I Belong With You, You Belong With Me

{i am absolutely in love with this song and this band. they are rising stars with a new tour coming up (check it out here) and a really lovely throwback sound.

take a listen, you'll love them, too!}

Love Today!

What a great sentiment - Love Today. Seriously, don't worry about tomorrow or yesterday or next week. At least, not for a few minutes. Just love today.

This is my new wake-up song. I randomly heard it a sushi restaurant last week, immediately downloaded it, and now it's my alarm song. Listen to it for a second and it will be yours, too! Hope you're all having happy days!

I Know You Used To Love Me, But That Was Yesterday

I love Jerrod Niemann. It's a recent development, but one I strongly feel will continue for a long time. Isn't this the catchiest darn song you ever heard? I love it and will be singing it all day. :)

$10 John Mayer Concert Posters!

Do you like concert posters? Do you like John Mayer? Do you like $10 art? The John Mayer Shop is having an outlet sale - for this week, all items are only $10 - this includes these beautiful posters!

Alabama, Arkansas, I Do Love My Ma And Pa

My lovely BFF Amy always postsz the cutest videos on Facebook and she did not disappoint this time. If you've heard the original version of this song, of course you love it, but this one will make your heart melt.

To Those Who Have Served

Today is the day my carpet goes in, the day my couch gets delivered, the day I start to move clothes into my new place. More importantly, it's Veteran's Day.

I'm a lot of things - open-minded, socially liberal, fiscally conservative - and these things may change over time. But I will always be patriotic.

I love the Zac Brown Band and everytime I hear this song, I pause over the following lyrics:

I thank god for my life

And for the stars and stripes

May freedom forever fly

Let it ring.

Salute the ones who died

The ones that give their lives so we

Dont have to sacrifice

All the things we love

Take a moment today to salute the ones who died. 

The Horses Are Coming, So You Better Run

I am so in love with this song, you guys! I can' stop listening to it; I think my neighbors are starting to get sick of it. But that's okay, because they won't be my neighbors for long! Construction will finish on my new apartment on Wednesday and I am soooooo excited! Tonight, I will start taking some boxes over and by Friday, I'm hoping to be completely moved in. Then, the fun part begins - unpacking and decorating! :)

Don't forget to enter the ALT Designs 19 giveaway!

(Here are the lyrics to the song if you're interested.)

What Are You Waiting For?

my new favorite song - Animal by the Neon Trees

so, i don't know if you guessed it by the lack of mentioning a boy toy, but i'm single and have been for a while now. so, i feel like i'm finally back looking again.

i'm jumping in. 

and this song makes me feel how you feel in the beginning of a new relationship.

excited, nervous, giddy.

at the moment, i don't have anyone making me feel this way, but i'm open to it and listening to this song is like priming my heart for whatever the universe sends my way.

enjoy your lovely sunday!

So, Let This Drought Come To An End

i don't know what it is about her, but i love selena gomez. like, i want to go shopping with her. i want to go chat with her over a greek chicken salad. i want to jump around and dance with her in the living room. i basically want to be besties with her. {i hope you're not threated by that, amy. :)}

while i'm working on building our friendship, enjoy this new song. it's a great driving song. and has a good beat to run to, as well!

The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life

{i heard this song on the radio last week and have been listening to it ever since. it's so, so pretty.}

Wonderful :)

{love this song. listen to it. hum along. dance. play again.}

Playlist For A Happy Birthday!

{newborn me}

Today is my birthday. Does it still count as a birth when it's a Cesarean section? My mom would probably say so. :)

Ever wonder where the term Cesarean section came from? In Latin class in high school, I learned two different theories. The first is that it comes from an alleged Roman law named Lex Caesarea that stated an infant had to be cut out of the mother's womb if she died before giving birth. The other theory, which I was taught had more merit, is that the term comes from the Latin verb caedere, which means "to cut". A form of this word is caesum and it seems this is probably where the term came from.

Anyway.

It's my birthday! And on such a fabulous day, it is only fitting that I share with you my good mood. So here is my current "It's My Birthday!" playlist, complete with youtube links and my favorite lyrics from each song.

