Category Archives: Uncategorized

Covered in Depeche Mode

Being on this shopping hiatus has given me the ability to refocus and put my energy into other endeavors. As I’m sorting and editing pictures for some “Fashionably Late” posts, I’m also putting together more playlists on my Spotify account because I’ve suddenly got a list of concerts this summer that I’ll be attending. In the midst of putting together “My Favorite…” playlists of bands I’ll be seeing like Spandau Ballet and Echo & The Bunnymen (which are my versions of “Greatest Hits” playlists), I decided to put together a playlist of Depeche Mode cover songs. There are some that were known to me already (all of the ones from For the Masses), some I discovered while searching to see if there was a cover version of a certain song (like People are People by A Perfect Circle), and some I wish I could have added but just couldn’t find on Spotify (like Duncan Sheik’s Blasphemous Rumours or Monument by GusGus).

Initially, I posted this playlist on Facebook, and some friends reminded me of some songs that I forgot. Of the songs I found, I placed them in an order that I thought was “audibly aesthetically” pleasing (like the juxtaposition of Marilyn Manson’s Personal Jesus next to the Pitch Perfect sounding Just Cant Get Enough cover by InsideOut). Some songs repeat, because both versions were just too good to be left off (Cage9 and Nada Surf’s versions of Enjoy the Silence). I had to end my playlist with one of my most favorite covers ever: Depeche Mode’s version of Route 66.

Below, you’ll find my Spotify playlist which I called “Covered in Depeche Mode”, and the full list of songs as well. I’ve also added my Spotify playlist to the sidebar of my blog, and will change it up regularly. Cheers and have a great weekend!

I Feel You – Johnny Marr

Personal Jesus – Johnny Cash

Lie to Me – Razed in Black

Leave in Silence – Marsheaux

Enjoy the Silence – Cage9

Stripped – Rammstein

Walking in My Shoes – Finger Eleven

A Question of Time – Clan of Xymox

Ice Machine – Royksopp

Everything Counts – Real Life

World In My Eyes – The Cure

Personal Jesus – Marilyn Manson

Just Can’t Get Enough – InsideOut A Cappella

Master and Servant – Bernd Delbrugge & floorJIVERS

Never Let Me Down Again – Smashing Pumpkins

But Not Tonight – Scott Weiland

People Are People – A Perfect Circle

Policy of Truth – Dishwalla

Enjoy the Silence – Nada Surf

Just Can’t Get Enough – John Lindberg Trio

Route 66 – Depeche Mode

$50 PinkBasis Gift Certificate Winner!

A winner has been selected for the $50 PinkBasis Gift Certificate: Please help me congratulate Chevy! Chevy has been notified by email and PinkBasis will send her the code for her gift certificate to shop online.

Congratulations Chevy!

FTC Disclosure: The winner of the gift card was chosen at random using Rafflecopter. This post and the initial contest announcement post (seen here) were in partnership with PinkBasis, and I received product.

Nail Art Galore at Born Pretty

I’m ending this week of nails with an awesome new site I was recently introduced to called Born Pretty. Anything you can think of related to nail art, polish, tools and care can be found on this site. The folks at Born Pretty asked me to choose three products to review (pictured below), and I’m very excited to try them out. Stay tuned next week as I really get creative with some awesome nail art, and have a wonderful weekend!

FTC Disclosure: I received product and was asked to review the product in return. Although I did receive product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own

Winner of the SelectSpecs.com Giveaway!

A winner has been selected for the voucher from SelectSpecs.com: Please help me congratulate Alessandra! An email was sent with the voucher code, and I hope you enjoy your new glasses from the Value or Economy lines!

FTC Disclosure: The winner of a voucher code was chosen at random using Rafflecopter. This post and the initial contest announcement post (seen here) were in partnership with SelectSpecs.com, and I received product.

