Busy Chanukah?

Tuesday, 23 December 2014Tuesday, 23 December 2014 Starr5 Comments

I’ve had a very eventful Chanukah, actually! Although I’m not Jewish, I figured this would be a good way to mark the time period and also its a fun holiday where you get to eat fried food (hit me up with some latke and sufganiyot) and play with dreidels and chocolate gelt. (In another life, I was destined to marry a nice Jewish boy.)

Let us begin!

On the first day of Chanukah, I spent the day ambling about the National Aquarium. I’ve been 2 times before, but I have this apparently unique habit of wanting to read every single sign. All of them. After all, someone worked very hard to make the signs and I want to learn and know what I’m looking at when I’m in an aquarium/museum/art gallery! It was nice to spend the day there without having someone rush me through the exhibits.

This is Calypso, their sea turtle. She is missing a fin/foot but is still the star of the aquarium.

I got to see the beautiful little golden lion tamarins, looking at me with their giant eyes and hugging each other.
(They later started humping each other about arm’s-length away from me and I will just assure myself that doesn’t mean anything.)

I had a lovely dinner and a lovely birthday cake. (But srsly, can a girl get some Carvel ice cream cake with those delectable chocolate crunchies?)

Chocolate cake!!! With a snowman and a tree on it. (They weren't edible...) — Chocolate cake!!! With a snowman and a tree on it. (They weren’t edible…)

I took my dad to the airport on Thursday (before seeing the last Hobbit film again) because my grandfather is unwell and he wants to look after him. This would begin a long weekend of me chauffeuring my family around.

On Friday, I was able to ~~crash~~ attend my old company’s holiday party at – wait for it – the Newseum! For those unfamiliar, the Newseum is a really cool museum that looks at our history and relationship with news. News is intensely important in informing us what is going on, whether in our own background or across the world, and it’s really amazing to see how far the news has come as well as how far we have come in parallel with the news.

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I was craving doughnuts and LO AND BEHOLD! Doughnuts, macarons, and tiny pies

~~Also it was fun scaring the bejeezus out of people who thought they would never see me again.~~

Even though it’s not free admission (SADNESS) (in a town with all the free Smithsonian institutions, it’s difficult to get me to pay for a museum or art gallery or zoo), I would really like to come back to the Newseum for a proper visit. While it’s a really cool venue, I don’t think it’s a great place for a celebratory party, given that a lot of news is, well, bad news. The coat check line hugged the wall with all of the Pulitzer Prize-winning photos and people were stumbling around drunkenly through the 9/11 exhibit. It felt distasteful, in my opinion, but that’s no fault of the museum’s.

A tissue box provided by the museum in the 9/11 exhibit

One of the antennae from the Twin Towers

In any case, I had a lot of fun with my old coworkers and I’m glad I was able to see so many old familiar faces.
~~(ALSO WE HAVE A SLOW-MO VIDEO)~~

I came back from DC really late that evening, and was supposed to go to an alumni meeting Saturday morning but I totally slept in and missed it, whoops. Luckily, they very kindly invited me out to lunch and we had dumpling at “Mama’s Dumplings” (aka China Bistro) and tried the famous new bubble tea place SnowBots for some snow cream! I don’t really have many photos from Saturday but it was nice to catch up with this group from college that I really had fallen out of touch with. I also picked up my brother from school after picking up an extra boba for him as a post-finals treat.

On Sunday, my Yelp region had our annual holiday party! I went dressed as Santa (kinda) and a fun time was had by all. There was White Elephant, a gingerbread house contest, a mimosa bar, Italian food catered by Venti Tre, bagels galore, eggnog, a photo gbooth, etc. etc. Again, not many photos since I was working the event, but it was a lot of fun.

Afterwards, I went to a belated birthday dinner with my closest friends and my boyfriend and then we went back to my room to just chill for a bit and so that I could give everyone their Christmas gifts. (I’m so glad I cleaned my room!)

Yesterday, I mostly chilled before picking up my mom from the airport, thus having chauffeured every member of my immediate family and making a second trip to the airport.

And that’s been Hanukkah for me! If only I could get my hands on some potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts…

Favorite Holiday Albums

Friday, 5 December 2014 StarrLeave a comment

As promised last week, I compiled a little list of Christmas/holiday music albums. Because sometimes, Christmas radio isn’t quite what you want, ya know? Especially if you want to listen to one voice. Although you know what:

Now That's What I Call Christmas!

