twenty-five

Twenty-five years ago I came into this world...by way of Montgomery, AL. I'm not sure exactly why I was chosen to be born an Alabamian...but I don't claim it. I'm a Nashvillian. It's weird to be at the halfway mark to my 30s (I, of course, mean halfway mark in my twenties - I know that 15 is halfway to 30 - geez). I've been feeling a lot of pressure from in all aspects of my life - about how much I should already have accomplished by this age. But I see 25 as still so very young. I'm not ready to grow up yet - well not entirely. I'm still enjoying this life that was given to me. Things will happen when they're supposed to. On that note...I just received the Beatles Rockband for my birthday - if you live in the (615) area code...lets jam.

Listen to: Run This Town - Jay Z (feat. Rihanna and Kanye)

what is wrong with me

It's Wednesday and I feel as though the days come and go more swiftly than usual. I would normally buy into the phrase "time flies when you're having fun" but that isn't why. While I'm enjoying this steady, easy life...I don't believe that's why the days are turning so quickly. I feel like yesterday was Friday and it's another Saturday morning. Perhaps because they're simply uneventful and just fade into the next - like yesterday wasn't even really here to begin with? My mom thinks I'm depressed (I'm not) and constantly angry (yep). Maybe it's all this rain.

Yesterday was the day we decided to get the Halloween decorations down from the attic. I was up for it once September 1st hit, but my mom decided that it would be too soon for people to understand. Okay fine. I waited until Sept 22nd and that is the best I can do. I can't explain my fascination with Halloween, but I think it stems back to the fact that I'm truly an adult child - but more on that later. I, also, cleaned out our disgustingly greasy grill that I recently obtained back from the boys that have "borrowed" it for the past year and a half. Needless to say, it took a while. Once it was clean, Carlye made BBQ chicken legs and macaroni and cheese and we had wine + cards night. yay.

I need to get a job. When people inquire about my occupation, I tell them I'm a writer because, technically, that's what I do. However, writing an article for Nashville Lifestyles once a month is hardly a career. I've thought of dipping my toes back into the realm of retail to simply pass the time until my "dream job" comes out from its hiding place or I go insane.

Any Dave Matthews fans out there? The video below was sent to my by my dear friend Jackson, who is the biggest music lover I know. For anyone who grew up with this music - prepare to laugh at how true it is. ***Warning: very strong language content***

...and now I'm a blonde

I have polled the audience and going blonder seemed to be the obvious choice. I started off with a light-ish brown color and after three visits with my hair guy, we've reached a color I'm comfy with. I might eventually go a bit lighter...or I might fly off the handle and go back to black but only time will tell. I'm considering this color change as a social experiment to find out if blondes really do have more fun...

the one that got away...haha

Every girl has a mental list of the boys she's dated, kissed, etc. I happen to love my list. There are a few I still wish weren't on there, but for the most part, I think it's a pretty cute little list. When I moved to New York, I'm not really sure what happened...but I went foreign. I added a Welshman, Kiwi, Australian, Canadian (we hate them), and a very handsome boy from Wimbledon. Of these handsome boys with accents, I still remain friends with the Welshman, and went to visit him over Christmas this past year. As for the rest...eh.

As for the one from Wimbledon...I met him one night at happy hour at the Spring Lounge. Our conversation was going quite well and Liz and I were making fun of his white blazer that he was wearing along with his seven other friends also sporting the same outfit. Apparently they had been on a boat earlier and thought that's what Americans wear on boats...

Besides the fact that he was dressed ridiculously, we were having great conversation and we mutually decided we should probably get married immediately. He then, proceeded to drop down on one knee and propose...using a rubber band as the ring. It was really sweet and although we were completely kidding...I liked him immediately. I hung out with him a few times after that, stole his NYAC shirt...and he picked me up from the airport in a car (which is REALLY sweet for all you New Yorkers who know how much a cab is from La Guardia).

At one point, I simply never heard from him again. We just kinda...stopped...talking. Which is fine - I found myself other distractions...with accents. However, imagine how awkward it must have been two weeks ago when I was at the U.S. Open and literally RAN into him. Let me just tell you...IT WAS. The end.

rutledges are number one

For labor day weekend, my said extended family finally came in town. I might have been giving lynny a bit of grief with my previous post about extended family visitors because it was actually so. much. fun. I'm really related to these cool people? SWEET. Why haven't we done this more often? Our house was more full of family members than it's ever been and I liked it. I think that's why the holidays are so enjoyable - lots of food, lots of people and lots of picture taking. Which is convenient, since my cousin, Mika Beth, is a photographer :) A link to her blog is located in the right panel of the screen (for those of you interested).

