#I went ahead and gave her a little update for her upcoming birthday

[simssub]

unfortunately, if Serena's gonna do one thing, it's clout chase

i hope you feel like it was worth it, Serena!

[snarkwrites]

01 | upside down, steve harrington ; stranger things

Notes:

Guess who fell head first into binging Stranger Things? Again? Yep. This bitch. And I kind of came up with this at some point during. I’ve been dancing around writing a Stranger Things fic for a while, but here I go I guess?

A few big cautions up front... There will be things that change/differ from the fic and the show. I’m gonna sort of loosely follow the timeline set forth. But I will be changing a few things here and there. I mean, if enough people enjoy this that I feel like writing more to it, idk yet... We shall see.

I swear to God, I’m going to update my CSI fics and my Riverdale one asap. This just kind of caught me by the nose and demanded to be written...

Summary:

She moves back to Hawkins and manages to turn his life completely upside down. In the best of ways.

But how will everything play out between them? Also, can they handle all the weirdness ahead? We shall see.

Warnings:

loose canon compliance at best, total deviation at worst - this is just an up front catch all because sometimes, things happen that I don’t particularly care for (the senseless death of Barb, anybody?) and if you’re one of those canon only people, this is here to warn you that this is not the fic for you. language, occasional gore, monsters / fantasy elements, teenage drama and shenanigans - Obviously, teenagers are going to do stuff. They’re at that point in their life where not every decision they make is the best one. So if you’d rather skip over this kind of thing (teen drinking, fighting, etc) then yeah.. you’ve been warned. Slow burn / angst / mutual pining / eventual filthy good ness - because lets be real.. we’re all wondering when we’re gonna drop the plot and get to the good stuff. When this chapter occurs, I will flair it with an M. In the meantime, if you’re not into slow burn or mutual pining, then you’re probably not going to care about this.

Other Parts

[ soundtrack ] 

Other Stuff

[ faq - tag list doc ] 

Tagging:

There’s nobody on my list yet but... If you wanna be tagged for this, tell me pls. It will make me overjoyed. 

Throwing out a no pressure tag to @rampagewriting​ and @twistnet​ as well as @chasingeverybreakingwave​ just because. No pressure though bbies!

                                                            ONE

“Table six wants a burger and fries. Smothered for those fries, Jennie.” my nana’s voice shattered through my wandering thoughts. I closed the issue of Glamour I’d been reading and made my way out from behind the counter out in front, heading towards the dining area in the back. 

“Marlena quit again, Nana?” I inquired, shaking my head. Marlena quits at least once a year. Turns up a few weeks later, tanned and broke, begging for her old job back and it’s been that way since my mom and I lived here still, when I was around 6.

“Girl, what have I told you about callin me Nana?” my grandmother asked, laughing softly as she nodded. “Yeah. Said she’s headin out to California this time. Thinks she’s gonna be the next Brooke Shields.”

“Broke Shields is more like it.” I mumbled, taking an apron from the hanger on the wall. My grandmother spoke up again, giving me a nudge and smirking at me while nodding across the diner. “He’s baaack.”

“Nana!” I muttered, raising a hand to my mouth, giggling a little despite my best efforts not to.

“I’m just sayin is all. That boy is not comin in here for my good cookin, Jennie Bird.” my grandma shook her head and I eyed the booth where a lone Steve Harrington sat.

It’s only the thousandth time since I moved back to Hawkins in May.

And my nana is right. He’s probably not coming here for the food.

I’d just grabbed two of the orders and sent Steve’s order back to our short order cook Brett, -or the order I’m assuming was his, he always gets the same thing down to a T when he stops in, when a hand reaches out, grabbing my wrist.

I nearly jumped right outta my skin until I realized that it was Nancy grabbing my wrist and Barb laughing about it. They were sitting at our usual little booth near the window, nursing milkshakes as they waited on my upcoming 30 minute break. Just like we’ve been doing two or three times a week since May.

Come to think of it, it’s around that time that Steve started coming in too. I shoved the thought out of my head right around the time that Nancy and Barb noticed him. And naturally, the question arose...

