: Ms Swift is releasing more songs to iTunes 

1. Wonderland: In the end in Wonderland we both went mad

This album is so fun, and well worth the wait... It's not on Spotify yet, or I would have linked the whole album, but seriously, go drop the $13 and get your own copy. You too could be getting down to this sick beat.