Love is in the air with Valentine’s Day just around the corner and today I’m talking a bit about love, mixtapes and memories today, all inspired by ENDLESS LOVE. Learn more about the film and watch the trailer here (and then grab your girlfriends and hit the theaters on 02.14 for a little ladydate!)

// Mixtape card via Wit & Whistle

My parents both love music and concerts, so naturally I grew up to be a bit of a music junkie myself. There are few things I love more than seeing a band perform a favorite song live where I’m able to sing along and dance my butt off. Along with that, music also tends to hold lots of memories for me – a certain song has the tendency to remind me of someone or a specific event where it served as a soundtrack.

Do you remember the days of mixtapes? Where you meticulously selected a variety of songs to either show off how cool you were, subtly tell your crush how you felt or full on express your undying, angsty love? You’d even carefully scribe each track’s name and artist on the cover, give the mixtape a clever name and doodle on a bit of Sharpie artwork.

Oh I was all about the mixtape (and to an extent, I still am today thanks to playlist sharing on Spotify) – I can even remember the very first one I received from my 7th grade boyfriend, with just one song off of the radio and a simple “reminded me of you” written on the paper inside the casette case.  Even though it’s been years and years since I last recorded something off of the radio onto a casette tape or burned a CD full of illegally downloaded music from Napster, those same songs still fill me full of feelings. 

A few songs that take me for a little stroll down memory lane (uhm, can you tell I was a bit emo?!):

As much as I love technology and all of the wonders of our current hyper-connected age, I’m grateful that I grew up during a time when I was able to learn about crushes, young love, breakups and figuring myself out without text messaging and social media. Even as things continue to evolve, I’ll always have a soft spot for sharing a special song with someone or feeling the rush when you know a certain song “reminds them of you”.

Do you remember the days of mixtapes? What songs make you all sappy and sentimental? Did music play an important role in your young love days?

This post was sponsored by Universal Pictures and ENDLESS LOVE in theateres on Valentine’s Day (everybody loves a good chick flick on Valentine’s Day!). ENDLESS LOVE stars Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike) and Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers) in the story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make Pretty & Fun possible – I do my best to only work with brands that I truly love and fit well with my audience and all opinions are always 100% honest and my own.