Marry Song.

I talked to my brother, Aaron and  soon-to-be-sister Ashley yesterday via Facetime (or as I like to call it "Ihavetoomanychinstime"). We talked wedding planning and invites.

The Brewers ran into the Soon-to-be-Sohls at Disneyland. Less than two weeks until we gather under the big top to see them become Mr & Mrs! 

 I have to admit it has me fondly recalling my own nuptials. It's been almost 7 years since Cameron and I tied the knot. Since then I feel like weddings have become even more personalized, more open to interpretation and honestly, cuter. As I search Pinterest for ideas for Ashley, I started thinking about a core part of our wedding: MUSIC.

We had the music planned before we had anything else. We worked and re-worked our list. Aaron sat down with me and arranged the processional music (it included Nick Drake, Randy Rhoads, Foo Fighters and Bach). 

We played our favorites, we chose carefully and of course we walked back down as husband and wife to Everlong. 

Looking through these new wedding websites, I can't help but make a list of songs that I would have played at our wedding if I had known about them/if they had been released. 

Here are a few:

Wonderful (the way I feel)- My Morning Jacket

Rose of my Heart- Johnny Cash

Marry Song- Band of Horses

Romeo and Juliet- Dire Straits

Longing to Belong- Eddie Vedder

And it Stoned Me- Van Morrison (even if it's not a proper love song)

Thirteen- Ben Kweller

You Belong to Me- Bob Dylan

Just Breathe- Pearl Jam

Name in Stone- Dead Man's Bones

Tangerine- Led Zeppelin

Are there any songs that you know now that you wish you would have utilized for your wedding? 

What were they? What songs did you have played at your wedding? 

My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.

- Martin Luther

Just a thought for the day.  

Spin the Black Circle*

Day 24

Guilty Pleasure

Music that I like that Cameron doesn't. 

*Spin the Black Circle, Pearl Jam

I raise my flag up into your heart.

I can't get enough of this song. So romantic-al. ;)
I had to share.
Enjoy.

I Got My Hands on a Miracle*

Day 3

Something You Adore.

It's easy enough to say I adore my kids. That's a given, right? This picture isn't just to to show you "them". It's a picture of them listening to music. They have capes on because they are listening to My Morning Jacket & the lead singer, Jim James, wears capes while he performs (he's incredibly shy & uses them to help him "hide" from the audience). They had to grab their own & dance along. You'll notice that my daughter is very Stevie Nicks & has a scarf. 

My kids have inherited their love of music from both Cameron & I. I first held Josiah while listening to the Foo Fighters' album that "Miracle" came from, In Your Honor. Mae was born to a Led Zeppelin song. Both of them will fall asleep to Everlong (in fact, the other day Josiah hadn't napped, Cameron started playing  it on guitar & Josiah settled down & turned into another human being altogether). It's not just rock music either. Josiah recently requested Bach in the car. Mae is a big fan of Ryan Bingham. 

I can say that I ADORE their love of music. 

It's not just background noise, it's their life soundtrack. 

Tonight I Want to Celebrate with You.

We woke up on Josiah's 5th Birthday to this:

This house was crushed by a tree. Thank God no one was hurt. 

Another view of the same house. I can see this house from our bedroom window.

Major Roadblock in our neighborhood.

The view from Tiffani's bedroom. Our neighbor's car is under the roofing.

The Birthday Boy requested his picture be taken with the destruction.

 Our little complex was minimally hit compared to the rest of the neighborhood. We had power the whole time & our neighbor Joaquin had the whole yard and drive way cleaned up by the afternoon. It was incredible. 

 The Birthday Boy wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese, so we went to Monrovia. We got his Toys R Us present first (make sure you sign your little ones up for Geoffrey's Birthday Club). He chose 2 boxes of Legos & something called Squinkies. I don't know what they are other than really good at getting lost. I also bought them   myself A Muppet Christmas Carol.  

 We, along with many others (schools were closed due to the winds), decided to visit the place where a kid can be a kid. Tiffani joined us (she's pretty much our family member that lives in the apartment next door at this point!). They had a blast. Josiah kept playing a Simpson's game and won quite a few tickets. Being 5 is awesome so far for him.  I'll get up the blog about his Muppet party soon. :)

 ***NOW A JUSTIFICATION***

 Cameron had not ever seen My Morning Jacket. His co-favorite band of all time. He listens to them constantly. They, like the Foo Fighters have been ubiquitous through our relationship. Anyway, he missed seeing them in LA earlier this year and when they announced tour dates again, he snagged LA tickets ASAP. Then he realized they were on December 1st. Our son's birthday. We made sure Josiah had a special day & he spent the evening with Tiffani partying down. We aren't bad parents for seeing a band on our son's birthday, okay?? It was late in the evening and right before his bedtime when we left. So there.

***END JUSTIFICATION***

GOOD NEWS! 

We saw My Morning Jacket! They were incredible despite technical difficulties. I think it only highlighted Jim James' talent and ability to adapt. We had the best seats, almost to the pit, but high enough above it that I could see over people. I don't typically go to shows where I want to just cut lose and dance, but I did. I just wanted to "groove". A very hippy-dippy part of me turned on and I, um, tuned out (without the chemical aid of course). Cameron was a happy camper. I think him and Jim James are bearded/shy dude soul mates. That's just my opinion though. Here's a few pics:

We like music & each other.

Check out my cute dress that Cam picked out for me.

Jim James. In a cape. Dude wears a cape well.

Like a kid in Disneyland.

Tickling my fancy: HelloGiggles & other goodies.

