Detroit Music Trippin'

I can't help but be proud of our local magazine, The Metro Times, for publishing an amazing excerpt in this week's circular called, "Metro Times Detroit Music: The Ultimate Sightseer's Guide." This article has a page by page list of 100 historically known music dwellings for people to check out. And the best part is...they are all located in the Metro Detroit area!!!!

From Baker's Keyboard Lounge (the oldest jazz club in the world) to a mansion in Rochester Hills (where Eminem once lived), the creative minds behind this masterpiece have included every place imaginable for entertaining musical memories. The brilliance of this article knocked my socks off so far from my feet, that I decided to spread love and encourage all of you to dive into the amazement with me.

Each place listed has an address and a brief description of it's significance. Jazz, blues, pop, rap, r&b, punk, techno, motown, grunge, alternative, swing and more! This tour is great for visitors, locals and all music lovers interested in learning about the harmonious roots of the Motor City.

These places can easily be put into a GPS system for a self-guided musical tour.So burn your own cd with the melodious tunes from some of the many great artists who once thrived here and learn again why Detroit stands out as an urban delight. If this miraculous piece has not coaxed you into wanting to add this to your life list, maybe actually reading the article will. 

Check it out! You will be very proud and impressed. :)

http://metrotimes.com/news/detroit-music-the-ultimate-sightseer-s-guide-1.1244426  

Say It's So - MATEO

If you have been following me and reading my blogs you will know about a particular person I have been writing about.  He is one of the hottest (well in my opinion) new up and coming R&B singer songwriter out there.  He works with Kerry Krucial brothers and of course another familiar name, someone whom I've talked about....JL Brown on the Krucial Noise label.  He goes by the name Mateo. I've talked about his bio and what made him start doing music.  I talked about his single Say It's So and when his album will be released.  Well guess what?!!!  I got some more information for you.

Say It's So (which features the lovely Alicia Keys) official music video came out a few weeks ago.  I know, I know, I am a little behind on posting it on here, (I've just been busy ;)) BUT it's amazing and you gotta see it.

ALSO, I have even BIGGER news about Mateo and his single......

Say It's So reached Billboards R&B/Hip Hop 100 Singles chart!!!!!!  Now this is AMAZING and with all of your support I am sure he will be climbing up that ladder to #1 in no time.

Music Business | Music Industry | Record Sales | Billboard Charts | Billboard Hot 100 www.billboard.biz

Again, you can buy his single on ITunes (it's only $.99 people!  You can also buy his Love & Stadiums II album for only $5.99 - which was released on Dec. 6th 2011) by clicking the link below:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/say-its-so-single/id466355843

The single Fool for You - which appears on his Love & Stadiums II album is beautiful song; but the remix Fool for You that features a Duet with Artist Dawn Richard is HOT!  You can listen to it here: http://snd.sc/t37f7z .

If you want more of Mateo become a fan of Mateo on FB. And if you are a big twitter freak you can follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/mateoonline

For shits and giggles I decided to post another fun/cover remix video Mateo has done from his stripped cover series.  Rihanna - We found Love....it's pretty dang AWESOME!

Man, you gotta love that soulful sound!

I hope you all enjoyed....and remember buy his Love & Stadiums II album for only $5.99 on Itunes, it will make a great christmas gift as well as a stocking stuffer! ;)

Jingle Your Bells

Yay! It's December people. And you know what that means?! That means it's time get your Fa-La-La's out there and get involved in some happy holiday happenings.  This weekend kicks of some pretty nifty events that are sure to get your chest nuts roasted.

Are you a lover of Detroit and all of it's artistic offerings? Head down to Midtown in the "D" for their Noel Night December 3rd, from 5:30-9pm.  Everyone can get into any of the museums for FREE! That's right... for free. The Charles Wright Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Science Center...you name it; it's open. But that's not all!  There will also be ice carvings, choirs caroling, and horse drawn carriages there to carry you through the white and drifted snow...oh! Tons of people will be hanging out spreading that holiday cheer. Why not join them?

Another fabulous thing happening downtown is the the Somerset City Loft pop up shops. Troy's Somerset Collection is bringing the love of shopping to Woodward Avenue! How awesome is that?!  Since Noel Night will be going on, Somerset decided to bring down little "mini me" shops from their Troy location. Prices of the merchandise will be ranged to fit every holiday shoppers' budgets.  Over 30 different shops will be particpating including: Gap, Pottery Barn, Betsey Johnson, The Detroit Shop and more! It runs pretty much all day Saturday from 11am-9pm so get your sugar plums down there to see what it's all about!

I can't wait to dash through the snow and take a little day trip down to the new winter wonderland Detroit has created. With the City Lofts and the Noel Nights, I don't know what else could kick this season off merry and bright!

For more information on either event go to:
http://www.detroitmidtown.com/05/noelnight.php
www.thesomersetcollection.com

Oh how I've missed you LA...

I'M BACK!!!!!
There is a good chance you'll hear from me a lot this week because unlike my normal week where I am working 80 hours and sleeping whenever I can, I am back in California!!!! This is the first time I've had off since the last time I was here in September! It is much needed and couldn't have come at a better time.. (normal restaurant drama that I don't want to be a part of).

So here I am, I get 2 whole weeks to sleep in, spend time with the boy, eat some delicious food on Turkey Day and celebrate Ali's big 3-0!!

