[Music Saves My Soul] Yellow Ostrich - Bread

I fell in love with this song and have to share this one this week. If anyone watched "Parenthood" it played in the opening scene. Any other "Parenthood" followers out there? I really like this show and have watched it since its pilot. It manages to address family issues that any social tier could relate to: financial issues and the demands of college education, Aspergers Syndrome, adoption, pregnancy in their early 40s, dating across social norms (be it age, race or current social context), parenting... the list goes on, but it's quite a charming show and the characters are all quite lovable.

I'm clearly divulging my TV life here, but I tend to have a lot of shows running in the background when I craft. I guess that's why I have been paying a lot more attention to the music. ;)

So for Music Saves My Soul I leave you with this song that I really like. The lyrics are really sweet too...

To go away for quite a while
If that is what make you smile
That's something I will gladly do
Because I am in love with you

To go without a piece of bread
Because of something that I said
That is what's going to take,
Then that is what's going to take"



Today I'm making one of my Project 30 Recipes...Check back for a full report! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

[Music Saves My Soul] Sara Jackson-Holman - Cellophane

It's one of those weekends where I am trying to catch up on all things crafty, but I am still battling those horrible pains since the surgery. I'm on my fifth antibiotic course within three weeks. This time it's a 15-day regiment and I hope it will clear everything up. The only downside is that I constantly feel sleepy and dizzy. It's almost like someone has turned down the speed dial in my head and everything is going so slow-ly (like those slow motions in the movie).

Anyways, enough about this...I did get laundry folded up, caught up on bills, and cleaned the kitchen. It was all a promising start to catching up. I even managed to craft for some of my challenge but discovered to my dismay that I was off by a week. Ooops, wrong card. I guess I will have to spend more time at my crafting table tonight...

In the mean time I leave you with another Music Saves My Soul contribution. I heard this song in one of the music videos I was scouring through this weekend. Isn't it a fun little song? And the music video is kind of charming...



Off to dinner and then catching up on my crafts (second attempt that is) ...

[Music Saves My Soul] Duffy - Mercy

It's the weekend! And it's my time to catch up on everything post-surgery. I have lots of special crafty projects that I need to get started (and going). I feel energized and am ready to get back to work :)

The weather is calling for snow and really cold temperatures, so I am working on my crochet project. As a teaser, here is a piece of what I am creating. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow.



Can you guess what it is? Leave your guesses in the comments field and I will pick a winner from the right guesses. Winner gets to pick a song for next week's Music Saves My Soul. In the meantime, here is a song for this weekend...



Off to finishing crocheting this little gift together...

[Music Saves My Soul] Youth Lagoon - Afternoon

Hello there - it's the weekend and all we've done done here in Maryland is eat, shop, eat & play ;) But the good news is, we won in Pandemic and the world is safe another day.

I was on a major hunt to replace my old winter coat, whose lining was ripped, shredded and literally falling apart. I tried every tailor in the area, and they kept telling me to go buy another coat, cause the lining would be $200+. I was so heart-broken when they told me this, cause my coat fits so great, and the idea of having to shop and try so many different ones on to find a perfectly nice one terrified me. 

But thanks to a great shopping buddy and great sales at Macy's, I found two great coats for 180$. A super steal for a Nautica and an Anne Klein. If ever I find pics of what I  bought I will have to post it up...!



Off I go to hang out with my brother and great friends...maybe we actually get to work off some calories.

[Music Saves My Soul] Emma Louise - Jungle

Hello there - it's the weekend! And we had our first snow fall for this year - it's nothing huge, just a 3 to 5 inches, but it's finally winter!

This weekend is also Chinese New Year, so we've been celebrating with friends over hot pot. Way too much pigging out, but it was delicious! It was the sort of right thing to do after a really exhausting week at work.



In the meantime, here is a song that I heard a while back. I really love the modern vintage look that the whole music video has. Great music video shoot...don't you think? Anyway, here is hoping for a good week for you and me :)

[Music Saves My Soul] Big Star - Thank You Friends

This song is dedicated to my wonderful friends who made yesterday the best Birthday Bash ever! My Project 30 has officially kicked of locally. I had the most lovely day with friends, sharing good eats, good recipes, good talks, good fun...good everything all around.

I was trying to think of a way to say "Thank You" to my wonderful friends, and was looking for a song online. I have never heard of this song, but the words pretty much say it all :)



Special thank you's go out to Jessica & Sueyi for being my extra hands yesterday. And a big thank you to Florian for helping me prep days in advance as well as being a great host.

I have about 23 recipes in my cool, new recipe box. Some of my friends banded together to get this perfect gift to help make Project 30 even more perfect. Thank you, Swen, Ailin, Oswin and especially Richard for being organizer and crazy fast initiator.


[Picture Credit: riflepaperco.com]

So time to roll up my sleeves and get goin'...To my global friends, who have said yes to helping out with Project 30, I just received my 4"x6" envelopes a couple of days ago, so I'll send them of soon! I look forward to receiving those...

