happiness is...

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WATCHING OUR BOY host a backyard summer bonfire, and the only thing I can hear is green arrow in my head.

lord huron & the coast

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LAST MONTH, Michael (my boss, mentor, creative partner and friend) and I spent a few days in Santa Cruz, immersing ourselves in our newest client—a natural foods store with 7 locations in northern California. Visiting as many stores as we could make it to in 3 short days involved lots of driving and music. Michael always has something new for me to listen to and once again found me my new favorite band. Lord Huron.

So. Much. Beauty. It literally made my heart ache. A feeling I can honestly say I've never in my entire life felt about a place. So yeah, if I could bottle up a feeling and sell it to you it would look and sound something like this...



"Die if I must let my bones turn to dust
I'm the Lord of the lake and I don't want to leave
All who sail off the coast ever more
Will remember the tale of the ghost on the shore

I'm goin' away for a long time"

the littlest birds

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BUT I LOVE YOU so dearly
I love you so fearlessly
I wake you up in the morning so early
Just to tell you
I've got the wandering blues
I've got the wandering blues
And I don't want to leave you
I love you through and through

Well I left my baby on a pretty blue train
And I sang my songs to the cold and the rain
And I had the wandering blues
And I sang those wandering blues
And I'm gonna quit these rambling ways one of these
Days soon, ooh

And I sing, the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs

—Jolie Holland

red right ankle

+ + + +

THIS IS THE STORY of your red right ankle
And how it came to meet your leg
And how the muscle bone and sinews tangled
And how the skin was softly shed
And how it whispered,
“Oh, adhere to me for we are bound by symmetry
And whatever differences our lives have been
We together make a limb”
This is the story of your red right ankle

—The Decemberists

midlake winter

TRIALS OF VAN OCCUPANTHER by Midlake is one of my favorite albums. It's my winter music. Probably because I discovered it a few winters ago while reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Together the two made a great impact on me and a beautiful music stain on my memory.