recording music

Of late I have taken on some new band duties: mixing! My band likes to record the songs we do. It's fun to get them nailed down and have that crystallized product, so to speak, that reflects our efforts. Historically our drummer has been the one to mix the tracks properly. But unfortunately he's taken a sabbatical and it's not looking like he'll be back. So the mixing duties have fallen to me and another bandmate who's interested in that process.

Mixing is a brand new beast to me! In a way, fun and satisfying, but definitely a Whole Thing. Like, a whole skill to develop. I am babie at it! I could really talk at length about my experience with mixing, but that's not my main point.

Mixing for the band is one of the things that has solidified and brought closer to me a long-standing interest of mine: recording my own music.

It's not that I am an artist who writes her own music (I have written a couple of songs in my life, but just for funsies) but I do really enjoy playing music in general. Since I picked up the guitar in 2011, I have always randomly recorded myself playing songs for friends, or just for my own self...

(These are all screenshots from videos I've recorded of myself playing/singing covers for the last fifteen years.)

Since getting my Omnichord I have found songs I really like playing on it and have shared clips of that on my omnichordcorner side-Insta. With so much music in my life, and with mixing being a skill I have been slowly adding to my repertoire, I have felt an increasing interest in those covers being properly mixed. And of course, I have had thoughts like: What if I could just record my own background music for my videos?

Now, having gained some experience with mixing, I have taken a step towards being able to produce an entire song myself. I got an audio interface (a Scarlett Focusrite 2i2) and have been experimenting with some lo-fi bedroom recordings! Fortunately for me, way back in 2015 I bought myself a fairly good-ish microphone for doing video voiceover recordings, because I have been able to utilize that mic for vocals without having to make another expensive purchase.

So, all that said, I want to share a couple of covers I've recorded. Don't feel obliged to listen. Music is truly something I do for my own enjoyment. But I am sharing this here because I share about almost all my hobbies here.

First up: A cover of "Science Fiction/Double Feature" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Notes on this:

• there are six tracks, all of them Just Yr Girl: guitar, main vocals, two background vocals, and two Omnichord tracks
• given the original song, I am naturally sort of emulating Richard O'Brien's tone of voice; idk how to explain that to people who aren't familiar with Rocky Horror. That I might not usually sing with this particular affectation. That said, this is my first and only main vocal take, lmao
• I did background vocals for myself during the chorus, which was an entirely new experience!
• I wanted to have a music box-sounding element because the reprise of "Science Fiction/Double Feature" at the very end of the film has a music box-esque descant over the melody. It felt right!

And secondly: a cover of "Linger" by the Cranberries.

Notes on this:

• there a dozen tracks on this one: guitar, main vocals, harmony vocals (anywhere from one to three layers), a couple of vocal riffs, three Omnichord tracks, and two Stylophone Beat tracks
• I really did my own from-memory version; it is my own take, which is what I feel interested in doing (versus a 1:1 recreation)

As you can see, I made a little YouTube channel just to dump my covers onto. I mainly did this so I could easily share them with my dad, as he's interested in what I can do with my little setup. I am not seeking, like, subscribers or a following by putting songs on YouTube. (Although you can feel free to subscribe if you want.) But anyway, I picked the name "lo-lite" for this venture. I usually keep the lighting in my room fairly low since that's what's the most comfortable for me -- hence the lighting in these pics is heinous! Especially with the pink neon light I have behind my monitor. I didn't try to light the room for photography, and I just let my cluttered desk and amateur setup be what they are and look how they really look. It represents THE VIBE in my room when working on this music. If I could add a lava lamp I absolutely would. And maybe I will. So regarding this project, my brain said, "Not just lo-fi, but lo-lite." :)

I might rename my Omnichord insta or fold it into this in some way, or I might not. Don't know yet. I'm not in the mood to let the fear that I have too many places I post or the perfectionism-oriented thought that I should have some so kind of cohesive "presence" stop me from pursuing this particular joy! This is all super low-key! Lo-key, even. I'm just having some fun and trying my best to not let self-consciousness or perfectionism stop me from making stuff.

Oh, and don't worry: I won't post every cover I do here. As you know, I have sooo many hobbies and special interests that get posted about occasionally, as they may bring me comfort and happiness. Music's always been one of those things, and occasionally something weird (like my still-ongoing Litten hyperfixation) joins the rotation!

