We each selected a few of our favorite seasonal tunes and put together a playlist to help get you into the Christmas spirit. We hope the holidays are treating you well!
Love, Sister Disco!
1. Jingle Bell Rock — Bobby Helms
2. Put the Lights on the Tree — Sufjan Stevens
3. Merry Christmas Baby — Otis Redding
4. Happy Christmas (War is Over) — John Lennon
5. White Christmas — The Drifters
6. It’s Christmas — Coconut Records
7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus — The Ronettes
9. Baby It’s Cold Outside — Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone
10. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) — Darlene Love
11. Last Christmas — Wham!
I lost my phone and my brother Teddy was kind enough to send me his old one to use. It has about 300 of his pictures on it and they are either beautiful or hilarious. Here are some of my favorites:
If you live in New York and haven’t yet been to “Sleep No More” do yourself a favor and purchase a ticket immediately. Without giving too much away, “Sleep No More” is an interactive theater experience inspired by Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Hitchcock’s “Rebecca”. Audience members receive masks at the onset and are then given free range of a massive, multi-story building; you are able to riffle through drawers, lounge on the furniture and maybe even sample some treats. The only unmasked persons are the actors, who move from space to space leading a trail of onlookers throughout the narrative. “Sleep No More” felt a little like snorkeling to me; you know the friends you came with are all around you having a similar while totally personal and unique experience.
There are so many amazing aspects of “Sleep No More” but high among them is its music. While the track below is actually entirely different than the rest of the music in “Sleep No More”, it sets the tone for the most amazingly intense live performance piece I have ever seen. I’m not usually one for this kind of heavy electronic house music but I can’t deny how much I love to blast this track as loud as possible.
Urban Dictionary: LOUD
1. Sound characterized by high volume and intensity.
2. Producing sound of high volume and intensity.
3. Insistent.
4. Having extremely bright colors
5. Offensive in manner.
I am a sucker for a good pop song and let’s be honest, Rihanna has more than a couple tight beats. Not only is her music fun, but she is the coolest chick in the world. That is a whole other blog post. Her album LOUD is one of my favorite albums. Here are some of my favorite songs from her album:
Since I was little, every time I go to my Godmother’s house around the holidays, the feeling of Christmas envelopes my senses. What I love most of all is the SMELL. Over the years, she has taught me how to create that same smell. So at home, as part of my recent morning routine, I have been lighting up the stove to warm up the house with the most amazing Christmas smells. It is so simple and takes less than 2 minutes to make. Here is what you will need:
The recipe:
In a saucepan, fill part way with water. Add a cinnamon stick, cloves, anise stars, orange peel and/or nutmeg. Any of this stuff will work in any combination. Keep on very low heat to scent the house. Be sure it doesn’t go dry and cause a fire! That’s a totally different holiday smell!!!
A few years ago, I was bored. Really bored. It wasn’t momentary boredom but rather a fundamental, ongoing boredom. I started having conversations about the notion of boredom with friends and family. What did it mean to be bored? When is boredom experienced? Should it be met with acceptance or action? A lot of interesting things came out of these conversations but the one I found most useful was an intoduction to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s notion of flow.
“Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. A leading researcher in positive psychology, he has devoted his life to studying what makes people truly happy: ‘When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.’ He is the architect of the notion of “flow” — the creative moment when a person is completely involved in an activity for its own sake.”
Suddenly the need for and importance of flow became so clear to me. And I started noticing the presence of the word “flow” in so many places; seemingly unrelated places, but then again connected in some way by the word itself.
It was there in my vinyasa flow yoga classes.
And again as a fundamental component of rap and hip hop’s rhythm and rhyme.
Most recently I came across it in Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. The utter beauty and cadence of Miller’s writing makes even his crassness appealing. And I have to agree with him: I love everything that flows.
“I love everything that flows,” said the great blind Milton of our times. I was thinking of him this morning when I awoke with a great bloody shout of joy: I was thinking of rivers and trees and all that world of night which he is exploring. Yes, I said to myself, I too love everything that flows: rivers, sewers, lava, semen, blood, bile, words, sentences. I love the amniotic fluid when it spills out of the bag. I love the kidney with its painful gallstones, its gravel and what-not; I love the urine that pours out scalding and the clap that runs endlessly; I love the words of hysterics and the sentences that flow on like dysentery and mirror all the sick images of the soul; I love the great rivers like the Amazon and the Orinoco, where crazy men like Moravagine float on through the dream and legend in an open boat and drown in the blind mouths of the river. I love everything that flows, even the menstrual flow that carries away the seed unfecund. I love scripts that flow, be they hieratic, esoteric, perverse, polymorph, or unilateral. I love everything that flows, everything that has time in it and becoming, that brings us back to the beginning where there is never end: the violence of the prophets, the obscenity that is ecstasy, the wisdom of the fanatic, the priest with his rubber litany, the foul words of the whore, the spittle that floats away in the gutter, the milk of the breast and the bitter honey that pours from the womb, all that is fluid, melting, dissolute and dissolvent, all the pus and dirt that in flowing is purified, that loses its sense of origin, that makes the great circuit toward death and dissolution. The great incestuous wish is to flow on, one with time, to merge the great image of the beyond with the here and now. A fatuous, suicidal wish that is constipated by words and paralyzed by thought.”
Not only does she have the best name ever, but our friend Bethany Cocco is one talented girl! (She has also borne witness to several members of our family – Lauren and myself included – having total travel meltdowns on two separate trips to India. But that is another post all together!)
“Bethany’s designs are characterized by juxtapositions: precious metals take on the textures and patterns of natural objects or mimic the eroding surfaces of man-made ones.”
