26 and Feelin' Fine

I can hardly believe it's true, but it's time to face the facts: I'm 26. I know most of you out there are rolling your eyes and thinking, "26 is nothing. You're so young." But it feels like a milestone, like I hit the top of the roller coaster and the rest of my twenties will be all loops and stomach-plunging drops. I'm sure I'm overreacting, but oh well.

My birthday was fantastic. On Friday night I got dressed up for a nice dinner date at an undisclosed location (Kevin loves the suspense of keeping me in the dark). We headed back to our table to discover - a cabana full of eight of my very favorite people from different groups of friends, there to celebrate with us! It was fantastic and an amazing surprise. Delicious dinner, fun conversations and our own personal soundtrack (Cabana has hookups in the booths so you can plug in your iPod and listen as you choose!) made for a wonderful celebration. Thank you guys for sharing the night with me!

Kevin, me, Tony, Stephen, Joshy, Jenna Brie, Amber, Wes, Josh - love you guys!

I've got a feeling that 26 will be a year to remember.

Welcome home

I have big news to share, albeit a month and a half late: I got a job!!

I am now the Web Content Specialist at Centerstone. That's right, Centerstone, the company that I previously worked for before my big European adventure.

The decision to apply for the position wasn't easy, but I decided to take advantage of my knowledge of the company and everything I learned when I was there before to move forward with this newly created position with the web team. Although I'm working with the same Marketing and PR team that I know and love from my 1.5 years with Centerstone, I have a totally new set of responsibilities and challenges.

As Web Content Specialist, my main responsibility is the company's intranet, which means I write news stories, update forms and other content, and other good stuff for the website that Centerstone staff use every day. I also run Centerstone's facebook and twitter accounts. It's fun and challenging work, and I'm always learning something new.

Everyone at the office has been so sweet in welcoming me back, and I can't say how glad I am to get to work with such a great bunch. I'll never forget stopping by the office after I accepted the offer and my old boss giving me a huge hug and saying, "Welcome home!"

I'm blessed.

Planes, trains and automobiles: Philadelphia and Baltimore edition

I've discovered that my Europe experience has changed how I travel, specifically, how I prepare for a trip. Jenna Brie and I left for our vacation to Philadelphia and Baltimore with nothing planned except for our hotel reservations. We got to each city with little knowledge of what sites and attractions we needed to see, but armed and ready to ask, "Okay, big city. What do you have to offer us? We're ready to be impressed."

I'm not sure what we were expecting, but Philadelphia was HOT. We spent our day and a half there visiting the historical necessities: the Betsy Ross house, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Elfreth's Alley (the oldest continuously inhabited street in the US). Most of the historic sites are smack in the middle of the city and free, which was nice because it meant that most everything was walkable and budget-friendly! We did get a kick out of seeing park rangers roving around city streets with their silly hats, since it's a part of Independence National Historic Park.

Tiny tiny doorway in Elfreth's Alley

Travel buddies in front of Independence Hall

My favorite thing in Philadelphia was the steps at the Museum of Art. You know the training montage in Rocky IV (I think?), where he ends with a victorious run all the way up the steps, then pumps his fists in his air at the top, with the beautiful view of the city in the background? So we ran up the steps and had a celebration at the top, just like Rocky. Then we sat on the edge and watched countless others do the same thing, cheering and clapping for them. We love to people watch, and this was too much fun.

Go get 'em!

Philly cheese steak: cheese whiz or no?

Jenna Brie and I were both pretty excited about taking the train from Philly to Baltimore. We're obviously clueless about our northeast geography, because we were both completely surprised when one of our train stops was in Delaware.

I can still hear the letters clicking on the arrivals sign at the train station in Philly.

Our first day in Baltimore was rainy and cold - cold enough to make me wish I had packed a jacket. Luckily, Jenna Brie has family in the area so we were treated to a driving tour of the city, complete with plenty of fun facts ("Now here's a little nothin' for ya..."). We had the most amazing crab cakes for lunch and even stopped by to snap a picture at Charm City Cakes, where the TLC show Ace of Cakes is filmed!

