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

Thoughts and Hopes for 2013

I know I'm a little late in the game as far as a blog about the new year goes, but it is somehow fitting that I am just now sitting down to write this... I'm also not very vocal about this most of the time, but for some reason, I just felt the need to write it all out. Here goes.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
January 4th. We meet again. And as much as I kind of secretly wish you would just avoid my life altogether, I guess I'm going to have to face the fact that you will be around for every single calendar year from here on out. (That is, unless something crazy happens, and someone along the line decides to revamp the system).

You see, for most people, January 4th is just another ordinary day in the life. Or, for some, it may be a birthday. Or it may mark an anniversary. Or be the date in which someone started their first real job.

For me, however, it is an annual reminder of the "worst day" (Jonathan Safran Foer reference, anyone?) . Oh, the worst day. Isn't life interesting? Isn't it so fascinating that one, single date of the year can take on so many different associations for so many different people?

For those of you who don't know, on January 4th of 2011, my father passed away suddenly in his sleep. It came out of nowhere. And it flipped everything I've ever known and understood and believed in right on its head.

Since then, my soul has been ripped to shreds, has been slowly (and semi-haphazardly) pieced back together, and with a whole lotta time and a whole lotta love, has somehow come out on the other side even stronger than ever.

I know it sounds absolutely insane, but I feel like the luckiest girl alive. Truly.

It could be because I have an amazing family. And wonderful friends. And music. And a roof over my head. And food in my belly anytime I need it. And all of the other things that so many don't have.

I don't have my dad... and I would give anything to have him back again. But I still feel blessed.

My father was one of the happiest people I have ever encountered in my 22 years of life. It was very rare for me to ever see him without a smile on his face. Really. I know for a fact that at least one woman showed up to his funeral purely because she recognized his face in the newspaper and knew him as the "man who was always smiling" when he walked into the gym.

I can't tell you how proud that makes me to be his daughter. I would love nothing more than to be remembered in the same way.

So. Here we are. January 4th. 

But this isn't January 4th, 2011.
2011 is what I have chosen to call the "lost year". I don't really remember much of anything that happened throughout those 12 months. I believe Emily Dickinson says it best when she writes:

"After great pain, a formal feeling comes –

The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –

The Feet, mechanical, go round –

A Wooden way

Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –

Regardless grown,

A Quartz contentment, like a stone"

That really is the best description. I felt like a giant slab of stone. And thanks to the love and support from so many wonderful people around me, I was at least pushed (or, I guess, "rolled") through the year fairly unscathed.

Then, 2012 came along. 2012 was my year of "thawing". I slowly began to shed my rock-like layers and return to what my mother likes to call the "new normal". Because nothing is ever going to be the "old normal" ever again.

In 2012, I received an unbelievable amount of support via my Kickstarter from so many lovely family and friends (some old and some new). Because of this support, I was finally able to release my first full-length album, Savor.

 Also in 2012, I was lucky enough to be chosen to spend an entire semester in the always-amazing, New York City.

    Lots of wonderful things happened in between as well. I was able to go on a cruise to Mexico, my album was featured in the "New and Noteworthy" section of iTunes, I was able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents, I played so many shows I didn't know what to do with myself, and most importantly, I slowly began to establish a semi-permanent understanding of what this "new normal" would be. 

And now on to 2013. 

I have no idea what this next year will hold. Through the whole experience of losing my father, I know that life can change on a dime. As much as you think you have it all planned out, you really don't. And, for someone like me (who is somewhat of a control freak), this idea used to terrify me.

But it doesn't scare me anymore. Think of how difficult and exhausting it would be if you could actually control every single aspect of your life. I'll admit... there are some things in life that you can definitely control. Life itself is not one of them. And I'm okay with that.

In 2013, there are things that I plan to accomplish. Things that I would love to do, see, experience, explore, remember, and live. 

Most people call these "New Years Resolutions". I call them my "Hopes".

