The Living Big

When people ask me what it was that brought me to Nashville – how I got here – the story sounds very bohemian and romantic. I was following a dream, I sold everything that I owned, I lived a nomadic existence for 4 months, I drove all over the country, I landed here without a…

Dear Self, You’ve made it to your 26th birthday without winding up dead, pregnant, or in jail – congratulations! As your friend Joel once told you, and you have now adopted as your occasional motto, “It could be worse.” Ah, the negative spin on a positive idea… you have always excelled at such sentiments. So…

The deed is done – I made it through my first writer’s round without a) train-wrecking, or b) crying. I had about 10 friends who made it out, which meant so much, especially since I still call myself “new to Nashville” – thanks to those of you who came. I was lucky enough to share…

Tonight is the night. My first time playing out in Nashville. Good thing that I will only have to say that once in my entire life. Eleanor Roosevelt said to “do something everyday that scares you.” Apparently I haven’t done anything scary for about 9 years, and it is all converging in this one little…

Have you ever been really afraid of something? Totally terrified that this thing, this event, would be awful and painful and you just didn’t want to experience it… only to find that, when it happened, it wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would be? When I was a nanny, I took the boys…

You are dying to know what I did this weekend. Trust me: you are. Well, between meeting up with a fellow Annie who is moving to Nashville in the summer (and who is AWESOME and HYSTERICAL and TOTALLY friend-material), dumpster diving for Vanderbilt dorm left-overs, and crying my way through church (it happens), I attended…

You probably have some questions for me. And I am here to answer them. Preemptively. That’s right: I am going to answer questions that you have yet to vocalize. We’ll start with some obvious ones. Annie, can we see your new earrings? Of course! I got these from Mud & Mint’s Etsy shop, where there…

Things I Must Do In My Lifetime -or- The Living Big – a detailed account (continued…) 76) Make a balloon animal. 77) Have a respectable savings account. 78) Write an anonymous note and leave it for a stranger to find. 79) Find a cure for hiccups (I’m really close). 80) Figure out why everyone has…

Things I Must Do In My Lifetime -or- The Living Big – a detailed account (continued…) 51) Cultivate a bonsai tree. 52) Go whale watching. 53) Love the people who drive me the most crazy. 54) Live in Seattle again. 55) Ice skate without falling. 56) Read the entire Bible. 57) Eat at Canlis. 58)…

Things I Must Do In My Lifetime -or- The Living Big – a detailed account (continued…) 26) Own a Mazda 3 hatchback with seat-warmers and a stick-shift. 27) Go to Italy. Bask. 28) Try lobster. 29) Run a half-marathon. 30) Throw a surprise party for someone awesome. 31) Actually read all of the books that…