Weekend Links

    Posted in EN, weekend links by


    How are you, friends? I feel like I’m not being myself in the blog lately. My writings feel and look forced, as if I write just to fulfill an obligation. I don’t want blogging to become this stressful. I want to go back to fun blogging, like I used to do a few years ago when I wrote everyday basically about what I had been doing that day. Simple as that; like writing a diary, only people from all over the world can read it. Does that make sense? Will my day-to-day rambling be appealing to you? What do you want me to write more, seriously?

    And because I’m so caught up in this feeling of wanting to write like the good ol’ days, this week’s Weekend Links is a collection of my favourite posts on my own blog. Sound narcissistic? Totally! But maybe you can see a different side of me by reading these golden treasure. Haha!

    Whoa, I end up listing too many posts! So sorry. But I hope you find your favourite posts too 😉

    Have a great weekend!

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

    14 June 2015

    Likes & Dislikes: Out Of The Wasteland (Lifehouse Album)

    Out Of The Wasteland Lifehouse Album Review | Hola Darla
    2015 has been so good to me as both my two favourite bands released an album when 2015 has only been 6 months. Earlier this year, Fall Out Boy released their sixth studio album. I wasn’t very excited and I didn’t like the album. They sound so different now than when I first found out about them and fell in love with their From Under The Cork Tree album. I understand that a band should evolve and become “more mature”, but it’s just not my taste. I didn’t post a review about American Beauty/American Psycho, because I knew it would be all negative.

    Now, back to the awesomeness that Lifehouse’ new album, Out Of The Wasteland. Their previous album, Almeria, wasn’t really appealing to me and I gave it a bad review when comparing it to Boys Like Girls’ album. My argument was the same as why I didn’t like Fall Out Boy’s album: it didn’t sound like them. Almeria was a failure for me because it sounded so different than their previous albums. Out Of The Wasteland, however, has made me fall in love since the very first track, which is also the first single of the album, Hurricane. The whole album sounds like a nostalgia to me. All tracks bring me back to my teenage year where I used to stay in my room listening to Lifehouse’s self-titled album. It reminds me of being young and naive. The lyrics are also quotable; all my friends are probably already sick of my posting quotes from the album on my Path account. Haha!

    Honestly all I can tell you about this album is just one word: AMAZING!, but here are my favourite tracks:

    Hurricane – The lyrics feel personal to me. The lines “We made it through hell and back again” and “it just gets better” remind me so much about our struggle during our first year together. This song will be quoted by me for a long, long time to come. Haha!
    Flight – The piano intro reminds me of one of their old songs, but I can’t really put my fingers on it.
    Firing Squad – The intro and the lyrics make me want to stay up late and watch the sunrise.
    Stardust – My #1 favourite track of the album! I love Bryce’s voice and he sounds even much better than he did in Wrecking Ball (in Smoke And Mirrors album). Glad to have two talented vocalists in one band.
    Alien – The music sounds like Easier To Be (in Who We Are album) and I love it! Second favourite in this album.
    Central Park – This one reminds me of Stanley Climbfall (in Stanley Climbfall) and Walking Away (in Lifehouse), but the lyrics isn’t as depressing. My 18 year old self would love this song very much. It’s a good song to listen to in the middle of the night (I don’t know why, though).
    Hurt This Way – Hurt This Way sounds like a country song. I’m not really into country, but I like this one so damn much!


    What do you guys think? Well, I can go on and on but I’m sure this whole post can be summarised with only one line: “This album is good so yeah go buy it, kids!” 😉

    Image via.

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

    11 June 2015

    Keuken #6 Taste in Transit

    Keuken #6 Taste in Transit
    Keuken #6 Taste in Transit
    Keuken #6 Taste in Transit
    Keuken #6 Taste in Transit
    Keuken #6 Taste in Transit
    Keuken was back! This year, the annual food festival was held in the Husein International Airport, which is located just a few minutes away from my parents’ house. Being the hipsters that we are, we didn’t miss our chance to go. The festival was located in one part of the airport’s runway, so it was super spacy, but there was no roof above us. It rained a little bit and the crowd dispersed, looking for a shelter. The food was not too unique; it was all the same like last year and two years ago. We bought french fries with nori sauce, taco (my very first taco), chicken rice, thai tea, milk shake, and takoyaki.

