Christmas Vacation

I'm a bit of a competitive person. It's usually less about the prize and more about the glory/bragging rights. However, sometimes such a competition comes along where you just can't help but wanna win. This is one of those times.

For those of you who are not prone to celebrity stalking, you may not be aware that John Mayer is conducting his Second Annual Interfaith Baking Contest. With the grand prize set at 4 meet and greet backstage passes, an autographed guitar and the Christmas sweater he wore on the Ellen Show, I can confidently say, I want to win.

Always supportive of my unhealthy addictions, my creative friends jumped in to help brainstorm a winning idea (last year's winner was a cake in the shape of the legendary leg lamp). The brainstorming session went a number of directions; a cake of John Mayer glittering like Edward Cullen; a cake of the infamous Borat swimsuit was another runner-up. But in the end, we stuck with what we know best - Christmas movies and great one-liners.

With Clark Griswold and Cousin Eddie on the brain, we went to work. It was a real group effort with lots of creative input: Mix vanilla and chocolate frosting for a realistic flesh color. A mini Swisher Sweet cigar would be a nice touch. Toast the coconut to make more realistic chest hair. I've never been more proud or so full of Christmas cheer. Here's to hoping JM gets our humor!

The real Cousin Eddie: our inspiration.

The Swisher Sweets took it up to a whole new level.

It's all about the presentation...and the lighting.

I think the Antler Mug is a nice touch.

Fleet Foxes

If you're not familiar with the Fleet Foxes sound, my best attempt to describe it to you would be through various nouns:

Flannel, beards, woods, campfire, 1970s.

They have such a unique sound that I only listen to them when I'm in a specific mindset. Is this my go-to when I'm laying by the pool in the summer with a snow cone in hand? Definitely not. You can only truly appreciate Fleet Foxes when you are prepared to be mentally transported to a winter cabin in the woods of Vermont in 1972. (just speaking from my own personal experience here)

As we are expecting snow in Texas today, they are definitely in the mix. Conveniently, I just ran across an article announcing that they are currently in the studio working on a new album. The band's front man was quoted as saying,

"I guess people think we're already kind of a mellow band, so maybe the next album will be pretty boring to most people."

I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't get it, but there are a lot of people who do. The Bravery just remixed their own version of Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal as did a coworker of mine! Copywriter by day and musician by night...go here to see his version and check out Ragged Wood below - this video is so entertaining and the sound is spot on.