(almost) Friday favorites!

by Crystal

Last night we watched one of my all-time favorite holiday movies:

E was afraid it might be a little early to start watching holiday movies. But for me, it's never too early! We still have a few more we need to get through before December 25th. And then obviously we'll need to watch A Christmas Story two or three times that day.

That got me thinking about a few more of my favorites, so here goes:

Favorite colder weather song:

(I mean, come on. How can you not love John Legend??)

Favorite new iPhone app: PicFX.
 This has some of the best editing capabilities I've seen for the iPhone! If you can spare a few bucks, I highly recommend it!

Favorite new blog I'm following: The long and short of it
Maybe it's because she lives fairly close to me, and I think we should be friends, but I'm really loving this blog! 

I'm heading to Madison, WI tomorrow to visit our lovely Katie! We are looking forward to some fun times walking dogs, drinking wine, eating cheese, and doing some much need thrifting. I'm so excited! (And I just can't hide it.)

Happy early weekend y'all!

Signs of Spring

by Katie

Spring is a paradoxical time for me. It is both bloated with nostalgia and chirping sweetly to the future. It makes me think of springs gone by while reminding me that all things begin anew, and that winter is over.

Here's a beautiful springtime song--one of my favorites. There is no truly representative video for it on youtube; this is the best I could find. Check out Po' Girl and JT and the Clouds if you like.

Spring is a time for starting new things and for watching old things become new again. I am a new homeowner, and I also come from a long line of gardeners. And so (appropriately for the storyline of my life and for the season) I have been bitten with the gardening bug. I am trying something new that I've been around all my life, and I'm seeing it change before my eyes.

I've got seedlings going, I've made garden beds, I've weeded, raked, pruned, and transplanted. I've ruined a pair of shoes, gotten very muddy, and bought all kinds of used (read: cheap) garden supplies via Craigslist. I have also purchased an obscene amount of seed packets. I will certainly be posting my yard's progress on our little blog, but for now I thought I'd share a few of the (early!) springtime photos I've taken over the past two weeks. Enjoy!

Memphis sat outside with me while I drank white wine and read garden books.

The remnants of an existing bed and the beginnings of my little herb and flower garden.

Springtime Inspiration

by Katie

Last week was just...one of those weeks. We all have them. It was something like this:

Then an unwanted Midwestern March weekend of snow, snow, and more snow. The emotional dregs of the last part of winter ensued...mild depression, anxiety, all of that fun human crap that results from too little sunshine.

It all left me feeling very...ugh.

And then today happened.

It was like I was sitting in the stuffiest, smelliest, ugliest, darkest room you can imagine--and then someone opened a window. And the room was bathed in light. And I realized that there was all this cool stuff in the room that I missed before, because it was so dark and smelly and whatnot.

 
Today was absolutely, unseasonably beautiful. Full sun, all day, 60 degrees...my sleeves were rolled up, my car windows were rolled down, and I even went so far as to buy a milkshake. That's right. Premature summer craving, what up.

 

In the spirit of my newfound joy and inspiration, I thought I'd share some songs that popped up randomly today, on the radio and in conversation--some of my favorites. A sure sign from the universe that things are looking up, and spring is truly on its way.

First up, "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. This is a feel-good song if ever there was one.

Then, "I'd Run Away" by the Jayhawks. Not only do I love this song and adore this band, but this music video is so very, very summery that it made me feel doubly happy when I watched it. 

Next, the haunting and ethereal "Hide and Seek" by the oh-so-talented Imogen Heap.

And finally, "Sideways" by Citizen Cope. Crystal introduced me to this song years ago. Was so excited to hear these last two songs, back to back, on the local student radio station today. 

I'll leave by pointing you to a little gem of a video I found, featuring the crazy-infectious song by Florence and the Machine.

Happy, happy spring!