eat. sweat. blog.

so a few friends and i are taking up the challenge of the social workout blog for their october challenge: EAT. SWEAT. BLOG.

signing up for the challenge means you're committing to getting exercise on at least 20 days in october, AND to completing 10 of the 22 "feats" of healthy eating. {a friend and i were just talking last night how we both were wanting more discipline in our eating habits, so when brooke blogged about it this morning we agreed it was a sign!} then you track your progress by blogging about your workouts and sharing advice and inspiration! have more questions? find some answers here.

are you up for the challenge? sign-up and join us!

tuesday tunes - seth philpott.

this week's tune is my friend seth philpott. i've known seth for 2 1/2 years (he was one of the first people i met in nashville) but didn't get to see him play until a month ago...and now i've seen him twice! he's got a real blues-y feel (think: marc broussard) and sings with soul.

when he's not playing his own music, you can find seth helping out friends on the road as a tour manager. or drinking coffee at crema. a real multi-talented guy.

seth's got a new album coming out next month. i actually got to go in and sing some background vocals on a track -- not sure if it made the final mix, but it was fun :) {side note: my friend andy produced it -- another talented dude!}

check out some of seth's tunes on his myspace.
and here's a video for his song "heartbreaker"...

don't worry be healthy

one of the many reasons i loved living with my friend brooke for a year and a half {before she got married} was our shared passion for eating healthy and being active. we'd discover new nutritious treats together and challenge each other to diverse workouts. it was during this time that brooke decided to become a personal trainer and took her love for fitness to a whole new level.

i've loved going to her gym for 6am workouts (and she can kick my butt)...being her guinea pig for her new piloga classes (a mix of yoga + pilates)...and getting enlightened by the nutrition and diet information she is constantly learning.

so i'm super excited that she's decided to share her passion with a new health + fitness blog:

nashville health nut

she's only had it for a few weeks, and is doing a great job posting on everything from workouts to food to the latest fitness trends. and what i love about brooke is how she lives a balanced life. she doesn't freak out over eating a cookie or having a glass of wine. she knows it's about moderation, balance, staying active, and making smart choices.
so do yourself a favor and head on over to check it out...and leave a comment or two! {you can follow her on twitter, too}

{oh -- and i totally get credit for creating the tagline "don't worry be healthy" -- cute, huh?}

tuesday tunes - mark wagner

i'm so excited my friend mark wagner's new album, sun's gonna rise, is out today! mark is a mocha club sponsor, and an amazing guy.

after a few years in nashville, mark moved up to seattle and has created a great following in the northwest. {he was actually our host back in may when missy and i headed to seattle.}

i got an advance copy of the cd a couple of months ago, and played it on repeat in my car for a solid month. i'm excited to break it back out again this week in honor of the official release!


i think "there is hope" has to be my favorite track -- written after mark's trip to gulu, uganda last summer to visit the project he supports with us. it's got some powerful lyrics and gets stuck in your head {in a good way}

head on over to his website to hear some of the tracks, and you can even purchase the album there.

get to know mark a little by watching a video of the making of his album.

TOT volume 3...life on the road!

i keep blogging about the the ten out of tenn crew - their 2008 fall tour, the christmas tour, and the documentary.
and now...it's time for volume 3 of the nashville tour de talent! :)

this go 'round it's a whole new bunch {except for ks rhoads and founder trent dabbs} on a short 3-week run.

{my personal favs of this group are joy williams, andrew belle, and mikky ekko.}

so we were super pumped when it worked out for mocha club to team up with the tour as the official charity! each night, trent and andrew take a couple minutes to invite the crowd to join them in sponsoring one of our projects {and offering the new volume 3 compilation cd as an incentive!}

to help get things kicked-off smoothly, i headed out on the road for the first 2 dates of the tour... (knoxville and birmingham). i got to experience a small glimpse of "road life" for a couple of days...aka lots of driving and crashing on couches!

if they're not coming to your city, definitely grab the compilation off itunes -- all of these guys are super talented!!

here's a highlight from the knoxville show -- kyle andrew's song "sushi"....enjoy!

my -ing list...

i did one of these earlier this year so i thought it was time to whip-up another "participle list". here's what i'm do-ING...

eating // salmon. i swore i didn't like it cooked (i've always been a fan of smoked salmon) but have recently started to love it. i broil it, grill it, you name it. yum!

drinking // coconut milk creamer in my coffee...i know, it sounds gross...but it's good!

reading // three cups of tea and proverbs

listening // to all of my tuesday tunes people of course

driving // to knoxville and birmingham over the next couple of days to help kick off the ten out of tenn tour that mocha club is partnering with!

praying // for a new home for midtown (we're losing our building) trusting God to provide

wearing // my rain jacket...every day. nashville is the new seattle.

anticipating // the weather to be cool enough for scarves and boots and layers and hoodies

watching // so you think you can dance and glee

riding // my bike all over nashville's greenways...i can't get enough of it

loving // when people say how stupid twitter is, join, and then can't stop tweeting

cheering // for the dawgs on saturdays {i'm kinda obsessed with college football}

sitting // at ugly mugs - my favorite neighborhood coffee shop

tree of life.

a verse i keep revisiting lately is proverbs 13:12...

"hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

unfortunately i spend the majority of my life consumed with the first half of the verse....hope deferred. deferred = delayed, withheld, postponed. all words that equal not right now. aka...waiting. {not my favorite thing} i all too easily (and often) put my hope in an expecation, a situation, a person, a possibility. and when that thing doesn't pan out like i plan/want/desire... my heart is physically sick. it seriously affects my mood, my attitude, and my spirit. and the higher and more lofty the expecation, the more painful the delay.

but on the other hand, there is nothing more sweet or more life-giving than desires and longings fulfilled. the verse calls it a tree of life. deeply rooted in truth. standing firm in love. producing an abundance of fruit.

and God wants us to experience that.

so He is teaching me to place my hope in truth...in the promises that will be fulfilled. and when i find myself beginning to expect or dream about possibilities that aren't rooted there, i'm learning to loosen my grip of control and rethink where my hope lies.

easier said than done...for sure.

but the promise of a tree of life is so captivating {especially in contrast to a sick heart} that it's worth trying. it's worth pursuing. it's worth desiring.

tuesday tunes - the alternate routes.

today's tuesday tune is the band the alternate routes. this last spring, everywhere i turned somebody was talking about how awesome these guys are. they went on a tour with matt wertz, and annie decided they were her favorite band, and then i found out melissa was tour managing them. so i had to give them a listen.

and y'all, they were right...these guys are good.

i can't wait to see them live when they come to nashville on their fall tour next month. but until then, i'll keep their music in constant rotation in my itunes.

i'm a big fan of their debut album, good and reckless, and the most recent album a sucker's dream, is a close second. here's one of my favorites, "time is a runaway"...



{you can check out their latest video for the song "the future's nothing new" on youtube}

life's a beach.

my parents have owned a condo here since 2000, and i'm so grateful for the opportunity i get each year to take a weekend, grab some girls, and head south to the white sandy beaches of florida's panhandle.
sure, there's the annual trip to the red bar (seriously the best crab cakes ever) and bud and alley's and all the cute shops in seaside.
but my favorite part about these trips is doing absolutely nothing. it's really the only time i let myself not live by a schedule.

i fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore 20 floors below, and wake as the warm sun peaks through my window. i savor a cup of coffee on the porch, reading, writing, and staring out into the distant sea of blue. i spend hours reading books, perched in a chair down by the water, as the breeze blows and the tide cools my feet. i enjoy conversation about life and love and dreams and doubts with the girls in my life that i love dearly, as we drink wine and watch the sunset.

but most of all... i rest. i take time to be quiet. and i let the worries and anxieties of tomorrow fall away. because i know it is there that i find strength and sanity. my prayer is that i'll learn to incorporate that same spirit into my everyday life, no matter where i am or what things "demand" my time. but man, it'd be a whole lot easier if i lived at the beach.

step one: find that sound machine i bought in high school and fall asleep to the waves tonight...

tuesday tunes - colbie caillat.

so the last 2 tuesday tunes have been ladies who released albums a couple weeks ago. and there's one more to add to that list -- colbie caillat.
this girl can sing...and her songs are just so dang catchy.
despite "bubbly" being massively overplayed on the radio, colbie's debut album, coco, was a fantastic record that constantly played in my office. (did you know myspace can actually be credited for her initial success?) well, if the single "fallin for you" has anything to do with it, this sophomore album, breakthrough, looks to be the same way. (you can see the "fallin for you" video here)

in between albums, colbie had a guest appearance with jason mraz in his song "lucky"...

tuesday tunes - ingrid michaelson

not only was last tuesday the release of imogen's new album, but also a whole slew of great new music that i'll keep coming back to...

ingrid michaelson is one. does she sound familiar? i blogged about her back in march....or you maybe remember a certain old navy commercial that played circa christmas 2007...

her last 2 albums, be ok and girls and boys, have been in regular rotation in my itunes, so i have a feeling the new album, everybody, will be, too. ingrid has a unique voice and a gift of taking random lyrics and combining them into a spunky little song that can't help but stay in your head. {side note: "winter song" - ingrid's duet with sara bareilles, is my favorite christmas song that i love to play all year long!!}

i've seen ingrid perform live, too, and she's super fun (and quirky). she's on tour this fall supporting the album, so check her out if she comes to your city!

i'll leave you with the video for "the way i am" (the song that was used in that old navy commercial)