    I think Keuken needs to be re-evaluated and re-arranged for future festivals. It got boring and boring each year. Same food, only different venue. If not, I don’t think I’ll go next year 🙁

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

    9 June 2015

    Weekend Links (All About Blogging)

    Posted in Blogging, weekend links by


    I survived the internet apocalypse! Well, clearly not an apocalypse, but I was so miserable anyway. We finally have our internet back and running, so I can be back to regular blogging and watching cat videos. Yay!

    This week has been going on so slow. We took Jess to the vet for the very first time for her very first shot and have done nothing else exciting. We planned on going to Pangandaran Beach which was supposed to be today, but canceled because of a lot of things. But we’re going to Keuken #6 tomorrow, so we’ll just lay low and relax today.

    This week’s Weekend Links consist of a lot of blogging topics, because I feel like I need to re-motivate myself in the case of blogging. I’ve been feeling uninspired lately, maybe due to the lack of internet connection so I haven’t read people’s blogs too much.

    Here ya go!

    I need more of these blogging-related tips. Do you have some? Share with me!

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

    6 June 2015

    Pitch Perfect 2

    Posted in movies, reviews by
    Pitch Perfect 2 Movie Review on HolaDarla.com
    Sorry for the grainy pics!

    Finally.

    Finally, I have a working internet connection.

    Finally, Pitch Perfect 2 is showing in my country.

    Finally, I saw it yesterday.

    Yes, guys. Finally.

    I really liked the first Pitch Perfect and have been obsessed with the soundtrack. I marked my calendar so I could see the premiere show of Pitch Perfect 2, but it wasn’t released in my country until a few days ago. But I finally saw it yesterday evening and… it was disappointing. At least for me.

    Pitch Perfect 2 is set about three years after the first movie. The Bellas are in their senior year (except for Chloe, who is a super senior, after ‘refusing’ to graduate for three years) and their latest performance in front of the president is a huge disaster after Fat Amy’s failed solo performance, where she accidently rips her outfit, revealing her vagina to the whole nation. The incident costs them their tour and the only way that they can make amends is by winning the world championship. Their road to the world championship is not that smooth: their main rival is Das Sound Machine, an intimidating German a capella group; and Beca’s main focus is not on it, as she is interning for a music producer. The Bellas lose their voice and Chloe decides that the group needs to go to a retreat to find it. Will they find it? Will they win the championship? Well, it’s actually easy to guess but still, I won’t say it here. Go and watch it by yourself! :p

    To me, Pitch Perfect 2 feels like a bridge from the first movie to the third one (not officially announced, but you’ll understand what I mean after watching). The characters are shallow. After what happened in the first movie, I was expecting more of Beca & Jesse, or other Bellas’ personal story. But no. Jesse is just a supportive boyfriend who drives Beca on her first day interning and who screams “That’s my girl!” in front of the stage at the world championship. The movie introduces a new character, a freshman Bellas legacy who clearly will be the new lead in the third movie. But even she doesn’t have her (back)story explored. The other Bellas are just accessories, except for Fat Amy. Honestly, Fat Amy is the star of the movie! She and Bumper (who comes back to Barden University as a security guard) are secretly in a relationship. Fat Amy is the only one who made me genuinely laugh throughout the movie. She deserves a spin-off, IMO.

    So, generally speaking… Disappointing. Not funny. Probably will re-watch only for the sake of Fat Amy after the DVD is released. Two out of five stars.

    Have you seen Pitch Perfect 2? Did you enjoy it or are you as disappointed as I am?

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

    4 June 2015