Barnicles bow necklace giveaway!!

My lovely May sponsor Barnicles is giving away an adorable three bow necklace to a lucky Chantilly Songs reader!

Barny asked me what color I thought you guys might like, so I chose the blue one for you :) Of course the pink one is still available in her etsy shop, as well as a lot of other charming necklaces and pretty stuffs...










TO ENTER

♥ Check out the Barnicles shop and tell us your favourite item!
♥ Be a follower of ChantillySongs blog (GFC, Bloglovin, RSS)


That's it!!

make sure to leave your email address.
(you will be added to my totally non-annoying email list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.)


ADDITIONAL ENTRIES

♥ Become a follower of Barnicles Blog
♥ Follow chantillysongs on twitter
♥ Tweet about the giveaway, utilizing my username, and the link. example: "Win a pretty three-bow necklace from Barnicles on @chantillysongs! (then the link) #giveaway"


One comment per entry!

The giveaway is open worldwide and ends on Thursday, June 7th at midnight EST. The winner will be picked at random and announced a few days later.



Thank you and good luck!!




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

piano girl

even though i haven't played the piano in years, i still like to pose by them.


photos by maeve ryan


... a continuation of the lovely photos from monday :) this piano is located at kave cafe in brooklyn, which is my absolute fave. it's literally the best coffee shop i've come across in the city.

having a piano there is great, because sometimes people just start playing it randomly! recently, someone decided to sit down and bust out some songs. another guy pulled out his guitar, and started playing elliott smith covers. before we knew it, it turned into a singalong with our side of the cafe singing to "say yes" and "angeles!"





maybe i should start practicing and try to play again?






by the way, i must tell you/ warn you. we took a small trip and had a really beautiful time in block island for memorial day weekend :) there are lots of pictures. LOTS. of pictures. next week will probably be completely dedicated to block island pictures. but they will be pretty. i do promise you that :)

xo





♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

morning coffee

it's monday again, pretty people! hope your weekend was wonderful.

i'm coming back from block island today. and since i usually plan my posts a week in advance, this set of pictures is actually from... you guessed it... a week ago. we're traveling back in time!! isn't that exciting?




i met up with my sistagirl maeve for some coffee at my favorite cafe. we had a deep conversation and photo session. except she hates pictures of herself. so most of the photos are of me. (how vain, right?)

oh but look! some nice maeve cameos right here...






splainin' camera settings...








part II is coming tomorrow. there was a few more pictures i really liked, but for some reason, i don't like including too many pictures in one post. especially when they are all of me.

have a great day, pretties :) xo




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

sunday songs ~ the national

this is a super-late version of sunday songs for all you night owls out there. i was just watching the infamous blackwater episode of game of thrones tonight (the wildfire scene was awesome, though nothing can beat the book.)

... and how cool is it that the national wrote and performed the rains of castamere for the show?!

pretty darn cool...





that's all for now. see ya tomorrow :))




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

on power and limitations

another story about another ring...

once upon a time, i had some piercings, including a navel ring. (yes, i know.) i originally got it when i was 15 (!!), and i took it out some years ago. though i came across it recently while looking through some old junk.

when i saw again, i felt electric. things like piercings and tattoos can be very personal, and mine was. navel rings went out of style years ago, but that wasn't the reason i took it out. i actually wore mine way past the point of fashionability. it was because i decided that it had no meaning for me anymore. but there was a time when it had a lot of meaning.

another life.


it's even still bent, just like it always was. imperfect. just like me.


there was a time when i used to do things simply on gut instincts. it might sound cheesy, but when i found out i could do things simply because i wanted to, i tapped into a great source of power. i loved doing things like dyeing my hair. piercing parts of myself. sleeping with strangers. having TOTAL control of my body and mind, and there wasn't a damn thing anybody could do to stop me.

my biggest wish was for independence. my biggest fear was dependency, and compromising my freedom and choices. i have never been perfectly happy. never perfectly stable. but there was a time when i felt a power within myself to move mountains.

nowadays, i feel like i do a lot of compromising, and most of my thoughts revolve around responsibilities. i notice that most of my time is comprised of doing a LOT of things i don't want to do. even as i'm "freelance" and working for myself. i've felt limited by a lot: past traumas. lack of finances, lack of connections, lack of know-how. even limits i put on myself that aren't even real.

