sunday songs ~ nellie mckay

o hey, remember that time i talked about nellie mckay, and how awesome she is? i found this AMAZING video of one of the songs she performed at the tinderbox fundraiser. this wasn't the actual performance i saw, but a video i found on youtube.

you'll especially love it if you're at all passionate about feminist issues. but even if not, i still think it's REALLY brilliant and so worth a listen if you have a few minutes...




happy sunday!! xx



♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

5 things

The day that i took this picture was wonderful. Sometimes I love just sitting and going over my lists and goals. Getting excited about plans for the future, and mountains I want to conquer :)

As for some of those future excitements, I wanted to share 5 things I'm looking forward to this fall.

1. Caramel apples. And MORE caramel apples.
2. Making lots of lattes, americanos, and cappuccinos at home- we've finally figured out how to use our espresso machine!
3. Cozy pajama time at 9pm.
4. Fall colors- mustard, orange, brown, red. Especially in outfits!
5. Booking/ playing some shows outside the New York area... new journeys.

What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

xoxo



♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

tinderbox fundraiser

have you ever heard of the tinderbox music festival? my friend alyson created it as a way to help female musicians and performers. for a few years now, it's been gradually getting bigger and bigger... this year cocorosie is headlining!

so she held a fundraiser for it, and i decided to go.




it was held at this totally fancy, posh, hip space in soho. i felt a little out of place, but several hearty helpings of gin helped with that :) this is alyson performing.



one of the best parts was that nellie mckay performed, and i got to meet her afterwards! and... by "meet", i mainly mean stared at and smiled goofily. unfortunately by that point, i may have had one gin and tonic too many :P my hope was to wax poetic about art and music, but i was definitely too dopey to say anything relevant. this is what usually happens when i meet someone really cool. gin or no gin.



we did get to pose in front of the press wall though, which i don't think i've ever done before.

super fun.

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life moments

just a few photos from this past week :)


i'm usually too lazy to make a decent lunch for myself, and these brussel sprouts and strawberries were just lying around the fridge. they were perfect together.



everyone's going crazy for pumpkin everything right now. well, you haven't lived until you've lit a pumpkin candle on a chilly september day.



carmel apples. my absolute fall favorite. i tried making my own last year, but the results were so-so. i'd stockpile them if i could.



the other day, i bought the twee-est cat food imaginable. the packaging is clearly a marketing ploy. but in the end, i just had to bite the bullet. how can a person like me resist that many hearts? (even if it is crappy cat food.)



chipped nails from playing the gee-tar



i love when you pour the cream in ice coffee and it does this. it looks so cool!



cozy sweater on a rainy day

that's all for now. have a lovely day, everyone :)







♥ ps, sponsor me in october!! ♥

friends, vocals, and quitting

weird post title right? it'll all make sense... just stay with me.

how is everyone's tuesday going so far? i spent some of last night and this morning writing a new song... feeling extra musical lately :) i've also been looking over the pictures in this post, feeling inspired, and thinking about quitting. or rather asking myself, how do we know when it's time to quit?

i don't know what it is, but i just find myself thinking about all the times when i've said to myself "this is the point when i'll stop doing music/ creative stuff," and how sad it is to feel that way. there are ideas alive inside. sometimes it feels like they'll never come again, and sometimes it feels like they can't get out fast enough. the ideas and the work produced are never the problem, though. it's the other 99% of the crap that comes along with making said art.

i suppose it wouldn't matter if i never wanted to be heard. i could just write my songs, record them myself, and post them on myspace or whatever. and not care if one single person saw. there are lots of people like that. every day. just living their lives, making their art, and not caring if only their mom likes it.

but i do care. i want to be heard.

maybe i shouldn't want that. maybe i should just be content to write, and take pictures, and make music, and have no one ever take notice. or maybe i just shouldn't worry about it so much.

worry. such an energy sucker.

anyway...

onto happier things... i was super lucky to help out my friend tamar put down some backing vocals for her new album! this is something i've always wanted to get more involved in... singing and playing for other musician friends. especially on recordings.










we ended up to a studio right in williamsburg... she's getting the track produced in LA, and we did the vocals here and are going to send it over! i've never done anything like that. but it was a wonderful experience to learn the parts, go right in, and make the magic happen!






one thing this summer has taught me (i know, probably thing #5,492, as listed on this blog) is that i want to have more experiences. i don't want to just sit around in an office, or rot in front of a laptop. i've always known this, but now i know it more than ever. i want experiences. real, live, messy experiences. with people and art. with life.

maybe some like this one. this one was nice :)




♥ ps, sponsor me in october!! ♥

The CD release rehearsal!

I know I keep teasing you guys with promises of video from the cd release party, from forever ago. Well, it's still in the works! Until that day, my lovely friend Tamar happened to take some video of us practicing right before the show at Owen's apartment. It's only a 30 second clip taken on an iphone, but I thought it might be something that the hardcore music fans might like to see :)

It also makes me feel like I want to do a lot more video stuff. Photography and words are lovely. But video is so dynamic.








