Purpose

Since I listened to Made in the A.M. until my ears bled, I started listening to Justin Bieber's Purpose. The Biebs really disgusted me there for a while with his immature and reckless behavior, but I think he is really trying to turn things around for himself and I applaud him for that. I'm all about personal growth and being the best you, so you can then add to other people's lives too. I once read, "You can't pour from an empty cup. Work on yourself first." Those words could not be more true.
Anyway... Purpose. JB's comeback started with Jack U's "Where Are U Now?" Skrillex and Diplo were genius on this track and Justin's feature made it that much better. Super electronic. "What Do You Mean?" came next and I absolutely loved it. Slower, but smooth and makes you want to get up and dance. My favorite track by far on this album is "Sorry." I don't think anyone can really argue with that. Extremely catchy and fun to groove to. 

Its completely evident Justin did some real reflection and soul searching when writing and recording this album. With songs like, "Love Yourself" (co-written by Ed Sheeran), "Life Is Worth Living", and "Purpose," he slowed it down with simple beats, but powerful lyrics. You can feel his emotion and honesty. I've added these to my meditation playlist before I practice yoga at home.  
One thing I really like about Purpose is the simple sounds and melodies, but Justin's voice makes them all that more sweet. "The Feeling" verses start slow and then take off in the chorus with the help from Halsey. Another example is "Children." The bridge/chorus is electronic and upbeat, but almost solely instrumental. 
Other notable tracks are: "Company", "No Pressure" featuring Big Sean, and "No Sense" featuring Travis Scott. All have grown on me as I continued to listen the album through. From the live performances I've seen on YouTube, Bieber sounds fantastic live. If you're planning on buying tickets to see his Purpose tour, you better grab them quickly because it appears most venues are selling out! And if you purchase tickets, you get a free digital download of Purpose. Pretty sweet deal.

I must confess, I may now be a Belieber. 

The Guy in the Glass

I'd like to share one of my favorite poems. A friend introduced me to these wise words my freshman year of college and recently I flipped through an old journal I wrote them in for safe keeping. I've been doing a lot of reflection and when you feel at peace with yourself, everything else seems to fall into place. And thats who I want looking back at me.

So I share with you, Dale Wimbrow's The Guy in the Glass:
When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf, And the world makes you King for a day, Then go to the mirror and look at yourself, And see what that guy has to say.
For it isn't Father, or Mother, or Wife, Who judgment upon you must pass. The feller whose verdict counts most in your life Is the guy staring back from the glass.
He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest, For he's with you clear up to the end, And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum, And think you're a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years, And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

Made in the A.M.

My mind is completely blown by all the amazing music released lately. You all know my guilty pleasure and are probably tired of the One Direction posts, but I just think they are so wonderful. As Liam tweeted, "I love how music is always there for you when you need it most x." I really needed new music to jam out to in my car and occupy my ears at work.  Challenge accepted - 1D.
One Direction's fifth album, Made in the A.M. released yesterday and my eardrums were filled with catchy beats all day long. I'd be lying if I said I didn't still have the album on repeat. 
I pre-ordered on iTunes as soon as it was available, as any loyal fan would and loved receiving new song notifications leading up to the release. My Mom and I were lucky enough to watch 1D perform "Drag Me Down" live at their concert at Soldier Field in Chicago back in August. It was the perfect single to set the mood for great things to come. I got a Police vibe and knew this album would be a completely different animal than their previous works.

