Music Monday: Bruno Mars- Gorilla

I was lucky enough to score tickets (thanks to my best friend) to Bruno's "Moonshine Jungle" Tour this past July. It was one of the best performances I've seen. I saw this song performed on his tour, and its also on the CD; but Bruno debuted the song "Gorilla" last night at the MTV VMAs. The song comes from his 2nd album "Unorthodox Jukebox."

Take a listen.

The "Moonshine Jungle" wraps up in the US on Sept 1st, but continues in the UK as well as New Zealand and Australia well into 2014.

Until next time,
XOXO
Belle

Cooking up Pad Thai

I love Asian food. Love. But considering most of it contains soy, the whole gluten free thing can prove somewhat difficult. I try to find things that I can make myself that are gluten free and don't cost an arm and a leg. A while ago I stopped by the GF section and found a pre-packaged Pad Thai deal. And I decided to try it. Did not realize how much I liked pad thai til then! 

Anywho, instead of buying the overly priced package that makes 3-4 servings every time, I decided to just buy the "ingredients" and make my own.

I got a box of rice noodles:

And found pad thai sauce at Cash Wise:

I had some stir fry vegetables in my freezer so I added those as well as a fried egg and chicken (You could do shrimp as well, just be careful not to overcook).
There was directions on the pre packaged box so I somewhat followed those.
Boil the noodles, and as that is happening fry up an egg and set it aside. Then in the same pan you can cook up the chicken as well as the vegetables. When the noodles are done you can put everything together and add some pad thai sauce (I did about a third of a cup) and some oil. Stir it around until it's all kind of soaked up. Super easy and super tasty!

 Nom, nom!

Until next time,
XOXO
Belle

Music Monday: One Republic- Counting Stars

This weeks featured artist is One Republic. The band that calls Colorado home, originated in 1996 but didn't truly form until 2002. They were picked up and dropped by major music labels but after becoming wildly popular on Myspace, One Republic became the first rock band to be signed to Mosley Music Group.  Following this, the band was able to release their debut album Dreaming Out Loud in 2007 and made radio history with their first single "Apologize", receiving the largest amount of air plays in one week.

The song "Counting Stars" is the 3rd single off their 3rd album Native. Even though their previous singles from this album ("Feel Again" and "If I Lose Myself") are huge hits, it's "Counting Stars" that makes its mark with me. The song has kind of an electronic folk sound mixed with a little Latin influence. (That flute!)


One Republic will be kicking off a co-headlining tour with Sara Bareilles on Aug 29th.

Take a listen. And I'd love to know what music genres and influences you hear in the song!




Until next time,
XOXO
Belle

The Last SunSoaker Thursday.

You might know by now that I'm a pretty big fan of Cities 97. And every summer they do these free concert things at lakeside bar and grills. For ten years they were known as Oake on the Water, until Brian Oake started doing the morning show and relinquished the duties to one Paul Fletcher. These shindigs are now referred to as SunSoaker Thursdays.

My friend Jessica and I try our very bests to go to as many as possible, or at least the ones in Minnetonka. :)

SunSoakers are probably one of the greatest things of the summer. You get to see free music in a great setting and see some of your favorite artists.  Some featured this summer were Delta Ray, Amos Lee, Matt Hires, Tyrone Wells, Quietdrive and many others. One of my favorites discoveries played on my birthday weekend, The Wild Feathers. Here's one of their videos. 

Well, this Thursday was the last Sunsoaker of the season. It was an amazing turn out and they really went out with a bang. I even got retweeted by Cities 97. 

*sorry for the mini fangirl sesh*

So if you didn't make it out to a SunSoaker Thursday, there's always next year! 

And I for one can't wait. Thanks for an awesome summer. 

Until next time,
XOXO
Belle

Etsy Find- Dog Collars

Truth be told, if I'm not on Pinterest, I'm on Etsy. It's such a great place to find quality one of a kind items. Especially when I know I can't make it myself! I do a lot of shopping for gifts on the site, but my most recent obsession is finding cute dog accessories!! My dog is way too spoiled. 

Thanks to Danes and Divas, I found a super cute collar.

However, I wasn't a fan of the pink or olive interior. And Ellie's neck was a bit too big for the sizes they are made in. 

But! They do custom ordering! So I was thrilled when I got this in the mail:

They ship from Canada and it only took about a week to get here. They offer so many options and I love that they are willing to give you exactly what you want. 

So, if your looking to add some flair to your puppy's wardrobe, please check out Danes and Divas!

P.S. I think it looks really good on Ellie. :)

Until next time,
XOXO
Belle

A Follow Up...

Thanks to the Cities 97 morning show with Oake and Keri, I found this!! 

Figured it was a good follow up to Music Monday. 

Walk off the Earth covering Lorde's Royals. 

Enjoy!

Until next time, 

XOXO

Belle

Music Monday: Lorde- Royals

I decided to try Music Monday. I'll post a song that's been either stuck in my head, influential or just a song that's new to me each week.

So this week, its Lorde's Royals. She's a 16 year old UK artist (well from New Zealand) and just released an EP back in March.

Take a listen.



Until next time,
XOXO
Belle

Bulletin Board craft

I've always been a big fan of crafting. With social networks like Pinterest, its opened a world of sharing ideas and connecting with my favorite craft stores. 

I decided to make this bulletin board. 

Crafts Direct provides the idea and you can get the project sheet here.

So I traveled to the Crafts Direct to pick up the materials, and added a bit of my own flair. 

I'm really excited to put this to use!

Until next time,
XOXO
Belle