Tuesday Tunes {Bliss n Eso}

I feel like I don’t really need to introduce this Aussie hip hop band … most of you know Bliss n Eso, right? Ha! Ha!

The trio meet in high school – through a love of hip hop music – and have been mates ever since. {The original band name was ‘Bliss N Esoterikizm’ …. but no one could pronounce it!}.

Fast forward 13 years and the band has released the album Circus In The Sky …. and you just have to hear about how Daniel Merriweather ended up on the album singing ‘Can’t Get Rid Of This Feeling’.

From the news.com.au website:
“The Melbourne singer was on his way home in a taxi after a big night out when Bliss called him out of the blue to ask if he would sing on Can’t Get Rid Of This Feeling.

“We had just put down the song really roughly and thought Daniel’s voice would suit it so I called him up. It was about 9am, and he was in a cab on the way home from the night before,” Bliss says, laughing.

“When I told him we had a track we wanted to play him, he redirected the cab to come to the studio, went straight into the vocal booth and sang it.”

That’s love. Or maybe that’s just Daniel not wanting his big night to end!

Artist: Bliss n Eso
Song:  Can’t Get Rid Of This Feeling {Feat. Daniel Merriweather}
Album: Circus In The Sky {2013}

Photo credit: Wikipedia & EventFinder

Tuesday Tunes {Triple J Hottest 100}

Triple J totally delivered the goods on Sunday with another Hottest 100 countdown.

I can’t exactly say it’s a surprise, but nevertheless Vance Joy has lived up to everyone’s expectations and scored #1 on the 2013 Triple J Hottest 100. The uber hit Rip Tide has scored perfect points so of course Aussie’s voted correctly and picked it for #1.

The rest of the contenders were pretty impressive too.

Hottest 100 2013 – top 10 list

1. Vance Joy – Rip Tide
2. Lorde – Royals
3. Daft Punk – Get Lucky (Ft. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers)
4. Arctic Monkeys – Do I Wanna Know?
5. Flume & Chet Faker – Drop The Game
6. Arctic Monkeys – Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?
7. Lana Del Rey – Young And Beautiful
8. Matt Corby – Resolution
9. The Preatures – Is This How You Feel?
10. London Grammar – Strong

So how many of my predictions made the list? Seven!

Did you pick the winner? Any surprises that crept into the list?

Happy Hottest 100 Day

The snags are ready. The Aussie flag is up. The cricket bat is ready. The BBQ is clean. Beer and wine on ice. Lamingtons prepared. Ice blocks are frozen.

It’s time to crack a tinnie {did I just say that?} and settle in for Triple J’s Hottest 100 2013 song countdown.

Listening to the hottest 100 countdown is my favourite part about Australia Day. It’s a guarantee of great tunes, good times and banter between friends.

In no particular order, here are my top 10 predictions:

The Preatures – Is This How You Feel?
Kite String Tangle – Given The Chance
Daft Punk – Get Lucky
London Grammar – Strong
Matt Corby – Resolution
Lorde – Royals
Haim – The Wire
Vance Joy – Rip Tide
RÜFÜS – Take Me
Flume/Chet Faker – Drop The Game

…….. and my NUMBER #1 song of 2013?
Rudimental – Free

Yep. I voted for Rudimental! There is no way it’ll be number #1 but it’s MY number #1 and I love it!

Who did you vote for?  I think Lorde and Daft Punk will slug it out for the number #1 spot.

To all my Aussie readers, HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today.

 

 

 

 

PS – Anyone notice that I listed 11 songs? I seriously can’t count.

 

Goodbye 2013

What a year it’s been; in fact, it’s probably the best year of my life so far. The major reason for all the excitement stemmed from my OBGYN ordering me to take a year off trying to have babies {and have fun instead}. This resulted in two overseas trips, lots of adventure, self exploration, healing and a tonne of the happiest memories a gal could have!

My New Year resolution for 2013 was to try and say ‘yes‘ more. Lordy, did this little resolution change my life.

I’ve never been happier.

That teeny tiny little word – yes – has created a year full of happy moments with friends, laughter with family, trips away, nights out, tattoos, a new dog etc etc.

