I Turned 30 (and survived)

I turned 30 recently, and let me tell you, it threw me for a crazy emotional roller-coaster loop. I generally love birthdays way more than the average person (maybe because I'm a leo and/or because receiving gifts and words of affirmation are my main love languages...?). This year, however, instead of my usual uncontrollable excitement, I felt a super weird mix of dread, disbelief, and overall emo-ness. 

Me the first 29 birthdays of my life: 






Me this year: 






I tried to process WHY I had that onslaught of negative feelings and pretty much a full-on 1/3 life crisis over this birthday. I think it was a mix of mourning the end of my 20s (which I really freaking loved) and the disbelief that I was actually this old - 30 always seemed like this far-off distant age that would never actually get here. I never really pictured myself not in my 20s, and I definitely wasn't ready for them to end yet.

If you're nearing the big 3-0 yourself and starting to freak out a bit, I suggest two things to help ease the weirdness of entering this new decade:

1.) Have a support system in the form of one of your oldest/bestest friends and/or family come celebrate with you (even if you don't feel like celebrating).

Kayla is one of my all-time best friends who lives in Denver. She started asking me months ago, "When you are celebrating your birthday? I'm coming to celebrate with you!" and even before the full-on 30 dread hit me, I wasn't feeling very celebratory and told her she didn't need to come. ("My birthday's on a Tuesday this year...I probably won't do anything big...Don't worry about it..") 
THANK GOODNESS SHE DIDN'T LISTEN TO THAT CRAZY TALK.

I was SO happy/thankful she came to Dallas the weekend after my birthday. Having her visit to look forward to significantly helped me get through the super-emo-full-on-30-dread weeks leading up to my birthday. It also helped that she gave me one of the most thoughtful/wonderful birthday gifts I've ever received- 30 different gifts that each had individual notes with memories and/or "things she loves about me." It felt like Christmas! 

My parents also came up from Houston for the birthday party weekend, and I'm so glad they did! I also gave them the whole "you don't need to come... I don't really even want to have a party... blah blah blah" crazy talk. Having them there to celebrate this momentous birthday and meet my friends was so fun and special. :)

2.) Take comfort in the wise words from some amazing, successful, badass women who have already paved the way into 30 and are making it look gooooood.

In the weeks leading up to my birthday, I reached out to several girlfriends who had already entered this foreign new decade to discuss their experience, and I came to this conclusion from this unscientific survey:
You'll more than likely either freak out at turning 29 (ahhhh it's the last year of my 20s!), 30 (yowzaaaaaa how am I already 30!?!?!), or 31 (holy crap I'm IN my 30s!). It was comforting to know I definitely wasn't the only one who freaked out at 30... especially because all the friends I talked to said how quickly those negative feelings dissipated after they turned 30 and how much they're LOVING their 30s now.

Here are some inspirational quotes on the topic from these wise friends, a few famous people, and a random dude I'm friends with on Facebook... 

"30s are really better than 20s... less bullshit, same fun." - Jane

"In a sense, it is closing a chapter, but there are so many things left to accomplish and experience in life that are only going to come with age. 30 is not death, if anything it is the beginning of a life that is more aware and self-assured." - Lorrin

"Don't worry - it's actually no different. And you don't have to check the other age box until 35 anyway, so you're still young!" - Eva

"30s are way better than 20s! You get to actually live rather than just planning for it." - Cristina

"Every year of your life is better than the last, right? So 30 is going to be your best year yet." - Mary

"Your twenties come with a lot of self-doubt and anxiety around big life questions: What are you going to do with your career? Who are you going to end up with? Where are you going to live? In your thirties, you just know yourself better." - Lauren Bush Lauren (Philanthropist)

"Age 30, for me, means balance." -Sarah Lane (Soloist with American Ballet Theatre)

"My twenties were great, but they were hard. You want to get past the learning curve and then have fun. I feel like I'm already having more fun in life in this decade than in the past one." - America Ferrera (Actress)

"At 30 you finally start to catch up on those dreams you've been chasing for the last 10 past years." - random dude I'm friends with on Facebook



I've been 30 for 1.5 months now, and I can assure you - it's definitely not the end of the world. Life is still very happy and very good. :) 
(Throwing a fun birthday party helps too). 

xoxo, 

Annie

Super cool thing to do in Oklahoma City: Garis & Hahn Pop-Up Exhibition

If you live in in Oklahoma, you absolutely need to check out Garis & Hahn's pop-up exhibition in Oklahoma City featuring the incredibly talented artist Zefrey Throwell September 25 - October 4. (Bonus: if you're looking for some super cool Friday night plans, there's an opening reception TONIGHT from 7:00 - 11:00 pm.)

My New York visits have sadly never coincided with a Garis & Hahn opening, so when Mary told me she was doing this pop-up show, I knew I couldn't miss it and a mid-week road trip up to OK was in my future. While my 3.5 hr commute back to my Dallas office this morning was painful, I'm very glad I was able to be there last night for the VIP Preview Reception. It was so great to see Mary in her element, see my brother/sister-in-law and several old friends, admire all the very cool Oklahoma-inspired art, and meet and talk to the super nice/talented artist. 

(File this under: things I love about living closer to "home.")

xoxo, 

Annie

And I'm BACK in the game...!

Hellloooooo! I haven't blogged for almost 2 years (yowza) but have recently decided to give it a go again for the following reasons...

