Last Things: #1

While I have the motivation to blog (who knows how long this will last), I want to try to write about all of the things I've always meant to. I've dabbled a bit in lifestyle and pop culture blogging, but it's never really stuck. Seeing as I always enjoy seeing other bloggers' recommendations, I figured I'd at least try to start a series about what I'm into at the moment. If you want to talk pop culture or shopping, shoot me an email or find me on Instagram so we can chat!

Westworld art by Dustin Goebel

Here's the last thing I...

Watched (TV): Westworld. I watched the first season as it aired, and I'd been anxiously the return for the past year. As expected, the new season offers far more questions than answers, but that's half the fun. Watching Westworld kind of reminds me the golden age of watching Lost. While it can be frustrating, it's fun to watch week to week and hypothesize about what the hell is going on. Fingers crossed it all comes together in a much cleaner way than Lost did.

Also: Silicon Valley, finally catching up on the newest season.

Re-watched (TV): Frasier. My obsession is strong. I can't get enough of '90s-early 2000's sitcoms, and for me, Frasier is the gold standard.

Listened to (Podcast): Sandra. I am a huge fan of Gimlet Media podcasts, and seeing as I loved their last fictional one (Homecoming), I was excited to learn that they were releasing a new one. With a voice cast including Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wigg, and Ethan Hawke, this one follows a woman (Shawkat) as she starts working for a virtual assistant company, much like Amazon's Alexa or Google Home. I finished the series already, and while I could make complaints about the plot if I really wanted to, it was a fun listen. I do wish there were more episodes as I feel like it would have been better if they had more time really expand on the world and develop the characters. That said, it still manages to be captivating, and the voice cast is perfect.

Listened to (Music): Dr. Dog, Critical Equation. I just started to listening to Dr. Dog's newest album so I can't speak too much to it just yet, but they're one of my all-time favorite bands so it's safe to say that I'm enjoying it already.

Purchased: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I am obsessed with the podcast My Favorite Murder. I recently purchased tickets to their live show on Halloween (which I'm only slightly freaking out about) with a few Instagram friends, and we started talking about creating a little MFM book club. The most exciting news to happen this past was that police ARRESTED THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER. It's crazy. I've been wanting to read Michelle McNamara's book on the case since it came out, and this book club we're starting gave me a good excuse. I wish I had read it before the news came out, but I'm sure it will only be more satisfying reading it now.

Wanted to Purchase: I honestly haven't found as many Modcloth items that I've wanted lately, but I've been drooling over their collection with Collectif. My must-buy list includes this Gnome dress, cacti cardigan, and t-strap heels.

Best Week Ever

I'm having one of the best weeks of my life, so this is how this is going to work: I'm going to ramble about the cool things I've gotten to do this week, I'm going to make some pop culture references that you probably don't care about, the post is going to be way too long, and at the end, I might mention something about the outfit. Sound good? Good.

As I mentioned in my last post, on Tuesday I went to a show in LA where I got to see one of my favorite musicians of all time, Jenny Lewis, plus Sarah Silverman, Tim Heidecker, The Everyday Visuals, and more. The event was a night of comedy and music, and the tickets were ridiculously cheap for what it was. I went with my two best friends, Whitney and Adam, and we got there early so we were a few of the first people in. While we were waiting in line, Mark Duplass and Katie Aselton (who are married and both star in "The League," plus Duplass has been in/created some really fantastic films) walked past us, but I wasn't sure if they were just walking down the street or getting in line. Turns out, they were getting in line, and they ended up standing right next to us at the bar. I'm not brave at all when it comes to approaching people I admire, but fortunately Adam tapped Duplass on the shoulder for me, and I got to meet him. He was ridiculously nice, and graciously acted genuinely flattered as I stumbled over my words to tell him how much I love "The League" and his movies. He was also kind enough to take a picture with me, and he insisted that I hold my drink during so everyone could see what a fun time I was having, so I'm counting that as having a drink with Mark Duplass. Then, even though we had gotten drinks and met Mark Duplass, we still ended up in the second row for the show. The venue, The Echoplex in LA, is pretty small and standing room only, so were right by the stage. Every single act was fantastic, but nothing compared to seeing Jenny Lewis. First of all, Adam Scott (who you may know as one of my biggest celebrity crushes) ended up coming on stage and introduced Jenny Lewis. I had known there was a chance of him being there, especially since I found the event through his Twitter, but I still think my heart stopped when he came on stage and I realized how close I was to him. Plus, having him introduce Jenny Lewis to the stage was a dream of mine that I never knew I had until it happened. And oh, God. Jenny Lewis. She brought most of Rilo Kiley with her, so I saw three members of Rilo Kiley + Jonathan Rice play. She sang an acoustic version of "Silver Lining" solo. I might have teared up during it. She seriously was just incredible. I can barely put it into words. Getting to see her live in any setting would've been emotional for me, but getting to see her in such an intimate venue and so close to the stage was an experience like no other. 

Pop Culture, I Love You Vol. 3

This post is very long, so I'll keep the introduction short. It's taken me forever to get another pop culture post up, but when you consume as much pop culture as I do, it's hard to figure out what to write about and even harder to find time in between watching episodes of my shows. So without further ado, here is a very belated installment of Pop Culture, I Love You. Also, I apologize for how long these posts end up being. 

Pop Culture, I Love You No. 2

I definitely meant to have this post written a couple of weeks ago, but with so much to say about the things I'm watching, I'm learning that it takes me much longer to write these than expected. This means that there are some things I watched in between my last pop culture post and this one (I'm looking at you, "Orange is the New Black," which I watched right after I finished the last post), but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I get wrapped up in far too much pop culture for me to ever be able to include everything. So while I may have left out the fact that I finally watched all of "True Detective" (but you've heard enough about that show already) and I'll have to save my love for Marc Maron for the next post, there's still plenty that I've watched and listened to recently that deserve your attention. So, fellow pop culture lovers, read on to see what I spent the past month doing rather than having a real social life. As usual, if you want more information on any of these or if you have recommendations for me, feel free to comment below, email me at room334blog@gmail.com, or tweet me at @elanakatz. As you might have figured, I could talk about pop culture for far longer than you'll ever want to hear.

Pop Culture, I Love You No. 1

If you've ever read this blog, had at least one conversation with me, read my Twitter, or seen me from across the room, chances are you understand what a big part of my life pop culture is. It dominates most of my conversations, and it's safe to say that at least 80 percent of my friendships grew out of similar interests in TV shows, movies, or music. I don't think I could ever date a guy who didn't have good taste or care about pop culture at all, and any guy who does try to date me is forever competing with my one true love of television. It's all very healthy, I swear.

So, after saying that I would do this for too long and constantly boring people with rants about whatever I'm watching at the end of outfit posts, I finally decided that it was time to dedicate posts specifically to this obsession of mine. If you're just here for fashion, feel free to skip these, but for anyone who does care, I'll be sharing my recommendations and what I'm into at the moment every other week. There are a million other things I could have added to this first one (it killed me to take out "Last Week Tonight," "Silicon Valley," and "Orange is the New Black" at the last minute), but I'm sticking with these for now. Rest assured, I'm going to force all of my opinions on you all eventually. I also have a strong love for minimalist entertainment art, so I'll be sharing some of that as well. I hope you get inspired to watch/read/listen to something new, and if you have any questions about the things I've written about or just want another recommendation, feel free to email me at room334blog@gmail.com. And without further ado, here's what I'm into at the moment: