Happy Hub: Logan, Beauty and the Beast, San Francisco, & More!

I did not intend for this Happy Hub to be so wordy but it seems it was unavoidable. What can I say? There was a ton to be happy about this month! School just resumed but I am more than willing to forget about it all for a while to focus on all the good things I experienced in March.

Tunes:

Towards the beginning of February, I told myself Waitress would be my March musical, but that was before my mom and I discovered Mamma Mia! would be coming to Seattle for their farewell tour! Sorry, Waitress, you're getting bumped by ABBA (which is commonplace since they're one of my childhood favorites) (many things get bumped by ABBA). We have been longing to see Mamma Mia! for years now and it took the Farewell Tour to get us off our butts. Of course, I love the songs on the cast recording itself, but nothing can compare to the original. Since I listened to ABBA's hits growing up, I knew all but one of the songs on the cast recording. Turns out, Under Attack is one of my favorites! I like that the lyrics have been tailored a little for the musical because that makes it a little more fun. Since we'll be seeing Mamma Mia! on April 1st, I knew I had to spend March familiarizing myself with the cast recording. It won't be long now! Eee! 

Another album I knew I would be spending a lot of time listening to this month is the live action Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. Since I was most excited about Celine Dion's new song, How Does a Moment Last Forever, and I didn't want to risk spoilers, I decided to listen to listen solely to Celine's song on repeat until I saw the movie. I was iffy at first, then I realized what a great lullaby song it is. This was a good move on my part since How Does a Moment Last Forever turned out to be the theme of this remake and every time it was sung/played in the film I cried. Now that I've seen the movie, I am free to listen to the entire soundtrack. I really like what they've done with the songs from the original animated film, but the new additions are the ones that really get me. Show me a time when I've listened to How Does a Moment Last Forever, Days in the Sun, or Evermore (both versions) without getting emotional. I will also leave the Overture here because it is flawless.

Since I spent so much time listening to the musicals listed above, I did not invest too much time in any other music, but I did made exceptions for one song. I was caught off guard by this one because I had no idea it was being released until the day before it dropped. Bridgit Mendler is at it again with another single, this time with Pell. If you recall, Bridgit released Temperamental Love last month with Devontee and I loved it, but I wasn't immediately smitten. That was not the case for Can't Bring This Down. I didn't even have to finish listening through once before falling for it completely. I only had a day to listen to it before I got on a flight to San Francisco and cut off from wifi for the weekend so I spent the entire day with this song on repeat. It's my new jam.

Films:

Logan (x)

It wasn't long ago that Logan was just getting its name. I actually remember the moment I found out Hugh had announced Wolverine 3's wheels were moving. Look at how far we've come. I really don't have words for this film. It hit so deep. This is a comic book movie that does not fit in the comic book movie genre. Logan is first and foremost a story about family. The family just happened to be Wolverine's. The pacing was flawless, the emotions were spot on, the dynamics were incredible, and the acting? I'm speechless. For two hours plus I was lost in this story. It physically hurt me to see Professor X and Wolverine in such a state. I know them as being strong and powerful. What kind of world must they live in to be so broken and battered? And let's not forget Dafne Keen, aka Laura Kinney aka X-23, who was so expressive and gave a brilliant performance despite not speaking for a majority of the film. I recently watched a review video on Youtube and I couldn't hold my tears back because I was reliving the events of the film. This is really a film you must experience for yourself to truly understand how incredible it is so I won't say anymore except for thank god for the extremely necessary R rating. They did Hugh's swan song as Wolverine justice and I was so honored to have been there for it. 

I also wanted to mention how much brainstorming it took to come up with this Instagram background. Since a few of my friends had seen Logan before me, I asked for their thoughts on what might make a good background. They came up with some good ideas, but they weren't feasible on a cold, winter, Washington day. Thankfully inspiration struck and I thought to go to the library across the street to check out their comic book collection. However, I must give credit where credit is due. Steph is actually the one who found this specific panel. Thanks for being the best, Steph (and thanks for always hanging out with me)!

Beauty and the Beast (x)

Dare I say it? Do I like the live action remake better than the animated original? Is that even possible? I found that this remake took into account every complaint laid since 1991 and found an organic way to remedy all of them. I do have to disclose the fact that I have not seen the original Beauty and the Beast in a very long time, but there are simply too many improvements in this one. The added emotional depth and the new music is to die for. I already talked about the music in the Tunes section so I won't repeat myself too much. Although I like what they did with the old songs to suit the tone of the live action, I have to say the 1991 versions are still top of the line. Who can beat the classics? To sum it all up, I love this remake and even if you don't love it more than the original, I think you'll agree this one lives up to the animated classic. 

Again, I cannot take all the credit for this background. It is my dress, but since the yellow is over a darker blue, the flowers were tinged green. Allison did me a solid and upped the yellow in the flowers without my having to ask. She's the real deal. 

Entertainment:

Newsies (x)

Newsies... encore! Don't worry, you're not experiencing deja vu and I am not repeating myself. They really put Newsies back in theaters for an encore screening. There wasn't a decision to be made. I was going. Coming out of the first screening, I went through the cast members' Twitters and discovered there were a lot of tiny details that I had missed. Thankfully, the universe gave me a second chance and I caught all the things I had set my heart on catching. Surely there were still things I missed. Here's hoping they really do release it digitally like Jeremy alluded to. Since the my first viewing, I listened to the Disney on Broadway podcast episode on Newsies. I learned a lot about the history of the show and I don't know how Disney could ever think that this would be a show for licensing only. The set? The choreography? The power? It'd take one hell of a high school to pull this show off well. I feel so lucky to be able to see such a glorious show in theaters twice. Now all I'm waiting on is a revival (even though I will sorely miss seeing the original cast in their roles) to grace this Earth. 

