music – awkward vodka

Best Christmas Albums for Girls in Their 20s

Now that winter is in full swing (we’ve gotten plenty of snow here in Minneapolis!), listening to Christmas music is a must. Since we here at Award Vodka are all girls in their 20s with good taste, we wanted to share the best Christmas albums that you need to own if you are a girl in her 20s.

1. Amy Grant: Home for Christmas

Amy Grant takes you back to middle school, making up dance routines, belting these songs with your sisters while mom watched and sang along. Admit it, you wanted to be Amy Grant when you grew up – I mean, who wouldn’t want that hair? I know my 5th grade self definitely did.

2. Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas

Not only is “All I Want For Christmas Is You” the best Christmas song of all time, but it automatically can make you the life of any party. Request it at the DJ booth, put it on your holiday party’s playlist, use 3 credits on your TouchTunes App to play it at any bar you walk into. Trust us, you can’t go wrong with this song.

3. NSYNC: Home for the Holidays

Duh.

4. Celine Dion: These Are The Special Times

Celine is a goddess we all worshiped, in the 90s, in the 2000s and still today. This album has all the classics with that special Celine touch that will give you shivers every time.

5. Michael Buble: Christmas

Michael makes us feel like classy young women, and who doesn’t love that. While listening to this album, I can bet you are picturing yourself sitting by the fire, in a warm fuzzy long red robe, sipping a hot toddy while Michael and his lovely eyes treat you to a private concert right there in your living room. Swoon.
Runner up: Harry Connick Jr., Harry for the Holidays

6. Hanson: Snowed In

See #3

7. Bing Crosby: Merry Christmas

This one only made the list because it reminds us of our grandparents and Christmas of past. No doubt they made you listen to it growing up, or they made your parents listen to it and they passed it down on to you. This is the ultimate classic Christmas album and if it wasn’t included, this list would automatically be discredited.

Pedal Pub!

If you’ve never done a Pedal Pub, I highly suggest you try one. We went on one last weekend, and it was a blast.

According to their website, The PedalPub® is the Bike with the Barrel!® Their mission is to provide a fun, safe, environmentally-friendly way for groups of eight to sixteen adults to get some light exercise and fresh air while touring interesting parts of town on a big Dutch-made bike.

Our tour went around Northeast Minneapolis. I only went into Mayslack’s Bar to take shots and stayed drinking on the pedal pub at other stops.

Here are the top 6 reasons we love pedal pubbin’:

The majority of the times available are during the day so it’s totally acceptable and expected that you’re day drunk.
It’s a good workout. Unless you grab one of the seats without wheels for the majority of the ride (guilty), you’ll be pedaling for at least an hour while tipping back those high-cal drinks.
All of the Pedal Pubs that we’ve been on have a CD player which means you can jam out to your own music while pedaling along. Our mix included Ke$ha, Beyonce, Spice Girls, Michael Jackson, J. Beibs, Robyn and Miley.
Last weekend was beautiful! It was like 75 degrees and sunny all afternoon. Chilling on the pedal pub was a great way to enjoy great weather while also binge drinking!
Who doesn’t like a bar crawl? Well this is a bar crawl minus the walking.
It’s totally acceptable to wear comfy clothes because you’re basically working out…

There’s still time left in the summer! So schedule one. You won’t regret it.

Best Summer 2013 Mix Ever

One of my favorite pastimes is making mix CDs. Yes, I know it’s totally outdated, but there is something comforting about burning a CD, writing the perfect title on it with a sharpie, putting it in the CD player and jamming out all night. I don’t mean to brag or anything, but there is a science to making a perfect mix CD, and I’ve figured it out. So I thought I’d share some of my genius with you and provide the ultimate summer 2013 mix. You will love it. Trust me.

1. “Cups” – Anna Kendrick

2. “Thinking of You” – Ke$ha

3. “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks” – Snoop Lion feat. Miley Cyrus

4. “Cruise” – Florida Georgia Line feat. Nelly

5. “Anything Could Happen” – Ellie Goulding

6. “Dancing on my Own” – Robyn

7. “Crickets” – Drop City Yacht Club feat. Jeremih

8. “Other Side” – Jason Derulo

9 “Closer” – Tegan & Sara

10. “Stompa” – Serena Ryder

11. “Blurred Lines” – Robyn Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell

12. “Come and Get It” – Selena Gomez

13. “The Way” Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller

ACMs Drinking Game

The ACM Awards are this Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. Nothing goes as well together as drinking and country music, so get your booze ready, put on those cowboy boots and play this game on Sunday night.

…Also be prepared to call in sick on Monday morning…

If you’re skeptical about spending an evening watching country, take a look at the hosts – the manly, hot hot hot Blake Shelton and sexy, sexy Luke Bryan.

