This one brings tears to my eyes every time I play it (and I've been playing it practically nonstop). Eleanor remains unimpressed by it so far.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Monday, December 3, 2012
Just a Minute: November
Boy, November flew by!
reading…Just finished This is Where I Leave You by Jonathon Tropper. A bit like mixing The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen with High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. A little heavy, but the end wasn't a downer and the narrating voice was great which made for a quick, enjoyable read.
cleaning…When we were at my parents' over Thanksgiving, we took a stab at cleaning out some of our childhood/high school belongings. I ended up dragging my CD collection back to Chicago to sort through it. I have a rather embarrassing plethora of movie soundtracks (Does anyone even remember the movie Go? Well, I have the soundtrack, among many many others.) and a rather large stack of country music, including no less than 12 Garth Brooks CDs (oh, Lord, I even own his Chris Gaines oddity). One thing my sisters and I agreed on as we went through our piles of things is how painful it is to think of all the money that those many ceramic Disney figurines, CDs, or teddy bears represent.
listening…I bought Holidays Rule from Amazon this week because they had it as a $1.99 special. It's pretty good. Among my favorites are I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by The Civil Wars and What Are You Doing New Year's Eve by The Head and the Heart. It's a good mix for background party music.
loving…This wreath. I adore it. I bought a huge square boxwood wreath at a thrift store this fall, but I haven't tackled adding anything to it yet. This makes me want to try. I could definitely make this work.
making...I'm nearly finished with the stocking stuffers. I think watching a good two movies while hand-sewing should finish them off. Maybe when they're done, I can get started on some fun baby projects. First order of business, baby pants from a pattern my sister gave me this year.
baking…I made some dried cherry and pistachio biscotti this weekend. I used my usual recipe, and just added about a cup of pistachios and a very large handful of dried cherries. Though I was a bit disappointed in how it turned out (a bit crumbly for some reason), Nathan assures me he loves it. I think perhaps I cooked it too long during its first bout in the oven. Our oven is so temperamental. I sort of secretly hope it dies, so I can justify getting something awesome. But then again, our microwave will have to die first and our refrigerator has some incredibly frustrating crisper drawers, so maybe the oven will need to live a lot longer...
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| Image from Amazon |
cleaning…When we were at my parents' over Thanksgiving, we took a stab at cleaning out some of our childhood/high school belongings. I ended up dragging my CD collection back to Chicago to sort through it. I have a rather embarrassing plethora of movie soundtracks (Does anyone even remember the movie Go? Well, I have the soundtrack, among many many others.) and a rather large stack of country music, including no less than 12 Garth Brooks CDs (oh, Lord, I even own his Chris Gaines oddity). One thing my sisters and I agreed on as we went through our piles of things is how painful it is to think of all the money that those many ceramic Disney figurines, CDs, or teddy bears represent.
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| Image from Amazon |
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| Image from fellowfellow |
making...I'm nearly finished with the stocking stuffers. I think watching a good two movies while hand-sewing should finish them off. Maybe when they're done, I can get started on some fun baby projects. First order of business, baby pants from a pattern my sister gave me this year.
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| Image from King Arthur Flour |
Friday, June 22, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Get You Through It Mix
image via the drop
This play list will get you through your next workout or your next bad day. Especially good for pepping you up for projects that you really really don't want to do.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Five for Friday
If you haven't heard these five songs you need to!
Cults: Never Heal Myself
I find myself humming this all the time.
Goyte: Heart's A Mess
I'm sure you've heard of Somebody I Used to Know by now, but he has other great stuff too. This video alone is mesmerizing, but the song itself is just as great.
fun.-Some Nights
These guys live up to their group's name. I'm sure you've heard We Are Young, but that's just the tip of the iceberg! The odd mix of styles and influences makes their whole album fun; it's tough to choose a favorite from it because every song is good.
Kimbra: Settle Down
If you watch this video of her at SXSW, you'll understand my obsession with this song.
Kate Miller-Heidke: The Last Day on Earth
Sad, but so lovely.
Cults: Never Heal Myself
I find myself humming this all the time.
Goyte: Heart's A Mess
I'm sure you've heard of Somebody I Used to Know by now, but he has other great stuff too. This video alone is mesmerizing, but the song itself is just as great.
fun.-Some Nights
These guys live up to their group's name. I'm sure you've heard We Are Young, but that's just the tip of the iceberg! The odd mix of styles and influences makes their whole album fun; it's tough to choose a favorite from it because every song is good.
