April, 2011

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TOP 5 FRIDAY: Things you need to know.

Friday, April 29th, 2011

You know. I had a great plan to do a legit TOP 5 FRIDAY post today. You know, something awesome like TOP 5 SONGS or something that y’all won’t quit commenting on because we all love our TOP 5 BOOKS.

But instead, I’m just going to tell you five things that are keeping me from doing an awesome TOP 5 FRIDAY list.

1. Tornadoes

  • I was supposed to do a giveaway yesterday [fine- I'll let you preview the goods], but it just didn’t seem right with all the hurt and loss and devastation that happened in and around this part of the country. My parents’ home is fine, but there was much emailing and concern and worry for dear family and friends. I also didn’t have it in me to write a silly TOP 5 FAVORITE FOODS post when many that we know and love are devastated.

[The giveaway, with a major rad discount code, will be next week.]

[Oh, and we will do TOP 5 FAVORITE FOODS because hello, we need to talk about ice cream.]

2. The Royal Wedding

  • If I’m not worried about the tornadic activity leftovers, I wanna talk Brit. The wedding. The dress. The service. The cousins’ crazy Whoville hats. All of it. I watched every minute that I could today. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. [We will talk about it next week, don't you worry about that.]

3. Jane Eyre

  • It’s not totally Jane’s fault. But I did see the movie yesterday and my gracious the book is better. I was not in the mood to blog jolly after that. Have you seen it? What did you think?

4. Boot Camp is OVER!

  • So I kept finding myself wanting to tell you all about Boot Camp being over. And how I can hear angels sing every morning at 4:40am but now I don’t have to wake up and tell them to quit singing that song about me going to run a mile in the dark.

5. I’m going back to Scotland.

  • I’ll tell you all about that next Wednesday and Thursday. [See how organized I am? I plan my bloggy life out weeks in advance. Except, I rarely follow my bloggy schedule. But I seriously will next week.]
  • It’s just hard not to tell you RIGHT NOW because I really want to… like so so much.
  • If you don’t know about my love for Scotland, you can catch up here.

. . . . .

See? Those are all things you need to know. To recap:

  • Tornadoes are bad.
  • Weddings are good.
  • Movies are good. Books are better.
  • Boot camp was good. Sleep is better.
  • Scotland was so good, I’m doing it again.

. . . . .

Also. Before you head out of the weekend, you might need some new tunes. My dear friend Jessica has recorded an EP called My Immortal Home. It is her way to raise funds so she can move to Prague as a missionary. Will you buy it to support her and her move overseas? [Only the coolest kids move overseas.... squeal.... I'm scared.] Her voice is INSANE, you get new music for the weekend, AND you are helping another human fulfill her dreams.

. . . . .

So you are welcome, as always, to TOP 5 FRIDAY along with me. What are 5 things I need to know today? [Or you can do 1 thing, or 2 things, or talk about the wedding or the movie or really, I'm not the boss of you. Comment on whatever you want.]

Posted in TOP 5 FRIDAY | 21 Responses »

Smile and Link, Wednesday.

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Kinda like “smile and wink” – get it?

Of course you do.

The main picture I have for today is something that my co-worker Jeff did without my permission. We like to call her Bald Annie.

If that doesn’t make your Wednesday better, I don’t know what will.

And I’ll tell you this. If I ever go bald right in the middle front of my head, I am totally growing my hair long like this. So prep yourself.

Here are some links that I think are awesome:

My dear pal Steve Moakler is a dreamer [and an incredible musician, by the way]. He’s brave and smart and he’s starting something new called Free The Birds. You can watch him explain it here and read more about it here.

I wanna be like Steve.

Also.

My sweet friend Stephanie Bryant did an interview with me about self-publishing. Check it out.

Speaking of, did you know I wrote a book and you can buy it on Amazon?

And if you have read it, will you review it on Amazon? That would be super cool of you.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you a seriously hard season I was pressing into and begging to get out of. I also wrote an article about it on (in)courage called Just Breathe. Thanks for giving me the courage to share more deeply about that time.

