If you haven’t visited lately, please check out my crafty DIY blog, Four-Eyed Girlie … I’ve been making so many things lately!
Tag: homemade
Songs We Liked in 2012, and Our Favorite Three Albums This Year!
A new year calls for some reflection, and we like to do that by reflecting back on some of our favorite songs. As usual, we both compiled a mix, and we love sharing them. Please feel free to download both mixes at the links below, or visit our tunes page (you can grab past mixes from years before there, too!)
We aren’t saying these are the best songs of the year, we’re just saying these were the songs we loved. Most of them were released in 2012, with exception of a few that we either just discovered or never really got into until this past year. There is some artist overlap (hey, we’re married – we like some of the same things), but I assure you, they are two completely different mixes. Hope you like them!
>>Click to download Carrie’s “Songs I Liked in 2012” Mix
Track list:
01/Teen Age Thugs* – Sonny + The Sunsets
02/Only in My Dreams – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
03/Feels Like We Only Go Backwards – Tame Impala
04/Better Girl – Best Coast
05/Sixteen Saltines – Jack White
06/Ruin – Cat Power
07/When the Lillies Die – IO Echo
08/Hail Bop – Django Django
09/Clouds Are Lies – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
10/Elegant Design – Pond
11/Origins – Tennis
12/Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover) – The Kills
*Track not released in 2012, but 2012 was when I discovered it … so there you have it.
>>Click to download the “These Made Ed Flip Out in 2012” Mix
There was a lot of great music this year, but I had to include a significant number of tracks that weren’t released in 2012. As usual, you can see my musical tastes are all over the place. I mean, what other playlist includes both The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Psy?
Track list:
01/I Follow You – Melody’s Echo Chamber
02/Ain’t Hungry – Lanie Lane
03/I Wanna Hold Your Other Hand – The Brian Jonestown Massacre
04/Elephant – Tame Impala
05/Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
06/Ruin – Cat Power
07/Found Love in a Graveyard* – Veronica Falls
08/Tell Me a Tale – Michael Kiwanuka
09/Hail Bop – Django Django
10/The Only Place – Best Coast
11/Light in Your Eyes* – Vivian Girls
12/Blue Suede Shoes* – Carl Perkins
13/Falling from Grace* – The Gentle Waves
14/Zou Bisou Bisou* – Gillian Hills
15/Wait and See – Holy Ghost!
16/Invisible* (feat. 4hero and Natalie Williams) – Nu:tone
17/Gangnam Style – Psy
*Track not released in 2012, but 2012 was when I discovered it.
If you’re on Spotify, feel free to subscribe to our lists there if you don’t feel like downloading them!
Our Favorite Albums
We both agreed on our Top 3 albums this year … and we’re willing to share!
#1: Tame Impala – “Lonerism”
We couldn’t wait for the second Tame Impala album to come out this year, and when it got here it didn’t disappoint. It’s a play-through. Listen to the whole thing!
#2: Jack White – “Blunderbuss”
A no-brainer, especially if you know about Carrie and her obsession, er — respect for Jack White. Admittedly, the album is all-over the place, but it’s still a huge favorite. Ruby can even sing along to all of these tunes, too.
#3: The Brian Jonestown Massacre – “Aufheben”
This album was a big surprise this year and one both Carrie and Ed spent a lot of time with. It’s a great album to put on while you’re working on something. It’s very atmospheric and pretty wonderful, actually. We’re sorry we don’t have this one for download, but just sign up for Spotify and check it out — you won’t be disappointed.
Christmas Goodies
I’ve been VERY busy in the kitchen lately, and doing a lot of posting over at my food+crafts blog, Four-Eyed Girlie. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s what I’ve been making this Christmas!
“Elements of the Holidays” Gingerbread and Pumpkin Bread Mini-Loaves
My little side project, Four-Eyed Girlie, was started in hopes that one day I could market and sell the treats I like to make. My 1st experiment with this was offering the Gingerbread and Pumpkin Bread mini-loaves I made a few years back to my Four-Eyed Girlie Facebook Followers. I received my very 1st order and sold 20 to a friend so she could gift her co-workers in the office! I like calling them “elements of the holidays” because gingerbread and other spice breads are such a warm association with this time of year. Even better, a friend insisted I borrow her fancy-schmancy Kitchen Aid Mixer, so I felt like a real pro. Bonus points for the mixer being my favorite color – RED!
Triple Decker Maple Peanut Butter Pretzel Fudge
After finding this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Sprinkle Bakes — I knew I wanted to make this fudge for my mommy friends as a special treat. It turned out beautifully and I decided I needed packaging that was just as beautiful as the product. I came up with gifting individually-sized bricks of fudge (so you could still see the pretzel stick detail) in a clear treat bag with a custom label I designed.
You can read more about it in this post on the Four-Eyed Girlie blog.
Old-Fashioned Milk Chocolate/White Chocolate Peppermint/Chocolate Walnut Holiday Fudge
I got together with my mom as usual to do our annual holiday treat-making day. We decided on fudge this year and I wanted to make three different varieties. It was really fun to do and I especially liked the way my Milk Chocolate Fudge w/Holly Sprinkles turned out. I used a fondant cutter to make the fudge pieces round, and I used tweezers to get the holly sprinkles just perfect!
Chocolate Covered Oreos in Poinsettia Flower Molds
Also on the day mom + I got together, we dipped double stuff oreos in red chocolate using a poinsettia mold she’d purchased last year. The oreos really came out stunning — and they were so easy to do! First, we melted yellow chocolate and painted it into the center of each mold with a paintbrush. Once the yellow chocolate had cooled, we poured in red chocolate and submerged the oreo. I think they look great, and would definitely love to try more of these molds in the future!
Buckeye Candy
My mom really wanted to make Buckeye Candy, and how could I argue? Buckeyes pay homage to our home state of Ohio, and they’re basically like Peanut Butter Cups in ball form. They are DELICIOUS. Good thing she left those at her house. Yum!
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
I hosted a little cookie party for our little mom group, since we hardly ever get to just hang out and chat without having to stop mid sentence and chase the kiddos or break up some sort of incidient where toddlers aren’t sharing! I make these cookies of Martha’s almost every year — they’re just the perfect Christmas cookie! They’re chewy and chocolate-y, but have a crunch thanks to crushed peppermint candies inside. I love-love-love them!
Ruby turns TWO
We seriously can’t believe that Ruby is TWO! She had a very busy day to bring on her brand-new year. To start things off, she awoke that morning to find she had her very own kitchen — in red, of course!
Then, we headed off to the park for a playdate with the regular crew. I couldn’t resist making some cupcakes for the gang in honor of her birthday.
Then we came home and prepared to celebrate with our families that evening. After last year’s shindig (which rivaled the size of our wedding reception!), we decided to scale back a little and enjoy an old school party with finger foods and a great big birthday cake. I really wanted to make it this year, and with the help of my mom, I did it!
I knew that I wanted to make a cookie for the top of the cake, so I purchased a special cookie cutter. And, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for my dad to teach me how to do royal icing. He and my mom made 150 bride cookies and 150 groom cookies for my wedding, so I consider my dad a pro! I had fun working on them with him.
All in all, I think the birthday girl enjoyed her day! We love our girl more than words could ever say.
Starin’ Out the Window of the Station Wagon
An homage to the sweet (and sometimes sad) soft sounds of the 70s. And wagons. We love wagons. Available on Spotify now!
