Love, life, happiness, and Trader Joe's.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again and again and again and again...

I am so incredibly blessed.

Granted, I have my "down" days just like everyone else. The walls seem to be closing in, I feel alone, I'm overwhelmed, I'm stressed, I just want to curl up into the fetal position and binge-watch America's Next Top Model episodes...

But those days are few and far between. I'd say that 95% of the time, I'm overwhelmed by how much beauty, kindness, and love I have in my life. (Overwhelmed in a good way, of course).

This morning, as I was sipping on my delicious cup of liquid gold (coffee) and staring out into the beautiful sunshine-filled fall day, it hit me again. I am just so happy. Sometimes, this feeling is so strong, it almost seems like I can't breathe and that I'm going to just spontaneously combust into a million little emoticon smiley faces. (Hey-- maybe this is the secret behind the mystery of spontaneous combustion. Ya never know?)

I feel this way for a number of reasons. If I started naming off all of the wonderful things in my life, I would probably be writing this blog post for the next week straight. So I'm not going to put you through that.

However, I will say that I work at a pretty fantastic place. With pretty fantastic people.

Have you ever heard of this place?

If you haven't, I suggest you get out from under the boulder you've been living under. (Ouch. That was harsh. Just kidding! There are plenty of people that don't know about the magnificence of Trader Joe's. That's quite alright. Sad. But alright.)

When I quit my job at The Ryman Auditorium in June, I was a bucket full of various emotions. On the one hand, I was excited to start working for a company that was rated #9 on Forbes' "Top Companies To Work For List". But I was also sad to leave a place with so much history and so much music. At The Ryman, I interacted with tourists on a daily basis... some of them were so overwhelmed by the beauty of the building that they would literally start bawling the moment they stepped foot on the stage. I loved seeing people cry. (I know, I know.. this sounds evil. Maybe it is. I just thought the tears solidified how amazing my job was.)

How in the WORLD was I going to get people to cry at Trader Joe's?? I mean, the only reason I could see someone getting emotional at a grocery store is if we discontinued their favorite product.

But let me tell you a bit about TJ's. It's a wonderful place to work, because they allow us to hand out flowers to customers if it's their birthday or throw a chocolate bar into their bag if they're having a bad day. And it's totally up to each crew member to decide when to do this. If I feel like someone needs a little extra loving, I can show them (in some small way) that I care. I'm a complete stranger (and just a cashier), but I care. I can't stress how much I love this about my job.

The other day, I had a woman come through my line... We had our normal conversation about how her day was going, the weather, etc. And somehow we got onto the subject of some Dark Chocolate Almond cookies that she had been eyeing. She really wanted to try them, but decided to pass on them this time around. I don't know why, but I just felt like this lady needed those cookies. So, I rang my little bell, got a crew member to wrangle them up for me, and at the last second, I placed them on the top of her bag.

She then proceeded to cry.

I was absolutely shocked. This woman didn't seem to be having a terrible day, and all I had done was give her some extra sweets for the week. But she leaned in close and confided in me that she had just lost her mother, and that although this was a small gesture, it was one of the nicest things anyone had done for her in a very long time. I, of course, started to tear up, and the next thing I knew, we were having a little cry-fest right there at register number four. I told her about losing my father, and we briefly talked about how important it was to surround yourself with love in hard times. All of this because of some Dark Chocolate Almond cookies.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is one reason I love my job.

I also love working at Trader Joe's, because all of my coworkers are such rays of light. Every single one of them is unique and special and they are some of the happiest people I've met in my life. One thing I've learned is that if you surround yourself with happy people, it's bound to rub off on you at some point. You can't be unhappy in a sea of happiness. Well, I guess you could. But it's very difficult.

Last night, Trader Joe's put on a show at The High Watt to celebrate our 5th year anniversary of being in Nashville. All of the acts that performed were Trader Joe's employees. And let me just say how impressed I was by the entire evening. My boyfriend, who has been to countless shows here in Music City, said that it was "one of the best shows he's seen in a long time". The talent was wonderful, and it was so fun to see all of my coworkers outside of their Hawaiian shirt attire... doing what they love.

It was so wonderful to have the chance to perform again... with new songs AND my wonderful band.

This is a photo we did from a session the other day, but here they are! (+ Bobby and Vinay).

I thought that working at a grocery store would give me a solid income while I worked on my music as well. Who knew that the two would go hand in hand?

Ahhh. Life. Just.... life. It is such a wonderful thing.

And I am so incredibly blessed.