Then came "Infinity", which left me wanting to gaze up at the stars, light a few candles, and meditate. lol. Speaking of amazing, the guys then released their latest single "Perfect" with a wonderful monochrome music video to match. Chic, yet... perfect. I absolutely love the song and ended up downloading their EP with a stripped version and Matoma remix. I would highly suggest checking them out for anyone that likes acoustic songs or electronic club hits.
As for the rest of Made in the A.M.:
"Hey Angel" I think 1D picked the perfect track to roll out their album with this one. It was like the sky opened up and heaven was revealed. haha. Anyone hear a bit of U2 or better yet, Robbie Williams' "Millennium?" I do!
"End of the Day"  So many different transitions and collisions in this song. 
"If I Could Fly" The piano in this track reminds me of something Elton John would play. Beautiful ballad, but I think they should have called it "For your Eyes Only." What do you think?
"Long Way Down" Not my favorite song, but I really like the meaning. 
"Never Enough" Being Niall's favorite song on the album, I was dying to hear this one. He was entirely correct in saying that its a sound the band has never dabbled in before. Fabulous track.
"Olivia" This reminds me of the Beatles. The melodies are cheerful, like you're just strolling down the street to get a cup of tea. Harry's voice graced us with his presence through time travel because I could see him living the rockstar life in the 70s. He has that sound to him. And who is Olivia anyway? Gosh, wouldn't you LOVE to be her? lol.
"What a Feeling" The guys described the creation of this track with inspiration from Fleetwood Mac and I completely agreed. I hear "Dreams." But call me crazy, I hear a little Bee Gees too!
"Love You, Goodbye" Great writing. Great vocals. All the feels. 
"I Want to Write You a Song" Very simple, but heartfelt and lovely. This one is a more mature "Little Things".
"History" This is clearly an open letter to the fans. With five albums along with four years of touring, the guys have been through a lot with their fans. Thank you.
"Temporary Fix" Edgy with a whole lot of grit. Pop-rock at its best. Harry's voice is different than what we normally hear in his verse and I love it. Sounds like they rubbed a little dirt on this track with some attitude.
"Walking in the Wind" Harry was absolutely right by saying this song was influenced by Paul Simon's Graceland. Playful melodies and rich, comforting lyrics. This song is in the same realm as "Olivia." No surprise that Harry had a hand in the writing for both.
"Wolves" Such a proper catchy tune. As soon as the song starts, I feel the energy it brings. I didn't know at first, but it was actually co-written by one of my favorite Voice contestants, Will Champlin. Flex those writing muscles, lad! Not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty pleased when I got these Twitter notifications last night:

To say I'm having a difficult time choosing my favorite favourite song would be a complete and utter understatement. But, I think my favourite song on the album is between "A.M.", "Wolves", and "Never Enough." There is just something about how Harry delivers his chorus in "A.M." So edgy and raw with cool collisions leading to the outro. There is no doubt about it that 1D has matured as a group. From Four to Made in the A.M., I can feel a drastic change in their sound that will definitely appeal to a much larger audience. Not only can they sing and entertain, they can write! Almost every song had at least one member of the group with a hand in the writing process.    So many sounds. So many feels. I think they have transformed from a pop boy band to a 70s-80s inspired rock group. I hear the Beatles, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, a little Rolling Stones, and even Queen throughout the entire album. As soon as I listened through, I texted both of my parents because I felt like its an album they would thoroughly enjoy too. One Direction put their own personal stamp on influences from the past.
Aside from the music, how excellent of a job has their PR/marketing team done promoting this album? They have truly thought of everything. The pictures next to the hashtags on Twitter, album covers with each member on them, taking over iTunes cover stories, etc. Almost all of yesterday 1D's promo photos were on iTunes and then all of the sudden they were intermingled with Justin Bieber's Purpose. Which, I'm very excited to listen to that album, but I want the guys to make history with their fifth #1 on Billboard. And as I said, I think true fans are going to buy each album cover as well as what they already purchased on pre-order. Genius! That's potentially five albums purchased. I think the race to #1 will be tight, but I hope the Directioners pulled this one out for our four favourite lads from across the pond. 

Will this be the end for 1D? I'm not sure, but I really hope not. This album has been such a success so far that I think they would do their fans a disservice by not releasing more music and performing for fans new and old. If you didn't think they were talented before, Made in the A.M. should confirm the obvious... One Direction is one of the most talented bands of all time.  

H

Putting together a costume for Halloween is one of my favorite things to do. Whoever or whatever I plan to dress up as, I like to do it right. Much like how I like to do most things, go big or go home. This Halloween I tossed a couple ideas back and forth, which I won't reveal since I might use them in the future. But, just last week I landed upon Mr. Styles. Harry Styles, that is. He's 1/4 of One Direction and I find him absolutely intriguing. I pretty much wear a lot of what he wears anyway, I just needed a noisy shirt, tattoos, and brown hair.  Sally Beauty supply had a temporary spray for $4.99, so I had the brown hair down. I was really able to get some body using Bumble and Bumble's styling lotion. This is a product I use daily, but I used a little bit more than usual to get luscious locks like Mr. Styles. I've read that One Direction's stylist, Lou uses it on the guys hair too. Double points for authenticity! The shirt is actually from a set of pajamas at Forever 21. lol. Perfect for Harry though. He loves himself a good polka dot print. And finally, the tattoos. Harry has quite a few, over 40 actually so they were a must. You can't be H without his tattoos. Luckily, popstartats.com came through for me on this one. They were super easy to apply and their customer service was awesome!

