A Fine Frenzy

A Fine Frenzy is an amazingly unique band! It is actually the face of Alison Sudol (formally Alison Monro) who is a beautifully talented singer, pianist, and is responsible for such inspiring lyrics. In fact, the lyrics are my favorite part about her songs! One Cell In The Sea is the title of the debut album, released in 2007, and is also a line from the song Minnow and the Trout, which is one of my favorite songs.

"Please, I know that we're different, but we were one cell in the sea, in the beginning, and what we're made of, was all the same once."

Her music really is beautiful and my ranting about it doesn't at all do it justice! Instead, you can go listen to her music on myspace, or better yet, buy the CD! I even made a Sims 2 video using her song "You Picked Me." All the songs are worth owning. :) (She also has a new album Bomb in a Birdcage I haven't gotten to listen to yet! I'll have to give it a listen, too!)

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Books

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. is a great book series as well! After watching the first movie and being so moved by the characters I wanted to know more about them so within a couple weeks I had read all books in the series.

What I really loved about these books is that they were each narrated by one of the four best friends in the beginning and the end, and you really felt like you got to know these girls inside out and were one of their best friends too. I also liked how long the books were, not too long, not too short, but just right! But more importantly, the stories told me more about their lives than what the movie had time to show in two hours of a film, and gave lots of background information and funny antidotes and accounts, as well as went into more detail about their adventures.

The one thing I was disappointed about this series, honestly, was that they only made two films based off of all four books, instead of dedicating a single movie to each book. Other than that fact, and that there are some minute differences (like how Lena has no mention of siblings in the movies but actually has a sister in the books) The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is worth a look and is why I've also nominated this series for Book To Read. :)

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Movies

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a story about four best friends who have been friends almost before they were even born. It follows their friendship over one summer after they've grown up and became four very different girls, all with one pair of magical pants they've found that hold them together during their first summer apart. It is based off of a very good series of books I've also read (the movie inspired me to read the books!) by Ann Brashares.
When I first saw this movie, it made me cry because I could really relate to the character of Lena (played by Alexis Bledel). She was a sensitive, shy artist like myself who had never been in a relationship with a boy before so she was genuinely modest and a little uncomfortable around public displays of affection. Eventually she comes out of her shell once she falls in love. And if it's one thing I know, relationships can, under the right circumstances, make you a better, more confident person. :)
I really liked this movie because it showed the type of support we girls need from our friends, and can't get from just anyone. We need to be able to know that we're not the only one going through something, and if we are, that others can at least relate and understand and listen and care. I'll admit I'm also envious of these girl's strong relationships because it's something I've always wanted with a group of my friends I had in fifth grade, but I guess I'm pretty unusual in the fact that I want friends that last a lifetime, and they wanted to move on to get to know new friends. And that's okay. But I just always thought that, if you can have that type of relationship, to appreciate it because it's a rare and wonderful thing. It also deals with some pretty deep issues having to deal with love and loss, and I think any girl who watches this movie can at least relate to one thing, if not more. For all these reasons and more, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (the movies 1 and 2) are my recommendation for Movie To Watch!

Locks of Love

Locks of Love is a great organization that makes wigs for young girls who are living with cancer and other diseases which prevents them to grow their own hair naturally.

My sisters and I have donated to them and it really feels special knowing you're hair isn't just being swept off the floor when you get it cut. Not only that, but it's just a great cause that helps girls struggling with cancer have a little more confidence to feel like a "normal" girl.

Locks of love require the hair to be at least 10 inches but other than that they don't really have too many regulations. Next time you get your long hair cut, please donate your hair to:

Locks of Love

234 Southern Blvd

West Palm Beach, FL 33405

Please see the guidelines for donating your locks of love!

Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor was the first Indie artist I'd ever heard, and I instantly feel in love with the genre! My favorite (and again, first) song I'd heard from her was "Fidelity." This song really spoke to me because it was exactly how I was feeling at the time about a year and a half ago when I had just met my first and still current boyfriend. I was struggling with being open with him because I had never even dated up until that time, but I'm so glad I found this song because it helped me realize that I was being unreasonably overprotective of my own heart, and if I give in it could be something magical. :)






I especially love her beautiful music videos. I've never seen such creative videos as "Fidelity," "Us" and "Samson." The symbolism is astounding, like when her world goes from black and white to vivid color it really says something about how you feel when you first fall in love and give your heart wholly to someone else. I love all the lyrics to these songs because although they can be pretty abstract at times, you can tell she is singing from real-life experiences.

Alice In Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, is one of the most, if not the most, known and loved children's classics. But it's not just for kids! Alice In Wonderland is smart, funny, and creative. When I read this book it was an assigned reading for my Children's Literature class. I'm glad I read it because it was very fascinating. It's nonsensical subjects, memorable characters, and rhythmic makes this a whimsical read. I have yet to read it's sequel, Through the Looking Glass, but it also promises to be a treat good enough to eat! (Although you really shouldn't...)As we all know, Alice In Wonderland has also been made into two films by Walt Disney Pictures, one animated in 1951 and this years live-action "sequel" version directed by Tim Burton. The original animated version was on of my favorite growing up (next to the Little Mermaid, of course!) and I loved all the songs. I could really relate to Alice's predicament of wanting the world to be the way you want it. Still, she learns a good lesson in the end when she realizes there is a "reason for the madness" of our world!


The 2010 release of Alice In Wonderland is a live action film brought to you by non-other than the twistedly-talented mind of Tim Burton. This version is more like a sequel but it is never really advertised as one. Instead, it takes us on a mystery ride following Alice back down the rabbit hole to a very familiar, yet different Wonderland. All the characters are somewhat different and it seems very odd to have a live action sequel to an animated film, but then again, that is the unpredictability of the world of Alice In Wonderland!

The Little Mermaid

This is the original movie poster - see if you can spot anything unusual about the castle!

The Little Mermaid by Walt Disney Pictures is my first recommendation for Movie To Watch. If you haven't already, this movie is my number one recommendation to see. It's a classic! Not only that but it's animated beautifully, and it's Disney (which unfortunately aren't always synonymous with each other these days!) but it has a wonderful moral and is delightfully charming. Okay, so I am probably way bias due to the fact that it is my all time favorite film since I could ever even remember. The film came out when I was born in 1989, and as far back as I have memories, I remember loving this movie!

This is my most memorable moments of the film.

If you've never seen this movie, here's an overview: (spoiler alert!) It's based of the short story by Hans Christian Andersen (but is quite different from the original) and it follows a young mermaid named Ariel who dreams of having legs and going to the surface. One night she sees a grand ship with festivities and when she gets closer sees it belongs to a prince and his crew. Of course it is love at first sight. However, things go horribly wrong when lightning hits the ship and causes a fiery explosion, causing the prince and all his men to be shipwrecked. Seeing this, she leaps to the prince's rescue. After dragging him safely to shore, she sings about how they will one day be together, all the while the prince is still unconscious. He only barely gets a glimpse of her before she flees out of sight. She vows to herself she will be with her prince again, and when her father upsets her she is tempted to see the evil sea witch Ursula who makes a strikes a bargain of her voice for her legs. The catch is she has to have the prince kiss her within three days or Ariel belongs to her!

The classic Disney musical, complete with singing animals!

I don't want to give away too much more but I will say that it is a musical and has some of Disney's finest lyrical work; I learned most of my higher vocabulary from watching this and other Disney movies! But this movie is for people of all ages to enjoy, it is definitely not just for kids. In fact, there are a lot of adult themes and real world angst that is addressed in the film I didn't understand until I was much older. And I'm always picking up on something else I didn't see before whenever I watch it again. That is why I think everybody should see this movie, and it is my absolute favorite and therefore first pick for Movie To Watch.