a lazy sunday

perfect weather (for the first all summer) + recovering from the first late late night I'd had in a while + hanging out with two amazing girls + reading up on the emerging GOP candidates because I am a dork + watching ridiculous TV shows + running + new music + finding out my car should be back by Thursday (fingers crossed) + lots of my little projects/long term plans coming together + great sermon in church today  = good weekend and the perfect cap to a wonderful two week vacation.

back to work tomorrow--hopefully it will go well and I will be able to come up with activities for the kiddos.

Listening to:

The Civil Wars. I've had their music for a while but I never got around to listening to them--they're fantastic. 

Also, I have this thing where I create playlists for very specific sub-genres of music. The songs have to fit a certain mood or have a feel to them that matches the others. I keep these four song playlists around for years with no change and then one day, bam!, I'll hear a song and go "Wow, that's absolutely perfect for my nordic lighthouse playlist!"

 One of my favorites I have christened "Bluesy Harmonica Put to Good Use". Most of the songs do have harmonica, but in general they're folksy-bluesy-alt rock songs with stomp to them that simultaneously remind me of Cold Mountain and taking a road trip through the Carolinas. And with my (re)discovery of the Civil Wars, there is a new addition! Fair warning, if you don't like the first track, you won't like the rest of 'em. 

Barton Hollow--The Civil Wars

Believer--Viva Voce

Follow Suit--Trent Dabbs

Wagon Wheel (cover)--Against Me

Complicated Shadows--Elvis Costello

Fault Line--Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Done All Wrong--Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

The Civil Wars--Barton Hollow

I never really noticed how much I listen to music until recently. I got a comparatively late start; it was around junior year that I branched out from top forty. I blame this partly on the fact that my mother doesn't listen to music. At all. I didn't even realize our car had a radio until I started driving. One time, I asked her what music she listened to in high school (and she lived in California in the seventies--loads of music. Everywhere) and she said she didn't. And because of this, our house is silent. I was used to it when I lived here, but after the dorm experience its a little eerie that you can hear our grandfather clock tick all over the house.

                          

So now I'm constantly listening to music. When I sleep, when I cook, when I study, when I write, when I run--if I'm not actually talking to another person, my playlist-of-the-moment is playing. I've started making playlists of two or three songs that fit a really specific, self-invented genre. Also making playlists of whatever I was listening to all week--like a music time capsule of sorts. 

My 7/11 playlist:
Follow Suit--Trent Dabbs
Blinding--Florence + the Machine
Into the Fire--Thirteen Senses
Shuffle Your Feet--Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Queen of (K)nots--Matt Nathanson
Blood Bank--Bon Iver
Skinny Love (cover)--Birdy