Hozier

Once in a while I find a voice that just speaks to me. Hozier has one of those voices. 

I'm sure you know the song Take Me To Church (unless you live under some giant rock hehe) but that's not my favourite of his songs. Here are some other ones of Hozier's that I love... Enjoy :)

Happy

With all this snow, I need some happy. This song never fails to make me dance in my chair whenever I hear it, so here's to hoping you chair dance too! :)

Brave

I was singing this song around the house this evening...

Me: "Ahhhh I have to listen to that song!"

Hubs: "Yes, please do. So you can stop singing."

Me: *dying of laughter* "YOU'RE SO MEAN!!!"

On a different note, I realise it's kind of been a long time since I blogged... I'll rectify it soon, promise. I know it's been ages when my mother emails me to tell me that she keeps checking my blog for new posts but finds nothing LOL!! Love her :)

It's been busy over here, and so cold that there's been nothing much to report. I hope everyone who's suffering this cold is keeping warm and staying safely indoors if they can help it. And I hope everyone's been having a wonderful new year so far :) We rang in the new year with good friends and Seinfeld. Par-tay!

Hello Brooklyn

Oh I love me some Brooklyn. When we returned from Australia and Singapore in May, I found out that Vampire Weekend were playing in Brooklyn, so I immediately booked those tickets and we figured we'd make a weekend of it. Little did I know, that gig was going to be their very first giant arena gig, so I'm doubly thrilled that we were there for it! 

We stayed at NU Hotel, where we stayed the last time. Love that area, plus it's only down the street from the arena. Can you imagine taking a subway after a gig in Brooklyn? Neither can I. We had Vietnamese for dinner... bahn mi and chicken noodles, and lots of yummy iced coffee to wake us up.

We had two opening acts to get through before VW... Sky Ferreira (my first thought was very talented but she seemed high as a kite and apparently, I'm right because she was arrested for drug possession two days prior) and Solange (amazing voice and stage presence... and the closest I'll ever get to Jay-Z *sob* I love you Jay-Z!).

The gig itself was amazing. AMAZING. The tightest set they've played of the many times I've seen them. Oh, and when I was waiting for the gig to start, I was posting pics to Instagram and it turns out Jess was in the crowd and saw my posts! She asked if I wanted to meet, and I replied "Of course!". We chatted for a while and then scurried back to our seats!

If anyone's interested, here's the set list:
Cousins / White Sky / Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa / Diane Young / Unbelievers / Holiday / Step / Horchata / Everlasting Arms / Finger Back / California English / A-Punk / Ladies of Cambridge / Ya Hey / Don't Lie / Song 2 (Cover of a Blur song) / Campus / Oxford Comma / Giving Up The Gun / Obvious Bicycle | Encore | Hannah Hunt / One (Blake's Got A New Face) / Walcott

The rest of our stay in Brooklyn mainly revolved around food. Then again what else do we ever do when we're in the city!? The hubs finally found a bottle of Cream-Nut at Stinky. I can't tell you how many shops we've been to and how long we've been searching for this stupid peanut butter. It better be bloody amazing.

And then the hubs got it in his head that we had to find chocolate chip cookies, so we got some at Caputo's Bake Shop. They're more crunchy than I think he likes, but he enjoyed them all the same. What's not to like about chocolate?! I got a couple of cookies with jam in the middle and I loved those. And we stumbled upon Brooklyn Farmacy but unfortunately we were on our way to lunch, so no room for an ice cream float. Sadface.

But we weren't sad too long because I took the hubs to Henry Public and our minds were blown. It's super old timey and very adorable. I had my very first deviled egg ever, and I have to say I LOVE them. I ordered what they're known for... a turkey leg sandwich. It's prepared like a pulled pork sandwich, and served with the best fries ever. The hubs had an egg sandwich that looked absolutely gorgeous but I wouldn't know if it was because the dude breathed it in, and half my sandwich in the time it took me to finish the other half. Hmph.

Ahh Brooklyn :)

And for dinner that night we went to Buttermilk Channel. I'd been with my sisters before and loved the food, so I thought I had to bring the hubs. We had a relatively short wait (they don't take reservations) and they sat us outside, which was really nice because it was a beautiful evening. I had a rib eye, he had the chicken and waffles, and we split an ice cream float with coffee soda. So freaking good.

And before we left, I took the hubs to Van Horn, a little place run by a dude from North Carolina, and they're known for their sandwiches. I had the fried chicken sandwich, and the hubs had a full country breakfast. And half my sandwich. I'm a cheap date, what can I say! Haha!

Then home we went. Ah New York, I love you muchly, but my feet hurt greatly. Plus I fell sick while I was there so that was unpleasant. Still, I can't wait till our next visit :)

Lonely Island

The latest video by Lonely Island featuring Robyn is flipping hilarious (plus the beat is pretty dope and I love Robyn). The hashtags made me completely crack up.

Warning: This is not safe for work or small children. Unless your work is awesome or your children have a potty mouth for a parent :)

Randomness

Oh hi, remember me? I had a blog that I used to update regularly. I suck. I'm sorry. 

