Welcome Patrick!

Big updates coming your way Internet!! One of my very best friend's, Carrie, FINALLY had her baby boy!!! Patrick Addison Sponheimer was born on December 10th weighing at 8lbs 11oz - look at how gorgeous he is with all his hairs!!

Carrie and Patrick are at home getting ready for Christmas and Santa to visit and doing fabulously. Aunt El gets regular updates and "good morning" BBMs from Patrick (who is already quite handy with a cell phone..he is obviously an advanced baby). Congrats Carrie and Brian!! Love to you both from NC! xoxo

Youth Today

I have a friend who works at a college with her husband (we'll leave the details at that to protect the innocent....and employed). From time to time she sends us emails telling us tales of the ridiculousness that she and her husband witness. I just received this one and thought I would share with you, Internet, because only you will apprecaite it like I do......

From time to time, I like to share crazy stories from Residence Life. Apparently we have a student on campus who thinks he is a werewolf. When I asked Hubby if he thinks the student is a Harry Potter werewolf or a Twilight werewolf (as the former could be quite dangerous) he replied that there was no need to worry as the student was clearly a Twilight werewolf. How does Hubby know this you might ask? The student explained to one of Hubby's staff members that he has imprinted on her to which her response was, "unfortunately, I have already imprinted on someone else."

hello? hello?

Is anyone out there?? Its been brought to my attention (numerous, numerous times) that I haven't been updating my blog. This is true. I got busy. Really busy. Hair pulling, tossing and turning at night with stress busy. With a project I like to call "Getting My Life Together". BUT I'm going to try to be better.

So here is a brief update of what's been going on the past 6 months.

1) I've been working. A lot. LA, Miami, New York, Beverly Hills, Cincinnati...lots of travel and lots of frequent flyer miles! It would appear from these pics that I don't work when I'm traveling but I promise I do.

GIANT hoola hoop on Venice Beach boardwalk in LA.

I DOMINATED this thing. Which was satisfying because the guy was all "Bet you can't do it" and I was all "Have you SEEN these hips on the dance floor? Child's play. Gimme that thing."

View from hotel room in Miami

2) I bought a car. That's me getting ready to drive off in it for the first time. Best Part of this Picture: I was so excited to have my new car...and while I was saying goodbye to my boyfriend, who was new at the time, I peeled rubber out of the parking lot and hollered out the window "Gotta go! Love ya! Bye!" and as I pulled onto the highway I thought "hmmmm. I just faux dropped the L-bomb on that kid in my excitement about my new car. I'll just ignore it and act like it didn't happen." And I did. Until now.

3) I started dating Chris O'Donnell. Or as close as I could get in the Raleigh area. He is very nice but doesn't have an Irish accent like Chris in "Circle of Friends" which is a major drawback. Shout out to Carrie for the below photo compilation. For anonymity purposes, perhaps we will refer to him on the site as.....wait for it Katie....wait...for....it....Lucky Charms. If you have a better suggestion, I'm open to it.

4) I bought a house. Just a couple weeks ago. Haven't moved in yet (aren't my Mom and Dad lucky to be living with me??) as I have some construction to do, but excited to move in the New Year!

More updates to come when I can get my thoughts and photos straight but that should be enough to process for now! Is anyone even still out there reading this? Leave me comments and let me know that you're alive!

Ellen?

Here is a little video of my dance troop that includes myself, Katie and Carrie. The lead dancer is my brother, Alston. The fifth dancer is Carrie's husband, Brian. He looks amazing in a red sequin bikini.


Brian also mentioned that if he ever has a daughter she IS NOT going to this dance school....to which I replied, that's fine but Carrie and I are DEFINITELY signing up.

The Southern Invasion

Recently Garden & Gun magazine had a great article about the influx of Southerns who have made New York City their home. In the article, they mention Blue Smoke - fabulous BBQ restaurant that I would frequent back in the day - and highlight The North Carolina Society of New York for our strong membership (good work Janie and team!). They also share some great places in the city to eat, drink and shop Southern Style!

Click here to check it out!

1st Annual Spring Soiree

On April 16th, the National Students of AMF hosted their 1st Annual Spring Soiree at Carolina Country Club. National Students of AMF was started by family friend, David Fajgenbaum, after his mother passed away during his Freshman year at Georgetown. Students of AMF began as a support group for 10 of David's peers and quickly grew into a support network that involved over 400 members of the Georgetown community. Today, Students of AMF has 36 university-recognized chapters nationwide, 30 more in development, and receive student inquiries at the rate of 3-10 per month.

