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Mix: An Hour at SxSW


At the Spotify House

This is some of the music I had playing in my headphones at SxSW. It’s a subset of Matthew Averkamp’s extensive SxSW 2012 Picks on Spotify, which had a good blend of bands I already loved and ones that were new to me. If you only have a few minutes, be sure to check out Daughter and Dry the River.

What have you been listening to lately? Let us know in comments.

An Hour at SxSW on Spotify
An Hour at SxSW on Rdio


Matt Taylor, Jon Warren, and Scott Miller of Dry the River at the Spotify House

Links to individual songs (where available):

Candles by Daughter
Easy to Love by Ivan and Aylosha
No Rest by Dry the River
Souvenir by AgesandAges
All the Same to Me by Anya Marina
Dance on Our Graves by Paper Route
Getting Old by Hellogoodbye
Poisoning the Pool by Billy Harvey
Pictures by Benjamin Francis Leftwich
Two Cousins by Slow Club
I Was Broken by Marcus Foster


Daughter at Red Eyed Fly

More Mixes:
Sexy Time
This Particular Sadness
Simple Present Mix
Yep, Yep. The 2012 Victory Mix
Dancing Alone in Your Underwear Mix

Kimbra at SxSW

So, moments like this are the entire reason to attend SxSW. This is Kimbra looping “Settle Down” live at the Spotify House. Get your headphones and press play. I insist.

Are you grinning now? Me too.

I caught her performance by accident, I was there to see Dry the River when she stopped by. As you can see, she doesn’t have many intimate venues left in her future. Tickets for the San Francisco show she’s playing with Gotye are on Craigslist for over $1K. I’d been keeping an eye out for her, but was still too slow on the draw. (May Songkick preserve us, amen.)

But there she was, 5 feet away. I still get chills thinking about how arresting it was to hear her. I had some uncharitable fears about seeing her live. Very pretty girls, teamed with professionals who can make a mediocre voice seem amazing, sometimes disappoint. But did you watch that video? It turns out I am a jerk.

Kimbra’s voice is not mediocre. Standing alone in a front yard with zero acoustics, with a mic and a guitar, she made my jaw drop. And watching her perform made me joyful.

What’s more, and this is a big deal to me, she seemed kind. Unassuming, ready smile, making faces when she faltered on a difficult transition. I think you guys would like her.

So, let’s keep rooting for her, shall we? If you get a chance to see her in person, seize it with both hands; kiss it on the mouth.

Parenting in Five Minutes or Less

This post is sponsored by Clorox. Help stop the spread of germs with Clorox disinfecting products.

If you have a young kiddo, you know about the dramatic time morph that happens when they arrive. Tiny chunks of freedom take on new meaning. One minute? That’s a shower. Two minutes? Dinner. Three minutes? It’s possible you could re-tile the bathroom.

Here are a few of my parenting hacks for saving time, or finding a little for yourself, in the spaces between heart-shaped pancakes and bedtime stories.

One Minute Sock Fix
When Hank was a baby, I could never find a pair of matching socks. They were so tiny, one was inevitably missing. I know, I know — I could have solved this issue by buying all white socks. But! Those are not as cute; so boo on that. Instead, when I took Hank’s socks off at night, I’d take a minute to pin them together before I threw them in the hamper.

I still keep a little bowl of safety pins in his sock drawer next to the hamper. Now socks rarely go missing, and I don’t have to pair them out of the wash. Next I shall turn my attention to resolving all conflict between nations. I’m pretty sure the solution involves safety pins.

Two Minute Sand Trap
Speaking of socks, when we get home from the playground or the beach and it’s time to take off sand-filled shoes, I fold the top of Hank’s socks down until they cover the opening of his shoe, then remove his shoe and sock simultaneously, so the sock traps the sand. Before this stroke of genius, I was perpetually walking around with a thin layer of sand clinging to my bare feet. Glargh.

Three Minute Mani Pedi
I give Hank a bath every night before bed, and while he’s filling and emptying jars in the bathtub, I do an incremental mani-pedi. On night one, I remove old polish. Night two is filing, night three base coat, and so on. Once a week or so, Hank asks me to paint his nails, and I oblige. Then some kid in class says “nail polish is for girls,” and then I explain about rock stars, and then I paint his nails extra. With intent.

Four Minutes of Solitude
This no longer works for me, so caregivers of the four-and-under set please listen up. Hide-and-seek is your closest ally when a kid is too young to grasp that you might prefer a New Yorker article to a Dora the Explorer marathon. So send the kid off to hide, and then open your magazine. Wander around in the wrong rooms while reading. Occasionally yell “Where is Johnny? I just can’t find him!” “Wherever did Ava go?” while you learn about how Truman Capote held New York society captive with his Black and White Ball invitations. Eventually you should gather up the child, tickle them, then send them off to hide again. Ooo! Joan Didion.

Five Minute Dinner
All right, this last one is so simple I almost feel silly mentioning it, but it changed the way we eat. Every once in a while, I make a huge pot of soup and then take a few minutes after dinner to divide the leftovers into individual servings. They keep for weeks in the freezer and are just as good upon reheating. Once I have a few different types of soup stored, I can skip dinner prep a couple nights a week without ordering out, and we can still eat healthfully. It also saves me from having a quesadilla every day for lunch, which is too bad because quesadillas are so good for my bum.

So those are a few of my tricks for keeping our little family running on schedule. If you’d like to see what other parents are saying, you can check out Clorox’s Facebook page and contribute your own ideas — they’re putting together an e-book of tips as part of this project.

