Sistercation Sangria + Soundtrack

by Michelle

   What do you get when you combine three sisters and a party-sized vat of sangria? The answer to that is happy ladies that sing, dance and tap into the humorous side of life, sharing stories, and mercilessly kidding each other. Getting to the bottom of that wine and fruit-filled vessle was a delightful way to spend an afternoon (and the better part of the evening). We tipped the dispenser rather precariously, I might add, until the lost drop was gone.
   Rhapsody provided the opportunity for everyone to play DJ. We endlessly riffed on each other's song selections as we danced spontaneously, laughed and whittled away the hours being absolutely care free. We didn't even bother getting out of our pajamas until Linda's friends called to say they were coming over for a drink to say hello to the visiting out-of-towners. Transfering into sweats and $6 dollar T-shirts from Target wasn't a huge step up in the dressing department, but hey it was all we could muster on Day Two (or was it Three?) of Sistercation.
   The first three days we were down for the count. We surrendered to the fact that there was no place we needed to be or go. After a few days of general slothdom, with the occasional spontaneous dance party thrown in, we collectively decided to venture out. It is Northern California, afterall, one must see the sites: San Francisco, Wine Country, and Highway 1. But first, we had to get matching pedicures. We were easily talked into the floral embellishment by the salon's proprietess. As Cyndi Lauper sings, and we wholeheartedly agree, girls just want to have fun.

And, more fun:

The "Three Graces" pirouette on North Salmon Creek Beach.

Sistercation Albums:
Battle Born by The Killers (Started many a morning with The Killers and Linda's Lattes)
Scars on 45 by Scars on 45 (Lovely while savoring Cassoulet)
7 Worlds Collide by Neil Finn (and friends)
Poetic Champions Compose by Van Morrison
The Best of INXS by INXS

Sistercation Tracks To Fit Our Various Moods:
Raspberry Beret and Kiss by Prince and The Revolution (Okay, we perhaps may agree upon this, pretty much anything by Prince, especially The Very Best of Prince is highly danceable)
Jungle Fever by The Time (Written by Prince)
Nasty Girl by Inaya Day (And yet another gem written by Prince)
Titanium by David Guetta Feat. Sia, and Without You by David Guetta Feat. Usher
I Can Only Imagine by David Guetta Feat. Chris Brown and Lil Wayne
Sometime Around Midnight and Wishing Well by The Airborne Toxic Event
Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode
Let's Stick Together by Roxy Music
Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse feat. Natasha Bedingfield
A Little Bit of Riddim and Say Hey (I Love You) by Michael Franti and Spearhead feat. Cherine Anderson and Shake It feat. Lady Saw
Heartbreak Beat by The Psychedlic Furs
Take Hold of My Hand, Guitars Cadillacs, Suspicious Minds and Little Sister by Dwight Yoakam
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way by Waylon Jennings
Rhythm by Awol One/Daddy Kev
She Came Along by Sharam Feat. KiD CuDi
Good Feeling by Flo Rida (Mix Rap with Pop and Michelle's all over it)
Wild One by Flo Rida feat. Sia and Club Can't Handle Me by Flo Rida featu. David Guetta
Bad Romance and Poker Face by Lady Gaga (carry over tunes from Sistercation Las Vegas)
Kids by MGMT
The Time (Dirty Bit) and Meet Me Halfway by The Black Eyed Peas
Dog Days Are Over by Florence and The Machine
Dance On My Own by Robyn
Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits
The Dead Heart, Beds Are Burning and The Forgotten Years by Midnight Oil (Theeeee Oilzzzzzzz)
She's A River by Simple Minds
The Emperor's New Clothes by Sinéad O'Connor
One Tree Hill and Elevation by U2 (and so very many more)
New Sensation and The One Thing by INXS
December by Collective Soul
Drop The Pilot and Call Me Names (I Love It When You) by Joan Armatrading
Runaway Wind by Paul Westerberg
Divine Thing by The Soup Dragons
Gangnam Style by PSY (If only you could have seen Juliette make a friend in Chinatown by referencing this song; talk about a 360 turnaround from get outta my shop to please stay for awhile. It's hilarious watching Juliette do the Gangnam moves "Juliette Style".)
Golden Years and Cat People by David Bowie
Real Wild Child (Wild One) by Iggy Pop (For you music trivia types, did you know that this song was co-produced by David Bowie?)
Pop Song 89 by R.E.M. (Linda always plays this song when we are together)
Time Bomb and Sexx Laws by Beck
Nothing Ever Hurt Like You by James Morrison
All Or Nothin' At All and Man's Job by Bruce Springsteen
Struggle and Tired Of Being Sorry (Spanish Faster) by Ringside
Hunger Strike by Temple of The Dog (Featuring Linda's dream date: Eddie Vedder)
Clampdown, followed by Train In Vain by The Clash
Thunderstruck by AC/DC (Linda's twins made their wrestling competition entrances to this song)
Tonight Is The Night by Outasight
Young Blood by The Naked and Famous
Stay Up Late, And She Was, and Wild Wild Life by Talking Heads (Linda nixed Psycho Killer... can you say part-ay pooper? But, hey, there's always the next song... it's easy to move on)
Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Bitch by Meredith Brooks
International Love by Pitbull feat. Chris Brown, which leads to...
Forever by Chris Brown (and if I'm going to list that song I might as well throw in Dynamite by Taio Cruz and Fire Burning by Sean Kingston - oldies but goodies, at least according to moi)
Blue Monday and Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order
Burn It Down by Linkin Park
Love Runs Deeper by Lindsey Buckingham
Echo and Into The Nightlife by Cyndi Lauper
Never Met A Girl Like You Before by Edwyn Collins
4 Minutes by Madonna and Justin Timberlake and Ray of Light by Madonna
Everybody Talks and Animal by Neon Trees
Glad You Came by The Wanted
I Touch Myself by The DeVinyls (Juliette + Karaoke + This Song = Standing Ovation)
Too Close by Alex Clare
Let's Spend The Night Together by The Rolling Stones
Steam by Peter Gabriel
Home by Phillip Philips
Losing You by Solange
Payphone by Maroon 5 Featuring Wiz Khalifa
I Don't Feel Like Dancin' and Take Your Mama by The Scissor Sisters
Steal My Sunshine by Len
Human by The Killers (We love us some Brandon Flowers)
Crossfire by Brandon Flowers
Elemental by Tears For Fears (We never close a sister gathering without this song being played)