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Heaven is a place on Earth, specifically South Korea!!

Guys!! In non-Blythe, non-craft, non-hobby news, my favorite k-pop girl group just dropped this comeback track/music video/FULL ALBUM!



Ahh!!! I have such stars in my eyes!! This is so important and exciting for me! Yes, I love SISTAR and Secret and SunSHINE and Girls' Day and YMNTD and Miss A and Orange Caramel and Red Velvet and Macaron 5 (some of these are fake names I tossed in there, since I know this list is gibberish to people who don't care about k-pop) and I loved Yenny's Ha:felt solo project, but this is WONDER GIRLS. They're what got me into k-pop back in 2007.

It was so exciting for me when the Wonder Girls came to America and opened for the Jonas Brothers on tour, and that was when the JoBros were really popular.

I find that in the States, there only seems to be room for one or two girl groups at a time. Right now it's pretty much just Little Mix and Fifth Harmony, right? It's either the Bangles or the Go-Gos. Back in the mid 90s it was TLC and En Vogue. Then in the late 90s, when the Spice Girls were the reigning girl group supreme, there were a bunch of -- forgive the pun -- wannabes coming up right behind them, like All Saints. There were a ton in the teenybopper magazines at the time that were a flash in the pan. Then it was Destiny's Child, and I can't think of a group that rivaled them here in the States.

But in South Korea the scene is saturated with girl groups, and I absolutely love it. I fairly strictly listen to Korean girl groups, not boy bands; I love that there are so many young women dominating the scene.

The Wonder Girls have had a rollercoaster ride. They left South Korea when they were super popular and gave it their all to try and make it in America. They were the first Korean act to crack the Billboard Hot 100, way way way before "Gangnam Style" became a thing! They did an English song with Akon. I was sure they were going to crack their way into the American music scene.

But over time, members left for various reasons. Then they seemed to all be going their separate ways for a while, doing solo projects and acting and modeling and hosting, and I really thought that as a group, they were kaput, but just not saying so. But they've revamped their group into a band and have come out with this album! I'm so stoked for this comeback!

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Great concert, or greatest concert?

Happy first day of Autumn! It's official today! Thank goodness. My BFF and I are having an autumnal fete tonight. We're going to watch Sleepy Hollow and, seeing as how we're across the country from each other, we'll be eating festive foods of our own respective choosing. My pumpkin spice-scented candles are all ready to go.

Last night I went with my little sister and two friends to see Merriment, The Honey Trees, and Sucre. I knew I had to go to this show not only because I am an actual fan of all three groups (a rarity; I almost always suffer through at least one opener I've never heard of) but because I didn't know if The Honey Trees would ever play my town again! I've been a listener of theirs for a really long time. It was even more once-in-a-lifetime because The Honey Trees were Sucre's band -- I was like, "Are you kidding! Two bands becoming one? The surely angelic harmonies that await me?? This is never going to happen again! I can't believe I'm going to experience this majesty!"

Since it was a Monday night show, it was a really small crowd. Christie from Merriment joked about how it didn't have to be awkward.

She was adorable. I've seen her open for Eisley at least twice, back before she had a full band. But I think this was the most comfortable I've ever seen her; she looked like she was having fun. She also nearly fell over at the beginning of a song once, told us she'd had about 6 shots of espresso, and said with a grin, "I'm such an idiot." It was nice to hear backup harmonies provided by her sister-in-law, Karsyn. Sometimes they sounded really good and sometimes a little off, but I think the sound for their set in general was a little off, because lots of adjustments were made.

Merriment played nearly the entirety of their record, Sway, and I know about half the songs reasonably well, so I was singing along to what I knew. The crowd was really subdued and small, though. Almost no one was standing up by the stage, most sitting in the little tables in the back by the bar, so my group was the first to get up there. Therefore we were "front row center," as it were. Ideal!

My friend J likes to grab set lists when the artists will give them, and Collin sheepishly agreed to give him this one they'd written down on a scrap of cardboard. Only later did I discover that 1) many of the song titles they'd written down had been subject to toilet humor ("Nothing To Lose" was written as "Nothing To Poop," and that is only one example), and 2) there was a drawing on the back of the set list of the band as cats. I'm suspecting this was the work of keyboardist Karsyn...

The Honey Trees followed, and I was not prepared. Oh my goodness. I was not prepared!!!

