Thing 3 - My Goddaughter

Hey guess what? I have a goddaughter! Remember when I talked about my best friend's wedding here? Well a few months later, she had a baby and named JP and me godparents! She is referred to as Batgirl and she was a tiny little thing when she was born, but has been super healthy. During our theatre years when we were in every musical for over a year at MLT, Colby and I became known as Thing 1 and Thing 2. We were never seen apart unless only one of us had to be onstage...or unless one of us was in the bathroom...although come to think of it, we'd usually make those trips together too. So one of the things I bought for her is a Thing 3 onesie because all of our children will now also become numbered "things." Also, we decided JP and I should have special names like grandparents do, so we'll be referred to as Xenu and LeeLee.

I often think about the wisdom I'd like to impart to her, as I'm sure her parents do too. I thought I'd share some of these things with you.

1. Do not feel pressured to be sorted into a specific Hogwarts house. Yes, I know you have a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw as a parent, but we'll all still love you if you turn out to be a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. I promise.

2. Video games are fun.

3. If people try to tell you unicorns don't exist, don't believe them. They lie.

4. The Muppets exist to entertain you. They will make you laugh and you will love them and want to be friends with them. I promise.

5. Sports are not of the devil. I know your parents aren't into them and that's totally fine. But do not feel ashamed if you find first downs, homeruns, or free throws suddenly interesting. Xenu and LeeLee will happily talk sports with you and teach you all you want to know...especially Xenu. If you start talking about football with him, he will go on for a while...

6. Identity theft is an effing nightmare.

7. Popsicles make everything better. So do sour Skittles, pickles, sour patch kids, and Chickfila. Though not all at the same time necessarily.

I'm sure this isn't all she'll learn from me. I am, after all, a pretty wise person and pretty good at telling people what to do. But this is a pretty good start.

Bricky Wedding

Back in early November, my sister Brittany married her long time boyfriend Ricky. It was a really fun day of spending time with family, just like at Micah's wedding. And it was so touching to see how emotional the bride and groom were about finally making their vows and committing themselves to each other. Here are a few of my favorite pictures (courtesy of {Two} Chics Photography) from that day.

Photo by {Two} Chics Photography

Photo by {Two} Chics Photography

Photo by {Two} Chics Photography

And here is a series of pictures depicting one of my favorite moments from that day.

Photo by {Two} Chics Photography

Photo by {Two} Chics Photography

Photo by {Two} Chics Photography

I love my family so much and couldn't be happier for Bricky!

Anniversaries and Weddings

I fell off the internet grid there for a while. First I celebrated my second wedding anniversary, then we traveled to Georgia for my brother Micah's wedding. Needless to say, I didn't have much time for the online world.

I was again amazed at how emotional I felt on the day of our anniversary. It fell on a Wednesday, which meant I already had the day off. This year the traditional wedding gift was cotton so I got JP some underwear and socks. I know it sounds boring, but he asked for them so there you go. He got me some flannel pillowcases with snowflakes on them and I was completely thrilled with them. 

That evening we headed into the city for dinner at our favorite spot in midtown. It's called Trattoria Trecolori, an Italian restaurant (obviously). It's the perfect size, it always feels quiet, it has romantic candlelight, and the service is excellent. Not to mention the food is out of this world and not overpriced. We've eaten there for lots of special occasions over the past 3 years and have come to think of it as "our" spot. Afterward, we went to see the play Peter and the Starcatcher, which was a Christmas gift from my aunt Carla. Overall, we had an excellent anniversary. 

Of course we had to take our traditional picture in front of the statue where we got engaged. I'm so happy I chose to marry JP and move to NYC - three years later, I wouldn't change a thing.

And now onto another marriage milestone: my little brother Micah got married!! He married his girlfriend Golden in a beautiful ceremony at Henderson Village (in Georgia). This is one of the times I hate living far away from my family - it's hard to try and get to know someone on my random and busy trips home. Regardless, I've really enjoyed getting to know Golden - she's beautiful and caring, a total sweetheart. She and Micah really fit well together and I'm so happy for them. Also, her dress was to die for. Congrats to the Jordans!

There were several months where I didn't blog at all. Between May and January, to be precise. So stay tuned to hear about other major milestones that happened during my absence.

NYC Friends

The other night JP and I went out to my friend Molly's apartment up in Harlem. She invited us over for spaghetti and we provided the bread and wine. I chose sweet red wine because I can drink that stuff like juice. But the point of this post is not to talk about how good the food and drink was. It's to talk about how grateful I am for the friendships I have here.

