House Beautiful

Mixed Tape: Easy Like Sunday Morning

Ahhhh, Sunday morning.  Everything is calm.  Still.  Peaceful.  The air is cool and fresh, the dewy grass is wet under your feet, and the sun feels warm on your face. 

This, however, is where I usually still am that early on a Sunday morning.

E-vennnnntually, the dull gurgle of the coffee maker (one of my faaaavorite sounds) coaxes me out of my big, fluffy, down-filled, rumply, all-white bed.

…Welllllll, either the coffeemaker or this big red fluff ball.  He lays patiently right there most mornings until I get up.  Doh.

The thing I love about Sundays is that you get to move in slow-mo and take your sweeeeeeeet time lingering over the morning paper, sipping your coffee, and listening to some reeeaallly chill jams.  There’s no hurry to be anywhere or do anything inparticular.  Saturdays are for mowing the lawn, going to Home Depot, zipping around to drinks with friends and birthday parties; all that good stuff.  But on SUUUUUN-days, if you don’t get out of your pajamas until 4pm, it ain’t no thang.  If you feel like reading a book in one sitting or watching a TBS/TNT moviefest while you eat bon-bons, have at it.  Sundays were meant to be relished.  I know this because I am very, very smart. 

…And while I’m being modest, lemme tell you what…  as the maker of infinite, bomb diggity mixed tapes for middle school boyfriends,  I can assure you that the mix below is an EPIC Sunday Morning Mash-up.  So pour yourself some java, dunk a crusty baguette in it, put your bare feet up, and start marinating. 

(Click the song titles and you’re ready to rock!)

1.  “Don’t Wait Too Long” by Madeline Peyroux.  Most of her stuff is in French, but this delightful little ditty is en Anglais.  Every song this woman touches turns to gold.  She also does a rad version of “La Vie En Rose.”

2.  “Black and White” by Sarah McLachlan.  Ooooooh.  I wore this entire album (Surfacing) out in high school and hadn’t heard it since, until recently.  I forgot how poignantly good it is. 

3.  “Just Like Heaven” by Katie Melua.  A slower, sweeter melodic version of the Cure’s original classic.

4.  “The Very Thought of You” by Billie Holiday.  Maybe my all-time favorite old school jazz tune.  Belongs on a Sleepless in Seattle kind of soundtrack.

5.  “Sunrise” by Norah Jones.  Norah + Rainy Days & Sunday mornings = MFEO.

6.  “Hang on Little Tomato” by Pink Martini.  Makes me want to grin a big wide grin with my eyes closed, and merrily bob my head from side to side.  What a happy little ditty.

7.  “Girlfriend” by Phoenix.  A little more upbeat, and perfect for driving around in a convertible in the sunshine.  My dear friends Caitlin & Calder – the geniuses over at Blue Moon Events – tweeted a gorgeous wedding to the tune of this song a few days ago.  If you have 2 minutes, it’s worth the watch.

8.  “They Say It’s Spring” by Erin McKeown.  I read about this in a Real Simple spring issue a few years ago, and it totally puts me in a springtime kinda mood. 

9.  “I Will” by Ben Taylor.  A joyful tearjerker by James Taylor’s son about loving someone forever (and ever), even if you’re not with them.

10. “Tonight” by Koop.  Sounds it should be playing in a scene from Sex and the City.

11. “Sweet Memory” by Melody Gardot.  A modern-day jazzy and bluesy chick.  Like Madeline Peyroux, girlfriend puts out a lotta good stuff.

12.  “My Baby Just Cares for Me” by Nina Simone.  A tad androgynous, jazzy, and sounds like it belongs on an episode of Mad Men.

13.  “Fields of Gold” by Sting.  A nostalgic, all-time fave.  GYAH, it’s good, and it gets better every time I hear it.

14.  “Le Temps Perdu” by Carla Bruni.  Other faves include “Quelqu’un Qui M’a Dit” & “Le Plus Beau du Quartier.”

15.   “What I Wouldn’t Do” by A Fine Frenzy.  They sound a little like the Weepies to me, but this song isn’t Weepy at all.  It’s perky!

16.  “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. 

17.   “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake.  He’s the same dude who sings “Northern Sky.”  Kelly Ripa turned me onto Pink Moon.  Ye know.  Cause we’re like, friends and stuff. 

18.  “So Nice Summer Samba” by Joao & Astrud Gilberto.  An idyllic little tune that makes you feel like you’re in the Hamptons. 

19.  “Lithium” by Bruce Lash.  This dreamy Nirvana remake makes me feel like I’m on a beach, in a daze.

20.  “Guilty” by Yann Tiersen.  For some reason, I love cooking to this song.  It has a way of unwinding you.

*Photo Credits, top to bottom:  Morning Light via flikr, via Absolutely Beautiful Things, Steaming Cup via flikr, Bed in White via flikr, my photo, Mixed Tape via flikr.*

xoxo,

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