ANNIE'S SIX FAVORITE POSTS OF 2014

Wow. I'm heading to the Dollar Store to look for glasses that say 2015. What on earth?! (& side note: don't you miss the days of the two double zero thousands? They made for such great glasses!) But before we all dawn our sparkles & cheers our way into the New Year, I wanted to share my top six favorite posts out of the almost 100(!) that made 2014.

In Fashion...

1.) The Rolling Stones Tee: I got more & more comfortable with every fashion post posted in 2014. From the first one way back in May (here) to the Rolling Stones Tee just last week, each one was more & more fun. This was one of my most recents, & a particular favorite :)

2.) The Beanie! One thing I love about blogging is that it challenges me to try new trends. The beanie/pom hat was one of those. I just love the way it looks! & this post also got featured on Midwest Dressed, another reason it makes my favorites list.

In Cincinnati...
Now, I truly, truly loved every single place I visited in Cincinnati this year. Every small business & Cincinnati original. You can read about each & every one of them HERE. But, for the sake of keeping my list....

3.) [Greater] Cincinnati's Carabello Coffee & their coffee for a cause is just such a Cincinnati gem. I can't wait to see how they grow & prosper in the new year!

In collaboration...

4.) Styling with Cincinnati's Curate Boutique: The cutest little boutique asked me to collaborate in 2014. I modeled some of Curate Boutique's winter line for the Holiday Look Book & had a blast running around town with a professional photographer & these stunning clothes!

In life...

5.) The Importance of Treating Yourself: I love this post for two reasons: the sentiment, of course. It is very important to treat yourself & acknowledge your own accomplishments. (If you don't believe in yourself, who will, right?) The second reason I love it are these awesome pictures! This was the first time that Natalie & I played around with the settings on our new DSLR cameras & it was such a fun shoot :D

In DIY...

6.) Small Space Living: Building a Corner Coffee Bar. Last but not least, in DIY, the corner-coffee bar. Five months later, I still use this coffee bar every single day. It's the perfect place to set up for a morning of work & occasional people watching from the window.

& that is that! Thanks to each & every one of you for one truly amazing year. xoxo & stay tuned for 2015, we're kicking it off with a bang ;)

NOVEMBER FAVES

I have a short list this month. Not because I don't have favorites, (oh contraire! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite Holidays!) (So much food!) but because I was too busy to write them down!

I did a lot of traveling this month: Atlanta, Baltimore, Baltimore & finished it off with just enough time to make it home for Thanksgiving.

I started experimenting with the tripod, & then decided it was way more fun to have photoshoot-marathons with Natalie instead.

Speaking of photo shoots, I had my second ever professional photo shoot (you remember my awkward first?) with CURATE BOUTIQUE for the Holiday Look Book! I had SO much fun being styled by Courtney PeGan & running around town in gorgeous clothes with Tamia at The Style Sample. I'm waiting on a few more photos from Corey Stevens Photography before I make a post for you guys! Oh what fun!!!!

We met up with the Cincinnati Style Crew for dinner a few times to work on our really exciting collaborative project for you guys. (You're really going to want to stay tuned on this one!) (It won't be long!!)

& I got to spend Thanksgiving with nearly the entire Butler side of the family. It was a truly fabulous month & now my favorite time of the year is just around the corner. I'll leave you with this Christmas tune to help get you in the spirit!
xoxo & thank you so, so much for reading!

OCTOBER FAVES

Travel, pumpkin, pictures! Travel! Pumpkin!! Pictures!!! That was October in a nutshell... or shall I say, an acorn (Get it? Because it's fall :D) But there was a little time for some faves, of course!

I visited a few pumpkin patch farms: here & here too. & then I explored ways to eat the amazing pumpkin all October! We tried super easy muffins, roasted seeds & 3 ingredient mousse. Did you recreate any of these?! How'd it go??

A glorious field of sunflowers. Swoon!!!!

My friend Rachel introduced me to Apple Cider + Champagne Mimosas at book club. Later Teddy introduced me to Bourbon Apple Cider. Both are absolutely to die for & a new favorite drink.

