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YOU WON’T

9 March 2012
Music
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I do a lot of thinking and reflecting about the world that surrounds me. One of the things that I’ve been thinking a lot about is what the people I know do. So many friends and acquaintances have taken on some amazing adventures. Some are parents. A kindergarten classmate is a very successful fashion designer. A few are working on alternative energy. It is spectacular what we have all become. A college classmate of mine is now making some spectacular music in a band called You Won’t. The album is called Skeptic Goodbye and I’m closing out my very stressful week with it… what an improvement! Stream the album here (I can’t stop tapping my foot to Television):

You Won’t also recently recorded an awesome Couch Session with Big Ugly Yellow Couch and made an amazing video of Three Car Garage with another college amigo. I’m hoping they’ll find an excuse to tour in the Bay Area soon.

Happy Weekend!

Sparkly Dreams: Attainable

7 March 2012
Style
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I don’t get to dress like a real grown-up very often. Why? Well… the other day my sweatshirt became a tissue for a crying child’s runny nose. It’s an occupational hazard. So when I do get to dress like a real grown-up, I REALLY love to dress up. This look totally caught my eye:

I love this ensemble. It just makes me want to sit at the corner of a long bar in a dimly lit room with my handsome man, sipping on a bespoke cocktail (if that’s not a snobby term, I don’t know what is, but don’t you think this glamorous fictional version of me should be a little snobby?). This outfit, however, is worth upwards of $2600 which would actually mean that glamorous me would be sipping on a forty at a grungy street corner if I purchased it.

However, you and I can be just as glittery and charming for dramatically less… $2000 less. Sure, it’s still not the cheapest outfit, but I truly believe in making style investments in a few timeless, multi-occasion, multi-season, quality pieces. Nice accessories can class up a budget dress.

Dress: Asos – $98.48

Shoes: Rockport – $119.99

Watch: LL Bean Signature – $225

Clutch: Clare Vivier – $156

Tights: Hue – $10.12

Cookie Update: Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

5 March 2012
Food and Drink, Photography, Recipes
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My recent attempt at a chocolate chip mango oatmeal cookie didn’t quite cut it. I improvised the recipe and it was fine, but certainly not exceptional. The important discovery I made in that experiment was that I really prefer a chewy oatmeal cookie to the crispier style. As any good procrastinator would do, I performed a quick Google search instead of writing a paper. It should come as no surprise that Deb had a really appealing recipe on her blog for “Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.” Yesterday morning, I took a stick of butter out of the fridge to soften for the whole day so that I would have to make them in the evening. And I did. And I substituted chocolate chips for the raisins (and left out the cinnamon). And they are magical. Truly delicious.

Go forth and make cookies, my friends.

Baking and Viewing

27 February 2012
Food and Drink, Photography, Video
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The latter half of last week, I was absolutely exhausted. I had a headache for days (speaking of which, how many days of headache in a row is too many, do you think?), the weather was beautiful but I didn’t really have time to stop and enjoy it. There were just way too many things to do. As I got out of class on Wednesday and began running errands I had the brilliant idea to take the evening for myself – no schoolwork, no obligations… just baking, a guilty pleasure tv show, and half of a girly movie before Alex got home.

At some point recently I wondered if Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Mango cookies would be any good, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to find out. I collected all the ingredients, and piled them on the counter on top of each other because my laptop (the tv/movie viewing department) had the place of honor on the kitchen table.

And I baked, not for speed or efficiency, but to eat some cookie dough and to fill the apartment with pleasant aromas.

I added some shredded coconut to the recipe… it was made-up anyway, so why not?

And the cookies were… good. I can definitely do better. Next time I want to try a different type of dried mango. The unsulfured and unsweetened version was a little too tough and the flavor did not shine through.

And just what did I watch? That Zooey Deschanel show, New Girl. There’s something a little stupid about it, but I also cannot resist it. Maybe it’s just that it’s painfully dorky sometimes (which hits quite close to home), but she’s just so cute. I also watched most of a movie called Timer. It’s on Netflix Instant Watch and I love it. It’s definitely a “chick flick,” but it is also very thoughtful and interesting and, of course, very sweet. It gets me every time. It stars Emma Caufield (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and John Patrick Amedori (who is totally adorable). Trailer here.

What do you like to do to unwind on your stressed-out days? Any movie or recipe suggestions for next time? Cheers to a better week!

Track One

10 February 2012
Music, Photography
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Last night Alex (husband and live music industry insider) spent about 45 minutes bombarding his Facebook feed with music videos. It was an incredibly focused list of tracks, all of them the first off their respective albums. I asked him to tell me why:

“When I’m looking for new music, I listen to the first tracks of records, hoping to get hooked. It’s frustrating how unimpressive some of the first tracks are. I immediately think of these great examples of totally engaging and captivating first tracks that command your attention. They grab your attention, but also give you an idea of what the rest of the record is going to be like. I use the first tracks as a highwater mark.”

In 2010, NPR’s All Songs Considered had listeners vote for their favorite opening tracks and compiled a playlist for all to hear. Bob Boilen, the maestro of the show, thoughtfully pondered the importance of these first musical glimpses,

“It used to be that the opening track to a record was what got you to go back and put on the album, at least to hear side one. But do opening tracks matter in a world where shuffle is probably more pervasive than linear listening? I think so. In fact, I’ll usually decide how much time to spend with a new album just from hearing the opening track. I listen for a defining sound that clues me into what lies ahead. If it doesn’t happen on the first track, I’m likely not to listen to the second.  But my listening is different from most. I have bins of music to go through.”

Their logic is so similar, and I am often amazed at the amount of music Alex consumes on a daily basis, both professionally and personally. His memory for it is astounding, especially considering he can barely remember important birthdays (thank goodness for Google calendar).

I thought it would be awesome to share some of Alex’s favorite first tracks and he willingly agreed (with a little cajoling) to make a playlist for us.  I’ll let his selections say the rest (in no particular order).

Listen to the Track One playlist by Alex on Spotify.

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!!!

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