<3

Nat

Ps-- Just stumbled across our performance from last night! If you would like to watch a couple new songs and a couple oldies, check this out:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/40514462

Life after graduation (aka: 2 Kewl 4 Skewl).

Ah. Someone HELP ME. I'm having a serious case of "blank blog". I'm staring at my open template, in all of its empty glory, and I am at a loss for words.

The truth is, I feel like so much has happened in the last few months. SO much. It's like getting together with an old friend after a few years and realizing that you have nothing to talk about, because you have SO MUCH to talk about.

I apologize for being so M.I.A. lately. Life after graduation from college was a lot more of a whirlwind than I thought it would be. And I hate to say it, but.... I kind of forgot about this blog. I know, I know. CALM DOWN.

I'm back.

So, here's a quick, possibly semi-psychotic recap for you:

I graduated from Belmont University on May 4th. And I was blessed to be surrounded by so many loving family members and friends. It was such a wonderful weekend full of fun and family and friends and food (mostly food).

And pretty soon after that, I started my first part-time job as a college graduate at the historic Nashville venue, The Ryman Auditorium.

I loved it so incredibly much. The people I worked with were about as great as they come, and I was surrounded by music and history all day long. And I got to give tours about the music and the history of the place. All day long. It was so great. 

I learned so many wonderful facts that will probably be useful in a Trivial Pursuit game at some point. (Such as, did you know that Elvis once performed Bill Monroe's song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky", at The Ryman Auditorium in his rockabilly style... and the audience hated it so much, he was booed off the stage? Betcha didn't know that one).

Sadly, my time there was short-lived. I loved working at The Ryman, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do... and another opportunity came knockin', so I answered the door.

But not before I was given a proper goodbye:

 And then, I started working at my favorite grocery store in the entire world.

Trader Joe's.

So far, I'm loving it. Once again, the people I work with are about as fabulous as they come (how do I get so lucky??), and I'm surrounded by food all day long. It's not music, but food definitely comes in a close second for me. 

And I have such flexible hours and I can STILL WORK ON MY MUSIC, which is the most important thing of all. 

At some point in the middle of these two jobs, I went on a mini after-graduation vacation with some dear friends.

(Mel was there, too).

And I was also able to go take a short visit to see my wonderful grandparents in Lake George, NY.

And several people brought it to my attention that I was the "face" of Belmont's website for a short amount of time.

Hilarious.

And my best friend from middle school moved to Nashville. And we started living together in this cute, little house.

Let me say that again. MY BEST FRIEND FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL MOVED TO NASHVILLE AND WE STARTED LIVING TOGETHER. Life is so weird and so wonderful sometimes.

And at some other point, I bought a new ukulele.

Sadly, Pono had to be put down. He was damaged beyond repair. But this little guy will do the job.

And at some other point, the "royal baby" was born in England. And my Google Alert emails (which inform me every time my name, "Natalie Royal", shows up in an online article), started to drive me insane.

And finally, after working almost 60 hours a week between both of my part time jobs, I had a break. And I went home to Charlotte for the first time since Christmas.

And I was reunited with the love of my life.

(He was still in a state of shock when I snapped this photo. I don't think Yogi ever thought he'd see me again).

And after a couple of days in the Queen City, my mom and I hopped in our separate cars and drove to the annual Swannanoa Gathering for another week of music and friends and late nights and music and very little sleep and food and drinks and music.

I think I slept a combined total of 25 hours for the entire week. That may seem like a lot, but it's not.

Check out this awesome photo of mom and me. We're awake. I think.

(Mike was there, too).

There aren't enough words to describe how I feel about The Swannanoa Gathering. It is just the most magically musical place on this planet, I'm pretty sure. Every year, I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to return. For seven whole days, my head is cleared, my heart is opened, and I'm surrounded by some of the most lovely and inspirational people. Music is at the root of every Gathering, and everyone that attends is there for the same reason: For the love of music.

I love Nashville, but there's something so pure and so raw about a place like The Swannanoa Gathering. There's nothing commercial about it. No one is trying to "become famous" or "get a record deal" or "get a song cut". Everyone is just there to play music and to listen to music. Ah. No greater place on this planet.

And if you'd like to take a little listen, this is the song I did for the open mic night. It's a new one-- "Little Red Bird". Some of you may already know this... but shortly after my father passed, I started noticing cardinals everywhere. They would show up just when I needed them to, and it seemed as if it was, in some way, my dad just letting me know that he is "still here". He's still looking out for me. All the time.

I don't know where we go when we leave these bodies, but it is so comforting to feel surrounded by his presence all the time.

(For some reason, it won't let me embed the video into this post... so just click on the link: http://youtu.be/n63sijr54IE)

Ah. I'm still having Swannanoa withdrawals. Once again, I can't wait for next year to roll right back around. Not trying to speed up time or anything... just miss my Swanna-friends.

Well. That's all folks. I could have probably written an entire novel about the last couple of months, but I don't know how interesting that would have been for you. This is about all I could muster after just one cup of coffee.

Bottom line: life is still wonderful.

I'll try to write here more often. Once I get started, filling up a blank blog page is not as daunting a task as it seems. It's actually quite fun.

Love to each and every one of you on this fabulous, Tuesday morning.

<3
Nat

Global Citizen Festival, Atlantic Antic, and my first show in NYC!

After almost a week of crummy weather, New York City is back to it's beautiful self today :).

I just got back from a wonderful jog around the neighborhood, I've had my cup of coffee, and even though it's already 2pm, I am ready to conquer this day.

The last you heard from me, it was Saturday, and I was on my way out the door to an "awesome free festival/concert". I was a little off the mark when I called it "awesome"... because it ended up being INCREDIBLE.

Thanks to my wonderful roommate, Allison, I received a free ticket to the first ever Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. This wonderful event was a musical festival put in place to raise awareness and funds for extreme poverty all over the globe.  

The featured artists were K'Naan, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Foo Fighters, and Neil Young with Crazy Horse... who were all just wonderful. 

There were several celebrity guest speakers (ranging from Selena Gomez to Olivia Wilde), and even a surprise performance...

... by John Legend! He sang John Lennon's "Imagine". I melted. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

Oh, and did I mention HOW MANY PEOPLE were at this event? Over 60,000. It. Was Insane. (It completely blew Bon Iver's Radio City Music Hall concert out of the water as far as attendance goes... and I thought that was a lot of people).

The festival was also streamed live via the web, and in total, there were over 1 million people tuned in from around the globe... apparently making this the biggest live stream in HISTORY. (My mom was visiting her parents last weekend, and all three of them were watching while I was there. Technology is so neat.).

I actually just received an email from the Global Citizen team, and it looks like the festival platform was able to secure $1.3 billion in funding commitments for projects helping fight extreme poverty! How cool is that? Way cool. 

Sooo, that was that. My last Saturday afternoon/evening in a nutshell. We were all a little delirious as the festival began to come to a close... 6 hours of standing in a mass of people wears on you a little after awhile. But it was such a fun night! 

On Sunday, Allison and I ventured down to the annual Atlantic Antic festival held in Brooklyn Heights. I still have no idea what the purpose of the festival was (other than to bombard your senses with a million different food cart choices), but it sure was popular!

This is just one shot that I took while I was walking down the road... the whole festival stretched for over a mile, and it was wall to wall with people the whole time. There were roasted corn vendors, ice cream vendors, lemonade vendors, funnel cake vendors, turkey leg vendors (blech), etc etc etc. 

Allison and I both decided to split up after awhile, because she wanted something salty and I wanted something sweet (per usual). I wandered all the way to the end of the festival and wound up with a delicious cheesecake brownie thing from some vendor. 

Anyone from Charlotte: This was basically just like Matthews Alive... only ten times larger.

Alright. Let's skip ahead a few days (because basically all I did from Sunday evening until Thursday was work on homework and projects and papers. yadda yadda).

Last night, I had my first ever show here in New York City (at Googie's Lounge... the little space above The Living Room)! 

And I had SUCH a wonderful time. After a bit of a debacle getting to the venue (I ended up having to forgo the subway system and flag down a cab... in a dress, and wedges, and with my guitar and uke in tow), I did a quick soundcheck, and a little after 10:30pm, I started the show. Many of my lovely Belmont East friends came out to support me (as well as several other friends that have come into my life who live here in NYC). I couldn't have asked to spend the evening with more incredible people. I would love to book another show before I leave New York, so hopefully that can happen soon. 

And here we are. Today. Present time. As I said, I just got back from a little run around the beautiful neighborhood. On my way back up to the room, I stopped by the mailbox, and look what has arrived from North Carolina!

My absentee ballot. I can now officially vote :). This is great news.

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday! I am off to work on more homework and enjoy this delicious Trader Joe's pear:

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to eastern North Carolina to sing in a wedding. I absolutely love weddings. And I can't wait to see Miss Brooke Weathington get married!

<3

Nat