“What’s Steve Harrington doing in here?” Nancy asked, glancing up at me. I eyed his table and shrugged, suck popping a cotton candy flavored bubble as I told her, “Cher, your guess is as good as mine. He’s been comin in here since I moved back.”

Nancy wiggled her brows and laughed. Barb spoke up. “My mom wanted to know if you wanted to go to the lake with us this weekend? She knows your grandmother is going out of town.”

I smiled and nodded yes, zero hesitation. After Nancy confirmed that she was going too, we made plans to go into the department store in town tomorrow afternoon to pick up some swimsuits.

Nancy’s eyes settled on my boots and she let out a low and appreciative whistle. “Are those the same boots that were in the mall last time we went? I wanted those.”

I smiled, lifting my foot so Nancy could see my boots better. Then I whirled around so she could see the fact that I’d made my favorite pair of Levis into cutoffs and sewn white cherry print fabric over the back of one of the pockets.

“I love those. I wish my mom would let me cut off my jeans.” Nancy pouted. I shrugged. “Ginger said it was cheaper than buying shorts, so I went for it. I did two other pairs too.”

“I’m bringing my old jeans over tonight.” Barb spoke up. I smiled, nodding. “Yeah. I’ll do you right up, hon.”

“I wish I tanned like you. Do you just live outside, Jennie?” Barb asked, pouting a little. I shrugged it off, laughing. Taking a deep breath as I nodded towards Steve’s booth as I gazed at my friends after finally managing to tear my eyes off of Steve. “I best get over to table six. Then I have to go pick up the bohunk’s order, I reckon.”

“What’s a bohunk?” Nancy giggled.

“Same as a himbo, I reckon.” I answered, wrinkling my brows because I didn’t actually know myself. I just knew my nana Ginger often called her long-time live-in boyfriend, Hank, the same thing and I could tell by her tone that it was a loving thing.

I made my way over to Ethel and Earl’s table, setting them up with their food. “Y’all need anything else? Just let me know. Marlena quit on us again, so I’m the server tonight.”

“We’re all set, dear!” they assured me and I made my way over to the second of the tables whose orders I’d picked up.

The next table was Jim Hopper. My mom’s ex boyfriend. He chuckled and shook his head as I approached. “I see Ginger put you right to work.”

“I put me to work, sir. I’m saving money for a Trans Am I found for sale in Rollins.” I smirked as I said it, twisting a strand of hair around my fingertip.

“Oh really now.. Let me know when you get it. So I can warn the rest of the guys and the rest of town to keep a wide berth when you’re behind the wheel.”Hopper teased, chuckling. I pretended to pout, but got him set up with the food he’d ordered before finally making my way towards the back again.

I had to walk right past Steve’s booth in the process, naturally.

I did my best to keep my eyes trained towards the front of the dining area, but Steve cleared his throat just as I walked past.

“Is tonight the night you finally say yes?” Steve flashed a grin as he asked me the question. I wanted to melt, lucky for me, common sense prevailed once again.

“Steve..” I complained, shaking my head. Pretending to pout at him.

“Aw, c’mon.” Steve chided, giving me that charmer smirk as he gazed up at me. I bit my lip, eyes locked on his, lost in the depths of his eyes for a few seconds. My nana’s calling my name had me coming back to the moment and I sighed. “I gotta go get your food, cher.”

I hurried up to the front, ignoring my nana’s pointed stare and nod as she mouthed, “Well? What’d he say, huh?”

I gave a mysterious shrug and picked up the tray containing his food. Started my journey back towards his booth. On my way over, Nancy gave me a thumbs up and Barb mouthed at me in teasing, “ Aww, you’re totally blushing right now.” to which I stuck out my tongue and shook my head no.

I was all business as I sat his food in front of him. Consulting my notepad that had his order scrawled on it in my Nana’s loopy scrawl. “That’s a loaded burger and smothered fries with a chocolate shake.” suck popping another gum bubble as I spoke.