I won’t bore you with my trip down memory lane; there are far too many highlights to share. But acknowledging the memory is a fantastic way to generate feelings of thankfulness and appreciation for the good bits in my life.

Hubby and I {are nerds} and keep a gratitude jar in our home. Whenever anything exciting or fun happens, we write it down and pop it in the jar. Today is the day we get to open the jar and read back on the happy moments of 2013.

From Sydney to Cottage Point, Bangkok, Phuket, Melbourne, Hobart, Hunter Valley, Bali & Bondi it’s been a hoot!

Thanks to all the people I met, the new friends I made, the guys and gals who make me a better woman, and of course, my amazing husband Nathan for loving, understanding and supporting me through it all.

Here’s to an even bigger and better 2014… ! Thank you for reading my blog, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, thank you for the laughs and support. My wish for you in 2014 is to create as many happy memories as possible.

Au revoir 2013. It’s been a blast! {Except being bitten on the labia by my dog}.

Christmas Day 2013

I don’t know about you, but I’m still so full from gorging myself on Christmas Day that I probably don’t need to eat again until Easter!!

How did you spend your Christmas Day? Were you a host or a visitor?

I did both! Hubby and I went to his parents place for a champagne breakfast with the family. We had a big ham and egg fry up, opened some gifts and headed back to our place to start preparing lunch for my family.

It was by far the best Christmas Day I can remember, despite that crappy Sydney weather. My entire family came over and we ate fresh prawns, garlic & lemon scallops, ham, warm potato salad, mango & macadamia salad (thanks Sarah) for lunch. Hubby made a big patch of Pimms to wash it down with.

A nap after lunch would have been lovely, but the drinks were flowing and the laughter was addictive.

We cleared the table and then started preparing for dinner; Maple glazed ham, sage & cranberry stuffed turkey, roasted root veggies, feta & tomato salad (thanks Aubrie), minted peas, lots of French Champagne!! Dessert was a hit also. My Mum made her famous Xmas Pudding and I whipped up a Berry Trifle!

Here are my fav highlights of the day:

Sonny and his new toys

Benji’s obsession with balls continues

Benij’s new Hawaiian shirt from Aunty Jodie

My brother in law Reegan and his girlfriend Paloma gave each other the exact same gift!

The table is set for Christmas lunch!

Little details

Most of the gifts are for my nephew Archie!

My berry trifle!!

I hope your Christmas Day was filled with as much love, laughter, happy memories and amazing food as mine was.

PS – Mother Nature, if you’re reading this, I’d love to request some super hot weather next year xx

Tuesday Tunes {John Legend}

John Legend has a way of tugging at your heart strings. Once he tugs, the flood gates open, tears want to fall and you instantly need a hug from someone. Anyone!

Legend’s latest song ‘All of me’ tugs. Like seriously tugs. I can’t decide if its the lyrics, the piano or the fact he wrote the song about his love for his fiancee. The lyrics are stunning, the melody beautiful and his voice is velvet.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last song John Legend released. Maybe he’s been MIA? Anywoo, he’s back, he’s still good look and still an amazing talent.

Artist: John Legend
Song: All Of Me  {click to listen}
Album: Love In the Future {2013}

 

 

 

 

Photo credit: RapUp & SoulCulture

 

Tuesday Tunes {London Grammar}

Good music and road trips go together like Milli and Vanilli, right? Whether you’re driving interstate or up the coast, it’s always important to ease the travel stress with loud music, sugary snacks and the wind in your ear hair!

Hubby and I played a lot of new music on our road trip to the Hunter Valley last weekend. London Grammar is my Hubby’s new fav band. {Secretly I think he has a crush on the lead singer, Hannah Reid’s, velvet voice}.

I don’t know too much about the indie band, but I do know they hail from London and only had big success earlier this year with their single ‘Hey Now‘.

But the song of moment, getting lots of Triple J radio airplay is ‘Wasting My Young Years‘. Hannah wrote the song about an ex-boyfriend. Revengeful? Not in the slightest.

Artist: London Grammar
Song: Wasting My Young Years
Album: Metal & Dust

Photo credit: Telegraph