music that brings us happiness // the lumineers

if you are new to our journal, you may not know about this little secret on youtube that we fancy.  we are excited to share it with you again in hopes that you, too, will cherish it and pull it out on a gloomy day when something has you down.  for this slice of heaven can do nothing but bring you up and make you happy.  

i am talking about a take away show.  i featured it awhile back here, on a de-stress edition of 5 of my favs.  for the past few evenings andrew and i have been partners in crime cooking away our cozy galley kitchen.  while getting our hands covered in vegetable trimmings and middle eastern spices, our ears have been getting spoiled by this lovely band and emotion they evoke.  we love the lumineers a whole bunch.  one day, by mistake, andrew discovered they have a take away show!  it was like christmas all over again and i am pretty sure i did a little happy dance upon hearing the good news.  what you are about to see and hear below is an impromptu treat where there is a lot of silly dancing, knee slapping, tambourine shaking, and smiling.  one can't help but relish in the contagious joy reflected in the faces of passerbys and eager followers.  

please, check out this video and more take aways soon.  just an fyi:  you might want to block off an evening with a bottle of vino, a bordeaux will do just fine, while you watch because you will not be able to stop and you will need to hear more.

for a list of more take away shows, head here. 

music that brings us happiness // alt j

have you ever listened to song and thought, "this music was written for MEEEE!"  of course you have.  we all have...about a couple times a year most likely.  i am pretty sure mumford and sons have unknowingly dedicated like, all of their tracks to me.  duh.  and this is how andrew and i feel about the band alt j.  we saw them in concert not too long ago and cannot stop listening to their eclectic beats.  their pandora station is pretty up there in the ranks, too, if you ask me.  my husband fancies them because they are from london and we all know he looooves things from london.  he thinks he's british or something.  and as for stella, her favorite song right now is "fitzpleasure" and NOT because of the lyrics.  they are a bit naughty ('tis true).  but YES because of the "la la la" part because she's got that down pat. 

we hope your ears enjoy this little party! 

would you be our coffee dates?

andrew and i have really enjoyed creating custom playlists on 8tracks this summer.  our mix entitled "coffee date" has been on repeat as of late.  it includes some of our favorite artists, such as the shins, andrew bird, and beirut.  andrew turned it on the other night when we were making dinner which was a perfect accompaniment, and i enjoy listening to it in the early morning when i have my coffee on the patio.  it's folky electric beats give off happy vibes that we are particularly keen on.  we hope you enjoy it as much as we have.  stay tuned for our family jams mix, it is currently in the works!

track 1 // "tenuousness" andrew bird

track 2 // "nantes" beirut

track 3 // "holocene" bon iver

track 4 // "blue ridge mountains" fleet foxes

track 5 // "what light" wilco

track 6 // "in these arms" the swell season 

track 7 // "the first days of spring" noah and the whale
track 8 // "new slang" the shins

back to the start

you probably saw this chipotle commercial a few months ago during the super bowl, but i had to share it with you all again as it had such a beautiful impact on me then, and continues to have now. 

andrew and i are huge coldplay fans and love their original song, "the scientist," and we also happen to be obsessed with chipotle.  needless to say, when we heard this we were pretty stoked.  if you have never tried their barbacoa, you need to.  it's heavenly.  

...then good ol' willie came along and just took this song to another level with this touching video put out by chipotle about sustainable farming practises and how to cultivate a better world through better farmer-animal relationships.  now you must know there is no soap box in sight, nor do i have the urge to get into the ethics of food consumption, i just know that this video made me shed a tear or two and reminded me of home, which is iowa, and my grandpa, a former farmer who cared about his animals. 

i hope you enjoy is as much a i do, and happy weekend, too!

3 minutes and 14 seconds of sheer bliss

...here's a little gem to get you through the hustle and bustle of this work week. it's kinda, sorta, the best video ever. period. get ready for some epic dance moves...

happy monday!