New Beginnings [Music Mixup linkup]

January marked the beginning of the first swap I organized, and I've had the time of my life putting it all together. If you missed what the Music Mixup swap is all about, no worries! Tomorrow, I'll be announcing the theme for February and signups will start all over again

The theme for January was New Beginnings and was left open to interpretation. The playlist could include songs about starting over, songs to motivate, songs to encourage. I thought it was fitting for January, and I think everyone had fun with this one.

I was partnered up with two ladies this month because there was an uneven number of people signed up. I had so much fun getting to know Stephanie @ Just A Little Bit Louder and Sarah @ Both Sides Now...it's crazy how much I had in common with these two even though we live so far apart. Fun fact: I actually met Sarah at the Memphis Blogger Meetup last month.

I created two different playlists for these two because their tastes in music were just a little bit different, but there were a couple of songs that I just had to add to both of their mixes. One of them was a song that I discovered through MacKensie @ One To Nothin' that I just had to pass along. Trust me when I say this song is fantastic- I can listen to it over and over for a few hours at a time. Love.

"Carry On" by Fun.

Now, wanna see one of my favorites from both Stephanie and Sarah? Your wish is my command.

"Little Victories" by Matt Nathanson

Stephanie hooked me up with an intense playlist, and I loved every minute of it. Some of the musicians were favorites we had in common (John Mayer), but others were people that she knew personally. How awesome is that? I love hearing music that people have a personal connection to- it all just seems more real, you know? Not only did she hook me up with 2 discs of a mix, but she also sent me a Tyrone Wells sampler that I'm excited to listen to more of. This girl knew how to make my life happy.

"Keep Your Eyes Open" by Needtobreathe

Sarah and I were apparently musical soul mates. I sent her a Damien Rice song because he's my musical dream man, and she loves him too. We were meant to be. So many songs on her playlist are songs of bands that I'd been meaning to get more music from, songs that I absolutely adore, or were songs that I had forgotten were so great. The songs that I had never heard of were so great too...I'm off to search for more of their music now!

Overall, I think this was so fun! I can't wait to start organizing next month's swap tomorrow!

If you participated in the first month of the swap, make sure and link up what you got, what you sent your partner, or both! I can't wait to see what you all came up with! Also, don't forget to come back tomorrow to sign up for February and find out what next month's theme is!