Amanda Rose Zampelli | the blog

What're you doing New Year's...New Year's Eve?

Happy NYE, loves! I thought I'd post this oldie but goodie as I love the two of them and their version of this song. This NYE my plans may or may not include all of the following: a hearty breakfast, blow drying my hair, The Walking Dead marathon, meeting my new neice (!!!), a nap of epic proportions, making chicken wings, wearing some ivory sequins, push-pop confetti, a large DD coffee with triple espresso shot, and a house party at my homegirl's crib. So what're you doing New Year's...New Year's Eve? Whatever it is you're doing, I wish you a happy & heartfelt evening. See ya next year (that never gets old).

a 16-SONG holiday soundtrack + 4 more

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I hope yours was lovely, and plenty of yummy leftovers are chillin' in your fridge. But now: let's blast some Christmas music, shall we? I usually cover my ears when I hear holiday tunes before Thanksgiving, but once the turkey hits the table, I'm all like, "Jingle Rudolph the White Christmas Shoes roasting on an open fire Rockin' around the ¡Feliz Navidad!" ...how 'bout you? ;)

I created a little iTunes playlist of 16 holiday/December songs that have resonated most with me the past couple of years. Then I added 3 more that bring me back to my childhood at Christmas time, and one more for laughs. 

1. December - Norah Jones
2. Something About December - Christina Perri
3. Love is Christmas - Sara Bareilles
4. Christmas Lights - ColdPlay
5. Christmas Wish - She & Him
6. 2000 miles - Coldplay
7. St. Patrick's Day - John Mayer
8. Merry Christmas Darling - The Carpenters
9. Ave Maria - Christina Perri
10. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
11. The Christmas Waltz - She & Him
12. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra
13. Christmas Day - She & Him
14. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - Christina Perri
15. What Are You Doing New Years Eve? - Ella Fitzgerald
16. This is the New Year - A Great Big World

...three more of my favorites from childhood:

1. Sleigh Ride - Larry Groce
2. Twelve Days of Christmas - Mickey Mouse & Mickdey's Friends
3. Mamsita Donde Esta Santa Claus -Augie Rios

...and DUH (!!!) this favorite:

1. I Wish it Was Christmas Today 1 & 2 - the fellas from SNL

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There you have it!  Any songs I should add to the list?

a 50-SONG soundtrack

The other day - before I put an hour of dedicated apartment-cleaning in motion - I created a little iTunes playlist of 50 songs that are acting as a soundtrack to my life right now. In alphabetical order, here are the 50 songs that I've been playing on loop lately:

1. Ain't It Fun - Paramore
2. Already Home - A Great Big World
3. Amber - 311
4. Another Sky - Scenic
5. Back Home - Andy Grammar
6. Back in Your Head - Tegan and Sara
7. Beautiful World - Colin Hay
8. Better Days - Eddie Vedder
9. Blue Mind - Alexi Murdoch
10. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke
11. The Book of Love - Peter Gabriel
12. Burning Gold - Christina Perri
13. By the Grace of God - Katy Perry
14. Cheer Up! - A Great Big World
15. Clarity - Amy Conrad
16. Come With Me Now - KONGOS
17. Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine
18. Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin
19. Dreams - The Cranberries
20. Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann
21. Everyone's Waiting - Missy Higgins
22. Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
23. Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
24. Hand in my Pocket - Alanis Morissette
25. I am the Best - 2NE1
26. La Da Dee - Cody Simpson
27. Laughing With - Regina Spektor
28. Let Go - Frou Frou
29. Monday Morning - Christina Aguilera
30. New York City - moe.
31. On the Radio - Regina Spektor
32. On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons
33. Ordinary People - John Legend
34. Perfect World - Alias
35. Samson  - Regina Spektor
36. #SELFIE - The Chainsmokers
37. Shiny Disco Balls - Who da Funk
38. The Show - Kerris Dorsey
39. A Sky Full of Stars - Coldplay
40. Swallowed in the Sea - Coldplay
41. Take in the Sunlight - The Kin
42. There is an Answer - A Great Big World
43. Think Good Thoughts - Colbie Caillat
44. This is the Stuff - Francesca Battiselli
45. Time  - Hootie & The Blowfish
46. We Are The Way We Are - Katie Costello
47. We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
48. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? - Ella Fitzgerald
49. Where Have All The Cowboys Gone? - Paula Cole
50. The Words - Christina Perri

    ...and there you have it!