And finally, why would I ever make a face like that at Shelby? Sheesh. I was out of control at Easter lunch apparently.

. . . . . . . . . .

Well, I smiled and linked at you. Link back at me! [Still rocking that link/wink joke. Nice, huh?]

What’s cool out there on the internet that I should be reading or seeing or watching or hearing? [Also feel free to link to your own blog here if there is a post you think we would love.]

Posted in (in)courage, Smile, Wednesday | 20 Responses »

Book club: Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Well goodness gracious. Y’all went absolutely bananas in the comments last Friday when we listed our Top 5 favorite books. If you haven’t read through them, I encourage it. It’ll take you some time, but it’ll be worth it.

Now you’ve got all my wheels [three total] spinning about how we can keep talking about books and what that could look like and thinking, “OMG, our little blog-family loves to read!”

So wait patiently and soon I’ll figure out how to keep that conversation going. Because I want to… real bad.

To start, I’ve been meaning to show you pictures from book club last weekend. I got to host, which made me super happy because the book, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, is set in England and if anyone loves them some Great Britian, it’s this girl [meaning me].

I decided to host a full-on tea party. And thanks to my mama, who has dutifully filled my hope chest every year since I was 13, I had two tea pots and all the accoutrements. There is something so sweet about being able to use these beautiful pieces.

I mean, I even have a tea cozy. And I know how to use it. [And this picture is 100% for Mama, Kelda, Melissa, and all the other women from Tea & Traditions. I'm making you proud, aren't I?]

I use real plates and real cups. It’s the way I was raised. It’s also the way that my BFF Molly’s grandmother insisted things be done and every time I host, I think of Molly, Molly’s mom, and Molly’s grandma and I shy away from paper products.

[Unless boys are coming over for chili or pizza or something un-ladylike. Then, sheesh. Paper products it is.]

Also. Look at this GORGIE-POO cake. I mean, seriously. My friend Russell, the baker extraordinaire at LB’s Market House, made it for us. I went into LB’s [which I do about daily], saw a cake like this, and said, “Russell. Please. Can I? Whole one. Book club. Please?”

[It was so beautiful and delicious I couldn't even make full sentences.]

So he made me one. Lemon pound cake with marzipan and edible flowers. I died [in a good way].

Also, welcome to my neighborhood, where Russell has the cake ready for me 30 minutes before LB’s even opened up and I got to knock on the window for him to let me in. Felt very Mayberry [and it kinda is around these parts]. And I loved it.

So did the girls at book club.

Kelley and Amber were happy happy girls. I mean, look at those beautiful faces! Also, do not judge us for eating cake at 10:30am on a Saturday morning.

In general, we loved Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. The group of girls that gather for book club are all super smart, love to read, and love to discuss the books. So we dove straight into character development, racism, costuming, and all things British.

As you can imagine, I was full of joy from start to finish.

Well, almost to the finish.

Oh the downside of using real dishes…..

Still worth it.

Our book club selection for May is The Hunger Games [which you already KNOW that I love] and then in June it is Bossypants [which I am sure I am going to love].

Ahh…. book club. [insert deep sigh of satisfaction here]

Are you in a book club? What are y’all reading now?

Posted in I heart books. | 15 Responses »
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Happy Easter.

Sunday, April 24th, 2011

Posted in Ze Bloggy Goodness | 4 Responses »

TOP 5 FRIDAY: favorite books!

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

I truly hope you read through the comments of last Friday’s TOP 5 Friday post about most loved songs. People have some GREAT comments. And yes- I did purchase a few of these. It’s just true. I love music.

Also. I love books.

So today our TOP 5 Friday list is FAVORITE BOOKS!

[caveat: this does not include my favorite childhood books. These are my favorite adult books. But not like, ADULT books. I mean books that I have read as an adult. Okay... I think I have fully overexplained this now.]

[caveat part 2: When you and I talked one time, I may have said, "This is my FAVORITE book!" and then that book is not listed here. Please feel free to call me out in the comments. I studied my bookshelf as best I could.]