I had fun bonding with all of the girls (my dad kept whisking matt and mike away for "guy time"). Mika Beth's three girls - Addison, Turner Grace, and Sophie - were all so sweet and BIG. I can't remember the last time I saw them...but needless to say they were not so tiny anymore. Also, Mary Kate brought her ridiculously adorable twin babies (Hadley and Cooper). I'm so glad they came. Yay for family.

We finished off the Labor Day weekend with the annual dove hunt up at Droptine. There weren't a lot of birds flying around, but we got a few. Usually Lynny, Diddy, and I are up in NYC during this time...so I believe this is the first dove hunt we've all been a part of...which was interesting. I'm in love with my shotgun - mainly because it's so intricately decorated - and because it's an over/under 16' gauge browning shotgun...which is different from your typical 20' gauge. And we all know I like to be different...the end.

u.s. open reviews by jordan rutledge

why is this microphone so...freaking...large?

Each year for the past ten or so years, we've come to the U.S. Open. It's a sport that somewhat bonds our family. We can all play it and since we're all competitive, it works out perfectly. Normally, we come on Labor Day weekend because I would typically have school or work, but since I had neither we decided to come up for opening day. Probably the best idea ever.

The grounds consist of Arthur Ashe Stadium (center court), Louis Armstrong (2nd largest), Grandstand court (3rd largest), and then courts 1-14, which don't have assigned seating. If you buy grounds passes, you have access to courts 1-14 and all of the food and accomodations everyone else has. Later in the week, that might not be as exciting as it was on opening day, but on opening day, there were BIG names playing on the smaller courts because they were trying to filter out the first round as quickly as possible.

Opening day, I watched Schiavone defeat Meusburger on a grounds court. Schiavone is a ferocious Italian girl that can really hammer the ball back at her opponent and ultimately helped her finish the sets quite quickly. After that match, I watched Robredo defeat Young. This was probably one of my favorite matches the entire weekend. I love Robredo. Scratch that, I love all Spaniards (Nadal, Ferrer, Verdasco, Ferrero, etc). However, he was playing a young American boy named Donald Young. Therefore, I was torn. I'm amazed at these young athletes that can completely hold their own. Young took it to four sets, making Robredo's first round a lot more difficult than he expected.

After a few grounds matches, Lynny and I made our way over to Arthur Ashe to watch Roger. What's fantastic about the first round is the #1 seed plays the WildCard. Rog played a young boy by the name of Devin Britton. It was an exciting first match...I love it when crazy things happen in tennis that aren't so expected...like Federer losing to del Potro in the final...bout time someone beat good ole Rog.

New York I love you...but you're bringing me down

Oh New York…how I’ve missed you. No seriously. It’s been way too long. I thought I knew the emotions I would feel as I rode into my once-home city of manhattan but I was so wrong. It was an inevitable return that I had subconsciously been putting off, mainly because I didn’t think I was ready to come back. The truth is, I wasn’t. The tears came first. Not necessarily of waterfall caliber, but perhaps more like a babbling brook. Just a few tears down my cheek as we crossed over the bridge and into the heart of New York. The actual waterfall came shortly afterward.

yellow empire state

Staying uptown eased the blow a bit. While I love the park with all my heart and soul…MY new york consists of downtown. It was nice to experience an alien-like feel of the city by living above 42nd. BUT because I am a lover of retail, I had to immediately take a cab to Top Shop in Soho. I was fine while shopping. I bought some really cute pink oxfords (I know that sounds terrible but they're really cute). We also went to Dean and Delucca to get coffee because Lynny is obsessed.

After Soho, I had the brilliant idea to walk over to Bleecker. As soon as my apartment was in view...tears. I might have even made a scene. It was the most unnatural feeling I've ever felt before. I know this sounds dramatic, but for the first time I knew what it felt like to be gut-wrenchingly torn. I really really missed being there. It was odd to think that I wandered about that square for an entire year - it was almost like I had never left. Lynny tried to get me to say hello to Donnato but I just. wasn't. strong. enough.

my little chef

Besides the trip to the Boathouse on Wednesday before I left, we were mainly in Queens drowning ourselves in some really fantastic tennis. On Sunday night I hung out with Drew Butthead Bottalico at the Edge where the three of us would go throw darts and hit pool. It's a hole on the corner of 1st and 3rd but I love it there. I didn't get to see Matty until LATE Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. 4:00 am to be exact. He gave me some free cupcakes from Babycakes Bakery (where he bakes cupcakes) and I brought them home to my roomies. I miss those two boys a whole lot.