Fall Fridays: Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Source: hostessblog.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Want to make some of these 

delicious treats for yourself? 

You can find the ingredients,pictures, 

& a how-to guide here.

~TefMarie

...and coldplay, for the win!

I'm not going to lie. I was so excited when I heard coldplay had a new album coming out this year, however I wasn't as impressed as I should have been with 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' (the first release). I mean, it's Coldplay, I'll love it, but I didn't want to listen to it on repeat all day, everyday.

I tried to remind myself I felt the same way about their last album, Viva La Vida, until I saw them perform it live in concert on November 11, 2008 in Atlanta. It quickly became worn out in my CD player after that.

But this week, I heard 'Paradise.' And it made me feel like I was in paradise. I'm not sure what it is I love about it the most: Chris Martin's vocals (which are always a favorite), a synthesizer-like keyboard sound (I do love 80s music), or just the intro. 'Paradise' made it's way onto the #2 spot on my "Fall Mix for the 0-1-1, Son" CD, so I CAN listen to it on repeat.

Well you can listen to it, and decide for yourself. Chris Martin is a foxy, foxy man. And at the 1:00 mark, he reminds me of B.M. for some reason. Something about the eyes and the smile (if you knew B.M., do you see it too?) But Chris Martin is way hotter. Enjoy...



And let's take a minute to appreciate the fact that it looks like Chris Martin may have been working out over the past year. He's not quite as scrawny as he appeared before, and I like it. I also like anybody who sweats that much when they perform, because you know it's from the heart. And I always love it when they harmonize, so it's a win-win situation. It's just a lot of love going on, all the way around. 

Their album comes out in October and I will be downloading it ASAP when it does.

I can't wait to see them live in concert again. Who's with me...

~TefMarie

your heart is a lonely one {ben rector}

Tonight I'm going to see this cool guy...[Ben Rector, friends]



It's been WAAAAAAAY too long since I heard some amazing live music. I'm excited about a night out on the town in Knox, at a venue I've never been to, with a friend I barely see, listening to music that makes me happy. Here's to a fun evening with Ben Rector and Laura Hawk.

Want a free mp3 sampler with some of Ben Rector's most fun songs? I got one, and so can you! It's easy, just enter your email addy and zipcode at NoiseTrade and you can have your very own Ben Rector music on your own computer. See below...



Hear the full song below:

~TefMarie

31 Days of Autumn

Source: etsy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

So there's a blog challenge circulating the internet for October.

Blog about the same thing for 31 days.

Sounds simple enough until you really start to think about it.

I, too, agree with Annie at  Turning Pages, that my blog sometimes doesn't have a distinct purpose, other than the fact that I write about what I want and how I feel when I desire. It's not about college or love or God specifically, rather, it's an assortment of all the above. Sometimes that hurts me in the sense that I don't always have a focal point for blogging, therefore I can go a long period of time feeling uninspired and apathetic towards my blog (maybe you've noticed by all the missed days from the past few months). Writing is a process, and especially when you don't have a distinct purpose, that process can be hard to come by.

Not only that, but blogging about the same topic for 31 days IS really quite the challenge.

I thought about what I would write about for 31 days. It would have to be something I'm interested in, something you're interested in, and something that is constant but diverse.

Therefore, I settled on Fall.

Autumn is really my favorite time of year (as it seems to be with most introspective people in the blog-sphere) and I thought the ideas were endless. I have a Fall Favorites board at my Pinterest, and that inspired me to want to blog about Fall for 31 days.

This means fall recipes, fall decor, fall pictures, fall wisdom, fall adventures, fall crafts...you get the idea.

I think most of you might love this idea, but I apologize to the rare reader who perhaps hates fall with a passion, and therefore will find no use of reading my blog for the whole month of October. But I promise, even if you feel this way, I could convince you to love Autumn with as much fervor as the rest of us do, if you just give me a chance.

So I hope you enjoy October, a blogging month devoted to coziness and warm drinks and pumpkin smells. 31 days devoted to the most wonderful time of the year!

~TefMarie

Fall Fridays: Autumn Bliss

                                                                                    Source: mochatini.org via Stephanie on Pinterest

Delicious autumn! 

My very soul is wedded to it, 

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.  

~George Eliot

~TefMarie

An Open Letter to Derek Dooley

Dear Derek Dooley,

Can I be frank for a minute? Those orange pants are hot. Like 80s-Tom-Cruise-in-Top-Gun hot. Classy hot.

I think they're the best decision you've made since you got to Tennessee (well, maybe right up there with choosing Bray to start as quarterback over Simms).

They're fabulous and just the right shade of orange.

I just wanted to officially thank you for bringing back the SWAG at Tennessee.

It looks good on you. Stay classy.

Rocky Top forever,

~TefMarie

And if you'd like to see how those $1500 pants were made, you can watch the video they showed on the UT JumboTron on GameDay, below.

when love takes over

A couple of things happened today which haven't happened in years. 

