Pink of Perfection

I feel a little worried about fall this year. I’m having a last gasp of misbehaving summer days, wanting nothing but to sit outside in the sunshine with bare shoulders and drink beer. It’s so unlike me, but I’ve been in a panic about the changing seasons. “There’s something a little melancholy about September,” I said in the car ride up to the country with my book club last weekend. “Yeah,” said Jess, “that’s what I like about it.” Isn’t that what I love about it, too, like the way the light looked on the roadside rocks that Laureen pointed out? Isn’t that what I’ve written about before?

The temperatures, of course, are still summery. But I can already feel my inner Angela Chase rising up. This is the time of year when it feels delicious to lie on the floor in front of fan and listen to music. To play hookey and sit in a cold movie theater in the afternoon and wander by water with your headphones in. This mix was designed expressly for that purpose: autumn walking in your heavy boots, lying on your bed thinking about really sexy guys who will never like you as much as you like them, and general bouts of seasonally-appropriate teen angst. Doesn’t it feel awesome the second time around?

I wanted to send you guys off to a fabulous weekend with some of the upbeat songs I’ve been listening to as I wash the dishes, go for a run, or imagine myself in a convertible with the top down. Hope they provide a soundtrack to some awesome weekend adventures!

Continue reading “Mix Tape: Super Summer Fun” »

Can we marvel for a moment at how insanely awesome these album covers are?

Sebastian and I found them after brunch last Saturday, on sale for a $1 a pop.

When we got home, we put on the accordion extravaganza and lay side-by-side.

“When do you think was the last time someone listened to this?” we wondered.

Inside each sleeve, dormant maybe for thirty years, was a gem.

Ready to unleash the finest rendition of Mexicali Rose you’ve ever heard.

Peek-a-boo!

Have a wonderful weekend, all you clever minxes!

I hope it’s filled with sun and sleep, adventure and accordions.

image via retro renovation

Something tells me you dear readers share my deep and abiding love for Thanksgiving. On Sunday, window shopping in a fancy food shop with a friend, I suddenly got an anticipatory thrill so moving I hopped a little. Not up and down, but just up, once.

Thanksgiving wasn’t always my favorite holiday, but it became so when I was about 14. The day took on a hodgepodge element that made it more unpredictable party than overstuffed family function. My sister brought seemingly-glamorous (to a 14-year-old) college friends home, cousins in their 20’s would take the bus out to the country wearing black leather jackets, carrying cheese plates, and with a friend or two in tow, a fix-up could well be in the works, and a to-the-death game of Trivial Pursuit was a sure thing.

Things have settled down a bit over the years as attendees have grown up and coupled off. Sebastian makes a mean green bean casserole, my mom’s mashed potatoes are inspired, and there’s usually almost as much stuffing on my plate as I want. This year my sister is being held hostage in Montana. For the first time, I can’t count on her bloody marys and bold accessorizing. But two of my favorite eaters are driving up to sit at the long table, and I bring with me not a boyfriend but a husband. After the fast-paced flurry of a wedding, it will be good to sit down and have long chats with friends and family over a slice of pecan pie, a midnight bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy, and a glass of wine or five.

What’s Thanksgiving at your house like? Do you host? Is it friends, family, or both? A somber affair or an event where someone always dances on a table? Music for the table dancing after the jump…

Continue reading “Countdown to Turkey” »

Just a small post the Friday before Mother’s Day to say thank you to all of you for reading and leaving comments that are hilarious, sweet, and inspiring. I get such a kick out of what you have to say. Specifically, I have to thank Rebecca for her comment on the ribbon bookmark post. She suggested that the perfect life-affirming spring book was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and she couldn’t have been more right. Reading it, I felt exactly as she did: “I did not want it to end. I would live inside the book if it was possible.” There is such a wonderful sense of community and hope in this book; if you are in need of either of those things (to say nothing of characters so delightful you wish like hell they were real), pick it up. Because of other recommendations on that post from Lisa and Bernie, I also have Joseph Mitchell and The Blue Castle eagerly waiting on my bedside table. Thank you!

I am traveling out to my mom’s house this weekend to make a springy (yet still somewhat undetermined) Mother’s Day dinner. I’m thinking salmon with an herby Greek yogurt sauce, sugar snap peas, and possibly a big snowy coconut cake. But more on that soon, hopefully. Selfishly, I intend to raid my mom’s lilacs so I can delight you with yet more pictures of these fragrant harbingers of spring.

Lastly, I woke up with this song in my head this morning. It’s a little creepy, true, but it’s also sweet and, well, I just thought I’d share. (And just for the record, I do not think you belong to me, but I am continually delighted, amazed, and grateful that you swing by.) Happy Weekend!

this print by etui, which i finally framed as a birthday gift to myself

the launch party for colin hearts kay tonight!

photo via KatarzynaNowak
visiting a dear, old friend in an old country

this album, my soundtrack for spring

rereading persuasion after a facebook quiz said i am like anne elliot

blossoms everywhere

april showers

a world where Susan Boyle is a star.

you?

Les Couvent des Minimes Sugar Scrub with Honey and Shea;
AHAVA Multi-Vitamin Dry Oil in Mandarin - Cedarwood

How are your new year’s resolutions going? If one of your goals was to exercise more, or more consistently, allow me to help in the aerobic activity soundtrack department with some very awesome workout songs. This playlist is a collection of the songs that get me going again when I’m losing steam. If you like these songs and are always looking for new music, check out the very awesome Indie Soup Runner podcast.

Continue reading “January Mix Tape: Super Awesome Workout” »