I researched where each tattoo went, so you will find that my placement is pretty spot on! As I said before, you gotta do these things the right way!

Allow me to introduce you to, Mr. Styles.

Here is a better view of the tattoos.

Anyway, I thought I would share how I put together my Harryween costume this year. See what I did there? Until next time, you know because me and the band are taking a break starting in March! ;)

All the love. H

Horror Movie Survival Kit

Horror movies really get me into the Halloween spirit (see my 13 Nights of Halloween from last year!) However, I usually start talking to the TV about how this entire mess could be solved if they just had _____. I'm sure I'm not alone. Coincidentally, the people over at Man Crates inspired me to put together a hypothetical "horror movie survival kit." Man Crates is a new company that puts together awesome gift crates for men, where they must open their perfectly curated gift with a crow bar! You know, to feel all manly and stuff. ;) They have crates for grilling, the outdoors, drinking, eating, sports, etc. Man Crates posed the question and I answered with my top 10 items to survive a horror movie. Anyway, lets get to it because I know people are just DYING to know! haha.

Gun If you have a brain, you know a gun is definitely needed in this situation. And since I know next to nothing about them, I probed my friends and family. One person said they would use a shotgun because it would be a lot harder to miss the murderer. Two others said an AR-15 and another gave me a long, descriptive scenario of possible events and guns to use for the ultimate "no murderer comes out alive" outcome. All 97 pounds of me felt pretty intimidated by these selections, but I'm obviously not getting into a knife fight with anyone, so I will keep these recommendations on hand. Now also remember, some mythical creatures can't be killed by just any bullet. You're going to need silver and wood bullets too as back up for werewolves and vampires.

via

Do you remember that little gun that Will Smith used in Men In Black, coined the midget cricket? Yaaaa. I need one of those too. Perfect size for me. No one will get out alive besides me and whoever is behind me. Might make for a really short movie though. 

via Head Flashlight This one is pretty obvious, but I can't tell you how many times people in movies don't have one or think that walking by candlelight will do the trick. First of all, fire hazard and second, you need to be able to see hands free to use your weapon(s). Dorky, but this is life and death. If you're really prepared, make sure the flashlight is solar! 

Camouflage I'm going with magic on this one by throwing in Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. I thought about camouflage attire because a lot of movies end up in the woods at night or in a dark creepy house, but with this cloak no one will even be able to see you.

Phone and Extra Charger Um... before we even step foot down this scary path to no man's land, bring a cell phone. Call for help, DUH! And usually in movies, something crazy happens where their phone goes dead. Crisis averted with the portable external battery pack for charging. The only thing you have to worry about is whether you can get service or not. :/ 

Running shoes How many times have you seen girls in heels trying to run from a killer? Better yet, flip flops. You are FOR SURE setting yourself up to trip and get caught in the wrath of the killer. Some nice running gym shoes would set you up for a successful chase to safety.

Rope Scary movie characters are always losing each other in haunted houses and in the woods, so what better way to stay together than one of those child leaches? I know its a little crazy, but again, this is life and death. We don't need any stragglers get snatched without knowing. However, I think I would actually go with an item with dual purpose because rope could be beneficial in many instances of survival.

Bullet Proof Vest Another obvious choice.

Camelback Backpack After dodging the killer through an on-foot chase, you could be catching your breathe and a nice drink of water may be very helpful for future surviving. What if you get stranded out there for days? You never know, so being prepared with the elixir of life would not be a bad idea.

Katana

Michonne in the Walking Dead absolutely kills it with one of these. I think from all the binge watching of TWD on Netflix, I could channel my inner Japanese samurai. Also, you never know when one of your weapons could become unreliable, so it would be nice to have a variety. 

First Aid Kit Backpack

This backpack is perfect to house first aid and anything else you may need to store while on the move. 

I'm sure there are many other items that could be used to survive a potential blood bath, but I went with rather practical things aside from the cloak. Comment with some of your ideas to walk out alive!

*This post was not paid for by Man Crates and contains ideas and opinions solely of B-Mont's Beats.