They are bound to morph over time, but for now, my "Hopes" for 2013 are as follows:

1. Finish all of my Kickstarter rewards for my fabulous Kickstarter backers.

2. Floss more. 

3. Remember to smile even if it is the worst day ever.

4. Read more books.

5. Write at least one song a week (even if it is so bad I never want to play it for anyone ever).

6. Keep in touch with old friends.

7. Make new friends.

8. Make it back to New York City at least once (even for just a short visit!)

9. Continue eating healthily and working out.

10. Take time to relax every once in awhile. It's okay to watch mindless television. In moderation.

11. Graduate from college.

12. Go on some sort of mini music tour.

13. Remember that it's okay to cry sometimes.

14. Continuously remind myself that I can be successful with my music. I can do it.
Someone has to have the job as a songwriter/musician. Why can't it be me?

15. Live it up.

I have no idea if any of this will happen, but I'm just excited to take on another year.

2013, show me what you got. 

Ps-- Just a sidenote: Aren't my parents the loveliest?

<3
Nat

New song, Fashion's Night Out, and a MoMa adventure

First of all, happy Sunday, lovelies :).

Secondly, I have a new Kickstarter song for you. This is "We Can Already Tell", and it's written for my Kickstarter backer, Michael Morris. He wanted me to write a little song about a couple of dear, dear friends of mine and the wonderful love they share. I had a lot of fun with this one, and if anything, I hope you smile when you listen to it :).

You can download "We Can Already Tell" for FREE here!

Okay, so now that I've made sure to mention the song, I will continue with the bloggish part of the blog.

THURSDAY NIGHT (A.K.A. FASHION'S NIGHT OUT)

What a whirlwind of an evening! When you last heard from me, I was frantically getting ready for a free St. Vincent show that was supposed to going on in SoHo. I left my room immediately after posting my blog, and after catching a ride on the subway, I ended up standing about twenty feet from the front door of "Rag and Bone" (where the show was supposed to be held).

This is what I looked at for about an hour. All the while, people were walking past me with the most interesting outfits on that I'd ever seen in my life. I mean, really. And there were so many tall human beings, too. I couldn't tell if everyone seemed like giants, because they were all models... or if they were just wearing ridiculously tall heels. 

Long story short, I never got to see St. Vincent. Turns out, it was RSVP only. Myfreeconcerts.com really needs to make sure they specify this in the future. There were many, many angry fans around me. I didn't really care too much, because the entire time I was standing there, I kept seeing people walk past with cupcakes. I knew there had to be free cupcakes... And close.

This little chocolate ganache/banana cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake was absolutely delicious.

When that little adventure failed, I wandered from SoHo to the Chelsea District to catch a free Lucy Shwartz show that was supposedly going on at the Anthropologie there. After my disappointment with the St. Vincent show, I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Not only was her set great, but Anthropologie totally pulled out all of the stops and offered free refreshments for everyone.

That right there is a blueberry vodka lemonade. I had three of them. I could have had more, but I was alone, and any more than that, and it would have been kind of weird. They also had the most delicious herbed bread available... that they literally brought out on a clothes rack. No, really. They put the bread on little hooks and hung them from the rack. Everyone pounced on them like a pack of savage animals. (I must admit I, too, clawed my way to the bread). I brought a banana with me and carried it in my purse for the whole evening, just in case I got hungry. But after the bread, there was no need for it. (Also, anyone else notice how this night consisted of my two favorite things? Music and food. That's all you need in life).

THEN, I decided to meet up some friends at the Rockerfeller Center to watch a bit of a show.

Everyone else called it a night after that, but Josh and I decided to enjoy Fashion's Night Out a little bit longer. We just wandered around in circles for an hour and a half, getting lost in the throngs of people.

WHEW. I've gotta say.. I love Fashion's Night Out in New York City. Such a lively little night.

FRIDAY

This was the day that I made my video for my Kickstarter song. It was not the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. Not only was it about 90 degrees that day, but after walking about a mile in the heat up a hill with my guitar, I felt like my arms were going to fall off.

