New Favorites

I realized that I have found some random new things lately that have quickly become favorites. I've still got a bunch of "old" favorites like Chuy's tomatillo sauce, Trapp orange vanilla candles, and the music of Nick Drake...but there's always room for more favorites.

1. The brisket quesadilla at Mi Cocina. I could eat this every day. I'm not even a huge fan of brisket, but this quesadilla really does something for me. I crave it. It's one of the best foods I have ever tasted. Because I like it so much, I ordered brisket quesadillas at a couple of other restaurants but none can compare to the one at Mi Cocina. Because the brisket is piled on so thick, the thing is a solid inch (or more) tall. It costs about $11 but can easily be shared by two people. So just order one and a couple of drinks and that's a fairly cheap dinner out.

2. Sparkle and Shine by Steve Earle. I hardly ever listen to the radio anymore. I just happened to have it on last night when I was driving. As luck would have it, an amazing song came on that just reached out and grabbed me. This happens to me every once and a while- I love it when I hear a song that I fall in love with immediately. So I looked it up when I got home and found it on you tube. I haven't liked any of the other songs I've listened to by this artist, but this one song is perfect.

3. The Pandora App. I know I am so late on this. Everyone has been talking about how cool this is for years. I don't have an iphone though, Cody does. So, I never explored this App until last night when I was sitting in the car with a sleeping Lucas while the rest of the family enjoyed fireworks. I grabbed his phone, downloaded the app, played with it for about 40 minutes and now I am totally hooked. I like it when it tells me why it chose a certain song for me.

"We chose this song because of the folk roots

acoustic sonority
repetitive melodic phrasing
melodic string accompaniment
major key tonality
melodic songwriting
a good dose of acoustic guitar pickin'
a smooth male lead vocalist
a prominent flute part
acoustic rhythm guitars"

I love me a good dose of acoustic guitar pickin' you know! Now I realize I can use pandora online at home, too. I know, I know...I am so slow to figure things out sometimes.