Thanks Beth and Elaina!

Have I mentioned how gorgeous Baltimore is? Most of the attractions are along the Inner Harbor and water taxis shuttle back and forth to the different neighborhoods. We spent the day checking out Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key penned "The Star Spangled Banner," and wandering around the cute neighborhood of Fell's Point. Being the foodies we are, we couldn't resist taking advantage of the fact we were in town for Restaurant Week. We had the most amazing 3 course dinner at Kali's Court for a cool $35, after which we kicked off our shoes and ran barefoot along the pier watching crabs swim in the harbor.

I'm on a boat!

Crazy fun mirror tree at the American Visionary Art Museum

Philadelphia and Baltimore treated us well, but Jenna Brie had to get back to Tennessee and I had to make my way down to Washington DC for and old friend's wedding. More on that soon, but for now you can check out Jenna Brie's posts about our trip here and here.

Too cute

While I work on a few things and get a post about my Philadelphia/Baltimore/DC trip together, here's a cute overload to brighten up your day.

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

My 1st anniversary

It was a year ago today that my mom and best friend dropped my deranged self off at BNA for my big adventure. Aahhhh the memories. I'm looking forward to going back and reading my journal, following the memories of my trip, over the next couple of months.


But I also get to look forward to some upcoming travels! Next week, Jenna Brie and I will be flying out for a couple of days in Philadelphia before taking the train to Baltimore for sightseeing there. Jenna Brie will fly home alone and I'll be heading to Washington DC for Christina and Will's wedding. I've been to DC with my family when I was younger, but I think I'll get much more out of it now that I've grown to appreciate history and politics more. Baltimore and Philadelphia are a whole new experience for both myself and Jenna Brie, so let us know if you have any suggestions!

There's another possible trip that would be HUGE, but I'm going to keep it a secret until tickets are bought and it's a sure thing. Here's a hint: I may get to revisit my favorite city in the world!

Summertime is funtime

I realize I've been ridiculously terrible at posting lately. What can I say? I've been busy having a crazy fun summer!! My other excuse would be that my old Mac laptop bit the dust, and I'm still trying to coax all of my photo files out of its death grip.

As much as I would like to go on about everything I've been doing, it's just not going to happen. So here's a mini-recap, with some pictures.

• Bonnaroo: EPIC! The whole weekend was amazing, with fantastic sets by some of my favorite bands, lots of sunshine...and heat...and mud and my favorite part: Silent Disco! If you don't know what a silent disco is, just ask me. So. Much. Fun.

• mewithoutYou concert at Exit/In
• Adult Night Out at Adventure Science Center - You may have seen Kevin (Grownup), Stephen and me on NewsChannel5 for this one. No kidding.

• Favorite Aunt Day with Chantry, Callie and Cole - Games, games, games at Chuck E Cheese and yummy treats from Las Paletas.

• Cheap dates! - I love having Centennial Park in my backyard. Nashville Symphony Orchestra one night, Wizard of Oz for Movies in the Park the next.
• 4th of July - Friends and more friends for party at Tony's house, then the BEST SEATS EVER for the fireworks show in downtown Nashville.

• Pool days
• BEECH BEND PARK! Fun for the whole family!

So there it is. I've been working a little bit, too, but the Census is about to wrap up, so that will be done with soon. Keep me posted if you know of jobs around Nashville!

Happy Friend Day!

You've heard me talk about Jenna Brie - she's my best friend and personal photographer. Whenever one of us has a birthday, heartache, personal victory, Dead Day or just need a fun night out, we love to get dolled up and go out for a friend date. Nice dinner, cute dresses, yummy desserts. It's what we do. So at the last birthday (Jenna Brie's in January), we decided that we need another excuse to celebrate, so we created Friend Day. We picked a date directly in between our birthdays - a nice even-numbered day that was going to fall mid-week (so she didn't have to plan around shooting a wedding), and came up with June 16.