I've been so busy lately with loads of stuff, but thankfully some of that stuff now includes sewing! We settled back to our routine after returning from our trip (it's amazing how three weeks away will erase how you do every day things!) and there's been so much running around as well. It doesn't seem to be slowing down, but if there's sewing thrown in there, who am I to complain, right?

On Wednesday afternoon we took a little ride to Boston to see my favourite band, Vampire Weekend :) They're always amazing live, and so much fun. I danced and bopped the entire time, and because I'd been listening to their new album on repeat, I sang along to everything... my throat was so hoarse! We got home around 1am, and both of us had to work the next morning so that was just a treat haha! We're catching them again in September... can't wait!!!

Some actual randomness...

- My melissa + Liberty of London shoes! I got them in Singapore and I just looooove them. I also got a pair of melissa + Jason Wu ones in Australia. I seriously would've bought more but I exercised what little self-control I have.

- My MIL had balloons waiting for us when we got home hehe She's so silly! Love her!

- So the picture of the two guys... We were on the T in Boston and Seated Guy had his legs spread when the train filled up in a flash. Standing guy decided to stand riiiiight between Seated Guy's legs, so the latter had to protect his man junk the entire time. The hubs and I kept giggling at this hilarity and eventually snapped this photo because we needed to remember this for always.

- And an irritating bird took a giant shit on our front door. Nice. Reminds me of the pelican shit we used to find on our balcony in Australia. Fun times.

And what's one of these posts without food!

- I've been eating a lot of avocados lately... They're yummy and cheap at Costco!

- We had chicken tenders at Raising Cane's before the Vampire Weekend gig because there was nothing else. It was pretty good... not a fan of fried foods, so yeah...

- The ridiculous gelato at the wedding we attended on Saturday. I wanted to breathe it all in. I ate a few bites and ate the chocolate strawberry then ignored it while it tried to make eyes at me. Evil, evil gelato.


I've got more pictures of Australia coming... and of course stuff I've been sewing!

Vampire Weekend

There's new Vampire Weekend songs in the world! Eep!!! 

I don't look forward to much new music anymore because most of it is complete rubbish. I hold Vampire Weekend close to my heart for some reason and their new album's out in early May, and we're seeing them a couple weeks after that! I figure the new album will be on repeat for those couple weeks :)

Love how the songs are so different. Step is the cutest song, and so sweet :) Diane Young... well, I'd like to set fire to the snow we keep getting. 

Randomness

- My list for the week: The Best Snacks. The list could have gone on and on forever... I had to stop myself somewhere. One thing is clear... I love my chocolate and my gummies. I actually do love fruit a lot, but a lot of the fruit I love, I can't find here. I did find mangoes the other day and I bought a whole bunch of them :) What are your favourite snacks?

- We're going to see Vampire Weekend in May!!! I signed up for presale tickets and the whole shebang. Dork, party of one. I'm so bloody excited, I can't stand it. Their third album is released a week before the gig so I'm going to listen to that shit on repeat, yo.

- So the other day I'm making a sample table runner for work, and I'm being all smug because it's a small project and I can bang this shit out super quick. Nope, not what happened. I got too cocky and cut the sashing wrongly. I suck.

- I'm teaching a couple of friends to quilt over the weekend (I hope by Sunday the snow won't pose a problem) and I'm really excited about it. I taught myself, so I'm never quite certain if what I'm passing on is correct. They asked if I could teach them the braided runner as their first project and I've chosen the pattern by Bari J because I liked it best. And I applaud them for choosing something a tiny bit challenging for a beginner. It's not difficult at all, but if you know nothing about quilting, all those angles could scare you pretty easily, I think!


- Later today, we're going to get a blizzard of epic proportions. It'll go on for an entire day, I think. Yay. Not. From what I gather, we're to expect between 15" and 24" of snow. That's not cool, Mother Nature. Not cool at all. I have a feeling it's going to look like the winter of 2010/11 when the snow got to be about as high as me. Which is not very high at all, but you know what I mean. Hubs had to dig a path for me lest he lose me in the mahoosive piles of snow.

Everyone who's on the east coast and will be affected by the snow storm, please stay safe. And if you don't hear from me for days, it's probably because we lost power. Holy crap please don't let us lose powerrrrrr *sigh*

Grimes

A current favourite right now... Oblivion by Grimes. Love the lo-fi video.

Her voice took some getting used to but the girl can make some awesome music. And she's adorable as hell.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

It's my Daddy's birthday today! He's doing really well and he's his optimistic self, as always :) The poor thing's eating 'rabbit food' (no meat, no carbs, no fun) while undergoing treatment, and thankfully, he's one of those people who'll do whatever needs to be done without question. Me? I'd be walking into on-coming traffic before the first day was done.

Since I posted a video on my Mum's birthday, I thought I'd do the same for Dad. Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple always reminds me of him. I've heard the opening riff thousands upon thousands of times in my lifetime. We had a little studio in the house and his band would always play this song. And I mean always. But because it reminds me of my Dad, I don't hate it at all. I still get a kick out of it every time I hear it. My parents went to see Deep Purple in the 90s. When they got home, Mum announced that she was the oldest person there. I highly doubt that... hehe!

