Tunes : For Autumn

I'm realizing how quickly fall passes through Southern California. It takes until the beginning of November for it to make an appearance and just a few short weeks after that, everything is covered with Christmas decorations and autumn kind of falls second fiddle to the 'holiday' season.

In a way, maybe that's why it feels so special while it's here.

Here are a few of the songs that give me that refreshing "fall" feeling.
To me, they sound like warm apple cider, crunchy leaves, brisk cloudy mornings, and warm knit scarves. ;)

♫ listen on spotify

There has always been this one beloved tree, a Liquidambar, in our front yard. It was probably the only indication of seasons on our block. In the summer, the next-door-neighbor kids and I would picnic underneath it's huge green leaves. In the fall, it was only tree that shed it's red, yellow, and orange leaves, which we'd sweep and rake into a giant pile to jump in. In the winter it was bare, and I would look out my bedroom window, right through it's empty branches in anticipation of the first little green buds that would appear. We even "decorated" it for Christmas many times - with hula hoop ornaments and jump rope garlands. In the spring, it's little flowers would fall, giving us plenty of ingredients to make pretend "pea soup" in our sand buckets with it's green powder and some good ol' hose water.

A few weeks ago, the tree got cut down. It wasn't producing any more leaves and it's insides were being chewed up by insects so it was only a matter of time. My next door neighbor had planted it 24 years ago, around the time his son was born, and I think all of us probably feel that same little sadness when we look at the stump that is left there. It feels like the end of The Giving Tree.

But I'm so thankful for the tree that gave me the slightest glimpse of seasons as a kid.
Even here in the suburbs of sunny Southern California.

What songs make you feel like fall?
I'd love some new additions to my playlist. Send a suggestion or two my way!

Tunes : For Your Morning.

I turn music on almost immediately after waking. I prefer quiet, folksy tunes for the most part, but by the time I am finishing up my morning routine, things tend to get a little poppy and soulful. For me, it's about keeping things happy - starting the day on the right foot. :)

What do you listen to while getting ready for your day?

Tunes : For A Rainy Day

We are finally getting some much needed rain around here lately.
Here's a portion of the (mostly) acoustic, mellow, gloomy-day goodness that has been playing in my car this week.

Any suggestions of rainy day songs I should add to the mix? What are your favorites in weather like this?

Tunes : For The Holidays

You knew it was just a matter of time until this playlist showed up.

Just some of the songs that have been on repeat around here lately.
What are your Christmas favorites this year?

Tunes from Christmas past here.

The Monster Mashup.

Happy Halloween!

Tunes : Mountain Music

A couple weekends ago, Weston and I made a little day trip to Lake Arrowhead.

On our way up, we rolled the windows down and breathed in the sweet, clean, mountain air.

It inspired me to make a mountain-y playlist.

Here are a few of my favorite songs for pretty drives on mountain roads.

Your turn! What songs make you think of being up in the mountains?

Or what are your favorite tunes for any scenic drive?

Tunes : For Yoga Practice.

I have never been a big fan of "workouts" but after lots of attempts at a range of physical activities, last year, I finally found something that I love to do, that's good for me - yoga!

Since then, I've been increasingly interested in everyone's different preferences when it comes to exercise.

I've mentioned before that Weston is a runner. He finds a quick 7 miles "relaxing". When I run, I feel like every stride just gets me one step closer to my death haha, that is only a slight exaggeration. Less dramatically... running is just not for me.

But yoga I love. Yoga I can do.
Not super well yet.. but it challenges me to improve, which is one of the reasons I love it!

I like my practices at home to be energizing, challenging, and refreshing. A gradual warm up, increased heart rate and some strength building in the middle, and a calm ending before my favorite pose - savasana.  ;) 

I try to put my playlists in that order to keep things flowin' smoothly.
Even if you aren't into yoga at all, these are some good jamz. Give 'em a listen!

So tell me - what is your favorite way to exercise?

And more importantly - what do you listen to during your workouts?!

I'm really (strangely?) curious about this one, so I hope you'll share, haha.

Keep those endorphins pumpin', people! ;)

Tunes : To Lull You To Sleep

Because sometimes, no matter how tired we are, we need a little help getting those Zzzz's. 

Here are some of my favorite songs to relax and fall asleep to.

What tunes are your insomnia go-tos??

Tunes : For When You're Poolside

Just a few of my favorites for those happy, summer, pool days.

What songs do you like to listen to on afternoons like those?

Send me one or two!

the postal service @ the fox theater pomona.

Last night, Weston told me that the first time he ever heard The Postal Service, he was in middle school, sitting at his grandparents house, watching the TV guide channel. And in the top corner, where they were always playing something to distract you during the channel scrolling, they were showing The Postal Service.

I don't remember the very first time that I heard them,
but I do remember having Such Great Heights as my profile song on MySpace.
(holla for my top 8, what whaaaat)

And more than anything, I remember listening to them in the car on my first date with Weston.
Which is a top 10 favorite memory for me.

I was completely elated that we were able to grab a couple of tickets to their show in Pomona, especially considering how quickly they sold out! And I was even more happy when the day arrived and I was feeling well. :) Little victories!

The day before the show, I found out that my cousin was going to be the stage managing that night and he was able to snag us a couple wristbands for the pit! It was suuuuper nice just showing up when we wanted, without having to wait in line forever and still getting pretty close to the front! More little victories!

I was so happy that Jenny Lewis performed with them and I was so happy that they sounded just as wonderful in person and I was so happy that they played every song I'd hoped to hear and I was just so happy about everything.

Be still my heart....

tunes : love songs.

hello, friends!

i hope you're enjoying the holiday with the ones you love most!

this year my valentines are the pre-schoolers, toby, and my human development class. (i've got finals tonight!)
but i'm happy to have friends, family, and weston to share my love with on all the other days of the year.  ;)

tonight, whether you're preparing a sweet dinner for two, trying to get home during rush hour, or sulking with a box of heart shaped chocolates and a stack of homework... i recommend listening to this lovely playlist from kylee, the adorable blogger behind 'little girl in a big world.' she's here today with a few of her favorite love songs in honor of the holiday and i'm so excited to share her tunes with you!
(her playlists are my favorite. i bet they'll be yours too.)



what are your favorite love songs?
send me one or two!

happy valentines, day!

tunes : because you've got a crush...

my bet is on the holiday season
but something has me in a giddy mood lately and i keep thinking about how fun it is to 'like' someone.

you know what i mean though, right?
the just-starting-out kind of like.

you walk next to each other and you don't hold hands...
but you also make sure that your hands aren't in your pockets. you know.. just in case there's a slight breeze that happens to sway your hand a little closer to that person's and then whoops! somehow your fingers interlace.
'how did that happen?' you say to yourself, as you look around for god knows what - an airplane? sure! gum stuck to a bench? captivating! anything will do, really. as long as you don't have to acknowledge what just magically occurred.

and one day you accidentally slip up and call them '(insert term-of-endearment)'.
or encounter the completely horrifying moment where you almost blurt out your undying love for them but at the last minute save it with a word like cake.
"cake... i love CAKE."
hey, look an airplane...

but having a crush is kind of the bomb.

and it doesn't even have to be a romantic crush to rock your world. which is great.

i've got a mega crush on lena dunham.
i want to bff the hell out of her.
but i know if i ever saw her in person
i'd be far too nervous to even remember my name in an introduction scenario.

it's just the fun innocence of liking someone a whole lot.
and sometimes they know it and sometimes they don't.
but you just really think they're great.

and that's what these songs are about to me.

who do you have a crush on? am i allowed to ask that?

and what songs remind you of that 'you're amazing and i like you' feeling?

send a tune or two my way!

tunes : dear friend christmas.

{good morning, friends!

today we have our second and final guest post of the holiday season.

madison and i have been 'blog friends' for a while. her pictures and posts are some of my favorites to follow! 
she also has great taste in music, which is why i'm so excited for her to share a few of her photos and favorite holiday tunes here with you! 

it's the perfect playlist for last minute gift wrapping... which i am sheepishly taking part in this weekend. enjoy!}

-     -     -

Hello, there! I'm Madison from "Dear Friend," and I'm so glad have been asked to make this post for Kelle and the rest of you here on her blog. 

