blog

vintage christmas card

What classifies something as vintage? 25 years? 50 years? How about 7...? This card seems ancient from many, many moons ago. Ancient, and full of wonderfully merry memories.

These are my roommates from my sophomore year at Auburn in Mollie Hollifield.  (Aren't they beautiful?) I'm wondering now who even took this picture for us. I can't recall, but I remember the night being a big to-do with lots of wardrobe changes (mostly by me) and closet raiding. 


[circa 2005]

welcome back to america ✌
































Oh, and I forgot to mention: our lunch at Big Blue Bagel was also a celebration of Anna's homecoming to America! She had been in Korea since last August, and just moved to Birmingham a few days before I visited. You can read more about her time there on her blog: Curl in Korea. 

(During my first year in New York when Anna was still in school at Auburn, I used to randomly get care packages in the mail from her with a bag of bagel chips from Big Blue! I, sadly, couldn't return that favor while she was in Korea, but it only made sense that we would choose a Big Blue lunch for our glorious stateside reunion.)

big blue bagel. in birmingham.

Anna and Rose Lynn
































I had an after-church Sunday lunch (just like the old days!) with these two gals 2 weekends ago in Birmingham. One of the nicest treats I've had lately. Both lunch and the company! Not to mention, we happened to run into three other dear friends from Auburn during our meal. That made for one happy heart in this girl.

scenes from (last) weekend

I know it's already, er, Thursday but I had such a fun weekend in Alabama last weekend that I wanted to share. I spent a short weekend in Birmingham that might as well have been a weekend during my college days in Auburn. I stayed with the new Mrs. Eads, and practically everywhere we went, we ran into old friends. It was so refreshing to see familiar faces out and about and catch up with friends I haven't seen in years (yes, years?!). That's a much less frequent occurrence in my days in the Big Apple. Birmingham is no small town, but it sure did feel that way. I miss that.





























L to R clockwise: [1] Shindigs, the hip new Birmingham food truck [2] Frank, AKC's pet fish [3] Harrison, aka: Harry-dog, Rose's little sidekick [4] Evidence that there's a Big Blue Bagel in Birmingham now

my rehearsal dinner speech



Rose Lynn and I have a pretty special friendship. We met on our sorority bid day at Auburn, yet we had no idea how much history we already had. As we were taking in all of the bid day festivities and looking around as nervous freshman at 54 other girls we barely knew, her dad spotted my mom in the crowd gathered in front of Mollie Hollifield Hall. Mr. Mike, Rose's dad, recognized my mom from 20+ years before. He recognized her because some 20 years earlier, my dad was Mr. Mike's high school football coach, long before the thought of either of us had entered anyone's mind. My parents had 3 small kids when my dad was a high school football coach, and Rose's dad never knew I came along because he was a senior in high school the year he played football for my dad. (Can you imagine his surprise when he realized his high school football coach had a daughter the same age as his?!) The rest of the story of our friendship is pretty much history. Rose and I spent spring breaks together, ate 85% of our meals together in college, and drove identical cars at Auburn. Once, she drove me home, 3 hours to Tuscaloosa, so that I wouldn't miss my niece's pajama birthday party. I had stayed up all night the night before finishing a final project, and could barely keep my eyes open to walk, much less drive. We really formed more of a sister bond than a friend bond. I feel like she's as much a part of my family as I am hers. She's visited at least once each year I've been in New York, gotten me through many emotional breakdowns - in New York and in college - and was the best darn Chemistry tutor I've ever had. Meanwhile, I was helplessly watching as she studied endless hours during her time in pharmacy school, and anxiously waiting for her next unbelievable story from the life of a real-life pharmacist. And now...she's married. With a husband.

Oh. My.

And oh my, what a fun weekend the wedding was! I finally have more pictures to share (that aren't from my iphone) that I'll post in the next few days. I thought it was only appropriate to give the full background of how special this girl is to me before I shared the details of her wedding. Plus, this is what I meant to say in my toast to her at her rehearsal dinner. But I was too busy holding back tears to say any of this. Or anything at all, for that matter.

Apple's new CEO

I'm sure Tim Cook (Apple's newly appointed CEO in light of Steve Jobs's resignation) and I have a lot more in common than just this, but this is probably the greatest similarity:

5. He's a fan of Bob Dylan's and a diehard Auburn University football fanatic 
Similar to Jobs, Cook is a Bob Dylan zealot. Yet one of his biggest passions is the Auburn Tigers football team. (Cook graduated from the university with a degree in industrial engineering.) The walls of his home and office are reportedly filled with War Eagle knick-knacks.

Yep that's right. Mr. Cook and I share the same alma mater. Maybe he will give us all free iPads?

[found on People]

auburn vs alabama in nyc




















Setting: Chirping Chicken on 77th and Amsterdam, dinner tonight

[background: I've given Brendan two Auburn shirts over the last few years. One mysteriously went missing for almost two years, and was recently found after I had given him shirt #2. I frequently tell Brendan he should wear the shirt more often - who wouldn't want to wear a shirt that represents such a great alma mater?! When I suggest this, his response is usually the same: "I don't want people to comment on the shirt since I didn't go there.." I always say that won't happen since, afterall, I wear my Auburn shirt all the time and no one comments.]


Random man (enters Chirping Chicken): Sir, I'm going to need you to leave... for wearing that shirt.

Brendan (looks up, confused, points at me): It's her shirt!!

Me (thinking): did that seriously just happen? Did someone comment on the shirt the first time he's ever worn it out?!

Random man (points to his hat... crimson with a white script Alabama 'A'. Continues to stare, doesn't say anything)

Brendan: She went there, I didn't.

Me: Sir, I grew up in Tuscaloosa and I can tell you which shirt he'd rather be wearing! (smile)

Random man: Did we really kill your tree?

Me: YES. As a matter of fact, you did.

Random man: I thought that was a made up story. (continues staring at Brendan)

Me: Nope. Mr. Updyke was actually arrested for that. And, I saw the trees and they are definitely dead.

Random man: Ok. Did you two meet at Auburn?

Me: No, we didn't.

Random man (smiles, walks away)

Brendan (smiles at me, points at the shirt): Never again..


This is a rivalry that runs deep, no matter where you are! So glad I'm a part of that, even in NYC.

month of June: what I did

Here are the Top 10 (ish) photos of things I did in June. Blogging got away from me. Better late than never.

I mentioned this before, but I went to Salt Lake City. This pillow was on my bed in my hotel room. How adorable. Look at that salt shaker.

I visited the Mormon temple. Actually I didn't go IN, but I did a few loops around. It has beautiful architecture, interesting place.

Then I migrated to the South - 'the loveliest village on the plains' south. I went for another Four Friends wedding, and this time I took Brendan with me.

As you can tell, he's very happy to be on the Plains for the first time! (Although I may have been the happier one that he was finally getting to experience Auburn...)

I'm not sure why but I really love this candid shot. Thought I would add it for good measure.

Reunited again! The second time in just 3 months. We could get used to this... Rose I guess the pressure is on for you!

I found out that Rose had never climbed the Auburn sign to take a picture! That changed quickly when I learned that. We made our way up there with the beautiful Samford Hall in the background!

And then to make Brendan feel like a true Auburn-er, I made him climb up to take a picture too. He could pass for an Auburn grad!

The beautiful bride before the wedding.

Backstage waiting for the big event. (I forgot to mention: Rose and I were candle lighters in the wedding! We had to really focus or else a small mishap could have burned down the church and ruined Rachel's big day. We made it through successfully-whew!)

At the Greystone Mansion for the reception.

Tyler and Rose

Trying to catch the bouquet (I get competitive with this stuff at every wedding.)

Still waiting... and probably encouraging Rachel to throw it to me.


Even after all of my theatrics, I still didn't catch it.

So naturally I made Brendan go for the garter (you can see him in the far right of this picture above).

He didn't try very hard... and he didn't catch it.

Our wonderful hostess and the sweet Roberts girls.

I think Brendan was saying here "Please take my picture again!" So I obliged. (That's actually probably the exact opposite of what he was saying.) I like the picture though!

Goodbye to the newlyweds!

After the wedding, we headed back to Tuscaloosa. I spent the day on Sunday with my family and at the lake. I couldn't ask for anything more fun!

I'm pretty certain this was way over 10-ish photos. Too much to commemorate, I suppose.

congrats to my new favorite Dr.!

...actually my favorite THREE doctors: Mary Lindsey, Courtney and Rose Lynn! I got the pleasure of experiencing the first year of pharmacy school with these three while I was finishing up my silly old undergraduate degree at Auburn (and when I say "experiencing the first year of pharmacy school" I simply mean I lived in Auburn at the time and so did they). I was pretty excited when I graduated from Auburn after 4 grueling years of college. But I have to say, my excitement for these three actually rivaled my own excitement for myself. Congratulations Drs Newlin, Green and Farmer!!!

mr. & mrs. barranco

The Barranco's wedding was absolutely beautiful! I can't imagine anything more perfect or fitting for Andy and Jenny than the wedding they had. It was such a lovely ceremony surrounded by family and friends who love them... and I mean, absolutely adore them! As I mentioned before, I've known Andy since the beginning and he is pretty special. However, I don't know him as well as I know Jenny but I know he must be one pretty incredible fellow if he got to marry Jenny! I'm so glad I was able to be a part of their special weekend. 


The rehearsal dinner was at a fabulous (and new?) restaurant in Auburn called Zazu. It was a neat, eclectic restaurant right in downtown. Jenny, Rachel, Rose and I had a few tears when we saw each other at the rehearsal dinner because none of us could remember the last time we had all been together in one place. It was a sweet reunion. 



After the rehearsal dinner, Rose and I made a stop to see Anna Curl and Mary Love Bear. Anna was packing for her spring break trip to Chicago, so me, Rose and Mary Love Bear did a lot of catching up too. MLB was pretty excited about accompanying AC on her trip to the Windy City!






















Saturday Rose Lynn and I had a lazy morning around campus. We walked around (I hardly recognized some areas of campus because it has changed SO much just in the 3 short years I've been gone!), got coffee and hung out on Samford Lawn. We tried for lunch at Big Blue Bagel, but... alas, they were out of bagels. I wasn't too disappointed with our second option, Bizilias.






















Rose and I had a sad moment when we realized it might be our last time to see Toomer's Corner! It was a sad sight. It had a big "KEEP OUT" sign posted on the barricade around it. In my opinion, those two phrases should never, ever go together, and I can't believe that it might be gone soon...


The wedding was a blast! Beside the fact that Rose Lynn and I (accidentally) dressed like twins, the wedding was a huge success. It was beautiful and perfect for Jenny.


And, she had the best idea I've ever seen: there were Momma Goldberg's Nachos at the reception!






















Lots of Chi O's made it to the wedding. I was a little rusty on my Chi Omega songs during our farewell to Jen, but they came back fairly quickly.

Thanks Jenny and Andy for including us in your wonderful weekend!! It was worth every mile traveled.

four friends, reunited

The weekend was even better than I could have imagined! It was so fun and exciting to be back in Auburn, catch up with old friends, and watch Jenny walk down the aisle. Here is a quick picture from the weekend at the rehearsal dinner...with many more to come!