Updated apartment pictures

My mom was in town a couple weeks ago. For those of you who know my mom, this will come as no surprise. For those who don't, well, here you go. My mom is an interior designer, not by profession, but by talent and interest. She also has a touch of OCD when it comes to design not being "quite right" or quite finished. I have a tendency to want...things...right...now... And I come to it rightly.

So needless to say, my apartment had some updates and finishing touches while she was in town. I had already added the chair and the throw pillows to the living room. Mom added the shelves over the TV, rearranged pictures on the wall, bought me a side table, outdoor pillows/cushions, placemats, lantern, and planted flowers (which Ava promptly ate).

Here are the updated pics.

Ava

I went on a hike last week and encountered a fallen tree that Ava could not get over or under by herself. So I had to help. Thanks to my friend Zach for photographing because it looks pretty cute.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I am in love with this album - in a completely new and different way than the way I love Arcade Fire's older albums. Honestly, I think this is the way a band should be. I should love each album for new and unique reasons, otherwise a band is just repeating itself over and over. I love when a band can retain their own sound, yet recreate it for each album. The latest from the Arcade Fire doesn't have the epic, larger-than-life tracks like "Wake Up" and "Rebellion (Lies)" or the overdramatic tracks like "Intervention" and "My Body is a Cage" but it doesn't need them.

Perhaps I am simply buying into their package, but it really fits as a whole piece titled The Suburbs. Listening to Funeral or Neon Bible sort of feels like when you're talking to your best friend about HOW THAT GUY WAS SUCH AN ASSHOLE or THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD JUST HAPPENED TO ME, but The Suburbs feels like your everyday best friend. It's the general conversation that makes life comfortable. There are some climaxes, but overall, it just...is.

In sports, if you play the sport perfectly, truly to perfection, there shouldn't be any "highlights" because there wouldn't be any "so close" moments. It would all be clean and smooth and appear like every moment was orchestrated just so. To me, that's how The Suburbs is. Played just right, so nothing stands out as a highlight. Instead, the whole thing is orchestrated just so, so that while you're listening, you feel as if life is supposed to be...just like this.