I was hoping and praying they'd play "Orchard," which is probably my favorite song by them, but I suspected it might be too old, and if they did go back to their Wake the Earth EP, it might be for another track.

After the second song, Becky Filip asked the small crowd if anyone had ever heard of them (a couple of "woo!"s from the crowd, including one from me) and if anyone had their old EP. No one spoke up, so she started to say something in lament, but I blurted, "I do!!" because, well, I do, but I wasn't certain if she was talking about Wake the Earth. And I've been a fan since before that EP even came out. She heard me and said, "You do??" and also something like, "Cool! Thank you!" before introducing the next song, "Orchard." You better believe my little sister grabbed me and said, "They're playing your song!" and that I hopped up and down while shoving my camera up. It was a special moment for me. I do feel like most of the people there were either indifferent altogether (it was a pretty small crowd, difficult to hype) or there for Sucre, so I felt rewarded for being a superfan, at least in comparison to everyone else there.

I share this video not because the quality of sound is good (it's not... we were right in front of the stage, which was basically built on top of several rows of speakers, as far as I could tell, so anytime the drums or bass were enthusiastic, it totally overwhelmed my camera's mic; I recorded several Sucre songs but most of them didn't turn out because Sucre used such forceful drums!) but because I feel, in a way, like the concert gods smiled on me and that The Honey Trees played this just for me. ♥



This band was so, so, so good. They were tight and sounded just as they did on their album, the harmonies were dead-on and beautiful, everything previously only ethereal suddenly exhilarating, the songs made lush by atmosphere -- I know I'll always listen to their albums differently from having seen them live, which is definitely a thing that happens to me with artists I see live. A live rendition of a song can completely turn me around on the studio recording. They impressed me so much. I was definitely expecting to enjoy them, but I was just like, "Wow. They are the real deal. This is so solid."

After their set, J asked Jacob Wick for their set list, but he said that Sucre's set list was on it, too, so they still needed it. Which makes sense!! We decided to ask again after the show was complete.

Several minutes later, Stacy came on stage, quiet and almost shy. But her vocals were also incredible. Insane. The Honey Trees' Becky provided backing harmonies, and this was a complete stroke of genius. Becky blended beautifully and was pitch-perfect, allowing Stacy to vocally dance all over the place, with seemingly no effort. Sucre's songs seem really demanding to me since they're all over the place, but they clearly cater to Stacy's vocal strengths.

I've seen Eisley live several times and Stacy never disappoints. Here's last night's rendition of "Light Up." Gorgeous. It turned out okay, audio-wise, because it had the least amount of drums and therefore didn't kill my camera's mic.

Most of my pictures of Stacy have a sort of American Horror Story: Coven look about them, not only because Stacy was wearing an all-black ensemble that easily would have fit in with the expert styling of that show, but because I do believe there was powerful feminine magic in the air. Stacy for sure is the Supreme. She ended with "Line of Fire" which was freaking incredible. I had heard that after "Line of Fire" she would end with a couple of covers ("Silver Springs" and "You and Me," both of which I like very much) but she didn't do an encore for our crowd. It might have been too small, or she might have just been tired. We waited to see if she'd come back out, but she didn't. I was a little bummed, but just a little.

When J asked for a set list from the violin player, he said he didn't use one, but got us another one from the stage. Also, Jacob from The Honey Trees totally remembered my friend J and came off the stage with a set list to hand to him! They shook hands and I knew J was nervous, but really pleased. It was so kind of Jacob to remember him.

The set lists were all given to me in the end, which I feel is only fair because I do think I was the biggest fan in the house. With my Sucre poster, what wonderful souvenirs of a night I know I will never experience again. Even if I see Sucre or the Honey Trees again, I don't know that it will be together (this seems like a one-time thing), and seeing them play together was very special to me.

After the show and buying our merch, I found Becky and went up to talk to her. I'm so shy that I know I was probably really awkward and I actually don't remember verbatim what I said and she said, but I shook her hand and introduced myself and told her "I'm the one who has your EP..." which I think she remembered from my having spoken up from the crowd. I told her that I'd been a fan for a really long time, like since before their EP came out, when all I had was some MySpace demos and I played the crap out of "Don't Fear." I said something like, "You guys are a band that I never thought I would get to see live, and I know the crowd was really small but I was loving it, so thank you."  And she said, "Oh, that makes it all worth it."  I waved and darted away, and didn't get a picture with her (I didn't even think of it... I don't have a smart phone and I feel like asking people to wrangle my DSLR is too awkward), so I feel like I must've come on very weirdly, but I'm happy I talked to her, when normally, I'm too petrified to do that kind of thing. I'm happy I got to express that to her.