This wonderful weather has me gearing up for change. I know that Fall weather doesn't last in Southern California and you could experience a 80 degree Thanksgiving. I eat these days up! Waking up to cloud cover and gorgeous, cool breeze is my idea of a perfect day. The fact that I've been able to sport my little peach-colored wrap first thing in the morning while drinking my coffee is just golden. There is a reason we planned our wedding in the Fall & ended up on the East Coast to Honeymoon. Most people want to escape to warmer weather after their nuptials, we wanted golden leaves, scarves and coffee in the overcast cities of Washington DC & New York City.
In light of the changing of the seasons, I wanted to share some of what is tickling my fancy this September.

1. ZOOEY.
This Fall seems to be coming up Zooey! She recently launched a website, HelloGiggles along with two friends, Sophia Rossi, and Molly McAlear. It's a comedy site for the ladies. Where else are you going to get full re-caps of episodes of Saved By The Bell along with the latest in fashion & decor, relationship advice and everything in between? Just Hello Giggles. It's a website that I check daily, I usually read articles in bed on my iPad.
The second dose of Zooey is a her new show, The New Girl. You can watch the pilot on Hello Giggles. Make sure you do.
The last little tidbit of Zooey is that She & Him have a Christmas CD coming out in October. I literally cannot wait. Just like anyone else who heard her belt it out in Elf. 

+

+

=

TOTAL ZOOEY DOMINATION

2. Birchbox

Did I already write about Birchbox? I still love it. It's an online cosmetics company (think Sephora) that has a program where you pay $10 a month and get samples of high-end skin/hair/nail/cosmetic products. Every month is different and I'm not talking about little tiny samples, I'm talking big samples!! It's a nice bit of pampering during the month without breaking the bank.If you want to join it, send me your e-mail and I'll send you a link (you get points for referring people, so technically you don't have to go through me, but if you want to be nice to me...). I'm waiting for my box as I type! Excited!

3. I was late to this party. Missoni for Target. I was loving it and excited to get my hands on a couple items. Apparently the rest of the world was, too. Target's website crashed when they launched the Missoni products and the stores had lines around them the morning of the release. Crazy, right? I even tried to tweet to win a couple of items from a local morning news program. Spoiler: I didn't win. Oh well, Supposedly they are going to put out a bit more stuff later in the week. We'll see. 

3. Speaking of fashion, I have a new love (besides my high waisted shorts). My denim romper. I would never have thought that I could sport a little denim romper, then Tiffani handed me one. Life lesson: If Tiff hands me something, I have to try it (like Yerba Mate). I put it on Sunday morning, slapped my leather belt around it, put on my cowgirl boots & super long Anthro sweater and I had an outfit! I was sold.

 

4. Portraits of American Girlhood blog. 

This darling little mama home-schools her two girls and uses American Girl stories and dolls to bring history to life. I've been doing Pre-K and Preschool curriculum at home and wanted to integrate Social Studies. This website has been so much fun to use! If you're a homeschooling mama, I suggest it!

5. My new Miele vacuum! We have all tile flooring. Our upright was not doing the trick. We needed a powerful canister with attachments. Cameron did his research and opted for a Miele vacuum. I had never heard of them (they are made in Germany). This is seriously a miracle vacuum. It's super quiet, easy to maneuver, has different settings & the caddy for the different attachments is located on the back. I can vacuum my whole place in about 15 minutes (that includes furniture and what not). I was even able to use it while Mae was napping. It even looks good, which it doesn't hurt to have style and substance. If any house hold appliance deserves to be kissed, it's this little guy.

What's tickling your fancy readers? Let me know. Tell me too if you like any of the stuff on my list. 

Happy Autumn!

Cameron's Birthday

Cameron's birthday was on Saturday. It turned out that Ryan Bingham was playing in LA the same night. Cameron loves his music & Crazy Heart is his favorite movie. Cameron's parents graciously took the kids after coming out for dinner at Lucky Baldwin's here in Pasadena.
 Despite "THE GREAT SHOWER DOOR EXPLOSION OF 2011" and me being full of glass slivers, we headed out to the show. I wasn't going to ruin Cameron's birthday! El Rey Theater is beautiful, it's an art deco style, first-run movie theater from the 1930s. It's the perfect sized venue, you had a great view from every angle and it was small enough for the show to seem intimate. When we got in line on Wilshire, I was surprised to see such a wide range of concert goers. We had cowboys in hats and wranglers, hipsters, pot heads (I smelled them more so once we were in the concert), an elderly couple (that's them in the picture above)and even a few kids.
The opening act, The Silent Comedy was great. It's a bit of relief when you like the opening act. I've sat through some horrible musicians just to see someone I like. They were fun and excited to be there. One of the guys, harmonica in hand, scaled some of the scaffolding and played his harmonica like nobody's business. Ryan Bingham came out to cheers and applause. His voice is incredible. He's only 30, but his voice sounds like he's 50 and lived a rough life. It's beautiful though. If you haven't heard his music, do yourself a favor, take a listen.
 I was glad to have my cowgirl boots at a cowboy show. They looked good while I tapped my toes. I must say that hearing "Weary Kind" played live was moving. It's a gorgeous piece of music. After the encore, we stopped in at the Denny's right by the Wiltern. I have not been to a Denny's in forever! That is sort of an unspoken rule, you have to stop at Denny's or In-n-Out after a show.
 I had a great time, I hope Cameron did too. Perfect show for a wonderful husband.

P.S. There were lots of guys with beards there, but his was the best looking.  :)