The event was a huge success - not only did we raise a ton of money for the organization, we had a ton of fun dancing, eating, drinking and catching up with friends! Congrats David and National Students of AMF!

Katie and David

High School friend Meredith and I

The Mann Girls

Katie and family friend, Scott

Music Monday

Happy Monday everyone! Last Friday night a bunch of us ventured to Koka Booth in Cary, NC to attend the My Morning Jacket concert. This was my first time at Koka Booth which was very exciting.....really pretty/cool small amphitheater BUT because its in Cary neighborhood areas, they don't crank up the volume very loud and they have to end concerts pretty early. Whomp whomp. Regardless we had a great night, great show, great friends - pics and Music Monday selection below. Enjoy!

Surrounded by pine trees

We were in the pit up front, this is turning around looking at the lawn

Jim James

more Jim James

even more Jim James...

Today's MM selection in honor of the concert?

Enjoy "Off the Record" by My Morning Jacket

G.T.L.

For those of you not familiar with The Jersey Shore? Your loss.

Rives' 3rd Birthday

I didn't take many pics at Rives' actual birthday party - too busy eating and playing I suppose - but here are a few! All the kids had an amazing time and the cake was a big hit - OBVI!

Massive jungle gym type thingy - it was great, they just turned the kids loose and off they ran into a lovely confined, padded area!

Jack is ready for cake!

So is my Sweet Caroline!

Adults were ready for cake too.....Drew, Jamie and Natalie enjoying the party

Ready for cake buddy?

Here we go!

Music Monday

Quite a weekend of music I've had! Friday night we visited the ole high school stompin' grounds (aka Walnut Creek) to see Widespread Panic and then on Sunday night The Chris' (kinda like The Corey's but not as creepy and without the weird 80's Michael Jackson gear) and I went to Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC to see Frightened Rabbit. Great show although it was tough to pull a late Sunday night...we definitely felt old. But listening to their Scottish accents made up for it....**sigh** Anyway, here are a couple great songs for Music Monday....enjoy!

"Swim Until You Can't See Land" by Frightened Rabbit

"Poke" by Frightened Rabbit

Thomas the Train Birthday Cake

Alrighty folks, here is the long awaited pics of the Thomas the Train cake Elizabeth and I made! It was much harder than the other two cakes we made for this 1st and 2nd birthday but we trucked through....it involved about 1000 lbs of sugar, butter, sweat and tears but we did it!! Check it out......

First we stacked sheet cakes and using a knife, carved out the general shape of Thomas....then we applied the crumb coat...a crumb coat is a layer of icing that catches all the crumbs so when you put on the top icing, it looks nice and smooth and crumb free....

I see Thomas taking shape....

The aftermath.

Things are getting a little messy.....

Slapping on the icing.....

Starting to look like a train!

Icing everywhere....

including the baby bump....Elizabeth's not mine, lest someone is confused.

Detailing....

Detailing....

Final touches

Cleaning it up and final touches.

Using our most critical tool....our fingers....

Done!

THE FINISHED CAKE!

The cake was a big hit! The little kids walked into the party and almost all of them exclaimed "THOMAS!" And it tasted good too! Next year? I think I nice sheet cake from Harris Teeter is in order, hahahahah!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Rives!!

So Tuesday, April 6th was Rives' birthday and to help celebrate we picked him up from school and took him to Chick-fil-a. YUM. His party wasn't until the next day (pictures coming) and of course Elizabeth and I were working hard on his cake (pictures coming), but it was nice to take a moment to celebrate with the little guy.

Rives and Elliot the Dragon on our way to lunch

Opening up a little something from Mom-Mom (Grandma Karen)

Its a birthday version of Thomas the Train

Happy Birthday Rives!

Music Monday

Hey Internet - remember how all these months I've been talking about how I'm unemployed? Well scratch that because today I GOT A JOB!! I'm going to be working for my old company, from Raleigh and....I got a raise! Go figure. So we're celebrating here today and my good friend Carrie suggested this for Music Monday....because she is happy for me....and also wants to stop paying for my dinner when we go out.


You might remember this quote from "The Office" when Michael was throwing a party to auction off Bruce Springsteen tickets. Darryl, who served as the event DJ said: "Mike gave me a list of his top ten Springsteen songs. Three of them were Huey Lewis and the News, one was Tracy Chapman 'Fast Car'. And my personal favorite: 'Short People."

Well here we go...Huey Lewis and the News with "Workin' for a Livin' "

Unicorns and JC

This may or may not have been similar to my wisdom teeth experience.....minus the Jesus rap and evil mother videotaping....and plus one high school boyfriend who waited until I was all drugged up to ask me if he could go to a party that night without me instead of nursing me back to health.