In the end, this experience for me was truly about the Honey Trees. I will almost definitely see Eisley live if they come around my area again (since they're from Texas, they do tend to hit Oklahoma or at least a surrounding state in every tour they do), and likely Merriment, if they continue to open for Eisley. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to see the Honey Trees live again. I'm so thankful that I got to see them.

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things to look forward to

Oh! I've been working so much; it brings me lots of stress, so I have trouble disconnecting from that and concentrating on pleasurable activities.

But with work, there are rewards! Here's some things I'm really excited about...

I'm going to go see Sucre, the Honey Trees, and Merriment on tour in September!! I'm very stoked. Concerts are anxiety-inducing for me to attend, but I have seen Eisley... four times? And Merriment opened for them the last time I saw them. But I never thought I'd be able to see the Honey Trees live. Liking all three bands on a single tour is so rare!

One of my paychecks went to this beaut, a Fender Squier Affinity Stratocaster in Surf Green.

I'm buggin'! Looking at guitars in pawn shops in June -- and getting to sit down and play a few -- really solidified my desire to get an electric guitar. I watched reviews on this model and it's cheap but very playable, and I love that it comes in fun, retro colors. (I almost got the pink one... of course. This minty one is almost the color of my bedroom, which I've been considering painting, so I thought if I did paint it, I'd still love to have something minty.)

Now I've just got to choose an amp! If they're not little $20 portable, battery-powered amps, they can be very pricey! I need one I can plug headphones into, so as not to disturb my family.

The new Sailor Moon anime, Sailor Moon Crystal, has started airing. They only air one episode every two weeks and it's strange to be watching the same story for the umpteenth time, but it's definitely something I've been enjoying. My favorite version of Sailor Moon is by far the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. But I actually like the waify manga-echoing style of the new anime more than the old anime... which is pretty heretical, I know! A lot of people don't like the new henshin sequence but I think it's beautiful. I also love the new theme song. Mercury has been introduced, but I can't wait to see Mars, Jupiter, and Venus.

You can watch Sailor Moon Crystal on Crunchyroll for free.

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All about the color palette of "All About That Bass"!

Check out this music video for Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass," I beg you, for the delectable color palette alone.

The song itself is catchy and an interesting blend of pop, country, and retro juke box doo-wop, and there's an interesting Justin Timberlake shout-out at one point. But in my opinion, its subject may be a little divisive. On the surface, it's about loving and accepting your body no matter what the size, but I think it's a complex topic that went a little awry here.

Soapbox moment: I am all for body positivity and seeing people of all sizes (and colors and sexualities) in any media... but I feel personally that some of the lyrics walk the line, leaning towards body policing on the other side of the spectrum. Speaking out against Photoshopping and manipulated portrayals of women in magazines? Yes, please! But, although I don't think it was intentional of the artist to sound critical or dismssive of girls who are skinnier, the attitude sometimes does seem to be anti-"stick-figure silicone Barbie dolls." It doesn't quite jive with the "Every inch of you is perfect/From the bottom to the top" tie-up. It sort of wants to be an empowering and relatable song, but I do think it would be wiser to encourage acceptance of all girls, no matter their body type, not just girls who may not be a size two.

However, I do feel the subject is well-intentioned in general, that the song is fun, and I like to support young women making their way in appearance-centric music industry where it's unusual for them to be able to have their own distinct flavor.

But let me just be honest -- I am all about this music video. At first glance I thought it was from the same factory that pumped out Rebecca Black, but no!! This girl is signed to Epic and is a songwriter, and its fashion sense and color palette are blogger-tastic. Slightly retro? Pastels? Floral crowns? Doll houses? Cupcakes? Pink hair??? It is literal eye candy.

My eyes, they like! My ears, they like! (Hush, brain, hush. Let me enjoy it!)

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the north wind doth blow

I love winter weather! Rather than fluffy snow, we're getting crunchy sleet; you can hear the snow hitting the ground as well as you could hear rain. My area has a history of ice storms wherein we lose power for many days, so we're all bracing ourselves. We carried in firewood yesterday so it wouldn't get wet and we'd have a good stash.

