When I first began thinking of what to include for this post, I only had two things on my list. Then I found one more to include but still felt like it wasn't enough. Two things didn't feel like enough content for a post, and it all related to one person, so it was kind of weird. Plus I didn't want to leave it at that. Eventually I found something else to include to diversify it a bit, which is partially why this post is happening so late into the next month. The first few weeks of October have been pretty busy, so although this installment of my monthly favorites series is still a short one, it's a great one for anyone who likes dance or performing arts or even just art in general.
Michael Dameski's routine to "Madness" by Ruelle on World of Dance
If you've seen any of my monthly favorites post from this past summer, you know I love Michael Dameski and his dancing, so it really should come as no surprise more of his dances are in the latest installment of my monthly favorites.
What I loved about this dance was that it was different and much more theatrical and dramatic than the preceding ones. The ninja concept was awesome and wasn't overplayed or too gimmicky. Dameski literally put on a show with this routine by taking advantage of everything he could, from the costume to the graphics and the video board to the lighting effects. His performance was amazing here, and I don't know what you were watching if you didn't believe he was an actual mad ninja in this dance.
I haven't said this in a while, but how is it already September?! 2018 is just flying by, and I honestly wish it wouldn't because I just need some more time to savor what this year has given me.
The last month of summer wasn't what I hoped, but it did bring me unexpected joy and memorable moments.
Pink/rose gold/floral 2019 Fringe Studio planner from HomeGoods
I didn't need a new planner yet since my previous one went until December 2018, but I saw this planner at HomeGoods and adored it too much to pass it up. (It starts with August 2018.) I absolutely love the rose gold print on the cover and how pretty it looks with the floral numbers.
The pages have a monthly overview as well as horizontal weekly pages with sections for each day, which I really like. Some planners are more vertical in style, which I'm not a big fan of, so I'm glad the interior of the planner didn't ruin the beautiful exterior that made me want to buy it. Plus, there are monthly tabs and a page before each monthly overview where I can write my monthly goals, to-do list, birthdays, and anniversaries.
Broadway's original Princess Jasmine (Aladdin), Courtney Reed, started her own fashion line called Gagged Chokers a few years ago, and she's recently expanded the company and dived into the world of apparel. This latest collection is all about the #GIRLGANG, and I love it. Courtney loves pink, glitter, and shine, which is evident in the products. Once I saw the new stuff, I knew I had to get this glitter sweatshirt. It's just a light pink crewneck sweatshirt that's plain in the front, but the back is the star. I love how it's a holographic shiny print on the back because it's different from other shiny pink clothes and graphics I usually see. I ordered a medium so it'd be a bit oversized, and it's so comfy.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (movie)
If you've gone on Netflix, social media, or BuzzFeed in the past two weeks or so, you've probably heard of this movie. If you haven't, then watch the trailer above to see what it's all about.
This movie is based on the novel by Jenny Han, and it totally lives up to the book! I won't say it's better than the book, but it is definitely one of my favorite movies now. It's got a John Hughes feel despite the more modern story. The characters are loveable. (Lara Jean is the best, but more on that later.) The story itself is cute, funny, and tugs at your heartstrings without being a super stereotypical rom-com. I could go on and on about why I love this movie, but I won't because there's a blog post coming up about it later this week.
I could talk about why the day I went to Broadway Princess Party was the best day of August, but it'd be easier if you just read my last blog post. To be brief, what could beat the magic of hearing Broadway's original Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Aladdin singing some of the world's favorite princess songs?
Michael Dameski on World of Dance
Ugh. I don't think I can ever get tired of watching this beautifully talented man dance. If his name is familiar, it's because he's been in my last two monthly favorites posts because he's had a dance on NBC's World of Dance all three months of summer.
But anyway, this is the most emotionally vulnerable Dameski has been in his dancing on the show so far, and I love it. This dance shows not only his amazing technique but his ability to connect, which is a vital quality in dance. Plus, as a gymnastics and dance fan, I cannot get over the fact he can do a roundoff Onodi (back handspring with a 1/2 twist)! I've never seen anyone do that before, and I actually think he might be able to do that on a beam.
Chicago Tribune Food x Stan's Donuts "Black, White and Red All Over" doughnut
The Chicago Tribune partnered with Stan's Donuts to create the "Black, White and Red All Over" doughnut, which is a red velvet doughnut covered in white glaze and topped with chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs. So it's basically a red velvet cookies and cream doughnut, and doesn't that sound amazing? Well, it is. It was sooo good. It's my new favorite doughnut. The doughnut itself was nice and moist and even had some cookie bits inside, and the glaze and cookie crumbs added the right amount of sweetness and texture. I'm just sad it's not a permanent menu item and is no longer available because that is one of the best doughnuts I've ever had.
