Weekend Review and Other News

The past weekend was fun-filled and eventful, as anticipated. 

Phantom of the Opera was chilling and glorious, as per usual.  Our seats were amazing: 3^rd row center! The costumes and set were exceptionally spectacular; honestly probably the best production I’ve seen at the Pantages.  The show is in LA until October 31, 2010.  If you like live theater, you should absolutely go. Buy tickets here You’re in for a treat.

Our housewarming party was a great success! Many of our dear friends came and our all of our delish food/drinks and apartment as a whole were a huge hit.  I am really so in love with the new place.  My lovely roommate McKenzie and I have decorated it and made it very ‘homey’.  It really feels like my first ‘grown up’ apartment and that is a very wonderful feeling. Come over and hang out. 

Ready for our wonderful friends to arrive and help us properly warm our new home. :-)

 Band of Horses at the Greek was just cool. No better way to put it, I think.  This was my first time at the Greek, and I’m already looking forward to going back. First of all, it’s walking distance from my new apartment (holla!).  Second of all, it’s an amazing outdoor amphitheater in the middle of Griffith Park, so you’re essentially watching amazing live music under the stars (and in the instance of Saturday, a gorgeous full moon) in the middle of a forest. Yes please.  Here is a video of this incredibly talented band performing ‘The Funeral’ at the show on Saturday (taken by someone who was apparently on the very first row! Holy closeness, Batman! My seats were most certainly were not this close… but enjoyable nonetheless). 

As you may have heard (because I feel like every one of the millions of people who live in the greater Los Angeles area are complaining about it), we’ve had quite a little late-summer heat wave the past few days. (Literally, Monday broke the record for the HOTTEST day in LA…ever). I took full advantage of this and enjoyed a couple blissful hours at the beach Sunday afternoon.  Several factors have prevented me from soaking up the sun with my toes in the sand much at all this summer, which made this long overdue beach day extra enjoyable. One of my earliest life goals was to live “driving distance from the beach”… and I must admit, sometimes I take for granted that I actually do now. Tsk tsk for me…but holla for the realization of childhood life dreams.

Heavenly. 

Taken from my phone on Sunday 9/26/10. 

 In other news, my dear friend Matt Godfrey needs your help.  He is in my beloved community group.  He and his lovely wife Ellen moved from Alabama to LA because he was cast in the highly anticipated ‘Blue Like Jazz’ movie (and for him to pursue other acting endeavors).  Very unfortunately, however, it was announced last week that the filming for this would be postponed indefinitely due to lack of funding (despite “a strong screenplay, a stellar cast, and rave reviews”).  But, ALAS, there is a chance it can be saved! If $125,000 (which is practically nothing in the world of film) can be raised by October 25, 2010, the film can enter production as planned.  In all honesty, I have never read this book, but more than 1.5 million people have.  It is supposed to have a really great message that could positively affect millions more people if it does indeed make it to the big screen, so if you feel so inclined, click HERE to donate to the cause.

It’s the biggest week in college football if you’re a Sooner fan… OU/Texas is this Saturday!  I plan on watching this intense rivalry game at a sports bar with other rowdy OU fans, drinking beer (which I am surprisingly becoming a big fan of as of late!), and yelling BOOMER SOONER like we were actually at the game.  It’s absolutely not the same, but hey, we misplaced Oklahoman Angelenos have to make the best with what we have.  

I’m seeing EASY A and THE SOCIAL NETWORK this weekend… I’ve heard amazing things about both, so I’m very much looking forward to it.  Reviews to follow!  What is the best movie you’ve seen recently (or that you're looking forward to seeing)?

Currently listening to: Alex Rhodes

Why: The reason for my current music pick can be explained in detail in this previous post. She is a dear friend of mine and incredibly talented musician AND her debut EP just came out!!  She had album release show at the Hotel Cafe last weekend and it was wonderful. You can check out (and now buy!) Alex's amazing tunes here.  My favorites are "No Trouble" and "Honestly." Enjoy!

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Menu for the Weekend

Hmm... I think I'll start with a sure-to-be-amazing viewing of Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages.

