It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

A photo of me from a couple Christmasses back.  I'm afraid I don't have a photo of me from this Christmas yet.  

So, I've done a lot of talking about how I'm going to do this awesome 60s spy c.d. and everything and have been working (and working) on it in my own little studio since the beginning of January.  Only thing is, the dominant features of 60s spy music are features that I cannot do in my own little studio.  Even when working (and working).  So I'm going to heave a sigh and heave those songs I wrote up to the shelf to wait for when I can have a baritone electric guitarist, some horns, a percussionist and some strings to help me.  And start working on the following project which is my...

Holiday c.d.!  Yes!  I am aware that it is a wee bit early to be thinking on those terms but I'll strengthen my resolve, resolutely drink copious amounts of hot chocolate under a ceiling fan while getting into the spirit of the (faraway) season.

Thank you all for your patience as I skip to and fro between project ideas!

You'll Be Doing Alright With Your Christmas of White Song Sketch

This month's Song Sketch was actually recorded a couple years ago by Dan Garcia when I lived in Pasadena, CA.  But believe it or not, it fits TWO of the requests my Facebook fans on my page!  One person requested a 'funked up Silent Night' and another requested Blue Christmas so, yay! 

I AM hoping to record another (I had so many great suggestions!) but I am just now recovering from a nasty, mean-spirited cold so my vocals if I recorded today would be, how do I say it, hmm, awful.

Hoping you all are having a wonderful, delightful start to your holiday season!  

Fifteenth Episode of Rose-Colored Radio Show A Rose-Colored Christmas Special

 Fifteenth Episode - Christmas Special by Rose Colored Radio Show 

In which we celebrate stockings and surprises... with some surprises in store for us as well!  You'll laugh.  You'll cry.  You'll get the warm and fuzzies.


Rabbit Hole from "Down the Rabbit Hole" now available on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby.

Written by Emma Wallace and Sally Flynn

Fourteenth Episode of Rose-Colored Radio Show Brought to you by seeing your breath for the first time

 December 14 Rose Colored Radio Hour by Rose Colored Radio Show 

In which we enjoy the wonders of winter... and the release of my newest EP, "Down the Rabbit Hole!"


We're All Mad Here is available on my newest EP, "Down the Rabbit Hole."

Written by Sally Flynn and Emma Wallace

Top Holiday Songs Ever...

Yes, I realize it is way too early to be thinking Christmas but I'm hoping to do a holiday album this season! Hooray! So I was wondering which holiday songs are people's absolute favorites! I have several picked out but I want to make sure I'm not missing any essentials!

Soooo... ideas?

Merry Christmas!

And so, I'm offering this simple phrase

To kids from one to ninety-two

Although it's been said many times, many ways

Merry Christmas to you!

Let's Run and Have Some Fun Now Before I Melt Away

Christmas songs are funny things. There are those that we cannot stand (I've got a few, as ungrinchy as I try to be) and those we sing along with every chance we get. Then there are those that seem to belong to the singer - The Christmas Song belongs to Nat King Cole, Blue Christmas belongs to Elvis, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas belongs to Judy Garland, White Christmas belongs to Bing... I'm sure you can think of more!

Now, there are many who may argue that Frosty the Snowman belongs to Ella Fitzgerald or even Jimmy Durante and, it's true, their versions are amazing. But I'm going to have to say my new favorite version of that song is Fiona Apple's sweet and simple version. What do you think?

I hope your holiday weekend is off to a wonderful start!

P.S. Feel free to follow me! I promise only ever to lead you to bright, sunny places!

May You Beautifully Rime Your Evetime Song, Ye SingersWeekly Song Sketch

For my final holiday song sketch, I picked one of my very favorite Christmas carols ever, Ding Dong Merrily On High for three reasons:

1. It's so pretty and festive-sounding and yet gets little (read: none at all) radio play.

2. The March family sings it in Little Women; that movie always seems so Christmas-y to me.

3. It's so fun to sing! Not only are the words deliciously old English, try to get to the end of the "gloria" part without running out of breath and you'll see what I mean.

