Happy Birthday Mary!



Annie and Mary and Mary's birthday party... 2 decades ago. :-)



Mary enjoying Annie's shot at her 21st birthday party.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, fabulous, hilarious, witty, beautiful, amazing best friend. I wish I was in New York to celebrate with you!!

xoxo,

at



One Time I Was In The New York Post...for Hosting Bachelor Watch Parties

I've been hosting watch parties for the Bachelor/Bachelorette since I was 16 years old.  I fully realize how silly and ridiculous this show can be, but it's also gloriously fun and addictive. I haven't missed a season (with the sole exception of the time the Bachelor was a 40-year-old professional fisherman. No thank you). 


During a season of the Bachelor, our Monday night watch parties are a set date in the calendar.  Several of my dear girlfriends come over in comfy clothes and everyone brings a yummy food or drink.  We have way too much fun laughing and adding our own commentary; we miss approximately 30% of the dialogue, but it's just so much more enjoyable to watch with a group.  It's so fun/popular to watch this particular show in a group setting, in fact, that the New York Post decided to write an article on the phenomenon of these watch parties.  And quite hilariously... I was quoted and pictured in that article (which you can read HERE).


You are probably thinking, "Whyyyy are you in a New York Post article??" (as was I), so I'll tell you.  I follow the show's amazing host, Chris Harrison on Twitter.  A couple weeks ago, he tweeted "Does anyone have a Bachelor watch party in the LA area?  Someone is writing an article for the New York Post and wants to talk to you."  Being that I so religiously have these parties and do indeed live in LA, I decided to go ahead and respond.  I said, "I've been hosting watch parties since the 2nd season (when I was in high school)! Now I host a party every Monday in LA. :-)" Chris Harrison has well over 40,000 followers on Twitter, so I thought my tweet would be overlooked and absolutely nothing would come of this.  Much to my surprise, however, five minutes later a writer from the Post messaged me and asked if he could call me to interview me for the story. Ha! We had a short phone interview, and the next day he emailed some follow up questions.  He also asked if I could get some photos with a 300 dpi print quality taken of my next watch party.  One of my lovely watch party attendees recruited her amazing photographer friend to come take photos; I submitted them to the writer, and there ya go.  I honestly didn't know if my quotes/photos would make the cut and actually be in the article.  This past Monday morning, however, I had a wall post from a friend who now lives in New York confirming this.  He had just stumbled upon the article while reading the Post and, needless to say, was very surprised to see his old buddy in there.  Here's the photo and caption from the online article (the print version actually includes two small photos of the other people mentioned in the caption and our photo is much bigger, including a shot of the Bachelor making out with some girl on the TV): 

'THE BACHELOR'PARTIES: ElisabethHasselbeck (top left) hosts viewing parties for her friends, so does host Chris Harrison's (bottom left) mom. Right, Annie Terracina (in yellow) hosts a party in California 

Here are some of the other photos that the wonderful photographer, Sarah Ivy Dickerson, captured of us watching our beloved show.  Other than her staging us so we'd all fit in the shot, these are completely candid. Seriously. I had NO idea we were all so adamantly animated while watching, but apparently we are... hahaha...

As you can see, we have quite a good time. As fun as it is to watch the ridiculous drama, incredible dream dates and pretty girls/boys try to find love, I love having the good quality girls nights with my darling friends more than anything.  I'm already excited for this coming Monday. :-) 

Currently listening to: Iron and Wine

Why: With the new album out this week, I just can't stop listening to these soothing folk tunes. The song playing at this moment is "Sunset Soon Forgotten" which is on my "chill wonderfulness" playlist.  Iron and Wine is just that... chill wonderfulness.  siiigh. So lovely.  

Your favorite watch party hostess,

at

A Sunday Stroll with Phil Dunphy

This was a great weekend.  My community group rented an awesome cabin in Big Bear and had a glorious time together in the snowy mountains.  (Another blog post on this lovely trip coming soon).  The highlight of the weekend, however, occurred after we returned to LA.  