Some fun facts about the list above: songs 5, 30, and 46 are all 'returning home' or 'New York' themed. Song #25 is in a new Microsoft commercial because they're trying to be 'cool' like Apple. I listen to songs 25, 36, and 37 if I want to forget about the world and have dance party in my living room. I listen to songs 9, 15, and 38 if I want to remember... I might be a bit early with #48. One of my favorite songs of all time is #19. Song #34 is from Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. For some weird reason I imagine myself dancing with my future daughter to #6. ? ? ? I heard #4 in an Express clothing store, and listening to it makes me wanna shop. I first heard #24 in this style post from 2010!!! I hope #42's right. #50 breaks my heart, and #12 instantly cheers me up...both are by Christina Perri. #31 has some of my favorite lyrics of ever starting at 1:31 ♥ ♥ ♥.

Have a happy weekend!

Helvetica diaries // 03, 04, 05

Here are the third, fourth, and fifth submissions for my "Helvetica diaries" series, first seen here and here. Simply put: it's going to be a once-in-a-while post that includes a quote, saying, song lyric, or random thought printed out on white paper using black Helvetica font.  

Today I have three prints that would make great Valentine's gifts for lovers and friends if printed and framed.  Below they are available as free downloadable .pdfs if you wish to print the sentiment(s) for yourself or someone you know.  It's as easy as clicking the download link, and printing from your computer. In these prints' case, the size is 8x10 inches. 

This first Helvetica diary piece is for the romantic.  The words are from a song I heard a few weeks ago called "I Was Made for Sunny Days" while I was in a shopping mall.  I can picture pairing this print with a mixed CD of love songs in which this song was the first track. It's adorable (and so true in this snow we East Coasters have been having). You can hear the song below.

 "I Was Made for Sunny Days" by The Weepies 

Download the .pdf:  Helvetica Diaries 03

The next Helvetica diary print comes from the NONONO song "Pumpin' Blood." If you have a free-spirited friend who is maybe without a date this year, this print might be perfect for him/her. It references the heart - the symbol - of February 14th, but not in a cheesy way...and come on: those lyrics are great all year 'round.

"Pumpin Blood" by NONONO

Download the .pdf:  Helvetica Diaries 04

If the first print would be for Charlotte, and the second for Carrie, I imagine this one would so totally be for Miranda.  No, it's not a song lyric, but rather a quote from the great George Carlin.  I kind of love it. Try and tell me with a straight face that you don't know a handful of girlfriends who wouldn't love to unwrap this framed print next Friday along with a cute heart-shaped box of chocolates.  The thought of it thrills me!  (If you do it, LET ME KNOW! Haa!)

Download the .pdf: Helvetica Diaries 05

my fist-pumping anthem for 2014

First off: HAPPY FEBRUARY! We've made it through a whole month of a new year already!  Although - relatively speaking - a whole lot of nothing has happened so far, I feel the potential for something great building.  In my world, and after the past two years, that building potential means everything to me.

Anyway - back to the matters of this post: since declaring 'work' as my one little word at the start of 2014, a lot of people have suggested Britney Spears' song 'Work Bitch' as a kind of fist-pumping anthem. I loved that suggestion, and below is a little fun something I threw together (with changed lyrics, of course - I love to do that to songs) to keep me focused on my word and my goals in the coming months.