Also, while we're talking about foods.... this home made monte cristo. What?!? That's a Cooking with Katie creation ;D

Possibly my very  favorite thing about October was that a few dear friends asked me to take their engagement photos! Both Rachel + Casey & Megan + Sam chose amazing fall days & had the most perfect fall photo shoots. I adored running around the woods taking photos of people in love. It was literally & absolutely my favorite thing.

My grandmother turned eighty! & we had a wonderful little party to celebrate in Dayton. I got to see almost all my cousins & their children & had the most lovely visit right before I headed off to Minneapolis.

Obsessed with this. It popped up on my Walk the Moon Pandora station & I'm super in love. To be honest, I first thought the "Oh Hey!" line in "Oh Hey!  I can't believe I captured your heart." Was actually Ann-ayyy, (ya know, like a really lyrical way to say Annie). Regardless. I still love it & think you will too. 

Tonight is Halloween & we're having a little party after the trick or treaters retreat with their candies. I'm wearing some cat ears with a little face paint - what are you guys doing?? I can't wait to see the photos! Happy, happy, happy fall, darlings!!  

SEPTEMBER FAVES

Some really exciting things happened in September!

Early on I had my first professional photo shoot for a feature by Cincy Chic. It was super fun + you can read the full article here.

Keeping with my Cincy Chic week, I also attended a great Fashion Show downtown where I met a whole host of local fashion bloggers + got to talk shop with some of the coolest :) You can read more about what we did here (spoiler: those amazing teal heels bottom center played a part!) Also, I didn't tell you! We decided that it was a great idea to start a Facebook page so you lovely readers can follow the Cincy Style Bloggers all together! That link is here.

I started a cooking series with my sister + have never eaten so well in my life. We have a TON of fun recipes coming your way in the coming weeks (& have already posted a few: here & here!).

I got to spend time as Cousin-Aunt Annie (one of my favorite things).
I obsessed over this song + listened to it on repeat for an entire two days. (Seriously. So magical, right?)

At the very end of the month my sister came into to town from San Francisco & we got to take a trip to Blooms & Berries for a walk through the Sunflower Fields (post coming tomorrow!). It was seriously cool.

I also Beer Fest-ed in Fountain Square & then Oktober Fest-ed the next weekend (I'm a true Irish-German at heart). I traveled a whole bunch & saw a lot of fun cities: Detroit, DC + Dallas to be exact. Also, this list. You know me, always trying to single handedly determine the best brunch spots in the city. Cincinnati Refined did some nice research to consider.

It's officially fall + I am officially loving it. Cheers with an apple cider + champagne mimosa (my friend at Book Club taught me about this drink. It's to die for.) Love you, guys! Xo Annie

AUGUST FAVES

What I loved about August was it's spontaneity. Spontaneous movies in the park. Spontaneous trips to New York. Spontaneity is what keeps life fun + boy does that describe August. Can you believe it's time for another month of Faves!? Well, let's round 'em up, shall we?!

Sam Adams Brew + View! In an attempted trip to Newport Kroger for the ingredients of a home made dinner we happened past this food trucked, brew fested, movie under the stars in Eden Park! We reserved our free tickets right away & abandoned the thought of a boring dinner for something magical. It was perfectly spontaneous & delicious & hilarious (Wedding Crashers). I just love Cincinnati.

You know what other city I love? New York! As you know, in August I took an unexpected trip to the East Coast to visit my little sister. I had never been to New York but seriously am in love. It was amazing. You can read all about it HERE.

Freshman year of college a crush introduced me to Vampire Weekend. The crush didn't last but my love for these tunes did. I've been listening to a lot of music to try & stay in the zone at work. This one stuck out among the thousands. I love the beat to the "baby, baby, baby.." at 43 seconds. It's hard to explain.. so take a listen :)

At the end of August we caravanned up to Detroit, Michigan -- my Papa's hometown. We had a second commemorative service for him with about 100 people that didn't have enough notice to make it to the first. Spending time + continuing to heal with my extended family was magical.

+ I made it back just in time to watch the WEBN Labor Day Fireworks from my friend's ninth floor balcony. We were eye level to the greatest light show The Queen City witnesses. How lucky am I?!

There were so many adventures this month! We've found new breakfast places, furniture warehouses & Flea Markets. I took Ultimate Air Shuttle to New York City. I laughed + lived  + wined + dined. August was one heck of a month but to sum it up in one word, I'd have to say LOVE.

