Music Mondays | Best of 2011

I've seen some great 2011 new music recaps online so far this month.  Here are some of the highlights and faves from each!  So, basically... this is a recaps of recaps. Awesome, right?

Paste Magazine's Best New Bands of 2011

The Lumineers

Flowers in Your Hair

The Belle Brigade

My Old Home (Demo)

Of Monsters and Men

Little Talks

Seryn

Of Ded Moroz

Rhapsody's Top 25 Indie Albums of 2011

TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

Wolf Like Me

Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

Posters

The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient

Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2011

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Youth Knows No Pain

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo

Jesus Fever

Real Estate - Days

It's Real

Western Wedding

So, I've been working on my wedding album with my photographer all week, and it's made really start to reminisce...

Then, the thought of weddings made me think of these amazing wedding photos I saw a couple weeks ago!  The below photos are of David Lauren's (son of Ralph Lauren) wedding to Lauren Bush (granddaughter to President Bush Sr.).  The ceremony and reception took place at the Lauren Family's Double RL Ranch in Colorado (relatively close to where we got married).

Isn't that dress (by Ralph Lauren, of course) just immaculate?!

The reason to get married in the mountains.

Horse and buggy, duh!

The same photo gallery included some absolutely gorgeous engagement photos.  I love the simplicity of these images - very classic without any sort of gimmick needed.

All photos featured in Vogue

All in all, stunning photos. But one question remains... is her name now Lauren Lauren??  Somebody had to ask!  Have a great weekend, y'all.

Music Mondays | Ben Howard

Last week, I got a great music recommendation from my friend Kristin that I would love to share!  His name is Ben Howard, and his album Every Kingdom is rather addictive.  For me, he falls somewhere in between Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.  Howard uses quick tempo-ed lyrics against soft acoustic riffs to create a very calming, yet interesting, sound.

Here's the official video for the lead song on this album, "Old Pine"..

Ottomans as tables.

We've been ordering items lately for our new living room.  One, in particular, was the below Gavin Leather Ottoman from Mitchell Gold+Bob Williams.  This fashionable and well-made furniture brand had a lovely sale on Gilt.com.  We were able to grab this beauty at a third of the retail price!

We'll also be able to place these wonderful wooden trays, which we received as wedding gifts, on top to make it double as the coffee table.

Now, I just need to find some side tables.  Oh, and lamps - because there's no overhead lighting in the living room. Gotta love houses from 1925!  Stay tuned for the finished room sometime in December (hopefully!)...

Music Mondays | The Head and The Heart

Heard this group for the first time last week, and I really enjoy their melodic sound.  The Head and The Heart, despite what might be a semi-corny band name, have put out a really enjoyable album with bits of piano and bluegrass thrown in.  It's become a quick favorite!

Check out 'Lost in My Mind' from their self-titled debut album below...

  The Head and the Heart - Lost In My Mind by subpop

Baby Shower Bliss

A friend of mine posted photos from this baby shower she went to in Nashville.  It was so classy and creative, I just had to share.  All photos are from EBW Photography.  Click over for more!

And the house is just to die for!  Really inspiring as we're decorating our first house right now...

Happy Friday!

Music Mondays | Mayer Hawthorne

I discovered Mayer Hawthorne a week or two ago.  Maybe I'm a little behind the curve on this one, but his albums are a blast!  I thoroughly enjoy his brand new album How Do You Do, as well as his 2009 album A Strange Arrangement.

He's a nice mix of soul without being to serious in his lyrics.  His music will take you back, just like this video:

A Long Time - Mayer Hawthorne from MayerHawthorne on Vimeo.

Warby Parker + Paste

Two of my favorite brands are getting together for an event in Brooklyn.  Annnd you should go.

Gah!  I need to find a wormhole between KC and BK. Pronto. Also, if you've never heard of Warby Parker or Paste Magazine, you should get on that.

Berry Lipstick

So, I finally took the plunge this weekend, and I purchased some berry lipstick for Fall.  I ended up with Dior's Hypnotic Red, which is a deep eggplant color. 

Here's a fun photo of my friend Amanda and me with the new shade on!  It's a little scary at first, but I love the look of it.  Lipstick might be the new eyeshadow, dare I say.

Music Mondays | Lana Del Rey

Now that I've made the transition out of the music industry, I still need to keep myself engaged and up-to-speed on new music.  Hence... "Music Mondays."  A totally cliche name, but whatever. It gets the point across.  I've done plenty of music posts here, and now it's time for consistency.

First up, Lana Del Rey.  I can't get away from friend recommendations and blog reviews about her current singles.  Looks like she's had a somewhat perfect storm of buzz and opportunity.  Here's her new video for her song 'Blue Jeans' - and rumor is there should be a whole album of this chick by January!

Also, here is the video for 'Video Games' that first got me hooked: