Category Archives: cool music

Oh, the Places We’ll Go!

Every time I read this book to Olivia *in short intervals as she doesn’t sit still these days* I get inspired to travel. Back in our old days of youth, Antz and I would spontaneously book a trip and I wouldn’t care about itineraries or putting together a tight budget. We’d charge it or eat ramen noodles for a month *we went to Venice, Italy with $200* in the name of travel and adventure. Now-a-days with upcoming preschool tuition, kitchen remodeling plans and trying to break free from the plastic chains, it’s much more complicated to plan a trip. We just spent 2 days *disappointingly in town* but it was nice to ring in the New Year at the W *and cross it off my List*. So now I am thinking of what travel deals can I snag for the rest of the year? I’m considering San Francisco or Palm Springs for Liv’s birthday but it sucks that I rarely find airline or hotel deals for that weekend since it’s the first weekend of June *which is the peak season for travel destinations* Then I’m crazy dreaming of spending our 10 year anniversary in Hawaii in August. I’m also thinking of how lovely it would be to visit our niece and nephew, Evelyn & Dion, while they are in Paraguay with the Peace Corps. The flight lands in Peru so we could meet up and go to Manchu Picchu *how amazing!* However, how likely is this with a soon to be 2 year old? My biggest issue with traveling to Paraguay is how long would I survive without Target or Jamba Juice? On top of all these crazy travel wishlists, I would LOVE to see Björk live and she has confirmed 5 shows this year in Spain, Portugal, Poland & Russia.

Biophila album cover

I saw an incredible Travel channel show about Lisbon so now I’m dying to go to Portugal and Spain.

 

So quaint and off the beaten track

If we lived in New York our flights would be 30% less. Another roadblock I encounter is, I’m very preferential to certain airlines. Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue are my top choices. I have flown the full spectrum from the cheapest *and ghetto* Air Trans flight to New York *they lost my luggage and we had a 4 hour delay in Chicago cause something broke on the plane, NOT GOOD!* Then I was fortunate enough to get bumped up on Virgin Atlantic into first class. After flying in coach for so many years, it’s hard to consider going back. Antz has flown the most luxurious business class on Singapore Air *3 times*

His first flight to Singapore, this is the only time in our 15 year history I’ve seen him beardless

So I’m constantly at odds with traveling Luxe *less often* or on a budget and go more places.

Here’s my 2012 wishlist:

March 20th *for my 35th birthday*

 

 

June 2nd *for Liv’s 2nd*

 

 

June 9th   *Björk show*

Porto, Portugal. Primavera Sound Porto

*Bonus: Beach House, Wilco & the XX*

It looks like Venice

August 18th *our 10 year wedding anniversary*

Hawaii

 

December 25th *Christmas vacay*

 

Montreal ...in 36 hours

 

That’s not asking too much, right? I’ll be happy if we make it to just two of these locations.

Mix Tape Fridays Vol.13

So this shall be the last Mix Tape for 2011 *tear* In retrospect I wish I posted more of these but maybe you’ll agree with me it’s quality over quantity, right? This week is brought to you from my current playlist which you may find to be quite random.

Random photo circa 2002

This is Antz & mine’s most favorite and extra played out song. This movie was impactful to us now that we are parents but it was also amazing visually and audibly just as Dancer in the Dark was. Lars is a complete ass but he knows how to make interesting films. He gets the cast just right *Udo Kier is my man and Alexander Skarsgard is lovely to look at, me likey* and you become enveloped into the storyline even when you have no idea what’s happening. We are total classical music geeks!

Wagner “Tristan and Isolde” Melancholia Sountrack

This is an oldie but goodie. I have been going through a hippie-pop-folk phase and I loved this song ever since I heard it in The Virgin Suicides. Holy shit, I am so loving his owl feather eyebrows and Farrah Fawcett hair but not so much his gnarley teeths. The 70’s was one fucked up decade!!

“Hello, It’s Me” Todd Rundgren

Speaking of hippies, this French version of the Turtles “So Happy Together” makes me so happy. Please forgive the Get Him to the Greek video…it was the only one I could find.

“Heureux tous les deux” Frank Alamo *however my version is from Pop a Paris – Rock N’ Roll and Mini Skirts Vol.1*

While I’m on the French playlist…I recently bought this album just based on this AH-mazing cover. Wasn’t I pleasantly surprised to find so many rad songs and this hidden gem by a little lady by the name of ADELE!!! *no, not that Adele but they are similar*

I am obsessed with vinyl album covers from the 60s!!

 
“J’ai peur parfois” Adele

Alright this one is my last Frenchy, I promise, but she’s an American singing in English who happened to be discovered in Paris *at age 15!!*. I really believe she’s the reincarnated spirit of Billie Holiday. Her voice gives me the Vapors *in an awesome way* Bitch can SING! She just made it on my list of folks to see live next year *which you will hear more about on my New Years Resolutions post coming soon*

“Instead” Madeleine Peyroux

Let’s break up the French monotony with some Björk shall we? This woman is too rad for words.
Oh, did I mention I bought Biophilia on vinyl? YAY ME!!

Slowly building my vinyl collection

“Crystalline” Björk

Alright, here’s something to shake yo ass to. Go ahead, proceed to shake it!!

“I’m Mikey” The Cool Kids

This one is dedicated to my Antz, I love you, lovely. This is fucked up!

“Black Swan” Thom Yorke

I adore this guy. He is Natalie Portman’s ex and adorable. I would hook Aimee up with him if I could.

Dirty little hipster.

“Shabop Shalom” Devendra Banhart

Sometimes I’m in the mood for some good German electronica *Kraftwerk, KMFDM, & Rammstein* okay maybe they are more metal than electronica but you get the picture. This song needs to be my theme song.

“Don’t Break My Heart” Roman Flügel

Loving this band!! A LOT

“Pussy” Brazilian Girls

Pretty much an unknown fact is I went to high school with relatives of the Pharcyde. I get super nostalgic whenever I hear Passin’ me by. Fatlip has always been my favorite of the group and his solo album is pretty sch-weet. Even better, he has a duet with Chemical Brothers that is STELLAR!! I’m sure noone born after 1992 has any idea who these guys are *shit I’m an old lady*

“What’s Up Fatlip” Fatlip

Since this is the very last Mix Tape of the year, I had to add some B&S flavor to it. Oh man, I would die and go to heaven if I ever seen them live. I am hoping to see them soon *preferably in Europe* They rock so eloquently!

“Funny Little Frog” Belle & Sebastian

Let’s finish this in a seriously random, rockin’ way. There’s no need for an introduction. You know the man, you know the legend…

“Careless Whisper” George Michael

Just in case you need your Christmas song fix, you can go here for last year’s Holiday Mix Tape.

Happy Happy New Year Lovelies!! I can’t wait to post tomorrow *it’s so hard to keep this a surprise*

New Year’s Resolutions 2012

Ah, it’s that time again. I feel like I just wrote my list of last year’s resolutions. Before I delve into my new list, I would like to look back on how well I did in the ’11.

NYE in Vegas 2005

Diet & Exercise *the one everyone says they’ll do yet give up by February*

I can’t say I’m where I want to be weight-wise or nutrition but I am improving. I am surprised by how many new foods I gave a chance this year. I am still a food brat but at least I’ve changed my status from food snob. Antz and I will be spending more time outdoors and eating less junk but don’t expect to see me in a gym anytime soon.

Save like my life is depending on it

This one is tricky, we are saving in a solid way…buuuut, most of it is for Liv’s pre-school tuition so it will be dwindling once we pay in March. I did manage to save by paying off some plastic *see below* but Antz car repairs took a bite out of it. Good news is, we have a whole $80 from Etsy profits in savings for our trip to Paris! Let me quote my wise Mum “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”

Get off the Plastic *Credit Card Debt*

We started off in a major way, paid off $10k in cold, hard cash from our tax refund but then we hit a bump in the late summer when we had an unexpected plumbing emergency. Then my Dell had a fatal heart attack and I had to get my Mac Air so I can’t say we have a $0 balance like I wanted *Boo* Although, I did pay off our Lowes card and closed the account. I also paid off another card but I’m keeping that guy open since it’s our oldest card and I don’t want our Fico score to drop *learned that from Suze Orman* so we’re definitely looking better than last year. I know I can do it with some discipline.



Stop Procrastinating *yeah, right*

I think this is the biggest improvement I made in the past year. I stepped up my get-shit-done-ness in a major way. I crossed off a few things on my Life List and believe it or not, on Christmas day Antz, Aimee and I were at Starbucks drive-thru and I paid for the car behind mine *YAY* I learned how to sew like a BOSS

I became a Martha Stewart protégé, craftin’ and bakin’! I wasn’t late to appointments that often and I gave thoughtful gifts from the heart with wrapping paper I could feel proud of.

Made from the lovely paper and Lucky cat stamp from the FABulous Yard Sale

Home Improvement Projects

Another gold star for Lizzie! We have done more to the house in the last 2 years than in the entire 5 years we’ve owned this place. Replaced our *100 year old* water heater, remodeled the bathroom and soon we’ll reveal our bedroom makeover. We are planning on installing a brand new Ikea kitchen in 2013 but we have to get our plumbing updated first. If we keep this up, we might actually acquire some equity in this joint.

Learn French

Merde, I cannot seem to learn this language. I took a Conversational French class with 2 of my friends over the summer and although I did enjoy learning how to say my name and which day it was but I didn’t pick up enough to carry a decent conversation. I mentioned in my previous post that I bought some new software and here is it.

It’s not the Rosetta Stone I wanted but this is an affordable version and I can use it on my ipad. I must practice more often and attempt to speak French on a daily basis. Wish me Bonne Chance!
So on to my New Year’s Resolutions 2012 *just in case the Mayans are wrong*

I’m pretty much keeping last year’s list for obvious reasons but I would like to add one important item that has been grossly overlooked for the past 9 years.
TRAVEL/Go to more Shows

I’m not talking about a road trip to San Diego or a few days in Vegas. I would LOVE to go to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary *of course you know this cause I won’t stop talking about it* I want to use my passport and take a plane ride *our last trip on a plane was in 2008 for Antz nephew’s wedding in Sacramento* I also want to work on my list of bands I want need to see. I definitely missed out on some great shows last year *Robyn at the Hollywood Bowl, Jon Brion & Fiona Apple at the Largo* I need to step my shows game up next year. I have a strong case of Wanderlust yet I have so many other goals to achieve so it’s difficult to just book a trip willy, nilly. I am trying to find balance with paying off debt, saving, and wanting to improve this house all while wanting to travel. I suppose I can patiently wait until 2014 for Paris.

Bands to See in 2012

Björk *this is a given as soon as she announces her tour dates but I want to see her somewhere I haven’t been before*

Coachella Music Festival *this is killing 2 birds with 1 stone, so many incredible bands I would be able to see here*

Tom Waits *Oh it would be heaven to see him at Coachella!!!*

Belle & Sebastian

Blonde Redhead

Portishead

Daft Punk

April March *this is tricky, she hasn’t toured in awhile*

CSS

Brazilian Girls

Devendra Banhart

Cornelius

Beach House

Cat Power

Arcade Fire

Oh Land

Pomplamoose

Well, one more day until I share my surprise. I am so looking forward to it! Anyone else working on their resolutions?

Auld Lang Syne y’all!

Jelly Bean Extraganza

If you are not a fan of Jelly Beans, you will not enjoy this post. My personal favorite is buttered popcorn *how the heck do they make that flavor??* I read about this video on youtube and I’ll let you see it for yourself

Pretty genius right? Oh man, they must have bought $1,000,000 worth of Jelly Beans! I was wondering myself how they made this sweet vid….well here’s the secrets behind the beans scenes!

Kina Grannis is pretty adorable. But oh, I have adorable for you.

May I present….RODY

Pink Rody pictured
Rodytoy

I asked around and it seems this inflatable pony is toddler-proof. My biggest problem now is choosing a color. Antz votes for green but Turquoise is pretty rad. There are as many colors as there are jelly beans.  Alright, I’ve got to stop buying Liv Christmas presents….after I find the Yo Gabba Gabba! boombox. It’s sold out everywhere except Amazon.

Yo Gabba Gabba - Playsets - Yo Gabba Gabba Music Box
Amazon

I’ll let you figure it out

Since the photo I’m going to show you is NSFW, here’s my ball of sunshine on a rainy Monday.