1.) I like writing and there's only so much you can say in 140 characters or less. 
2.) *sentimental/emo alert* My last post from January 2014 includes a photo of my last Christmas ever with my grandmother (whom I affectionately called Mawdy), and as we come up on the 1 year anniversary of her passing away, I realized how important it is to have important life moments / memories like that captured somewhere (like this nifty online diary of sorts!).

So, that leads me to here. Blogging again. But as you may notice, the blog is a bit different than it was for the first awesome 4ish years of its life. Most notably - my partner-in-crime/best friend Mary is no longer the second author of annieandmary.com (hence, the name change). She's busy being a total #girlboss badass running her own gallery (and keeping up with its blog), being mentioned in the New York Times, pictured in Harpers Bazaar... you know, the usual. :)

Other big change - I live in Dallas now. So the blog that started as "A Tale of Two Cities: Best Friends from OK Living in NY and LA" might not be as full of exciting/glam stories/events as it used to be... but I'll do my best. ;) 

For a quick catch-up of the last 2ish years of my life - 

• I still work in digital marketing at FleishmanHillard (and recently got promoted...heyoooo.)
• I got to back to LA to work at the Oscars again the past 2 years.

• I met a cute boy named Chris. 
• I moved into a duplex and live alone for the first time (and it is GLORIOUS). 
• I went to Cozumel with Kayla. 
• I went to my 10 year high school reunion.
• My Mawdy passed away (as mentioned above).
• I lived in San Francisco for 6 weeks for a work project.
• I went to the Bahamas for Mary's 30th birthday (aka the most amazing 30th birthday celebration there ever was.)

• I finally went to Medieval Times (a dream of mine since legitimately 4th grade).
• I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding and got a wonderful new sister-in-law!

• I turned 30. (oyyy... a whole other post on that later). 
• I got engaged to that cute boy named Chris!

• I still have Moxie and she's still the greatest cat in the entire universe. 
• I still take a picture every day at 8:11 pm (January 1 will be 6 years - haven't missed a day yet. Hollaaaaa.)

Work/wedding planning/life in general is pretty busyyy so we'll see how often I actually get to update this bad boy... but I'm excited just to have a place to do so again when I get the chance. :)

(Sidenote: Whoever can name the movie that the title of this post is taken from is super cool and we're kindred spirits). 

xoxo, 

Annie

8:11 December Highlights

Hello and Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I'm celebrating my favorite non-major holiday with a nice mix of relaxation/productivity... including blogging about my 11 favorite things I did at 8:11 pm last month. :-) 

8:11- things to do when you're iced in: play board games.

8:11- Shane&Shane and Phil Wickham #hearchristmas concert. So good!

8:11- Shrek the Musical w/ @kbingram85. Very impressive so far!

8:11- din and drinks with 3 of my favorites people at HG Sply Co.

8:11- inaugural book club meeting. (Next time ill read the book).

8:11- the #christmas partying with the parents continues

8:11- excited to see the hilarious comedy of @mattingebretson (my former WB coworker of 2 weeks).

8:11- grandchildren and grandma. :-)

8:11- Christmas continues with my mom's side of the fam. I love my people.

8:11- SO wonderful to see one of my best friends from LA @elisadaniels.

 8:11- #newyearseve-ing.

 Cheers to ending 2013 on a happy note. And hellooooo 2014! 

xoxo, 

Annie. 

8:11 November Highlights

Despite my best efforts and drinking Emergen-C on the reg, the dreaded sickness going around my office has gotten to me. Blurgh. I figured I could use this excuse for a suuuuper lazy Sunday to catch up on a little 8:11 highlighting. Here are my 11 favorite things I did at 8:11 pm in November. :-)

8:11- SO good to see some of my Warner Bros. darlings in Dallas.

8:11- new friends and delish chai teas.

8:11- starting off @gretgru's bday weekend w/ the Head and the Heart. #holla. #grextravaganza

8:11- Eva always has my favorite things at her bday party. Last year- photobooth. This year- s'mores!

8:11- #grextravaganza continues w/ an incredible homemade feast (by the bday girl)!

8:11- thankful for these sweet new friends.

8:11- #CatchingFire was everything I hoped it would be and more. Can't wait to see it again!

8:11- I am #thankful for beer.

8:11- so good to be with my wonderful relatives. #lovelovelove.

8:11- #thanksgiving number 2.

8:11- Christmas decorating and snuggie lounging.

xoxo,

Annie.

BOOMER SOONER

(Musical accompaniment for this post: University Of Oklahoma – Boomer Sooner)

When the entire nation (myself included, I must admit) predicted OU to lose to Alabama, 

beating them 45-31 feels like this...

So proud to be a Sooner! Whooooo. :-) 

xoxo, 

Annie.

So This Is The New Year...

Happy New Year! 2013 was a very EVENTFUL year to say the least.
I met Ryan Gosling. 
I got promoted at Warner Bros.
I got a cat.
I went to Europe and met my Italian relatives there.
I upgraded to a queen-sized bed.
I moved to Dallas.

And around the world, these notable events happened:

(#client)

I always feel pretty optimistic about the new year. New beginnings just feel so refreshing and promising. I'm finally starting to feel a bit settled in Dallas and my new job, so I'm excited to see how this new year in my new city will pan out.

But for now, I'll leave you with arguably the greatest New Year's kiss of all time. #RyanAndMarissaForever. :-)

xoxo, 

Annie.