getting in the mood.

I know it's a tad early to be talking about this but I just finished up my third conversation about it in over the past two weeks. Plus I needed to write this over my lunch half-hour because I chose to watch football all day and all evening vs. get anything done yesterday. So unless you want to hear a rant about the Cleveland Browns, you are welcome for choosing this topic instead.

What exactly am I talking about? Christmas music! I CANNOT wait until it becomes socially acceptable to start regularly listening to it for a couple of different reasons:

1. I know all the words to every song no matter who's singing it.
2. It's almost impossible for me to be in a bad mood while listening to it.
3. The Christmas season has officially kicked off and I can start putting up decorations.
4. Every time I hear a song I immediately start phening for a hot toddy or spiked cocoa.

Like most of my Christmas obsessions, you can thank my wonderful mother for exposing me to all of the many, many, MANY options for getting into the Christmas spirit. I mean, don't even get me STARTED on how many months of planning and prep we put into our tree decor.

Heading back to the Christmas music, aside from learning to love it, my mom also taught me to diversify my collection. This keeps the tracks from never getting old and always the best option for what gets played. My current top 5 include:

Perry Como is my #1 and always will be. I'm not sure if it's because my dad (hi dad!) thinks he sounds like him or it's been a staple in the mix since I was born, the first and last songs I listed to during the season are always ones of Perry Como's.

This is definitely my #2 solely because I think I sound like the Christmas version of Mariah. Not Mariah the pop singer, only the Christmas caroler - there's a big difference. The similarities however, have yet to be confirmed and somehow always seem to be denied. Haters. Psht.

I think this is the CD my parent's have but as long as it has Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby's "Baby It's Cold Outside", I'm sold. This is my #3 because my dad thinks he sounds exactly like Bing Crosby and continuously sings the line "baby it's cold outside" for the duration of the holiday. Similar to my Mariah Carey story, he's still waiting on the confirmation as well. 

Oh, Amy. Another singer who I think I sound like (are you noticing a pattern yet?), I love her renditions and my mind immediately goes to road tripping it into Erie (where both my parents are from) to see the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Johnny Mathis 100% reminds me of my mom and, since she's the reason for my Christmas season obsession, I couldn't stand to leave it off the list. This cassette tape (don't worry, we have the CD now too) is Christmas in a nutshell for me between the ages of probably 5 and 10. Repeat. All day. All night.

Not to mention, I've also gathered solid hits from the albums like Glee and N'Sync along the way. While these are mostly the staples, I can't help but look to expand my iTunes library. With so many Christmas albums out there, why not right!? On the list for purchase:

Justin Bieber STOP JUDGING ME

She and Him

Glee Volume 2 which hopefully my mom already bought

They Jersey Boys which I'm pretty sure my dad will go nuts for

Any other ones I should add to the list?

NOTE: While all links to these albums point to Amazon.com, it was not intentional nor my recommended way of purchasing music. They just happen to have everything and were therefore the easiest site to quickly link to.

Shiver my timbers no more.

Instead of continuing to complain about the weather, write about snow-inspired design themes or offer tips for staying warm, I am going to revert back to what I typically do in uncomforatble situations and just avoid it all together. That said, I had a very fun gchat conversation with one of my besties, Corrin, about how living in Florida might not be that bad (aside from the obvious pro of being closer to my brother).

I mentioned that if I were to every move to Florida, I would have to live on a boat with my wardrobe consisting of nothing but nautical-inspired clothing, khakis and boat shoes. Guests would be required to wear gauzy neck scarves, floppy straw hats and red lipstick (I'm not backing down on that, Corrin). I'd incorporate things like "ahoy", "mate" and "let's hoist some sails" into my vocabulary in hopes to grow into your everyday sailorette that hasn't a clue what she's doing. In my mind, if you're going to daydream you might as well go all out, right?

top left to bottom right: modcloth, topshop, amazon, forever21, anthropologie, true religion

Anyway, if the little scenario described above doesn't sound half bad, here are some sea worthy treasures you can start adding into your space to see if a nautical life was meant to be. Focus on a white, beige and navy blue color scheme with accents of bright red. Add accessories that have horizontal stripes, gold buttons or rope-like detailing. Frame a nautical map, a picture of a boat or some sailing instructions.

NOTE: Be cautious of becoming to thematic. As mentioned in a previous post, it's best to steer clear of overall themes and instead add small accents that suggest the idea (stripes and white-washing) rather than displaying the obvious (giant crabs and fish net overhead). Not sure if you've overdone it? Stop what you're doing and leave the room immediately. Don't go back into it for at least 30 minutes and if you want to start whistling the theme song to "Gilligan's Island", you've taken your decorating too far.

top to bottom: willow decor, apartment therapy, coastal style living, gifts for boaters, interiorly, apartment therapy (and also how I plan to treat my barrel!)