My family has “Now That’s What I Call Christmas” and it’s really good. A lot of my favorites, if you want a kind of one-stop shop for the songs I mentioned last week. So there is that.

But right, one artist.
For Christmas 2012, my brother told me he got me a Christmas album of my favorite Christmas singer. I exclaimed “Bing Crosby?!” Nope.

Christmas Songs By Sinatra

Oops. I do love Frank Sinatra, and his Christmas albums are great. This is the one that I have. Or had, until my mom snatched it and kept it for herself. (I no longer have the physical copy but I was able to put the songs on my computer first.) Mmmm, Frank Sinatra’s buttery jazzy voice is pretty great for the holidays, and really any of his Christmas albums will be great. (All of his music is pretty great, let’s be real.)

Last year, my brother remembered my little faux pas and got me this Bing Crosby album!

Christmas Classics

I’ll admit, this album cover is a little big scary to see when I’m not 100% awake. Of course, his classic “White Christmas” is always good to have as well. Bing Crosby is kind of THE voice of Christmas, isn’t he? It’s not quite Christmas without his voice cradling you in a warm holiday mood. (Thanks again to my little brother for getting me these two albums!)

You see, when I curate my holiday music, I look for specific artists who I know have great Christmas albums. INCLUDING but not limited to:

(All images from / links to Amazon)

And….. I think that’s about right. Most orchestras have a great Nutcracker album that I would definitely recommend having on hand for the holiday season. Again, this is not an exhaustive list, but these are the albums and artists that I’m most familiar with. I am not quite at that pro level just yet, but I’m getting to the point where I can mostly identify the artists without looking when I’m listening to my Pandora Christmas station or when I’m driving in the car. (Despite my tendency to hop around stations when I drive, during the holiday season, I don’t even THINK about touching the dial on the radio because it is permanently set to my local holiday music station.) (Let me know if you listen to Delilah during the holiday season!)

Did I get your favorite albums?
What are your favorite Christmas/holiday albums?
And which newer ones should I be listening to? I am very biased, obviously, against the more current artists’ holiday albums.

IT’S HOLIDAY MUSIC TIME

Friday, 28 November 2014Wednesday, 20 April 2016 Starr2 Comments

YES. Time to play holiday music WITHOUT fear of judgement or hatorade from grinches all around. I won’t say this video describes me, but I also won’t say that it does not.

Here we go, the Spotify playlists from the song lists I provided last year, slightly modified. Essentially, I chose the versions of songs that are/came closest to what I hear in my head when I think of these songs. That means either the classic version (often a popularized one) or one that is stripped down to the essentials. (I get a bit annoyed when artists take too many liberties with their vocal add-ons to these songs. Not a fan of super jazzed up holiday songs.) I also tried to keep some variety with the performing artists in these playlists.

ALSO, I will admit this now: I prefer a rich baritone voice for my holiday songs. I know that most of my choices are men and not women, but I think that’s because yes, I grew up listening to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra singing these songs so that’s how I have internalized them.

I had a hard time with many of these. Sometimes, I just couldn’t find THE perfect version. (Spotify also doesn’t have everything. Where’s the Bing Crosby+Davie Bowie doozy, Spotify?!) Maybe next year, I’ll make sure to have all the mp3s I want and put up an 8tracks list, as requested. Next week, I’ll recommend some of my favorite Christmas albums if you would prefer the homogenized listening experience of one artist. (I own a few of them, so I definitely understand if you want to wrap yourself up and listen to one voice serenade you.)

I also made several concessions to my cousin, with whom I share a love of holiday music (you should see us racing to name the artists’ rendition on the radio) but who loves Taylor Swift way more than I do so NO TAYLOR SWIFT ON THIS LIST SORRY CUZ.

Anyway, here’s the Spotify playlists:

“Snow & Bells”

Happy, cheerful holiday music that makes you smile and want to sing along to, these songs have a bright tone that evokes the image of falling snow and jingling bells, going ice skating and sleigh rides. Includes most classic carols.

“Fireplaces & Cocoa”

Feel that? That’s these songs tugging at your heartstrings, making you tear up. But it feels like sipping a mug of hot cocoa while sitting in front of a fireplace while wrapped in a cozy blanket.