"Kendra's Vegas Night Out" Style Challenge: Queen of Spades

Queen of Spades by any2ndnow

I’m always up for a good challenge, especially when it tests my fashion chops. Imagine my excitement when I was asked by travel expert Kendra Thornton to participate in a style challenge to provide a look for her upcoming trip to Las Vegas! She has asked that we assemble our looks for her, with our own personal style and creativity. I’ve included her plans for the evening below to show where my inspiration came from for her night on the town in Las Vegas.

Kendra wanted a look that could go from a lovely dinner and show, to a night dancing at the Moon Nightclub at the Palms. I picked the Aster dress by Erin Fetherston because it’s short, sassy and has swing for dancing, but still looks quite sophisticated and dressy. The navy color of the dress pairs well with the black accessories for an overall chic look. I love purses and shoes that stand out, so I adore the details of the story book clutch and bow accented shoes. I titled my style board “Queen of Spades” partly due to the obvious Vegas theme, but also because all of my accessory choices are from Kate Spade. That scalloped pave ring looks like a little crown, no?

I hope Kendra likes my style board, and I hope she has a fabulous time in Las Vegas!

Follow Kendra on Twitter at @KendraThornton and on Facebook.

Kendra’s Vegas-themed Fashion Challenge

In a few weeks, I’ll be heading to the Palms Casino and Resort in Vegas for a weekend getaway with a group of friends. But as a mother of three, I’m in need of some fashion advice! Too much of my current clothing screams “busy mom.” That’s where you come in! I’m looking for help putting together outfit ideas that will complement my weekend full of activities. I want to look stylish, a little flirty, but still age-appropriate. Your challenge is to help me come of with a wardrobe I can wear for my getaway in Vegas.

While I’m at the Palms Casino & Resort, I’ll definitely be hitting up Moon Nightclub — one of Vegas’ hottest dance parties. The club is a giant spectacle of lights and music, where some of the best-known Vegas celebrities come to see and be seen. I’ll be certain to spend some time of the dance floor, but I might also relax at a private booth with a group of my friends. It will be a chance to debut my best dance moves, but I’ll also have the opportunity to relax and kick back with my friends if we decide that watching the party is more our scene.

The perfect outfit for my trip to Vegas will be able to reflect my plans at the Palms, and will ensure that I look my best hanging out at such a luxurious and well-known resort. It needs to be suitable for a night on the dance floor, but also be appropriate for heading out to a nice dinner or a show at one of the Strip’s luxurious hotels. Help me to look and feel my best by putting together the perfect outfit for my night of fun. Being a mom of three doesn’t mean I can’t look great and enjoy a unforgettable trip to Vegas with my friends.

Erin Fetherston Aster Dress
erinfetherston.com

Kate spade Chrissie Shoes
couture.zappos.com

Kate spade The Never Ending Love Story Clutch
shopbop.com

Kate spade Race Flag Bracelet
katespade.com

Kate Spade Metro Watch
katespade.com

Kate spade Mod Floral Graduated Necklace
katespade.com

Kate spade Scallop Pave Ring
katespade.com

Kate Spade Small Square Studs Earrings
katespade.com

Affordable Eyewear: SelectSpecs.com Review

Ever since I’ve discovered affordable prescription eyewear online, I feel I’ve hit the goldmine in finding fashionable frames at fantastic prices. SelectSpecs.com is one of those sites, and I was pleased to be asked to review a pair from their Value Collection. They have quite the selection of affordable frames, and I couldn’t believe that the prices included the prescription! Additionally, they have a designer range, sunglasses range, and even contact lenses. After spending quite a bit of time looking through their vast selection, I finally decided on the Savannah Animal Print frames because I wanted to try something really fun outside of the glasses I already own.

Ordering was self explanatory and incredibly easy. After making your selection, just click on the “Customise & Buy” button, and you’re given quite a variety of options on how you can customize your lenses to suit your needs. There’s even a selection for “Fashion/Non-Prescription” if you so choose! Entering my prescription was also easy: follow exactly what is on your most current prescription and you’re done! A tip: your eye doctor may not add your Pupillary Distance to your prescription, so be sure to ask. Because they were shipped from the UK, they took a little while to get to me (around 2 weeks), but they arrived in a nice hard case with a cloth wipe.

