Goals

Yowza I am behind on blog posts. This one is exactly a month overdue now (whoopsie) so I figured I should play catch up with this one first... ;-) 

The past 2 years, I've made a list of goals on my birthday that I want to accomplish before my next birthday. For some reason, these have been more specific and enjoyable than any New Year's resolutions I ever make (and have a much higher success rate). :-) 

Here are my goals I made for 26: 

• Call my grandparents more. (This was the best goal I made for myself. I made a habit to call my Grandma, Mawdy and Papa on my way to work once every couple of weeks, just to check in and chat a bit. I know they love these little talks just as much as I do... my sweet Grandma even specifically wrote "Thank you for all the calls!" in my Christmas card last year. I wholeheartedly encourage you to start calling your grandparents more. It's great.) :-)
• Go to Catalina Island. (Sadly, I haven't been to this enchanting destination yet.m This needs to happen soon). 
• Play tennis. (Does one time with my parents count? It was two against one, so I think it counts for something...ha). 

• Expand my cooking horizons. (I've definitely added several new recipes to my culinary repertoire (thanks to Anne and Vaness for always having new delish ones to send me!). I'm about to expand my horizons even further- my sweet roomie McKenzie is taking me to a Hipcooks cooking class for my birthday present! Hollaaaa.)
• Fly a kite on the beach.  (Not yet. B00. I need to make procuring a kite a priority.) 
• Have a bonfire on the beach. (Not yet... double boo! Who wants to do this with me? I'll bring the s'mores supplies.) 
• Have a 'girls weekend' with Mary and our mothers. (Such a fun weekend with our mothers (who also happen to be besties). Santa Fe in the fall is goooorgeous.)

• Go to more museums. (I can proudly cross this one off thanks in large part to one art-packed weekend when Mary visited during the Pacific Standard Time exhibitions. I honestly went to more museums that weekend than the past 3.5 years I had lived in LA combined). 
• Have Thanksgiving in NY with Mary. (This was 3rd Thanksgiving with Mar in NY. This time we opted to watch the Macy's parade from the warm comfort of Mary's living room.) 
• Visit Kayla in Denver. (I made it Denver over Labor Day last year for a reunion with Kayla, Vaness and Anne. Pictured below is us atop what seemed like Mt. Everest. Yowzaaa.)

• Blog more.  (I'm so behind on blogs currently that I don't feel like I can cross this off in good conscience. Ha.)
• Rest more. (I've gotten a bit better at this, although I think it's something I need to continually work on. I spread myself way too thin on the reggg). 
• Pray more. (I'm almost done with the prayer journal I started in May, so that's a good sign, right?) 
• Be in a flash mob. (Sadly not yet... but I'm definitely not giving up on this one! This is happening). 
• Get an iPhone. (...and everyone who ever had to suffer through the 8:11 pics taken on my Blackberry rejoiced.) 
• Enjoy this year to the fullest. :-)

And here are my goals for 27: 

• Go to Europe. 
• Do yoga at least 2-3 times a month. 
• Have at least 1-2 days a month dedicated to "dolce far niente" (Italian for "the art/sweetness of doing nothing"). 
• Go to one of Richard Simmon's work out classes at his studio in Beverly Hills. 
• Visit Anne in Chicago (when she moves there from South Africa). 
• Visit Mary in NYC in a season that's different than Thanksgiving time. 
• Send more handwritten notes. 
• Go to more concerts. 
• Read the Harry Potter series. 
• Go confidently in the direction my dreams.
• Enjoy this year to the fullest. :-)

Currently listening to: Josh Garrels

Why: A few days ago my music-savvy roomie invited me to a very cool screening of a new documentary entitled "The Sea in Between" featuring this veryyyy talented folk singer from Portland (followed by a concert). 

  

His immense talent and passion are so impressive and his lyrics are so encouraging... this will definitely on repeat for me a while. (and the doc was entertaining- and very gorgeously shot- too! Plus, I thought the sweet little violin player was so cute). Check it outttt. :-)

xoxo, 

Annie. 

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane... with Kevin Durant

About a week and a half ago, I had the crazy/surreal/extremely random opportunity to do just what the title of this post says...fly on a private jet with Kevin Durant.  This is one of coolest/most "LA" experiences I've had in my 4 years here and it's all thanks to this wonderful movie....

When I found out WB was making a movie starring the MVP of my state's beloved Thunder, I was so excited. I was the only person in my department from Oklahoma, ergo the only one who was a legit Thunder fan. (We have since hired a guy from Tulsa who shares my OK love, which is nice). I told my boss months ago, "If you have a premiere in Oklahoma City, I haaave to go. Those are my PEOPLE!" Sadly, as the premiere was nearing, there wasn't room in the budget to bring me along, so I gave up on this idea.  I was able to get my brother and his sweet girlfriend on the list for the premiere and after-party (hello cool big sister points), so I felt good that at least one Terracina would be there to enjoy it.  

Then on the Thursday before the Sunday premiere, my amazing boss said one of the best things she has ever said to me: "There's an extra seat on the jet..." (!!!!) She then said that since the budget was limited, I'd have to provide my own lodging and flight back to LA (as the jet was going on to Dallas and DC for more screenings), but I think I said "DONE AND DONE!" before she fully completed her sentence. ;-) 

And so Sunday morning came and I hopped on this bad boy...

... with my boss (pictured here), Kevin Durant, and 6 other people. 

As much as I wish I could say that KD sat by me and entertained me with stories of winning Olympic gold and silly pranks he pulls on his teammates and now we're BFFs, that was not the case.  I introduced myself to him as we got on the plane and told him I was from Oklahoma and was a huge fan.  He was very appreciative and nice.  And then he laid down and fell asleep before we even left the ground and slept until we touched down in OKC. 

After a quick change, my boss and I headed to the Harkins Theater in Bricktown which would soon be full of press, excited Thunder fans, and of course the man of the hour. 

Photo Credit: Gary Mieranu

The premiere was great. The after-party was great (got to talk to KD a bit more!). Seeing my brother (and my best friends in OK- Randis and C Gunn!) was great. Being in OK was great.

My only (huge) regret is that I didn't get a picture with Kevin Durant. :-(  Booooo. Mary's hilarious/dumbfounded response when I told her this tragic news was, "What apocalyptic event prevented this from happening?!" The answer to that is: a very exhausted/busy superstar and a few missed opportunities. (blurgh). But alas, at least I have my wonderful memories (and got to have a fantastic 24 hours in Oklahoma!). :-)

I leave you with the Thunderstruck trailer. Enjoy! (and *shameless plug* check it out at a theater near you)! Holla. 

xoxo, 

Annie. 

Dîner en Blanc

Lincoln Center- NY's finest Plaza

Lincoln Center. A true mecca of the arts, this plaza hosts the Metropolitan Opera House, the New York City Ballet's Koch Theatre, the New York Philharmonic, and the American Ballet Theatre at the Met. Aside from being every lover of culture's dream come true, the Lincoln Center plaza, one of the largest and only plazas in NYC, is a destination in its own right. And being one of the largest open spots in the city... it is the perfect place for a flash mob.

Leave it to the French to dream up something as "French" as a huge formal white dinner party. Originally conceived over 20 years ago by a group of fancypants Parisians, the Dîner en Blanc grew to hundreds and then thousands of people- people concerned with reclaiming public spaces, wearing white, and upholding rules of formal dinner etiquette (even in the difficult environs of late August) that would make courtly residents of Versailles oh-so proud. Now, flash forward to New York in 2012.

Dîner en Blanc, Lincoln Center, facing South to the Koch Theatre

My roommate Brian and I, who live a relatively Spartan existence of blissful "bachelordom" and clearly not possessing many material tools of adulthood, such as card tables or fine white china, decided after little to no thought that we should definitely register for this year's Dîner en Blanc (we couldn't let our coveted invitations go to waste- here's looking at you Guy and Laura). After all, this event is spontaneous, it's glamorous, and it's something truly Prepster. Thus began a day long scavenger hunt all over Manhattan in pursuit of the requirements as per the event's website:

• A folding square table (between 24” and 32”) + 2 white folding chairs 

• The confirmation of your reservation (electronic receipt) 

• A white bag or a white picnic basket (or covered with a white fabric) containing quality food as well as the following items : 

o white tablecloth and 2 white cloth napkins 

o Electric/flameless votive candles 

o 2 white plates + 2 white plates for dessert (non disposable) 

o 2 sets of cutlery (plastic forbidden) 

o 2 glasses (plastic forbidden) 

o 1 bottle of water, soft drinks (alcoholic drinks are prohibited, except when distributed by our caterer – see section below)

o 1 complete meal: 1 first course, 1 cold main course, 1 cheese and/or 1 dessert, 1 bread 

o Condiments optional 

o 1 trash bag 

o Optional: 1 vase and a bouquet (only color authorized)

• Your cheerfulness

...Good thing I remembered to bring my cheerfulness (and also my wine bottle opener! Prohibition be darned- we found a way around that whole alcohol rule- this is America after all).

And so, at precisely 5:30pm on Monday, August 21 we met our group leader at our designated meeting point. We aimlessly made our way uptown during rush hour via public transit while burdened with tables chairs, china, and full 3 course meals, and absolutely no knowledge of where we were heading. Eventually the secret location of our flash mob dinner party was revealed to us... and Brian's prediction was correct... Lincoln Center. In the course of an hour, we set up tables and chairs in precise rows, set the tables, and at 7:30pm, the party started: handkerchiefs were twirled in the air and chowing down commenced. We were serenaded by live music during dinner, but what flash mob would be complete without an impromptu dance party? DJ Frenchie McFrencherson and his St. Tropez remixes of the Billboard 100 began at precisely 9pm, and the evening ended with a rousing (there may have been hundreds of people in a kickline, mayyyybe including Brian and me) version of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York." What better way to end the perfect New York evening?

My photo recap of the event. I'll leave the captions to your imagination this time...

Zou bisou bisou,

mary

The Big 2-7

If you know me and/or follow me on any sort of social media outlet, you are more than likely aware that my birthday was this past weekend. I love birthdays and I am very enthusiastic in my celebration of them... (I think it's because I'm leo, but that's neither here nor there).  Whatever the cause of my lifelong excitement for birthdays, it led to a very fun-filled and wonderful birthday weekend this year (and Mary was here to join for all of it!). 

As fate would have it, 8/11 fell on a Saturday this year so I took full advantage and planned a large Olympic themed bar crawl for that night.  Of course I had to celebrate on my birthday eve too, so I invited a smaller group of my close friends to Masa (my fave restaurant). After we feasted on delish deep dish pizza and the most incredible bread pudding I've ever tasted, we walked to Mohawk Bend where we enjoyed artfully crafted cocktails and one my all time favorite activities: a photobooth. It was lovely.

The main event the following night proved to be a success as well. I got the idea for the Olympic themed pub crawl from my ever-so-creative friend Marissa, and with the closing ceremonies the day after my birthday, it seemed meant to be. A funnn big group showed up for the pre-party at my place where we served a plethora of patriotic food/bevs. I loved everyone's great costumes, but here are my faves: 

• Best female costume: definitely the 2 gymansts- Mary and Elisa. (extra points to Elisa for actually performing some gymnastic moves later in the evening). 
• Best male costume: I'm going to go with Mark who found out it was a costume party on his way TO my apartment and still threw together a killer costume at Target that included a full-sized American flag worn as a cape. 
• Best non-American country costume: Hassan (by default) who repped the Kenya track and field team. 
• Most legit attire: Alisha, who also wins "furthest traveled to attend," as she flew in from the actual Olympics in London earlier that day.  (She even brought me some legit Olympic swag too!)
• Best interpretation of theme: Jordan and Laura with their ingenious homemade "God Bless America" t-shirts featuring Speedo-clad Phelps and Lochte. 

We patriotically paraded to 4 bars around Los Feliz: Good Luck Bar, Ye Rustic Inn, Public House, and Pattaya Bay (and our costumes were quite a hit, if I do say so myself).  One of the most hilarious/ridiculous moments of the night occurred between Public House and Pattaya Bay when we decided to light the Olympic torch I had made (out of tissue paper, mind you) on fire and spontaneously sang the Star-Spangled Banner in its entirety. Hahah. (Check out the last 19 seconds of this craziness in the video below). 

Overall, it was a GREAT birthday weekend. 
Thanks so much to everyone who came out and helped me paint the town red [white and blue].
You're the best. 

xoxo,

Annie. 

8:11 July Highlights

Happy (1/3 of the way into) August (aka the best month of the year)! While my birthday month is my fave, July was very wonderful as well.  Here are my 11 favorite things I did at 8:11 pm last month...

8:11- such a gorgeous sunset on the beach tonight. para, para paradise fo'reeeeal. :-)

8:11: fancy din at the italian restaurant at our hotel. one of the BEST italian meals ive had!

8:11: another awesome evening tropical rainstorm. i wish LA had more of these. :-)

8:11- @mckenziemorris and I tried to ease the pain of returning to the real world by upgrading to 1st class. #cheers.

8:11-goodbye party for @istantray at Harvard&Stone. NYC is so lucky to get you, darling! We'll miss youuuu. 

8:11- a good old fashioned house party before pub crawling. Holla.

8:11- imax screening of #TheDarkKnightRises. Wowwww...SO freaking good. Chris Nolan is a genius. #TDKR

8:11- celebrating the birthday of @mcoatesou at cha cha lounge.

8:11- #bachelorette finale! (aka our Super Bowl). Sooo freaking excited.

8:11-so excited to see @jessetyler in The Producers w/ @vanessathompson425 at the #hollywoodbowl.

8:11- din at my faaaave place- masa. W/ @mckenziemorris and @vanessathompson425.

With my unintentional 9 day delay on posting this baby (whoops),  it's just a few days until my BIRTHDAY! Andddd... MARY is coming to celebrate with me! So excited for 
8/11. :-) 


xoxo, 

Annie. 

Happy 4 Year Anniversary, Los Angeles.

A few days ago was my 4th anniversary in Los Angeles. This feels momentous because now I've been here the same amount of time I was in college. Weiiirddd. It's crazy how fast time goes. As has been my tradition the past couple years, I'll commemorate another crazy, fast-paced, exciting year in this lovely city like so: 

Four Years in LA by the Numbers

• Number of apartments lived in: 3 (1 month in Hermosa Beach, 23 months in Miracle Mile, 2 years in Los Feliz).

• Number of bosses I've had: 5
• Number of times at the Oscars: 4 

• Number of trips home to OK/Texas to visit the fam: 10

• Number of professional sporting events attended: 6 (4 Dodgers games, 1 Lakers game, 1 Kings game).
• Number of Vegas trips: 2

• Number of terrifying earthquakes (that I've actually felt): 3
• Number of food themed Halloween costumes: 2

• Number of traffic violation/parking tickets: 3 (blurghhh).
• Number of times I saw The Hunger Games in theaters: 3
• Number of trips to San Francisco: 2
• Number of work trips: 1 

• Number of times I've been in the audience of television show tapings: 8  
• Number of times to Disneyland: 2
• Number of times I've seen the glorious Meryl Streep: 2  

• Number of shows seen at the Hollywood Bowl: 2 
• Number of times I've seen my favorite band, Jacks Mannequin: 5
• Number of pets: 3 (my current pet fish and formerly 2 cute kitties that belonged to my old roomie Rachel). 
• Number of movie premieres worked at/attended: 8

• Number of hours spent in my car: too many to count :-( 
• Number of times I've said "I love LA.": too many to count. :-)

Happy Anniversary, darling LA. Thanks for a great four years.  Love you, mean it.  

xoxo, 

Annie.

Para, Para, Paradise: Puerto Vallarta Vacay 2012.

It had been approximately 3 years since my last real vacation.  Don't get me wrong... I've traveled the past few years, but all those trips have been visits to see my family, friends, weddings, etc. It had been far too long since I went somewhere with the sole purpose of getting away.  Relaxing. Exploring somewhere new.  Fortunately, my roomie McKenzie was having the same craving for a long-overdue vacay, so after a little Googling, we booked a one-week stay at a gorgeous all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico... and it was paradise. 

I could barely contain my excitement as I counted down the days to our tropical getaway.  When it finally arrived and we made our way south of the border, it was even better than I had eagerly anticipated.  We stayed at the gorgeous Hotel Barceló (two thumbs way up) where we enjoyed a gorgeous room and balcony overlooking the beach and (amazing!) pools.  When we weren't participating in fun organized activities (like beach volleyball or a football throwing contest that McKenz dominated) or reading/tanning/drinking by the pool, we explored the beautiful city. We played with the cutest dolphin ever named Gandalf (cross that off my bucket list), toured a tequila distillery (which included many delish samples... holla), made friends with the oh-so-nice hotel staff and fellow vacationers, got massages, and took an awesome adventure canopy tour that included riding up a mountain on mules, ziplining through the rain forest, and repelling down a waterfall. I had no idea how beautiful and lush and rain-foresty Puerto Vallarta was! It really reminded me of Costa Rica and I looooved it. :-) 

McKenz had the brilliant idea to film all our fun adventures and has compiled them into this wonderful highlight video.   While there is much more great footage that didn't make the cut, this definitely gives a legit overview (and makes me want to go back and do it all over again so badly).  Check it outtt... :-)

Viva Mexico! from McKenzie Morris on Vimeo.



As you can see, we had quite a blast. It was so good to just take a complete BREAK from the real world... and so hard to come back! I wish I could just rewind and relive that week again and again. Ha. But since I can't, I'll go ahead and start looking forward to the next vacay (and live vicariously through the highlights vid.). ;-) 

xoxo, 

Annie.