a loose leaf yuletide playlist

it's that time of year again. christmas/hanukka/kwanzaa/diwali is on it's way and there is much to be done. i've never been a massive participant in the whole holiday bonanza but while i don't have a christmas tree, i do cover my Elvis bust in flickering lights, hang a garland on the staircase banister, and dress my dog up like an elf when people come by. it just so happens that tonight's the night i'll be decking my halls in such a manor, and the one thing absolutely necessary for this process (other than a nice big glass of eggnog and spiced rum) is the perfect holiday playlist. and so, without further ado, i present to you...

a loose leaf yuletide (click on songs to be whisked away to youtube)

1. come on santa - the raveonettes

2. donna and blitzen - badly drawn boy

3. it's christmas time - yo la tengo

4. christmas in jail - the youngsters

5. hard candy christmas - dolly parton

6. back door santa - clarence carter

7. i wanna spend christmas with elvis - marlene paul

8. i want a beatle for christmas - becky lee beck

9. christmas in prison - john prine

10. river - joni mitchell

11. rudy - be good tanyas
12. donde esta santa claus - augie rios

13. everything is one big christmas tree - magnetic fields

14. oh come, oh come emmanuel - belle and sebastian

15. little drummer boy - marlene dietrich

16. pretty paper - willie nelson

17. on a christmas day - leadbelly

now this is but a handful of the christmas songs i love. i could make you umpteen christmas mixes with individual themes, but then i wouldn't have time to decorate my house!

you may also be wondering: why is there no Elvis on this list? well, my lovelies, that's because Elvis christmas tunes stand all alone like the cheese in the dell, and need not be tarnished by others. here are a few of my favourite Elvis christmas tunes in case you're interested:

white christmas

silent night

i'll be home for christmas

here comes santa claus

blue christmas

o little town of bethlehem

if every day was like christmas time

happy listening! xo

harrison reid

interested in seeing some fabulous photos from Glasgow and beyond? go check out Harrison Reid's blog. it hasn't been updated in quite some time, but the archives are full of awesome photos such as these.

a much needed rest

i hope you'll excuse my absence this past week or so. i've been off work for nine days enjoying a stay-cation with my husband. though i'd planned to finish all sorts of errands and projects, i ended up doin a whole lot o nothin. which was absolutely grand. nothing beats doing nothing sometimes, y'know? didn't do any blogging either, which i intend to make up for with some holiday mix tapes and gift guides and resolutions! look for the first of these in the coming days. hope you all had a wonderful week!

[photos from Life]

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010)

happy thanksgiving!

happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and readers South of the border today! may your holiday be safe and memorable. xo

you can't say 'Bombshell' on an airplane #5 - barbara nichols

backyard spa

i could almost fit one of these wood fired hot baths by hikki on my balcony. apparently these are light enough to easily move around. had i a yard i'd be all over this.

video vendredi - phosphorescent

k, so four is likely too many videos for one post, but i could not decide which one to post here 'cuz i just discovered Phosphorescent last week and i'm kinda freaking out a bit. hailing from Athens Georgia, Mathew Houck is the brilliant singer songwriter at the center of this project. they've been around for years, i just didn't know it 'til now. all that waisted time! dude even did a whole album of Willy Nelson covers. be still, heart.

breath the alpine air

vintage yellow sweater

vintage cookie tin

red wool blazer

log cabin cardigan

poncho

vintage 50s Triumph hat

Austrian wool coat

alpine green wool purse

nobuyuki taguchi

photographer Nobuyuki Taguchi is skilled indeed. click here to see more.

buff diss

read more about the incredible tape artist Buff Diss over at Wooster Collective. can you believe this stuff is made of tape? beautiful.

all the king's women #26 - joan freeman

Joan Freeman was born on January 8, 1942 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. she appeared in her first film at the age of seven, and continued in minor film and television roles from then on. Freeman is known primarily for her roles in two musical films: Roustabout (1964) starring the king himself, and The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967) starring Roy Orbison. she made a number of television guest appearances from the 1950s to the 1980s, and her last film performance was as Mrs. Jarvis in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

in Roustabout - Elvis' 16th film and, as i see it, the one that marks the beginning of a serious decline in quality- Joan plays Elvis' love interest, Cathy, who helps run the roadside carnival which Elvis is stuck in until his motorcycle is fixed ('nother heavy plot :). the film is full of god awful novelty songs and obligatory karate chops, but still has a certain charm, rolled up in lines like “You could get a little closer. I give off a lot of body heat.”

shortly after Roustabout, Joan married Frank C. Beetson Jr., in Los Angeles. she and Beetson would divorce in 1967, and Joan would later marry formula-one driver turned director Bruce Kessler, to whom she is still married. the couple are avid sailors, frequently traveling the world in their boat, and were featured on an on-line boating site called TrawlerWorld.com.

karrah kobus

minneapolis photographer Karrah Kobus has some interesting work. see more here.

yesterday's muse # 22 - nusch eluard

Nusch Éluard was born Maria Benz in Mulhouse (then part of the German empire), in June of 1906. her father gave her the nickname Nusch, which would stick with her throughout her life. Nusch would become the celebrated muse of painters, poets and photographers in the 1930s and 40s, and would inspire some of that era's greatest art.



Picasso painted several portraits of her; she was photographed by Man Ray, Brassaï, Lee Miller and Dora Maar, and in 1930, Nusch met surrealist poet Paul Éluard, whom she married four years later. Paul Éluard's Facile, a collection of poems, was written for Nusch, who would later produce surrealist art of her own, primarily in the form of photomontage.




Nusch was known for her quiet, sensual charm and free spirit - a spirit that disappeared all too quickly when she collapsed in a Paris street in 1946, and died suddenly and unexpectedly of a brain hemorrhage.

new tumblr page!

i've started a tumblr account to display my photographs. i'll be posting new photos there as often as i can (likely four or five times a week), so please head on over and take a look. i'd love to hear your feedback! click here.