I'll hold out hope that a power outage won't happen, and in the meantime clean like crazy so I won't trip over something and break my face if I end up stumbling around in the dark, groping for a candle.

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"How rude!" - Stephanie Tanner

I went this morning to ship a deer hat to someone in Australia, and to my utter shock, the price of shipping had doubled. I paid $17 to ship a small 3-oz package in a 6x10 envelope.

To be bluntly honest, I've always undercharged for international shipping. It's always cost me about $8.50 to ship a hat to Australia and Asia, and I just take the $3.50 hit out of the price of the hat, because I really don't feel right about charging a ton of money for a Blythe hat. I know a lot of people charge a bundle for their handmade items, but I don't want to make mine any more expensive than they are, and I've always charged $5 to ship internationally.  I have been okay with taking that dent. I don't do any of this for a living.

I went ahead and shipped the hat, since I was already up there with the addressed package and declaration form filed out. But I couldn't believe it. I still can't. I actually lost money. As February is one of the most expensive months of the year for me, it was so hard to lose that ten dollars unexpectedly.

Rather than complaining, because Cure Touch is my happy place and not my venting place, I'm just taken aback and unsure of how to proceed. I don't know what this will mean for the future of my Etsy shop. I mostly send internationally. I have shipped to Australia often. I cannot imagine tripling my shipping charges. Luckily my shop is empty right now.

To end on ANY OTHER NOTE THAN THIS, I'm pretty obsessed with this strange little k-pop song that has a "country" twist:



The video doesn't really do it any favors, IMO (it is terrible), but the song itself is a guilty pleasure of mine right now!

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red

I am definitely in crafting mode (my abandoned writing looks on in despair). I just want to knit and/or stitch. I'm also in the mood for Christmas. I tend to skip right over Thanksgiving in my brain, as it's just about my least favorite holiday. I might make some Christmas ornaments!

Other things I am in the mood for:

This fox sweater... from Old Navy, of all places! Is that how you know a trend is on its way out? It doesn't matter either way; my love for foxes goes way back! I bought it as a reward for myself for getting through something stressful.

This season of Dexter! It's so much better than last season, I think.


"Red" by Taylor Swift. What an addictive song. I have a love/hate relationship with Swifty, I admit, but she's so stylish and her songs so hooky, it's hard to stay annoyed.

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like money

Ah, September, where have you gotten off to?? Side note: September is green to me. The number 7 is green, too.

Here's what I've been up to lately:

• yearning for autumn
• burning cinnamon-scented votive candles, in my yearning for autumn
• constructing lots of antlers
• writing
• Chore Wars
• planning a get-together with some long-time online friends in October! I hang out with L (a fellow Blyther!) about once a year, but I haven't met up with K in five years, and I've only met S in passing!
• listening to way too much Wonder Girls

Speaking, the Wonder Girls have a new song featuring Akon out, but "Be My Baby" is the one that I'm really playing the crap out of! Love it! It's hooky, melodic k-pop meets "Single Ladies." I'm so happy the Wonder Girls are trying to make it in America; I'm following them closely.


One more of my own little wonder girl... love this Reve de Rui dress! She's rocking Very Vicky's stock tights and her own stock boots (plus a bow from Forever 21).

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I'll consider this my spring cleaning!

It had not been April first for an hour yet when my computer died! I spent many days cut off from "civilization," or at least, my typical habits: working, writing, stalking Rachel's Ribbon on eBay... you know, daily activities. I watched three seasons of Gilmore Girls and crocheted a lot on my ripple. I also made three Middie hats just because I had some spare yarn and Bonnet was chilling with me. I played on my guitar. I pondered doing things by candlelight just to further the blackout feeling. It's scary to realize how dependent on technology we truly are these days!

Luckily, I'm back in business on a new machine now! I was fortunate enough to have a backup of all the things I consider important to me and was able to save some frivolous things, too, but otherwise, I'm starting fresh. Is it just me, or is it fun to download fonts? You know what, I'm going to clean my desk so it will go with my clean hard drive!

I've been listening to Sucré non-stop as I install programs! So dreamy. Listen, listen!

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goodbye, February; hello, March

Still ripplin'!

Here is what I accomplished during the month of February. I would say it's about 18 inches in height right now. If you're a Blyther, here's Plummery as a height reference.