My wonderful friends, Garrett, Katie, Cody, and I decided to walk to one of the enticing lunch hot spots in downtown Culver City near Katie and Cody's apartment.  Katie had told me that months ago that Ty Burrell (who plays the always hilarious Phil Dunphy on my new favorite television comedy, Modern Family) lives near her and that she had seen him out and about several times.  (Sidenote: If you don't watch this show yet, you absolutely need to start.  It is beyond funny.  I die laughing every single episode.)  

Knowing about Katie/Cody's exciting neighbor,  I mentioned as we began our walk that I wished we would see him.  As Katie and I discussed how awesome that would be, I was certain that it wouldn't happen.  I learned at a young age that if I verbalized something I was daydreaming about , then that automatically prevented it from actually happening.  One of life's annoying laws of cause and effect or something like that.  

To every law, though, there are occasional exceptions.  And very lucky for us, today was one of those occasions.  We stopped at a street corner and Garrett and I were looking into a new cafe/market.  As we turned around, MUCH to our surprise, we saw Katie shaking Ty Burrell's hand!  Apparently she just saw that it was him and said 'Hi Ty... I just want to say I love your show and think you're hilarious.'  Thank goodness she did!  This led to him meeting all of us and walking/talking with us for a good 10 minutes.  He made some funny jokes, he discussed the latest episode of Modern Family with us, he suggested some good restaurants for lunch, he asked us what we did, he made fun of the fact that he was going to a "meeting" about a new project at Rush Street ("It's so loud and drunk-y in there," he said....hahah).  Basically, he was the nicest, coolest guy ever. I hope Katie and Cody see him again soon and continue to develop the budding friendship we started today on that nice little stroll... a few more run-ins like that, and it's only a matter of time until Phil Dunphy's coming over for a dinner party. ;-)  

Currently listening to: my "sleepy time" playlist

I am a sleepy girl after that fun weekend trip.  I listen to this playlist almost every single night before bed.  Here are my last few lullabies that have played....

• "Annie" by Dave Barnes
• "Falling Slowly" by Kris Allen
• "Celtic Beauty" from the Boondock Saints soundtrack
• "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones
• "Claire De Lune" by The APM Orchestra

Sweet dreams... 

at

Three Years

One of LA's least appealing qualities is the ridiculous amount of time I spend in my car everyday.  I sometimes listen to audio books while driving in an attempt to ease the pain of traffic.  I recently listened to a witty and hialrious book called "Remember Me?" by Sophie Kinsella (author of the Shopaholic series, which I have yet to read/listen to...but now I really want to do so).  I give this book 2 thumbs up...highly recommend. :-)

In the book, the protagonist, Lexi, has a car accident which causes her to have retrograde amnesia.  She cannot remember one single thing from the past three years.  She wakes up in a hospital fully believing that she is 25 and it's 2004, but in reality she's 28 and it's 2007.  In the course of these three forgotten years, her entire life has changed. Big time. She is married to a millionaire super hottie named Eric whom she doesn't even recognize.  She got a huge promotion at work and is now known as 'the bitch boss', although she has no idea how this happened or what she's doing.  She has an entirely new set of friends, an entirely new penthouse apartment, and an entirely new face... that's right... due to a bit of work she had done sometime during those 3 years, she doesn't even recognize herself when she first looks in the mirror.  As she tackles the daunting task of navigating through her new and foreign life, hilarity ensues. 


My life definitely has not changed THAT dramatically, but this book really made me think how much can change in the course of 3 years.  Three years ago, I had just begun the final semester of my senior year at OU.  I was paying less than $400 in rent for a gorgeous 4-bedroom/2-bath house.  I was working part-time at Starbucks and beginning to interview for positions in Oklahoma City and Dallas, while reluctantly toying with the idea of coming to LA. My parents still lived in Duncan, where I had lived my entire life. I was counting down the days to my Caribbean cruise spring break trip and considering going on a 5-week mission trip to Costa Rica that summer.  If someone had asked me, "What do you think your life will be like at age 25?", I never in a million years would have guessed it would be like it is now.  


