new sounds : "great expectations" - diggy simmons

i can't wait until "airborne" drops. i <3 this kid.



check it out!

-*csc. 

¡bienvenidos a madrid!

hi everyone!

so i've been in a madrid for a week and i must say that it has been a good experience so far. so many things are different over here, from the Metro system, to the ciestas in the middle of the day. I really want to be able to tell my story though pictures. below are just a few sights that we've seen thus far...

 la plaza de neptuno (above) ; the king's palace (below)

el sol (2nd above) ; kilometer zero (above)

i'm loving the lifestyle over here and how relax it is from the united states. i'm also learning a lot from my personality psych and business classes about the culture and society here in madrid. 

i'll update with more sites & sounds of madrid when i can!

¡ciao bella!

-*csc.

visually appealing : ciara "ride"

fellas, i'm sure you will love this one.

all i'm saying is, i will be on kanye's workout plan until the end of the year just to be able to move as half as good as she does. getchu some then, ciara.


-*csc.

visually appealling : "fistful of tears" - maxwell

i love this song. i love him. that is all.

new sounds : "we are the world 25"

as you all know, the epic song "we are the world" that was written by the late great king of pop michael jackson, quincy jones and lionel richie has turned twenty-five years old this year, and in honor of its anniversary, as well as to create awareness for the tragic situation that has devastated haiti, various artists donated their time and their talents the day after the grammy awards to make this song.

soo many talented artists: jamie foxx, celine dion, jennifer hudon, usher, pink, kanye west, mary mary, ll cool j...i could go on and on. they actually did a fantastic job, and the video is super dope because it includes MJ. <3

check out the song below and tell me what you think!




-*csc.

dont call it a comeback : the karate kid

i know there have been several installments of 'the karate kid', but this looks like a version that will definitely do well in theaters. starring jaden smith (son of will and jada pinkett smith), he moves to bejing with his mother, tarji p. henson and finds that he has to be able to protect himself in the tough streets of china. jackie chan serves as his instructor and my oh my, it looks like jaden does his thing in this movie. he has truly grown since 'the pursuit of happyness' with his daddy in 2006, and by the looks of it, this role was physically demanding. i'm sure papa smith threw some pointers about athleticism that he learned from 'ALI'. check out the trailer below.

the movie is due out some time next year.



-*csc.

it just keeps getting better : dell presents OPI colored laptops

the dell inspiron 15 in OPI's "princesses rule!"

ladies, remember when we were younger and how much we loved to play in your mom's nail polishes? painting each of our tiny little nails a different color because we were so fascinated with how sparkly each shade was. now, we've got the chance to bring that dream to life.

dell has teamed up with OPI (the nail polish giant) to create a line of beauty-inspired laptop designs. i must say, i am a little jelly because i have a mac and i would love to have my computer be the same color as my nails - that's super freshness ^ infinity. with 26 different designs, all colors are traditional OPI nail shades, like green-wich village, teal the cows come home, big apple red, and my personal fave, princesses rule!

it's so cool that technology is advancing so much that companies like dell are allowing customers to personally characterize their appliances, and the collabo with OPI just shows that companies now days are starting to venture outside of their own realms, and initiating expansion for their own repertoire.

log onto http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/design_studio/en/us/design_studio?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs to check out the many different cool colors that are offered. it's an additional $65 to specific OPI color of your choice. this just goes to show that our lives truly to revolve around technological advances, and it's only going to continue from here.

-*csc.

visually appealing : kid cudi - pursuit of happiness

"if i fall, if i die - know i lived it to the fullest -- if i fall, if i die - know i lived & missed some bullets..."

i don't even have to go into the reasons why i love cudder so much, but i totally *one day soon* want to sit around a table with my friends just poppin' bottles of champagne because we can. but ultimately, we are all on that journey to happiness in life, but as kid cudi shows in the video, all that glitters is not gold. the video is SUPER dope with special effects to (josh hartness directed the video - clap for him.)

word to drake & jake gyllehaal for making cameos in the video. i can't wait to see this dude perform live in concert! :)


-*csc.

it's the kid in me : jamba juice smoothie maker

so my younger sister insisted in waking me up out of my slumber this afternoon to bring this absolutely GENIUS idea to my attention.

jamba juice has officially joined the ranks of real-food appliances like the easybake oven, the mrs. fields baking factory and the mcdonald's mcflurry maker. i really thought that i was going to go to culinary school, so i spent hours upon hours as a youngster making cakes, cookies and other goodies for my household. *giggle*

this christmas would be a joy if i saw this box under the tree, and while you make think that i am too old for novelties such as these, i must explain my love for jamba juice. and seeing that there is no jamba juice here in syracuse, new york (getcha money up 'cuse, let's make this valuable investment!) i think that this would totally make my spring semester and have my fellow classmates sippin' a little haterade because i'll have freshly blended jamba juice smoothies each morning on my way to class.


toys 'r us is just one of the few retailers selling the item for $19.99, and it's currently sold out online, so you know that it's going to be a hot item for the kiddies this christmas.

if santa knows what's best for him, he'll make sure to thrown this up under my tree - i've totally been a good girl this year. ;-)


-*csc.

brand new flavor for ya ear : urbanears

"the plattan" headphones, $60

"the tanto" headphones, $40

these have to be some of the simplest, yet attractive set of headphones i've seen in a while. the ear buds that Apple provides for their iPods were cool at first, but they can be awfully annoying to put in your ears time and time again.

with urbanears you have a choice of 'the tanto' or 'the plattan' headphones, both which are very stylish and come in a variety of bright colors.