Followed by a deliciously inviting house warming party at my new wonderful apartment....

 ... and top it all of with an incredible Band of Horses concert at the Greek Theater. 

Yummy! :-)


Currently listening: The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. 
Why: A.) because it's awesome. B.) to help get me fully in the mood to watch it tonight. and C.) because Mary and I loooved this musical so much as young children that we used to 'play pretend' Phantom of the Opera in lieu of playinig Barbies or house or other normal children games.  (One of the many many reasons we are best friends).  ;-) 


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A Tale of Two Cities in the Press!

 Some of you may recall that my beloved alma mater, OU, ran an article about my job at the Academy on the http://www.ou.edu/ homepage a few months ago. 


Well, now a new version of that article has made it in the summer edition of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni magazine, The Pulse, and our blog gets a shout out!  The caption on our photo reads: Annie (right) and her best friend Mary both graduated from OU in 2008 with degrees in public relations and went to work on opposite coasts but kept up the friendship via a blog at http://annieandmary.blogspot.com and got together in person at the 2010 Oscars.


(Author's note: Mary graduated with a double major of letters and art history, NOT public relations).


Isn't that cool?  Ha!  I was aware that they were planning to run a little article, but the big picture and mention of our blog was a total fun surprise.  :-)  You can read the full article here (page 41, in case it doesn't automatically direct you there).  Enjoy (and Boomer Sooner).

Currently listening to: Ingrid Michaelson

Why: This talented folksy singer-songwriter is absolutely one of my new favorites.  Her endearing, cheeky, intelligent and relatable lyrics are amazing and her pretty voice is effortlessly smooth. It’s hard to pick favorite songs because they are all so good, but for the sake of an introductory download, allow me to suggest: “The Way I Am, “ “The Chain”, and/or “Be OK.” (But really you should just download her entire discography… you can thank me later). ;-)

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East Meets West

Mary's visit to LA came and went entirely too quickly and was jam-packed with fun, fun, fun.  I love how we can go months without seeing each other and then immediately pick up exactly where we left off. :-) 
We thought a fun way to jointly post about this wonderful weekend would be for me to post all the photos I collected throughout Mary's visit, and then let Mary do the captioning (in this color, for clarification purposes.) So without further adieu...

Night #1: After suffering through a Friday evening yoga class (Annie is like, one of those super weirdo new age West coast hippies now, or something...), I was desperately in need of a marg. Solution: El Coyote Cafe. Home of cheap mexican food and delicious margs on Beverly Blvd. This was Annie's 8:11 Twitpic. 

Night #1 Continued: The Edison. A downtown power plant-turned lounge... so cosmopolitan. The libations were artfully crafted, the decor was jazz club meets modern art museum, and the walls were highlighted by silent film projections... I give it an A+. (Our friend Garrett met us there, which made the experience even better. We love reunions of friends here). 

Day #2: Brunch at The Ivy. This Beverly Hills hotspot needs no introduction... unless you live on Mars.  We enjoyed a delicious meal (Annie tried Stone Crab Claws for the first time!) and some interesting people watching, and then Annie, Jessica, and I headed down Robertson for some retail therapy...

 Ethan, Jordan, Haben... oh my! This Nice Jewish Guys of the month calendar at Kitson made me consider my bashert. I actually purchased this calendar and then surreptitiously placed it in Laura and Sophie's bathroom in NY... I wonder how long it will take them to notice. 

Day #2: Later that afternoon, we met Annie's roommate McKenzie for a movie at the super cool restored old cinema in Annie's new neighborhood of Los Feliz. I don't really know what to say about this movie... (In fact, this was my 2nd viewing- after the first time I said, "I never want to see this movie again." Well, guess who got coerced into seeing it again?) We all agreed that we love Julia Roberts but aren't particularly fond of the protagonist, Liz Gilbert. Either way, it is fun to watch her journeys and travels to exotic locales. 

Night #2: Annie, Jessica, and I headed downtown for some cheap Sangrias and Mediterranean cuisine at Spitz. While parking we encountered the crazy fool pictured above. He made an illegal u-turn, effectively cutting us off- but when we saw who it was we didn't mind as much. Annie waved, enthusiastically. Hahaha. 

