Melt Your Heart.

Last Friday, I had the great privilege of seeing Jenny Lewis at the last stop of her I Heart Cali tour. As usual, the crowd at The Observatory was pretty awful and often drove me nuts, but the show more than made up for it. I expected it to, but even my expectations were blown out of the water. No surprise there; it's Jenny Lewis, man.

Nik Freitas, of the Mystic Valley Band, opened the show with such a short yet sweet set. To be honest, I'd never paid much attention to him outside of the MVB or Jenny's own backing band, but Mr. Freitas can definitely hold his own on stage. I found his voice to be very gentle and captivating. I really enjoyed watching him and wished he'd played a bit longer.

It's hard, seriously hard for me not to love Jenny after every time I see her live. Not that I even try, because it's impossible anyway. To me, she is the epitome of effortlessness. She's badass, gorgeous, talented, and charming all in one. I can't say enough good things about her or her live sets. I've never been disappointed for even a second. I was especially moved by this particular show. And of course, I'm already waiting for the next chance to see her again.

To my delight, she brought along the fantastic Watson Twins, Johnathan Rice, Farmer Dave, and Nik Freitas (this time, on drums) with her on stage. Even they were clearly having a blast.

Now that I think about it, it's been such a fantastic year as far as seeing some of my very favorites live. I already have a list that should keep me musically satisfied for the rest of the year, so I'm looking forward to all of it. I've been spoiled so far, but you definitely won't hear me complaining about it.

Heartbeat Radio.

Thursday night was spent in terrific company. Between work and school and other things on our separate agendas, it's been some time since the ladies and I have had an entire day together. To our luck, that's what yesterday brought. And so we decided to take advantage by once again cooking our own dinner + dessert and spending the rest of the evening together. Needless to say, it was lovely.

listen to: JJAMZ

Well, what do you know, Los Angeles does it again. I can't believe it took me this long to discover JJAMZ (pronounced juhjamz), but I'm glad I finally did. The group is composed of Z Berg (The Like), Michael Runion, James Valentine (Maroon 5), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), and Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley, Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band, The Elected). Pretty super, eh? With such a fantastic lineup, I wasn't at all surprised to find myself really digging their, well, jams. Their debut record, Suicide Pact, doesn't come out until July 17, but to tide us over until the next week or so, "Heartbeat" is available to download for free on their website.

Watch the video for "Never Enough" below.

On and On and On.

To say that the Grand Canyon is a spectacle would be nothing short of an understatement. Carved by the Colorado River, the canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and contains a depth that is more than a mile. It is older than the dinosaurs, with two billion years of the Earth's geological history preserved within its numerous layers. It is also home to more than a thousand species of plants and animals, and continues to attract millions of visitors from around the world every year. As it goes without saying, the Canyon is absolutely grand in every sense of the word.

Since our trip to Arizona wasn't at all long, we only had a couple of hours in the day to wander around what we could of the Canyon. For a first impression, I found it impossible not to be sufficiently moved. I can't wait to come back (when the weather is less harsh), hike, and explore much more thoroughly.

Itchin' On A Photograph.

These are only a few of the many snaps from the past week or two. Aside from constantly making additions to my record collection, building my reading list, and spending time with my darlings (which is never enough), I've actually been spending more time at home than outside. In the afternoons, I hang out and watch movies with my grandparents. I spend my mornings sleeping, only to wake up as it nears the afternoon. In the evenings, I watch Girls (my new favorite show), Breaking Bad, and chick flicks while I hunt around online for 7-inch singles. It's been fairly uneventful and simple and slow, but I've certainly enjoyed having the chance to sleep in and relax all day. I'm trying not to get too comfortable, though. I definitely need to get back to working diligently and being more productive with my time. Know what? I blame the heat. ;-)

Modern Nature.

On our way back to SoCal, we made sure to stop for fresh fruit at one of the many farms we saw from the road. Trust me, it's even more delicious than it looks. We picked up some strawberries (which were so wonderfully sweet) and cherries (my favorite!) before returning to our seven-hour journey. It was digustingly sunny and hot outside, which caused me headaches simply by peering out. Dramatic, but I'm really allergic to heat. So, I napped and napped until we reached our next stop: Monterey, CA.

It was so nice dipping my feet in the icy Pacific. Thanks to Sammy for this!

We celebrated Matt's approaching 12th birthday and had a very satisfying meal at Fisherman's Wharf. It was a long and tiresome trip back, but it's always amazing seeing the many different sides to California. Overall, the trip was nothing short of terrific. Next up? Tomorrow, I'll be going to Arizona for a few days. I'm terrified at how hot it's going to be, but I've never been before, so it should prove to be fairly interesting. I'm looking forward to it!