This makes me wonder: what crazy unforeseen changes will the next three years bring?  Will I be like Lexi and meet/marry my husband, advance exponentially in work (and real estate), significantly alter my appearance, etc., between the ages of 25 and 28?  Or will I be a single cat lady who's still an assistant and 15 pounds heavier?  Only time will tell... :-)


Currently listening to: Matt Wertz
Why: For some reason, I just now downloaded his new EP which came out 9/28/10 entitled "While We're Becoming".  As he is one of my favorite musicians, I'm not quite sure what my 4 month delay was all about, but I'm glad I finally got with the program.  I love this guy.  He is a very talented singer/songwriter with endearing/relatable lyrics...just my style. He played shows at OU almost every single semester, so I felt like I legitimately knew him (that's what I like to tell myself anyway...). He is funny and sweet and cute. He's also a huge supporter of the Mocha Club which raises money for relief and development projects in Africa.  Overall, he's amazing and so is his music.  His new album comes out March 15... I can't wait! 

Wertzy and I at one of his many shows at OU, March 2007. 

Cheers to the next three years, 

at

8:11

2010 marked the first year of my life that I actually followed through with a new year’s resolution.  Last January 1, I resolved to take a photo of what I was doing every single day at 8:11 pm.  I chose this time because I wanted it to be a time where I could feasibly being doing something different (not like 11 am—sitting at my desk at work… again). When deciding on this post-work/pre-sleep time, I chose 8:11 because my birthday is 8/11. I set a daily alarm for this chosen time on my phone and began taking photos. 

I post these daily photos on my Twitter.  Some days I’m doing really interesting/exciting things at 8:11, and some days I’m eating dinner alone in my apartment.  Here is a random sampling of some of my 8:11 photos throughout the year, including the captions that I posted with them. (Please excuse the poor quality of the photos. I take almost all of them with the camera on my phone, which doesn’t have a flash and leaves much to be desired…)  In random order...

8:11- Mary and margs at el coyote! ay carumba! :-)

8:11-bowling! let it be known that i took bowling at OU. bring it. ;-)

 8:11-decking the halls! :-) has mistletoe ever REALLY worked for anyone?? i dont think so...

 8:11-from 37,00 ft! taking advantage of the spoils of my unexpected/AMAZING seat in 1st class on the way to alabama. holla!

 8:11-waiting for fireworks at manhattan beach. hooray america!

 8:11-trying to get my life in order w/mother. this pitiful photo makes me 'lol'.

8:11-at the funnest wedding/college reunion ever! Dance partyyy w/ Kayla, Mary, etc.

8:11-'love' the beatles cirque du soleil show...beyond amazing!! WOW.

8:11-beer and pizza as we unpack... a lovely rite of passage at a new apartment. 

8:11- someone is not hiding as well as he thinks he is...

   8:11 (on 8/11!)-- birthday din with some of my darlings. :-)

I definitely going to keep this fun little project going.  It’s such a great way to document your year!  In fact, several people (and even the restaurant/bar Seven47 in Norman have told me they want to start taking their own “8:11 pics” this year.  I'm excited to see the pictures. :-)

Currently listening to: Iron and Wine's new album "Kiss Each Other Clean"
Why: It's freaking awesome.  You should get it.  For real. 


xoxo, 


at. 

A Response to Emerging Adulthood?

Mary posted a great end-of-year survey from Daily Candy in the previous post, so I decided do it myself.  


A certain Jesus pimp who shall remain nameless was so not worth stressing over. 
All I could listen to this year was Ingrid Michaelson.
Next year I promise to blog more and eat chocolate less.
The best thing I ate in 2010 was my Italian grandma's homemade Christmas dinner. 
The night of the Lost series finale I continued my trend of having never seen a minute of the show, nor wanting to.
"The Real Housewife" will be the new cupcake flavor in 2011. 
I'm proud that I bought a new car this year.
Remember when Kanye joined Twitter and ridiculous hilarity and craziness ensued?