The last time I was home in Singapore, I was singing the first few lines of the song...

Dad: *grinning like a monkey* "You know this song?!?! How!!!"
Me: "Umm, because you played it all through my childhood. It would be weird if I didn't!"

Happy Birthday, Mum!!!

It's my Mum's birthday, people! Well technically her birthday's over because Singapore is 13 hours ahead of us. I did txt her yesterday afternoon (after her midnight) to wish her a happy birthday though. Such a good girl I am. 

I looked for a current picture of my Mum but I'm pretty sure I'll get disowned for posting the ones that I do have. And the ones that she's smiling sweetly in, she's in her jammies. Oh Mum. But I have a feeling that if anyone's looking for proper pictures of me, they'll have the same problems. I definitely know here I get my disdain of having my picture taken from for certain :) 

So instead of a picture, here's a video of a song she loved back in the 90s. She doesn't really listen to stuff like that but for a time, she'd listen to it on her CD player and headphones and sing along. She's pretty adorable, that mother of mine. Plus she actually called me long distance from Singapore just to tell me that Shannon Hoon had passed away. Umm, très importante, mother. 

Here it is... No Rain by Blind Melon. I hope you remember it, Mum. Otherwise, I'm booking you a room at a retirement home.  Love you.

Passion Pit

I'm completely and utterly with Passion Pit's new album Gossamer. Seriously so so so good. So good.

I believe I'm going to have to buy the record and play it LOUD.

If It's A Funeral, Let's Have The Best Funeral Ever

Last night the hubs and I went to see Shut Up and Play the Hits, a documentary about LCD Soundsystem's final gig in April last year. It was such an amazing experience, and the fact that it was playing just that one time made it something truly special.

We're both huge fans of LCD Soundsystem and it's really sad that they've called it quits and won't be recording or performing anymore. This doco doesn't come close to experiencing them, but it was beautifully made and so raw. I shed a tear when they played "Someone Great" because of course I started thinking about my grandma when he kept repeating the line "someone great is gone". James Murphy shed a tear when he sang it... strangely heartwarming.

(On a different note, the hubs now wants me to cut my hair like keyboardist Nancy Whang's. I can only describe it as a reverse mullet... short in the back, party in the front. Not. Happening. Honey.)

RIP LCD. You North American Scum :)



Picture from here.

I Can Haz Swedish

Hubs: *Big sigh* "I'd like to learn Swedish so I can understand that song."
Me: "Umm. You do know you can just get the lyrics and translate them to English, right?"
Hubs: "Oh. Yeah."

Wow.

Anyway, here's the song he speaks of. Ta Det Lugnt by Dungen.

I'd just like to add that the hubs is a very intelligent and erudite man. He does however have the occasional lapse in common sense, resulting in such ridiculousness. Which I like to blog about. But it's part of his charm and I enjoy it thoroughly :) Also, he has a cute bum.

As for the music, I don't geddit. But I did promise in sickness and in health, right? :)

Hey Macarena!

I was sitting in the living room when I heard the faint sound of the hubs singing in the kitchen...

Me: "Are you singing Macarena?!?!"

Hubs: "Uhh... no..."

Me: "You are, aren't you?"

Hubs: "No."

Me: "OMG you were."

Hubs: "I enjoy the Macarena, okay?!"

Me: "You know I have to blog about this."

Hubs: "No please."
Me: "Oh yes please."

Here's the video. We can ick all we want but it's insanely funny. And you know you remember how to dance the bloody Macarena :)

Cults

Loving Cults! And I love the odd nature of their videos. (It's not a wonder I like odd. It's a homonym for the first part of my name. It's like my parents knew I'd turn out a little strange...)

We're catching them live next month when they swing by Northampton, MA. I. Cannot. Bloody. Wait.

Gotye

I can't stop playing this song. It's so raw and lovely and sad.

And he reminds me so much of Sting... and a hint of Peter Gabriel?

Garbage!

The teenager in me is squealing with delight. New. Garbage. Album. This Spring. EEP! If I could do a cartwheel without throwing my back out, I so totally would do it. But I can't. So you'll just have to imagine it.

I was at their very last gig in Perth, Australia years ago. It was bittersweet... Them saying goodbye indefinitely, but then also being able to see them for what may have been the last time ever. It's been seven long years... I can't wait :)

If they come this way I'll have to bribe the hubs to go with me. Or worse... I'll have to go with him to one of his gigs because apparently marriage is about compromise or some such crap. Pffft.

Tongue Tied

A song by Grouplove that's currently making me happy :)

[If it sounds familiar, it's because it's in the iTouch commercial.]

M83

Kind of annoyed that we can't make the M83 gig in Brooklyn tonight. I will just have to listen to their music at home and hope they come round this way again soon.

A la prochaine, M83. (That's 'see you next time' in French. Because they're all French and stuff.)