Jenna Brie is always there for me - through heartaches, whinings, lay-offs, personal victories, hometown festivals, Dead Days, trips and just plain chill times around the house. Our grandparents were friends and through a chance placement in our first college class, we have become great friends as well. Thanks for always being there for me, girl!

Don't judge us.

Watching the thunderstorms roll through at my parents' farm before we joined the fun and played in the rain.

Also, Bonnaroo was crazy great! Pictures to come, but my internet at home is on the outs and I'm tired of sitting at this McDonald's.

Bonnaroo bound!

Today's the day! BONNAROO BEGINS! I made the trip to Manchester, TN last night to pick up my wristband, now I'm gearing up to see some great bands. Who am I excited for, you ask? Kings of Leon. Punch Brothers. Regina Spektor. Phoenix. Norah Jones. The Avett Brothers. Julia Nunes. That's a few, anyways.

Hopefully the storms will hold out for the weekend. Either way, it will be a blast. Pictures and stories to follow.

Also, for you folks that will be staying (or visiting) Nashville, have some fun with the CMA Fest (AKA CMApocalypse) tourist craze with a fun game of BINGO.

Hydracalypse 2010

In case you haven't heard, Nashville is drowning this weekend.

Toward the end of the week, weather reports were reporting storms for the late Saturday/Sunday forecast. When I woke up to the sound of thunder and raindrops pattering on my air conditioning unit Saturday morning, I was quite pleased. Nothing so soothing as Saturday morning rain.

When I got out to meet up with some friends Saturday afternoon, I began to see the problems. Luke had to get out of his house because flooding was about to trap him in, not to mention that he was without power for a few hours. I began to see the stream of reports of massive flooding from areas all around TN and Nashville. Oh, and tornado sirens. Lots of those, too.

Luckily, I live way up on a hill and have been able to stay at home for the most part and out of harm's way.

I did go check out Riverfront Park downtown a couple of times to see how the Cumberland River was doing. Crazy stuff...

River(front) Park, about 4pm on Sunday. Almost completely submerged.

That's all for now. Stay safe and dry out there!

Doors may open

I know I already went on about the weather in my last post, but there's something special about the April sunshine that gets me nostalgic. Reminds me of the days of unbelievably drawn out hours of the long last few weeks of my elementary and high school years, final exams at Lipscomb (time to watch Love Actually again!), and most of all, of Fish Fry time in Paris, TN.

Every small town in Tennessee has its big festival that they celebrate annually, whether it's the Strawberry Festival in Humboldt, RC - Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle, or Winterfest in Gatlinburg. My hometown claim to fame is the World's Biggest Fish Fry, which always happens on the last full week in April. There's all-you-can-eat fried catfish and hushpuppies every night as well as a carnival, arts and crafts, rodeo, parade, and even catfish races (you have to see it to believe it on this one). If you've got the time, you should definitely make the trip and check it out - I'll even show you around a little if I'm in town when you go!

This year, the week signifies something different for me. Last year, immediately following my return from a great weekend at the Fish Fry, I received the unfortunate news that my position at Centerstone was eliminated and I was out of a job. The anniversary of such a significant event in my life has made me look back on the past year and all the changes that have come along, and man, has it been a crazy one.

Of course, it was a huge challenge to cope with losing my job and the uncertainty that goes along with being suddenly unemployed, but I see plenty of rainbows that have come from that dark storm. The most significant is undoubtedly my trip to Europe. It's crazy how perfectly things worked out to make that trip happen - with my job, the lease expiring on my apartment, money I had saved up while working, and a moderate dose of gutsy craziness. I was so fortunate to have the ingredients for the perfect opportunity all dropped into my lap at the same time. It was the trip of a lifetime and I'll never forget it.

So all in all, I'm okay with how everything turned out. Sure, it's been difficult to deal with seemingly never-ending unemployment and the constant stream of rejection letters from applications, but who else gets to spend so much time without a 9-to-5? I'm excited to see how my job with the Census Bureau goes and the doors it may open. Not to mention, I've got great friends and family to share my ups and downs with. Thanks, all, for listening to my gripes and cheering me on through the past year.

A walk in the park

It's officially springtime! The trees are blooming, the sun is shining and everyone is out at the park enjoying the weather. It's such an exciting time, it seems like, and that is only made better by the little things: riding with the windows rolled down and music turned up, busting out the skirts and dresses, springtime thunderstorms and fresh bouquets of flowers. (No doubting my tree-hugging tendencies when you read that sentence.)

The warmer weather also makes it a perfect time to get my amazing bike for a spin or jaunt down to Shelbyville for a PHOTOSHOOT! I promise I don't typically get to go out and have these fantastic pictures made quite so often, but I've been fortunate lately.

Kyle, my fake boyfriend/co-model for the day

It's almost impossible for me to just post this one photo; they all turned out fantastic! Make sure to check out Jenna Brie's blog for more and have a look around at the rest of her work while you're there.

In other news, today I began training for a supervisory position with the US Census. It's temporary, full-time work, but I'm excited to back to the workforce for a decent paycheck and a challenge.

That's all for now, so get outside and enjoy the sunshine!

Ooh la la!

Since I've been in the black hole that is my experience with unemployment, I don't feel like I've been an exceptionally interesting person. Nothing much going on except application after application, which is far beyond boring. So I've decided to take on a project: learning French.

This finally arrived for me in the mail today

I've always loved the subleties and complexities of languages - some of you may remember that I minored in Spanish at Lipscomb, and I recently started reading The Story of English, which chronicles the history of our own language. But now I'm going to attempt to wrap my head around the sexy beast that is French.

My goal is to spend at least 20 minutes a day in some effort to learn French, whether it's working through this book, listening to podcasts or whatever other means I can find. Any suggestions for picking up another language are more than welcome. I'm excited about this new venture and hope you will hold me accountable with this!

Making headlines

Ok, so maybe not headlines, but how fun is it to show up in other people's blogs? A couple of weeks ago I made an afternoon trip to Murfreesboro to meet up with Jenna Brie, who was giving fellow photographer Tracy Anderson some pointers and practice with photography techniques and such. I had a great time playing model, as always, but it was COLD!

Make sure to check out Jenna Brie's blog and Tracy Anderson's blog for more about the day and some pics! (My favorite is with the old Case tractor.)

Unemployment blues

Here I am, scavenging free internet at Panera Bread after spending half of the morning doing the same thing at the local library. Job hunting. Do you have any idea how frustrating, stressful and ENDLESS job applications are? After months of doing this, it's fair to say I'm tired of it.

Gainful employment, find me soon. I miss you and your benefits.

Firestone 500

The holiday season has come and gone, and now that the newness has worn off on most people's Christmas gifts, I'll make some time to brag on mine a bit.

After exchanging gifts with Luke, we went to the garage to check out the progress he had made on the motorcycle when .... SURPRISE!! My real present was waiting for me and I could absolutely not believe it.

1960s Firestone 500

I found this gem in one of the old barns on my parents' farm some time in early November. And let me tell you, it looked rough when I discovered it. At that time, it was just a silly idea to get it fixed up and back in working order someday. Luke took that idea to a whole new level.

After stealing my mom's number out of my cell phone, he made a sneaky trip to Paris to pick up the big project (and meet my family for the first time). He had no idea what he was getting into.

Love the stars, but some major rust to work against

So Luke spent some major time and took everything apart, did some major rust removal, driving all over Nashville to hunt down new wheels and did other fix-it-up stuff that is over my head.

Needless to say, I was completely blown away by the final result. I can't think of anything that would have been more surprising or perfect. I still can't believe it. Best Christmas present ever. I'm pretty lucky to have such a sweet guy, eh?


In other events, Tina and Jenna Brie came to Nashville for the weekend so we had a great night on the town. There's always a fun to be had with these girls around.

Me, Tiner, Jenna Brie and Luke