A couple of years ago I bought Mr. Ñ a record player for his birthday. We quickly became obsessed and "gathered" (aka stole) some jems from our parents' collections. A good friend of our gave us a box full of vinyl records for our wedding gift and our collection has continued to grow ever since. So far any new addition has been discovered haphazardly, but I'd to change that. Here is my VINYL WISHLIST:

1. Paul Simon- Graceland
2. Tribe Called Quest- People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythms 
3. Tribe Called Quest- Midnight Marauders
4. Buena Vista Social Club

Last month I went on an all-ladies Big Sur camping trip. I have been wanting to go to Big Sur for years and it did not disappoint. I'll have a full post on travel tips and where to go, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some camping essentials. Whenever I travel, I try to take things that can serve more than one function.

1 I love me some thick-ass Mexican-style blankets. These types of blankets do more than just serve as pretty picnic blankets. I used as an extra layer over my sleeping bag and to shield food in the car from the sun.

2 We learned the hard way-- buy a shit ton of wood-- more than you think you'll ever need. My great accomplishment of the trip was creating an awesome fire on our second night there. Once you get that fire going, you don't want to run out of wood.

3 A good book is essential-- I don't think I need to go into more detail about this. Take something that is a fun read. This year I'm giving myself permission to read more fantasy, more teen-lit, and sci fi.

4 If you don't have a headlamp, you're a big dummy. Having a hands-free light when you need to do dishes in the dark, need to find your way to a safe pee space in the middle of the night, and just for general walking in the dark safety. For some reason people think these are dorky...I think they're big dummies.

5 I always take a couple of good cotton scarves when I travel. They're good for sun cover, to cover your mouth if you're somewhere smelly or with a lot of bugs, and they're good for an extra towel in a pinch. I also use mine to cover my eyes when I sleep because daylight coming through your tent can be a pain.

6 Take more towels than you think you'll need, especially if you're doing a lot of "gourmet" cooking. We also used towels to wrap delicate dishes or food that needed extra protection.

7 Yes they are ugly, but you should take some sort of slippers or uggs with you. I got some fake uggs right before the trip-- they not only keep your feet cozy at night, but because they're higher up you can tromp through the campground without worrying about getting your legs dirty or rashy from poison ivy.