and i can barely remember... but i'm fairly certain... there was a time when i used to scoff in the face of any kind of limitation.


where did that badass go?? what the hell happened to her? maybe it's just part of the natural progression of life, and everyone comes to terms with the fact that they do not, in fact, have limitless power. they never get everything they want. they can't have their cake and eat it too. of course people need limits.

but i can't help but feeling like i need some of this power infused back into my life. sometimes, i can only find solace in letting go of control. right now, i am feeling and craving that power running through my veins. a life force all its own.

when i saw the ring, it reminded me that existed once within me. and i can have it again. if i want it.

if i can be brave enough to find it.






♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

homemade body butters

recently, i've been doing something very indulgent and naughty... buying products from the store lush. i decided to try out something called buffy, an exfoliating body butter. it's $13 for one bar, which lasts about 2 weeks. unfortunately, i sort of loved it.

so i took a look at the ingredients, and decided i could make one of my own. it's mainly cocoa butter, shae butter, ground rice and almonds. i got shae butter from a beauty supply store around the corner, and shelled out for cocoa butter at whole foods.




i did my best at dividing up 1 oz each of the butters...

the shea was easy to portion, but the cocoa butter was very hard. i ended up breaking the tip of the knife that i was using to chop it with... beware! i almost had razorblade surprise butter. i'd suggest heating it slightly first...


after they were divvied, i:

~melted the butters in the microwave
~ cooled them in the fridge/ freezer so they would harden faster.
~ poured in the ground rice and almonds (which i used the magic bullet to chop with.)
~ note- if the mixture is too hot, the exfoliants will sink to the bottom, so you've got to keep a close eye on how fast it's hardening.



i used wild rice instead of regular rice :)


i then poured them into little heart molds.

...but was too impatient to wait for them to harden all the way. so i got one cracked heart, and one with a hole in it. sounds kind of like my life :P




next time i'll use less shae butter in my mixture... it was a little greasier than i'd like. other than that, i love! i i've been using it in the shower on the lower half of my body (ahem, legs & butt), and on my hands. it's sort of magic.

i'll make these again fo sho.




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

life moments

just a few snaps from here, there, and everywhere...


molly's nails on a pbr bottle.




yummy iced latte on a spring day!




i was giving michelle story prompts for pictures, and they came out pretty funny. like... "imagine you are about to marry this t-rex, but you found out on your wedding night that he cheated on you. with me- your maid of honor. but you still love him. but you are scorned..." etc.





friend dinner. more beer. chopping tomatos for sauce.




i left a comment on a blog recently, and she offered to send me a postcard. unfortunately, i lost the blog address... if you're out there, let me know and i'll add it!




pretty green trees and a blue sky.





i've been wishing for lots more of nature lately. the city feels so binding. i'm dying to go out to some parks and play frisbee, and do cartwheels or something. the good thing is, we're planning a picnic for my birthday, which i think will be pretty great :)


i want friends, summer, laughter, music, and sunshine.

i want love and happiness.

i want to feel sexy and beautiful.

i want my heart to be full of energy and life.

infecting all those around me with joy.


♥♥♥




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

bands

i'm pretty big into wearing this "headband" lately- which is really just a leather cord that i got at michael's. i'm also big into looking redic in completely mismatched patterns... but that's always :)




a bunch of us went to the "googa mooga" festival this weekend, and i wore this outfit. they didn't allow cameras with detachable lenses, so i didn't get the chance to shoot any photos.... i'm sure you're dying to see hoards of people waiting in long lines for overpriced food, right? because that was basically the gist of it :P i did manage to snag about 6 orbitz packets of gum though, which was the only thing that was free.

it was still a really lovely saturday. the weather was so beautiful. and after we ditched googa mooga, we sipped beer and wine on molly's roof, and played juvenile games. my chest did get a little sunburnt... small price to pay :)






shoes- blowfish
dress- urban
shirt- urban
headband- craft store
necklace- f21




ps, i've got two more giveaways for you this week if you want to try to win my new ep! one at whimsical poppysmic and the other at my girl thursday.


