tacky christmas dance parties

it's the most wonderful time of the year.  come for the cider, stay for the sweaters. 

link

CSA

My friend Noah and I have been wanting to go in on a CSA order for months.  A CSA- Community Supported Agriculture- is where a group of individuals buy local, organic foods, support farmers, and bypass the horrific food production process.  The CSA sends out a weekly email with the produce options, you decide if you want to purchase, and then pick up at the end of the week. 

Example box- BRAEBURN APPLES - 3CT / BANANAS - 2# / BARTLETT PEARS - 3CT / MANGOES - 1CT / REDLEAF LETTUCE - 1CT / ACORN SQUASH - 1CT - SC / FENNEL - 1CT / GREEN PEPPERS - 1CT - FL / ROMA TOMATOES - 1# - FL / CUCUMBERS - 1CT - FL

The only hang up I personally have is trying to determine if I can eat all of this fresh food before it goes bad. Best to find a friend to split or plan to cook a bunch.  Urban Cannibals in east atlanta hosts a great CSA option.  Noah and I finally got around to ordering and decided to make a meal with our fresh produce.  I cannot believe we waited so long to partake.  Will definitely be making this happen on the regular. 

(photo- spaghetti squash with basil, sauteed kale in garlic, breaded tofu, wine (tofu & wine not from CSA))

city string lights

god i enjoy string lights.  i would keep these up year round if i wasn't pretending to be an adult....think i'll compromise this year and keep them up for all of winter.

(photo - my window and atlanta skyline)

thanksgiving 2011

thankful thoughts

cake

baking attempt...frosted pumpkin delight.  it's ok. the cream cheese frosting saved it from the whole wheat flour i used.  do not try to make unhealthy foods somewhat healthy...not worth it.  if i could do it again, i would use white flour and another stick of butter.  good thing i have a cooking expert in my life for guidance- a one mrs tracy bennett. 

(photo- thanksgiving dress rehearsal....better get it together tomorrow.)

georgia going to the SEC championship and not being blind

barely scraping by with a win over kentucky but i will take it.  UGA is going to the SEC championship this year....probably against LSU....yikes.  i am thankful for the W today nonetheless.  

i am not grateful for the $81.50 jimmy johns sandwich that i had for lunch today.  $6.50 for the beach club sandwich, hold the mayo.  $75 to get the boot off of my car that i received in the 4 minutes that it took to order the sandwich.  a boot?  really?  so dramatic atlanta.  but that's not the point of this blog.  moments later, i saw a blind man walking down the street and decided to be grateful for not being blind rather than pissed off at the jerkstore that gave me the ticket.  there.

band of horses pandora

this station is hands down the best pandora channel.  i listen to music all day at my desk so i quickly burn through albums and am always looking for new stuff.  sometimes i'm just expired, tired of my rotation and too busy to stop and pick out an artist.  enter pandora.  everyone knows the greatness of this online radio site but there are definitely some days that i exhaust my song skips and can't quite find what i want. although i would say i am never not in the mood for the band of horses channel.  thank you for being so reliable.  too many favorites but will leave you with this one.

madewell

my absolute favorite clothing store is madewell.  complete love of this style.  jcrew's sister store for the downtown girl.  jcrew is more uptown.  and it's not crazy popular, so you don't find people with the same stuff.  (shhh don't tell everyone.....)  in the middle of the firestorm of work-related emails today, i received this one "prepare your closets....your madewell order has shipped."  ahhh.....good news for the day.

an annabelle greeting

the new black keys video

this dancin' man makes me smile. 

happy friday and happy veterans day. 

generosity

generous people just tremendously warm my heart.  i experienced this on so many levels today.  through a serious of events, my family has become very involved in the Albert T Mills enrichment center.  this is a school for children ages 3-5 who live in a very rough part of atlanta.  the woman that started the school did so when her own son was shot and killed by a couple 16 year old kids.  she realized that they really did not understand the consequences of their actions.  she wanted to develop a place to teach kids right from wrong early and to prevent these tragedies from happening to other families.  the school is run completely on donations and they have SO much need.  they are out of money, and the teachers are now working without pay.  most of the students do not have heat at home and are sleeping on the floor.  the school serves the children breakfast and lunch and for some these are the only meals that they receive each day.  my mom and i have been talking about ways to help for the past few weeks and decided we really wanted to hit this hard for the holidays when people are in the giving spirit. 