Kimbra: Settle Down
If you watch this video of her at SXSW, you'll understand my obsession with this song.
Kate Miller-Heidke: The Last Day on Earth
Sad, but so lovely.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Just a Minute: February Edition
reading…The Windup Girl, which is a completely fascinating, creative, and strange multiple-book-award-winning science fiction novel. I just finished Remarkable Creatures (which was wonderful) for those of you who are not particularly interested in sci fi.
following...One of my favorite blogs is How About Orange. Jessica is a graphic and textile designer who is always sharing free fonts, and labels, and showing her cute and really doable project ideas.
One of my favorite features is when she does sewing tutorial roundups, though I always find myself
bookmarking yet another project idea that someday I plan to get around to making. Plus, she's a fellow Chicagoan, and I fight the urge to stalk her a little bit.
watching...Southland is such a great show. Though my DVR gets a pretty decent workout, (ok, admittedly a better workout than I get each week) it is the one show I savor the most. I am so excited to watch it that I hold off so that I can look forward to it for a few days. Sure, it's another cop show, but this one fleshes out the characters, has a fast pace, and has more emotional depth than the typical cop show.
listening…to a Chicago area band that my band manager friend, Bret, told me about. I am loving the Stamps, especially Over Again and Heartache.
loving…Nathan and I recently obtained two board games that are just for two people (Lost Cities and Settlers of Catan card game). We've been having game night/day/afternoon/morning on an almost daily basis, and though he is now consistently beating me, it's still a much better way to pass the time than fighting over watching DVR'ed golf.
making... Made Slow Cooker Cuban Pork this weekend. It was so good that I am still looking forward to the leftovers. Make sure to serve it with sliced jalapenos because that little kick of spicy makes it extra good. The biggest adaptation I made was using a pork roast instead of the beef called for in Real Simple's recipe. Because it was double the meat, I also doubled the rest of the ingredients. I put in half the peppers at the beginning, but then added the remaining peppers about an hour before serving. Even with a 4 lb. roast, this would be ready after 7-8 hours on low. Recipe found via @AbbyButts on Pinterest.
baking…I also made Nutella Sandwich Cookies this weekend. While the cookie base was delicious (it would be fantastic for sugar cookies), I was not super impressed with the resulting sandwich cookie. They just don't seem worth it for all the calories they surely pack. Also, be forewarned that if you follow the recipe directions, your cookies will not look this cute. The cookies pictured here were created by placing balled dough, not sliced, on those cookie sheets. *Photo from A Beautiful Mess
following...One of my favorite blogs is How About Orange. Jessica is a graphic and textile designer who is always sharing free fonts, and labels, and showing her cute and really doable project ideas.
One of my favorite features is when she does sewing tutorial roundups, though I always find myselfbookmarking yet another project idea that someday I plan to get around to making. Plus, she's a fellow Chicagoan, and I fight the urge to stalk her a little bit.
watching...Southland is such a great show. Though my DVR gets a pretty decent workout, (ok, admittedly a better workout than I get each week) it is the one show I savor the most. I am so excited to watch it that I hold off so that I can look forward to it for a few days. Sure, it's another cop show, but this one fleshes out the characters, has a fast pace, and has more emotional depth than the typical cop show.
listening…to a Chicago area band that my band manager friend, Bret, told me about. I am loving the Stamps, especially Over Again and Heartache.
loving…Nathan and I recently obtained two board games that are just for two people (Lost Cities and Settlers of Catan card game). We've been having game night/day/afternoon/morning on an almost daily basis, and though he is now consistently beating me, it's still a much better way to pass the time than fighting over watching DVR'ed golf. making... Made Slow Cooker Cuban Pork this weekend. It was so good that I am still looking forward to the leftovers. Make sure to serve it with sliced jalapenos because that little kick of spicy makes it extra good. The biggest adaptation I made was using a pork roast instead of the beef called for in Real Simple's recipe. Because it was double the meat, I also doubled the rest of the ingredients. I put in half the peppers at the beginning, but then added the remaining peppers about an hour before serving. Even with a 4 lb. roast, this would be ready after 7-8 hours on low. Recipe found via @AbbyButts on Pinterest.
