Mix CD for you.

Some of the very best gifts I have ever been given are mix CD's.  I still have mix CD's from like 7th grade.  That's how great they are.  They become super relevant because they remind you of a certain person and a specific time and they're a perfect representation of that person.

I've also loved giving mix CD's for these very same reasons.  I love music so sooo much, and I love YOU so much that I have to take the time to pick out which specific songs/artists you HAVE to hear, and arrange them all neat and nice in the right order on your mix CD.

Well dearest friends and family, I loooove you guys.  And I've decided I need to make you a mix CD.  But since this is a blog, I can also make you a mix... music video... uh... something comprable to a CD in visual form... hahaha  But seriously, I just love you.  So here it is.  And it's a long blog--I'll be out of blogging commission for the next week or so, so I thought I'd just inundate you with Amanda-blog-ness for today.

Mix CD of my FAVE lady singers and some of their very best songs.  Complete with explanation.
(count down to #1...)

(11. ZEE AVI: See previous post.  I love ukuleles.)


10. FLORENCE WELCH: Newest fave.  Gorgeous and Awesome.  Fresh and Modern.  Talented and Artistic.

9. CARRIE UNDERWOOD: I know what you're thinking.  Really Amanda?  American Idol?  Cowboy Casanova? Before he Cheats?  Really??  Well, first of all, yes American Idol--have you heard of Kelly Clarkson?  She changed my life.  And no, I'm not a fan at all of Cowboy Casanova or Undo It orrr definitely not the stupid "Last Name" one.  Nope.  But lets be honest--this girl can sing.

                    Goosebumps.  Every time.  That ending... GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!



8. ZOOEY DESCHANEL: Not liking Zooey Deschanel is like saying you don't like puppies.  You have no soul.  She is the cutest thing I've ever seen.  And I love this video because she's playing the UKULELE. Rad.

7. BRANDI CARLILE: So I've seen Brandi live, and let me tell YOU, it really changed my life.  It was in the coolest little old Texas town called Greene in the well-known "Greene Hall" where like Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash have all preformed at some point.  That's fine.  And Miss Brandi, well she just sang some Patsy Cline and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  I LOVE the grit of her voice.  That's right, I said grit.  She's a cross between Janis Joplin and Tammy Wynette (remember "stand by your man"?).  Just take a little listen.

6. BARBARA STREISAND: Babs.  My mom hates her.  I thought she was a weirdo.  Then I saw Funny Girl.  I was BAWLING when I saw this movie the first time.  Maybe the second and third time too.  Now I love her. That movie is filled with the best of Babs, but this song is what solidified her as one of my faves.

5. EDITH PIAF: One of the most famous singers of France.  I think her voice is so clean and powerful.  I love to listen to her because I have no idea what she's singing about, but I can feel her passion!  Incroyable!!

4. CHARLLOTE CHURCH: Uh voice of an angel duh.  I have almost every CD she's ever made.  I'm still amazed by that classical voice that came out of her little bitty self.  But did you know she's all grown up now?  She has two kids, and now she sings these pretty little songs.  Her last CD was just beautifulllll.

3. WHITNEY HOUSTON: "The voice".  When I watched Cinderella with Brandi and Whitney Houston in it, I was mesmerized.  I did not know that voices could sound like that.  I used to listen to "Impossible" and try to make my voice sound like Whitney--it was a saaaad day though when I realized I didn't have soul.

2. ADELE:
TICKETS... TO... ADELE... IN... 3... WEEKS!!!!
My initial reaction to the vintage-y vocals of this English lady was "I have been waiting for this my whole life".  I still feel daily that my life would be incomplete without her.
This video is so cool too--it's in her home... keep an eye out for her grammy.  She's 21.  No big deal.

1. BILLIE HOLIDAY: "Lady Day".  "Changed the art of American vocals forever."  Brilliant.  Emotional.  Moving.  Beautiful.  Poignant.  My all time fave.

I hope you enjoyed it.  Thanks for taking the time to listen to/watch the whole thing.  You're the best.

Grateful for: A ticket to Paris that leaves TOMORROW.

Quote of the day: "In their anxiousness, people began to forget the simple joy they used to find in a candy bar. The candy bar itself becomes an utter disappointment if it does not contain a golden ticket" --President Uchtdorf

Zee Avi

Today I got Miss Zee Avi's new album.  It is called "Ghostbird" and is just as magically whimsical and lovely as her first album.  It is the soundtrack for this week of my life.

You might have heard this song from her first album:

This little lady is really just a little baby whose voice has qualities comparable to a Billie Holiday it its vintage twists and turns.  Her voice always calms me down.  It takes me to a happy place on a beach somewhere.

