THE LOWER LIGHTS...

HAVE A NEW CHRISTMAS RECORD!! You might remember a while back when I blogged about this amazing super group of musicians and listed their first album as one of my top five records of the year...

I was so obsessed with the record that I couldn't stop tweeting my brains out about them... well they noticed, and instead of thinking I was just a giant wierdo fan (and i am) they extended a warm invitation to me to come join in the jubilee of creating their Christmas record... and therefore I accepted with a spastic and enthusiastic YES tweet followed by an excessive use of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!

So, I jumped on a plane for a quick 48 hour stop in Provo, UT to be a lil' fly on the wall and what a serious treat that was! Intensely musical dudes in thick rimed glasses and ladies with delicate voices of angels that harmonize like nobodies business, gather round pianos, guitars, drums, bells, glockenspiels, fiddles and microphones and outpours the sound of heaven!

The even said I could jump in on a few tunes and sing a bit on the mic with my foghorn-ish voice, nice of 'em. Oh and not only were they recording the Christmas album, but also a second hymn revival record set to release in the coming year, also got to take part in that... particularly on this one favorite tune of mine that we would sing in primary as kids, it was me and three dudes singing in harmony with a couple of guitars in a stairwell during a thunderstorm... MAGICAL! We'll see if the song makes the cut, hope so, cause it may be on the top of my list of fave recordings i've gotten to be in on... just sayin'

Anywho, you should really jump on this lovely holiday record OH COME LET US ADORE HIM by the Lower Lights... you won't regret it. They're just really really good... oh and here is a lil' behind the scenes vid to give ya a vibe...

The Lower Lights: Come Let Us Adore Him from The Lower Lights on Vimeo.

http://thelowerlights.bandcamp.com/album/come-let-us-adore-him

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE (THRIFTED) THINGS...

I scored some major pieces while thrifting over the summer and intended on blogging about them and just never got around to it... but since my last post was upon the subject, I figured better late then never! 

Here are a few of my favorite thrifted gems! Photos by this talented lady

mendipixel.com

THE GOOD WILL GIRLS...

Summer and I share a serious love for thrift store shopping, we're pretty much obsessed. This passion prompted our Recessionista mini-series on thrifting for the Girls with Glasses Show!

Not only does thrift store shopping save ya loads of cash, but it also gives your wardrobe and home decore a dash of originality and character. I've been resale shopping since I was a kid, I learned from my mama, and through all the different economic phases of life we always went back to the good ol' good will and D.I. not just cause sometimes we had to, but because it was fun! I've carried on the tradition and treat it as an art form, one that takes practice... and I love to practice! I really dig the deals, I get a major kick out of finding something unique for a couple bucks, I get super jazzed just thinking of how I can repurpose old furniture... the possibilities are endless! Kind of a treasure hunt of sorts, a challenge... to find that diamond in the rough! 

You really don't have to spend a million bucks to look like ya did... 

MORE ON THRIFTY ACTION ON THE WAY!!!

HOW TO BE ALONE...

Have you seen this? Apparently millions have, I have not until five minutes ago... and that is precisely how long the video is. Obviously it impacted me enough to immediately feel the need to post it and share it with ya...

Sometimes we must be alone, whether it is self imposed or not of our choice, it can be both a place of comfort and emptiness... I've been there, and likely you have too... and that is okay, if not vital. 

This is just something beautiful... an insightful interesting perspective...

PS- Should you go into the woods or city alone, please be very careful :-)

THE LIL' LIST...

I'm all about the Lil' list these days. I used to create these mammoth daily lists for myself,  they went on and on forever and ever... basically the short hand version would probably of been something like:

TO DO:

PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT'S EVER NEEDED TO BE DONE BY THE END OF TODAY

This approach is a big frowny face No-win. I always felt overwhelmed by the list and disappointed in my non-ability to be super woman and accomplish all things in a twenty four hour period. Not to mention the inevitable burn out. I over promised to myself, and under delivered, and if there is anything that I should of learned during my two years of employment trying to sell shoes to highly maintained ladies of entitlement and granting returns of fifteen year old used bras in customer service at Nordstroms, it was "Under promise and over deliver". 

As I get a little bit older, I get a little more realistic... not a lot more, but a little. I am realizing that there is just not enough time to fulfill all my wild ambitions and expectations, I so sincerely want to do it all, and I want to do it really well... and it bums me out that I can't. I want to say, YES YES YES! It is such an easy word to say, and yet such a hard word to do. This becomes a habit in the business of life and dream achieving where your success depends on taking advantage of every good opportunity, and they all seem good don't they? My manager Brad has coined the phrase for me "always trying to fit ten gallons into a five gallon bucket". It made me chuckle and yet I continued living a life of overdoing,   and over promising and well... 

The bucket broke.

Lesson slowly learned... success is obtained by setting small achievable goals. Eating the elephant one bite at a time as they say. That is where the Lil' list comes in.  The rule: Keeping the number of items on the list to be done less then ten, and ideally no more then a handful of things. This forces me to get real with myself..."What is truly important today?"... starting with priorities, or sometimes urgencies, commitments to others and then perhaps if there is time, a few other small tasks that have a tendency to get over-looked... notice how I have to list "shower".

Truthfully, the Lil' list is changing my life. My productivity level is increasing, my sense of accomplishment rewards me with motivation and inner peace, I'm finishing more of the things I am starting, following through on the commitments I've made to others and myself... and not all at once, but one thing at a time, one day at a time. And let me say, there is nothing quite like crossing off those to-do's on your list, can I get an AMEN from the list makers?! 

Lastly, my level of awareness of how I CHOOSE to use my time is becoming more acute. I'm learning perhaps, that you can't say yes to everything and everyone all the time... I might even be coming to grips with the fact that sometimes, you just have to say NO... 

Now, saying the "NO" word is a whole other blog post unto itself... I'll put it on my list... the lil' one.

FAKE IT...

Nope, it's not a wig, and I definitely didn't chop it... it's a Faux-Bob! With some hot rollers, good ol' fashion beauty school back-combing and tricky bobby-pinnage I was able to fake a short fun-do for the day. Totally works in those moments when you're getting bored with your long locks, you're hankering for a change and you're battling the serious urge to grab the scissors and get yourself a Fo-real bob. You can Resist! Who says you can't have the best of both worlds? 

I've got A Faux Bob how-to on the way, stay tuned!

PS- I always said that it would be awesome to possess a super power where you had the power to make your hair long or short whenever you wanted. Yeah I know, how super lame that of all the super powers I could have, it would be that. But... ya know, now that I've found the faux bob, I kinda do have that super power... YES! I guess now we can move onto more substantial super powers you think?

PSS- Are you on Instagram!? I am...  RealBrookeWhite