Now that I’ve given you a good enough reason to watch the action, here are the rules…

Drink every time:

Blake Shelton talks about The Voice

Blake/Luke take a dig at Carrie Underwood/Brad Paisley

Someone says y’all

Someone talks about drinking

A winner thanks God

Luke/Blake make fun of someone in the audience

Someone performs in a cowboy hat

There’s a great view of Luke Bryan’s ass

It’s obvious that someone is giving a speech drunk

The camera pans to an unimpressed T. Swizzle

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert look adorable together

Hunter Hayes reminds you of a country Justin Bieber

If you’ve never heard one of the songs being performed

Hard Liquor Rules:

If Miranda Lambert wins anything, take a shot of whiskey

If Eric Church wins anything, take a jag bomb

If Taylor Swift wins anything, chug a soda

If Blake Shelton wins anything, take shots until you’re bombed and then start Tweeting your thoughts about life

If Carrie Underwood wins anything, play slap the bag with a bag of wine

Finish your drink:

When you see someone with a drink in his/her hands

Just for fun, my predictions are Miranda Lambert for Female Vocalist of the Year, Blake Shelton for Male Vocalist of the Year and Taylor Swift (should be Luke Bryan…) for Entertainer of the Year.

What do you think? Not that it matters since you’ll most likely be blacked out by the time these awards start…

25

By: Me. A 25-year-old.

It feels like a perfect night to dress up in sweatpants
Drink too much wine and send stupid texts, ah ah, ah ah.
It feels like a perfect night for a Taco Bell at midnight
Go to the bar and annoy strangers, ah ah, ah ah.

Yeah,
We’re drunk, broke, tired and wired at the same time
It’s hilarious and a little pathetic, oh, yeah
Tonight’s the night when we forget, well, everything…
It’s time.

Uh oh!
I don’t know about you
But I’m feeling 25
Everything will be alright
But I don’t know if I’ll survive
You don’t know about me
But I’ll tell you even if you don’t want to
Everything will be alright
If we just keep dancing like we’re
25
25

It seems like one of those nights,
This place is too crowded.
Too many young kids, ah ah, ah ah
It seems like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene and end up drinking
Too much before midnight.

Yeah,
We’re drunk, broke, tired and wired at the same time
It’s hilarious and a little pathetic, oh, yeah
Tonight’s the night when we forget about our age
It’s time

Uh oh!
I don’t know about you
But I’m feeling 25
Everything will be alright
But I don’t know if I’ll survive
You don’t know about me
But I’ll bet you want to
Everything will be alright (alright)
If we just keep dancing like we’re
25
25
I don’t know about you
25
25

It feels like one of those nights,
We ditch the whole scene.
It feels like one of those nights,
We will be sleeping.
It feels like one of those nights,
You look like bad news,
Tequila, I gotta have you,
Jager or Vodka, too.

Oh oh yeah hey!
I don’t know about you
But I’m feeling 25
Everything will be alright
But I don’t know if I’ll survive
You don’t know about me
But I’ll tell you even if you don’t want to
Everything will be alright
If we just keep dancing like we’re
25
25
25, yeah, yeah
25, yeah, yeah, yeah

Things I Pretend to be Good At

1. Golfing

I used to take lessons but the truth is I’m awful. But what better way to get boys to like you than saying you’re good at playing golf? I’m sold.

2. U.S. History

Industrial Revolution? Of course I know when that started and why it affected so many Americans…

3. MLB stats

I’m constantly trying to beat my brother in “who knows more about major league baseball.” I’m confident in my claims which wins me a fight here and there – but in truth, I’m always making it up.

4. Singing

I love to critique The Voice contestants like I know what I’m talking about or that I could be any better – when in reality, I’m not even close.

5. Being a “foodie”

I like to sound smart and cultured by telling people how much I love foie gras and ceviche, but the truth is I hate it. Actually, the real truth is I’ve never tried those kinds of foods before. I just like people to think I have.

6. Hairstyling

I swear in a second life I was a cosmetologist. I LOVE doing hair, makeup, nails, etc. and I especially love doing those things on other people. So of course I’m going to talk myself up and convince my friends to leave their physical appearances in my un-trained hands.

7. Weigh lifting

I think it’s really cool when people can life a lot of weight. So I like to brag and say I can bench 70 lbs. Easy.

8. Painting nails

Often times I offer to paint people’s nails because I love it and find it oddly therapeutic. However, I am awful at it. Especially when I’m drunk. But you know what? I could care less how other people’s nails look, so I lie and say I’m good at it.

9. Artsy movies

I watched Blue Valentine and that’s about as far as my indie movie repertoire extends. But I would never really let anyone know that…

10. Politics

Who really knows what Joe Biden does every day? No one. How about Condoleeza Rice? I can’t even spell her name. And is she still part of the president’s cabinet thing? I love gays and that’s about all I know about politics.