baking…I also made Nutella Sandwich Cookies this weekend. While the cookie base was delicious (it would be fantastic for sugar cookies), I was not super impressed with the resulting sandwich cookie. They just don't seem worth it for all the calories they surely pack. Also, be forewarned that if you follow the recipe directions, your cookies will not look this cute. The cookies pictured here were created by placing balled dough, not sliced, on those cookie sheets. *Photo from A Beautiful MessFriday, February 17, 2012
Not Quite What I Planned
Now that it's been quite awhile since the wedding, I feel a little more comfortable talking about the failures of our big day. Some of them were little, some a bit larger, but ultimately I'm probably the only one who noticed them.
Needless to say, this early failure was avoided and I ended up with a groom who looked like this:
So far, no complaints, right? We moved the location of our wedding; we changed caterers three days before, and we were half an hour or so late to start the wedding...None of these things are a big deal in my memory at all, but there is one. Oh that one thing, that I am still moderately horrified to remember.
And that is the music that played as I walked down the aisle. The song choice began with all the best intentions. After all, it's called You Remind Me of Home. It's by the unoffensive Ben Gibbard, lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie. What could go wrong, you ask? Exactly. Well, apparently in the last minute planning of everything it was mentioned by my sister that I didn't have any music planned. I scrolled quickly through my ipod and remembered my fondness for the tune of this song that I had recently obtained, so I said, this will work, right? I played a bit and we all nodded, but clearly NO ONE LISTENED TO THE WORDS because I walked down the aisle with the following words wafting all around me:
You remind me of home
The paint cracks when the water leaks from the rusty pipes that are just beneath my feet
You remind me of home
The heater's warm but fills the room with a potpourri of dust and gas fumes
You remind me of home
A broken bed with dirty sheets that creaks when I am shifting in my sleep
You remind me of home
In a suburban town with nothing to do, patiently waiting for something to happen
But the foundation is crumbling
And becoming one with the ground
While you lay there in slumber
You're wasting your life
Wasting your life
You remind me of home
Sitting on a thrift store couch, I'm trying to get this all down
What!? So awful. Could I have picked a more romantic song? I doubt it. Of course we have a lovely song that we've always considered "our" song that is much more romantic, but Moonlight in Vermont wouldn't work for an afternoon wedding in New York state (talk about over thinking it, right?), so yeah I went with something that I, as someone who takes great pride in knowing music and paying attention to lyrics, am still rather mortified to think of as my wedding song. Oh those last minute decisions, they'll getcha.
I'm going with that song being one of those opposite things meant to balance out the luck of the marriage or keep us out of the eye of the gods...or something. Honestly, mostly I just try not to think about that part of the wedding day!
Well, this was to be Nathan's wedding outfit. It was somewhat more fancy than just the dress pants he usually wears to work, making it a special look for the wedding, but not too fancy that he would feel uncomfortable. However, when he tried it on, my handsome husband looked more like Magilla Gorilla. Apparently his shoulders are too wide to pull off the vest look.Hot right? Who wouldn't want to be walking down the aisle toward that?
Needless to say, this early failure was avoided and I ended up with a groom who looked like this:
And that is the music that played as I walked down the aisle. The song choice began with all the best intentions. After all, it's called You Remind Me of Home. It's by the unoffensive Ben Gibbard, lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie. What could go wrong, you ask? Exactly. Well, apparently in the last minute planning of everything it was mentioned by my sister that I didn't have any music planned. I scrolled quickly through my ipod and remembered my fondness for the tune of this song that I had recently obtained, so I said, this will work, right? I played a bit and we all nodded, but clearly NO ONE LISTENED TO THE WORDS because I walked down the aisle with the following words wafting all around me:
You remind me of home
The paint cracks when the water leaks from the rusty pipes that are just beneath my feet
You remind me of home
The heater's warm but fills the room with a potpourri of dust and gas fumes
You remind me of home
A broken bed with dirty sheets that creaks when I am shifting in my sleep
You remind me of home
In a suburban town with nothing to do, patiently waiting for something to happen
But the foundation is crumbling
And becoming one with the ground
While you lay there in slumber
You're wasting your life
Wasting your life
You remind me of home
Sitting on a thrift store couch, I'm trying to get this all down
What!? So awful. Could I have picked a more romantic song? I doubt it. Of course we have a lovely song that we've always considered "our" song that is much more romantic, but Moonlight in Vermont wouldn't work for an afternoon wedding in New York state (talk about over thinking it, right?), so yeah I went with something that I, as someone who takes great pride in knowing music and paying attention to lyrics, am still rather mortified to think of as my wedding song. Oh those last minute decisions, they'll getcha.
