Her:

Music has been such a big part of my life since early childhood when I would spend time flipping through my parent’s vinyl collection and plant myself for hours in a giant bean bag chair with over sized headphones just getting lost. I can’t quite recall how I came by them, but the first non-Disney vinyl that I could call my own consisted of two albums: Lionel Richie’s “Can’t Slow Down” and Billy Joel’s “Innocent Man” – both of which I played endlessly. Shortly thereafter, at about age 10, I managed to make a little money taking care of a neighbor’s dog and I made my first ever music purchase, The Bangles – A Different Light on cassette. Even more than listening to that particular tape, I remember the excitement of walking into the record store and making my selection out of the thousands of options and the feeling that holding that cassette in my hands gave me. That may be the moment that started it all.

Much like everyone else, I was wowed by, and eventually started purchasing CDs when I could afford them. Over time, I had shelves and bins stuffed with them, and believe me, they weren’t just collecting dust. Then came the digital age, which initially blew me away and only fed my music obsession that much more, but then something changed. One would think that the ease of listening through the various media options available today would only mean that I would be more immersed in music, but for me it seems to have had the opposite effect. Maybe because it’s so easy and readily available, I’ve just gotten lazy about it. Or maybe it’s because I no longer have something tangible in my hands that my interest has waned. Whatever the case may be, I have not felt the same passion about music until I recently rediscovered vinyl.

I haven’t been this excited about something since I held that Bangles cassette tape in my hands over 30 years ago. Over the holidays, I bought my first adult turntable and I’m already feverishly working to build up my album collection, which will clearly take time, but probably has my husband already feeling as though we may go broke. (Between this and his whiskey obsession, it’s entirely possible!)

I’m still learning, still figuring out my listening set-up, researching the best methods to clean my vinyl, and discovering the hot spots for purchases. You can follow me along this little journey and see where it takes me if you so choose, and I can promise you one thing – variety. I am not a music snob. I’m not trying to find the most obscure band. I’ll never scoff at what someone else is listening to. I just dig the music, because music is magic.

Him:

My long-smoldering love affair with bourbon started about 10 years ago and didn’t progress past a simmer for a few years. The plateau was due largely to getting interested in craft beer – which is still a passion today.

For those early days, Maker’s Mark was about as fancy as it ever got in my bar and that’s honestly still my “house” bourbon today.

I’m just now dipping my toes into starting a bourbon collection and it is a daunting task, to be honest. Follow my journey and learn from the mistakes I’m certain to make, as well as celebrate with me when I get lucky and pick a good one!