Click here. Absolutely hilarious.

Pele?

Pele he is not, folks. BUT I must say I'm pleased to report that, in my humble opinion, Rives is the best student at "Coach Scott's Soccer Clinic"....he kicks farther and straighter than any other 3 year old I know!

I've been lucky enough to attend a couple soccer practices with my main man and am amazed at how well these little 2-3 yr olds listen to Coach Scott...trust me, its still like herding cats, but its much more controlled than I thought it would be....very impressive. The do soccer drills, tee ball and running bases practice and then play with a parachute - good times all around :)

At one such practice, while running over to me on the sidelines for a water break, Rives stated in between gulps...."Thanks for coming Aunt El".....and then my heart shattered into a million tiny little pieces.

Rives (in the yellow jersey and black shorts) going after the ball

Running bases...last but not least. This is a gratuitous hiney shot on my part.

Helping put the "popcorn" back in the parachute

Getting ready to "pop"

Practicing "big steps" and "hopping" - Rives is in yellow shirt and black shorts.

Running the bases with a skip in your step is really the best way to do it.

Popcorn!

Second attempt did not go so well for Rives...yellow shirt on the left of the screen :)

Music Monday

As summer comes rolling along, I'm getting back into the swing of running...which means my hip hop downloads have been in full effect.

This song has been my guilty pleasure and I've been rocking it out all weekend.....don't judge. You know you're bopping in your computer chair RIGHT NOW....

Some of you may remember this incident....there is a HIGH possibility that will happen again with this song. I'm just sayin'......

"Carry Out" by Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake

Ding dong. Woof. Bears.

Katie - this is for you and long over due....

"Do you enjoy a fly fancy lifestyle?"

Music Monday

On Saturday night we headed to Durham to see Wilco perform at the Durham Performing Arts Center....more of a low key setting than the last time I saw them in Coney Island but I did enjoy easy access to clean and non-crowded bathrooms (heaven!). It was a hodgepodge of high school friends, their spouses and new friends and we had a great time pre-concert enjoying food and beverages at Tyler's....

Pic from the concert....

I know its stereotypically girly of me to love this song, but I can't help it...
"California Stars" by Wilco

Come snuggle with Mama

Those of you that know me personally, may or may not be aware of how poor my vision is....I've worn glasses since about 6th grade, and I think I got my first pair of contact lenses circa 8th grade? Without glasses or contacts, I'm as blind as a bat and can only make our vague fuzzy shapes.....so when I first saw this commercial I thought to myself, "Wow. That's totally me."

Music Monday Part II

Ok, per my post below here is this week's Music Monday suggestion...
Broken Bells - The High Road...side project for Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley and Shins singer James Mercer...check it out and enjoy!!

Thanks for being patient regarding the delay (not you Alston, you are not patient...but you keep me in check and I love you)...life is a little nuts right now!

Music Monday

Hello Internets! Yours truly has been very busy today with many JOB INTERVIEWS and I haven't had a chance to even think about what song to feature today. What's that you say? Why would I want a JOB? Well Internet, at some point, even I need what we like to call "an income". That's money for you lay-people.

So I'm going to marinate on MM and will report back tomorrow morning with a tune for you to check out I PROMISE.

Right now I'm going to go lay down with some smelling salts....all that using my brain and talking fancy business talk has given me a headache and quite frankly exhausted me. And I wish I was kidding.

Jenny needs to get her hairs did.

Get it while its hot....New York Magazine's Reality Index for this past Monday's Gossip Girl episode....

Click here to check it out for yourself!

Busted. Hair.

I enjoyed this week's Reality Index because it points out three things which I was thinking while watching the episode: (1) Jenny's hair is a disgusting polyester weave and I think the stylists on the show should be fired for letting that monstrosity go on for so long...she looks BUSTED (2) the Chuck and dead mother storyline, complete with two halves of a LOCKET, is totally the storyline of Annie and (3) what kind of insane college party are they at that has nice decorations, bartenders and real glasses. In college there was a party similar to this one called Fiji Island held at a frat house, and even though people dressed up in bikinis and grass skirts, I can ASSURE YOU it involved a dirty frat house, kegs of gross beer, bottomshelf liquor poured into plastic cups, and out of shape, beer-gutted frat dudes. Barf.

You know you love me,
xoxo,
Gossip Girl

Music Monday

Ok, I'm not saying I support Chris Brown....he is terrible and boys should not hit girls....BUT, I'm starting up running again and in the process have been trying to update my running playlist. And when I'm working out, I REALLY enjoy this song....I've even been known to do little mini dances while running on the treadmill. A difficult task, for sure.