Night #2 Continued: Jessica, Annie, and I in front of the Emmy's red carpet, the night before the event. As you may know, the reason for this visit was a certain concert (see below). The concert venue was located in the same complex as the Emmy Awards, allowing us this truly Kodak moment. 

 

Night #2 Continued: At last- the reason for my trip (except for the whole visit Annie and Jessica factor...), the reunion concert of our favorite highschool/college band, Something Corporate. This piano rock band based out of Southern California epitomizes youth as we know it. Hooking up, sleeping in, frenemies... this band touches on all things adolescent. The lead singer and love of our lives, Andrew, has a few other side projects, including the band Jack's Mannequin, which have now become more full-time projects. Alas, while we can always have more Andrew McMahon, this may be the last we see of Something Corporate... He even tucked in his shirt for the occasion.  

Annie, Jessica, and myself at the Something Corporate concert. AMAZING.

"I always catch the clock, it's 11:11, and now you want to talk..."

Annie chose these pictures, so I assume this is the band playing her favorite song, possibly of all time, "Konstantine." This nearly 10 minute piano ballad is an epic tune, and if you haven't heard it, I insist you download it immediately. It will tug on the heartstrings you never knew you had. This being the last concert of the last tour, Andrew prefaced this song, "this might be the last time I play this song in a while."... heartbreak. 

The signature Andrew McMahon piano stomp. 

Day #3: Brunch at Luna Park. Two words: Bottomless mimosas. Oh, and one more word: S'mores. 

At LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) in the John Baldessari exhibition. I went a little overboard giving Annie a brief history of Conceptualism- obviously she was paying attention as she snapped this photo... Shameless plug to Angelenos and NYers: Go see John Baldessari at LACMA and this fall at the Met!! It was a fantastic survey of this highly influential artist's work. 

Night #3: Emmy Watch Party at Eva's apartment... almost as good as going to the actual award show. We had fun watching the show- and we even made the official Emmy Awards cocktail! 

Night #3 Late: Upright Citizens Brigade's "Shitty Jobs" show. Annie never talks about this comedy club, so I'm sure you have NO idea what I'm talking about... just kidding. If you read this blog, then you know Annie's FAVORITE thing to do on a given night is attend the UCB Facebook show. Even though UCB originated in NY, she felt it was important for me to have the LA experience- and thus, we attended this Shitty Jobs show, which included hilarious improvisations of an audience member's worst job. Maybe next time I go, I can tell my shitty jobs story... ;)

Day #4: On the last day, Annie had to work, so I went on the official WB Studio Lot Tour, before meeting her for lunch. The tour was so fun- they drive you around in little carts to see different sound stages, sets, archives, and their museum. My personal favorite part was seeing Austin Powers' Shaguar. Groovy baby, yeah.   Then, Annie and I ate lunch at the commissary by Conan O'Brien. Check and check. 

Though I was sad to leave and Annie was sad to let me go, we had a wonderful reunion weekend. 

We hope you enjoy this shared post, and we certainly enjoyed sharing our reunion memories with you!

Love,

annie and mary

PS- Now Playing: If U C Jordan by Something Corporate. This was the last song played at their show, and it was pretty awesome. This clip includes the famous piano stomp... Enjoy!

Together Again!

LOOKS WHO'S IN LA...!!! 

It is going to be a very fun weekend.  I love my best friend! :-)

Goals and Observations.

“Annie week” (as Mary refers to the week of said person’s birthday) was lovely…full of beloved friends, fun parties, and a “shocking number of birthday greetings this year” (also via Mary). ;-)

At my birthday dinner, moments after the manager gave me these balloons and announced that it was my birthday over a loudspeaker. Ha!

24 was extremely eventful with many BIG life changes (as mentioned in my last post), and I can only imagine that 25 will be pretty eventful as well.  Here are some goals for myself while I am this unique quarter-century age…(in random order)….

