Help My Cousin Win A Dream Wedding!

My darling cousin Erika and her betrothed, Daniel, are finalists in a contest to win a FREE dream wedding! They both just returned from serving a year in Iraq and are more than deserving for this exciting reward.

You can watch a cute little video of their love story HERE and you can vote for them HERE (on the right hand side of the overly busy poorly designed website). Voting goes from now until February 11th and you can vote everyday.  If you have a few extra moments as you're browsing the lovely world wide web, it would be absolutely amazing if you could give them a vote (or several). The winner will be announced on Valentines Day... so hopefully I'll have some good news to share then! Thanks so much, darlings! You're the best.

Love you mean it (and so will Erika if you vote for her),

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

We Are Family

I love my family a lot, perhaps more than the average person.  Given Thanksgiving's proximity to Christmas, and the high price of holiday air fare, I will not be eating turkey and giving thanks with my beloved family this week.  Fortunately, however, I recently got to spend time with some of my favorite family members. 
I knew I would regret it if I didn't fly home and go to one last OU football game with Daniel while he was a student (geez, it's weird that he's a SENIOR... ), so that is just what I did. Our amazingly brilliant and hilarious cousin Jake drove from Louisiana to join in this mini Terracina reunion.  We had a fantastic time.  Being on the beautiful OU campus and just being in clean, simple, friendly Norman truly made me nostalgic... but enough sentimental talk.  Here are some photos of the wonderful weekend.  

"...Campus beautiful by day and night..."

Boomer Sooner!

I love this kid. Big time. 

A few days after my whirlwind Oklahoma weekend, my dear mother came to visit me in LA!  I love having her in town.  She got to see my new apartment and workplace, meet my new boss, and meet some of my new friends.  We were in the audience of Ellen (I have a connection there and it's a fun thing to do with out of town guests, okay?), and narrowly missed winning an X-box Kinect (boooo). She guided me in the purchase of my new car (whooo!), and being the saint that she is, volunteered to drive my old car back to Texas.  We hosted a "Meryl marathon" of movies starring the world's favorite actress, Meryl Streep, with some of my close girlfriends. It was a great visit.  :-)

At Gladstone's in Malibu. The golden seahorse is my take-out container. Ha. 

Even though I won't be with my incredible family on Thanksgiving, I am beyond thankful for them and for the wonderful visits we recently got to enjoy.  Christmas will be here before we know it...  :-)

Currently listening to: Something Corporate (specifically Konstantine).

Why: On November 18 I had the EXTREME pleasure of attending the First Annual Dear Jack Benefit Concert at the El Rey which gave proceeds to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Andrew McMahon founded  The Dear Jack Foundation after surviving leukemia.  As if the worthy charitable cause weren't reason enough to get excited about this concert, it featured both of Andrew's bands for the first time ever in one show... yes that's right... there was a complete Jack's Mannequin set and a complete Something Corporate set. OH.MY.GOODNESS. Can you see musical HEAVEN?! Seriously. The only thing that would have made it better is if Mary would have been here to enjoy this musical bliss with me. (and if he would have played 'Annie Use Your Telescope').  I've seen Andrew perform more times than I can count, and every single time, it's like I fall in love all over again. Sigh. :-)

xoxo, 

at

Goodbye Home/Hello New Job

I’m composing this post from 36,000 feet as I fly back to LA.  My week at home was lovely, fun, restful, and of course flew by entirely too quickly.  I love my family, friends and cats a lot.

There is a ‘For Sale’ sign in front of my house, which is strange.  My family has lived in Duncan my entire life and in that particular house since I was 5 years old.  My mom is planning to join my dad in Houston on or before September 1, and since I’m not coming home again until Christmas, that was more than likely my very last time in my childhood home. Ever. Wow… that’s weird. 


We saw Toy Story 3 yesterday.  It was cute and funny and great; I definitely recommend it (although seeing it in 3D is completely unnecessary).  My favorite new characters were the thespian hedgehog and fashion-loving Ken.  Mom and Daniel (and apparently almost everyone else who has seen this movie) cried.  I did not.  I think the last movie that made me cry was Homeward Bound when I was 9. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing…?

While I don’t have a stylish sister to share clothes, I do have a very music-savvy brother to share good music with. Daniel gave me a plethora of new music today. Currently listening to Andrew Belle.  I give it two thumbs way up.  His sound is sort of Band of Horses meets Eric Hutchinson meets The Fray. Thanks Dan…you are so cool. J

I start my new job tomorrow.  While I am very excited and thankful for this wonderful new position and all the opportunities that will come with it, I can’t help but feel a bit nervous as well. I kind of feel like a reluctant schoolgirl going to a huge new school for the first time in the middle of a semester. How killer will the commute to Burbank be? What should I wear?  Will the other kids like me? What will all my new assignments be like? After working at the Academy for almost two years, I was so comfortable and at home there.  Diving into a brand new work environment will be so foreign.  Here’s to hoping that I can calm my nerves enough to actually sleep tonight and that some kindhearted soul sits by me in the proverbial lunchroom.  eek...

at

VICTORY!

Remember last week when I posted about going in for an intense third level interview at a huge amazing organization where I wanted to work oh so badly??  Well, I can now proudly declare that that wonderful place is Warner Bros and yesterday they gave me an offer!!!  I am so ecstatic.  I think my feelings on the matter can best be exemplified by the following video:





Yeahhh!  My first day is June 28th, so I decided to take full advantage of my last week of unemployed freedom and bought a last minute plane ticket home to visit the fam the 20th-27th. Hooray hooray hooray. :-)  


That's all for now.  I'll let you know how the first week at the new job goes!  Who else wants an update from New York?!  Hey Mar... what up girl?  ;-)  


at

Goodbye 2009.

(Happy New Year (and new blog)! I, like Mary, am optimistic about the shiny new 2010 that looms before us, but I feel as though I need to properly bid farewell to the crazy roller-coaster ride that has been my 2009. So without further adieu, here are some highlights of my past year (and some of the ‘hows and whys’ about my life in LA, as Mary mentioned in the previous post).

The Oscars. 

I work in the marketing department at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences  (I started in September 2008) and one HUGE perk is that I get to attend the Academy Awards, red carpet and all. It was amazingly surreal to be there, something I NEVER in a million years thought would happen.  Now I’m getting ready for this year’s Oscars (shameless plug: tune in March 7, 2010, on abc). 

Community Group.  

I started attending a community group through my church Pacific Crossroads last January, and it has become one of my favorite things I do in LA. We meet once a week to the study the Bible and just relax and be REAL with each other… something that is not easy to find in LA. Here we are at Bricks and Scones (my FAVORITE coffee shop ever). 

Colorado with my parents. 

My job at the Academy is seasonal, so it lasts from September to April. While I job searched and interviewed like crazy in the spring, the Academy kept me on as a floater until the end of July, and my boss offered me the seasonal marketing position again starting September 1. Since nothing else spectacular had come through, I accepted her offer and used the 5 weeks off in the interim to travel.  My first destination was Pagosa Springs, Colorado, with my parents. After the crazy stress of job searching and everything, it was so incredibly nice to relax and be with my parents in such a beautiful place.

My 24^th birthday. 

I invited pretty much everyone I knew in LA to come to my favorite bar Lola’s not really thinking that many people would actually come… but many of them did! It was such a fun night with my different groups of friends mingling together in one happy place. 

Europe. 

My biggest adventure during my 5 weeks off was traveling to England, Scotland and Spain! This trip was such a big highlight that I think it deserves 3 photos: sight-seeing in London with my college friend Katie, overlooking beautiful Barcelona at Park Guell with my LA friend Sheri, and participating in a 50,000 person tomato fight called ‘La Tomatina’ in a village near Valencia with one of my best college friends, Kayla.

Halloween. 

Halloween this year was so much fun, probably due in large part to what I consider to be the best costume of my life: a birthday cake.

New York. 

I was lucky enough to visit Mary in NY twice this year, both times full of great fun and entertainment. (most notably, two viewings of HAIR, my current Broadway obsession).

Wine tasting. 

To celebrate my lovely mother’s 50^th birthday we went to an amazing wine tasting festival near Santa Barbara.

Victoria Beckham giving me a Christmas gift. 

I’m a receptionist at the Sports Club LA in Beverly Hills (LINK) on Saturday mornings, which is the greatest part time ever. Not only do I earn a little extra pocket money, but I get to work out at this luxurious gym alongside celebrities like Taylor Kitsch (the MOST exciting celebrity interaction of my life), Amanda Bynes, Jesse Metcalfe, etc. I see V Beck there quite often; we chat sometimes. MUCH to my surprise, she brought Christmas gifts to a few Sports Club people she interacts with regularly I guess…including me! Thanks Posh Spice.

Wow…2009 really was a fun one.  I wonder if 2010 will live up to its predecessor.  I’m excited to find out. :-)

--Annie.