Chris Brown - "I Can Transform Ya"

Eclipse trailer is here!

Here we go again.....get ready folks, Eclipse is scheduled to come out June 30th....which I'd like to point out is my birthday month. And I turn 30. So a June 30th release? Is like they are saying to me "Happy 30th Birthday Ellen. Here you go. Enjoy." and I'm all "Why thank you. I will."

You may recall that Elizabeth and I went to the midnight showing of New Moon when it came out.....and while waiting in line had many lively discussions with high schoolers, one of which went like this.

Girl: I've read all these books I love them.
Elizabeth: Me too! Hmmm, how old are ya'll?
Girl: We're Juniors at Millbrook.
Elizabeth: Oh, I went to Millbrook!
Girl: Really? When did you graduate? (While clearly looking us both like we are old as dirt.)
Elizabeth: What's that? You're breaking up.....I didn't hear the question.....the line is moving...who needs popcorn?...bathroom break anyone?...nice meeting you, bye.

Uh. Yea. And now Elizabeth is pregnant with her SECOND child and her due date is....JUNE 30TH. So that little one is going to have to hold out until the wee small hours of June 30th cause we are planning on being there at midnight again. This time the conversation will probably go something like this....

Girl: I've read all these books I love them.
Elizabeth: Me too! Hmmm, how old are ya'll?
Girl: We're Juniors at Millbrook.
Elizabeth: Oh, I went to Millbrook!
Girl: That's great. Um, ma'am? Are you ok? You seem to be in a lot of pain. And I'm not certain, but I think your water just broke.
Elizabeth: What's that? You're breaking up.....I didn't hear the question.....the line is moving...who needs popcorn?...bathroom break anyone?...I'M NOT MISSING THIS MOVIE SO PIPE DOWN LITTLE GIRL.

Let's be honest....

.....if you know me AT ALL, you know I'm going to go see this movie. The good news is that Dakota Fanning is in it, which makes it some what legit. It also actually got great reviews at Sundance which makes me feel better too.

It's baaaaccckkkk!!!

That's right Upper East Siders (and anyone else who reads this debacle that I call a blog), Gossip Girl was FINALLY back last night with a new episode!! After three months. THREE MONTHS!!!

Which of course means I'm going to encourage you folks that watch this show (which I naturally assume to be everyone) to read New York Magazine's Gossip Girl Reality Index....

Click here to check out the mayhem.

I would also like to point out AN ERROR (**gasp!!**) on the Reality Index.....the actual quote from Serena, which I know because I rewound it like 10000 times to laugh, is: "Blair, you know you don't need Chuck. Anyone who meets you can see you're an elitist snob who's perfect to run a secret society."

Music Monday

A recommendation a la my brother that I have been enjoying greatly.....

Check out Miike Snow's "Animal"

Handsome Men's Club

Love it. Although CLEARLY my Twilight gentleman would be immediately voted in......puh-lease.

And Carrie, a little treat for you at the end :)

Absoult Ridiculousness

Absoult Vodka gave Zach Galifianakis a budget to make videos for their website and said he could do whatever he wanted to do, as long as he mentioned Absolut Vodka.

Free reign? I feel like they probably regretted that decision.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Bothered

In case you don't watch Jimmy Fallon, he does a sketch called "Bothered with Robert Pattinson" where he basically talks in a British accent and broods and smolders and talks about the different things that bother him....like Halloween. Or Shark Week. Its quite amusing to me.

For those of you that haven't seen Twilight, there is a ridiculous/awesome scene where Bella and Edward basically hang out in a tree talking. Thus Fallon's take on that scene....

Well, last night Rob was on Fallon and this is the result.....my sister and I were obviously very excited about this......cause we are total losers.

Music Monday

Sidebar: My high school boyfriend got a dog that looked just like this at the Raleigh Fairgrounds Flea Market...I want to say he named it Rebel? But I could be wrong. And I think he promptly gave it away after like a month. I wonder where that dog is now.....

but I digress....

Ok, so I'm late with this....sorry, sorry, sorry....Monday got busy and out of control for me. Anyway....last Friday, we went to the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill to hear Sam Bush play. I hadn't been back to Cat's Cradle since college and it was just as great of a venue as I remember it to be....

I've already featured Sam once on MM - I highlighted my favorite song "Hungry for Your Love". So here we go with, let's say, my second favorite song, "Girl of the North Country". Enjoy!

Old Spice

"a man should smell like jet fighters and punching."