Modern Romance

Aziz Ansari is one of my favorite comedians who first captured my laughter-loving-heart in Parks & Recreation. I mean, how great of a character is Tom Haverford? TREAT YO SELF.
I've watched his stand-ups on Netflix (MUST watch the MSG show!) and thought he was so funny. His subject matter was always relevant and were topics people could easily relate to. Sometimes he even joked about stuff no one wanted to say out loud, but there Aziz was just KILLING IT. So when I found out that he was writing a book, I really wanted to see if he could put his talents to paper.
Modern Romance was absolutely nothing like what I thought his book would be. His comical delivery about reality was funny, but it actually made me take a step back and question my own life. Its crazy how technology and social media has effected our society. Aziz researched dating, marriage, and relationships from past to present day and the major effects the use of dating apps, texting, Facebook, etc. have had on the world we live in. 
Aziz traveled to many different cultures to get a clearer picture of what makes relationships tick and work around the world. Its truly amazing to see what is accepted as appropriate in one country is absolutely forbidden in another. The relationship dynamics going on in Japanese culture are quite interesting. The government is actually subsiding establishments to hold meet-ups called machikon. Singles are thrown together to mingle and possibly develop relationships to date, marry, and procreate since Japan is so worried about their decrease in population. Men there have developed a herbivore culture where they won't pursue any woman unless they are 100% sure they won't get rejected. Whereas Buenos Aires is filled with casual sex and men comprehending that no actually means yes. Women literally have to fight men off there! I'm telling you, you won't believe some of the concepts that exist in other countries!
An interesting and commonly known phase of a relationship Aziz researched was the honeymoon phase or as scientists refer to it as passionate love. This phase is when you feel like you are on cocaine all the time and everything is rainbows and butterflies. The problem with that is, it's not reality and only last about one year. If it really was love, then you would transition into the companionate love. This phase takes maturity and stability. You hear it all the time, "the spark just isn't there anymore." Well, ya that's what happens when dopamine isn't being flooded into your body like the effects of cocaine for a year. DUH! Once reality sets in, you aren't so willing to let your partner get away with bad behavior because your high is gone. Some people jump right into another nice cocaine binge with a new relationship because they really aren't mature enough or comfortable with themselves to be alone to deal with their existing feelings. If your relationship is able to transition to the companionate love stage, this is where deep love and admiration live and grow for years to come.
I believe Aziz accurately and honestly presented the reality of dating in today's world. Technology has made it so much easier to connect with people all around the world, but at the same time, leaves entirely too much room for unlimited options and indecisiveness. Someone once described dating in today's world to me as being on Youtube. You're watching this great video, but on the side there are a bunch of other videos that "you might like" better. People are constantly thinking that something better is always around the corner and don't appreciate what they have right in front of them. I'm not putting a blanket on that because maybe what they have right in front of them really isn't that great anyway.
I think honesty is very hard to come by these days, whether that be in friendships or romantic relationships. Everyone is so worried about hurting other peoples feelings and keeping a certain image. Not saying you have to be mean, but sugarcoating and omitting information only makes things worse. Getting lied to in the first place only makes you look like more of a coward and the truth always comes out anyway. I had a friend that went on a "date" recently and she showed up to this casual restaurant/brewery thinking that they were going for dinner because thats usually what one thinks of when a first date comes to mind at a restaurant. The guy showed up for drinks only and then started inviting his friends to join them. He told her he was going to the restroom later on in the night and then never came back! Like who does this guy think he is? I told her that was an experience that she will hopefully never have to encounter again. When did this type of behavior become acceptable? #ByeFelicia
Modern Romance is a great read for all ages, single or in a relationship. I have a love/hate relationship with technology, but Aziz left me feeling optimistic about the future of our world. I think he really gives a lot of insight to look at situations in a way that could be beneficial in one's search for meaningful and healthy relationships.

MDW

To start out the Memorial Day Weekend, I headed Downtown Raleigh to have a drink and experience some places I haven't been before. I went to the Boylan Bridge Restaurant and enjoyed the tiny Raleigh skyline. When I looked up the restaurant it said it has the best view of the skyline, but it was kind of funny how small it is coming from seeing Chicago's all my life and just visiting NYC. 

My apartment complex's pool opened on Saturday and it was lovely.

On Sunday, I decided to take a day trip to the beach. I went to Wrightsville. Its so clean and beautiful there. I think next time I may try a different beach though to mix it up.

I arrived quite early and was able to enjoy the nice quiet beach.

The houses there are my dream.

For lunch, I ate at The Oceanic. I've been there before, but never for lunch. It was pretty good, but I would suggest holding out for dinner. Their menu has much more seafood dishes. However, the views are amazing anytime of day.

Shrimp Roll and the Crab Melt.

  Capped off the weekend with a trip to the grocery store to pick up these beauties for the week. I'm not sure why, but I've been craving these for the past two weeks. So good.