In no particular order:

1. I got a blister.

The one on the back of your heel that pops up when you wear shoes that keep hitting that fold on your ankle, everytime you walk. You know the kind, where it just rubs your heel raw. And despite the fact that I was wearing the exact same shoes on both feet for the same amount of time, it only rubbed one heel raw. Maybe it's because I wear flipflops every stinkin' day of the week that I don't normally encounter this kind of problem. 

In fact, it might have taken me all afternoon before I realized what that pain on my heel was. A blister. Like teenage years. It's nostalgic for me.

2. I felt moved by God. 

I've been on a journey for over 4 years. I go through highs and lows (many which become blog subjects...maybe sometimes to the point of redundancy) but today was different. 

So many times I want to feel something in worship, something when singing, something when talking about God. I can get excited, I can feel good about it, but I don't feel moved. I don't feel touched by God's glory or moved by His presence. Not to the extent I did today. 

After 3 years of living a life divided among congregations, I realized this past summer part of my crutch in feeling lost spiritually is not being an active part of one congregation. I would spend Sunday mornings at Greenback (which I love) and the rest of the week with the CSC and Laurel (whom I love as well). Watching old home videos this past summer, I realized I needed consistency, I was happiest when I felt 100% a part of something I believed in, something that wasn't perfect but which provided me with comfort and friends and encouragement. I got bits of those at both congregations I was a part of, but I felt torn. So I've been going to Laurel on Sunday mornings since my spiritual social life was there. It's been good. 

I miss the people and smiles and love and sermons of Greenback, but I have grown to love the people and faces of Laurel just as much. Simple things like carpooling with Mauney (first name Brittany...she's a fave) and food with friends after, these are the simple things I didn't know I had been missing. Being 29 and single, I've become accustomed to solo drives to church, sitting by no one in particular, and picking up a sandwich on my way back home. It's not a lonely life, but I had forgotten how nice it is to have someone to enjoy the experience with, someone to share laughs with over a stare down the aisle, and someone to reflect on lessons with later. 

Today, Lacey Jean was in town like old times and she, Mauney, and I picked up some coffee and headed to Bible class. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another routine and another day at church. I have felt so ritualistic about church for the past few years, I just get used to the motions while longing for something more, and never feeling it in my core. We crammed in the pew, and something felt different. I felt home. I haven't felt home at church in forever. The songs, the lesson, everything just fell into place as always but it felt different. The invitation song after the lesson started. We stood up. I sang. Then I cried. I didn't even know it was about to happen. Then my throat got tight and tears just kept spilling out. I had no idea where they were coming from. I couldn't explain it. I couldn't explain what I was feeling or why I was feeling it other than that God was finally moving me. I felt like God had been waiting on me for this moment. I had come to accept my new terms of faith earlier this year but they hadn't translated into worship for me. I hadn't figured out how they fit into my rituals and traditions and public displays of worship.

I pushed Mauney over and climbed over friends to get to the aisle. I don't remember thinking anything when walking down that aisle towards the preacher other than that it felt right. I was wiping away tears that were spilling out faster than I knew they could. In the traditional church of Christ you typically respond after the sermon for one of two reasons. You committed a sin that you wanted to ask forgiveness for, or you were going through something for which you wanted to request prayers. I got to the front, sat down next to an elder and he looked at me waiting to find out what I needed. I didn't even know what to say, I don't know if I even made sense. I tried to relay that I had just felt so down for so long and I was tired of it. I just wanted to live for Jesus. I just said pray for me. I was crying so hard my words came out choked and broken. I had never felt this way when I responded. I wasn't responding because I was afraid of going to hell if I didn't repent, or for my own self-affirmation, or for prayers for being weak. I just loved Christ so much and felt so moved that I had to do something about it, I had to share this emotion deep within with everyone. Sara, Lacey, and Mauney all piled on the front pew around me and my voice broke out in sobs in the quietness. Sara wiped my tears and Lacey held my hand and Mauney just  made me smile. And I felt real again. Like I didn't have anything to hide or any lingering thoughts in the back of my mind wondering if it was okay to feel this way. And like I could be happy again and stop worrying about everything that clouds my thoughts when I lay in bed at night. 

When I was in Memphis last month I stayed up until 2 am talking to an old friend and mentor. I cried to him and said I wasn't who I was in Memphis and I wasn't ever going to be able to go back to that person. I shared sins and triumphs and anger and complaints and realizations and weaaknesses that I never thought I could tell him. I had worried he would write me off and speak of how disappointed he was in me, I worried that he would voice so many things that I worry that people will think or say of me if they knew half of what I thought or questioned. But he didn't. He told me he loved me, and that if I was somewhere where I was growing spiritually and figuring things out for my own faith, that's all he wanted. I think his reassurance that he wouldn't leave my side through these hard times, or through these hard-to-swallow growing periods, took a burden off my chest that I had left placed there for a couple years too long. Since I came back to Knoxville after that trip I've felt more confident in my own spiritual motives and attitudes, and I feel more confident in my faith. 

