THE GOOD.

• one day i will invest in one of these… but today is not that day.
• when did may become the new rocktober??
• have you subscribed yet?? nothing can stop this lady !
• this is real love.

 

 

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

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

 

THE DINNER PARTY

it’s the most woooonderfuuul tiiiime of the yeeeaaar! tis the season of friends, family and FOOD. it’s the season of telling embarrassing stories from your childhood, watching cheesy hallmark movies and going to all the dinner parties.

it’s hard to remember when my love for “dinnertaining” began but over the years my sister and i have collected a plethora of great pieces for our “perfect dinner party”. with christmas around the corner, i couldn’t wait to dust off some of these great finds. may everyone eat, drink and be merry this holiday season!

OJAI: A WEEKEND GETAWAY

last weekend we went up to ojai to get some good old fashion fresh air and vitamin D. only an hour and 15 mins north of los angeles, it made for the perfect weekend getaway. while out exploring the city, courtney and i discovered one of our new favorite shops, it took a lot of convincing from her to stop me from buying every damn thing in sight. as we continued to roam the streets, we were able to really grasp the feel for the community. everything about ojai is focused on its local community and i love it. on saturday we ate at the town’s pizza joint (papa lennon’s pizzeria) and shared a table with a family and their dog. their dog was going from table to table as if he were the owner of the restaurant, checking in on everyone, making sure we were all enjoying our food and having a good time and then he’d lay down wherever he felt comfortable. the next day at the farmer’s market we saw that same family as one of the vendors. i didn’t know them personally (although i felt like i knew their dog) but there was this weird familiarity as if they were my neighbors i’ve known for years “hiya dave, how’s the wife? is little jimmy doing okay?” but i guess that’s ojai- making you feel welcome and part of the community, even when you’re just visiting.

such a beautiful day for a farmer’s market. music, food and friendly faces.

we couldn’t wait to get back and try all of our new goodies. the quinoa bread with the balsamic vinegar olive tapenade went perfectly together. i found out that unlike the rest of the popcorn flavors which you can buy online, you can get the rosemary garlic flavor (my fav) at the farmer’s market. i would drive up to ojai for this popcorn over and over again.

our amazing digs for the weekend! my boss built this place from the ground up and now that it’s in it’s final stages, she offered us to stay there before she puts it up on air bnb – make sure to keep an eye out for this property this summer!

i don’t know what came over me but the minute i saw these chickens i ran outside and wanted to be close to them… i have about 500 pictures to show for it.

PIANO TALK

i’ve always loved the look of a piano in the house. unfortunately for me, i seem to be constantly moving all over la, so me trying to lug a piano from place to place doesn’t seem like the best idea. the grass is always greener on the other side and for me, it’s still greener-i want a damn piano. did i mention i taught myself hot cross buns on the piano?  so if you ever find yourself needing a pianist, i am your girl…just for one song.