Meanwhile, what do you do to save a few minutes here and there? Let us know in comments.

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SxSW Street Style, 2012

Well, that was a good time. Fortunately, I was awake for all 168 hours of it. I could only stay for a couple days of music, but that’s when all the cute outfits came out. Like this:

I met this girl at the Spotify House where she was rocking red platform pumps that matched her Sally Jesse glasses. You can’t see the full force of her will because her heels are sinking into the grass, but I assure you it was bravery in action. I would be physically unable to do this at a show, let alone a festival, but she was utterly upright and poised. Pow.

A closer look at her useful saddle bag. The button reads, “It’s okay to be gay!” Thanks, button.

And this updated spit-curl thing? Yes, girl. So retro, but much cleaner pulled off the face.

Polka! Dot! Jumper! You know how sometimes someone’s outfit just ups the odds that you’d be friends? She said she chose polka dots because she figured everyone else would be wearing stripes.

Her glasses are gingham check, and her friend made the key necklace. After I took her photo she tried to pull me onto the dance floor by my elbow.

I think next year I’ll go all out on the street style photos, there was so much good stuff. I’m still bummed I didn’t photograph the guy in the tomato red pants at the Fader Fort. Sir, you broke my heart.

Tomorrow let’s meet back here to discuss Kimbra’s Beetlejuice pants:

Boom-baboom-BA!

My Top 10 Casual Wardrobe Basics

This series is brought to you by Levi’s® Curve ID. Find your custom fit at Levi’s® stores or Levi.com® .

A while ago, I did a post on Wardrobe Basics from Real Women, and I’ve been meaning to do one about the clothes I can’t live without myself. I don’t have a washer and dryer in the apartment, so there are a few things I’m always fishing out of the laundry basket to wash by hand in the bathtub. And no matter how many pairs of shoes I own, I seem to wear the same two every day.

These are absolute basics, nothing edgy or revolutionary, which is why I can’t keep them clean. They’re what I wear as a base for more daring pieces. Some of the stuff isn’t available online because I got it awhile ago or at a thrift store, and in those cases I’ve linked to alternatives below. We’ll start with the obvious T-shirt and jeans:

1. V-Neck Tee
American Apparel Deep V-Neck
Oddly, I discovered these when I was nursing, the deep V makes it easy to pull aside, and I liked the look much more than those weird half-wrap-top things they try to foist on you when you’re too tired to think clearly. Anyway, they’ve become a layering staple even now that I don’t need constant boob access. Great under blazers and sweaters.

2. Skinny Jeans
Levi’s® Modern Slight Curve Skinny Jeans
As we’ve recently discussed, skinny jeans and boots is such an easy go-to. I especially like to pair mine with something voluminous on top. Speaking of which…

3. Dolman Sweater
H. Fredricksson Dolman Cardigan
I have a huge red batwing sweater I got at an antique shop ages ago, and it’s so cozy. I’ve worn it so much it’s probably time to replace it. Caveat: This is an easy look for a tall girl, but shorter folks needs to watch the proportions to avoid looking like a Fraggle. Here are a couple more options in red and grey.

4. Knit Scarf
Jumbo Nomad Rag
If you’re a little more advanced sartorially, you can go with a pattern, texture, or a bright color here, but if I’m being honest, I do always find myself reaching for the grey knit. Mine is an eternity scarf, which I’m a little over, so I’m linking to a fuller version here with loose ends that give you more options for tying.

5. Riding Boots
Frye Jackie Button Boots
I’ve had my riding boots resoled twice, which is about as many times as I’ve been on a horse in the six years I’ve owned them.

6. Little Black Dress
Dolman Sleeve Dress
I have a few versions of the knit little black dress. I like this one because it looks so different belted and I can also wear it as a shirt by pulling up the bottom and letting it bunch. Versatile when I’m traveling.

7. Black Miniskirt
Pins and Needles Pleated Twill Skirt
This is what I wear when I want to feel cute, but don’t want to worry about trying too hard to get there.

8. Travel Flats
Tieks
If you’ve been reading for a while, you knew this was coming. When I’m not wearing my boots, I’m wearing these. The cutest, most durable folding travel flat I’ve found. And yes, orange is my go-to color.

9. Cropped Cardigan
Cropped Cashmere cardigan
I wear a lot of 50s day dresses, so I need cropped sweaters that compliment the high waists. I also find this a good length to even out my long torso, and it works with any length of T-shirt underneath.

10. Narrow-Collar Blazer
Button Blazer
This is pretty much the only coat I wear anymore. A looser fit is more casual, and works with almost everything in my closet.

Those are the big ones for me. Which pieces do you buy in duplicate, and what are you always digging out of the laundry basket so you can wear it again right away?


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“He Was Scared and Lonely Like Me”

The Power of Music from Life File Videos on Vimeo.

(via Sarah Brown)

This is a life’s work, becoming a person who sees him or herself in the other. The older I get, the easier it is to see commonalities most of the time, instead of in fleeting moments.

I’ve never had a literal enemy, but it’s easy to label people as “other” even in everyday life. Have you ever had one of those humbling moments where you realize that someone you judged, or even dismissed, was more like you than not?

Science

Me: Is it a Brontosaurus?
Hank: Nooo.
Me: Is it a Stegosaurus?
Hank: No!
Me: Is it a Diplodocus?
Hank: No, Mooom! It’s a T-Rex!
Me: How do you know?
Hank: Because those other dinosaurs you named are herbivores.