With this post, I've officially done a monthly favorites post every month for a year! Despite this July being busier than I expected, I don't have too many things to include for last month. However, I did get to try new dessert places, found my new favorite dancer, and even read an entire book series in July.
Cream Bar
If you're from the Chicagoland area, you've surely heard of Woodfield Mall, one of the best and biggest malls in the area. Not far from there is a fun ice cream sandwich place called Cream Bar. This little restaurant has lots of ice cream flavors and kinds of cookies to create your perfect ice cream sandwich. You can even make a brownie ice cream sandwich or a brownie cookie ice cream sandwich like I did!
While it can be difficult to eat the creation like an actual sandwich, it's delicious all the same ― spoon or no spoon. The ice cream is nice and creamy, and I believe the cookies and brownies are baked daily, so they're fresh! I had a chocolate chip cookie and Oreo brownie with chocolate ice cream and almonds. The cookie was nice, soft, and chewy, which is how I like my cookies. The Oreo brownie was nice and decadent, and the Oreo pieces were a fun touch. If you're ever in the area, I'd definitely recommend going there.
Nearly a year has gone by since I first began my monthly favorites blog series, and I've definitely enjoyed sharing what I've really enjoyed each month since then. This edition is full of music and dance, so it's definitely a fun post to go through if you like the arts but also includes some fashion (as always).
Almost Love - Sabrina Carpenter
This lead single for her new album has reminded me how much she's grown in her music and just as a person since I started watching her in Girl Meets World a few years ago. "Almost Love" is such a perfect summer song and just makes you want to get up and dance or at least sing along while blasting it in the car. This is like the definition of a bop.
This is the start of my monthly blog series featuring my favorite things from that month. I got the idea from Dance Moms' Chloe Lukasiak, who's made YouTube videos where she shares her favorite things from that month.
It's pretty simple and easy, plus it's fun and a bit different from my other blog posts. So in these monthly blog posts, I'm just going to talk about and show up to 10 things I discovered or was really into that month. What I like about this blog series is there's a wide range of things I could share, from books to movies to clothes or even food. So here are my July 2017 favorites:
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I first discovered this book when the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms (if you're a frequent reader of my blog, you've probably seen its name a bunch of times already) tweeted about the book and how for every pre-order of it, $1 would be donated to TWLOHA. I'd never heard of the book or its author before, but I always check out the books that donate to TWLOHA.
So I looked it up on Amazon and was interested right away. I'm not super into poetry, but I do enjoy it. And I was especially intrigued by Love Her Wild. I pre-ordered it and got it on the release day. I started reading it the day of. Since it's a poetry book, it's easy to read quickly, but it's so good, the words and so beautiful, and I loved it so much that I didn't want to devour it and read it all in one day. So I took my time with it, really trying to savor the words.
The book is actually divided into three sections: love, her, and wild. What a clever idea considering the book title! I adored the way the book was divided and really loved quite a few poems from each section. I kind of want to buy another copy to highlight, bookmark, and write all over so I can easily find my favorite poems and stuff.
The 13th season of So You Think You Can Dance just ended earlier this past Monday. It was also the inaugural season of So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, where the contestants are dancers from ages 8-13.
I remember when I first heard about how this past season was going to be for kids. I was very intrigued and pretty excited. I like to watch dance, no matter the age of the dancers, but there are a lot of talented child dancers out there besides the girls on Dance Moms. So I was glad these kids would have a chance to make a name for themselves and dance on TV without being in the negative environment of Dance Moms. Once the season started in May, I was hooked from the start and thought The Next Generation was the best idea the SYTYCD producers have ever had. The kids are crazy talented and entertaining. They never failed to make me laugh or impress me. They made me fall in love with the show all over again. (I lost interest last year with the stage vs. street format attempt.)
Even though this was the first season of The Next Generation, it's definitely one of my faorite SYTYCD seasons ever, and I have quite a few favorite dances from it.
The season finale of the eleventh season of So You Think You Can Dance was on Wednesday, which marked the end of my second favorite season of the show so far. This is also the first season where my favorite actually won the competition, so I'm super excited about that. Congrats, Ricky!
Anyway, I have never been more excited for a season of SYTYCD or liked a season more since season four, which was six years ago. So it's been a while. During every season I watch, (I've been consistently watching since season four) I have a few favorite dances from the respective season.
But since I was very excited for this season and was a fan of almost half of the top 20, I ended up favoring a lot of dances. Since this was season 11, below are my 11 favorite dances from this past season in chronological order. (It was rather difficult to pick only 11.)
I am by no means a dancer or a judge, so I may not have much insight. I just happen to like these dances for their choreography, the performance and the music. Majority of them included my favorite dancers from this season, which does make me like the dances more, but some of them are the dances that made me fans of them in the first place and really grabbed my attention.