The verdict? I love them! My frames are completely cute and so different from what I’m used to wearing. Any “prints” I have in glasses are usually tortoise, so it was fun to get an animal print. I’ve gotten compliments on them, and I love telling people what an incredible price I got them for. My friends were really shocked that they were just $14.33 plus $10.12 shipping. Adorable glasses for under $25? Yes! Check out SelectSpecs.com, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Have a great weekend!

(FTC Disclosure: I received free product and was asked to review the product in return. Although I did receive free product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.)

If I Had My Own 80's Radio Show

If you didn’t know, I’m on Spotify. This is my first playlist, because I entered a contest to “Become a Rhino Musicologist“. A lot of my favorite bands are on Rhino like INXS, Depeche Mode and Joy Division, due to anthologies and reissues. My first playlist is rife with my 80’s alternative favorites that I know Richard Blade (former KROQ DJ) or Steve West (current 91X DJ) would be proud of. This won’t be my last playlist, so if you’re on Spotify, please follow me here. Cheers and have a great weekend!

Simon Youth Foundation Seeks San Diego Applicants for $1 million in Scholarships

I’m starting off the week with a wonderful request from the non-profit organization, Simon Youth Foundation, whose largest corporate partner is the Simon Property Group (one of whose properties is the Fashion Valley Mall). Please see the press release below. If you know someone who would benefit from such a wonderful scholarship, encourage them to apply!

Simon Youth Foundation seeks applicants for $1 million in scholarships

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (January 3, 2014) – For a fourteenth straight year, Simon Youth Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides educational opportunities for at-risk high school students, will award a college scholarship to one student from every community that is home to a Simon property.

Simon Youth Foundation Community Scholarships are awarded through the Simon Youth Scholarships program and in partnership with local Simon properties. The application period is open now until Saturday, January 11, 2014.

Locally, students can pick up a copy of a scholarship application at the Simon Guest Services Center at Fashion Valley. Applications also can be downloaded at the SYF website at: www.syf.org/our-initiatives/scholarships/community-application.

Any student who will be graduating in the class of 2014 and lives within 50 miles of a Simon property is eligible. The program will award a one-time scholarship of up to $1,500 to students who plan to enroll in an accredited college, university, vocational or technical school.

In 2013, the Simon Youth Scholarships program awarded $1.1 million to 389 students nationwide.

“Our mission is to ignite hope for a brighter future in students, and our Foundation is proud to partner with Fashion Valley to award scholarships that will remove some of the financial obstacles that would otherwise prevent a student from achieving the dream of a college education,” says J. Michael Durnil, Ph.D., the President and CEO of SYF.

The 2014 SYF Community Scholarship recipients will be selected by Scholarship Management Services, a third-party administrator. Students are selected based on a variety of criteria, including financial need, academic performance, leadership skills and participation in school and community activities. Those students who are the first in their family to pursue a post secondary education will also be given close consideration.

The completed application, along with official school transcripts and parents’ most recently filed tax form, must be sent to Scholarship Management Services by January 11, 2014.

About SYF

Simon Youth Foundation, established in 1998, supports 23 Simon Youth Academies in 13 U.S. states that give at-risk students the same education they would receive in a traditional classroom while offering the flexibility that their individual circumstances require. Recipient of the Crystal Star Award of Excellence in Dropout Prevention from the National Dropout Prevention Center, the foundation has helped more than 10,000 students earn their high school diploma and provided more than $10 million in college scholarships to 3,900 students in 42 states. The Education Commission of the United States has recognized the foundation with its Corporate Award for sustained and substantial investment in improving public education.