And then, when I'd finally settled into a quiet place at the Brooklyn Bridge Park to record, I realized that it was going to be next to impossible to get rid of the constant "hummmmm" sound from the wind and the helicopters and the boats and everything else. Also, a family decided to sit down right next to me as I started to record the song... and they talked... a lot... But that's okay! It made for a great setting, and I was able to get at least one semi-good take.

Friday evening, Allison, Josh, Eric, Adam, and I all decided to finally take advantage of Free MoMa Fridays! I'll give you a smattering of some photos from the evening.

I know.. crazy, right?

And then, my personal favorite. Monet.

After this wonderful adventure, we were all a little pooped. Who knew that walking around a museum for two hours could make you feel like you'd run a half marathon? I went back to the room, popped in my library rental DVD of Water For Elephants (which is not nearly as good as the book... surprise, surprise) and fell right to sleep. 

SATURDAY

After my usual morning routine, I went downstairs to pick up a package that was waiting for me... And look at what had arrived!

My lovely business cards (designed by the wonderful, Bobby Herb)! I am officially an artist now, I guess. (Grammy- I hope you are happy. I will send you one soon :)). 

I don't know if it was the business cards or what, but for some reason, I got a sudden jolt of creativity, and I spent the rest of the day working on a song for a little contest I'm thinking of entering soon.. I'll update you at another time about all of that.

Also, we were under tornado watches and warnings and flood watches and all of that all day, so I wasn't keen on venturing out into the city to do anything. (Side note: Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I'm absolutely terrified of tornadoes. You would all be very proud of how I handled myself during the morning storms. Didn't even flinch.. sort of).

For the evening festivities, Josh and I decided it would be fun to go see my friend, Finn, play at a little French bar on the Upper East Side. The place (called Brasserie Julien) had a such a neat ambience, and the jazz music was absolutely wonderful. It was such a relaxing ending to a relaxing day.

SUNDAY

Josh, Allison, and I had breakfast at my favorite place! Once again, the Iris Cafe did not disappoint.

This time, I decided to order the Skim Milk Chai Oatmeal with Currants and Walnuts.

It was tastier than it looks. I promise. It was sooooo tasty.

The rest of the day has consisted of homework, homework, and more homework. That's alright, though! The weather is absolutely beautiful, and I was able to walk down to Montague street and sit at a little table outside to work on everything. There was a little street festival going on today as well, and I was serenaded by some lovely opera music while I worked.

That's all! I'm off to the gym to get a workout in before I get back to the homework. (How many times can I use the word "work"?).

:)

<3

Nat

Riverside, manicotti, and Manhattan skyline slivers at 1:00am

The weather here in New York City has been absolutely ridiculous.

...And when I say ridiculous, I mean beautiful.

Every single day since I've been here has been been filled with sunny, blue skies, and an average of about 80 degrees with a light breeze. With the exception of one very quick, intense downpour, I haven't seen a drop of rain in two weeks. Part of me wishes there would be at least one day of rain, because there are so many museums I'm itching to go to, and I feel like it would be a slap in mother nature's face to be inside on a nice day.

Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to keep enjoying this weather... (*sarcastic sigh*).

SUNDAY

This beautiful day started out with the most delicious breakfast at a little Polish restaurant here in Brooklyn Heights called Teresa's. They are apparently known for their super thick French toast made from challah bread, but I didn't want French toast (blasphemy, I know.. don't ask me why).

Instead, I stuck to a spinach and feta cheese omelet with (the most delicious) hash browns and toast. And coffee, of course! It was so tasty and also so filling... I didn't eat again until about 5pm.

Oh, and I went with these guys:

After deciding we couldn't stuff our faces anymore, we left, and I raced to the 2,3 train on Clark Street so that I could make it to something at 1pm at Riverside Church.

Just look at this beautiful building! When I was a junior in high school, I was lucky enough to join our Chamber Choir on a trip to NYC, where we sang in the sanctuary of this amazing place. The acoustics are beyond explanation, and the architecture is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

But on to why I was there on Sunday...