San Francisco:

Think of this section as a mini Travelog. I would like to write a whole blog post on this trip but it was fairly short and most of my time was spent with family and that would not very interesting enough to stand alone. And on top of that it would be very text heavy since, even if I do remember to take photos (which I didn't), I try not to share photos of people who have not given me their permission for privacy reasons. So I will just insert what would have been the Travelog here. It technically isn't out of place since it is one of the biggest reasons for my happiness this month.

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before on xo, Yvette, but I have quite a bit of family in the Bay Area. When I was younger I would go down and visit very often but now that our lives have gotten more hectic and travel has gotten more expensive, I'm lucky if I can make it down there once every one or two years. For a few months now I have been really missing my grandpa so I let my mom know I wanted to make the trip to San Francisco and lo and behold, we hopped on a plane six months later! We were only able to carve out time for a three day trip, but we spent our time efficiently and effectively.

The first day consisted of an early, early, early flight (that we were nearly late for), lunch (meh), grandpa (!!!!!!!!!!), then we brought my grandpa to a reunion and dinner with my dad's uncle and cousins. We also got to drive through Apple's headquarters because my great-uncle lives nearby. I learned a lot of our family's history that night and placed some wandering memories from my childhood. This was also the day I wore the outfit shown in my #ootd picture below. I was looking good.

pretty in pink 🌸 (x)

On Sunday we had plans to hang out with my cousins! We started off the day at dim sum before moving to one of my uncles' house to play with their new(ish) dogs and discuss some exciting plans for next year. When one of my uncles' families had to leave, the rest of our group made our way to San Jose to hang out and grab some dinner. It was such a fulfilling day.

We technically did not have a full day on Monday since our flight was in the evening, but we had a few bits and bobs we needed to take care of. We packed, we ran errands, we hung out for a little before it was time to leave. Our flight ended up being delayed, giving us enough time for a sushi dinner, but the pilots made up for it by flying like a bullet. What normally was a two hour flight was in actuality a one hour and twenty minute flight. Crazy.

While the trip was a mere three days long, it was immensely satisfying. We spent so much quality time with extended family and I was able to unwind with the relaxed schedule. I got home feeling rejuvenated, but not quite ready to jump back into school just yet.

Miscellaneous:

Okay. Story time. I know I've mentioned the Backstreet Boys in a recent Happy Hub, but I was not ready for the roller coaster they put me on over the course of two days in the second week of this month. So as you know, I am going to see the Boys at their residency in Vegas with Mikaela this summer. There have been some personal scheduling conflicts that we've worked around, only to have the Boys send out an announcement that our show was rescheduled, completely messing everything up. I was upset about this because we had already rearranged travel plans so now we would have to adjust again. Being under a lot of stress to begin with, I tweeted my frustration and let it go. Then later that day, at the beginning of their show, they tweeted out asking for what the fans wanted to see more of on their Instagram story. I usually don't reply to tweets like this because if I have nothing to contribute, I prefer to keep mum. This time, however, I knew they've included their iconic chair dance from As Long As You Love Me in their set so I requested that. Who knew they would actually reply??? To me of all people! And with a VIDEO! So now I had no choice but to forgive them for their earlier rudeness (despite their ignorance). Then HOURS after I tweeted out my forgiveness, they replied to that tweet as well! That's two replies (and two likes) in the span of a few hours! I was riding such a high. Hopefully they remember me when I see them in June. They owe me for the emotional whiplash.

It's been far too long since I've painted my nails, but for good reason! Sometimes my nail cracks or splits (I'm not too sure how to describe it best) and I want to let it grow out before I paint over them again and further the damage. This month, I was ready to bring some color on to my nails again. My nail damage had grown out, I needed a break during finals week, and I wanted to add a bit of oomph for my trip to San Francisco! I had laid out all my nail polishes and had my roommates help me pick one out. It was the week of St. Patrick's Day so a lovely, shimmery, apple green from Zoya named Rikki was the obvious choice. Happy with the selection, I planned out the Instagram post and everything, only to find out I did the exact same thing 364 days prior. At least I know myself, I guess.

Blogosphere:

Another realtively uneventful month on xo, Yvette. Fingers crossed next month won't be so routine! There is one specific blog post I need to get up and it's such a big task. One step at a time, Yvette. For now, we can turn to the Winter 2017 Recap because we have completed yet another season of #hairoftheweek! I can't believe there are still hairstyles out there for me to do! That being said, do let me know if there are any you want me to try because I am having trouble thinking up new ones... What a paradox.


Boy oh boy that was a long one. Thank you for making it this far! Since you've taken the time to read about all the things that made me happy this month, I would love to hear about the things that did the same for you! I'd also like to know if you have any suggestions for my next nail polish color or for future hairstyles for #hairoftheweek! Looking forward, I have a good feeling about April. We'll be getting those April showers but it'll start warming up and I also have a fresh start at school. Things are looking up!

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette