How to Listen to Taylor Swifts New CD 1989

Okay woah, no judgment, I can never deny love for Pop Girl Jams- Taylor Swift is cool and I have bought all her albums so I had to stay true to a sister and purchase this album too.  

The album is fun & a new sound for Taylor Swift. There are still the usual break up songs, girl power songs, songs about being better than men- but this album is a little more spicy.

  How To Guide on: Listening to Taylor Swifts New Album 

1. Welcome To New York- song you play when you want to imagine you and all your friends moving to a new city. *** add Champagne while listening for extra fun. 

2. Blank Space- song you play when you want to do a little shoulder shake and feel like a confident/ carefree/ don't care about any boys but let me show all the boys how fun I am kind of woman. 

3. Style- When you want to let your hair down and rock your head back and forth, in a car (This song will also make you feel like all the boys want you- but you don't want them... duh.)

4.  Out of the woods- Maybe my least favorite song - but damn it is catchy as hell. Listen to this song, wait for the chorus then have a dramatic head shake dance party. 

5.  All You Had To Do Was Stay-  Listen to with a girlfriend. after a breakup- the usual from Taylor. Accompany it with: cheap box wine- then watch Legally Blonde to bring your girl power spirit back up.

6. Shake it Off- WE ALL LOVE THIS SONG- Spice it up with your own remake of the music video.

7. I Wish You Would- If you ever hung up dramatically on a boy- or you want to pretend like you are a teenager and slam stuff around in your room.

8.  Bad Blood- Another after break up song but its a little more girl power, in your face boy- so maybe spice it up with shots of fire ball every time she says Bad Blood.

9. Wildest Dreams- I think this song is sexy. (My roommates disagree) Listen to this song, sing this song- in a robe, in a face mask- to your dog. Maybe accompany it with a bag a chips/ a whole cookies cake and your phone thats not getting any special text messages to have a sexy night with a man.. (just me?)

10. How You Get The Girl- Here it is. The cutesy song of the album, listen to it when you have a stupid crush - Accompany it with baking cupcakes or cookies with your girlfriends.

11. This Love- Listen to while under a water fall or in the rain; or when you are having an all out dramatic moment in your bathroom.

12. I know Places- This is a windows down, driving around singing song- Please do not accompany this song with any drinks. (okay maybe a shot or two) .... (just kidding Running Wild does not endorse Drinking and Driving)

13. Clean- this is the song you pass out to.

Happy Listening.

Cheers!
Sierra

travel reads. (kind of)

One of my goals for the year was to read as much as possible... I failed miserably at this goal until I went on my backpacking trip - the best way (for me) to kill time on a train was to read.

I downloaded several books before my trip- these were my must reads by popular demand or just authors I love so I knew I would enjoy reading their books. 

Of course Eat, Pray, Love is on my list- It is a travelogue by Elizabeth Gilbert who leaves everything in her current life to travel for a year- the book is far better than the movie- as most books are; it is a lovely read.

“Until I can feel as ecstatic about having a baby as I felt about going to New Zealand to search for giant squid, I cannot have a baby.” - Eat Pray Love

Wild is another female solo travel book. Cheryl Strayed is my favorite author, she can write anything.. I would read her small notes or her to do list. When I was 19 I discovered Cheryl Strayed on theRumpus.com, she wrote a letter to her younger self and at the time I thought her name was Sugar. Every year I read this letter and something different relates to me. 

“I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.” 
― Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Tiny Beautiful Things- after I discovered Sugar was actually Cheryl Strayed- I went a little Author happy and downloaded anything I could find by her. This book is not a read all at one time type of book. It is a book you pick a chapter and read and if you can stop yourself from devouring all the advice at once- it is a nice read to come back to when you have time. 

Cheryl on Solo Travel:

“It’s hard to go. It’s scary and lonely [. . . ] and half the time you’ll be wondering why the hell you’re in Cincinnati or Austin or North Dakota or Mongolia or wherever your melodious little finger-plucking heinie takes you. There will be boondoggles and discombobulated days, freaked-out nights and metaphorical flat tires.

But it will be soul-smashingly beautiful, Solo. It will open up your life.”

Cheryl Strayed. “Tiny Beautiful Things.” 

Before you read Psychos, I suggest you go read "White Girl Problems" by Babe Walker first. Babe Walker is insane and extremely entertaining- in Psychos she has a few travel mishaps in Paris, Amsterdam and Greece- so you could consider it a travel read. 

“What are you doing in Amsterdam?”

“Oh you know . . . just chilling out, drawing, doing a bunch of drugs, not eating, hiding out from a stalker. The usual.”

Excerpt From: Babe Walker. “Psychos: A White Girl Problems Book.” iBooks. 

I read anything by Chelsea Handler. I love memoirs. Uganda Be Kidding Me just so happens to be about Chelsea's travels. This book is a short, fun read. 

Travel Etiquette- Uganda Be Kidding Be, Chelsea Handler

With Love,
Sierra 

Hostel Tips!

For the majority of my backpacking trip I stayed in hostels. If you do not know what hostels are they are affordable accommodation for travelers.

Much like a dorm room- you share a room with other travelers.

 Most hostels offer different room types from 4-12 beds in a room and the option of having a mixed dorm or a same sex dorm.

This is not to be confused with the movie Hostel. I have never seen it but apparently it is a horror film based in a Hostel where people are locked in and tortured- the only torture I ever encountered was a room with a snoring human.

So here are a few tips/ do's and dont's of staying in a hostel.

1. Use a booking site such as Hostelworld.Com or HostelBookers.Com, I preferred HostelWorld because they have an app available; using the app made it easier to compare prices & see reviews from other travelers.

2. READ THE REVIEWS- Reviews on hostels are done by other travelers and they are usually accurate. The reviews will tell you if a hostel is a party hostel or a quiet one; reviews are great because every traveler is looking for a different type of atmosphere and each hostel definitely has a different atmosphere- the reviews will help you chose your accommodation based on your needs as a backpacker.

3. Staying in hostels is a great way to meet other travelers! Introduce yourself to the people staying in your room or to someone sitting in the lobby- I met some of the best people in hostels- sometimes it is nerve wrecking to talk to a stranger but you never know who you could be missing out on if you never take the initiative to say hello!

4. Take advantage of what the hostel offers- some hostels offer "Bike Rentals" "Free Maps" "Free Walking Tours" or "Pub Crawls" this is a great way to meet other people in your hostel and explore the city you are visiting.

5. If you do decide to return to your dorm extremely late, be respectful of your fellow roommates.

6. IF YOU SNORE- (this is just a suggestion) maybe you should warn your roommates- or give them candy and apologize- or get yourself to a doctor because it is a serious problem if you sound like a grizzly bear when you sleep and I promise at least 3 people in the room with you are awake and plotting your death.

7. Make sure you read the Hostel policies- some hostels have a curfew, some have a key deposit & some have a cash only request. Just read the policies so you show up prepared for your stay.

8. Use the kitchen- most hostels offer a kitchen area for guest to cook their own food. This can save you money and give you a chance to make yourself your favorite meal from home you might be missing.

9. Bring your own lock. Most hostels offer lockers or bins under the bed to put your belongings in- having your own lock makes it easier to lock your stuff up with out paying a fee.

10. Bring your own towel- most hostels do not give you a towel- I bought a microfiber towel from amazon- it was a great travel item!

11. Sometimes "A short walk to (said attraction) " could mean a walk, a metro ride and an intense up hill hike to said attraction.

12. A free breakfast will probably consist of; toast, coffee, nutella & cereal.

13. Enjoy the ride!!