The Christmas season is upon us and I just love this time of year. During the holidays we have a few traditions. One of them is our Christmas tree. For as long as I can remember we've put up this Christmas tree every year (it's come all the way from the Philippines when my dad first moved to the States!). My dad pulls it out of it's box, places it in it's corner and since all the ornaments have been kept on from the beginning of it's time, this 4-foot tree is an easy set-up!

When I hear certain holiday songs I can't help but think of different memories I have with my friends and family or even movies that a song was in so those were obligatory songs that I had add to my holiday playlist. That's where Mariah Carey comes in (high school, say whaat? - even though it came out way earlier), O Tannenbaum (A Charlie Brown Christmas), Baby, it's Cold Outside (Elf), and Ave Maria (below is Beyonce's version but my uncle likes to sing the original for us when we're all together).

I've been listening to these songs for the past few weeks and they've helped put me in the holiday spirit as I wait for Christmas Day to come.

Hope you enjoy this playlist.

Happy Holidays!

{more holiday tunes here & here.}

tunes : vieille ame christmas.

{happy tuesday, friends! 

i'm so excited to share the first ever yellowpaperdress guest post with you, today.

i've mentioned my adorable friend chriscelle before (she is the one responsible for my cute blog layout!) 
in between being a (badass) architecture student who pretty much lives at the studio, she blogs at the lovely vieille ame.
she's got greattttt taste in music so i'm thrilled that she's here to share a few of her favorite christmas tunes
just try not to fall in love with her sweet illustrations, witty humor, and awesome playlist... 

i'm pretty sure it's impossible.}

hi there! i'm chriscelle and i occasionally blog under the name vieille ame. i'm so excited that kelle has asked me to make a guest post on her lovely blog!

there are so many things to like about december : colorful lights, peacoat weather, holiday drinks at starbucks, drunk uncles at christmas parties - but i have to say that my favorite thing about december is being able to listen to christmas music without being judged.

for some reason, the effective date of when christmas music can start being played has become such a sensitive topic. like, can i started playing this N*SYNC christmas album after halloween or do i have to wait until after thanksgiving? ... there is no definite answer, girl! bump that album whenever you feel like it because that album is pure pop gold!

regardless of how you feel about when christmas music can start being played, there is no denying that it's perfectly okay to be listening to it now. actually, i don't think it's okay to not be listening to it now. so when kelle asked if i could put together a christmas playlist for a guest post, i felt very honored and excited... but also very conflicted. like, should i go for jazzy christmas? indie christmas? or a drive-thru records christmas? (so i went for all three)

here are some of my favorite christmas songs, new and old :

may your days be merry and bright!

{previous holiday tunes post here}

remembering john lennon.

a year ago today, i was in new york.

and a sketchy-as-all-hell subway ride had dropped us out in front of the dakota apartments.

weeks before, when i found out we would be in new york on the anniversary of john lennon's death, i made the boys promise that we would go to the apartments in remembrance of him - celebrating his life with the other people who would surely be doing the same. 

so i was a little stunned when the only thing i saw outside of the dakota was a police car.

"any of the lennon hippies giving you trouble?" someone asked the officer.

"nope. we're making sure they're keeping their distance" he replied.

we walked around the perimeter of the apartments, hoping to find some candles or anything, but there was nothing.
then, off in the distance we heard a group of voices singing "strawberry fields."

it was the most ironic thing, to cross the street into central park and to the strawberry fields memorial, as the crowd sang that song.

we found ourselves in a group of the most diverse individuals. homeless men, families with children, hippies with cigarettes in their mouths, old ladies, punk teenagers, some preppy twenty-somethings, and us. 

and at the time of lennon's death there was a moment of silence. 

and people put peace signs in the air above their heads.

and after a few minutes, this random assortment of people started singing 'imagine' together.

and it sounded pretty terrible.

but it felt pretty amazing.

it will forever be one of my favorite memories.

so glad that john's spirit lives on in so many people and in his amazing music.

thinking of him today.

tunes : for the holiday season.

i choose not to recognize seasons by scientific standards.
i have my own rules:

when school starts, summer is over.

then we stay in some kind of seasonal limbo until it gets cold enough for scarves and hot chocolate.

which obviously means it is fall.

the day after thanksgiving, it becomes christmastime which means that autumn is over and winter is here.

winter stays until i go back to school for the spring semester. 