Also, now I so want to do another record.

The end.


Oh actually, ps... I've been bitten by the travel bug, and have been thinking about booking some out-of-town shows. Want me to come play in your town? Take this survey so I know where I should be going!




♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

sunday songs ~ the head and the heart

here's another favorite song i discovered this summer.



my friend graham taught it to me. we sat outside singing it to an empty camp in the dark. everyone was asleep.

magical memories.



♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

Giveaway from Lumistyle

Remember those excellent fingerless gloves I wore yesterday? Well Emily from LumiStyle has generously offered to give you a chance to win a pair for yourself!!







These babies are a perfect way to add colour or interest to an outfit, and to keep you warm and toasty when its chilly. They are lovingly hand crocheted in a soft mustard Aran yarn.

Fingerless gloves are my absolute favorite, and I'm so happy to be able to offer you guys a pair! I can vouch for how awesome these are!!



TO ENTER

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



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

♥ Heart the LumiStyle shop on Etsy
♥ Follow chantillysongs on twitter
♥ Follow LumiStyle on twitter
♥ Like LumiStyle on Facebook
♥ Tweet about the giveaway, utilizing my username, and the link. example: "Win an awesome pair of crocheted fingerless gloves from @lumistyle on @chantillysongs! (then the link) #giveaway"


One comment per entry!

The giveaway is open worldwide and ends on Wednesday, October 3rd 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 ♥

mixing it up

Taking deep breaths, and stepping out into the world with another style post.

there's so much going on in this outfit that i love. even though, admittedly, i went off the deep end a little.... patterns! colors! i'm basically a style-splosion (right guys??!)



photos by matthew panton


the shirt is newly thrifted, and i've been wearing it for three days straight.

the cardigan is newly acquired from target. i don't have much to spend on new clothes for fall, but i've been wanting a slouchy mustard-colored cardi totes for-evs.

and the crowning jewel of the outfit... you may or may not know that i have a thing for fingerless gloves. these here are mustard-colored, hand-crocheted fingerless gloves, which the lovely emily at lumistyle sent to me.

you'll be seeing them on me all fall and winter.






shirt- thrifted
cardi- target
skirt- f21
tights- h&m
gloves- c/o lumistyle
nazine flats c/o blowfish





♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥

coffee talk ~ the ugly

Question to the people of onlineland: if you have a blog, or online presence... do you ever get feeling vulnerable about it? Too exposed?

I guess I started to feel like that this weekend. I took my blog down for a bit, deactivated my Facebook account, deleted old posts, and trashed old pictures on Flickr.


When Matt and I first moved to the city, I remember running into some of his friends. They asked us how we were doing, and I dared to tell them the truth- that we were struggling financially. Matt took me aside later and told me that was a mistake. That I should always show the best side of myself to people.

It's completely unnatural to me, but for awhile, I've been trying to have that mindset. Telling myself I'm doing great! and awesome! and trying to project this to the world. Having the mindset that if I do this, the rest will follow. And you know what? For the most part it's worked.

But I've been getting tired lately. So tired of trying to be strong all the time. To "look good' for everyone. (Who is this "everyone?")


Then this weekend was extra lazy. And I found myself lurking on an internet snark forum. And someone had posted some (older) pictures of me there, and said some not nice things. I jumped out of my skin when I first saw it.

I mean... I know. This is nothing new, and it happens every day. When someone posts pictures of themself on the internet, or does anything on the internet these days, they're asking for it. Criticism and scrutiny are fair game. And I put myself out there. And usually, I feel like I'm pretty ready for anything anyone has to say about me. When I'm on my A-game, and have my walls up. I guess it just came at the wrong time. When I was already feeling like my defenses were down.


And even now, I'm putting myself out there, when I probably shouldn't be...

But sure, some shoots come out looking better than others. Maybe I don't photoshop myself to perfection. Yes, I have a weird facial expression sometimes. It's not always the most flattering angle ever. Maybe I don't do this or that to please everyone.

I never said I was a model. I never said I was the most stylish. I never said I was the most talented. I simply do the best I can, with all I have. That's all I've ever done. It's all any of us can do.

Also: this isn't a style blog. I do style posts once per week. However, I always loved blog-land style because seemingly, we don't have to be like the completely unattainable images we're bombarded with every day. We can be whatever we want. Perhaps this is why I'm the most disappointed. To find out that people still expect Vogue, even when they're just skimming through ChantillySongs.

But I guess it just comes with the territory of having any kind of 'fans' or persona. Not everyone likes what you have to offer. And more of that to come, probably.


We're all just learning and experimenting and finding things out along the way in life. That's all I'm doing.

Anyway, here are some pictures.










This was a perfectly lovely time with my family.

This is a perfectly imperfect photo of me.




And disclaimer: If your mistaken expectation of my blog was ever anything more than the documentation of a messed-up/ awkward/ kindhearted/ artistic girl... adjust your perception now.





♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp ♥