this morning i set out to work on three initiatives that we developed.  one- give a thanksgiving meal to all 60 of the children's families.  i sent an email to my atlanta friends and had several people respond immediately wanting to participate.  two- organize a drive at my condominium for people to donate educational toys for their classroom.  the condo board is kind of uptight so i expected to receive push back but they thought this school was a great partnership opportunity.  three- one of my besties jill has her annual xmas party and plans to asks her 70 something guests to bring school supplies for the kids.  i'm so overwhelmed with how much everyone wants to help our community.  all i've done is send a couple emails....it is the people around that are so inspiring.  so excited to see where these projects go.....

reality checks

this has not been the greatest morning.  i've been kinda bummed out the past couple days for a few reasons and just not feeling anywhere near my best self.  in an attempt to take a break from work and zone out for a bit, i started clicking around facebook....really healthy i'm sure.  she's living in paris, look how cute her kids are, he has a four day work week, they get sushi for lunch, not fair!  whaaaaa.  then a familiar name appeared in my "people you may know" section.  brittney watts.  this was extremely haunting because i remember this girl because she tragically died in a senseless shooting one block from my home this past july.  her facebook page prompted me to her blog which led me to this entry.  i know i never knew her or met her family but if i could tell them one thing it would be that she's a complete inspiration which i think is the best legacy that you can leave on this earth.   thanks for making me want to be a better person and live life to the fullest.  no more whining, today is a wonderful day.

lana del rey

lana del rey's video games song and video.

local honey

i literally use honey at least four times a day - 1 shake, 2 coffees, 1ish hot tea.  i always buy my honey local.  raw honey has so many great health benefits: contains antibiotic properties, prevents ulcers, treats nausea, naturalizes toxins, harmonizes the liver, acts as a sedative, anti-inflammatory, etc etc.  buying local is ideal for food across the board but honey is specifically great for allergy suffers (which is not me fortunately, but i also use local honey :) ) because it mostly likely contains the same allergens you are exposed to on a daily basis.  i'm so happy that the kroger near my work carries honey from ball ground, ga - only 20 miles away.  this line- weeks works - also has several different honey "flavors" depending on the flowers that the bees frequent.  tupelo honey is pretty fragrant and splendid for bedtime tea.  i like things fairly sweet but can't stand refined sugar, so thankful for honey.  

 

(photo- tupelo honey)

iphone 4s

after 3 + years with iphone 3g, i no longer have the patience to wait for directions, email and well, pretty much everything else to load.  i also wanted to do my part to honor steve jobs.  and the white phones are just so much prettier, right?  siri is kind of freaking me out though....how does she know so much?  computers are taking over the world.  the movie irobot was a premonition.  how did will smith handle it again?  actually didn't that movie end alluding to the robots winning?  oh well.  siri can give me witty answers and remind me to change out my contacts each month!  i look forward to taking better pictures for this blog and maybe get around to some videos too.  upgrade!

the goat farm

this weekend we spent halloween at my new favorite venue.  the goat farm is an old cotton gin factory turned artist space/loft.  this hidden farm is unexpectedly located in the middle of bustling midtown atlanta.  exposed brick inside and out.  a little library and coffee shop playing the sweet sounds of django reinhardt.  for the party they had a haunted house, food trucks, bands, a photo booth, and performers dressed as fallen angel beasts on top of the buildings.  super cool.  also must give a nod to one of the owners - Chris - who came to the very end of the entry line and took me, kelsey, cristy and laura in the back entrance....giving us a good 45 minute jump on the open bar stocked with legit beer.  great costumes, fantastic crowd and fun vibe.  will definitely be on the look out for future events here. 

