Musical Mondays - Pete Yorn & ScarJo

You know how some people are really good at everything they do? And you know how it's really kinda annoying? Well, getta load of this: Scarlett Johansson can sing. And pretty darn well, too. Uuggghhh, right? Why don't you just stick to being pretty? or acting? or being married to Ryan Reynolds? When will it be enough for you, ScarJo?!

Ranting aside, I really do (despite my best attempts to hate it) enjoy the duets album from ScarJo and Pete Yorn, called Breakup. I've loved Pete for a while and I don't think he gets enough credit. With ScarJo attached to this project, at least he's getting some additional airplay. To be fair, she's good. Her voice is slightly reminiscent of Zooey Dechanel, but with less twang and more of a pop vibe. The first track on the album (and the first single), called Relator, is one of the most enjoyable, uplifting tunes I've heard in a while. Take a listen to that one and a couple other of my favorites!

Pete Yorn and ScarJo

Holiday Cards!

All right, so this year I'm getting my act together and designing holiday cards! Yes, you can order your very own little squig designed cards to send to friends and family! I've worked up four designs that can be completely customized (colors, text, photos, etc.) for everyone. I'm also happy to work up a new design (for just a small fee) if you have something more specific in mind.

The cards are all a standard 4x8" photo card format and will be printed on high-quality photo paper (white envelopes are included). Matching return address labels can be designed, as well!

Prices are very reasonable - the more you order, the better the deal. But even at the smallest quantities the cards will only cost $0.75 each!

Check out the designs below!

Circle Simplicity

Elegant Wreath

Snowflake Fun

Woodgrain Stamp

If you're interested in ordering, please email me or leave me a comment and I'll get back to you!

Novem--what?!

I would like to start by telling you that I am a lot freaked out that it's already November. November! The month of Thanksgiving and the month BEFORE Christmas! I thought September went by fast, but October was basically just a sneeze (into my elbow, to guard against the spreading of germs) in the crisp, fall air.

Now I'd like to pause and say that Fall has been beautiful so far. We've had really wonderful weather here and the leaves are gorgeous. A couple weekends ago we drove up to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to visit Jackson's Orchard with some friends. It was a really great trip. We picked a pumpkin to carve, pet some livestock (goats! zebus! wallabies, oh my!) and drank some delicious apple cider. We took some pictures that you can see here.

But back to the task at hand: recognizing that the year is almost over. If I'm totally honest, I'm really proud of myself for making a calendar each month. I usually fizzle out with stuff like that, so way to go me! Thanks to those certain friends and family members (you know who you are) who send me gentle reminders to put them up already! This one's for you! Click here to download.

Musical Mondays - Florence + the Machine

She's been compared to Fiest, Duffy and Amy Winehouse, but Florence + the Machine packs a pretty powerful punch compared to those ladies. Her music is the kind of hard-hitting pop that makes it impossible to sit still and her voice is sweet and brash at the same time. I've really been enjoying her for the past couple of weeks and I thought I'd give her a little love on the blog.

Happy Halloween!

We put the finishing touches on our entryway for the trick-or-treaters this morning.


And Sloane decided to get in the Halloween spirit, too!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Musical Mondays - Yacht Rock

This past Friday, Eric and I happened to catch a rerun of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and boy, am I glad that we did! The whole episode was centered on a great "yacht rock" performance by Christopher Cross! If you're unfamiliar with "yacht rock," as we were, here's how Wikipedia describes it:

"Yacht rock" is a name for the popular soft rock that peaked between the years of 1975 and 1984. Significant "yacht rockers" include Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Goldstar and Toto. In the musical sense, yacht rock refers to the highly polished brand of soft rock that emanated from Southern California during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In part, the term relates to the stereotype of the yuppie yacht owner, enjoying smooth music while out for a sail. Additionally, since sailing was a popular leisure activity in Southern California, many "yacht rockers" made nautical references in their lyrics, videos, and album artwork, particularly the anthemic track "Sailing" by Christopher Cross.

The foundation of the yacht rock scene was a local pool of versatile session musicians who frequently played on each other's records. This professionalism often gave yacht rock recordings a high level of sophistication in composition, arrangement, and instrumental skill.

The second paragraph is especially important in understanding a sweet online video series in which a group of guys humorously depict what might have happened during the yacht rockers early years. This video series is quite a few years old, but we're only now aware of it, so we thought we'd share. I got a kick out of seeing a young Michael McDonald stressing out over writing another hit song for the Doobie Brothers and getting inspiration from a struggling Messina after he and Loggins parted ways (the song was What a Fool Believes).

If you'd just rather listen to some classic yacht rock, then you should watch the performance of Ride Like the Wind by one Christopher Cross featuring a surprise performance by Mr. Michael McDonald!

Musical Mondays - Glee

If you're not one of the people I've already told about the new Fox musical comedy, Glee, then this post is especially for you! Glee is a witty sitcom about a high school glee club that's struggling to survive amidst obstacles like a cheerleading coach with a power trip, a young star who wants all the solos for herself and your typical high school class wars. But the best part about Glee is the musical numbers! Every week the glee club covers at least one popular song in show choir style, complete with sweet costumes and killer choreography!

Want to see for yourself? Click here to watch the best performance yet (in my opinion), a cover of Queen's Somebody To Love! Now, if that stirring musical number didn't do it for you, maybe you'd be more interested in the comedic stylings of Jane Lynch, the head cheerleading coach.

I've already watched each episode at least twice, and I'd be lying if I said that I was going to stop there. It's definitely my favorite new show of the season and I wanted to do my part in spreading the word so that it stays around! So tune in to Fox on Wednesdays at 8 PM central for the best hour on television!