Mammoth Media, I Love You

Margo May - Up, Up, Up and Away from MAMMOTH on Vimeo.

Again, Mammoth Media, rockin' it out. Thanks this time for not only being great filmakers and photographers (I know first hand!), but for also representing Kansas City so well; Breaks my sudden home-sick heart. So happy to see all my favorite places, set to great music, with a pretty face on top of it. Margo May is a proud representation of the kind of music out of the KC scene. YJ's, Broadway Cafe, 18th Street, Warwick, Southmoreland, the lakes, the fountains, the people. 816 for life.

The Spare

The spare bedroom is nearly completed. After a long consideration, I've decided to keep the room looking like the rest of the house; The other option was to deck it out like a vintage motel set in Amarillo, TX. That might still happen if I get the right props, but for now all we have is the ash-tray that no one will ever use, because no one smokes. I'll settle for something in the middle and shoot for the Ace Hotel in Palms Springs. Love the little make-shift closet Sean made for me out of polished galvanized steel piping.

If these said bits of interior inspirations (and the cameo appearance of our very own Ms. Hula) don't hint at it enough, I'm absolutely dying for it to be Spring, Summer, just anything but this dreadful gusty cold. I've actually started composing a mix called "Hot Pants" which should be defined by the track "Down in Mexico" by The Coasters. Also, I've been sitting on an old mix for awhile; I've finished and titled it "Cocaine Blues" from Dave Van Ronk (and just about any other songwriter ever). Love it or leave it—It's definitely something for a cold winter.

What We Do on Sunday

I'll never forget when I first left home my freshman year. For two semesters, I never received care packages for finals or cookies from home. But I got a single dorm-warming gift: a tiny Bodum (good for maybe a large cup and a half). It was a strange luxury having something as nice as a French press while having to heat your water in a microwave. I've managed to upgrade to the larger "full pot" press now and it's hands-down the best piece of kitchen equipment we use regularly. What are Sundays for other than perfecting the art of a press. I don't own an iPhone, but I'd say this accurately describes today, on repeat.

a french press method from hufort on Vimeo.

Alex Crawford Photography

Really loving Alex Crawford's photography. Met this dapper gentleman at a party in Kansas City over a year ago, and had been following his work through his blog. It just keeps getting better and better. Please check out this man's keen eye and send praise where praise is due.

Our Cabin on Hill

There is absolutely nothing to add to this post other than maybe some mood music—for ambiance! Actually, to get a little bit more information about what you're looking at, click on the image and read the description on the Flickr page it's hosted on. We are taking reservation now for the guest bedroom with the best view (and heat) in the house, and if you're wondering what that looks like—we didn't take any pictures because it's still "under construction." But it'll be done by the time you get here! Get on it! Start packing!

"The Blues, and Zip-a-dee-doo-dah."

It really gets me sometimes when people don't know Townes Van Zandt's music or who he was. I can't be too hypocritical though; I didn't know about him until I met Sean, and by that time Townes had already passed (in '97). "Be Here To Love Me" came in the mail the other day and I watched yet another brilliant (and disturbed) folk singer go too early with too little exposure when he was alive.

Townes wrote "Waiting Around To Die" in the walk-in closet of the new apartment he and his first wife (not the woman in the video) shared. She said she couldn't hardly understand how a song like that came out of the man she'd just married: 25, healthy, with a happy childhood and no criminal record. After a session of endless hours by himself with his guitar, he told her he'd written a song—she had expected love ballad or something, but got this instead. "I tried to kill the pain, I bought some wine and hopped a train, seemed easier than waiting around to die." Needless to say he'd didn't live that domestic life long before hitting the road to sing about things he couldn't possibly know about. Damn songwriters just have to get "it" out, I guess. Damn cowboys always have to steal my heart. As Townes has said, "There's two kinds of music: the blues and zip-a-dee-doo-dah."