SO, HOW 'BOUT THEM REDS?

Oh happy day!!! Sister#2 is in town from California, & we're heading to Great American Ballpark for my first Reds game of the season. I love the idea of baseball, so much. Let me tell you why :D

NOTE* I was saving this post til Magical Simplicity's birthday :D These were initially my thoughts from Opening Day.

I don't know anything about baseball. & that's probably not shocking. I'm a 23-year-old working woman & still wear ribbons in my hair. Here is what I can claim: The Cincinnati Reds  are my hometown team. Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are not. I've heard they were doing really well in 1990, but lost the day I was born. (Sorry Cincy, guess you either got me or a winning baseball team.) (Sure hope it was a good trade.)

I know that Great American Ball Park is on Pete Rose Way. I know that the term "Diamond Seats" is a secret code for royalty. *HINT! Definitely ditch your just-ordered lunch from Dilly Deli when someone calls with an offer for Diamond Seats. It's the only time it will ever be okay. Leave the cash on the table & bolt, people.

I know that baseball means summer, & warmth & friends & grills & hotdogs & icecream. I know that, this year, GABP boasts a brand new craft beer bar. I know that I can hear Fireworks Friday from Columbia Tusculum. I know that baseball is America's pastime. I know when the sun finally  breaks through this icy winter, in all its glorious summer shades, we can stop saying "So, how about this Polar Vortex?!" & start saying, "So, how 'bout them Reds?!"

I love baseball hats. I adore sunshine. I enjoy beer. I swoon forCincinnati. I like the color red. ...So maybe I don't know the important things about baseball. But then again, maybe I know them all.

Either way - I can't wait to see ya at Great American Ball Park. You'll probably find me at the Reds Brewery District Bar... where we can smile & laugh & then say, "So, how 'bout them Reds?"

APRIL FAVES.

Where on Earth did April disappear?! A quick look back at my faves & a cheers to the start of May tomorrow! I smell summer, people!

March 12 marked my one year workaversary at Prolanthropy. But we were all traveling & super duper busy that month (which is great!!). So in April, they sent this beautiful bouquet of flowers to the office.

Cincinnati Ballet's preview of Over the Rhine Live.  Seriously, could this be any more flirty or fun?!? I love how it shows off my favorite part of the city & all the moves me & the dancers share (joking) (queue my hanging robot arm).  I so wish I was in town for the actual performance! Did you just love it?

Amazing photo from incredible photographer, whom I don't know but do thank! 

I used to work at Music Hall, way back in my interning days with the Cincinnati Opera. THIS article emerged in April about some pretty awesome facts on our cultural icon. Though I haven't seen any paranormal activity at Music Hall, I do believe a ghost once stole a bag of my media kits...

I heard Coldplay's Magic on the radio for the first time mid-April & subsequently returned home, bought it, & listened on repeat for the rest of the month. Magic, love, heroism, beauty, stories, tunes - it's everything I love wrapped into one fave song.

Meet my cousin (groom) & his blushing new bride. On April 26 they tied the knot in the cutest little town on the Jersey Shore that I have ever seen. The wedding was perfect. I've never feasted, boogied or loved so much in a single day. I was honored to read the second reading at Mass (you know it, I'm sure, love is patient, love is kind...).It was ideal for me, obsessed with love as I am. I couldn't possibly tell you how amazing the whole weekend was - so search #LuckeyDavisWedding to see for yourself :D

Right about now, I picture y'all saying, "Oh my God, Annie, we know." But in case you didn't catch it from this post & then this one too, relaunching & rejoining you all here at Magical Simplicity is absolutely my favorite thing. Shout out to my decade-old friendshipin the lovely Jenna who always supports. She took the rudimentary drawing I handed her of a new logo vision & made it into something beautiful (above). Isn't it just magical?!

Three Cheers for April! It's really been something else :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGICAL SIMPLICITY!

I’ll take any excuse to walk around town in a pretty dress, towing 12 pink balloons & sparkly cupcakes. But this time, I didn’t need one! Today is Magical Simplicity’s Birthday, y’all! & I'm celebrating!

It’s been amazing to see how many people are willing to help with this rebdranding project (seriously, thank you so much).  I recruited a few of them for a photo shoot one afternoon. Here's a glimpse behind the scenes of Magical Simplicity's Birthday Party :D

I gotta tell you, balloons are hilarious to travel with. Which made the feeling even more tremendous when I let them go at the end of the night. Soaring my 12 wishes up, up & off into a limitless sky...

... for a second, anyway. 

Welcome back to Magical Simplicity, everyone! Come visit often :D

Photographer: Jackie Butler      |     Partygoer: Natalie Folchi

HELLO, DARLINGS!

So where do I begin? I think probably with hello, darlings. Welcome back to Magical Simplicity. & really that’s a welcome for me as much as it is for you. I’ve been away.

When I graduated from Miami University in 2012,  my world turned all the way around- like twenty times. I needed to do a lot of growing up, really fast. & guys – it was really hard. But more on that another day. Today, we are celebrating. Today is special. Today  is Magical Simplicity’s third birthday.

& that is a big deal. I’m coming home.

I’ve finally made a little bit of sense about this growing up business. & now that I have, it’s really important to me to come back here. Here: my tiny little corner of the web where you are.

& I have really exciting news! I’ve taken a long, deep look at Magical Simplicity & found its core. Magic. Magic happens every day. It masquerades as tiny little moments. & you know what? Those moments seem pretty simple as they pass us by. It’s a butterfly outside your window. It’s your hometown (Holla at me Cincinnati, O-H!). It’s smiling with your best friend over a hot cup o’ joe. Magical Simplicity, at its core, is life. 

I’ve been planning & prepping & pouring myself into a refreshed place for us to stay. It’s going to be stock full of LIFE, guys. The good stuff. The real stuff. The fun stuff. The magic.

I’m so excited. 

Happy birthday, Magical Simplicity. Let’s go adventure. 

Photog by my ever-loving mother: Jackie Butler

YOUR FATHER'S DAUGHTER

It's when I come home with a bag of cheetos and a diet mountain dew;
When I choose the hotel with a continental breakfast;
When I sing along to oldies as I'm driving across town.

It's when I make my cookies extra chocolatey;
When I karoke in my seat at dinner;
When I fall asleep on the couch. 

It's when we're at weddings, and people see our dance moves;
It's in pictures, and people see our profiles;
It's on the plane, and I make friends with the unknown passenger next to me. 

It's when I draw, and remember his talent. 
It's when I write, and see our sentence structure. 
It's when I speak, and remember his grace at countless podiums. 
It was when I coached, and tried to emulate him.
It was when I mowed the lawn... Oh wait... that one doesn't work. 

"You are your father's daughter," I hear it all the time. And every time, I smile - there couldn't possibly be a better compliment. Happy father's day, to the man who taught me everything.