Enjoy!

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (video)

"Songs of desperation, I played them for you"

Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness (video)

"String from your tether unwinds, up and outward to bind"

Train - Hey, Soul Sister (video)

"You gave my life direction, a game show love connection we can't deny"

Timbaland - If We Ever Meet Again (fetauring Katy Perry) (video)

"Baby what's your sign tell me yours and I'll tell you mine"

Elvis Presley - Stuck On You (video)

"'Cause once I catch you and the kissin' starts, a team of wild horses couldn't tear us apart"

The Beatles - Let It Be (video)

"And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me"

The Dirty Heads - Lay Me Down (featuring Rome) (video)

"I said it's hot outside, let me go swimming in your eyes"

Jack's Mannequin - The Resolution (video)

"Yeah I'm alive, I don't need a witness to know that I survived"

Boyz II Men - Amazing Grace (Acapella) (video)

"'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home."

Papa Roach - Time is Running Out (video)

"I refuse to surrender, I refuse to surrender"

Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire (video)

"Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby, edgy and dull, and cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my soul"

Toby Keith - Beer For My Horses (featuring Willie Nelson) (video)

"Grandpappy told my pappy back in my day, son, that a man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done"

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You) (video)

"But I don’t want to write a love song for the world, I just want to write a song about a boy and a girl"

** If you'd happen to like a "hard-copy" copy of this playlist, send me an email with your address and I'll drop it in the mail to you! :) **

Music and Cute Kids!

This weekend, I'm at Coachella, a 3 day music festival in Indio, CA. They expected over 70,000 people this year and it looks like most of them showed up. The hallmarks of Coachella are usually great music, scantily clad people, baking in insane temperatures and buying expensive bottled water. This year, I only have to deal with the first two! One of Adam's friends is from Indio and we are staying with his family this weekend. Even better, they live across the street from the venue! Even better that that, they got us VIP tickets with re-entry, so we can come and go as we please! Which means yesterday, we went over to see The Temper Trap (amazing!), then came back for dinner (delicious!), then walked back over to see Coheed and Cambria, Hot Chip, MGMT and Muse!

Maybe even better than awesome music is the company - Daniel is a really cool guy and his girlfriend Melanie is super nice, but together, they have created the ultimate in cuteness - Rowan (aka Rowboat)! This kid is 18 months old and fearless. He's a little problem-solving monkey is what he is. Sigh, he's so cute. Melanie spiked his hair last night before we headed out to the festival and I had to get a picture!

Today, Daniel's older son, Zach, will join us and that kid is also super cute. What is up with people producing cute children? Are they trying to convince the rest of us we need a couple too? :)

Off to investigate breakfast and play with the baby!

Hope you're all having ridiculously wonderful weekends!

A Game Show Love Connection We Can't Deny

I'm totally obsessed with this song. I listen to it all. day. long. It makes me feel happy and giggly and.. in love with the world. With the sun on my face, with the wind in my hair, with my horrible voice singing along. It makes everything great.

Love... Jason Ross

Lately, I've been entering a lot of music swaps on swap-bot. They're great because you get exposed to tons of new kinds of music that you had no idea you would like. And, you get to share your favorites with other people! That part is my favorite.

This is Jason - a friend of mine who happens to sing/songwrite. His newest song is so good that I have to share it with you. Either it's impossible or I'm not cool enough to figure out how, but I don't know how to embed his songs here, so you'll have to click this link (*gasp, soooo much work*) to hear his music. The song I'm talking about is called The Best You'll Ever Have and is very raw, very emotional and not perfect, but I think it sounds even better with all of that meaning behind it. You can scroll down the left side to see all of the songs he's uploaded, feel free to leave a comment if you like it! :)

Free Holiday Music?

Want some free music this holiday season? A little something for you, that doesn't cost you money or mean a trip to the mall or the post office? Vanguard Records has just the thing!

