Twenty-Five

I turned 25 yesterday, and it was one of the best birthdays I've had in years - probably since I turned 22 and met Macklemore and hung out with Givers at Sasquatch. This birthday was - however - very different.

I was given the day off from work because my boss is the best, so I got to spend the whole day in Ballard and Fremont with my best friend of 16 years Laura, and her friend Nikki joined us since she lived like 3 minutes from the Fremont Bridge. And honestly, when you're a grown up and hopping around Ballard bars - the more the merrier!

We met down at Hilliard's Brewery for a free show that KEXP was hosting with my pals Iska Dhaaf (who I literally saw almost exactly a week earlier to the hour at Sasquatch).

Here are a few shots of Ben and Nate because I couldn't not take a few.

Then after Iska Dhaaf finished their set (and I ran into a few other friends) we headed out for downtown Ballard. KEXP was hosting a couple record fairs at the Sunset and Tractor Taverns, so we made small talk with some people from Barsuk and Sub-Pop Records while enjoying some whiskey. It was my second drink of the day, so I felt like a true grown up. Day drinking. That's a thing.

Then Laura, Nikki, and I got $1 tacos for happy hour at El Borracho. Hello $3 lunch!

Mmm, tacos.

What was Laura doing? I don't really know.

I realize I've been neglecting my blog over the last two weeks, and I thought since I had these photos I might as well post them. I've been so focused on getting Sasquatch coverage done that I didn't realize that it had been 2 weeks since I updated this blog. As soon as Sasquatch stuff is done - SO MANY BLOG POSTS.

Happy birthday to me!

On being a role model.

I've been making YouTube videos for over 3 years now, and before putting my face on the internet, I didn't feel like a role model, at least for anyone besides my sister and her friends. I was the awkward kid in high school. I was the newspaper geek in college, and most of the other people in the student organizations hated me because I knew what I was doing as a student journalist. I had friends, sure, but I always felt like I was the one looking up to them, not the other way around.

This week being deemed Body Confidence Week 2014 is a great thing. I've been participating in this Instagram challenge every day this week, as a way of showing people how to come to terms with their body and loving it for what it is. I don't have a perfect body. If you follow this blog, you know that. I look decent in clothes, but I've figured out how to look that way in clothes to make myself feel the most comfortable. 

Recently I've gotten a lot of comments from girls telling me that they look up to me, for one reason or another. Last week I posted my own version of a feminist rant about gender stereotypes in music and yadda yadda. I'll embed the video at the bottom of this post. But that video garnered some of the most emotional responses I've had in a long time. I'm really passionate about music and when people connect with that passion it makes me really happy. 

I know people put me in this hole of "beauty guru" sometimes because I make some beauty-related videos, which I'm not necessarily opposed to because it does bring in a lot of younger subscribers. But with that fanbase that I've built of largely 13-17 year old girls, I have found myself suddenly as a role model for these girls. That's something I've never been before, but I like it. Nothing makes me happier than when someone connects with my videos on a personal level, because those are my favorite kind of videos to make and watch. There's only so much discussion that can happen on a makeup collection or "what's in my purse" video. Hence, why I won't make those videos.

There are also those comments that I get that both make me sad as well as extremely happy. They make me sad to see that there are so many young people struggling with depression and self harm (it's a staggering amount of people, I can tell you that), but it makes me happy that I've somehow done something to help them without even knowing. I make videos about music because I love music, and when someone can find a band that they love from one of my suggestions, literally nothing makes me happier. And if one of those bands or songs help them through a rough time and stop them from doing something drastic, that hits me really hard.

Honestly it's comments like these that make me want to cry tears of joy. I have this opportunity to do something good with the platform I've been so generously been given by you all, and I will never try to squander that. You guys make me happy every day and I'm so fortunate that I get to do the same for you.

One Year YouTubeversary

Yes I made that word up.

No judgement.

I realized early this week that I've spent a year on YouTube as Abb3rz07 (previously known at Abberz07). Granted, I had my old channel for three years, but this channel felt like a new start. I've stuck to a schedule, I've built a relatively large (7,071 subscribers) following, and I've made a lot of friends because of this. It's crazy knowing that over 7 thousand people have clicked that button after seeing my face. It's just weird. For all my friends that aren't on YouTube, when I tell them that I have 7 thousand subscribers, they think it's the coolest thing ever. I mean, I guess it is pretty cool. I've gotten a bunch of people come into work and recognize me at Lush (my second day at work, even). That's my favorite thing ever, when people come up to me that know me from the internet. 

Mary Lambert told me earlier this month that she recognized my face from Twitter when I met her at a show. I came up to her and told her how much I loved her music and appreciated her as an artist blah blah blah and she goes, "You're Abby, right?" And I froze. And I realized, this is going to continuously happen if I keep gaining subscribers. This is part of my life now. And it's weird and awesome and exciting and unknown and I'm so happy that I feel at home with the YouTube community. I've gotten a bunch of people with Big Frame and Wonderly actually tell me, "You should totally move to L.A.!" I know the perks of living in L.A. I do know that most of YouTube has migrated there and collaborations and working with YouTube and the network directly is really simple when you live in L.A. But it's also Hollywood. It's a thousand miles away from Seattle and it's hot and the traffic is even worse than Seattle and it's just not Seattle. I've thought about going to L.A. for a couple months for a trial run and to make connections. But then I think about everything I love about Seattle and I'm like, "nahh."

This got on a tangent. But what I basically wanted to say is that I'm so thankful for YouTube and all it's brought me, especially this last year. I love you all for sticking with me and being the best subscribers and followers and you're amazing. There are only a few more hours to enter my giveaway in honor of said anniversary, so go to the video above and leave a comment!

A Day in Poulsbo

 

If you're ever in Seattle and have a day to kill, I highly suggest taking the ferry over to the Kitsap Peninsula. We've got gems like Poulsbo, Hansville, and Bainbridge Island is a short drive away. I've always felt like Poulsbo was our little secret here on this side of the water - the tiny Scandinavian town with so much charm and whimsy that you never want to leave.

LIFE LATELY: Classic cars and a free concert

 

Summer is officially upon us and it's awesome. I've been running around doing all sorts of activities in the last week, all the while working 4 out of the last 5 days. Summer is busy.

GETTING TO KNOW: Lush Fresh Face Masks

Since I've started working at Lush (I know I've mentioned it enough times already), I've wanted to try so many different things, not only to see how they work for me but to make it easier to explain to customers how they may or may not work for them.

And since I do have this little blog here, I might as well review some of the products for you here! One thing that we sell quite a lot of are the Fresh Face Masks. I recently did a review of Catastrophe Cosmetic, which is the second mask I'd tried (The Sacred Truth being the first), and these are the rest of the ones I have not tried (I gave my sample of Cosmetic Warrior to a friend). In the coming week, I'm going to be trying all of these masks for you guys. *Note* I have mildly sensitive skin (mostly caused by chemicals), and it's also dry/combination. So obviously my reaction to a product won't be the same as someone with oily skin, but I will try my best to speak objectively. It should be easier now since I've learned about the products more closely.

I hope you're as excited as I am!

LIFE LATELY: Lush, Cyndi Lauper, and LOVE FOR ALL.

This post has been sitting in my drafts folder for almost a week and I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and write it. But today was so exciting I couldn't not sit down and write something about it.

Today is groundbreaking. Today is historical. Today is awesome.