Noone’s looking right?  Now, tell me this isn’t majorly awesome!!

6. Hippie Vagina Dude
via Buzzfeed

Tonight we are going to our friend Dave’s birthday party. We are going to a movie theater that serves food and beer *not just popcorn and nachos* and we have the whole place to ourselves. We’ll be seeing The Muppets.

This song was introduced to me by my Beauty School BFF Jessica. I always think of her and our outrageous antics during those 2 long years at CCBC!!

Hereeeeee’s Johnny!!

Sorry if you aren’t from my old lady generation and don’t get that Johnny Carson reference. Anyway, the Johnny I’m talkin’ bout is Jonathan Adler *the King of all Design* and the arrival of my new FABulous Utopia Williamsburg Vase.

It’s two-sided with this amazing hipster dude and a chick with great bangs. It’s so super cute that it makes you forgive my cheap carnations *wish peonies were in season year round*

I will have a totally terrific post tomorrow but I’m hitting the sack early tonight. Nighty Nights!!

PS I kinda love this…

Scooby Doo, Where the heck are you?

You may be asking yourselves, well…besides going to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights and the movies, twice!
I didn’t get any good pictures at Horror Nights since my iphone does not work well at night but it was fun, the Simpsons ride was my favorite. We went with 10 of our friends but we made some urr, new friends on the ride.

 
Guido extras from Jersey Shore…fantastic

We had 2 date nights in one week, saw Drive and Paranormal Activity 3 at Paramount. I thought Paranormal Activity was kinda lame but Drive was awesome! I downloaded this song from the soundtrack, so totally 80s.

We took Liv shoe shopping at the Grove since she has outgrown ALL of her shoes. She got new converse, Toms, Saltwater sandals and Uggs. I also ordered some See Kai Run shoes on sale online.

Her new BFF, yellow Wocky

 
New Chucks, she’s just so gangsta!
This is my favorite time of year, New kid’s clothes at Anthropologie!! Now to bide my time until they go on sale after Christmas

 
Ooh, maybe some awesome new specs for Mommy?

OH! Guess what? That cute dress from Target is back in stock!! Score, I got mine on sale. YAY!

 
 Mossimo Women’s Elbow Sleeve Ponte Dress
While I’m at it, Christmas is just around the corner. I’ve been totally nice this year!
 My Christmas Wishlist
 

 

 

 
lovely font from Mishka *sale 3 sets for $25!!*
&
 Gela Skin for my ipad by one of my favorite artists Kathie Olivas
Lately, I have been obsessed with my Pinterest app on my ipad. I stay up all night happily pinning 

Needless to say it has given me a long list of craft projects, recipes galore and dream vacays to plan. 

I am super excited to get shots as lovely as these for our trip to Paris.

 
 gorgeous!
 
 So true!
The magnificent St. Basil Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia

 
The Taj Mahal is my ultimate Life List destination

I am pretty sure I can make this doll for Liv by Christmas

 
At this year’s family Thanksgiving dinner I’m going to take a photo of everyone holding our chalkboard sign with their name and relationship to Liv on it for this book. So rad!

 
I LOVE this idea!! Gotta finish it by our next anniversary

 
This has got to be the cutest costume ever!

If you haven’t seen it yet, add it to your Netflix queue. You’re Welcome.

Mi-Mi-Mix Tape Fridays Vol. 12

Well, today is a great day for some tunes. It’s been awhile but I am dedicating this playlist to my primas magnifico, Evelyn & Dion way deep down in Paraguay. Miss you guys and love you lots!

Let’s begin…

Everyone knows how badass Nick Cave rocks, but little know of this underrated soundtrack. I featured Another Rather Lovely Thing on my rainy day mixtape but I had to post another awesome song.  The score made me fall in love this movie. I play this in Olivia’s nursery often, it’s so ereathral and lovely.