#1. Christy by Catherine Marshall

Oh y’all. This is absolutely my favorite book. But I told you that back in 2008. I have read it over 40 times. [I know, I'm a book nerd. Sue me.] This book sealed in my heart my desire to teach school, which I did for five years. It also put a deep love in my heart for Appalachian people. But I told you that back in 2009.

 

 

 

#2. Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen

I’ll be honest. I’ve loved this storyline for many-a-year, thanks to a mother who exposed us to BBC productions at a young age. But it has only been within the last year or so that I actually read the novel. And gracious I loved it. It is too far to say “I needed it”? [I mean, for me to be overdramatic is nothing new around these parts, so let's go with it.] Fantastic. I would love to read this out loud to my daughters one day.

[I bet Lanier's mom did- didn't she, Lanier?]

 

 

#3. Tribes by Seth Godin

This book single-handedly changed how I do business. How I do blogging. How I do my life as an author. If you run your own career, or if you run someone else’s career, or if you have any kind of group that listens to anything you say, read it.

 

 

 

#4. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

This was hard for me- I love A LOT of Francine Rivers’ books. So it took me some time standing in front of my bookshelves to decide which one I REALLY love. Here’s the truth- if you close your eyes and pull a Francine Rivers’ book of a shelf at the library or your bookstore, you won’t be sorry.  But this was one of the first ones I read, so it holds a special place in my heart.

[But seriously. I could do a whole TOP 5 Friday on Francine Rivers' books. And I just may do that.]

 

#5. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Dave Barnes told me to read this book and I said, “Uh, Dave? I don’t like animals. So no thanks.” And he said, “I’m the boss of you. Now do as I say.”

So I did.

And it blew me away. I absolutely loved it. In fact, I was reading it while on a quick trip to Chicago to visit Lyndsay and crew and I seriously carried it with me EVERYWHERE. To the point that my friends began to feel unloved and unsure of my coolness. [To which I quickly reminded them that I am SIGNIFICANTLY less cool that I lead people to believe, so that part was true.]

I highly recommend it.

. . . . . . . . . .

Let me take this quick moment to remind you about YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY! You are welcome to buy these books as a five-pack and live it up, but also remember that your library probably has them as well. I love the library. I love to go there, sit there, read, peruse, and I actually use the online system to order books I want, so I don’t even have to search for them. Fantastic thing, technology is. :)

Now. Your turn! In the comments, tell me your TOP 5 FAVORITE BOOKS!

[I'm so nervous about this because I KNOW I'm going to want to read each of them. Ugh. I'm pre-annoyed with myself for not having enough time to read them all.]

Posted in TOP 5 FRIDAY | 142 Responses »
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Nashville Film Festival: Take Me Home

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

I think you know by now that I absolutely LOVE living in Nashville. I deeply miss my friends and family in Marietta, but Nashville has gone above and beyond to make me fall in love here.

This week, the city wooed me again with the Nashville Film Festival.

In all honesty, I hadn’t really planned to go. But then we saw our friend Mike Hobert at a coffee shop and he said that produced a movie that was in the Festival. Then he asked us to come. We were all like, “uh… sure….” and when he left the coffee shop, the rest of us watched the trailer.

And then we all were like, “uh, YES. We absolutely want to see this.”

Take Me Home is a film about a woman who hires a taxi to take her from New York to California. I’m oversimplifying, but I’m kinda not.

Here are things I loved about it:

  • Written, directed, starring [and all other official things] Sam Jaeger, who we all know and love from Parenthood.
  • His wife, Amber Jaeger, plays opposite him and she is genius in this film. She’s bossy but not unlovable.
  • Call me a prude if you will, but I love films that don’t make me feel uncomfortable when I’m sitting beside a dude. And this movie (besides a few cuss words) is totally clean and appropriate. That’s impressive to me.
  • It’s a simple plot line but a deeply complex story.
  • I want to see the sequel. [There is no sequel, but I want to see it.]