hope you had a great weekend xoxo




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

coffee talk ~ marry yourself

people often see this ring and assume i'm married... even though it's on my right hand.

i bought it for myself when i got my first "real" job out of high school. my mother was working at the local casino, so she helped me score a front desk position at their newly constructed five-star hotel.

it was my first taste of "big money" ($8 an hour!!) and even though it was only three days a week, i had no rent or bills except for a car payment. so i did what any dysfunctional girl with a surplus of cash would: i compulsively shopped.

i bought cd's, ugly sweaters, novelty t-shirts, and girly lingerie.

i was very depressed and lonely.

on one trip to the mall, i ended up happening by the macy's counter and purchasing this white gold ring for $59. it is the one item from that time period that actually ended up lasting.


since then, i've had a lot of experiences, and gone through great self-transformations. the sadness isn't completely behind me, but i've always gotten through it and will continue to do so. unconsciously, i feel like i've kept this ring for so long as sort of a marriage pact to myself. a promise to never leave me.

it's not that romantic relationships aren't and shouldn't be important to us. of course they are. but i could never understand people's obsession with them. all those souls out there scurrying and worrying over finding the one to "complete them..." but that will never happen because they are already complete.

some perspective on you: you lack nothing. you are not broken. you are not a puzzle. you are simply an imperfect, amazing human. and you can't have a healthy relationship with another imperfect, amazing human without knowing this first.

so make a pact... never leave you. don't push yourself down so that someone else can feel better. don't sacrifice your feelings to make someone else more comfortable. don't tell yourself those negative garbage lies.

show yourself the love and kindness that you would a child.


don't get me wrong, some people are the type to flourish under harsh criticism and scrutiny.

i have never been one of those people.


it's kindness.

support.

love.

♥







♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

bike polo

on saturday, i went to watch matt and some friends practice bike polo.

now anything with "polo" in it usually calls to mind the wimpy, preppy white guy stereotype. but this is anything but that- it's actually pretty hardcore. you've got to ride around and maneuver your bike around 5 other bikes holding a mallet, and hit a ball. it's a lot harder than it sounds. people were crashing into each other and falling off their bikes all over the place!





i feel like these are just slightly different than the normal "biking" pictures you see on blogs (vintage dresses, no helmets, lipstick...)









by the pictures i took, you'd think the entire polo team consisted of hot girls :) it was actually 99% dudes, and these ladies are my friends.







it was a fun afternoon, and i was the only one there just to watch! i felt like a total cheerleader in my flouncy dress, holding my iced coffee, snapping pictures. but i had a beautiful time.

a rare picture of me with my bangs pulled back...





by the way, if any out there are interested in playing bike polo in nyc, email nycbikepolo666@gmail.com, and they will hook you up!

xx



♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

up to the moon ~ making the cd cover

good morning!

it is special day folks, as i've been planning this post for a long time... i wanted to show you guys how i made the little hanging stars and moons for my cd cover :)

when i came up with the title "up to the moon," i knew i wanted a strong visual aspect. thinking about the concept and playing around with ideas was a lot of fun!

i thought a lot about symbolism, and how the moon can be a symbol for people's wishes and dreams. having the moon on a string gave me the feeling that all your wishes could come true if you could just have that...


anyway, here are some of the supplies i used:






yarn, paper, mod podge, and glitter.

i started thinking of what other shapes i could also utilize. moons naturally go with stars, so that was a no brainer. i also thought hearts would be appropriate, since most of the songs on the ep have to do with love/ unrequitedness. i drew some paper cutouts...






next, i painted one side each with mod podge and glittered them. this was hard, because the glitter wouldn't stick in certain places, and some of them didn't come out perfect.

after i did this, i found out that there is such a thing as paper that is pre-glittered. it's used for scrapbooking. i wish i knew about it sooner- i would've just used that.

oh well! doesn't this look pretty?






i then glued the two sides of each shape together, with a piece of yarn in the middle.





after that, i had my moons, stars, and hearts all on strings!

if only we could do this in real life...




my original idea was to make them into a mobile, so i strung them all up on one. however, it wasn't photographing the way that i wanted. then i came up with the idea to just pin them against the white wall.

and that is how my cover idea evolved :) we still have them hung up in our apartment this way! they're too cute to take down.





xoxo!!




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