“A Song for Jesse” The Assassination of Jesse James from that Coward Robert Ford Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

While were on the topic of soundtracks, I discovered this on the telly but have actually never seen the film. Before bed, Antz and I like to listen to the Cinema Soundtracks channel on Directv to put us to bed. Most of the time it’s hard to sleep through the Ghostbusters song but we do enjoy hearing John Williams tunes or Yann Tiersen’s Amelie score. Out of nowhere we heard this song and I instantly loved it. I did a little research and discovered it’s a medley from a Fellini film Fellini’s Casanova. It’s a weird song because there are so many different aspects to it. Dreamy, romantic, circus-y, playful, somber, intense and sinister. Sadly the version I adore is not available on youtube but you can hear a sample of it on Amazon track #15. Here is the trailer for the film where you can get an idea of how brilliant the song is, and how rad Nino Rota is.

“Il Casanova di Federico Fellini” Trailer from the film Nino Rota

Watching this clip makes me want to watch the movie…Italians!

Okay, now let’s get rocking…You may recall my new found adoration of Mumford & Sons distinct folk rock sound. Now it’s all about the Avett Brothers!! I am digging the Appalachian hipster folk vibe. Scruffy breads, dirty long hair, dressy old-timey vests and bluegrass is sexy.


“Kick Heart Drum” The Avett Brothers

Nancy Sinatra is gangsta. She set it off with Bang Bang He Shot Me Down featured in Kill Bill Vol. 1, then she put on her boots and started walking. I love her! I was super stoked to find her immortalized in the French language in this stellar compilation album of 60’s cover songs. Download the entire album on itunes, Paint it Black and Happy Together are worth it alone!

“Ces bottes sont faites pour marcher”  Pop a Paris – Rock N’ Roll and Mini Skirts Vol.1 *Nancy Sinatra Cover*

The next song is AWETASTIC! I fell in love with Seu Jorge’s voice in one of my all-time favorite movies The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. In the film he plays covers of David Bowie *heart* songs in Portuguese!! Sensing a theme here? I like covers but I LOVE covers in foreign languages!! It was hard to choose a favorite because they all rock but this one is the M-E-R-D-E!! E&D: Sorry, The Life Aquatic is not available on instant streaming Netflix but you need to see this movie.

“Changes” Seu Jorge *David Bowie Cover*

Today’s Björk song of the week is a shout out to Mrs. Evelyn Cook *and also the BFF Aimee, we’ve missed our last 2 dates BOO*. I MISS YOU!! One of her very best videos. YAY


“I Miss You” Björk

In honor of Tom Waits new album dropping on the 17th, let’s rock out to this live amazing performance of Rain Dogs in PARIS *yeah, I’m jealous* I MUST see Tom live soon. I seriously get chills when I hear him sing…in an awesome way.

“Rain Dogs” Tom Waits

This last song is special because my newly wedded friends Carlos & Stephanie played it during their incredible wedding. I have been playing it out but it’s a cover *and I love me some covers* that is too genius for words. This song I dedicate to Dion, for obvious reasons. 

“Hey Ya” Ortopilot *Outkast Cover*

Bonus…I LOVE this video…like, to the MAXXX!!!


Te Amo Primos, tome el cuidado!

Nerd City here I come!

Muno will be there!

Tomorrow we are driving to San Diego for ComicCon. Antz has been a million times for work but this is my first year. As someone who has only read Archie comics *I am sure you will hear of a movie version of this soon, nothing is sacred* growing up, I’m sure I’m in for a rude awakening. Here’s the problem, I despise action figures *Yeah, that means you Batman, Spiderman and Iron Man too* Gross, I find those movies predictable, poorly written and trite. *Avoids the cans being thrown and the booing and hissing* Okay I’ll admit, Watchmen was pretty good but who doesn’t enjoy a blue wang? I even know a thing or two about those Star Wars, Meesa likes them only when I’m in the mood. I try my best to avoid being dragged to LAME Transformers movies. Seriously, I am going for the TOYS! I will turn anything into a shopping trip. We are bringing our nephew Justin who life is devoted to all things comic books. He is a walking encyclopedia of superhero info. We are both hoping he will parlay that knowledge into a successful film or animation career. I tried to book the W so we could spend the night tonight and I’ll have a place to take Liv for a nap or feeding but sadly everything was booking in February for this week. The closest hotel was in La Jolla and at $499 a night, we decided to just drive in tomorrow. Now the question is bring the stroller which has ample storage room for my shopping spree but have a hard time navigating the crowds or carry her in the babyhawk which will obscure her wings? Knowing us, we’ll probably bring both.