I Would Like You For My Own

Jonathan, Jessica, Jason and I (the lone non-J) saw 500 Days of Summer at the FOX Lot* last month. We LOVED it, even with it's realistically sad ending. I've liked Zooey Deschanel's band she&him for a while now and while checking out their website recently, I found this video to the song Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?



*Jonathan, my roommate, works at Myspace, a company owned by NewsCorp, the parent company of FOX. One of the perks of his gig is that each month there are 2-4 free showings on the movie lot in Century City. He sends me the list at the beginning of the month, I send responses back such as, "Definitely 500 Days of Summer. Definitely NOT Jennifer's Body." We come to a compromise somehow.

NOTE: In my blog perusing yesterday, I found that Fallen Peach had posted this video on her blog as well!

Come On, Sweet Catastrophe

Andrew McMahon was a seminal figure in my development. In high school, Something Corporate was the narration of my life and all that I wished I had - crazy nights, crazy love, crazy friends. His next band, Jack's Mannequin, was like the grown-up version of Something Corporate at just the time that I felt I was becoming the grown-up version of me. Andrew has been there through my formative years and for that, I am forever grateful. The first song, Hurricane by Something Corporate, was my anthem my senior year in high school. I woke up to that song, fell asleep to it, played it in my discman everyday, even wrote the lyrics all over my notebooks. You don't do it on purpose, but you make me shake. Now I count the hours 'til you wake.



The second song, Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin, was the soundtrack to my first long-term adult relationship. He never liked any music I did and this was the only song we could agree on. Since then, it has taken on new memories as well - driving aimlessly with my roommate with this album as our soundtrack; seeing Jack's Mannequin in concert with my current boyfriend last year. This is a gorgeous song and I've never met anyone who didn't like it. The piano is such a driving force in the beginning; it throws you right into the song where you're enveloped by the drums and his voice and that feeling. The optimism of a new relationship, the intent to save someone, the need to drive fast with the windows down and sing at the top of your lungs. Or at least that's what it says to me :) This night's a perfect shade of dark blue.

My End of Summer Playlist + Giveaway!

(Sunrise over Sydney, Australia; July 2008)

As summer winds down, vacations end, kids head back to school and daylight gets a little shorter a little faster, my mood generally changes to a more mellow one and my musical tastes match. I find that I can listen to a select few songs anytime at all, but in general the seasons and weather dictate my playlist.

Here is my playlist for the end of summer:

1. Metric - Help I'm Alive
2. Frou Frou - It's Good To Be In Love

3. Tegan and Sara - Like O, Like H

4. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

5. Looking Glass - Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)

6. Toby Keith - Beer For My Horses

7. Tiësto & Christian Burns – In the Dark

8. Frankie Laine - That Lucky Old Sun

9.Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

10. The Cliks - Oh Yeah

11. Ken Oak Band - Summer's Kiss

12. The Beach Boys - Sloop John B

13. Chairlift - Bruises

14. Tegan and Sara - Nineteen

15. Carly Simon - It's Too Late

To spread the (musical) love, I'm hosting a giveaway of not only a $15 iTunes gift card so that you can download all of this lovely music but also a set of three of my "Congratulations on Your Tax Deduction Cards." Your choice of any of any of the colors shown below. These cards are great choices for when you know someone having a baby, getting married, starting a business or buying a house!

Ways to enter:

*Note: Each entry must have a separate comment, and please don't post anonymously! If your username is not linked to your blog, please leave an email where I can contact you!*

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This giveaway will end on Tuesday, September 8th at midnight PST. On September 9th, I will choose the winner using http://www.random.org/ and post the results as well as notify the winner.

Thank you for your support and good luck to you all!

Built A Wall Of Books Between Us In Our Bed.

Tegan and Sara may be my favorite group ever. They are great musicians, witty lyricists and they have that amazing ability to get inside your head and make you go, " EXACTLY. That's exactly how I feel/was feeling/did feel." This song is one of my favorites because I think it's so relatable. We've likely all been in relationships where we got so comfortable that we forgot to pay attention to our partner. Over time, you become people living your own lives in close proximity to each other and you have to really try to reinsert yourself into your relationship. I just want back in your head.