One of my mother's friends from Charlotte, Therese Bartholomew, has been working on a documentary for the last several years. Her life story is heartbreaking, but amazing, and when I found out she was going to be screening it in NYC, I knew I had to go. The film (titled "The Final Gift") left me with tears in my eyes, but a warmth in my heart. She's just such an incredible human being. I don't want to go into her whole story here, but I found a trailer for the film:

It was so wonderful to see her and her husband here in New York, and it was also great to be back at Riverside once again.

MONDAY

I started off with my usual routine (wake up, fruit parfait, gym, coffee) and headed off to Bank Robber Music for another day of interning!

I am slowly, but surely integrating myself into their little community... Every day I'm there, I meet another person, and I am being trusted with more and more tasks. What's so great about the office I'm working in is that ALL of us are in the same room together. All day. This allows me to not only see what goes on in a licensing company, but also hear conversations that they have with artists, lawyers, record labels, etc. It's such a cool environment, and I feel like a little sponge, soaking up as much as I possibly can!

Monday evening, I had class, but afterward, I walked down to the promenade to check out the skyline at night:

Sorry the photo quality is so terrible! It really was quite beautiful. It's just as spectacular at nine in the morning as it is at nine at night.

TUESDAY

Tuesday was "let's go on an adventure to Little Italy" day! And we did. Allison, Josh, Eric, and I all took the subway to Canal Street (Chinatown) and walked our way over to the main area in Little Italy, Mulberry Street. Our goal? To sit down and eat a delicious, Italian meal for lunch.

This turned out to be a lot more difficult than it sounds. There are SO many choices in Little Italy as far as restaurants go, and the hosts/hostesses at each and every one are constantly throwing themselves at you to get you to sit down. That made me not want to sit down at any of them.. it was too hard to read the menu, because they would pounce on you if you even hinted in the slightest that you might want to sit down and eat.

But, we waded our way through it, and made the decision to sit down at Cafe Napoli, because there was a great table outside under the shade.

All of us (with the exception of Josh) ordered the manicotti...

And it was as delicious as it looks. I had every intention of saving half of it to eat at a later time, but it was too good, and I was too hungry, and...

... this was ten minutes later. Needless to say, I didn't need dinner that night.

Tuesday evening, I decided to try out my first NYC open mic! A music friend of mine, Desmond Myers, happened to be in town, and he let me know that he would be playing at the open mic at Bar4 in Park Slope. Like me, Desmond used to play the open mic at the Evening Muse in Charlotte, and it has been a couple of years since I've seen him. He's been living in Germany for the last two years- following his dream and playing music every chance he can get. He brought along several friends from Germany (who are in the United States for the first time) to play with him, and they blew the audience out of the water. He is a talented one, that's for sure.

I was also able to perform that night, and although it's been a couple of weeks since I've played out, I'd say it went pretty well. It was just so great to be around so many musicians, and I will definitely be back!

Around 11pm, Desmond and his friends decided it was time to head out... but because they were leaving the next morning, they wanted to do one more thing before they left NYC...

... walk on the Brooklyn Bridge.
And that's what we did! That's a photo of a sliver of the Manhattan skyline at 12:30am.

And here's an extremely blurry photo of Desmond and me:

When it hit about 1am, we said our "goodbyes", and I decided to head in for the night. I had been lugging my guitar with me everywhere we went, and my arms felt like they were going to break off.

WEDNESDAY

Once again, I went about my usual daily routine and then hopped on the train to work! It was another great day at Bank Robber Music.

At 6pm, I left, and hopped on another train to make it to class in the Chelsea district. We had two wonderful guest speakers-- one from Octone Records and the other from Mom and Pop Records. They were so energetic and passionate about their work in the marketing departments of these labels, and even though the class lasted for two and half hours, I was pretty much engaged the whole time. Ah. I can't believe I get a course credit for this kind of thing!


Anyway, that's all I've got fer ya, folks! I am off to the gym.. then coffee... then shower... and then I don't know what yet. I'm feeling all "musical" today, though. Maybe I'll go take my guitar somewhere and keep working on my Kickstarter songs. Yeah, I think I'll do that.