(photo- black swan costume at the goat farm)

seasons

the most common question that i get asked after people learn that i moved to atlanta from los angeles is "don't you miss the weather?"  answer: no.  i mean it was great at first.  my favorite season is definitely summer and i must have lots sunshine in my life.....literally.   i get a degree of seasonal affective disorder, and i'm definitely over winter by february and march.  BUT i've never missed autumn so much as i did living out west.  i like reading and movies and don't want to feel guilty every weekend if i stay inside.  coffee shops, sweaters, football games, tights and fireplaces are nice too.  mostly i think that i want the cold and the rain to appreciate the sunny days.  maybe this is a metaphor for life.... 

(photo- backyard in the fall)

erin

i received the best piece of mail in 2011 today.  erin asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding!  she is so freakin cool too because she sent a dvd with a cover of pictures of the two of us, a sweet note and a dvd of the movie Bridesmaids starring kristen wiig.  love it.  erin and i have been friends since freshman year in college and maintained our relationship despite many moves around the country/world.  she now lives in san francisco.  when i was in LA, i could drive up or hop on a quick flight to see her.  now that i'm back in atlanta, we rely on gchat to keep up with each others busy lives.  but who knows what lies down the road..... she is getting married in sonoma, ca next summer.  cannot wait for this trip to vacation with my bests and to celebrate erin and bryon.  congrats!  

 (photo- dvd and note)

(dvd cover photos)

a good running song

i would consider myself barely a coldplay fan.  for how much music i listen to, they are about 1 for 10 with their songs.  so you can imagine my surprise when i've absolutely fallen in love with their new one "paradise."  a good, solid emotional song on repeat can extend the life of my run for miles (ok mile, let's get real.)  sunny day.  definitely hitting piedmont park later. 

(me prepping for my run....ya right i wish.  motivation pic)

pinterest

i think this is a more productive use of my time wasting.  thank you pinterest for taking hits away from facebook and hollywood gossip sites. 

a healthy family

last week i learned that my cat - yes i realize this is the second time she's been mentioned within the first week of this blog but i'm going somewhere with this - may or may not be in pain even though she does not appear to be.  (apparently cat's mask their discomfort very well.  news to me.)  i explained to my parents that i did not know how to proceed as i do not want her to suffer but i certainly do not want to cut her life short if she's feeling fine. i wish she could talk.

my mom: (speaking to my dad, referring to me) "watch how she handles this.  it will be a good indicator of what our future holds if we ever can't speak in old age."
my dad: "if i blink twice, don't pull the plug."

we laugh.  we go back to work.  one hour passes.  i approach my dad's desk to ask him a question regarding an order.  he has just read an email and is wearing a bluetooth headset (he does not appear to be on the phone from my vantage point.) i ask him my question.  he stares vacantly back at me but does not speak.  i ask again.  he does not say anything.  i suddenly panic.  was the joking earlier a premonition?  is he having a stroke?  sheer panic overcomes me.  he begins speaking, still looking at me but not making sense or answering my question.  i ask "what's wrong?!"  no response.  with great relief, i realize he has in fact been on a conference call.  i am grateful this was only my dad attempting to multitask a call, an email and a real life conversation.  so thankful for a healthy family.

 (photo- dad multitasking)

smart friends

i am thankful for the academic accomplishments of two friends today.  jill willoughby studied extremely hard for the GMAT, and her efforts were rewarded with an amazing score.  on that very same day, chris griffith - friend and fellow blogger - learned he was accepted into georgia tech's MBA program.  we merged parties and celebrated at our favorite watering hole - the family dog.  (as if an excuse for happy hour is needed.)  we will also take appropriate action in the future and toast great papers, good test scores, mediocre test scores, mediocre papers, etc.  i look forward to expanding our social network to the georgia epicenter of geek chic.  and feel very fortunate to be in the inner circle of knowledge.  chris can tell me when black framed glasses are no longer hip.  and jill can tip me off when i need to convert my dollars to gold as the fed prints more money for her tuition.  ;) seriously congratulations to both, you deserve all the success in the world.  