“Wordless Wonderland”

Wintry, holiday pieces that are a little tricky to sing along to, due to there being no lyrics, but somehow I still manage. These are good if you can’t help singing along but it is not convenient to do so, e.g. at work, etc. (Mostly Nutcracker, not gonna lie.)

“First Christmas”

These are the more religious songs. While I am not personally a Christian, I appreciate these songs that celebrate what the first Christmas was originally about. It wouldn’t quite be Christmas without these songs.

“Christmas is for Children”

This is a collection of songs that are really more geared for kids. I have a lot of fond memories singing these songs with my middle school choir for roaring audiences of elementary school kids. I didn’t want them in that first playlist because they’re a little TOO chipper.

Songs that I have purposefully excluded are:

“Feliz Navidad” – Got cut this year because the song is really repetitive and gets old after you hear the verse 3 times. Which is fewer times than you hear it in one playing of the song. Sorry!
“Happy Christmas (War is Over)” – Still doesn’t do it or me
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – Ugh.
“Grown-Up Christmas List” – SUPER UGH.
“Christmas Shoes” – As someone who enjoys crying to holiday music, this one makes me angry. UGH TO THE MAX.
“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” – Annoying.
“All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” – Also annoying.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – I actually kind of like this but it’s pretty condescending towards Africa as a continent and the new Bandaid30 version is not really any better.

But hey, “Santa Baby” got promoted so there ya go. “Seven Feet of Snow” should be on my list but Spotify doesn’t have it so. 😦

Lemme have it, what did I miss? What did I get totally wrong? (If you’re my cousin, you’re not allowed to tell me Taylor Swift.)

Friendsgiving 2014

Tuesday, 25 November 2014Monday, 24 November 2014 Starr3 Comments

Thanksgiving is the time of year that we gather our family ’round and feast a-plenty.

For your family away from family, there is Friendsgiving.

This year’s Friendsgiving was the best one yet! We really stepped up our food game this year:

Clockwise from top left: mac & cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rotisserie chicken, gravy, cranberry sauce, salad, brussel sprouts

I accidentally ended up doing a lot of the food prep for our meal (oops) because I’m a bit of a control freak in the kitchen (ooooops). But I like to think it was practice for when I prepare a full-on Thanksgiving meal for my family + guests this week.

We also had a gorgeous veggie platter and some sparkling apple cider, hollaaaa~ (And my friends had wine XD)

We ran into a small SNAFU when the oven at Jen’s place refused to work, throwing off my plan to roast the brussel sprouts and bake the mac. So, in the end, I just sauteed the sprouts and left the mac unbaked. 😦 They still tasted great!

I’m excited and also scared for my Thanksgiving at home, but I feel a renewed sense of confidence in my ability to cook. (Also, I’m trying not to think about the turkeys I’ve made in the past, which, as most turkeys end up being, were not properly browned and a bit dry.)

After helping ourselves to seconds and getting some pumpkin pie, we cuddled Jen’s cats and watched Love Actually, to kick off the holiday spirit with a classic Christmastime movie.

Best scene in the film because it’s one of the sweetest moments of the best relationship in the film

My friends and I may be scattered as we go off to school and new jobs and new things next year, but I hope we’re able to do Friendsgiving every year in spite of it!

Do you celebrate Friendsgiving?
What are you having for your Thanksgiving meal? What are you most looking forward to?

Also, stay tuned because, with any luck, I will have an actual holiday music playlist (or 5) ready for my Friday post! FRIDAY, the official day I may start blasting holiday music without fear of haters.

Holiday Music Addict

Thursday, 12 December 2013Wednesday, 20 April 2016 Starr3 Comments

I love holiday music.
I love it so much that I sometimes play it in the middle of the summer.
I wish I could play it year-round, but I get scolded if I play it between January 2 and Thanksgiving.

So, between January 2 and Thanksgiving, I wait patiently. (Er, kind of. “Patiently”.)

On Thanksgiving day, I listen to nothing but holiday music and I do not listen to any other kind of music until January 2. I take all my other music off my iPod. I never change the radio station off my holiday music station in the car. I only play the holiday music station on Pandora. I kind of go into withdrawal if I don’t hear it. I will walk out of a store that plays anything else.

All holiday music. All the time.

