Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Music Monday: Favorite Frank Sinatra Song Quotes

Sinatra SongsI’m not sure if I’ve done this before, but I was going through some old playlist and got to remembering.  Yes, I love Fuel, The Police, Imagine Dragons, Hozier and some new/old stuff, but some of the time I switch to the old 1940-1960s song book of The Chairman of the Board, Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Mr. Francis Sinatra.  I am from New Jersey, so, yeah, natch, right?

As a romance writer, it helps me get in the mood to write love scenes and the interaction  of people becoming lovers when I listen to some of the great lyricists of the American Songbook.  Those writers had a way of turning a phrase and of creating metaphors and similies that evoke the feeling of love, falling in love and being in love.  I wanted to share a few of my faves with you and who better to demonstrate than Sinatra himself?

 

How Little We Know

Quote:

“Who cares with your lips on mine…..How ignorant bliss is…
So long as you kiss me ……and the world around us shatters….”

Video:

All the Things You Are

Quote:

“You are the angel glow that lights the star
The dearest things that I know are what you are…”

Video:

 

Fly Me to the Moon

Quote:

“Fill my heart with song…..
And let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore…”

 

Video

 

Come Fly with Me

Quote:

“Once I get you up there
I’ll be holding you so near
You may hear
Angels cheer, ’cause we’re together…”

Video

 

The Best is Yet to Come

Quote

“Come the day you’re mine
I’m gonna teach you to fly
We’ve only tasted the wine
We’re gonna drain the cup dry…”

Video:

 

So there you go, my blasts from the romantic past for Music Monday. I hope you enjoyed!

 

D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Things about Winter

Hey, it’s Fandom Friday again!  Let me to a shout out to fellow geek bloggers Super Space Chick and The Nerdy Girle for organizing this, as always.  It certainly helps me stay on the blogging bandwagon.

 

fandom.5.friday

It is January! Where did all the time go?  A couple of years ago, we’d all be complaining that we’re still putting 2014 on our checks….but who writes checks anymore?

 

bird-winter PD

 

Let’s get to it, shall we?  Five things I absolutely love about Winter.

 

1.  Getting snowed in.

As a stay at home mom, sometimes my only reason to get up early and to leave the house is to take the kiddies to school.  I am as eager as they are waiting for the phone call that will tell me that I don’t have to drive through unplowed streets, squeezing the wheel in my hands because other folks don’t know how to drive in the snow.  Plus, it’s a great impromptu vacation day supplement with movies, cocoa, and fun.  Usually the little ones let me get a little work done too.

2.  Hot Drinks

Yes, I love my coffee, but winter is the time I like to try out other hot drinks too!  I have recently discovered the love of Chai Latte without going to Dunkin’ Donuts!  The magic contained in that K-cup is far beyond Merlin could have ever imagined. There are more sample packs of flavorlicious coffee and teas offered this time of year, natch, than any other.  Love it!

3.  Cuddling Up!

My husband works for a school system, so when it snows, he usually gets  snow day too.  If we’re lucky, we get the call the night before and are then able to cuddle up, watching movies and chatting long after the little ones have gone to sleep.

4.  Scarves and Hats

If you have to go out in the cold, there’s nothing like snuggling into a warm hat and/or scarf.  I’m a compulsive crocheter and knitter, so if you reach out your hand in my house, you will come back with a hat or scarf or both.  It’s nice to know that the family–including the dog–is putting these things to good use!

5.  Sounds of Silence

There’s nothing like winter silence.  It’s that dark moment right before the cold winter sunrise that nothing is stirring, except maybe the wind.  It’s quite peaceful and fulfilling.

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Holiday Songs to Spread Cheer

Hey, it’s Fandom Friday again!  Let me to a shout out to fellow geek bloggers Super Space Chick and The Nerdy Girle for organizing this, as always.  It certainly helps me stay on the blogging bandwagon.

 

fandom.5.friday

It’s December!  It’s the holiday season.  Did you miss my post over at the Luscious Literaries about Five Things I Love about Winter?  If so, take a peek over there to see what I’m talking about.

But now it’s time to dust off the old Christmas playing list and get in the mood for snow, Santa and Christmas!

Santa girl with presents

 

Coming from a totally musical family, I was both a band geek and a chorus nerd.  Let me put it perspective – I have a clarinet in the basement somewhere and my own personal copy of Handel’s Messiah.  I guess you could say that I’m all about the Christmas music, in several keys and various languages.

The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole

Super classic.  Everytime I hear this one, I want to look out of the window to see if it is snowing. If it is, score 110 on Christmas!  Nat’s voice is so smooth and mellow on this song and is such melted butter to the ears.  Just wonderful to listen to sitting in front of the fire with a cup of hot…spiked…cocoa.

