Happy Hub: #bfflweek, R5, Annie, & More!

August took its time but also flew by. Funny how that happens. Most of the things in this Happy Hub are from an extended #bfflweek with Mikaela. Basically we spend as much time with each other as humanly possible before she leaves for college at the end of the month. Last year we managed to fit everything into one week but this time we spread it out a little bit. We also had a wider range of activities, which frankly wasn't very difficult since the only thing we did last year was watch movies. It's been an exciting month. It's been an exciting summer.

If you're new and have yet to catch up, I have written Happy Hubs every month since February when I started xo, Yvette! You can find them all here. If you want to know what this year's #bfflweek consisted of, click the read more! (You'll find it all under "Films" and "Entertainment.")

Tunes

Since I didn't have much free time last month, all my music faves carried over into this month. You can check those out in July's Happy Hub! However, that's not to say I didn't listen to any new music. The day I was supposed to leave for Europe, R5 released their new album Sometime Last Night. I had been highly anticipating this album because 1) I love R5 and 2) Mikaela and I had tickets to their concert, but more on that in a bit. I knew R5 was going for a new, more mature sound, but I was not prepared to love it this much. If you haven't been listening to their music, you are missing out, my friend (and it's super easy because the entire album is on their VEVO so you have no excuse). I'm an album listener so I would literally recommend you every single song but the ones I was really looking forward to hearing live were Wild Hearts, Dark Side, and Repeating Days (Do It Again as well but I knew that wasn't on the setlist). I just love R5 a lot.

On cruises, there's always music playing in the hallways (as long as it isn't quiet hour) and it's one of those things that are easy to block out unless you pay attention. There is a wide range of age groups on cruises, especially in summer so they play music from every generation. (I heard Backstreet Boys three times so that was exciting.) One of the songs that caught my ear was King of Wishful Thinking by Go West and when I got back to Seattle, I had a hankering for specifically that song. I love songs that don't sound like what they mean. Happy, upbeat sound, sad lyrics (see: x, x, x, x, x, x, x. etc.).

When Charlie Puth released his Some Type of Love EP, I was obsessed. This month, news broke that his full album, Nine Track Mind, would be coming out on November 6th and he released One Call Away as his first single. His sound is so classic. I can (and have) been listening to this song on repeat.

Just to put it out there, I will love anything and everything Andy Grammer does. He announced that Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah) would be going live on iTunes the day before it was released and I don't know if I've just been out of the loop or what because that definitely caught me off guard. I can't believe it's time for him to start promoting new music already. It seems like just yesterday Magazines or Novels came out. Good To Be Alive is so different from the rest of his music but I am totally here for it.

Films

Ant-Man (x)

So many people were hating on Ant-Man before it came out -- it seemed like I was the only person who had faith in Marvel Studios. Aside from the Falcon appearances and Luis (among other things), what I loved most about the movie was the portrayal of father-daughter relationships. I personally have a great relationship with my dad and seeing that on screen was so heartwarming. I also love that it was wholeheartedly a heist film. Marvel is great about adopting different genres into their superhero films. I think that's what makes Marvel Studios stand out among the competition and Ant-man has kept the ball rolling.

M:I Rogue Nation & Trainwreck (x)

Mikaela and I had originally planned on seeing the Fantastic Four reboot but since it was so terrible (misbehaving directors and inconsiderate studios will do that to a film), we didn't want to waste our money. Instead, we settled on Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, not that we "settled" for it. It was sensational. The stunts were amazing and I had such a good time with it. I think my experience was enhanced knowing that during the chase scenes in Morocco, Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise were constantly messing with each other. I also appreciated that it wasn't spelled out for you. They hold your hand through the whole thing and explain every detail.

Trainwreck definitely surprised me. I wasn't expecting much going in but it ended up being a hoot and a half. There were also some really heartfelt moments in there where I teared up a bit, which caught me a little off guard but added a lot of depth to the movie. Amar'e and LeBron did such a good job. They were probably my favorite parts of the movie. John Cena was also great. Wow. More charismatic athletes take up acting, please (see: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). I was also very impressed that Amy Schumer wrote the script herself. I'm glad I gave this movie a chance. You know what they say about judging a book by its cover. 