I have discovered that this is no longer a throw. It's a full-fledged blanket, son. It may only be a foot and a half tall, but it's six feet and four inches wide. That's the entire length of my mattress from head to foot! That's taller than many Hollywood leading men, and about a foot taller than me. It's become so tall that it's cumbersome to try and hold in my lap as I work on it. It totally gets in the way... but that's satisfying!

It takes me a little over an hour to crochet across it once. Good thing I actually have learned to love that ripple pattern and really enjoy the way I don't have to think much about what I'm doing as I work.

On my mind lately (besides rippling):

• my rice cooker; it's a full-fledged romance
• Dan and Blair on Gossip Girl!
• so sad about Davy Jones passing; The Monkees may have been popular way before I was born, but when I was very very little, reruns of The Monkees re-ran on Nickelodeon. My first musical memories involve The Bangles and The Monkees; my first favorite song, when I was a toddler, was "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone." I have always loved them, even in the face of criticism! I suspect I'll be listening to The Monkees a lot in March!

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beary beary January

Happy 2012! Man, I'm going to take a while to adjust to that. I still want to type "2010."

I had a good Christmas! One of my favorite things was a doing simple handmade gift of bear-eared barettes for my little sisters (and me, of course). I saw a tutorial and knew I had to do it immediately, and it was super-easy and fun, and they are really adorable!  They stay put well.

I've just been wearing mine around. I'm making more, because I bought a half-yard of fleece and half-yard of fur and I have a ton of leftovers.

At the end of every year I put together a playlist of the songs I listen to the most and label it "Hot Summer Jams." This is just a silly phrase that cracks me up, it has nothing to do with summer. Here's this year's. Lots of Chord Overstreet, I know...

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ever since we met you've had a hold on me

Check out this video for Red Velvet's autumn lookbook -- it's adorable, but best of all, Stacy DuPree-King lends her amazing vocals to a totally Dusty Springfield-reminiscent tune. It's completely adorable!

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open up your heart!

I'm completely obsessed with this song!! I've been listening to it for three days on permanent repeat. What a poppy-fresh music video!



However, even better -- check out this live version, because it's actually even more amazing than the studio version, with a Motown flavor and unexpected vocals, which at one point reminded me of Christina Aguilera (but in a good way) and at another, Michael Jackson (also in a totally good way). I was totally surprised. I can't wait for her album...

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blue canary in the outlet by the light switch

Make a little birdhouse cookie in your soul!

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#WINNING

Expecting tons of Blythe stuff in the mail, mostly scavenged from the lovely sundries section of BK. These yellow tights arrived today and Drew wanted to be the first to wear them.

Yesterday my little sister and I went shopping. I was dying to look at nail polish...

I'm ever on the lookout for a gray nail polish that isn't too greenish or too purple...

PS: I certainly hope you have all beheld the majesties of "Friday" by Rebecca Black, one of the worst songs ever, which is... actually pretty catchy, if horribly written/conceived and autotuned beyond belief. I'm obsessed with this because it's become a meme in a week's time and I've watched it go from two million hits to seventeen million (as of now), take over Tumblr, and spawn macros and gifs like an unending fountain of hilarity. Monday, all I did was sit around with my friend K laughing at it. Now it's finally Friday and I can say: FRIDAY, FRIDAY, GETTIN' DOWN ON FRIDAY!

A song I might like even better is unfortuantely about Charlie Sheen, but it's by the geniuses behind the Double Rainbow Song and the Bed Intruder Song. You just can't deny these things.

There we go. Favorite things lately: Friday, Winning, nail polish, checking the mail obsessively for my Blythe clothes!

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Happy New Year!

Greetings, loved ones! Nothing like a little innocent piracy to cap off the year. I put together this playlist for myself of songs that I either listened to a lot this year or that represent something to me, something I did or moments shared with others.

Hot Summer Jams 2010
(eta: Blogger has made me take down the music, but I'm leaving the image.)

I don't really make resolutions. I don't think I can resolve to do something for an entire year! And I feel like if I make it a "thing," then I'll be all the more likely to give up sooner and feel like I have failed. Simple ideas work more for me.

In 2011, I'd like to...

wear dresses more often

keep practicing my knitting

be sure to do things for fun and not just for work

build up my Blythes' wardrobes a little more... six girls and not near enough dresses to go around!