Image courtesy of TheInspiredClassroom.com

The artists that I would never dare to skip over while listening to Christmas music, because they always sing wonderful versions of my favorites, are (in no order):

Bing Crosby
Frank Sinatra
Burl Ives
Nat King Cole
Ella Fitzgerald
*Celine Dion
*Michael Bublé
*Josh Groban
†Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
†Trans-Siberian Orchestra
†Mannheim Steamroller

*Newer versions done right.
†Not vocal artists

I recommend getting any of their Christmas albums, they’re great.

I have compiled 5 playlists of my favorite holiday music (in no particular order) to share with you all. This is not an exhaustive list, by any means. NEXT YEAR, I will be choosing the versions of songs that I hear in my head when I think of the song, but multiple people do covers of these great classics and almost all versions are terrific, but I don’t think I’ll be able to have this done in time for Christmas if I do that this year. The songs don’t fall neatly into these categories, unfortunately, but I did my best. I often listen to all these songs in a big mess of feelings, but feel free to listen to them separately. 🙂

“Snow & Bells” – Happy, cheerful holiday music that makes you smile and want to sing along to, these songs have a bright tone that evokes the image of falling snow and jingling bells, going ice skating and sleigh rides. Includes most classic carols.
“Fireplaces & Cocoa” – Feel that? That’s these songs tugging at your heartstrings, making you tear up. But it feels like sipping a mug of hot cocoa while sitting in front of a fireplace while wrapped in a cozy blanket.
“Wordless Wonderland” – Wintry, holiday pieces that are a little tricky to sing along to, due to there being no lyrics, but somehow I still manage. These are good if you can’t help singing along but it is not convenient to do so, e.g. at work, etc.
“First Christmas” – These are the more religious songs. While I am not personally a Christian, I appreciate these songs that celebrate what the first Christmas was originally about. It wouldn’t quite be Christmas without these songs.
“Christmas is for Children” – This is a collection of songs that are really more geared for kids. I have a lot of fond memories singing these songs with my middle school choir for roaring audiences of elementary school kids. I didn’t want them in playlist #1 because they’re a little TOO chipper. I like them but not the way I like playlist #1, if that makes any sense.

These are NOT complete, but if I don’t publish today, I will NEVER EVER get this out.

SO without further ado, please enjoy.

Snow & Bells

“Last Christmas”
“Walking in a Winter Wonderland”
“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
“All I Want for Christmas is You”
“A Holly Jolly Christmas”
“Home for the Holidays”
“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
“Little Saint Nick”
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
“Jingle Bell Rock”
“Let It Snow!”
“Happy Holidays”
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
“We Need a Little Christmas”
“Christmas”
“Feliz Navidad”
“Jingle Bells”
“Baby It’s Cold Outside”
“Sleigh Ride”
“Carol of the Bells”
“Twelve Days of Christmas”
“Baby It’s Cold Outside”
“Wonderful Christmastime”
“Deck the Halls”
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

Fireplaces & Cocoa

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
“The Christmas Song”
“White Christmas”
“Blue Christmas”
“Silver Bells”
“O Christmas Tree”
“Please Come Home for Christmas”
“Christmastime is Here”
“Good King Wenceslas”

Wordless Wonderland

“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”
“Dance of the Toy Trumpets”
“Waltz of the Flowers”
“Waltz of the Snowflakes”
“Pas de Deux (from The Nutcracker)
“Christmas Eve / Sarajevo”
“A Mad Russian’s Christmas”
“Wizards in Winter”
“Carol of the Bells”
“Home Alone Theme” (teehee)

First Christmas

“The First Noël”
“O Holy Night”
“Silent Night”
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
“Angels We Have Heard On High”
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
“Joy to the World”
“Away in a Manger”
“Do You Hear What I Hear?”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
“We Three Kings”
“Ding Dong Merrily on High”

Christmas is for Children

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
“Frosty the Snowman”
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
“Jolly Old Saint Nicholas”
“7 Feet of Snow”
“Here Comes Santa Claus”
“Christmas Don’t Be Late (Chipmunk Song)”

Some songs I don’t like. It’s nuts to think about, but I just don’t like listening to them. They’re too cheesy, or too sad, or just ugh. I have purposely excluded them:

“Happy Christmas (War is Over)” (sorry, John, it just doesn’t quite do it for me)
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (groan)
“Grown-Up Christmas List” (ugh)
“Christmas Shoes” (nooooooo)
“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” (I just learned that this is a song and nope)
“All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” (same deal as above)
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (the line “There won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas” ruins the entire song for me)
“Santa Baby” (I like this one but I don’t know where to put it so….. sorry Eartha)