The Spanish Edition of Dancemania:
Ven A Bailar and Dance Again (Bailar Nada Más) by Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull (but Linda would prefer you watch the muy caliente video). We would choose to play the song in Spanish (except there is no Pitbull on the español version - sob - so we're stuck listening to the English version and the video is in English, too.) Oh well, nothing to do about it, except dance, dance, dance.
Escapar by Enrique Iglesias and I Like It by Enrique featuring Pitbull
Suerte (Wherever, Whenver) and Ciega, Sordumuda by Shakira and Rabiosa feat. Pitbull
Ave Maria by David Bisbal
Más, Livin' la Vida Loca (Spanish Version - a must!!!!) and Nobody Wants To Be Lonely by Ricky Martin featuring Christina Aguilera
And, we'll end with:
I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) and Back In Time by "Mr. Worldwide" Pitbull - the dude has the magic touch so just about all his tracks will get everyone's feet moving, ours do!

Linda's Sangria, also known as Sistercation Sangria

   We applaud Linda for recording the recipe while the action was unfolding. Truthfully, you can use just about any type of red wine for this recipe since you are adding fruit and sparkling lemonade. Ours ranged from inexpensive to moderately priced fruit-forward wine that ranged from $7 to $14 per bottle. The lemon Italian sparkling soda added the right amount of sweetness without adding additional sugar.

Ingredients:
3 750-ml bottles of red wine, chilled or at room temperature
1-1/2 cups of cognac, such as Hennesey, or brandy
2 large oranges, washed and dried, and sliced into rings and then in half
2 lemons, washed and dried, and sliced into rings and then in half
1 peach or mango, sliced (okay to use frozen)
1 basket of strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 cups of lemon Italian sparking soda, we recommend Whole Foods Market brand

Procedure:
1. Mix together all ingredients in a 1.5 quart container. Stir and refrigerate for several hours.
2. Play your favorite music and enjoy a glass - or two - of sangria with your favorite "peeps". To kick things off play Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood (the cover by The Corrs with Bono is terrific, in which case the next song suggestion is When The Stars Go Blue... just sayin' that's what I'd do). And, for that matter, if you are going to play Nancy Sinatra, then surely These Boots Are Made For Walkin' is a shoe-in (pun intended) for next song. I could do this all day (and we did). Which reminds me of that song we used to play. Hang on a moment while I queue it up…