After the movie, Sam, Amber, Mike, and a few other producers got up to answer questions from the crowd.

I didn’t ask any questions, but Lyndsay and Mike had a pretty hilarious exchange that for me to retell would do a disservice, but trust me that I was laughing heartily.

We even got to walk on the red carpet and take a picture in front of one of those fancy walls that say words. [I'm the biggest redneck in the world for that sentence.]

I promise there were more boys there. Adam is just the only one who had to [got to?] be in the picture with us.

He was so frustrated from being around so many pretty girls that he wanted to hitchhike home.

And Jami tried to win this car.

Neither were successful.

Anyways.

The whole night was an unexpected joy.

I love my city for stuff like this. I love my friends. I love making new friends. I love that Sam asked me if he could hire me to travel to every screening and laugh very vocally at the appropriate places. Because in case you didn’t know, I have a LOUD LAUGH.  [I immediately said YES to Sam's request and then he began to backpedal.... so.... that's sad.]

Here’s the real sad part for you: I don’t know how you can see Take Me Home. Maybe contact them and beg for a screening in your town? Maybe call Mike and ask him? [At this point, I would LOVE to publicly post his cell phone number because that is an amazing prank. But I won't. But I want to. But I won't.]

Summary of the movie/experience/Nashville = Two thumbs up.

Seen any good movies lately? In a theater or on Netflix? Tell me bout it!

Posted in Nash-livin' | 16 Responses »
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Smile, Wednesday.

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

 

Classic Nashville night

I love soccer in Nashville.

Beautiful cake from LB's Markethouse

My favorite picture from the Seaside Half Marathon

Shelby and Bex talk about serious things.

Oh Shelby. You are truly lovely.

Fake tattoos are still good reminders.

Posted in Smile, Wednesday | 16 Responses »

I’m alive, but don’t ask my shoulders.

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

They’ll give a different answer. [fatigued shoulders, party of 2.]

It breaks my little heart when people on twitter openly discuss my lack of blogging [in a loving and friendly way]. And all I have to say to that is, trust me. I miss blogging far more than you miss me. Because you know what I do instead of blogging?

I sleep.

Do you know why I sleep?

Because instead of my old sleeping time (12a-7a), now I’m in bed at 9p. Which used to be the blogging hours. [Must like the witching hour, just less demonic.]

We are down to 6 more boot camps. Meaning in a short week and a half, the AnnieBlogs you have grown to love will be back in action.

In other news.

There is no other news.

We like our boot camp instructor [Kristen is her given name]. I mean, we like her as much as you can like someone who giggles while torturing and worries when our hairs aren’t soaked with sweat.

But you know me. If there is one category in which I over-achieve, it is sweating. So that’s never a concern for me.

Also. I didn’t go to class on Monday. I don’t want to lie to you and say I’ve had perfect attendance, because I haven’t. But it was due to a complete lack of sleep and a good friend being in labor all night long and the fact that we had one of those weekends where I laughed for hours and then when my alarm clock went off at 4:30am I immediately started crying, I said to my roomie, “I can’t do it.”

She said, “uh, ok. Don’t.”

So I didn’t.

[She handles my drama well.]

On the upside, I’m definitely better at push-ups than I used to be. [Read: I can do ten and not feel like my soul is being lowered to the pits of despair every time.]

So, in lieu of having anything actual to say, I’ll just say that I hopped on here to make sure you knew I was alive and I fully regret what boot camp has done to my blog life. You deserve better, my friends. Much better.

Lyndsay is doing some HILARIOUS recaps of our boot camp days. That’ll be fun for you to read. Imagine me, in every story, rolling my eyes, possibly wanting to cry, and being the slowest one in the group and you’ll have a pretty good idea of how it has been going.

The last shall be first?

Posted in Get Fit | 3 Responses »

TOP 5 FRIDAY: most loved songs!

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Ok, so I think this is gonna be supes fun.

Let’s make a TOP 5 list every FRIDAY!

TOP 5 FRIDAY!

