Spring Has Sprung: mixtape 2012

photo by Nathan Russell

You guys. Spring Break has arrived! Which means many wonderful things, including a brand-spanking-new, little mixtape*, made by me, for your listening enjoyment. Let me know if you wanna swap. (*Even though it's a CD, I like to call them mixtapes, just for old time's sake.) It turned out a bit more electronic-y than mixes I normally make, but let's just go with it, shall we?

1. Across the Universe - The Beatles
2. Simple Song - The Shins
3. Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
4. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
5. Heartbeats - The Knife
6. Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
7. Faith - George Michael
8. That Old Black Hole - Dr. Dog
9. Heartlines - Florence + the Machine
10. Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra) - Gotye
11. Son's Gonna Rise - Citizen Cope
12. Perfect Speed - 13 & God
13. Crush - Sleigh Bells
14. Do You Realize?? - Flaming Lips
15. Hold On, Hold On - Neko Case
16. Empty House - Delta Spirit
17. I Want You Back - Jackson 5
18. Don't You Evah - Spoon
19. Rock the Casbah - The Clash
20. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
21. Have a Little Faith in Me - John Hiatt

I put nearly** every song right here in a playlist on Grooveshark, where you can listen for free. (**for the two songs they didn't have, I used a cover and an alternate title by the same band.)

Or download the whole glorious thing right here from iTunes, if you wanna burn your very own copy. I recommend playing it in your car and singing along. At the top of your lungs.

Happy Spring Break!

One day I'll be as cool as this zebra.

In my dreams.



You may have already seen this. It was new to me, but then again, we didn't see this until a year after everyone else, so it's possible we live in a cultural bubble.

How we celebrated Christmas all year.

After putting up our tree this year, we realized it looked awfully sad without gifts under it.

We didn't really buy gifts this year, since we bought our first house this summer, not to mention lots of gorgeous furniture for it. We were also given some amazing mid-century furniture from Nathan's grandparents to help us furnish our new home. On top of that, we did tons of upgrades ourselves, including new drywall, paint, fixtures including lighting and ceiling fans, hardware like doorknobs, a new front door with a Crestview window and beautiful wood floors in Nathan's office, the dining room, the living room and the front hall.
Then, in October, Nathan was able to quit his job and go full time as a photographer. This has been a dream that we've believed in and worked towards the last three or four years. For us, Nathan going fulltime is in the realm of such important events as getting married, moving to Austin, and buying our home. We got married eleven years ago, moved to Austin ten years ago, but going fulltime and buying a home both happened within a few months of each other!
When I stopped to think about it, I realized we also got an amazing new scooter, a fabulous grill, and in February, I'll be going to the annual Austin SCBWI conference. (Ask me about it and I'll squeal like a tween at a Bieber concert.)

All that to say, we had many, many wonderful things that we were able to get and to do, and this was a HUGE year for us. So instead of no gifts under our tree, I wrapped empty boxes. On each tag, I wrote down something like "Happy House filled with Love!" and "Happy Fulltime Photography Business!" etc.

It's my way of counting our blessings, feeling grateful, and in a way, celebrating Christmas all year long.
Also, it looks way prettier.

Hope you all had wonderful holidays as well and that your New Years will be filled with Love and Happiness,
Amy

Being kind

to others is the same thing as being kind to yourself.
This is what I mean: You'll feel better, lighter, more hopeful, more spirited, more grateful. In the end, you'll be less stressed and more content. I'll venture to say you'll even enjoy life more and live longer. The best and easiest way to treat yourself well is to treat everyone around you well. I only speak the truth.

Friday Favorites, vol. 66 (a day late)

1. yarn bombs







2. reel-to-reel movies







BONUS: The Wonder Years is now on Netflix Watch Instantly! I happen to love that show, and something tells me you do, too.

3. glass doorknobs






And the infamous Anthro doorknob that was the most ridiculous, difficult thing to install because we had to pick up two other pieces online to make this silly thing work with a modern door. Still beautiful, but we've vowed never to buy Anthro hardware ever, ever again.


4. rainy afternoons
A girl can dream.







5. the modern gelatina
Her description is: boozy gelatin molds for foodies.
I'm so loving this '50s-style deliciousness. I'm so wanting to make one of these, but I don't have a gelatin mold. Think I'll try some of my favorite thrift shops with fingers crossed!

Friday Favorites, vol. 65

1. pipe organs







2. aurora borealis







3. Carr's Rosemary Crackers





4. white subway tile







5. DIY