I'm going with that song being one of those opposite things meant to balance out the luck of the marriage or keep us out of the eye of the gods...or something. Honestly, mostly I just try not to think about that part of the wedding day!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Just a Minute
I was inspired to do this 'just a minute' feature in an incredibly roundabout way. I saw another Hanna as a commenter on a blog I was reading, so I clicked on her name to see her blog. It's lovely, and she had just posted about this feature she'd discovered. I liked the idea immensely, so I borrowed it. It's not stealing if we share a name, right?
reading…I just started the World in Half by Cristina Henriquez. I'm only a chapter or two in, but I'm enjoying the author's writing style and the main character's voice. Plus it takes place in Chicago, so that always makes it fun.
following...I came across Raising My Rainbow yesterday, and it is a fascinating read. Great stories about raising 5-year-old CJ, a " slightly effeminate, possibly gay, totally fabulous son," but this blogger also tackles all sorts of topics on gender, sexual development, and parenting that are really interesting.
watching…the new series House of Lies on Showtime. I love me some Kristen Bell, but I can't decide if I like it yet. It's very...adult...that's for sure.
listening…to the fabulous mix CD that a friend of us sends out every year as his Christmas card. This year's tops it all. My favorite song is decidedly Internet Killed the Video Star by The Limousines.
loving…my new boot socks that I picked up at Target the other day. They have excellent elastic at the top so they don't slip at all. Wishing I had got more than one pair. And don't get me started on how much I love my vintage Frye boots! My upstairs neighbor was cleaning out her mother-in-law's closet after she passed away last year, found these boots, and gave them to me. It took me a year to get around to trying them out, but now I wear them constantly.
making...Gifts for the twins downstairs who are turning one today. I hope these short sleeve onesies will fit them long enough so that they can actually wear them when it's warm!
baking…Planning the Burns Night Supper which is coming quickly. Saturday to be exact. Making the Chocolate Scotch Cake on Thursday if all goes according to schedule.
reading…I just started the World in Half by Cristina Henriquez. I'm only a chapter or two in, but I'm enjoying the author's writing style and the main character's voice. Plus it takes place in Chicago, so that always makes it fun.
following...I came across Raising My Rainbow yesterday, and it is a fascinating read. Great stories about raising 5-year-old CJ, a " slightly effeminate, possibly gay, totally fabulous son," but this blogger also tackles all sorts of topics on gender, sexual development, and parenting that are really interesting.
watching…the new series House of Lies on Showtime. I love me some Kristen Bell, but I can't decide if I like it yet. It's very...adult...that's for sure.
listening…to the fabulous mix CD that a friend of us sends out every year as his Christmas card. This year's tops it all. My favorite song is decidedly Internet Killed the Video Star by The Limousines.
loving…my new boot socks that I picked up at Target the other day. They have excellent elastic at the top so they don't slip at all. Wishing I had got more than one pair. And don't get me started on how much I love my vintage Frye boots! My upstairs neighbor was cleaning out her mother-in-law's closet after she passed away last year, found these boots, and gave them to me. It took me a year to get around to trying them out, but now I wear them constantly.
making...Gifts for the twins downstairs who are turning one today. I hope these short sleeve onesies will fit them long enough so that they can actually wear them when it's warm!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
It's Here!
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| My sister, Jessica, and me visiting Santa, probably 1984 |
I love this time of year not only for the days off from work, the Christmas cookies, and the smells of evergreen, but also because it's the time of year that everyone starts to share their best music of the year lists. This is one of the easiest ways to expose yourself to great new and/or obscure music.
A few of my favorite lists that are free...
The All Songs Considered, The Year in Music, 2011, List on NPR.
Mighty Girl's 2012 Victory Mix (Ok, this isn't really a best of 2011 list, but it's a great list anyway.)
My friend Ben's the 2011 cuts list on Spotify.
And one that is completely worth the $0.99 it costs to buy the issue...(Which also gives you the right to download 31 songs, half of which are on my favorites-of-the-year list.)