Starting today! Yay!

[I'm feeling very exclamatory today. Probably has something to do with a lack of sleep. Thanks a mil, boot camp. Now you're causing me to inappropriately use punctuation.]

So, here’s the first list- our most loved songs. Here’s how you figure out your most loved songs on iTunes. Open your music library, click on “plays” and it will list them by the most plays.

I was telling some friends on Tuesday night about doing this and I said, “the lame thing is that my first eight songs or so are from two bands, so I’m just gonna skip to the top 5 songs from different artists.”

Then Luke looked me dead in the eyes and said, “if you do that, I’m going to tell all your blog readers that you are a LIAR.” And I kinda think he would do it.

So I’m going to make two lists.

Here are my LITERAL top 5 most loved songs, even though it is a boring list because it is just Mumford and Brooke Fraser.

I don’t want you to judge me [reading this list or any in the future].

But I’m going to list the top 5 most loved songs from different artists.

1. After the Storm // Mumford & Sons (real #1)

  • This is true. I absolutely love this song. It makes me think of Heaven and it makes my heart feel light.

2. Shadowfeet // Brooke Fraser (real #2)

  • This actually isn’t my favorite Brooke Fraser song, so I think it is crazytown that this is #2, but it is the first song on the Albertine album. So. That’s that.

[now I will skip to the next top song from a different artist....]

3. You & I // Ingrid Michaelson (real #9)

  • This whole song is about falling in love and getting rich – two things I planned to do by 25 and now I’m just hoping to do before I expire.

4. Need You Now // Lady Antebellum (real #12)

  • I wish I could say this was in support of my friends. In all honesty, it is because I like to sing Dave’s harmony. Sue me.

5. Static Waves // Andrew Belle (real #13)

  • Laugh if you will. But I actually cannot really figure out what this song is about. But it sounds nice and Katie Herzig’s voice is cute as a button. So I listen to it a lot… approximately 43 times.

So there you have it!

Now. Your turn! In the comments, tell me your TOP 5 MOST LOVED SONGS!

[And there will be no judgement here. In fact, I may use up my iTunes gift card shopping for new songs all weekend because your favorites will become my favorite.]

Next Friday… TOP 5 FRIDAY: FAVORITE BOOKS! [So you can start your wheels a turnin'!]

Posted in Sounds good to me., TOP 5 FRIDAY | 56 Responses »
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Boot Camp is killing my blog.

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Because I eat dinner and then go to bed.

I’m pretty sure I’m the wildest girl around- you know, in the bed by 9pm and all, cause I gotta be up and smiling by 4:30am.

Anyways, I’m terribly sorry about the blog silence.

Here are some things:

1. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers last week. My heart and mind are feeling healthier.

2. We had boot camp yesterday in the rain. I kept fluctuating between the desire to cry and the desire to throw up. Neither happened. This time.

3. I have decided that Bethenny Ever After is my favorite show. I adore Bethenny and Jason. If Gina ever goes back to Trinidad, I would be Brynn’s nanny in a New York minute. Literally.

[Sorry if you don't watch the show and that entire #3 is foreign to you.]

4. These are some of the funniest videos I’ve ever seen. Obviously, this is not who Jesus really is, which is what makes it absolutely hilarious.

So I may be the stinkiest blogger this month, but hopefully this video will make up for it.

5. Our book club is reading Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and I am loving it. It’s set in the UK, which you know blesses my soul. I get to host as well and we will be having some delicious British treats. Saturday, I am excited about you.

6. I have a new plan for blogging on Fridays. It’s gonna be fun.

7. I love getting emails. It means the world. And right now my inbox [and my facebook inbox] is full to the brim. Forgive me if you are waiting on a reply. I’m going to be taking some time this weekend to respond to all of you- my friends, my family, my enemies, my bandmates, and my suitors.

I’m kidding. I’m not in a band.

But I’m not kidding about the email replying thing.

Happy Wednesday.

Posted in AnnieWrites, I heart books. | 12 Responses »

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