Good morning, friends. It’s the return of Sunday Morning Serenade! A while back I wrote a series where every Sunday I would feature a song I just couldn’t get out of my head that week, as well as some happy highlights from my life that would help set a positive note to the coming week. It was my little serenade to my readers. I’m not sure why, but it sort of fell by the wayside – as do many things in my life – but I’ve decided to bring it back. So grab a cup of coffee and take this little musical journey with me.

The song I’ve had stuck in my head all week is “Sound and Color” by Alabama Shakes. I jumped on this train a little late. I heard a few songs and read a few interviews with Alabama Shakes when they were first making their way on the music scene but I didn’t pay them the attention they deserved. Then I heard this song in a commercial and it ignited my obsession. Now, I can’t get enough of Brittany Howard’s voice and how she can flawlessly belt out any blues or rock tune. I hope you enjoy this beautifully soulful song.

 This Week’s Top 5 Awesome Things

1. Coffee and books on cold mornings. This was taken on one of our last cold days of the winter. I woke up on my day off to freezing rain and frigid temperatures, and I decided to sit in front of the fireplace and enjoy two of my loves, coffee and reading. I’m currently reading The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It by Valerie Young. I might do a review on it when I’m finished but if you haven’t heard of impostor syndrome, take a few minutes to google it; it’s fascinating. 

2. Clear, blue skies. In contrast to the above, we’ve recently had clear, sunny skies – a true sign that Spring is almost here. As much as I love fall and winter, I am definitely looking forward to sunshine and warm breezes.  I can’t wait to pull out my tank tops, sandals, and light jackets.

3. Bottle shops. On Saturday, Nick and I went to the little bottle shop where he used to work to have a drink and enjoy the day. Bottle shops – little stores that sell beer by the bottle, as well as by the tap – is a trend that is popping up all over NC. They’re a lot of fun because you can drink a beer while shopping for beer, but what I like most about them is the sense of community they instill in the regular customers. It’s like a little bar, but better!

4. Farmers’ markets. Sure, the Farmer’s Market is open all year long, but I really enjoy them when the weather is nice and the bounty is aplenty. We’re lucky enough to have several farmer’s markets in the triangle so we can venture down to Central Park for Durham’s market or, if we’re craving fresh NC seafood, we’ll make the journey to Raleigh to their farmer’s market where we can eat fried shrimp and clams at the NC Seafood Restaurant. It’s truly one of the best things in life.

5. Haircuts. I’ve been really indecisive with my hair lately. I get the urge to cut it and when I do, I wish I hadn’t so I set out on a long journey to let it grow it again. I’m loving this new haircut, though. It’s a true lob (long bob) and it looks great straight or curled.

That’s it for my serenade. If you’re new the blog, I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to check out some of my past serenades. You just might discover from good music and new facts about yours truly.

Have a great week, y’all!

Linking up with Hello Monday | Let it Shine | Start the Week Stylish | Confident Twosday | What I Wore

An earworm is a snippet of a song that gets stuck in your head and repeats over and over.  Over 90 percent of people suffer from this debilitating condition at least once a week.  Studies have shown that one possible cause is our mind’s being in a “low attention state”, which explains why I always get an earworm when I’m walking Mia in the morning.  I’ll be sharing these Morning Earworms with you every morning (that I remember to) because misery loves company.  Enjoy!

Chet Faker (aka Nick Murphy) is an epically-bearded Australian electronica artist. “Gold” is from his debut album Built on Glass. You may know him from his viral cover of Backstreet’s “No Diggity“.  His style is soulful with a lot of jazz influences and heavy on the Wurlitzer.  This is perfect dinner party music.  The video for “Gold” is pretty cool, I mean who doesn’ t like synchronized roller skating down a dark country road?

An earworm is a snippet of a song that gets stuck in your head and repeats over and over.  Over 90 percent of people suffer from this debilitating condition at least once a week.  Studies have shown that one possible cause is our mind’s being in a “low attention state”, which explains why I always get an earworm when I’m walking Mia in the morning.  I’ll be sharing these Morning Earworms with you every morning (that I remember to) because misery loves company.  Enjoy!

When I found Those Dancing Days a couple years ago I was saddened that they were no longer.  Sweden sure knows how to make indie pop bands, thats for sure.  “One Day Forever” is from their second album Daydreams and Nightmares and features Orlando Weeks from the Maccabees.  This whole album is full of solid tracks and needs to be in your collection.

Bonus video: My favorite Those Dancing Days song, “I’ll Be Yours”.

An earworm is a snippet of a song that gets stuck in your head and repeats over and over.  Over 90 percent of people suffer from this debilitating condition at least once a week.  Studies have shown that one possible cause is our mind’s being in a “low attention state”, which explains why I always get an earworm when I’m walking Mia in the morning.  I’ll be sharing these Morning Earworms with you every morning (that I remember to) because misery loves company.  Enjoy!

I love how random some earworms are.  Today we’re going back to 1992 with Arrested Development’s “People Everyday”, off their debut album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of…..  I wasn’t really big on hip-hop at the time, but I remember seeing their video’s on MTV and being drawn to the more funk and jazz inspired style of hip-hop than more traditional rap.  That’s still my preferred style of hip-hop today.  The line-up has changed a bunch over the years, but Arrested Development is still touring and putting out new records.

An earworm is a snippet of a song that gets stuck in your head and repeats over and over.  Over 90 percent of people suffer from this debilitating condition at least once a week.  Studies have shown that one possible cause is our mind’s being in a “low attention state”, which explains why I always get an earworm when I’m walking Mia in the morning.  I’ll be sharing these Morning Earworms with you every morning (that I remember to) because misery loves company.  Enjoy!

Another concert I was disappointed to miss was Durham’s own Sylvan Esso.  Amelia Meath’s melodic voice layered over Nick Sanborn’s inventive beats make any song off their self titles debut album get stuck in your head.  I imagine their shows are full of dancing energy after watching some of their video’s.

Update – they’re playing the Haw River Ballroom on Halloween, maybe I’ll try to catch that show.