Paste's Best of 2011 Issue
I highly recommend that if you only have time to listen to one, you spring for that $.99 issue of Paste. The songs you can download make it more than worth it, I promise.
UPDATE: Also, this time of year is one that seems to encourage people to give a lot of good Christmas mp3s away for free. Check out the 25 Days of Free on Amazon and the weekly free songs on iTunes.
Friday, November 4, 2011
My Favorite Song
I cannot get enough of this song, Come Alive by Hanni El Khatib!!! It was a lovely birthday present when it finally arrived, and I've been listening to it ever since.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Recovery
I'm in recovery mode after my sister's fabulous wedding this past weekend, and this song, Weightless by Courtney Jones, is just what I needed.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Runnin' Through My Head
Just discovered We Are Augustines, and they are amazing!
My favorite song so far is Chapel Song, but I suspect it's because I haven't stopped listening to it long enough to make it the whole way through any of their other songs yet.
They have a unique way of matching incredibly sad lyrics with catchy tunes. For the incredibly moving back story of the development of their album, watch this.
My favorite song so far is Chapel Song, but I suspect it's because I haven't stopped listening to it long enough to make it the whole way through any of their other songs yet.
They have a unique way of matching incredibly sad lyrics with catchy tunes. For the incredibly moving back story of the development of their album, watch this.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I ♥ U
In honor of Valentine's week...a short list of some things I love.
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| Photo by Maggie |
1. Books: Life Lessons in Literature
2. Collaboration Songs
3. Artistic Talent
4. Paper Crafts: Calendar of the Month projects
5. Good Recipes: Homemade CheezIts
3. Artistic Talent
4. Paper Crafts: Calendar of the Month projects
5. Good Recipes: Homemade CheezIts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
"Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
One of my favorite songs just got a thousand times better!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I Hope This Gets to You
Gorgeous song and the most creative music video I've seen since OK Go's. You also can't beat the romantic backstory...
Monday, November 29, 2010
It's that Time of Year Again!
I feel like the holiday push came even earlier this year in stores, showing up before Halloween stuff had even cleared the way, so it felt like a longer wait than usual before I could break out the Christmas music. But as I fired up my playlists, I came across this awesome free download list from Target!
With a cute song from one of my favorite groups, Guster, and this lovely song from Jenny O, this list is full of great holiday songs.
Enjoy!
With a cute song from one of my favorite groups, Guster, and this lovely song from Jenny O, this list is full of great holiday songs.
Enjoy!
Friday, July 30, 2010
I Feel Silly about This
I can't decide my reason for listening to Thinking of You over and over. Is it truly a good song (pretty sure it is) or do I just like picturing the talented actor/singer, Christian Kane, who sings it (definitely!)? I really can't decide (it's more likely an awkward mixture of both of these reasons).
I feel silly about it because I have a love for him that I worry may be bordering on obsession. I formed the attachment back when I was laid off, and I DVR'd Angel every day for three months until I had watched every episode (Pathetic maybe, but I was unemployed; pathetic was my goal, my temporary career plan for those three months), but now I love him even more as a result of Leverage. I don't feel silly about encouraging you to watch the show yourself. It's fun to watch, and I can even convince Nathan to stick around for a full episode, which is rare.
If I find a fellow watcher, I get a little too excited talking about it, and have to mentally rein myself in. There are only a few shows like that for me, but this is certainly one. Anyone else have this affliction?
I feel silly about it because I have a love for him that I worry may be bordering on obsession. I formed the attachment back when I was laid off, and I DVR'd Angel every day for three months until I had watched every episode (Pathetic maybe, but I was unemployed; pathetic was my goal, my temporary career plan for those three months), but now I love him even more as a result of Leverage. I don't feel silly about encouraging you to watch the show yourself. It's fun to watch, and I can even convince Nathan to stick around for a full episode, which is rare.
If I find a fellow watcher, I get a little too excited talking about it, and have to mentally rein myself in. There are only a few shows like that for me, but this is certainly one. Anyone else have this affliction?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Stuck in My Head
Love it.
By the way, these guys are seriously social-media-savvy. Love their website. Go there to get a free download of this catchy song.
By the way, these guys are seriously social-media-savvy. Love their website. Go there to get a free download of this catchy song.
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