Seriously not much else has been going on.. hmm
With all our time away from each other I am always a little afraid that maybe things wont fall back into place that next time the boy and I see each other.. but once again my concerns are not needed because we are together and better than ever. I am so excited for these next 2 weeks, it will be busy but entertaining and completely worth it. Then we only have to wait less than a month to see each other again because Christmas will be just around the corner. This week my focus is on job searching.. the plan is to come out in January no matter what but it would ease my money concerns if I already had something lined up. So please send me
positive thoughts and keep your fingers crossed!

Talk soon!
Lo

Serendipity

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back it's yours to
keep. If it doesn't, it was never meant to be."  -unknown

I believe everything happens for a reason.  I believe if you are meant to be you are meant to be.  If it doesn't work out the first time and it comes back around it's a sign.  I believe in signs and sometimes people really need to stop and pay attention, because it is telling them something, it is leading them in a direction where they belong.

Serendipity is one of my favorite movies.  I feel like it has so much meaning and I totally believe in it.  Maybe I watch to many romantic comedies or listen to to many love songs?  I don't know?  But I can't help it, I truly believe in it.  Call me crazy, call me a dreamer, I don't care....I believe and I have faith.

500 Days of Summer - This movie could not have said it better during Toms and Summers final conversation:

I am not one to settle.  I can tell right away if I like someone.  If I don't get that butterfly feeling when I think about him, or don't get all excited and giddy when he calls or texts then clearly I am not into him.  Just like the movie The Notebook....I want the passion and love like Noah and Ally.  I want to practically run to him every time I see him.....Not literally, but that feeling like I am about to.   I believe in soul mates and to not give up on that faith.

So with that being said, I will wait for him, even if it takes my entire life......

"It's better to be loved and lost then to never be loved at all" -a lot of people

"When you are in love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams"  -Dr. Suess

Make Yourself Happy

Busy, busy, busy! That's how my life is and how it's pretty much always been. But, I guess I never realized just how truly busy I was or how much sleep I lacked until just recently. You see, about 5 or 6 months ago, I would get about 4 1/2, maybe 5 hours of shut eye each night, if I was lucky.  Yup...I would live my weeks with about 30  hours or less of sleep.  I know it's terribly unhealthy, speeds up aging, and makes you less alert and partially dumb but, there is always just so much to do and so little time. I never wanted to miss that birthday party, dinner with friends, or really cool event...so I didn't.

Well, all of that non sleeping business had to be put to an end. I had to train myself to be selfish and say no to all of those extra curricular activities and start to  re-prioritize my lifestyle, for the sake and health of Baby G and of course...myself. At first, it was very difficult to get used to but, as the days rolled on, I started feeling better about my decisions  and most importantly, I started to feel happier. Now, I don't feel drained, tired, unfocused or crabby.  I really, truly, feel jovial.

Here are some of the things I changed that I think made my life so much easier:

1. I cut out teaching Zumba 3x a week.  Instead, I do about 30 minutes of working out in front of the television, in my sweats.  Seriously! I feel so much more comfortable, I'm saving time, and I get to watch TV. 

2. I cut out one night of working at Andiamos.  The night is Friday too! So after my long week at the radio station, I can actually head home on a Friday night to do absolutely anything I want and unwind from the office chaos properly.

3. I stopped fully booking every hour of my weekend.  Instead, when i'm invited to do something, I say, i'll let you know, maybe, or i'll try my best but, it's not a guarantee.  It's hard to plan something ahead of time when i'm pregnant especially since I don't know if i'm going to be tired or not. This way, I don't have the person depending on me to be there and I don't feel bad if I don't attend.

4. I make sure I take at least 2 days out of the work week to schedule nothing after work.

What i've learned from this is that you can't do everything for everybody and still live a happy life. You have to give yourself time to relax, rest, and do nothing sometimes. If every hour of your day is filled with a ton of stuff, it will be too hard for you to enjoy anything that you are doing.  I remember a quote from Ferris Buller's Day Off, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you might miss it!" It's good to be busy but, being too busy, can sheild you from actually really enjoying those special moments of life.

Now that I have added several hours of nothing time to my schedule, i've been able to make myself happy by doing whatever I want at those hours.  I see Marco more, bond more with my belly baby, get a ton of rest, and spend time with me.  And I think that is one easy step to achieving happiness- Take time out of your life, to actually spend time with yourself.

New Life.. for a week

First of all I would like to apologize for being absent for so long.. you know how life is, sometimes it just passes you by without realizing it.

Well this week is a first for me.. I am playing "mommy." My girls - whom I have been watching for over 10 years, now 12 and 14 - needed a sitter for the week while their parents looked for houses in California (they are also moving in January). So this week I have been in charge of waking up early to make sure the bus is made, packing lunches, doing homework, feeding dinner but also making it to work every day. Let me tell you, it has been so exhausting!!! It has made me realize I am not ready for mommy hood..  I miss eating cereal for dinner, watching my shows on hulu and going to bed when I am tired, waking up with just enough time for myself to get ready for work.... BUT... i do love these girls. We have had a blast this week, gossiping and going to my restaurant for dinner, cuddling, gossiping abough high school drama (and work drama, haha).
Even though they can be a pain in the butt, just talking about how they've grown over the years gets me a little teary. It is a good thing they are also moving to California, because I honestly dont think I could last only seeing them once a year (I have done it before and I am not a fan at all).

Here are some memories from over the years...

So grown up now!! I love these girls. You complete me :)

~L