[Music Saves My Soul] Selena Gomez & The Scene - I Love You Like A Love Song

It's the first couple of weeks in January and it is time to get back into the swing of things. I am trying to plan out as much of my Project 30 Birthday Launch Party as possible, so that I can take next week to prepare...

My first batch of recipe cards went out to the local people and I am still waiting on my 4x6 envelopes to come in to ship them off. My plan is to host an open-house style event, where people come by whenever they have a moment, to enjoy some food and beverage. I'll have warm and cold bites on the fly...just have to figure out what those are! Any suggestions? Please post them in the comment field :)



In the meantime, this song has been playing lots in the radio and puts me in a cheery, bobbin mood. It's perfect for a fun party, right? In the meantime, time to get planning...

[Music Saves My Soul] Robyn - Hang With Me

Yay, Marcea put up the link to her Music Saves the Soul list. So glad she's back in full swing, cause I really missed her!

I had a fantastic Saturday, but don't have enough time to justly report on why it was so a.m.a.z.i.n.g. More later when I settled into my "work-hotel-more work-catch up on blog" routine. In the meantime...


This inspiration is something I stumbled across while watching (dare I admit?) Gossip Girl. I watch all kinds of shows while crafting, ironing or laundry, and I guess that's why I tend to pay more attention to the music, rather than the crazy plots. When I heard this, my ears perked up. I do like the acoustic version better, but who knows, maybe I will share the other one later. Maybe it just needs to grow on me :)

Well - I need to get my packing list going, and work off my (chores & crafting) to-do list. I'm back on a plane on Monday night...this time it's Germany.

[Music Saves My Soul] Katie Herzig - Lost & Found

It's been such a long while since I have played along with Marcea and her Music Saves the Soul friends, but I don't see the linked list up. I'm still going to share a fun music video with you this weekend. I heard this on one of the recent Grey's Anatomy episodes and think Katie Herzig is absolutely brilliant musician...What do you think?


So how is your weekend going thus far? I ended ironing a batch of laundry (but am far from finished) and ran a bunch of errands to put a gift basket together for a couple whose birthdays we are celebrating tomorrow!

[Music Saves My Soul] Lena - Satellite

I'm off again on another business trip, but this time I had to cross the Big Pond. So fun time zone adjustments to deal overcome. I had a chance to sneak in a visit with old friends - a good mechanism to adjust to the current time zone - and we started talking about Eurovision. I never had a chance to share this song, but last year's Eurovision was a German (yay!)



Interesting song, right? I remember hearing it the first time and not being too overwhelmed by it. But the more I listened to it, the catchier it gets.

So if you're like me and don't like it off the bet, I'll challenge you to give it a few more goes. See if you start tapping your foot or bobbing your head...and if so, HA - told you so ;) If not, go and post a song of your choice on Marcea's blog and join in on the fun. Happy Monday or almost Tuesday, wherever you are!

[Music Saves My Soul] Brandi Carlile - The Story

I heard this one watching one of my usual TV guilty pleasures. Probably Grey's Anatomy, but don't hold me to it. But I really loved it so much, that I have finally post it.



I really love her voice. It's not a diva pipes when comparing to Christina Aguilera or Beyonce. Brandi has this nice rock and roughness to her voice, which allows her to really belt out those sections - makes them special :) 

If you feel like you want to join in on the music sharing, come post a song of your choice on Marcea's blog. Hope you're having a fantastic Monday!

[Music Saves My Soul] Hayashi Masako - Umi no Okaasan (Mother of the Sea)

I finally got around to watching Ponyo, another Miyazaki masterpiece that I have not checked off my list yet. The opening scene begins with this happy, cheerful flyover of the city, all the vibrant colors of the anime (or cartoon) really coming to life, all accompanied with this haunting, beautiful opera written by Hayashi Masako & Joe Hisaishi. It sent such chills down my spine that I had to share this with you this week:

Hayashi Masako - Umi no Okaasan (Mother of the Sea)

The YouTube video won't embed, so just hop on over and listen to this "in concert" version. Isn't the singer absolutely brilliant? Hope you're having a music-inspired week!

[Music Saves My Soul] Tenth Avenue North - On Your Side

A missed my last week's Music Saves My Soul, but for a good reason. I was out of town and visiting a special certain friend for big B-day. We painted the town red by going on a shopping spree and filling our bellies with delicious food. I'm sure her hubster was relieved that we went shopping - who else can spend hours in an Anthropologie, right? ;)

If you have followed the music that I like, I'm sure it hasn't been easy to categorize. And there is an easy explanation - my heart swings from country to aria, from pop to rap, from techno to R&B. Recently I have been tagging songs on my iPhone that I like, or making a note of the song when I am watching a show that sounds inspiring. So, when I need a song to share, I'm just plucking it off my list ;)



This song is an absolute fabulous. The lyrics are so touching. If you care to share a video with the rest of us Music Saves My Soul addicts, then pop on over there to leave a link!

I hope your week is wonderful! Anything exciting planned?