This is my very favorite of her songs:
(I love to play this one on my uke b/c Emmacita will sing it...)

Ahhhh... I think I'll go take a nature walk or something!


Quote of the day:

“Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down.  It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily.  It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings.  It is accepting people as they truly are.  It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time.  It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.” –President Thomas S. Monson

Paris Style

I've been trying to do an artistic project/sketch/design every day for the last few weeks.  Here's today's:

(click on it to see it bigger...)

It's my "Paris Style" collage of thoughts... I may have already packed for my trip...

Grateful for: When sweet little two year olds tell me I'm cute... hahaha it was the cutest thing ever!!

Quote of the day: "Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

--Margaret Nadauld



My Fairy Godparents

Remember how Cinderella had that super rad fairy godmother that fixed all her woes with a sweet pumpkin-shaped ride, fab dress, and killer glass slippers?  That Cinderella though, she had some issues to deal with having those crazy step sisters and a super lame step mother, and that whole-being-their-maid thing she had goin on... so she totally deserved the perks of having a fairy godmother.  Right?  Wouldn't you agree?

Well here's the delio peeps; I  have my own set of fairy-godparents.  But, I'm thinking that I like, have the very OPPOSITE of evil stepsisters and mothers and such.  Therefore, I have no idea what I've done to deserve the love and support and glass slippers (in a matter of speaking) that my "fairy godparents" have so generously bestowed upon me, as a PLUS to my already daily blessings!!

So when I say "fairy godparents" I'm actually referring to a group of three people; my dear sweet friends Quentin aka Brother Stewart, the lovely Sister/Dr. Barbara Stewart and their FABULOUS daughter , Miss Juliana.  I LOVE them.  They have popped up time and time again (with plenty of love and some "bibbity-bobbity-boo's") to bless my life and to strengthen and support me.  They have been a blessing time and time again to remind me who I am and what I can become.  And let's be honest, they've also given me some SWEET presents.  So sweet, I'm not even sure you can wrap them. 

I've been to visit them at their current home in Australia.

(They actually live in Melbourne though, not Sydney. We were just visiting.)

...and introduced me to some of the locals.

They've also introduced me to gooood food.  Like real Belgian waffles in the Netherlands.

And delectable and beautiful chocolates in Australia.

And of course bakeries with gorgeous little goodies... pretty much everywhere.

And shown me some of the most breath-taking views I've EVER seen!

And then, on top of all that, the Stewarts are just some of my FAVORITE company of all time.

They're top notch.

They're the BEST.

Welllll, they've invited me to tag along with them again.  And seriously I still can't even believe this.  CLEARLY, they've already given me so unbelievably much!  And, I mean I was so baffled by this offer, that it took a whiiiile for me to agree, because I just was like "Seriously??!".  And I'm still in such awe, that don't think I've really told many people about this adventure that I'm taking with them--and it's in less than 3 weeks.  I just didn't know how to tell you without like having an accident, and also feeling overwhelming guilt that I couldn't stuff you in my suitcase and bring you along.

Because here's the destination...
brace yourself...
PARIS. 

I KNOW RIGHT???  I'm still having trouble believing it.  That place with the big beautiful sparkly Eiffel tower, where people say "bonjour", where fashion week is held, where people eat perfectly crusty begets on a daily basis, and have things like pastel-colored macaroons for treats, the city where the "Madeline" books take place, and where the MONA LISA is.  Seriously, the MONA LISA is just chillin there.  SERIOUSLY???!!

(What did I tell you??  Bibbity-freakin-bobbity-BOO!!)

For reals, I would visit these wonderful people wherever.  They just happen to go on unbelievable trips and for some crazy reason that I don't understand (and really just don't deserve), invite me to tag along sometimes!  I'm grateful for them and their consistent love and support.  That is in and of itself a huge blessing; but I'm also so grateful for (and that's just an understatement) yet another opportunity-of a lifetime, and am so so sooo excited.

So when you text or facebook me in about 3 weeks, and I don't answer, that's where I'll be--just thought it'd be polite to make you aware.  Sorry for the long blog post.  I think I kind of just told you my own little fairytale story... and so in true Amanda fashion, there's lots of characters and details and pictures that go along with it.  And I'm not at all as worthy as the sweet and goodly Cinderella of such magnificent glass slippers, but I will cherish EVERY minute of such a magical adventure with such dear dear friends, until the stroke of midnight when I have to return to reality!!

Grateful for: The Stewarts. Duh!!
And father's blessings.

Quote of the day: "Always remember Jesus Christ and keep his commandments.  Every day is important to you because the way you chose spend your time will determine the person you become.  Be the best you can be."

--Sister Oaks from the CES fireside on Sunday