and when the spring semester ends, summer starts again.

i mean, it just makes so much sense.

regardless though...
whether it's still fall in your book or if we've made the shift to winter already,
the holiday season is definitely upon us.

here are a few of the christmas tunes that i've been enjoying since thanksgiving.
(okay okay.. maybe a few days before that, too.)



and yes, hanson did make it onto my playlist again this year.
THEY ARE AWESOME, OKAY GUYS?!

there's also this silly little number that my puppy toby and i put together last december.
if you can stand the obnoxiousness.

and...
if you liked branches rendition of "o come o come emmanuel"
i highly recommend their christmas album which you can download for free here!

i loved listening to all of your song suggestions from the last playlist!
so let's have 'em, people..

favorite christmas/winter songs on three.

one... two... three!

tunes : to turn a day around.

it's been a while since i've done a "tunes" post.
i think they're super fun to do, but i thought maybe it would be cool to try a new twist on it and share themed playlists instead of just songs i'm enjoying at the moment.

what would be really cool is if we could make this a two way street! i'm always looking for new music, so hopefully you'll be willing to recommend a song or two to me that would be on your version of the playlist? pretty please? :)

-     -     -     -     -

it is incredibly possible to turn a bad day into a good day.

and there's obviously not just one way to go about it.

for me, a bad-to-good-day typically consists of one or more of the following:

fresh flowers on my desk. group-chats with the girls. taking an extremely hot shower and then making the water freezing cold for a few seconds before stepping out. red lipstick. cuddling with toby. jamba juice. yoga. face-timing weston. wishing on dandelions. making music. long walks. time in prayer.

or an aimless drive. accompanied by a happy playlist.

here are a few of my bad-to-good-day favorites:

p.s. there's a bit of swearing in a few of these songs - just a heads up in case you're offended by that :)

so please, tell me! what's your tactic for turning around crummy days?
and what songs are on your happy playlist?

have a great weekend!

my set at rebecca's coffehouse.

yesterday morning, my family headed out to san diego bright and early to go to a coffeehouse where my dad would be playing with a folk band called "folding mr. lincoln." they're pretty critically acclaimed down in the san diego area, but they return once a month to play at the site of their first performance as a band - rebecca's coffeehouse. 

rebecca's is an awesome place. harry and nancy, the frontman and woman from folding mr. lincoln, were telling me that rebecca wanted her store to be the "neighborhood's living room." there are couches everywhere, breakfast served (lots of organic & vegan options = happy weston), coffee in old mugs, a wood grand piano in one corner with picture frames on top of it, and a big stage where she hosts lots of local talent. harry and nancy had invited me to come out and play a set of some of my songs and i nervously obliged.

i meant to take more pictures of the place but there was a bit of sad and scary chaos when right before their set, nancy had a serious medical emergency and needed to be taken to the hospital. so instead of folding mr lincoln performing, the two featured artists from their set (a guy named dave humphries and myself) became the headliners. 

i hadn't really played in public since i was 16, but after the first song i felt pretty comfortable on the stage. the biggest compliment at this kind of place is when people stop what they're doing to listen to you. it's not really a "sit and watch the musicians" kind of place, so much as someone is there playing background music, so if you're lucky enough to get some people interested in what you're doing on stage, you must be doing a decent job! 

i left pretty quickly after the show, but the other band sent the money from the tip jar home with my dad because they wanted me to have it. i didn't even know there had been a tip jar! haha, i was flattered. :)

excited to have shared my little tunes with some people.

please keep harry and nancy in your thoughts and prayers. 

tunes.

a few that i've been listening to lately...

san diego.

my family spent this past weekend in san diego.

our whole trip was planned around a tower of power concert that took place on saturday night. we had all been looking forward to this for months and it did not disappoint. average white band opened for tower, which was really fun too. nolan and i were probablyyyy some of the youngest people there, but we grew up listening to tower of power and other funk/soul bands! most specifically, the ones my dad played with, so we were stoked to be in the presence of such phenomenal musicians and we all had a great time. 

they didn't allow cameras at the venue, so this was the only photo i got of the concert, but i think i was too busy dancing to have taken any other photos anyway.  :)

this morning was spent exploring various, nearby san diego gems and enjoying the fact that the weather was less than 100 degrees.