I hope ya'll have seen those Old Spice commercials, I'm sure you have. If for some reason, you haven't seen em click here. And then for more hilariousness click here to learn how to romance your lady.

For the record, Old Spice totally reminds me of my Dad and he DID NOT smell like jet fighters and punching.

Uh. FAIL.

I have to believe that AT SOME POINT, Kirsten Dunst thought to herself, "This might be a bad idea. And this outfit is ridiculous."

Ginny Weasley??

Looking good! Somewhere in NYC my brother just did a double take....and rented Harry Potter.

Music Monday

So now that I live in North Carolina, I have the ability to listen to music in the car versus on my iPod as I fight investment bankers and fashionistas for a spot on the subway platform. Since none of our cars are "iPod friendly", I've had to rediscover the beauty of CDs. (I know you are saying, why don't you buy one of those tape thingys that lets you listen to your iPod over the car speakers....well when I first moved down here I did get one. And it got stuck in my Dad's tape deck, and I then attempted to get it out with a screwdriver and that didn't work out well [i do not recommend that to my readers. trust me.] and I ended up having to have a car dealership friend get it out. Drama.) So I've been burning CDs and busting out my old CD book.....and that's how I came across today's selection. I rediscovered my Taj Mahal cd's, which I hadn't listened to in YEARS, and have been going through the process of uploading them onto my iTunes. Today's song just makes me feel so happy for some reason....the minute you hear it, you want to turn it up and sing along.

I'm house/dog sitting this week and its rainy here so I'm just chilling on the couch with the dogs, listening to Taj. I recommend you do the same. "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes" by Taj Mahal

I'm pumped

Is it just me or does this look like it MIGHT be good? For some random reason I have always loved the movie Wall Street, so I have high hopes for the sequel. I know he's supposed to be the bad guy, but I love me some Gordon Geiko. He looks so good in a suit.

The Sting

Last night I was watching the 5 o'clock news, when the below story came on. The "Troubleshooter" was going to expose a man and his moving company who originally ripped people off in 2005 and has recently been doing it again. So as I'm watching, the reporter says "You remember Derric Fozard, we caught up with him in 2005..." and they begin to show footage from their original story.......

And as I'm looking at the old footage around the :31 mark, I think to myself...."Huh. That's my brothers truck. And his old house in Chapel Hill." And then all of the sudden, my brother's fraternity brother is on the screen welcoming the man into their home. I don't know how I didn't know this at the time but apparently Alston's roommate, Brent, participated in a sting operation for ABC 11 back in the day. Amazing.

This spurned a bevy of emails last night, with some insightful commentary that I thought I would share with you.

Brent: "Hidden cameras and some deft questioning from yours truly brought that man down. When Alston caught wind that I had used our house to stage the sting operation, he was none too pleased. I believe his exact words were: 'So you're telling me that this known criminal knows exactly where we live?!' But now the Silverado will always be linked to fair play and justice, so we're even. "

Thompson: "Justice never looked so handsome."

Thanks for keeping the streets safe for citizens like me Brent. I appreciate it.

Happy Tuesday

I just saw a bumper sticker that said "Coach K wears jorts." and I nearly swerved off the road I was laughing so hard.

Music Monday

I have been getting all sort of good music suggestions from my trusty readers - thanks everyone! My stereo runneth over. Recently it was suggested I check out Alberta Cross (shout out to Patrick!) and I'm really loving their entire album. (Interesting wikipedia fact: The name Alberta Cross is an anagram but they won't tell what it is. Right now at least 40% of you are trying to remember what an anagram is.....) They played in NYC the other week when I was in town and, unfortunately, I wasn't able to go see them but I encourage ya'll to check them out!

Take a listen to "Song Three Blues" by Alberta Cross.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

For Rives' past two birthday's Elizabeth and I have put on our chef's hats and had a blast creating his birthday cakes. Click here to see his 1st birthday cake, a firetruck, and click here to check out his 2nd birthday cake, Winnie the Pooh. At this point we fancy ourselves quite the professionals and for this 3rd birthday in April, we are going to attempt a cake of a little more difficulty....you'll have to stay tuned to see what it is and how it turns out!

Meanwhile, Elizabeth's good friend had a baby shower the other weekend and Elizabeth decided to make the cake versus purchase one. To go along with the monkey themed shower, Elizabeth opted to create a monkey cake complete with pink balloons to celebrate the Baby Girl that's on the way! I'm quite proud of how the cake turned out - good work E! - and I think our undertaking in April will go just as well.

Starting to put the "fur" on...

How cute is that face?

"Fur" is done, time for feet and hands!

Looking good

Feet and hands complete.

The final product!