'the tanto' headphones run for about $40, and 'the plattan' headphones run $60. both can be found at http://www.karmaloop.com/.

this would be a great christmas gift for the music lover(s) in your life <3


-*csc.

JUST DANCE : vibe studios

(*photographs courtesy of vibe studios facebook page*)

heads up to all my dancers out there!

vibe studios is a brand new dance studio that has just opened in the syracuse this weekend. as a dance fanatic, i literally fell out of my chair with excitement when reading an email about the grand opening this weekend.

with the tagline "no committments, no monthly fees, no bullsh*t -- just dance" i'm totally stoked about going to dance at this studio next weekend. owned and operated by savannah featherly, vibe studios is a subdivision of central new york academy of dance arts that offers a variety of dance classes for students 16+ that focuses of choreograhy and different dance styles.

vibe studios is located at 303 east manlius street in east syracuse, new york. their opening weekends are december 4th-6th and december 11th-13th. the studio is offering several specials their opening weekend, including free classes on friday and saturday and a dance competition on sunday.

for more information, check out their myspace page and follow them on twitter.

http://www.myspace.com/vibe.studios

http://www.twitter.com/vibestudios

i can't wait to get my groove on in this hip new hot spot this upcoming weekend.

-*csc.

new sounds : "the first flight" by diggy simmons

so if i were 15, i would TOTALLY try to get @ Digg - his swag is ridiculously crazy! *lol*

any way, daniel 'diggy' simmons as everyone knows is the son of rev. run & justine of mtv's "run's house" and he has now burst on the scene with his first mixtape titled "the first flight'. i knew that dig wanted to break into the fashion industry from watching episodes of the show, but i had NO CLUE that he could rhyme.

favorite cuts:

"point to prove" - the first single released of the mixtape which talks about how even though he comes from a legacy of hip-hop royalty, this young chap has to show everyone who he is, regardless of his famous roots.
"laid back" - this track talks about how he's trying to holla at a young ya-dig, but rapperes chris classic & mike charles reassure diggy that he's got all the time in the world for the girls, and he should really just focus on himself & living the life of a teenager.

with eleven other tracks, diggy really has something going. i'm excited to see where he takes his rapping and fashion career. unlike his older brother jojo, who started the group "team blackout" *where they at?* diggy is blazing his own trail and talking about his experiences as a 15 year old boy - which just makes the mixtape so much more commendable and enjoyable to listen.

i rate this mixtape 4 out of 5 stars - this dude is about to blow up and everybody better get ready. check out a free download from datpiff here : http://www.datpiff.com/Dj_Spin_King_Diggy_The_First_Flight.m82094.html


-*csc.

**flyness alert! : jpk handbags

so while i was waltzing down marshall street today i decided to walk into j.michael's and see what window shopping i could take care of. shoes - cute; uggs - always fresh; but to feed my handbag fetish, i strolled into the vera bradley section and didn't see anything appetizing. and then, just as i was walking out of the store, there it was. this beautiful burnt orange hand bag that was just softly saying, "chas, pick me up. put me over your shoulder." of course, i listened, and then took a peek at that young price tag.

JPK handbags are totally inspired by their creator, Jean-Pierre Klifa and his creative ability to put together material, color and form. i had never heard of JPK handbags before today, but taking a look at the spring/summer collection from this year, i am totally sold. his handbag fashions have been featured in InStyle, Self, & People magazines. what captures my attention so much about these lovely bags is that they are so vibrant and colorful, while at the same time, very fashionable and can be worn all year round. with the variety of colors, you can rock the brown & burnt orange in the fall, and break out the bright pink and green for the spring time.

while at the moment it is a bit steep and out of my reach, i am HIGHLY certain that bad ass handbag will be traveling back to the chi with me come december. it will be my gift to myself after kicking butt this semester. jpk hangbags run about $165 - $245, and my fave style, sasha nylon, would be the most expensive * go figure * but j.michael breaks you off a little bit on that price.


check out their website and holler back.



(*baggatt - terra, $220)



(*bucket nylon maxi - hot pink, $187)



(*sasha nylon - burnt orange, $245)

http://www.jpkhandbags.com/index.php

-*csc.