I guess you got a glimpse into some of my long-term goals and dreams there, too, but you get the point. I think quotes and songs -- or anything that drives the notion behind your one little word home -- are important to flood your heart, mind, and soul with.  I recently read a great post on the importance of repetition and reaching goals (here) and that's the idea behind declaring this song my 'anthem'.

So, readers, off the top of your head: What song would declare the anthem for your 2014? ♥

a knack for

I kind of have a knack for discovering un-Christmas Christmas songs: songs that were not made to be Christmas 'carols' or be thought of as holiday tunes, but for some reason or another feel like ones to me.  

You'll never hear them on LiteFM, or overplayed and beat to a holiday pulp.  They show up in my ears unexpectedly, yet so on point, and I pull them out in the month of December when most needed.  They are -- in and of themselves -- Christmas miracles.

Last weekend, sad from Tomas shortly visiting then returning back to Texas, and stressed from portfolio week, I was on a routine shopping trip with my dad when I heard a song over the Stop&Shop speakers.  I SoundHounded it, downloaded it, and then listened to others from the same album.  This song was on that album.  It's called "Shine" by Vienna Teng.

By replacing a few words in the first line, this song sums up my Christmas experience this year:

Listen.

In this desert city land
I know summer rain winter snow must fall
See where we began
We've come so far
On this harbor shore
We hear the ocean call
In our minds at war
We have so far to go

Shine with all the untold
Hold the light given unto you
Find the laughter unfold
In this broken world we choose

In unending storms
We search for space to breathe
How our hearts are worn
We've come so far
In this desert city how
we blossom and we cease
Tell your story now
We have so much to know

Shine with all the untold
Hold the light given unto you
Find the laughter unfold
In this broken world we choose

The chorus is it for me.  Choosing to take this path to try to get to a place where I love my job and work; choosing to be apart from Tomas; choosing to follow my heart and figure things out on my own schedule, instead of succumbing to social pressures and living a check box life is LONELY.  It feels incredibly broken.  So much so that I often question if it's the right way to go.  But still, we choose it, we bear the storms, and at times like Christmas Eve and Christmas you try your best to find the laughter in it...to hold the light, and shine with all that's yet to grace you.  

I'm so ready for Christmas with my own family: husband, kids, cats, dogs...but I can't place them yet.  It a strange feeling, being adult, but so far away from it.

Wishing you and yours a blessed holiday.

Merry Christmas & shine on.

Jay-Z & JT | our New York egos reached the moon

Amazing.

|THIS SONG|

So many of last night's events blew my mind: the concert, the moon, and beyond.  The Bronx was bursting out the seams.  The energy was electric. It doesn't get more 'New York' than Jay-Z, then times him by the venue: Yankee Stadium.  Then multiply him and the venue by the lyrics of 'Empire State of Mind' and a crowd of thousands of people.  Our New York egos reached the moon. The moon was round and full last night; it's cup runneth over.

Thanks for visiting.

Wish you could've been there.

(1) KARAOKE on the road + (2) letting go

I've blogged about my awesome karaoke system before, and if you follow me on instagram or twitter, you've heard me talk about it, like, a BILLION times.

Well, Friday, in honor of Josh's birthday this week, we friends got together, and my karaoke made its first road trip.  It was Josh's first time using it, to be sucked into its vortex of 'the most fun'.

I pretty sure he had the time of his life (dirty bit):

^ vimeo video, make sure you push 'play'

Thank goodness for old friends.

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In other news, when I was on my way home from work Friday, to shower up and get ready for this night of singing fun, he finally texted me.  "Hello" was all I got from him. "Hi" I replied back.

He wanted to know what was on my mind, and I told him I've been expressing it via text and voicemail.  It's him who has been completely ignoring me.  After broken up pieces of text here and there for about a half hour I said it, "I miss you.  I want to see you and hug you...if you want to."  
His response:

"If it's meant to be, maybe someday. But I don't want that right now because I am letting go..."

I am letting go
I am letting go
I am letting go

The words still ring in my brain.
Once I read this I understood.
He is letting me go.
He no longer wants to try, or get together and 'see'.
It took those words for me to understand.
I cried a fierce cry.

I'm going to let it be now.  I hadn't been able to for months, but now I understand.

I let myself cry a little more.  

Then, I picked out an outfit, put on a little makeup, and packed up my karaoke system.  
I drove to Josh & Elisa's apartment, and we had a party.

I had a fair amount of cocktails.

short 6-second looping video instagrams -- that's Vine

So, probably like you, I've been seeing a bunch of teal & grey Vine profiles flashing through my instagram feed, and although I was initially hesitant to go check out the 'latest trend', I still wanted to inform myself as to what is this 'Vine' people speak of.

I found out: It's a dummy-proof way to record second-long clips of video and post it for all to see.

I think as a blogger and scrapbooker and life crafter, whose personal thrill it is to MAKE ART OF LIFE, Vine naturally excites me.  ...and GO FIGURE!  I find out about this app the DAY my GRAMS LEAVES after her long 80th Birthday weekend of fun, family, and partying! Jeez!

That's all for now.  Oh that, and PREPARE.  Prepare for the enormous amount of hoopla about this app...I guess starting here. Haa haa!

app info HERE

Bri's take on the Vine app HERE

my Vine profile looks like THiS 

and

my first Vine post is (of course!) me singing karaoke...HERE

 

♥ ♥ ♥
Have fun, readers & peepers!

xOxO,

another vid...a stamp of mine being stamped on Vine :)

and capturing my soup for lunch today on Vine

...this could get addicting

time for the post about...

Readers and peepers of this here blog, I professed at the beginning of this month that I wanted to MAKE JANUARY AWESOME.  There are a number of strategically planned ways I am going to make sure this happens, and one most definite way is with the new KARAOKE system Christmas vacay brought with it.

It's actually far surpassed my expectations of awesomeness.

...and it's so easy to set up:

I cannot express in enough words how much fun and excitement this system has brought to the first few weeks of this year.  I first came across this system at Tomas's extended family's house two Christmases ago (see here) and I knew I had to incorporate it into my world.

With my Grandma's 80th Birthday being celebrated this coming weekend at our house, you can betcha by golly that the KARAOKE will suck our guests into its vortex. Yep.  That's what I decided it does. No matter who you are or how much you love/hate your voice, to sing, karaoke, etc. YOU WILL SUCCUMB TO THIS KARAOKE SYSTEM'S MAGIC VORTEX OF AWESOMENESS. 

Case in point was yesterday, at the Zampelli house, with my friend, Elisa.  She has a very high-pitched, nasally (dare I say) Fran Drescher Queens, NY voice and she was so closed off to the idea of karaoke.

"I'll watch you girls sing," she declared.

I knew the karaoke's vortex would pull her and there would be no escape.  FOUR HOURS LATER...and a whole ABBA album of karaoke-singing later, I was right. ;)

Here ae some shots of my awesome January Sunday:

All this morning my mom and I were in awe that we sang for four hours straight. 

"I can't believe we got nothing done yesterday," my mom's been saying.

...and you know what?! Thank God.  We both needed a day of nothing, of stress-relief, of relax.

I needed a day with the girls, a day with wine, a day with unbridled dancing and singing, a day of

laughing and more laughing, and a day of pure silly.

Thankful for it yesterday.

Thankful for this awesome karaoke system.

It's a constant in a time when a lot of my world is changing.

It makes sense to me in a time that's hella confusing.
 

Yay.

I have so many favorite songs to karaoke but some are:

"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship

anything by Heart

Madonna's "Cherish"

"Heaven is a Place On Earth" by Belinda Carlisle

Janet Jackson's "Again"

...and my big hit from yesterday: "Baby Got Back" ...I do a mean Sir Mix A Lot ;)

 

to buy a system of your very own, visit here