About Fashion Valley

Fashion Valley is San Diego’s finest collection of more than 200 stores and restaurants in a beautiful outdoor setting. Anchored by Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and jcpenney, Fashion Valley offers over 1.7 million square feet of retail space, making it the largest shopping mall in San Diego and one of the largest in California. Global brands call Fashion Valley their San Diego home, including Burberry, CH Carolina Herrera, Gucci, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Prada and Ted Baker London, among others. With dining options like California Pizza Kitchen, The Cheesecake Factory, Love Boat Sushi, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, True Food Kitchen and more, combined with an 18-screen AMC movie theater on property, Fashion Valley is truly a premier shopping, dining and entertainment destination. For more information, please visit http://www.simon.com/mall/fashion-valley or call 619-688-9113.

(Thank you Noelle from Curator PR for allowing me to share this wonderful opportunity from Simon & Fashion Valley!)

The “Uniquely You” ModCloth Challenge: Office/Out

Office:Out by any2ndnow

Recently, ModCloth invited a few bloggers to participate in their “Uniquely You” campaign on Polyvore. We were asked to style one of their favorite dresses, the adorable Committee Celebration Dress and the winner gets to be featured on ModCloth’s Polyvore page. I called my set “Office/Out” and I decided to style it two ways, showing the versatility of the dress. I love ModCloth, so it was easy to choose pieces to help this lovely little number go from day to night. I think this just gave me some ideas for a New Year’s Eve outfit!

Vintage black dress
modcloth.com

Nick Mo long sleeve top
modcloth.com

BB Dakota slim coat
modcloth.com

Mary jane pumps
modcloth.com

Turquoise pumps
modcloth.com

Melie Bianco teal handbag
modcloth.com

Teal handbag
modcloth.com

Wood jewelry
modcloth.com

Studded jewelry
modcloth.com

Beading earrings
modcloth.com

Vintage gold bracelet
modcloth.com

Artificial jewellery
modcloth.com

Pendant jewelry
modcloth.com

Wrap scarve
modcloth.com

Esther Williams animal print shawl
modcloth.com

Butter London glitter nail polish
beauty.com

Butter London sheer nail polish
beauty.com

My Favorite Mode: Odds & Ends

Some Great Reward Tour 1985

I thought I would just close out this week with one last Depeche Mode bit, while I’m still on a concert high from their show this past Sunday. In a post last week, I took a picture with some of my Depeche Mode concert ticket stubs (original post here). Well, I decided to scan all of the ticket stubs that I could locate, which makes me a bit sad because I’m usually so diligent about keeping all of my ticket stubs. I’ve been to nine Depeche Mode tours (although I attended two shows of the Exciter Tour). Not pictured are my stubs for the Devotional Tour (November 16, 1993), Exciter Tour (August 11, 2001 and either August 14 or 15, 2001) and Touring the Angel (November 19th, 2005) ticket stubs. I also attended Dave Gahan’s Paper Monster tour and Recoil with Alan Wilder. I’ve only missed one tour ever, and that was the Tour of The Universe (August 14th, 2009), due to cancellation. I have the unused tickets for that tour as well, although it may be lost with the others.

Lastly, I’ve also included the very first newsletter I received when I joined Depeche Mode’s fan club, known back then as The Depeche Mode Info Service (I joined in 1986 and hand wrote the date on the newsletter). When a new member joined, you had to send six self-addressed stamped envelopes, and you were sent a simple tri-folded newsletter all about Depeche Mode. It then turned into a mini-magazine and other goodies would come with the subscription, such as post cards and flexi discs (as seen in my post here). I kept the subscription through the Violator album, then I stopped subscribing. But I do have the newsletter where the Info Service held a contest to change the name, and the final choice was the Bong Magazine (I’m unsure if it’s still being produced). It’s always fun to go back and look at those, because it was initially run by Dave Gahan’s then girlfriend and now ex-wife, Jo Bailey. Once their fan base grew, it then turned into the magazine format. I’m sure this shows you the depth of my love of Depeche Mode, but I’m sure you had no doubt about that, right?

Black Celebration Tour 1986