<3
Nat

Flea markets, proposals, and upside-down umbrellas

WHEW. Long time, no blog.

It has been a whirlwind of a last few days, and until now, I haven't had a second to sit down and breathe... let alone, post in my little blog.

I'm not complaining! It has been busy, but that's mainly my fault. For some reason, I felt like I needed to cram as many things into the last weekend as possible... I think a part of me forgot that I would be here for another few months. I'm just afraid of missing out on things, I guess. There are events CONSTANTLY going on in New York City, though. If I tried to do everything, all of the time,  I wouldn't be able to function properly. So, today I took a little break, and decided now would be a good time to update you :). Hereeeee we go:

SATURDAY

 On this lovely day in NYC, I woke up and went to the Williamsburg Flea Market with my friend, Josh to meet our friends, Allison and Chris. Well, we thought it was the Williamsburg Flea Market (clothes, vintage things, yaddayadda), but it was the Smorgasburg Flea Market (aka: FOOD)... and we had all eaten already. So we just walked around and took in wafts of the delicious-smelling foods. And took photos of ourselves.

Me, holding tightly to my daily fuel (coffee). This was the lovely view from the Flea Market.

Then, we all decided to mosey on over to Central Park (because it was such a beautiful day, and the park seemed like the best place to be).

And there was a carnival going on.

 

And we took more photos of ourselves.

And then I creeped on cute couples in the park (like Allison and Chris).

And to top it all off, we all saw someone propose on a boat in the middle of the park. Everyone on the bridge and on the bank erupted into applause for them. It was so perfect and cute, I almost cried.

I can't even remember what I did for the rest of Saturday.. is that a bad thing? I don't have anymore photos, and honestly, I've been running around so much, if there isn't a photo to document my adventure, I won't remember it. Sorry. We'll call it "The Lost Evening".

SUNDAY

I woke up bright and early, and ran across the Brooklyn Bridge! Ah. This was so wonderful. Such a perfect, perfect start to my day.

Well, okay, you caught me... it was more of a "run, take a photo, run, take another photo, run, take a photo for someone else" kind of morning workout. It was still a workout, though. And a perfect one at that.

Then, I met up with my longtime, high school buddy, Jack! He was in NYC visiting his sister, and I was able to chat with him for a bit about life, etc.

And then it was off to Greenwich Village to walk around, grab some lunch at a little French cafe, and head over to Washington Square Park to listen to the most wonderful music.

Yes. This man is playing two horns at the same time. He was more than fantastic. Don't ask me how he did it.

Anddd, I spied on cute, little men playing chess.

I've decided I love Washington Square Park. So much. I will definitely be back again and again!

It was my friend, Josh's, birthday yesterday, and it was his roommate's birthday on Sunday, so we all went out to celebrate on Sunday night. I don't have photos of this, but it was certainly fun. And Allison and I stumbled upon the most beautiful sunset. Just look at this!

And I saw this guy with an upside-down umbrella around his waist on the subway.

MONDAY

It was my first day at Bank Robber Music! I have no photos of any of this, but I will try to take a picture of my office building tomorrow. It's located rightttt next to Wall Street in the Financial District, and the building is really awesome. The semester will be quite fun.

TODAY

I woke up and walked a few blocks to get breakfast with Allison at the Iris Cafe. It is such a quaint, little place to sit down and grab a morning meal... and the coffee is fantastic. I got the most delicious cheddar and spinach biscuit, and Allison got toast with avocado and mustard on it. So. tasty.

Afterward, we both hit up with gym (which is awesome, by the way... there is a hot tub. We've already decided we'll be frequenting this when the weather gets a little cooler.). And the rest of my day has consisted of running errands and lazing around. I needed a little R & R.

My first day of class is tomorrow (which doesn't really mean a lot... I have one physical class, and the rest are online). But, regardless, I'm going to try to get organized with my life so I'm prepared for whatever assignments I have.

LIFE IS WONDERFUL. So wonderful.

<3
Nat