 

Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt

Come on, it’s Eartha!  Who else can be coy and sexy at absolutely the same time.  I mean, I’m a huge fan of Madonna, but her version doesn’t touch this one.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

This song makes the choral nerd in me just fly free.  The perfection of the melodies, the balance of the voices and the overall lovely arrangement….it’s  great listening.

O, Holy Night  – Luciano Pavarotti

 

Mario Lanza, Placido Domingo….I love my tenors, but Pavaratti takes the cake.  The purity and clarity of his voice, and the way he can hit those high notes with barely an effort – simply divine – see what I did there?

Do You Hear What I Hear? – Whitney Houston

I just love this song.  When it comes on, I stop whatever I’m doing, turn it up and listen. Despite all her other problem, Whitney had a voice of the ages and she does this classic tune justice.

 

 

Come back at me….name some of your favorite Christmas songs and leave ’em in the comments!

D

5 Things I Love about Winter

Winter (1)Winter is the time of year where it gets dark early, which means cocktail hour starts so much earlier than in the summer.  The children are in school, the weather is blustery turning to cold and there’s a lot of baking to be done.  The brisk wind wakes you up when you go outside, making you that much more grateful to hurry back into the house or to a warm car.

At least that’s the way it is here in New Jersey, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The leaves did their final drop in the last week or so, and gray skies have presided for the last three days.  I have no complaints about this, because I love winter.  How much do I love winter?  Why, let me count the ways.

 

 

Love this Snuggie!!
Love this Snuggie!!

1.  My Leopard Snuggie – Depending on my mood, I wear it as a dragging, regal robe and my children call me the leopard queen.  I love it.  It’s warm, it’s fleecy and it’s an excellent emergency blanket for a child who needs a snuggle.

 

 

Coffee cup and beans on a white background. File contains the path to cut.

2.  Hot Coffee – I love coffee anytime, anywhere and will only drink it hot, no matter what the temperature outside.  But you’ve gotta admit, there’ something special about that first cup of coffee when I’ve dropped off the little ones and hurried into a warm house from the freezing temperatures outside.  The house is totally quiet.  After the gurgle of the Keurig, it’s just me and that Black Silk, with a little creamer to lighten the load.  Bonus points for those donuts from the 7-eleven.

 

Yes. I am wearing these right now.
Yes. I am wearing these right now.

 

3.  Slippers – I’ve got slippers, heavy socks, fur lined leopard sequined slippers, you name it, I’ve got it.  Again, it’s about the warmth and the snuggles.

 

 

Christmas cookies

 

4.  Baking – I am not a cook.  Dinner is a task.  But baking?  Why I love baking!  Cookies, biscuits, cakes, loaves…it is on during the winter season. Plus, the heat doesn’t kick on as much and the house smells soooooo durn good. In addition, I get to play June Cleaver with the kids and feed them hot chocolate with homemade sugar cookies!

 

I'm the one on the right.
I’m the one on the right.

5.  Comforters – There’s nothing better after a long day of cooking, kids, dog and writing than to snuggle up with the hubs under our heavy comforter.  Sure, it’s as old as our marriage, has some holes and is a little ragged around the edges, but it is warm and reminds me of how much I love winter.  Plus, with the nights being so long, I don’t feel like an old person getting into bed at 8:30.

So, dear readers, what are some of your favorite things about winter?

5 Fandom Friday – My Super Fave Apps

Five Favorite AppsI am a recent convert from an Apple iPhone 4s to a Samsung Galaxy s5 and I’m not sorry.   I’ve found that my functionality has increased with the Android operating system.  Plus who can resist an OS named “Kit Kat”?

Shout out to The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick for organizing this!

Here are the apps that I use and love:

Instagram:  I don’t post as often as I’d like, but I love looking at the snippets of what other people are up to.  Whether it be beautiful fall trees are cute pets, Instagram is so much fun.

FitBit:  As a stay at home mom, I don’t do as much walking around as I’d like unless I put my mind to it.  Luckily there’s the FitBit, a little device that clips onto your body that tracks your steps.  Everytime I look at my phone to see a cute pet pic on Instagram, the FitBit reminds me to keep moving.

 

Relax Melodies:  Sometimes you need to tune the world out and activate relaxation right away.  This app helps you do that.  This was one of the first apps I purchased for my new phone.

 

 

Netflix:  I love The Office.  Can’t watch enough of it.  This app keeps The Office in my pocket.

 

Picture Life:  Every single picture I take is upload to a cloud service right away.  And it’s only pictures.  I don’t have to sort through documents, music etc.  And as an added bonus, they send you pictures from dates past.

 

So don’t keep us in suspense!  What are some of your favorite apps?

 

D