Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 35)

My Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway ended last night. I was feeling nice and added a few entries for those who did not follow the rules and make new comments per entry, which explains why the numbers from the comments are not perfectly aligned with the Excel cell numbers. I ran the drawing using the Excel cell numbers.

Funnily enough, Abby of Dirt on the Rocks would have won regardless of which numbering system I used. Abby, I will be emailing you shortly!

On Monday, Alan and I paid a visit to our dear friends, Selina and Ryan and their brand new baby. On our way to her house a friendly dog came up to Alan and made friends.

Austin Food Bloggers Alliance is having a launch party next Tuesday. I’m excited to finally meet the other food bloggers eating up my town. Some of these folks I’ve been tweeting at for a year now! We’re overdue for some meetings. If you’re just now tuning in, I also have a food blog here: http://girleatsworld.curious-notions.net.

Last night I had the privilege to see a free screening of Meaning of Tea and also hear the director, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt, talk about his lyrical documentary. I wasn’t expecting to love a documentary about tea. Truth be told, I thought I might even find it boring! Wow was I wrong; I walked away loving it. Aptly named, the movie captures the essence of tea and celebrates not only tea but the ceremony and ritual of tea. I took Brandi as my date and she said she found herself moved to tears a few times! Lucky for you it’s available to buy on Amazon. I haven’t checked Netflix though.

I managed to find a small clip of the movie to share, uploaded by one of the musical composers for the film. The film’s soundtrack was beautiful!

Documentary website: http://www.themeaningoftea.com/

Love the feel of a fresh new journal. The feeling is akin to the hopeful stirrings of new years, new school semesters, new homes, and birthdays. Can’t wait to fill these pretty pages up.

Jumping off of No. 4., another reason why I loved going to that intimate documentary screening, was that the director was so very much in love with tea. The people there were so very much in love with tea. The people he interviewed in his film, were so very in love with tea. It is so inspiring to be surrounded by passionate people. Zen Habits said it best in this blog post. Read it. Also, a snippet to entice you:

The gathering itself was simple: six people, simple healthy food, a little wine, a little tea, nothing else. Except that we lost ourselves in conversation so deeply that before we knew it, it was 1:30 a.m. and I was shocked at how quickly the time had passed.

The secret is also simple: when you talk with people who are passionate about what they’re doing, passionate about life and the people they love, it is transformative.

This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ laying down for “5 minutes” and waking up 2 hours later ♥ 2:30 am trips to diners on week nights ♥ eating Dairy Queen steak fingers in the car with Brandi before free movie screening ♥ being pleasantly surprised by a documentary about tea ♥ surprise cupcake ♥ private hugs and kisses in staircases