JULY FAVES

JULY! A whole MONTH in my new apartment! A sometimes hot, sometimes cold (weird?!), sometimes stressful, sometimes relaxing, always amazing month. July taught me how many great people & things I have in my life. Here are some of my favorites:

You may know that I was on Lake Keowee with my four siblings & 16 cousins for the Fourth of July to celebrate the life of my Papa. It was an incredible weekend, full of a lot of emotion, a lot of memories, but above all, gratefulness. My family is so fun. & jumping into this lake (for I dunno, maybe the trillionth time?) is a perfect reminder of all I have.

I MOVED INTO MY APARTMENT!!!! It's probably 1/6 the size of my old house in Columbia Tusculum.. but it's mine. & so is this coffee corner. Yes, I did dedicate an entire corner of my apartment to coffee. p.s. Do you like the print? I made it :)

Because is there anything in the world that is better than donuts? Seriously? It's cake. For breakfast. omgznommmm.

It was Teddy's birthday this month, & we celebrated at Bunbury Music Festival. & even though it was pouring down rain, I found some great new bands (Saint Seneca, ZZ Ward & Young the Giant), put on a ton of press-on tattoos, & enjoyed being a super hipster with some really awesome people for a day.

Then I spent a week on... VaCAtiOn!!! Recharging & relaxing & resetting & spending time to work on the blog & read & run & omg it was perfect. You can click here to learn more :)

THIS SONG. It came out on July 29 & by the 31st I owned it. It is SO fun. It reminds me of the nineties (Lady Marmelade) & also of Great Gatsby (I don't know why!). Guys. Dannnnnng.

Lastly - it was National Ice Cream Month! I can't even tell you how many times I celebrated in the past 365 days. More than half, most likely. I showed you my favorite Cincinnati Ice Cream joints & you bet your bottom dollar I'll have more coming to you in the future. Ice Cream & I... well, we're in it for the long haul.

Anyway, I love you guys. I hope you had a great July. & I can't wait for August... our last month of summer (what the heck!?!?). Let's make it magical :) 

JUNE FAVES

June! You got me good. You got me real good. I felt a lot in June. I felt the high highs, & I felt the low lows. I felt every emotion a human can feel, all in June. But, to feel means you are living. & that is the essence of Magical Simplicity: for, to recognize each day for it's small, quiet, happy moments.. well that's when you start to realize the magic.

So June, it's about time we get you in the books! Darlings, a very special "faves" post below.

The first two weeks of June were madness. We Prolanthropy ladies hosted 10 events for our clients. (Think late night nineties karaoke parties in my office fueled by coffee numero seis.) Anywho, my travels took me to Kansas City. Our hotel was on the edge of the Crossroads Art District & Kelly & I found a few moments to take a walk for some dinner. Sidenote: though my heart will always belong to Eli's... MAN does KC know their BBQ! Even on just our short walk there was so much art, so many murals & so much culture. & we also stopped at a joint called Hamburger Mary's where they called us "sweethearts" & gave me cake. It was an awesome last day to be twenty three.

From every corner of the country my friends & family showered me with love for my birthday: perfect cards & magical wishes & s'mores desserts of every variety. On my first night back from KC, a few of my favorites took me to Incline Public House - which (fun note!) is City Beat's 2014 staff pick for Best View to take in while dining & drinking. Rightfully so! Sitting atop Price Hill at what used to be one of Cincinnati's five famous inclines (remember those? I somehow thrifted a print of the Mt. Adams Incline a few years ago), our Queen City shines. My iPhone pictures don't do it justice.. you just have to go.

I already knew a lot of the 50 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Cincinnati in this article by Movoto. But since Cincinnati is one of my favorite blog topics, I thought I'd still share. P.S. apparently we Cincinnatians eat more than 2,000,000 pounds of chili a year... topped with 850,000 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese. I'm not a chili fan.. but I swear Skyline cheddar cheese is magic. Anyone else hungry for a cheddar baked potato?

I've been spending a lot of time in Alms Park lately. It started off as a wild chase for the sun, but I quickly realized how peaceful & simple life is when lying still among the flowers. There is nothing more lovely than moments like these.