“Yeah.” Steve answered, locking eyes with me. My hand raised, trailing over the loopy cursive of my silver necklace. I toyed with the cursive that formed my name and he chuckled, dragging his fingers through his hair, nodding to it. “You still have it, I see. The necklace, I mean...”

“Why wouldn’t I? My best friend gave it to me, cher.” I gave him a soft smile. I couldn’t resist it because believe me, I tried. I’ve been trying to resist the guy since May, actually.

“Oh. So you did think about me when you left Hawkins...Interesting. I mean… you’re still wearing the necklace I got you for your birthday...” Steve mused quietly. His eyes were absolutely fixed on me. Studying me. And I felt this warmth spreading through my entire being. Like that first sliver of sunlight on a cloudy and cool day. 

Then the calm. Be still my beating heart, the calm that took over when I dared to lock eyes with him as my own personal act of defiance. Popping another cotton candy flavored bubble as I did so. I bit my lip as I thought of the best way, read, least revealing way, to answer his question. This was venturing into very,very dangerous territory at present. Because if I said no I’d be lying and if I said yes, it would give him too much power. He’d know that maybe he was my first real crush back then. He’d know that maybe seeing him again after all this time had been like a burst of fresh air and somehow, felt as if maybe he’d taken all the air from me at the same time.

It was a huge risk. Huge.

“Maybe.” - it was the only word that would come presently. Blondie crooning Call Me from the old jukebox sitting at the back of the dining area shattered through the heavy lingering silence that followed immediately behind my answer. In a rush, I told him quietly, “I have other tables.”

“You’ve been on your feet all afternoon, little red. C’mon. Sit?” Steve nodded to the empty bench across from him.

I scoffed at him over my shoulder. Giving him a sweet but firm shake of the head no and smile. “As much as I’d love to sit, romeo. Sitting’s not what’s gonna put that sweet fire engine red Trans Am in my nana’s driveway by August.”

He pouted and called out as I walked away, “ I’m not giving up.”

This earned him giggles from the booth I usually filled with Nancy and Barb when I took my 30 minute break.

As I walked by them, Nancy teased out loud, “ Awww, look Barb! She’s blushing.”

“I am not.” I pretended to be offended by the suggestion. Mouthing to both of them as I fanned myself with some napkins in teasing and nodded in Steve’s direction, “Whew...He has gotten… Intense.” 

“That’s Hawkin High’s big man on campus.” Barb informed me. I went to clock out for my break and came back with a Diet Pepsi, flopping across the booth across from then. Someone put 867-5309 on to play on the jukebox and I grumbled through closed lids, “I hate that fuckin song.”

Naturally, Barb and Nancy started to sing along. Loudly.

I pouted at them both as I rose to a sitting position.

Steve wandered over, flopping himself down in the empty spot next to me. “Ladies.”

“You’re not at Hagan’s party?” Barb asked, a brow raised.

“Yeah, why aren’t you at Tommy’s party?” Nancy asked, shooting me a covert teasing smile.

Steve shrugged. Took a long sip of his chocolate milkshake, slurping it through the straw noisily. I eyed it.

“I’d kill for a strawberry one right now.” I mused, gazing at the cup in his hand. He muttered quietly, “It’s not strawberry, but…”  as he held it out.I eyed the styrofoam cup and him. Biting my lip.

Nancy and Barb were gazing at me intently. Teasing gleam in their eyes.

I sighed and reached out for it, taking a few sips. Holding it back out to him.

“I was there. Got bored. I like the scenery better here anyway.” Steve answered finally, shrugging.

“So you enjoy spending your Friday night in a diner packed with old people..” I muttered, locking eyes with him. Swallowing hard when I found him staring at me already. 

He chuckled, shaking his head no. “I said I liked the scenery here, little red. Not the dining company. If you’d say yes and let me buy you a burger sometime…” he smiled at me as he went quiet.

I felt Nancy and Barb both fix their eyes on me.

“We’ll see.” I answered, shrugging mysteriously and smiling at him as  I did so. I wanted to say yes so bad it was killing me, but given that I know the history of my grandmother and my mother, I was… Definitely erring on the side of caution.

Besides.. It makes things interesting when you play hard to get. I guess I figure that if Steve gets bored and moves on, then it’s better than agreeing, falling head over feet, making any number of bad life choices that seem to plague the women in my family and ultimately, winding up heart broken.

Call me a hopeless romantic. Overly cautious. I just want to wait until I know something is a sure thing before I dive in over my head. I want something that’s going to last a while. Not be this intense and scary whirlwind that starts off strong and ends just as fast as it began.

“Hey, were we all going to go for a swim later? Figured it was hot enough. Besides, Ginger and Hank are going to Rollins later. They won’t be back until 2. Or two days from now.” I mused, glancing from Nancy to Barb.

“Sleepover in the treehouse?” Barb suggested. Nancy nodded, giving me begging eyes. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. It’ll be like when we were little.” 

“That’s actually not a bad idea!” I smiled, laughing.

After we all made our plans for the night, they left to go back into town and this left me with ten minutes in my break. Alone in a booth with Steve Harrington.

Hot Blooded came on the jukebox in back of the dining area and I grinned. Humming along with the song as I eyed the last of Steve’s fries. He chuckled, shoving them in front of me.

“You won’t let me buy you your own food… Yet you’ll eat mine.”

“Mhm.” I answered, dragging a french fry through gravy. Taking a bite thoughtfully. Groaning at the taste of the food because I realized just how hungry I actually was.

Steve chuckled, gazing at me. “Do I need to leave you two alone?”

I felt his arm go around the back of the booth. Brushing right against my shoulder. Normally, I’d politely move a little. But if I’m being totally honest here, I’m tired. So tired of fighting the way I feel. I managed to stop myself from resisting the urge to lean against his side though.

“That’s not so bad, is it?”

I sighed and gazed over at him. Smiling. “It’s not.”

From the kitchen, my nana called my name. Steve stood and I slipped out of the booth, making my way back. Clocking back in so I could finish waiting tables. By the time I’d done four more tables and was counting my tips for the night, Steve wasn’t sitting in the dining area anymore.

“You be careful getting home tonight, Jennie Bird.”

“Yes Nana.”

I didn’t have to look at her to know she was giving me a playful dirty look at what I’d called her. She sighed, the sound giving way to soft laughter. “Maybe get that handsome little beau of yours to give you a lift.”

“Nope. Absolutely not.”

“You are the most stubborn..” my grandmother teased gently, laughing as she shook her head.

I clocked out for the night, stepping out into the parking lot after counting down the drawer in the gas station area out front. Steve was standing outside, leaned against the cinderblock wall, his thumb hooked through his belt loop. Smoking a cigarette.

I glanced around to make sure my grandmother and her boyfriend weren’t looking or anything and I stopped beside him. Speaking up quietly. “Do you think you have another one of those?”

He chuckled, digging around in his pocket, producing a slightly crushed pack of Marlboro Reds. I took one and as I pressed it between my lips, he dug out a silver lighter and cupped his hands around the end, lighting my cigarette for me.

“You’re not afraid your grandmother’s gonna see?” Steve teased, grinning at me.

I laughed, shrugging as I exhaled, a plume of smoke creeping upwards into the sunset. “It’s more tame than her special brownies. I know for a fact it’s a thousand times tamer than anything my mom did at my age. I just don’t openly do it all the time around her because it’s a respect thing.”

“Ah. I get it, I think.” he nodded.

We stood there quietly. Staring up at the sky as the sun dipped lower. I really didn’t want to walk away, but one of us had to. I smiled, nodding towards the road. “I should probably get going.”

“I can drive you.” Steve offered.

“I’m fine. It’s only like a mile up the road.” I answered, swallowing hard. Dangerously close to caving, yet again. It’s getting so hard not to cave lately where he’s concerned and that kind of makes me panic just a little, truth be told.

“Yeah, but it’s getting late. And your feet have to be killing you by now.” he nodded to my boots. I shrugged, flashing him a smirk. “You’re a charmer, Steve.” I muttered as I rose up on my toes, fluffing his hair before stepping away, then turning to walk across the gravel parking lot and towards the road.

His BMW slowed to a stop beside me and he rolled down the window just as I started to walk towards my grandmother’s house. “C’mon.”

I eyed the car.

Then glanced at the road stretched out ahead. My feet were throbbing in these stupid boots because they weren’t broken in completely. I dragged my fingers through my hair, mulling it over.

“Take me straight home?”

“Anything you want, Jennie.” Steve promised, smiling at me. “Scouts honor.”

“You are a lot of things… Somehow I doubt boy scout was one of them, you charmer. Okay, fine.” I gave in, going around to the passenger side of the car and getting in.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he teased gently. I stuck out my tongue at him and reached for the dial on his radio until I found something other than his preferred usual pop station. He chuckled to himself, reaching out to lower the volume. “I missed you.”

“Aw, be still my beating heart.” I pretended to swoon. But something about the look in his eyes had me feeling like all the air escaped my lungs. Giddy. Lightheaded. And yet, underneath it all, that sense of calm.

The rest of the drive to my grandmother’s house was quiet. The air between us filled with this heavy and almost electric tension. Like I was waiting on something to happen, I just didn’t know what.

He pulled to a stop behind Hank’s beat down old Chevrolet truck and I went to open the door on the passenger side. I was about to get out, when he stopped me. “Same time Thursday?”

I smiled, nodding at him as I shut the  door to his BMW and started towards my front door on very shaky legs. Once I was inside, I pulled off my boots and flopped down on the sofa, letting out several long and shaky breaths.

“Heaven help me. That guy is… Something.” I drawled. Resting until I heard Barb and Nancy knocking at my grandmother’s door. I got up to let them in and we went upstairs to find towels to take down to the river with us.

Then we set off, walking through the woods. Laughter and conversation echoing in the night around us. Diving into the cold water with ear splitting shrieks. Splashing at each other noisily.

 We flopped onto our towels on the bank, gazing up at the stars as they started to come out. 

“I can’t believe summer’s almost over.” Barb lamented, shaking her head. “It seriously feels like school just ended.”

“I don’t want to go back to school yet. Yuck.” Nancy agreed, shaking her head. “I mean there’s another month and a half but it’s flying by too fast.”

“At least we got a few classes with each other. I’m dreading starting at a new school. I mean it’s not new, but still..” I sat up, facing the two of them.

“It won’t be that bad. You’ve got us.” Barb pointed out and I smiled, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. It won’t be that bad.” I echoed her statement.

“Hey, Jennie?”

“Yeah, Nan?”

“Why won’t you just give in to Steve. It’s not exactly a secret you like him.” Nancy eyed me expectantly.

I mulled it over, shrugging. “Guess it’s just the fear I have that I’ll give in and then everything will go wrong and I’ll wind up losing my friend too.”

The truth was… so much more complex than that. And I couldn’t even begin to explain it to myself, let alone my two best friends. 

“I will say this much though.” I started, going quiet for a second or two and taking a deep breath, speaking up again after, “It’s getting harder to fight it off. I mean when I moved back here and we ran into each other again, that old crush came back and it came back ten-fold. Enough about my weird hangups.. Is there some reason you’re not finally going for it with Jonathan?” I eyed Nancy expectantly.

“Every time I try it’s like my brain freezes? I don’t know, okay?” she laughed, shaking her head about it. Barb smirked. “Both of you are cowards.”

“Excuse… Says the girl who almost threw up because Logan, the guy she likes, winked at her on the bus back from an away game?” Nancy teased and Barb scowled at her, sticking out her tongue. “I’ll have you know, ha freaking ha, Logan is actually taking me to a movie on Friday.”

“Oh?” Nancy eyed her, wiggling her brows.

“Oh my god, details.” I spoke up, tapping my foot as I gave her an expectant look. Barb launched into the whole thing and I smiled softly, content to listen. Catching up on what I’d missed in being gone so long.

“Y’all. We need to get back down to my nana’s. It’s getting dark thirty.” I stood, reaching down to grab hold of Barb’s hand, pulling her off the bank of the river. Barb pulled Nancy up and the three of us went running through the wood and back towards my grandmother’s house.

Once we got there, we ordered pizza and went out to the old treehouse we used to play in out back to set up for the night. 

And at one point, we wound up playing Truth or Dare.

And naturally, the first dare I was given was to say yes if Steve Harrington asked me out again…

[onestowatch]

Zella Day Has Arrived, Renewed [Q&A]

Photos: Neil Krug 

Zella Day’s 2015 debut album ​Kicker​ presented to the world an unapologetic, charismatic woman raised in the mountains of Pinetop, Arizona. The album garnered over 200 million streams and propelled the young songstress to national acclaim. Coming off of appearances at Coachella and Lollapalooza and a tour with Fitz and the Tantrums, Day seemed poised to take the charts by storm.

However, the next four years saw virtual radio silence from the indie pop savant. Following her departure from Hollywood Records, the Los Angeles-based artist took the following years to recoup. While listeners waited patiently for a follow-up to ​Kicker​, Day continued making occasional appearances in music, releasing a few singles and appearing on Lana Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! Tour.

Now, Zella Day is back with her first original material in nearly half a decade and a five-song EP slated for August of 2020. I had the pleasure of catching up with her over the phone to chat about quarantine, old photos, and her upcoming EP, ​Where Does The Devil Hide​.

Ones To Watch: What are you doing in quarantine?

Zella Day: The first month of quarantine, me, my friends, and family seemed to have a similar energy level, where you just were tired and weren’t motivated to do much, because all the information coming out was so scary, and it felt like it was time to hide. I’m not really inspired by hiding and fear and hiding because of fear. The past couple weeks, I’ve started to take deep breaths, clear out my space, open up the windows, walk my dog, come home, pour myself a glass of wine, and sit with my guitar. I’m getting back to myself, but that was a curveball. I gave myself a pass to relax for a second.

You’ve said before that you’re a homebody, but it’s different when it’s imposed on you.

Yeah, where you feel like you’re restricted. I wanna ​choose​ to be a homebody. 

I personally am such a huge fan of ​Kicker​, I listened to it when I was 15.

That’s something that’s been such an interesting realization, that people that were listening to ​Kicker​ four years ago have grown up, and they’re in college, or turning 30. We’ve all grown up together, it’s profound.

What’s it like for you to see your update accounts and fan accounts on social media?

I don’t like to call my audience “fans.” To me, people who listen to my music have similar tastes to me, and I’d probably like to be friends with a lot of them (laughter). Fan accounts are funny, though. Sometimes, I’ll look up the fan account @zelladaykicker, and I will go back in time to find photos that I’ve lost, that I don’t have on my camera roll or my Instagram, but I really wanna look at the memories. @zelladaykicker has got me covered.

It’s like your personal Google Photos.

(laughter) It’s like, thank you so much for documenting it and being my library.

Speaking of old photos, tell me about the cover photo for your “z as she is” playlist.

I was about nine. That photo was taken of me in my kitchen in Pinetop, Arizona. I was apparently very ahead of my time. Born in ‘95, I didn’t quite get to live out the fantasy of being a ‘90s kid. I was an infant. That’s me trying to bring it back around with my metallic jacket, my little sunglasses, and my little hot pink bandana tied around my head. My mom took one look at me and said, “Wow, Zella, you’re really feeling yourself.” It’s one of my favorite photos, because my mom was making fun of me a little bit, but I was unapologetically wearing that outfit.

Was there ever a point when music wasn’t the endgame?

Music has always been an extension of who I am. Sometimes it feels like a gift, other times it feels like a burden. It’s my sole purpose. There’s been moments in the past three years where my career got a little rock, and a little unclear. I really had to come to terms with the fact that music is what I’m gonna continue to do, whether it’s smooth sailing or not. Letting go of music completely has never been an option, just more of a navigation of life and figuring out how to stay as close to music as possible.

Going into the music industry and moving to California, were there any expectations that you had to reevaluate once you were in the thick of it?

I was so young when I moved to California, I was two months shy of my 17th birthday. I signed a record deal when I was 18, and that was my first introduction into the industry. I didn’t have a chance to connect with my peers as much, as I was thrown into this machine. Not in a derogatory sense, more so with the record-making process being much more formal than just falling into a community of kids my age making music because it’s fun. It was still fun for me, but it was a very different experience. I don’t think I necessarily had an expectation. I learned what I needed and wanted the longer I was in the industry and the more I was learning about myself and my process.

I feel like people don’t think about the whole process of putting out an album, it’s a lot.

You have to be everything these days. You have to be a photographer, music video director, good at public speaking, fantastic at putting together an outfit.

Your cover of “You Sexy Thing” is so anthemic and fun to listen to. What prompted you to choose that as your big comeback single?

It was a lot of different conversations being had at the time of what the appropriate first release for me was gonna be. The head of marketing at my label suggested a cover, and at first I rejected the idea, because I hadn’t released original music in so long, that it felt important to me to share what I had been working on and share original material. I then realized that I haven’t engaged with my audience for a long time with music, and as much as I have been on my journey, nobody is a part of that with me. So, I was sitting on my mom’s couch in Long Beach with my friend Ellie May, and I was practicing a Roy Orbison cover. If you’ve ever tried to sing a Roy Orbison cover, it’s the most challenging thing. It just wasn’t working. 

Me and Ellie started talking about some of our favorite disco songs, and we were talking about songs that have been resurrected and recycled because they are just that good, and “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate was brought up. I laughed and thought how funny it would be if she and I did an acoustic, serious folk cover of it. It didn’t end up being the style we did it in, but it was born there.  

“You Sexy Thing” just felt like a celebration of sorts, reopening myself to the world with a song I could be expressive with and not think too heavily about what I was saying, so I could just re-engage with everyone in an upbeat and charismatic way.

I know Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys produced ​Where Does The Devil Hide​. How did you guys end up working together and what is that creative process like?

Speaking of expectations, I had no expectation of getting a response back from Dan Auerbach when I put out a request to work with him. My manager at the time had a relationship with people in Nashville that knew Dan and they passed along the message that it was a dream of mine to work with him. He and I met three years ago. I took a trip to Nashville, went by his studio and met him, took a tour of Easy Eye, and we liked each other enough to pursue a collaboration. We scheduled four days in the studio, and our goal was to write, complete, and record five songs in four days, which is exactly what we did. Everything was made in under a week, with the exception of some overdubs that were added at a later time. 

There really is a spirit of spontaneity of the EP that is so exciting. Working with Dan was eye-opening, watching him move swiftly, really lean into his instincts and ride the wave of inspiration. There’s just a level of talent in that studio with him and the musicians he chose to play on the record. They all know exactly what to do. So for me, walking in, it was definitely a challenge, a good push for me to step outside my comfort zone as somebody who came from the pop world, a more micromanaged state. I was really grateful for all those years that I’ve spent writing, recording, and playing shows, because any time before the time that I met Dan would have been too premature.

What about ​Where Does The Devil Hide​ are you most excited for your audience to see?

Each song is so different from the next, that’s what I’m most excited for people to see and hear. My songwriting style and vocal range, there’s so much put into the EP. It’s an emergence of my evolution and my arrival as an artist.

Last question: who are your Ones To Watch?

Does it have to be music? What do you think?

Anything you want. The world is your oyster.

(laughter) Right now during this heavy political time, I’ve been watching my friend Nahko And Medicine For The People doing great talks with everybody from holistic healers to gardeners to authors. It’s been really great to watch his conversations. And my sister, Mia Kerr, is one to watch. She is training to become a writer for film and television. It’s been amazing to watch her process, and when this is all over, she’s gonna be someone who is coming up.

[happy2bmyownboss]

This post actually started out as a different post but it got so long that I broke it down and decided to share this part of it with you today!

Things have been SO CRAZY BUSY here lately… I can’t tell you about everything we’ve been up to but I will let you know about a few things we have been doing down below. We are so excited about EVERYTHING that is going on and we just can’t wait to SPILL THE BEANS with EVERYONE!

For now, though I’ll tell you about some of our latest adventures here in our little cabin.

A trip to the movies

We took them ALL to see the new Lion King and it was so GOOD! My oldest son was a HUGE Lion King fan when he was little… and I believe he may still be very partial to the original but my younger kids only knew about the new Disney version of the series.

Here’s a trailer for it if you haven’t seen it yet:

I absolutely loved this new version of the original movie. Everything was so real and even though it was pretty much just a remake of the original it just seemed so much better! If you haven’t been to see it then you really should put this on your To-Do list… I know I’ll be buying the DVD as soon as I can as this is one movie that I will definitely watch again which is saying a lot as I am not a fan of reruns.

They had previews for a couple of other movies like Playing with Fire, Mulan, and the Maleficent that we want to see as well. Going to the movies with this crowd can get rather expensive so we only treat ourselves to this every now and then.

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A birthday in the house

We also had a birthday in the cabin this week. Monday was Ms. Comet’s first birthday! The only reason we actually know this is because she was actually born at the shelter that we adopted her from back in February.

Her adoption was quite an interesting story and honestly if I had known we would still be in this little cabin right now I probably wouldn’t have even considered adopting her but thank heavens for the things we don’t know!

I think her adoption story post may actually be stuck in my Drafts so I’ll try to check that out soon!

Homeschool Adventures

We also just finished up our ‘On the Banks of Plum Creek Adventure‘ and the kids have been begging to get started on the next one. The only problem is that I haven’t had a chance to get it finished yet… I actually haven’t even started it. I guess we all know what I’ll be busy working on this weekend so be prepared to be inundated with Little House posts in the upcoming weeks!

Dentist Appointments, Bread Store, and New Glasses

The kids also had a couple of dentist appointments this week. I went ahead and just scheduled an ‘Errand Day‘ into our homeschool week. This is so easy to do when we use the Homeschool Manager app!

We went to the dentist which ended up taking a little longer than normal. Then we made a trip to the bread store where we stocked up on some of our favorite treats… not THM approved but I think a little treat every now and then will be OK. An added bonus is that they offer an additional 20% off on Wednesdays! Whoo-hoo!

After the bread store, we headed in the other direction to pick up some new glasses for Ms. Caitlyn. I probably drove more yesterday than I have in the past two months!

Don’t her glasses make her look so grown up?

Chat with Grandma

On the way home, we called Grandma and chatted with her for a bit. We filled her in on some of the things that have been happening and updated her on the progress of our ‘special project’ that we hope to reveal very soon!

We also chatted about some of my latest cleaning accomplishments with our new products.

Cleaning with Norwex

As many of you know I recently signed up to be an Independent Sales Consultant with Norwex. I can’t even begin to tell you how much we LOVE these products and I can’t even being to describe the difference they have made in lives.

I’ve been a little LAZY lately when it comes to my housekeeping… we keep everything fairly clean but there are cobwebs here and there and our house probably wouldn’t come close to passing a white glove test but thanks to Norwex that may soon change!

One of the first areas I tackled was our messy 15 passenger van, if you follow me on Facebook then you’ve probably already seen some of the pics but here are the results:

  We also tackled a few areas in the house:

Yesterday after we got home I tackled a couple more places:

Jacob helped me with the bathroom cleaning and really wanted to make a YouTube video about it but I just wasn’t feeling it yesterday… that kid is determined to be a YouTube star!

All of this with mostly just a rag and water! AMAZING!!! I also cut one of the dish rags in half and gave it to Ms. Caitlyn to start using for dishes… she seemed excited to be the first to use something. Anything I can do to motivate them to do chores is a WIN!

Anyways, it’s about time for me to get these kiddos started on some school work and I need to go pull some chicken out for dinner tonight. I think we are going to make some breaded chicken and serve it with some Super Yummy Caulitaters and Oven Roasted Green Beans. Oh my gosh! I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it…

I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed day and I really hope that I can let this cat out the bag soon!

Check out the new products HERE.

Life Update: Dentist Appointments, Bread Store, and New Glasses This post actually started out as a different post but it got so long that I broke it down and decided to share this part of it with you today!