Your turn! As Mary said, "I would LOVE to see some repeats of this rather illuminating questionnaire in our comments section of this post." Go on... it'll be fun. :-) 


Currently listening to: my "chill wonderfulness" playlist. 
Why: Tonight has been a much needed chill night, and I'm loooving it. The last few tracks on this glorious playlist have been: 
"Grace's Amazing Hands" by Dave Barnes.
"Wildflowers" by Tom Petty.
"Life is Beautiful" by Vega4.
"Dreams Be Dreams" by Jack Johnson.
"Simple Life" by The Weepies.


xoxo, 


at

2 Weeks of the 4 Fs: Family, Friends, Food, Fun

I’m composing this post on my flight back to LA after 2 weeks of the 4 Fs.  I thought that two weeks would be more than enough time to see and do all the things I wanted to do over the break, but that was definitely not the case. It went by so quickly!  I wish I had another week or so to rest and visit before diving back into the real world.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my parents moved to Houston this year after living in Duncan, Oklahoma, for 30 years.  This was my first time to see their new house, and it was great! It’s in a gorgeous neighborhood and my mom has done a great job decorating.  My favorite things about the new place are the wonderful hiking/biking trail behind the house, the incredible jacuzzi bathtub in the master bath, and the peaceful back deck with a pretty fountain (that is the home to several cute little goldfish) where we liked to eat breakfast in the morning and drink wine in the evening. J

Christmas morning at the new home. Also, pictured here: the matching glasses that Daniel and I unknowingly both chose at the eye doctor recently. (We made sure to not wear them at the same time  the rest of my visit so we wouldn't look like awkward twinsies or something...) 

As always, I loved seeing my family (and kitties!!). I miss my cats so much while I’m in LA that I turn into a legit cat lady when I’m home with them.  (Anyone who follows me on Twitter can attest to this). ;-) It was wonderful to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins too.  My darling cousin, Erika, got home from serving a year in Iraq days before Christmas, so that was extra special. The local news even did a feature story on her! You can watch the video here. Pretty much, I have the best fam (and kitties), and I love them a lot, a lot.  J

After all that glorious family time, I spent my last weekend of my trip in Oklahoma to celebrate New Years Eve and the wedding of two dear friends from college, Sarah Larson and Colin Morgan .  This was truly one of the best weddings I’ve ever attended largely because it was a huge reunion of tons of college friends I haven’t seen since graduation 2 ½ years ago!  It was an absolute blast to catch up with these old friends and dance the night away. 

So happy to be reunited with Amber and D!

Always fun to party with my beloved brother. 

Dancing with the beyond beautiful bride.

Doing a cheesy huge Delta on the bride (or at least attempting to...)

I’m already looking forward to my next visit with my family (in May for my brother’s graduation!) and the next big wonderful reunion with college friends. Someone else needs to get married… stat.  ;-)

Currently listening: Ingrid Michaelson

Why: I’ve already established in previous ‘currently listening’ posts that Ingrid is one of my very favorite musicians these days, but the reason for my listening to her lovely tunes this evening in particular is that Sarah and Colin danced their first dance as husband and wife to her adorably sweet song “The Way I Am” from her album “Be OK”. Maybe the sappiness from the wedding hasn’t worn off yet, but let’s just say I’ve listened to this song  and her cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” more than a couple times on this flight home. ;-)

Sappily,

at

Day 365

December 31, 2010

In the grand tradition of exceptional New Year's Eve celebrations spent with loved ones, Annie and I had the great pleasure of ringing in 2011 together tonight in Oklahoma City. Our expectations for NYE parties have been forever tarnished by several Caribbean cruises in the early 2000s over this festive holiday, and it seems that unfortunately we have peaked.  Let's just say this year, it's 6:36 PM and our plans for the evening are currently TBD...

January 1, 2011

Well, we made plans.  We started the night with a delicious din at my favorite restaurant in Oklahoma, Ted's Escondido. Then our beloved friends, Kayla, Leigh, Caroline and Brooke joined us and we went to a disco-inspired dance club called Groovys. It was...groovy, to say the least.  Ha. 

Pre-Groovys

Groovys

Not only does 2011 mark the end of what we both declare to be the most difficult year of our lives thus far (good riddance, '10), it also marks the 1 year anniversary of our blog!  We are optimistic for the new year and excited to keep writing. :-) In closing, despite the good times and the bad, we look forward to the future and leave you with this...

Best wishes for 2011,

Annie and Mary