Entertainment 

Who doesn't love comedy? I certainly do. I especially love improv. Mikaela and I have been wanting to see Jet City Improv for a while now but we never got a chance to. Thankfully, things fell into place this month and we caught the show right when I got back. Some sketches were funnier than others but I laughed through the entire show and once I even laughed until I cried. I'd highly recommend Jet City Improv if you're into improv (obviously) or if you just want to have a good time.

I am a huge supporter of local theater (especially musicals!) so not seeing Annie at Kentridge was not an option. I recruited Steph to join me and it was a good time. Steph and I had a chance to catch up, which was nice, before watching some adorable girls sing and dance on stage. Believe it or not, it was the first time I'd ever seen any incarnation of Annie. I absolutely loved the costuming and I can definitely see why it's so iconic. Also, the program advertised that Kentridge would be doing the Addam's Family later this year. So glad I got the memo.

The thing I was probably most excited for this month was the R5 concert with Mikaela. They're on their Sometime Last Night Tour and it was the first time they'd performed in Washington. How could I pass this up?! I don't have pictures from the actual day because 1) I'm really bad about taking pictures especially since I can't use my phone (*storage almost full notification*) and 2) while I had my camera, I needed to save the battery for taking video of the actual concert. These are the photos taken by their photographer: x, x, x, x, x. Another reason why I didn't want to pull out my camera was because of the rain. If you aren't from around here, you probably think it rains here 24/7. That's not exactly the case and it certainly wasn't true for this summer. We've had our own mini drought and of course, after months of sunshine (and dying grass), the day I had an outdoor concert to attend the skies would open up and soak everything in reach. Earlier in the day there was even lightning. Ross was slipping and sliding all over the stage and Rydel even took a tumble down the ramp (gracefully, of course). It was seriously such a good time and I LOVE them and their music wow minor fangirl moment right now gonna let this pass before I continue... aaaaaaaaaand we're back. One of the more memorable moments of the concert actually happened to me personally. And it wasn't even memorable until something reminded me of it in the shower days later. This tweet pretty much tells the story: x. This family in the same row as us (it was a large group, at least eight people) came in after the concert had started, asked me to film them dancing and singing, then left soon after. Not sure why they wanted to spend $45 a pop for like fifteen minutes but to each their own. I hope I never run into them again... Despite my blunder, it was an all-around good time. I lost my voice and my whole body was sore but it was so worth it. I can't wait for them to come back.

Blogosphere

I absolutely LOVE reading my friends' blogs. I think it's fascinating experiencing something from another person's point of view and it's a lot more special when you know the person. Ashlee was my first internet friend and even though we aren't the best at keeping in touch, I'm always interested in what she's up to. This summer she went to Korea for three weeks and she's publishing blog posts on her time there! You should definitely check her out if you're interested in travel because she does a good amount of that.

Most of my blogging energy this month has gone towards preparing Travelogs. This is the first time I've had to organize and rename photos so that has definitely been taking up a lot of my time. If you missed the first one, it's on the first week of my trip, which you can find here. There are three more Travelogs coming up on the following Sundays so keep your eyes peeled for that if you're interested in how I spent my July! I hope you enjoy all of them because writing while on vacation is not exactly the easiest thing.


When I started writing, I thought I wouldn't have much to include since I did pretty much nothing but work on blogging this whole month and hung out with Mikaela a couple times. Turns out it was a lot. It's been a delightful month and I've got to gear up to get back to school in September so we'll see how that turns out. Let me know what's been making you happy this month, I'd love to hear it! If you have any music recommendations or anything let me know in the comments below and as always, follow xo, Yvette via email (in the sidebar) or on bloglovin!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette

**My brother's birthday is this month but it hasn't happened yet (this Saturday!) so it will be included in September's Happy Hub!