It’s a new month (which just so happens to be my favorite month– AND my birthday month!), and you know what that means! Time for another roundup of things I’m loving these days. Besides, of course, the obvious: the crazy gorgeous sunny weather we’ve been having. I LOVE SPRING.

1. Dead Fingers

I know the name is a little off-putting (apparently it was inspired by a playground game that I never played, so if you don’t get the reference then you’re probably, like me, expecting something along the lines of Insane Clown Posse), but I saw this duo play at Bottletree last weekend and OH GOODNESS, they are so good. The only reason Jamie and I went in the first place was because our friends Sam and Spencer told us they had heard Maria Taylor might be taking the stage at some point. To understand this, you have to know a little back story: Back in my freshman year of college, my friend gave me a copy of 11:11, her first album, and my roommate and I became OBSESSED. I have followed and adored her and her music for the past almost 7 years now, but I had no idea until we moved here to Birmingham that she actually lives here when she’s not recording and touring. (Her song “Birmingham 1982″ is one of my all-time favorites… go listen!) In fact, Sam and Spencer share some of the same circle of friends as her and her siblings Kate and Macey and have hung out with her before, which of course makes me think that someday we’ll become BFFs. On New Year’s Eve, we saw Macey play at the J. Clyde (and we saw their dad as well), and Jamie and I realized that we had also previously seen HIM perform as part of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band several years ago.

But fast forward…. So Maria’s sister Kate married Taylor Hollingsworth (who we also remembered from being in the Mystic Valley band for the crazy head shaking he does on stage and his super unique voice), and together they formed Dead Fingers and just released their first album last week. I had no idea what to expect going into it, but from the second they took the stage, they electrified the room with the unique blend of their vocals and their adorable-married-indie-folksy-couple vibe. Seriously, if you love the Civil Wars or She & Him, you will love them… maybe more, to be honest. I love that their chemistry isn’t weird and/or put on to sell records… they are ACTUALLY a couple and you feel like you can root for them without a guilty conscience. You can find their album here.

2. Group Singalongs at Weddings (photo from Rob and Jean’s wedding last August)

This is something that I’ve come to absolutely adore about southern weddings. While the rest of the country is no stranger to a good singalong song (hellooooo “Don’t Stop Believin’”), I feel like the specific fraternity/sorority culture here contributes to the widespread love for putting one arm around a friend and one in the air and belting out the lyrics to a song that everyone knows the words to. Here in Alabama, I would say we hear “Sweet Home Alabama” at at least 80% of the weddings we shoot (with the special addition of “Roll Tide Toll” to the chorus, depending on who the majority of the guests are fans of ;) ), but some of the other favorites include Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried,” and Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight.” I don’t know what it is, but there’s something kinda magical to me about everyone gathering around and belting out a song together, singing their lungs out, and with those last songs in particular, meaning every word and singing with pride. It creates a powerful sense of community, even if only for three and a half minutes, and most of the time you can find me singing right along with ‘em behind my camera. ;)

3. Boathouse Farms’s Green Goodness

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not what you might call an example of perfect health. I eat wayyy too many carbs. If I ever become lactose intolerant or allergic to gluten, I don’t know what I’ll do. So to supplement the lack of vitamins I get from real food, I’ve started drinking Green Goodness, which has a ton of fruit, supplements, and other fun stuff (broccoli and spinach, anyone?) packed in it. It looks pretty gross, but if you can get past the color, it actually tastes pretty dang good. It makes me feel like one of those kids whose mom has to trick them into eating healthy food, but hey…. gotta take it where you can get it, right?

4. The Voice

I’ve never gotten too sucked in by reality TV, especially when it comes to talent competitions (the exception being Project Runway, of course). But last year, when I saw previews for The Voice, something about it just drew me in, and I began watching and fell in love. There’s something about the concept and format that intrigues me, but maybe what I love most is the personalities of the the coaches and watching them interact with each other and with the singers. It’s a pretty strong testament to the power of personality, actually, because prior to watching the show, I hated Blake Shelton’s music and thought Adam Levine’s voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. But after watching them on the show, and seeing how hilarious and genuine and kind they are, I actually found myself being more open to their music. In fact, Blake’s song “Honey Bee” was one of my faves last year. WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT.

This year I’ve gotten Jamie hooked too, but he insists that if Tony Vincent doesn’t make it through the battle rounds, he’s not watching anymore. We’ll see about that. ;)

Also: Cee Lo’s cat.

Enough said.

 

Hope you guys are having a fantastic March so far! If there’s anything YOU’RE loving right now, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. :)