The Point Blank Band — Sad Songs and Whiskey
Hot country with excellent songwriting
Alison Krauss and Union Station — Paper Airplane
It's good. But you probably knew that already
Jon Hardy and the Public — A Hard Year
Four solid country/rock tunes
Mark Growden — Lose Me in the Sand
Some great tunes, as well as some odd ones
Jack Rowdy - Jack Rowdy
The Byrds-There is a Season
MilkDrive — Road from Home
Average 'newgrass' release filed next to Nickel Creek
Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle — We Still Love Our Country
Gorgeous country duets and ballads abound
Diamonds and Gasoline - Turnpike Troubadours
Hayden Miller' Self-titled
Tuesday 22 May
OKG Newsletter
Jenny Coon Peterson
Downtown Abbey
Before season two starts, get hooked now.
Television series
Jenny Coon Peterson
Confession: I watched all seven episodes of “Downton Abbey” on DVD over the course of two days. Instead of reflecting on what that says about my laziness, let’s focus on what that says about this near-perfect British miniseries.
Not everybody’s ready for some football.
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
I don’t like football. I don’t care who won last year’s Heisman Trophy. I don’t care what hilariously named bowl game your team is attending. (Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, really?) And I feel really alone in that sentiment.
Best buys
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
Add the fact that I was finally free to decorate my own space (no more lavender carpet and paint-splatter wallpaper last popular in 1989!), and I quickly turned into a decorating machine. Except I never had any money, meaning that “decor” was mainly on-sale finds consisting solely of little keepsake boxes and tiny frames. Otherwise known as junk.
Newbies
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
You have to be buzzed in at Verdigris (1001 N.W. 10th; 602-8986), which makes me feel very posh. (Although, I think it has more to do with the up-and-coming location than keeping out the proletariat.)
Under the sea
I promise not to write in all ‘The Little Mermaid’ quotes. Take it from me.
Food and Drink Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
I know a few people who refuse to eat anything that “swims.” I say, they’re missing out. We may be landlocked, but it’s not all fried catfish showing up on the plate. Head to local fishmongers (what a great title, right?) and restaurants for all the goodies hanging out — and yes, swimming — under those waves.
The skin skinny
Jack Black products at Essentials.
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
I’ve had some big, stressful things going on lately. (I won’t bore you with the details, but it did lead me to demolish a pint of Blue Bell Banana Split ice cream.)
Back it up
Angle parking is a possibility on Broadway, but what about reverse-angle parking?
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
Angle parking is a possibility on Broadway, but what about reverse-angle parking?
Office mates
A lamp hangs next to a giant walking stick insect in a shadow box, at 30A Home.
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
My home office is what you’d call pathetic. It looks less like an office and more like a cluttered discount retailer, with stacks of books, discarded Christmas gifts (including an absurd number of “As Seen on TV” products) and garbage bags full of old clothes that I’ve been claiming I’ll take to Goodwill for about a year now. Classy.
Cool shoes
New fall shoes at Pink Sugar.
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
I bought an amazing pair of Oxford flats in a supersoft, dove-gray Italian leather while in Florence, and have been waiting for the right weather to don them.
Tea school
Forget the bag. Here’s what you need to know about drinking tea the way it’s meant.
Food and Drink Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
Not all teas are created equal. Take that stuff in the little paper satchel. (You know the stuff — it usually comes with a tag that rhymes with “mipton.”) Kristy Jennings, owner of T, an Urban Teahouse, 7518 N. May, said the category in the tea industry for it is “dust.” Tempting!
Under there
Nikki Martin models P.J. Salvage at The Lingerie Store.
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
I’ve always kind of gone cheapo for swimsuits. No idea why, since I wear the hell out of them each summer and I (ahem) need things kept in place.
Around the world
Plenty of chic towels on the racks at Sabi.
Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
Who didn’t get to take that fabulous foreign vacation this summer? I kept pushing for Montreal, but my best friend rudely insisted on getting married, gobbling up my vacation funds. (However, I did just return from a weekend visiting friends in New Jersey, which is almost like visiting another planet where you can’t pump your own gas.)
Tube food
Televisions are seemingly inescapable in metro restaurants. But not everyone is on board with the dinner-and-‘Dateline’ mode of eating.
Food and Drink Features
Jenny Coon Peterson
Dining out? Look around. You’ll probably find a television somewhere in your line of sight. That is, if you haven’t already ditched the dinner conversation to succumb to its shiny, colorful TV-ness.