Molly and I were friends back in Georgia when I was in high school. We went to the same church, though we didn't really run in the same cliques. (Unfortunately, sometimes church cliques are even worse than school cliques.) Long story short, she moved up to NYC about 6 months before me and when I got up here I decided to contact her. I had no idea if we would be compatible since I knew I had changed a lot since high school, but it turns out we'd both changed...and in the same direction. That night, a beautiful friendship was born.

Through her I met Katie, Jenn and Jess. I wasn't sure about Katie at first because she wore Chacos at our first meeting and I only associated them with weird outdoor ed majors. Turns out she's totally cool and doesn't even remember wearing them. Jenn is fabulous and we still keep in touch even though she left us to move back to Iowa. And Jess I'm still getting to know, but I really love her, this much I know.

Of course I have to shout out to Harper, who I also know from Georgia. I love getting together with her and talking theatre and catching up on Georgia gossip. She's the best.

I love my NYC friends.

Fear of Belts

Yesterday I overcame my fear of belts.

Up until now, the only reason I would wear a belt is if I needed to keep my pants up. Belts were to be worn, but not seen. I have an hourglass figure, heavy on the upper curve, and I've always worried about accentuating my waist too much and making myself look even more top heavy. However, I also tend to like wearing long sweaters and shirts with leggings, which can often make me look a little shapeless. JP has been trying to get me to pair a belt with these long shirts ever since I've known him and I've resisted. Until now.

After a major shopping trip this week, I came home with a new long sweater and a stretchy belt. I wore them yesterday, and although I left the house feeling worried about how it looked, I ended up really liking it! You're never too old to what works for you and what doesn't in the world of fashion. In fact, a woman I know (who's over 50) just today learned that black is slimming (don't ask me how she'd never heard that before, I was as shocked as you are).

Moral of the story: Don't get stuck in a rut. Don't be afraid to try something new for yourself. And if you have someone who encourages you to step out of the box, keep them. :-)

Chain of Command

I get really excited about mail. I love getting cards and packages, no matter how trivial. Today I got a package from my best friend Colby, who's mail is always exciting (for example, I never know when I'm going to get a sheet full of stickers with captions from her...). Instead of another sticker sheet for my collection, today's package contained her brand new debut novel! (Cue oohs and ahhs here.)

Let me back up and say that I have now known Colby for 6 years. I'm sure I mentioned before that we met doing theatre back in Macon, GA, and quickly became codependent...weirdly I compare us to Shawn and Gus from Psych and also Turk and JD from Scrubs. Anyway, it wasn't long before she shared her writing with me. At the time, Chain of Command wasn't written yet, but the stories I did read were very good. I immediately knew she could succeed one day and she continued to send me her manuscripts chapter by chapter. And now here I am cheering for her and her success!

Chain of Command is a thriller about a reporter who uncovers a conspiracy to launch the first woman into presidency. The first chapter will grab you with simultaneous assassinations of two major political figures (even the first chapter has spoilers!) and the chapters that follow are filled with twists and turns and surprises...right up until the big shocker at the very end. There's no doubt in mind that this won't be the last book she publishes and I'm excited for her continued success. I've loved watching her journey from book to book to conferences to agents to publishing companies, to becoming friends with famous authors...I admire her for her perseverance and the fact that she never gave up. I know I couldn't have done it. Congratulations, Colby Marshall - my friend, my twin, my codependent partner, my wife, a badass, and now a published author. I love you!

Once Upon a Time

To start the new year of 2013, Lexington woke me up entirely too early and I was unable to fall back asleep. So I left the warmth of my bed and adjourned to the living room to watch Mirror Mirror. Some mornings, I enjoy laying around in bed, but other mornings it's near impossible for me to do, so I leave JP sleeping and watch stuff on Netflix that I don't he doesn't want to watch. This is my "me time."

Mirror Mirror reminds me of a couple of things. It reminds me of how much I love Julia Roberts. It also reminds me of how much I love fairy tales. I don't care how many variations there are of one story, I will probably love all of them. I love the idea of true love, of adventure, of good always winning. And I am not ashamed. There have been times when I've felt a twinge of embarrassment though. I know people who scoff at fairy tales and princesses because of feminism or not wanting to be labeled as "that girl who loves princesses." If that works for them, that's cool. But I proudly wear my fake crown and look forward to the day I can dress up my baby as Cinderella. Because princesses and fairy tales are awesome.

Added note:
The costumes in Mirror Mirror are amazing and I wish I could add a couple of those dresses to my closet.