Have you guys heard this before!? Near the end of June this song Take It or Leave It popped onto the radio while I was pulling into the gym parking lot. It was so good that I stayed in the car just to listen. It's so fun. Reminds me a little of Vampire Weekend + Walk the Moon + truthfully, The Beatles? I did a little research & it looks like this album Melophobia is Cage the Elephant's third. & they're from Bowling Green, KY. Boys, welcome to a top spot on my faves.

On the last weekend of June, my two wonderful roommates & I boxed up our house on Sachem & moved out. Though that particular instance wasn't a fave - reflecting about the many memories, laughs & love we shared together in Columbia Tusculum earns a mention on this list. I could go on, & in fact, I think I will.. click here to read more. (Note: I do say two fabulous roommates. Laura was ill when we had our photo shoot & could not join our fun. Still, can't write it in as a favorite without her J.)

It was almost the final day of June that my sweet Papa passed from our world to a far greater one. Though a terribly tearful occasion, my Papa always taught us to celebrate our loved one's lives rather than to grieve for it. So here's to you, my very favorite, my Papa. You can read more, if you wish, at An Elephant Room in the Sky.

July, get at me. I'm ready to move into my brand new apartment with the bright yellow walls (tomorrow morning!). & I'm spending the Holiday surrounded by a stampede of Pfeifers. There ain't nothin' better. 

MAY FAVES.

May, May, May. You were so fab! I can't believe that we are one weekend away from June - but I'm ready for it! June is our busy season at work (fourteen events in the first three weeks!) & it's the start of all my favorite summer things. & also, I'll be celebrating another year of life. So, May, let's get you in the books: here are some of my May Faves J

So technically this was the last day of April, but I had May on my mind :) Not important. What's important are these fries. As a Columbia Tusculum resident... for the past two years... obviously I've been to Green Dog Cafe. But my little sister hadn't! She's a 13-year vegetarian, so I knew she would love eating here before we jetted off to The Phantom of the Opera (I have no words to tell you how amazing Phantom was. & you know I'm rarely speechless..). I actually love the fact that my phone paints this halo around my head because these fries for real make me glow in happiness. God Bless Green Dog Fries Forever.

For the over-a-year I've been working in Florence (y'all), I've wished for a coffee shop. Back at my first post-college job, I walked to Coffee Emporium OTR at least six times a week. My wishes were answered in early May. Velocity Bike & Bean is a half mile from my office. ONE HALF MILE.  It's a coffee shop in front & a bicycle shop in back! I'm going to be the world's best customer. I can already tell.

On Mother's Day we had a really wonderful family day. My little brother (a rising senior at Hillsdale College) (How?! I feel like I was just telling you about moving him in to his freshman dorm) was in town for a few days before he jetted off to an internship in California. I met my older sister (& her pup) at my parents' house in Loveland. It was a perfect day & we had so much fun testing out my new camera (ok, it's not new. & its actually not mine. My little sister left it at home over the summer while she interns in New York City. But it still was a lot of fun J)

I told you all that we're moving out of Columbia Tusculum, right?  Well, on May 13 I signed on at my new apartment! Shout out to my gal Courtney who found it & to my mom who helped me search through a million others. It's on Ida Street in Mt. Adams, a cute little studio with painted yellow walls. I'll be very close to the Cincinnati Art Museum & Playhouse in the Park & I can have a puppy (hint). & since I'm sure you're just dying to know: Yes, I will be able to walk to an independent coffee shop. Bow Tie Cafe, get ready for me.

I love butterflies. There is no creature more magical. The Pura Vida Butterfly Exhibit has been coming to Cincinnati's Krohn Conservatory for years & the tour always falls near my birthday! I hardly believe it myself when I tell you, but this May was the first time I've ever been. Obviously, I loved it. & if anyone can help convince 1,000 butterflies to follow me around everywhere I walk - that would be just great.

I told you in my April Faves that I loved Coldplay's Magic. Well I decided I liked it so much I should just buy the whole album. I love the entire thing, but my favorite on Ghost Stories is the hidden track, number nine: O. I just think it is so beautiful. Take a listen.  

At the end of May a few of my college roommates came to town for a fabulous reunion weekend. We had the most lovely time, but I won't tell you about it here, because you can read all my thoughts HERE. It's my fave J

So, Happy Summer people! Hail to white pants & summer nights. Have a magical weekend! xoxo.

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 J

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 friendship in 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 J