High Fidelity - the ladies of early 90's country radio

So yesterday at work I kept myself motivated by listening to my Spotify playlist called "Chick Country."  While it includes a lot of awesome newer artists like Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, etc. it also has a lot of great early late 80's/early 90's classics like Patty Loveless, Tanya Tucker, Reba McEntire and Mary Chapin Carpenter.  

I forgot, until I rediscovered them just recently, how much I enjoyed these talented female country artists - listening to these songs took my right back to my childhood and the country music I grew up enjoying on shows like the Grand Ole Opry, Crook & Chase, Hee Haw and Nashville Now with Ralph Emery.  Ah, memories!   

So here are a few of my favorites for you to enjoy:

Patty Loveless -" I Try to Think About Elvis"

Mary Chapin Carpenter - "Down at the Twist and Shout"  (I also LOVE "I Feel Lucky" but couldn't find a good video of it).

Tanya Tucker - "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane"

Suzy Bogguss - "Drive South"  (I also highly recommend "Someday Soon"  "Aces" "Outbound Plane" and "Letting Go" - have a hankie ready for that one, it always makes me cry)

Pam Tillis - "Maybe it was Memphis"

Reba McEntire - "Fancy"

Trisha Yearwood - "She's in Love with the Boy"

Patty Loveless "Blame it on Your..." (I know, another Patty Loveless but I LOVE this song, if I ever get the guts to do karaoke by myself this is one of my go-to songs)

So - what are some of your favorite songs from the country ladies of this era?

High Fidelity - Ultra Lounge series

I frequently think I was born in the wrong decade... the music, fashion, art, design, etc. from the mid to late 50's thru the 60's majorly appeals to me.  Women were feminine and curvy.  Men were dapper and oh, so smooth.  :D  Yes, I realize this is a romanticized, "Mad Men" era view of the time however I do think it was a prosperous and culturally (by this I mean art & music) rich era in the our history where family was still super important, cars were big and finned, the music was smooth, sexy and super melodic and the Rat Pack ruled Vegas.  

I LOVE the Ultra-Lounge series released from Capitol Records - there are now 20 compilations in the series and they are full of kitschy, bongo and saxophone filled grooves that are perfect to mambo, mix martinis to or enjoy while snuggled up with your sweetheart in front of a cozy fire (hot toddy in hand, of course).  Here are just a few of my favorites...

(Do any fellow Dexter fans recognize this from the show?)

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Manzanita madness!

Okay, so not really madness but it was the adjective that popped in my head so I went with it.  It was actually a very low key weekend, exactly what I needed right about now.  :)  

Got down there on Thursday and stayed through til Sunday morning, it was long enough to make me glad to be home again today but short enough that it didn't totally break the bank (thanks to a super deal with Sunset Vacation Rentals as a returning customer).  

Mermaid House

I stayed at the same place my bestie and I stayed at last time we went in October of 2010, it is a small two bedroom cottage called the Mermaid House that was built in the late 40's and is just a couple of blocks from the main street and half a block from the beach.

Living Area

Living Room

If you look closely you can see how near the house is to the beach...

Mermaid in window above vintage kitchen sink

Vintage stove... what a trip to cook on, still works great!

Going with a theme here :)

Bathroom - tiny but has everything you need and a washer/dryer!

Bedroom 1 (I stayed here the first time I visited)

Bedroom 2 (master)

Hall from bedrooms back into main living space

I spent the days wandering around Cannon Beach and driving down to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, an institution in our fine state of Oregon (Squeeky cheese!).  Also enjoyed a DELISH sandwich one day from my favorite deli in the world, Bread and Ocean.

From www.tillamook.com

Can't take credit for the photo, stole it from Bread & Oceans' facebook page

For the most part the weather was pretty crappy (hey, what do you expect the first weekend of March at the Oregon Coast?!) but I was able to get a few good shots at Cannon Beach on Thursday as I was heading towards Manzanita.  

All in all it was a great trip, nice to get away... even nicer to come home again.  Now work tomorrow is another story....  ;)