If you would like a copy to add to your holiday playlist, just leave a comment requesting it (if it's your first request, please include your email) and I'll email the song out to you!

P.S. Feel free to follow me! I promise only ever to lead you to bright, sunny places!

Holiday Help Needed!

I want to first ask all my potential gift-recipients to not read this post. There. Thank you.

Then, I wanted to ask all my very creative readers for ingenious ideas for stocking stuffers for the holidays.

Requirements?

1. Not too pricey. That's what the big, under-the-tree presents are for! I'm thinking less than $10. Less than $5 even better.

2. Not too "cheap." I would like the presents to be something fun but not just a throwaway present, you know?

3. Something I can get in time for Christmas morning. I suppose I'm a little late on this shopping front. But I have bought all my other presents, okay? Sheesh!

Here are some ideas I've come up with but I definitely need more!

1. Yo-yo (I saw some cute ones on Etsy! And a yo-yo is infinitely useful, as you know.)

2. Candy! (Of course!)

3. I can't think of any more. You can see why I need some help. Stockings are cavernous and yo-yos are small.

P.S Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

P.P.S. Feel free to follow me! I promise only ever to lead you to bright, sunny places!

Forget About Chestnuts, I'll Take Peppermint Bark, please!

One of my followers on Twitter (you can follow me too, by the way!) mentioned that my tweets heavily feature holiday foods. And here is why: I love holiday food.

A blog I've been visiting regularly for my holiday-food-fix is The Red Deer. I look at the pictures of Alicia's peppermint bark, her iced lemon cookies, her white rocky road... and sigh.

So enjoy her lovely food pics and recipes (and clever writing!).

Pure holiday-food-joy.

P.S Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

P.P.S. Feel free to follow me! I promise only ever to lead you to bright, sunny places!

The Fun's Begun Weekly Song Sketch

This song is one of those holiday songs that is always in my head, one of those I sing lustily and make up half the words because, really, who knows the words to this song?

Well, me, actually, as of yesterday. Hooray!

And I also found out that the song (written by Leon Jessel) is from a Betty Boop short that costars King Kong. Making this an obvious choice for the second in my holiday song sketch series.

If you want a copy, just let me know in a comment (please make sure you leave your email if it's your first time asking). I'll email it and you can share it with everybody!

*Feel free to follow this blog! I promise only to lead you to bright, sunny places.

Christmas Card Swap!

I have an unquenchable passion like Winnie-the-Pooh; his for honey, mine for stationery. Now, combine my passion for stationery with my passion for the holidays and it's an irresistible cocktail called Christmas cards! All that to say, I have a pile of Christmas cards and, happily (though sad for my holiday card collection), most of my friends and family that live down the street.

I thought that maybe there were others in a similar predicament - lovely holiday cards and nowhere to send them - so I wanted to open up a Christmas card swap. I was imagining the joy of receiving cards from all over the world from my delightful bloggy friends!

There aren't any rules, really, just send me an email with your mailing address and leave a comment below. It's open to international readers too, of course! I'm going to see how many people respond before I determine how many people to put in each group, so if you have a limit, let me know.

I won't be collecting addresses after December 1 so that we can all receive our holiday cards in enough time to incorporate them into decorating. Hooray!

Shopping and Helping the World at the Same Time

I just found the perfect seasonal discovery for us online holiday shoppers: iGive.

How it works: you search for a store you at which you want to shop and then once you make your purchase, the store donates a percentage of their profits to the cause of your choice (and there are a lot of choices from animal rescue to schools to the rainforest). How marvelous is that?!

It doesn't work with Etsy, unfortunately, but it even works with Ebay (Ebay gives up a portion of their cut). The hard part is remembering not just to go directly to Amazon or L'Occitane without first visiting through the site. But I'm sure that once I get in the habit, I'll be racking up donations in no time. So for all my non-Etsy purchases this holiday season, I'm going to try to shop through iGive.

Saving tigers while finding that ideal gift? I'm in!