[Music Saves My Soul] Michelle Featherstone - I'm There Too

I'm late, I'm late - to share a music inspiration with you. But I am sharing a beautiful piece of music that I heard recently on a TV shows. Amazing what gems you can find by just listening a little more carefully, and watching less (my usual crafting setup...)



Hope your week is productive and wonderful. Go enjoy that sunshine - it is finally here!

[Music Saves My Soul] Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

2011.04.18: Thanks to Janna for pointing out my wrong title in my blog post. It's "Chasing Cars" and not "Crashing Cars" - although my subconscious must have been extrapolating this song's title into something more creative to describe my last few work weeks ;)

2011.04.16: I know I shared this last week but there was no Music Saves My Soul hosted last week. And I really wanted to share this one with the gals. Have a wonderful weekend. If I am lucky, I can let work rest for a bit and actually hit the crafting table this weekend. Wish me luck! :)

I can't believe how fast the week has flown by. I had intended to craft up a storm to actually not procrastinate on my looming deadlines, but to no avail. I'm on a new project at work and it has required 12+ hr workdays out of me. So after I get home, I have this rather dazed and dumb look on my head and there is no ounce of creativity left. So after this madness passes and my big deadline on Tuesday passes, I hope to be able to return to a more normal work schedule and get some crafting in! So thanks for being hanging in there with me!

On a more random note, anyone else watch the Grey's Anatomy musical episode? If so, then you know how I came to be inspired to share this piece of music with you :)



This song is an old favorite and whenever I stumble across it, I don't mind listening to it. I don't see the inlink on Marcea's site up yet, but if you care to share a video with the rest of us Music Saves My Soul addicts, then pop on over there to leave a link!


I hope your week is wonderful!

[Music Saves My Soul] Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Creep

I was driving to work and NPR was doing a segment on this group called Scala & Kolacny Brothers. It is a girls choir that sings Rock. The brothers arrange the music so that it can be sung by a choir. During performance one plays the piano, the other directs. It is quite an neat concept - I have sung in many choirs, but never done songs that have covered the rock, metal, alternative spectrum. The gals also seem to have a ton of fun, according to the interview.

In case you have seen the movie "The Social Network" then you were in luck and probably have heard them already. "Creep" - a Radiohead song that was arranged and sung ala Scala & Kolacny - was playing in one of the important scenes of "The Social Network."



It sends quite a series of chills, doesn't it? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this as much as I have and if you want to share a song this week, hop on over to Music Saves My Soul. Great inspirations sitting out there!

[Music Saves My Soul] Glee - Get It Right

Last week I was telling you about the bake sale that was coming at work. A quick update - we raised around 1500$ and each dollar will be match by my awesome company. I was really amazed and touched by how many people participated, either by baking or by buying. In fact, we had so much left over that we put out the left-overs out on Friday and had a little donation bowl. That easily contributed 100$ to the total. People are often amazing & willing to help in capacities that they can. Isn't this a great story?



I've been catching up on Glee last week and I finally watched the last episode aired to date. The song that Rachel sings is one of my current favs. Her lyrics remind me of what it means to learn...So if you want to play along to this week's Music Saves My Soul, go post a song here.

[Music Saves My Soul] Anna Netrebko - Pie Jesu

Have you been watching CNN? The news coverage on NPR and CNN.com has me moved to tears. Everyday there is new development that is becoming more and more tragic. So for this week's Music Saves My Soul song selection I want to play something near and dear to my heart. I have never heard this Anna Netrebko version but she's one of my all-time favorite Sopranos in the world!



We are running a Bake Sale at work to help run funds and awareness. The money will be matched by our wonderful company. There are so many venues of supporting the relief effort and I am glad to see so many people stepping up and contributing to it. Every little dime helps, right? In the meantime, if you want to post a song up for our weekly Music Saves My Soul, hop on over to Marcea's blog and leave a song. Thank you for stopping by...

[Music Saves My Soul] Charlotte Church - The Prayer

This week ended with some devastating news hitting Japan. I have a cousin that lives there and I was worried stiff. I finally got hold of his brother to confirm that he has heard from him and he is alive and well. A few friends in Japan also posted up in Facebook that they were thankfully not hurt. I know that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to breathe a sigh of relief and my heart & prayer goes out to them. This week I'd like to dedicate my Music Saves My Soul song selection to the everyone that is going through this disaster - be they near or far.



If you want to add a song to music blog hop, just hop on over to Marcea's blog and leave a song. In the meantime, if there are an prayer request, feel free to leave one in the comment or email me.

[Music Saves My Soul] Far East Movement - Like a G6

I am hanging out with my brother this weekend and we were eating with friends at "Honey Pig" - a fantastic restaurant for Korean BBQ. Price-tastic & great food. The pork belly is yummy-licious. So while we were enjoying these dishes, a song popped up and help set the fun upbeat mood. So here I am sharing this song for this week's Music Saves My Soul.



So I hope this song has you bobbin' the whole week through...I certainly will need it ;)