PLAYLIST NO. 4: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

i’d be lying if i told you that i hadn’t been listening to christmas music since october… i can’t help it! have you heard leslie odom jr. and kacey musgraves’ christmas albums?!? i have those two albums always on rotation regardless of the season, they are per-fec-tion. anyways…now that we are officially post-turkey coma, i’ve decided to gather all of my favorite holiday songs to play every minute of every day until someone tells me i need a psychoanalysis (my roommates). hope you’re all enjoying the holiday season!

you can listen to my playlist here.

1. “sleigh ride” – she & him
2. “the chrismtas song (merry christmas to you)” – nat king cole
3. “winter song” – leslie odom jr.
4. “ribbons and bows” – kacey musgraves
5. “blue christmas” – nicole atkins
6. “baby, it’s cold outside” – rufus wainwright, sharon van etten
7. “christmas time is here” – vince guaraldi trio
8. “fairytale of new york” – rostam
9. “it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas” – perry como, the fontane sisters
10. “merry christmas, happy holidays” – *nsync
11. “last christmas” – wham!
12. “dear santa” –mr little jeans
13. “all i want for christmas is you” – mariah carey
14. “winter wonderland” – louis armstrong
15. “merry christmas darling” – leslie odom jr.
16. “what are you doing new year’s eve?” – kacey musgraves
17. “please come home for christmas” – leslie odom jr.
18. “all my bells are ringing” – lenka
19. “present without a bow” – kacey musgraves, leon bridges
20. “man with the bag” – jessie j
21. “have yourself a merry little christmas” – first aid kit
22. “christmas makes me cry” – kacey musgraves
23. “frosty the snowman” – fiona apple
24. “santa baby” – eartha kitt
25. “rockin around the christmas tree” – brenda lee
26. “christmas lights” – coldplay
27. “white christmas” – billie marten
28. “auld lang syne” – the hotel cafe medley

LOS ANGELES COFFEE FESTIVAL

this past saturday my sister and i decided to get hopped up on caffeine and explore the los angeles coffee festival. if i’m being completely honest, i use instant coffee regularly- it’s quick and doesn’t taste terrible. i, however, did not disclose that info with any of the coffee connoisseurs out of fear of being shunned and having rocks thrown at me. lucky for us, there were a lot of nice people who knew a lot about coffee and were willing to explain a lot of it to us…

our first booth- elmhurst 1925, a plant- milk company. we got to taste their new barista edition series which was created to give a more rich and creamier consistency than your average plant based milks…i told you there were nice people willing to explain things to us! the new barista series will be hitting retailers very soon so keep your eyes open!

next up, the straus family creamery. 1. it’s organic- (the first 100% certified organic creamery in the country) 2. the woman at their booth made us milk tea coffee and we will remember it and cherish it for the rest of our lives.

i know what you’re thinking…“you went to a coffee festival and all you did was try milk and creamers?” don’t worry, i’m getting the coffee…

there were a lot of vendors that were environmentally conscious. it was so great to see all these companies showing that they care.

cold brews… i love a good cold brew and chameleon cold brew is one of the good ones. i already knew what they were all about and stopped by their booth to selfishly indulge in their goodness. if you haven’t tried the mexican coffee cold brew, drop everything now and go to your nearest gelsons, whole foods, cvs, target and get your hands on one. you won’t regret it.

one particularly great part about this festival was the support it had for the arts. to learn more about each project, click on the links below.

• coffee music project
• coffee art project

and now for some “adult coffee” by mr. black coffee liqueur…all the way from australia! coming from a visual merchandising background, i was originally drawn to this booth because of its decor. i was handed a shot of the cold brew coffee liqueur. thinking it would taste mostly like coffee with a hint of alcohol, i took the shot. i was WRONG. it tasted mostly of alcohol with a hint of coffee. they have so many yummy looking recipes online that i would definitely be interested in trying some of them but i think i’d pass on having any more shots.

this booth isn’t technically coffee, but it is coffee flavored! i didn’t get to try any of the coffee candy but i overheard only good things from the folks that did.

thanks for the good times and the caffeine high LACF!

 

A CUP OF JO: HALEY NAHMAN

photo by julia robbs 

do you like reading a cup of jo? do you like house tours?? GREAT, me too. haley nahman of manrepeller and cat, bug of bug.tv are featured on the aforementioned website talking design, cheese and living solo. for the full tour, you can check it out here.

photo by julia robbs

photo by julia robbs

photo by julia robbs