So yesterday I returned a toy we bought Liv that she broke and I got her this as an exchange!!

It’s pretty awesome. She enjoys throwing the balls out of the tent but she goes in and out and it’s really entertaining for her. I also got this but we have to figure out where we will set it up.
I am thinking on the front porch but Antz has to secure it.
So all this talk of Carmaggedan and typical LA, not as much drama as expected presented itself. We drove to Hollywood with usual traffic and the city even finished work earlier than scheduled. Here’s a cute video of the shutting down of the lamest, most annoying freeway in LA.
Oh, reason #1,354,899 I need my own ipad…Antz just downloaded the new Björk app and it is beyond rad.
There are songs from her new album and it is super awesome. No fair! *pouts and folds arms* I cannot wait until her album is out. She has already announced tour dates this fall in Iceland. How fucking amazing would it be to see her in Reykjavík??

The Dog Days are Over

Monday was a super busy day for me. I took Liv to her Grandma’s while I went to acupuncture. I went back to my MIL’s so I could nurse Liv so I wouldn’t leak *gross, right?* at the concert later. I took a quick 30 minute nap and then I went to the post office to send off Liv’s comp cards to a few agencies. I love how they turned out!

 

I would be seriously bummed if noone contacts me. I researched both agencies I submitted her headshots to, they sound pretty awesome.

 

Next I stopped by Target to pick up a few things and I finally scored those Yum dishes I mentioned the other day.
Then I got my car washed. I hadn’t taken pictures of Snowball IV yet.

 

I ordered my new Björk sticker and for the first time in my past 3 cars I am getting a different kind of Björk sticker. I like this font much better and the old one used to peel around the edges.

 

It sorta sucks because now car washes are $2 more because I have an “SUV” but this Tiguan is definitely smaller than my Jetta *although it does have more legroom*
So by the time I got home Antz was already leaving work. I had to throw on my clown face and we got to the Greek at 7:30 *LA traffic!* You wanna know what else sucks? Getting your car washed and then an hour later you have to drive through the dirt and park in the grass. That ALWAYS happens to me!
I hate my thin bangs…I need a toupee!
The first opening act was meh, the second was much better, Twin Shadow. They sounded like Duran Duran and Scissor Sisters.
Florence was AMAZING!! She really sings like an angel. We had the best seats, 4 rows back

 

Florence is stunning. She is about 6 feet tall and has the reddest hair I’ve ever seen. Her skin is alabaster and I was dying over her yellow Gucci cape gown. So FABulous!!

 

Bad camera strikes again. I had such a great vantage point and still every single photo come out like these. I did get a pretty rad video of her Dog Days finale.
I apologize for my obnoxious screaming and shaky camera skills. I also happened to catch a little girl who snuck on stage and danced with Flo…I’m pretty sure they executed her once security caught her.
At the end of the show I tried to work my magic and get a setlist but no matter how much I begged and lied about it being my birthday, the security guards were being jerks. At least we got someone to take a pic of all of us
I wanted to hang out with our friends but we were both missing Olivia *it was the longest we’ve been from her* so we went to pick her close to midnight. Now all I can think of is how badly I want to take Liv to see Björk in concert. My only concern is like Florence + the Machine, I’ve never been to a concert when some folks weren’t smoking *the Mary Jane if ya know what I mean* so I’m apprehensive to bring her to a show with the herb in the air.
Oh well, many thanks to Carlos for getting us the tickets and making it a fun show. I was happy to catch up with my friend Erin and hopefully I’ll see them both before his wedding in September. Speaking of wedding, Stephanie’s bridal shower is this Saturday. It’s going to be at a tea house so I’m assuming I need to behave like a lady…hmmm?
Today I took Liv to her last World Citizen dance class. I was going to sign her up for Scuffin Rock class to change things up but it’s on Thursday afternoon and that’s my weekly date with Aimee. Besides she enjoys World Citizen with Sarah so much and we’ve learned most of the songs already so I signed her up for the summer session. They don’t start until July 12th so we’ll have a few weeks off. I am thinking of having a bunch of playdates at our house soon.