SweetGirlSmirk

We here at sweetgirlsmirk were supposed to go camping this week. Mother nature had different ideas, and rain and flooding took over Pennsylvania and Delaware. So what did we do? Brought the beach to the apartment! Yes, if we can do this on a second floor apartment, you can anywhere. Gear: ~Kiddie pool ~Sand ~Buckets ~Party lights ~Sparklers ~Crabs ~Snow crab legs ~Beach fries ~Chili dogs ~Shrimp ~Fruit cocktail pudding ~Any tropical decor on hand ~Outdoor games (we had washers) ~Daiquiris in fun glasses ~Beach playlist on spotify ~A huge sense of humor We had such a fun time that a nap had to be included! The playlist set the tone from the start.  You can subscribe here on spotify! Start off with a cocktail hour on the beach, or just relax in the sand and water. Grill some dogs, set the table and dig in! Fruit cocktail pudding recipe: a large can of fruit cocktail and two boxes of prepared instant vani

"The Death of the Electric Guitar" pops up on the Washington Post feed.  "Kids are just into beeps and boops" "Punk is dead" "Worse, punk is DAD" "Why don't kids do something constructive?" "Music was better back in my day" You can't go a day without hearing about {or saying yourself} one of these things. Teens are simply not into rock. First, that is the parents' fault. I'm a mother of a teenager who knows more about punk than I do, because she grew up with it and stretched out on her own while I was busy working and keeping kids clothed and fed. Play some Anti-Flag for your kid once in a while, or at least New Found Glory. Start them young! But most importantly, where did the rock music go? Every single time I see a band- in different regions, mind you (I straddle DE, Philly, Lancaster, DC)- that I would love to take her to, it is 18+ or 21+. Local bands play bars, venues d

Yes, you read the title correctly. Up until June of 2018, I had never seen The Godfather. I am 34. I love film. LOVE film. But I have been so busy watching David Lynch movies on IFC that it never occured to me to watch The Godfather. At one point I bought the DVDs to encourage myself to finally watch what many consider the greatest film franchise of all time. They sat on the shelf for nearly ten years. Thanks to a nudge from people who had me watch a random 20 minutes, and its availability on Netflix right now (cool, I don't own 3.... seriously Netflix, we appreciate you), I finally dove in. I fell asleep the first time (it's 3 hours!!! That is 2 movies!!!) but I took 3 nights to bring my ADD brain through it and took notes. Here are all 199 of them, in chronological order: thoughts, questions, and a pretty brutal drinking game that seems to emerge. Warning, if you have not seen the movie this post will spoil it for you and will probably not make any sense anyway. But,

I have been working on a bunch of new stuff! All of these and more are available at my  Etsy shop! KimmayJ  is a writer at heart who also loves to take color to canvas and see where it leads. You can also follow her on  facebook ,  instagram ,  tumblr ,  pinterest , and  twitter !

5 years ago (!!!!) I first ran a poll asking you, my lovely readers, what your favorite summertime song is. You can listen here!   Because so much changes over time, I decided to run part 2! You all did not disappoint! Here it is, your quintessential summer songs... as voted by you! To celebrate summer and July 4th and all things happy, I am sharing some additional love and light with a 20 percent off sale in my etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/sweetgirlsmirk from July 3-5! So sit by the pool, grill up some goodness, and dance the night away! Mungo Jerry- In the Summertime (Cover because it isn't on spotify)- Friends in Low Places The Ataris- Boys of Summer Counting Crows- Accidentally in Love Fall Out Boy- This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race The Bouncing Souls- Kate is Great The Beach Boys- Wouldn't it Be Nice All Time Low- A Love Like War Weezer- Say it Ain't So Seals and Croft- Summer Breeze Jason Mraz- I'm Yours Ray Lewis - Under the Boardw