(photo - jill at family dog)

(photo- chris at candler park fall festival)

yahoo backs me up

thanks for the support yahoo.  (i didn't realize you were even still on the interweb?)  nonetheless, thank you for confirming my blog mission with the first guideline in this optimism article.  i'm not sure why there is a photo of three women 55+ with this story or what that says about me, but i'm just going to go with it.  (this find is courtesy of jill willoughby, friend and fellow happiness seeker.)

coconut oil

i use coconut oil every day in my protein shakes.  the health benefits from this natural wonder are insane- hair, skin, digestion, stress relief, kidney, heart, bones, dental, etc.  if you aren't on board yet, you are missing a tasty way to improve your body and your life.  i'm very thankful to have discovered this supplement.

    

(photo- morning shake items: almond breeze, coconut oil, whey protein, udos omega 3 oil, nutri-sense, frozen bananas and mangos, honey)

my shower

i completely love how the water in my shower heats up to my exact temperature and water pressure preference in under 30 seconds.  being a fairly impatient and also non-morning person, i really appreciate being able to hop in quick to get the day started.  i realize this is a highly first world splendor, and i'm grateful.  if there is ever a fluke, and i need to wait longer than normal, i have my massive picture of cambodia (where clean water is a luxury) in my bathroom for a reality check. 

(photo- my shower - the curtain was a steal from anthropology marked down from $120 to $26. partial sunrise meditation picture on the right taken by christina kennerly during our time in cambodia)

service men and women

i'm so thankful for the service men and women overseas.  i cannot imagine how hard it must be to be away from family and friends, especially at the holidays.  a local radio station is attempting to get a handwritten thank you letter to each soldier serving our country for thanksgiving this year.  if you are interested, click here for more info.  they need 400,000 by 10/28.

 (photo- my thank you letter)

star

star is my cat that i've had since i was 11.  she is hands down, the greatest cat ever.  mostly because while petite and easy to tend to; she also has the personality of a dog.  she greets me at the door, keeps watch for strangers, begs for food by sitting, comes when she's called, etc.  i could talk about her little idiosyncrasies forever (and will to anyone expressing remote interest.)  mostly what i love about her is her loyalty.  i moved away for nine years, but still each time i came home she greeted me with open paws like not a day had passed.  now she is my office cat and follows me around with her unconditional love.  i took her to the vet today and left in tears after learning she is pretty sick.  i'm not sure how much time she has left being 17 and all.  but today i'm very thankful for her life and the joy she brings to mine.

 (photo- star at the back door, age 17)

ryan adams

oh how i love ryan adams.  i am thankful for his new album today.  ashes & fire is on repeat this week.  "invisible riverside" is my favorite so far, specifically at minute 02:36.  i haven't enjoyed an instrumental solo this much since wilco's "impossible germany."  entire album rocks.  the tortured artist finally found love in miss mandy moore, so the lyrics are more "love will mend your heart" (lucky now) and less "what the fuck's wrong with me" (halloween head.) i am so into him either way.  perfect music for a fall day by the fire with a cup of hot tea.  

(photo- my computer screen for the next week)

about

the purpose of this blog is to take time to appreciate life.  i've searched high and low for a new topic to blog that gives me freedom but also has guidelines of sorts.  otherwise i will end up rambling about topics no one cares to read....which will probably happen anyway.  starting now.  when i have a blog, i am constantly running the next script in my head which i think makes me live life more thoughtfully.  i kept a gratitude journal in high school where i wrote down five things i was thankful for each day before bed.  my mom and i recently commented how therapeutic this practice was and that we should get back in the habit.  i am a very task oriented person, which means my desk and my mind are constantly littered with to-do lists for every area of my life.  i tend to not relax or be completely happy until these lists are accomplished.  some are as simple as take my cat to the vet or as grand as visit every continent.  this personality trait makes it very easy to miss the greatness in front of me today and difficult to be content (which some may argue is a level of ambition...fine line.)  as i sorted through these thoughts recently, i happened to stumble upon my wonderful friend, courtney's grateful blog.  we met in haiti last year, where we both left the country on a gratitude high.  she said this trip is what motivated her to photo-document her grateful moments.  i completely agree and am following suit.  here we go...

 (photo- haiti deaf camp)