“The spirit of the pieces in her current line is both delicate and raw. It is inspired by the beauty the artist discovers in unexpected places: the ridges and folds of a dried chili pepper, the peeling paint on an old window frame.” (bethanycoccojewelry.com)
Check out Bethany’s website and Etsy shop to view more of her awesome work.
In honor of Lauren’s Globetrotter post, I wanted to share with you a favorite app of mine. About every 6 months, I get an itch. You see, just like everyone else, I want to travel around the world – in one big, long, adventrous trip. On those “future-tripping” days, I use this website. Its amazing! You can pick any and every destination that your heart desires. You can also plan your trip for as long, and from any place, you want.
I made a video for you illustrating one of my recently planned trips:
NYC – LA – HAWAII – NEW ZEALAND – SYDNEY – FIJI – BALI – TOKYO – ISTANBUL – NYC
Once you have planned your trip, the site gives you a couple of options:
As you can see this website is an amazing escape on a Tuesday morning, in the middle of winter, or right before you re-lease your apartment. It is also a great reminder to start saving. See you in Bali, baby!
I am generally not one for asymmetrical things, as I am a complete organizational neat freak. I need balance in all things. Equal parts distance and same height is where I am most comfortable. I thought I would share with you some asymmetrical things that don’t make me want to scream.
I really love the asymmetric look of jackets. This one in particular is so lovely and so out of my price range 😉
Nail art has blown up. Some of it is horrific and some of it is really extraordinary. This is one of my favorites that I have seen so far.
I have this dress in black from American Apparel. I think every woman should own this because its comfortable, hip, sexy and can be dressed down and up. Click the image to be taken to the site.
Today we are so excited to present a holiday guide to bubbly that our friend Catherine, of the fabulously named Grapes of Cath, graciously put together for us. Cheers!
“This wine is too good for toast-drinking, my dear. You don’t want to mix emotions up with a wine like that. You lose the taste.” -Count Mippipopolous, from “The Sun Also Rises”
In a scene from one of Hemingway’s greats, Count Mippipolous is referring to an unnamed though, presumably, very good bottle of Champagne which he is sharing with two fellow characters, expatriates living in Paris during the crazy party days of the 1920’s. Now, I don’t know if a Champagne is too good for toast-drinking (is a toast only as good as the wine that is used? Or the intention of its participants? A combination?), however, many may be too pricey for toast-drinking. Practicality and ease on the wallet are important during times of toasting a-plenty! Fortunately, when it comes to sparkling wines, it is very possible to satisfy Champagne tastes on a (higher end) beer budget.
Though bubbles are best at any time of year, I particularly enjoy them around the holidays. Satiating and cheerful, I feel they are well-suited for the endurance required during yuletide socialization. It can sometimes be tricky to know whether an unknown bottle is quality or crap. Use your head, shop at smart spots, ask for help, check the back label for a wine’s importer. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your choices…embrace the spirit of effervescence and try something totally new!
Sparkling wines are made in practically all of the world’s wine producing areas. Composed of different grapes and using varying methods, price, flavor profile, quality, and value certainly vary. Local tradition, style, and politics also play a role in the story of each sparkling. There is always a big picture, eh?
Here are just a few ideas to throw into the arena- some of my personal favorites- a few particular wines and some general styles- all tried and true:
An individual label through Schloss Muhlenhof, from the Rheinhessen, Germany, Perlwein is a frizzante, or slightly sparkling, style of wine made in Germany. This producer was a delightful find for me this summer. Lighthearted and palate-cleansing bubbles.
Schramsburg is a sparkling winery located in Calistoga, at the northern tip of California’s Napa Valley. Founded by Jacob Schram, a German man who understood real wine and the capabilities of Napa’s terroir. Schramsburg’s sparklings are made in the traditional method and aged in the estate’s hauntingly impressive caves, which were dug by Chinese laborers in the late 1800’s.
Cava is often a great value as part of its legal qualifications require that it be produced méthode champenoise (second fermentation occurs in bottle). Cava mainly comes from northeast Spain and is composed of a blend of three native Spanish grapes (macabeu, parellada, and xarel-lo), the Llopart in particular tastes of quality far beyond its price- dry, bright red berries, brilliant acidity.
Coming from the northern Italian region of Lombardy, sparkling wine produced in Franciacorta is made in the traditional method using chardonnay, pinot bianco, and pinot nero, harvested from the area’s extremely interesting mineral composition. The name of the DOCG implies venerable quality. An interesting, deliciously toasty, and inexpensive Franciacorta project is pulled off by the folks of Quattro Mani (label features a big ‘ole “Q”).
Italian bubbles
There are so many! Italy is home to hundreds and hundreds of indigenous grape varieties. The country is full of regions, and those regions are full of towns, and many of those towns has a style of sparkling wine all its own. Prosecco and lambrusco are some of the better known, sparkling erbaluce and sparkling verdicchio are some of the lesser. If you grab a good producer, it is worth the gamble.
I’ve lumped these goodies together, though each is quite distinct. In France, the word “crémant” placed before a geographic location is pretty much saying that a wine is produced in this place in the same way of Champagne in terms of yields, harvest, and vinification, and that it should result in a similar standard of quality. The name of its place is the indicator of its terroir and typical grapes.
Because, even though all the rest are really awesome in their own way, Champagne is still Champagne in all its chalky soil glory. Champagne Aubry is a small grower located around the city of Reims, owned by brothers, more than half of its blend is coming one of the three Champagne grapes, pinot meunier. So real – and completely fair in price.
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