• Go to San Francisco.
• Visit Mary in New York (again).
• Do yoga at least one time a week.
• Go on a cruise (again).
• Read for pleasure.
• Rest more.
• Buy a new car.
• Visit C-Gunn in Austin.
• Keep my new apartment organized/simplified.
• Ride bikes along the beach.
• Go to my brother’s graduation from OU in May.
• Blog more. (holla!)
• Enjoy this year to the fullest. J

Two years ago I went on an amazing 5-week mission trip to Costa Rica.  I didn’t know a single other person on my team when the trip began, but by the end, I had made some lifelong friends.  I had a fun mini-reunion with four of these friends as the cutest couple of all time, Wesley and Emma, tied the knot in Alabama this past weekend. 

The wedding had the perfect mix of vintage-country-fun-classy-charm, just like the newlyweds themselves.  

Barrett and I had a blast dancing the night away...

...as the talented Zoesch was working his magic taking these gorgeous photos....

Here are some random observations after this wonderful wedding weekend…

• First class is AMAZING! Completely unbeknownst to me prior to boarding, I was on first class on my way to Alabama. Wow. I used to think ridiculous leg room, warm towels, gourmet meals, and free-flowing champagne/wine were things of legend.  Now that I have experienced the glory, I will truly never be the same.
• Outdoor wedding+August+Alabama=CRAZY HUMID HOTNESS. Yowza. It is legitimately impossible to escape being a sweaty hot mess in this setting. 
• Deep Southern accents should almost be considered a different language. Seriously… it does not sound like English at times.
• Perfect loves (like Emma and Wesley’s) really do exist, and it’s sweet (but also a weird mix of encouraging/nauseating) to witness. 
• In the South, it is not uncommon to eat fried okra twice in one day.
• Short weekend trips across the country are extremely exhausting.
• I miss my Costa Rica friends a lot. Reunions are so very sweet (and go by entirely too quickly)!

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Teague!  You darlings are the best.  I love you a lot and I’m so glad I got to share your special day with you.

Currently listening to: She & Him.

Why: (to keep with the bullet-point theme of this post...)

• Zooey Deshchanel
• Catchy
• Retro
• Summery
• Fun
• Two thumbs up. :-)  

PS—Mary is coming to visit me tomorrow! Cha chiiing.

Happy Birthday Eve to Me.

I literally cannot believe that I am turning the big 2-5 tomorrow... how in the world did I get this old?  It just doesn't seem feasible that I should already be in my legit mid-20s. As I was discussing the crazy phenomenon of my upcoming age with my sweet mom a few days ago, she said, "I became your mother when I was 25..." Yowza!  So very weird.

Despite my disbelief and slight disdain regarding my upcoming age, I am excited for my birthday. Maybe it's just because they are a good reason to celebrate with friends, but I really LOVE birthdays. They are just so fun and joyous... which I really need right now. Tomorrow I am having dinner and drinks with some close friends and then going to my favorite comedy show. Friday I am inviting almost everyone I know in the greater Los Angeles metroplex for a fun gathering at my favorite bar, Lola's. Should be fun! (I'm sure a post-bday party report will be soon to follow on the blog). ;-) 

Thoroughly (as you can see) celebrating last year's birthday at Lola's. (I told you, I LOVE that place).

This dawn of a new quarter century (geez louise, that is daunting!) is coming at a really unique time where essentially almost every single aspect of my life has changed dramatically in the past couple of months. It just seems appropriate that my age should change right along with it...

New job. 

New apartment. 

New part of the city. 

New roommate. 

Parents moving to Houston. 

Break ups. 

etc...etc...etc.  

All of these intense changes are very overwhelming (to say the least), but I'm trying to make myself see the excitement and blessings in them as well.  While changes are often scary and totally push us out of our comfort zone, they also definitely make us stronger and allow for opportunities we would have never experienced otherwise. 

Wow, I originally thought this quick little post would just be a "whooo! It's my birthdayyy!!" type post, but then I got all unexpectedly deep and a bit sentimental.  I really AM getting old! Ha.

I'll end on this lighter note: Cheers to the next quarter century, and bring on the celebrations... hooray birthdays! :-)