Summer Nights: Playlist

Days like today, it’s important to remember that summer is just around the corner. And what screams summer more than country music? Here are the top 10 country songs that will transport you to summer after a quick listen…

10. Eric Church – Drink a Little Drink

9. Luke Bryan – Drunk on You

8. Randy Houser – How Country Feels

7. Josh Turner – All Over Me

6. Billy Currington – Good Directions

5. Florida Georgia Line – Cruise

4. Zac Brown Band – Knee Deep

3. Rascal Flatts – Summer Nights

2. Kenny Chesney – Summertime

1. Little Big Town – Pontoon

*Disclaimer: This post was written by Sarah. Kait has horrible taste in music and hates country, and Ray is only slowly beginning to listen to this fantastic genre.

Nelly is Back!

Nelly is back, you guys!!!

Sarah’s Favorite Things: Part II

Time for another installment of Sarah’s favorite things…

Crock Pots: There are so many delicious things that can be made in a crock pot. Throw chicken in before work with some salsa, tomatoes and peppers, and you have chicken tacos when you get home from work. Or take a pork loin and add some barbecue sauce, and pulled pork sandwiches are ready as soon as you step in the door. Also, how good does your apartment/house smells after having the crock pot going all day!

T.V.: TV is so good right now, you guys.

Some of my favorites are Carrie Dairies, Pretty Little Liars, Modern Family, Lying Game, Criminal Minds, Nashville, Revenge, The Mindy Project, Scandal and New Girl.

That doesn’t even include the shows I want to start from episode 1: Parenthood, Parks & Rec, Girls, Homeland and Mad Men.

Someone get me a life. Fast.

Brunch: There’s really nothing better than brunch. Here’s a list of my top 4 brunch spots in Uptown Minneapolis –

Uptown Diner: If you don’t care about missing out on Bloody Marys or Screw Drivers, this is definitely the place to be. My favorites include the Caprese Benedict or Gyro Omelet.
Lyndale Tap House: Free mimosa with any breakfast!
Gigi’s Cafe: The outdoor seating is the perfect atmosphere for summer brunch. Try the iced tea with quiche or a breakfast sandwich.
Bar Abeline: I feel like I can’t even really call it one of my favorites because I’ve only gone twice, but they have $3 bottomless mimosas from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.!

Websites like #myfriendsaremarried, #howdoiputthisgently, #whatshouldwecallme: If you haven’t heard of these before, you’ve been living under a rock. Check them out.

ZZ Ward: I love her. Her music is amazing, and I can’t stop listening to it.

Vodka: That’s right. I still love Vodka. Try this recipe we shared last week.

Keep it Tight: Music

When you drink, you drunk eat. Pizza. French Fries. Cheese burgers. Mac ‘n Cheese. Bread Sticks. Tots. Potato Chips. You see it. You eat it.

Drunk eating habits cause us to actually have to workout. The best way to get through a tough workout is to have an awesome playlist (oddly similar to how an awesome playlist can also get you through a long day/night of drinking).

As K said in her Doctor Stalking post, “If you want to date a doctor, you gotta keep it tight!” So next time you need some motivation to get in a great workout, listen to one of these playlists from your favorite vodka-lovers…

Sarah’s Pump-Up Mix:
1. “Thrift Shop” – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
2. “Troublemaker” – Olly Murs
3. “Move it like U Stole It” – ZZ Ward
4. “Va Va Voom” – Nicki Minaj
5. “T.H.E.” – will.i.am
6. “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson
7. “C’mon” – Ke$ha
8. “Feel this Moment” – Xtina and Pitfall
9. “Dancing On My Own” – Robyn
10. “Kerosene” – Miranda Lambert
11. “Dontcha” – Pussy Cat Doll

And the award for Sarah’s favorite workout song goes to…

Ray Ray’s Girl Power Mix
1. “Bulletproof” – David Guetta feat. Sia
2. “Turntables” – Ciara feat. Christ Brown
3. “S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)” – Jordin Sparks
4. “Red Hot Kind Of Love” – Christina Aguilera
5. “Leave (Get Out)” – JoJo
6. “Love on Top” – Beyonce
7. “Wild One” – Flo Rida feat. Sia
8. “Beauty and a Beat” – Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj
9. “Can’t Be Tamed” – Miley Cirus
10. “Teenage Love Affair” – Alicia Keys
11. “God Is A DJ” – P!nk

And in honor of my favorite local DJ who loves to run, especially to girly music …

Kait’s Rocking Out Playlist:
1. “Calibria 2008” – Enur ft. Natasja & MIMS
2. “Percussion Gun” – White Rabbits
3. “Right Round” – Flo Rida
4. “Sexy Chick” – David guetta ft. Akon
5. “Tighten Up” – Black Keys
6. “Whatever You Like” – Nicole Sherzinger
7. “Toxic” – Britney Spears
8. “Dig” – Incubis
9. “Morning After Dark” – Timberland ft. Nelly Furtado
10. “Dance” – Big Sean
11. “Telephone” – Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce

Kait’s favorite: How can you NOT want to go kick butt when you hear this song? …