christmas countdown: #7

This entire album is a revelation. The Hotel Café presents... Winter Songs is one of the best holiday compilations with songs by the most awesome indie artists. "Winter Song" by Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles is my third favorite song from this album.



It's sad, and it's not really about Christmas, but still. I love the harmonies, the cello, the piano and the "bum-bum-bums."

When you listen to the song and get to the 3:50 mark, listen to all that layering -- so beautiful!

Only 6 1/2 weeks until Christmas! :)

word wednesday: deer in head lice

Last week's episode of Modern Family was hilarious! They made fun of Gloria, a character who was born in Colombia and speaks with a Spanish accent and sometimes gets English phrases wrong.

I don't think there's a way to embed videos from Hulu, so click on the link to see the clip!

Gloria Has Enough

Modern Family is a pretty smart and funny show with some really great characters (Manny is my favorite!). Definitely worth picking up if you don't watch it already!

cooking adventures

I've been having a lot of fun cooking this past week. Here are some pictures!

Gomtang (Korean chicken soup)

Strawberry shortcake (I made the whipped cream from scratch, too!)

Roasted brussels sprouts. It was my first time cooking or eating them -- not bad!

Fun!

christmas countdown: #8

Some Christmas songs are meditative, some are funny, some are melancholy, but some are pure, 100% fun! Like Kay Starr's "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With the Bag (Thunderball Mix)" from the very fun Merry Mixmas album.



Listen to that melody! How much fun is that??

Honestly, I've never heard the original version of this song, and maybe it's good too, but I love every beat and every instrument in this song! The horns (or horn sounds - maybe synthesized?) really make this song -- I'll say it again -- FUN!

I admit, it's a little blasphemous -- she's talking about Santa and how "He'll be here / With the answer to the prayer that you've held through the years" ... ehh...

Anyway, everyone loves a fun Christmas song, right? Enjoy!

christmas countdown: #9

Did I mention that Christmas music is one of my favorite genres?

This week I present to you #9 in my top 10 Christmas song countdown: Jack Johnson's version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

(Play the video, but try not to watch it. It kinda detracts from the coolness.)



The melody and arrangement are cool, and I love his original final verse. It should be added to the version kids sing in school -- how else are we supposed to learn not to be fair-weather friends? Those mean reindeer need to know the consequences of their actions.

Anyway, Jack Johnson gets extra points for this song for being clever.

The album that this song comes from, A Winter's Night, is a pretty cool compilation of Christmas singles from Sarah McLachlan, Leigh Nash (from Sixpence) and Barenaked Ladies.

Only 9 1/2 weeks 'til Christmas! Are you ready??

puffy jacket

The puffy jacket is coming out tonight! Brrrr!

gourds

Introducing our family of winter gourds. We have Mamma Butternut Squash and her children, the Decorative Gourds. The butternut squash is my cooking challenge of the week. I'm hoping to make some braised & glazed butternut squash a la Mark Bittman, and maybe some soup if I have enough left.