Wrapping up Jim Croce week, we're going to talk just a little about Thyme In A Bottle. You may have heard of Croce's restaurant in San Diego, but did you know that Ingrid Croce released a book of stories and recipes from her life and restaurant?
I came across the book on eBay for $30 or $40. I consulted my favorite place to buy books, BetterWorldBooks.com, and found it for $3.98. It's a former library book, but I don't mind!
It came last night and I only had time to read the first few pages. I love her philosophy on cooking (have fun with it) and her writing seems like it's going to be a really inviting read. She seems very warm and approachable in this book.
There's no need for pretense here. Food is about fun. It must be approachable, embraceable, capturing your heart and your spirit too. So make mistakes and learn from them. I do!
I make a lot of mistakes but she reassures us that we have our whole lives to practice!
I can't wait to dig in and maybe plan a Croce dinner party! If I actually do, you can bet I'll take notes and blog about it. :)
(BetterWorldBooks is a GREAT site I've been using for years to buy used books. They are generally under $5 and the profits go to literacy programs across the world and shipping is free. You can pay a few cents to carbon offset your shipping, too! LOVE LOVE LOVE them!)
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Are you wondering why I chose to highlight Jim Croce this week? It's simply because I love him. My mom loves him and I grew up listening to Photographs & Memories and innocently singing "Bad, bad Leroy Brown - baddest man in the whole downtown." The innocence of children, right? :)
I could listen to only "oldies" for the rest of my life. There's SO much great music that's already been made. As it got warmer a few weeks ago, I found myself drawn to 70s rock. I couldn't get enough of the Doobie Brothers and America. Then I thought, "I'll finish the week out strong with Jim Croce." My heart was so happy!
I started wondering about him - how in the world could "Operator," such a tender, heartbreaking song and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" come from the same writer? I did a little searching and discovered that his wife, Ingrid, had released a Jim Croce biography in the past few years. I immediately requested it from the library and I've been reading it over the past few weeks. Here's a little bit of a recap about how Jim and Ingrid came together and my interpretation of how his style developed:
Jim and Ingrid met when he was in college and she was 16. They fell in love pretty quickly even though his parents objected to their relationship due to her age and the fact that she was Jewish, not Catholic. His dad was distant and disapproving and Jim turned to Ingrid's dad as a father-figure. The two men shared a love of psychology and discussing life. Jim decided to convert to Judaism and married Ingrid while she was in college.
While they were getting to know each other and beginning to date, they played music together constantly. They booked gigs and performed in a rowdy bar in a neighboring town. Jim seemed to be really inspired by bawdy English drinking songs and would perform them at the club. Throughout the years, he met blue-collar men and was inspired by their work ethic. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" makes SO much more sense when you read about his friendships with colorful construction workers and his stint in the National Guard. (Leroy Brown was real- he was Jim's seargent!)
He seemed to be a true artist - moody and unpredictable. Even though they had their ups and downs, they were committed to each other. Jim gave us some of the best love songs ever and I'm thankful to Ingrid for inspiring the softer side of him.
Watch him perform "Operator" below:
And the iconic "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown":
Want more love and heartache songs? Be sure to check out the below songs on my Jim Croce Spotify playlist!
Photographs & Memories
I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song
These Dreams
Lover's Cross
Alabama Rain
New York's Not My Home
Want to hear more rowdy songs? Check out:
Roller Derby Queen
Rapid Roy The Stock Car Boy
You Don't Mess Around With Jim
Working At The Car Wash Blues
Five Short Minutes
Speedball Tucker
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It's still Jim Croce week on Owl Really! It's my birthday and I can Croce if I want to! :-)
I recently re-did the frames and art above our couch and needed to fill a 4x6 frame. I decided to make some lyric art based on one of my favorite Jim Croce songs, "Time In A Bottle."
It's nothing ground-breaking and I'm not a real designer, but since I made it , I wanted to offer it up as a free download in case anyone else loves the song as much as I do!
If you want to enjoy the song while you browse blogs, here you go!
The really sad thing is that since I turned 31 today, I have lived longer than Jim Croce did. (He passed away at the age of 30.) He was such a prolific songwriter - it's hard to imagine that he was so young when he was writing such amazing songs.
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I decided to turn my birthday week into Jim Croce week on the blog. I hope hope hope that you're familiar with his music, but if you're not, get ready!!!
I created this Jim Croce playlist on Spotfiy - there have been so many Greatest Hits albums released that a lot of songs repeat across albums. I loaded this playlist with one of each song that was available on Spotify - and some of them are ones that never made it to a Greatest Hits so I actually wasn't familiar with them!
Listen by clicking below (or the link above!)
Spotify is a free app that lets you stream almost any music. It's wonderful!
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BUT, I gave it another chance and oh my goodness. I had a major marathon over the weekend while I cleaned and did stuff around the house and then this week I managed to finish Season 2. SO, SO GOOD.
Season 1 is available on Netflix and Season 2 just aired on PBS so you can watch it on PBS.org and on the PBS app. (If you don't have the PBS app, I recommend it! There are so many shows available on it that look REALLY interesting!)
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This post is for allll the girls googling about Redken's Fresh Curls Curl Refiner and Soft Spin being discontinued. I used both products and LOVED them but sadly, Redken changed up their entire curl line and those products are no longer available.
I tried the Curvaceous Full Swirl and the new Ringlet - didn't like either of them, unfortunately. And I hate the smell. So disappointing!
My curl care routine has been the same for many years. I lightly towel-dry my hair - trying to keep the curls as thick as possible. The stringier the curls get, the worse my hair looks, so generally I try to keep as much water in my hair as I can in order to get my curls to clump together better. I then lightly scrunch a curl creme through my hair and then a holding gel. I never run my fingers through my hair or drag product through. I only lightly scrunch. I let it airdry for 20ish minutes and then dry it with a diffuser for like...EVER. It takes awhile. When it's dry, I normally put some kind of holding wax/pomade in. That's the last missing piece of my routine right now - I haven't figured out what works the best since my products have been in flux.
The Beyond The Zone Noodle Head is a good curl creme and I follow it up with the Ion Volume Solutions Amplifying Style Builder. They are not perfect replacements but they are working pretty well for me right now.
I hope this helps anyone who is googling and looking for a replacement!!
(I'm aware of the no-poo and Curly Girl movement but it's just not really for me...I'm super happy for anyone that it works for though!)
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