So that was my Sunday. 

Pain and glory, in blisters and God.

One of those rare days where you feel like, 

just maybe, you're right where you need to be.

'Giving my life to the only one, 

who makes the moon reflect the sun,

on this starry night; it changed my life,

giving it all to the only Son,

who gave me HOPE when I had none,

so let the praises ring,

cause He is everything'

~Chris August

~TefMarie

What I'm Listening to This Week {9.5.11}

Andy Grammer may, or may not, be cross-eyed according to his performance on this video(maybe that's just his stage look?).

I love this song. I love acoustic anything. I love hot boys in their late 20s. And I love guys that wear layers. So I give you Andy Grammer with the feel-good song of the season. Enjoy! The official video is posted below (watch out for Rainn Wilson...)

~TefMarie

Good Ol' Rocky Top {WOOOO!}

UT vs. Montana-Opening Game at Neyland Stadium, September 3, 2011

I have been holding my breath all year waiting for football season to begin. College football to be specific.

I am beyond thrilled knowing I have cable now, and can enjoy a fall Saturday relaxing in my own apartment, ESPN on in the background, games playing from sun up to sun down (probably SEC games-they're the best). Nothing to worry about on Saturdays except for catching the highlight reels and hearing the latest scores.

It's such a glorious time of year!

This past weekend, Cousin Hannah and I discussed how we have become such old farts: we'd rather watch the game on TV than spend our Saturday fighting 108,000 fans walking uphill to see the Vols play in person. We both had the opportunity to go with friends to the game and we decided to take advantage of it.

Live it up while we could! 

Go big or go home-this had always been our motto, right? 

The odds seemed in our favor: it was a night game, most likely a guaranteed win, only available to watch on TV via pay-per-view (yes, that still exists), and the season opener.

I arrived early on campus to make sure I got a spot at the CSC (I'm all about free and easy). Some drunk guy I'd never met ended up backing my car into the hard-to-reach spot for me (he claimed he had driven Nascar for the past 3 years...although that only entails going straight and turning left...) and the fun was just beginning.

Walked to the stadium at 5, fortunate to sit on the 2nd row in the endzone with my friend Bryan and while watching the band play before the game started, I noticed over my left shoulder there was a dark cloud looming over us from the South. They never said anything about rain, I thought. Next thing we know, Bob Kesling (UT announcer for those who aren't up to par) came over the system telling us that lightning had been detected within 10 miles of the stadium and we had to evacuate. This seemed familiar to the fiasco known as Oregon/UT last September. They told us to leave, but we really didn't have anywhere to go. Their solution? Thompson Boiling Arena...let me just say this defeats the purpose of protecting us from being outside when we have to walk outside to get there, am I right? I know they're doing the best they can but it seemed evident this evacuation process may not have been thought through all the way.

By the time we got up the steps of our section to the concourse opening under the stadium it was full of people. When I say full, I mean there wasn't even elbow room and that meant nowhere for us to go. We huddled against the concrete wall right at the opening and waited. Then it began. Rain. Lots of it. More like a monsoon. It's amazing how much people don't want to be wet...all of a sudden we had a bunch of new friends trying to make room out of nothing. I was pushed up against the concrete wall, face first, with rain pounding on me. So much for my straightened hair and eye make-up. I was just trying to steady myself on the incline and protect my purse as much as possible. Amazingly the couple to my left wasn't wet at all...it seemed I was on the edge of the above overhang. We stayed this way for at least 30-40 minutes. I couldn't move, I could just turn and watch people act like fools. Pushing, cussing, almost knocking old ladies down. I had to yell at a few of them to calm down and shut their mouths (hey, I'm a die-hard UT fan, but I'm not dying in a stampede over rain at the game by disrespectful dingbats).

We finally were allowed to go back to our seats and my entire body was soaked to the bone, wet shirt, jeans, hair, everything. The 97 degree heat wave was now a breezy 72, and it was chilling to my soaked frame. The game started over an hour and a half late while it continued to rain on us. Bryan got me a couple of hot dogs so I could try and warm up, but my bun didn't taste so good as it absorbed the rain drops.

We still had a great time, watching as UT scored 4 touchdowns in the first half (2 right in front of us). It felt good to sing Rocky Top at the top of my lungs with 100,000 other fans again. I stayed through halftime and then decided my 'old lady' self needed to go home and take a hot bath and catch the last of the LSU/Oregon game from the comfort of my cozy living room. I don't know how I made that uphill hike back to the CSC. My legs were weak from bracing myself against the wall during the storm and today my calves are paying for it. I'd never been so excited for a ride home.

Cousin Hannah called me after she left and we concluded we're just too old for this stuff. I got my feel of the game for a while. I might go to another one later this semester, once it cools off and random thunderstorm chances are low. I am grateful we had great seats and a good game (UT won 42-16). Hope your favorite teams fared well this past weekend and can't wait to watch them all do it again this Saturday!

GO VOLS GO!

~TefMarie