Anyway: I'm really excited that Pretty Little Liars will be back on January 3!! It's so campy and fun (think of a mash-up of Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl, and perhaps something like Degrassi -- I've never seen Degrassi so I'm not positive about that, but there's drama and Canadian accents and Emily is hot for girls!), great eye candy, and my fave actress Alona Tal will be joining the cast to wreak havoc upon my least favorite character, Aria.

I'm so stoked! In the first episode, Hanna is carrying this super-cute bag from Payless, of all places:

It doesn't appear to still be available online (it's listed on the website still, but when you go to the page, it says "No inventory is available for the selected product"), but I drove to the store this morning and snatched up the very last one on the shelf!! YAY! $15 well spent!

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Nostalgic Christmas: Andy Williams

Even though I didn't grow up watching them, I adore the bits of the Andy Williams Christmas specials that I've seen on DVD. It's so cheesy, but at the same time, so happy, so colorful, so stylized. And come on. It's Andy Williams.



The best bits, though, are when the Osmonds came on the show!!



My mom and I like this crazy number where they're doing intense synchronized skating... I mean, wow! Even if they're lip-syncing to a recording and it's edited together, in my mind it's still quite the feat for people who are not trained skaters to skate so... together. Olympic pair teams have trouble with that.



Absolutely adorable! AND SO KITSCHY!

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a witchy read and a haunting song

My mother recently tracked down a book that she often rented from the library when she was little:

The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes

She remembers it with a different cover, of course -- this is clearly an updated version for a different era of children. The cover's kind of repulsive if you ask me, but I am not a seven-year-old, so I'm not exactly the target audience. My mom remembers the cover red, with a black illustration, and that it seemed to be called The Witch Family of Glass Hill.

It's a charming little book about two little girls, Amy and Clarissa, who imagine (and often illustrate) thoroughly a witch family; they scare and delight themselves by talking out the details. First there is Old Witch who is wicked and "banquished" to live alone on a glass hill, then Amy takes pity upon her and sends her a Little Witch Girl to have as a family, which makes room for other little family members too. With her incantations, Old Witch gets the Little Witch Girl a red rocker and a brass bed with owls on each post.

It's the little details like that which made me really look forward to reading a chapter before sleep every night. It definitely put me in an Autumny mood, and I enjoyed the power and detail of Amy's imagination, the type of details that take precedence in an imaginative little girl's fantasies. The style of storytelling is old-fashioned and conversational without being dumbed down (I like that in a children's book - like Edith Nesbit or J.M. Barrie, but this is quite 50s, published in 1960) and it's sweetly retro.

Now, inspired by the seat of choice in the book, I am listening to "Red Rocking Chair" by Black Prairie on repeat. Love it.

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road trippin'

Back from my trip. I have a love/hate relationship with the highway! I love it in every way except for the way I sometimes feel like I might DIE ON THE SIDE OF IT. But mostly, I love the scenery and blasting out music and all the thoughts that come into my head when the two combine.

In Dallas, J and I saw Avenue Q (what a great touring cast!) and stayed at a hotel that was also hosting many people there attending a video game convention. We saw people going around in costume. I love that kind of thing! People who enjoy cosplay have to either enjoy or endure people staring in total bemusement at them and I think it's really brave and cool when people have the balls and creativity to do it.

Also while we were in that neck of the woods we went to Ikea. My state tragically lacks an Ikea. What an odd place! Aury went in with me, but there were so many people, I didn't want to disturb anyone by seating her in any number of modernly-streamlined couches and snapping a pic. I did, however, get a frame for my bed. I also got new (PINK FLORAL!) bedsheets so I could really get the overall effect of having a girly bed and also make it feel like I'm sleeping on top of my blog... haha, I'm crazy!

Aury came along everywhere. She is a well-traveled girl!


There were lots of different tunes (I built a really long playlist) but most of the way back, we listened to Hanson's new album, Shout It Out. It's overall great. Hanson never has any shortage of crazy-hooky goodness and are melodic and harmonic always, but Shout It Out is actually kind of fun and loosey-goosey and laid-back for a Hanson album, lots of horns and classic-sounding soul influence and piano jamminess.


This song is a prime example, but there are lots of tracks I really like.

In other news, I shipped out two pixie hats someone bought from me on Etsy (yay! I really enjoy wrapping up packages) and Aury's tulip romper came today. Mail!

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