I got caught in the hugest rainstorm yesterday! At first I tried to hide under an awning, but my dress wasn’t see through, and the air was pretty warm, so I decided to enjoy myself and get completely soaked through. It was fun… but I definitely got some crazy looks.

Last week I went to see Laura Marling. She is a tiny 18 year old singer/songwriter from London. I saw her play at SXSW, and when I heard that she’d be playing at Mercury Lounge I bought tickets (only $12—she’s not that famous yet). If you like female singer songwriters I really recommend you check her out. She has a teensy bit of stage fright and doesn’t really emote (CGCL called her “dead inside”) but she has a hauntingly powerful voice, and beautiful songs. She has quirky cute music videos too:

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I had an AMAZING birthday, by the way.

I got these pretty earrings from my brilliant, adorable, thoughtful husband. They’re lockets! I haven’t put any pictures in them yet, but I think it’s a really cute idea and will probably put in little pics of my cats, my hubs, and my family. They make my neck look long and delicate too, which is a plus.

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Also, my sister gave me this trendy/fantastic eco Kooba bag in green. I have barely taken it off my shoulder since my birthday! It has tons of pockets and zippers so I’ll never lose anything again. I’m ecstatic.

Aaaand, you’ll be happy to hear that I DID get an ice cream cake (cookies & cream, and black cherry fro yo), so my day was complete.

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One last note: a couple of people have asked if I’m going to keep writing while living in S. Africa.
ABSO-FRIGGIN’-LUTELY!!!
I will definitely try to keep up the blog and post crazy pictures of my new South African life. But I will also keep writing YA fiction. My 2nd book is finished—I haven’t sold it yet, and who knows if I ever will, but I think my writing style has improved since Back Talk.

The new book is a ‘fish out of water’ story about snarky 16 year old indie rocker, Sophia. The summer before her junior year, Sophia is forced to leave her fabulous life of thrift store shopping, playing guitar, and gallivanting with her awesome friends in New York City. Why? Because her braniac mom gets a new job in Little Rock, Arkansas—oh no! Visions of rednecks and fried chicken flood her brain as her fabulous life falls to pieces. Sophia is a wickedly funny character, and the book is her chance to deal (and vent) when it seems as though her life is over.

I know I totally don’t post anymore, but I’ve been busy, and when we move to South Africa, I probably won’t post much, but can I just tell you about all the awesome things I’ve been up to lately?

I got to see M.I.A. at McCaren Pool in Brooklyn. First of all, seeing a concert in an empty swimming pool is kind of amazing. The show rocked. M.I.A. and her little posse were dancing and running all over the place, and they even invited all the ladies in the audience to jump up on stage and dance with her! (I didn’t go up, I was kinda far back, but still, it was super cool).

What else, what else. Andy and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary!

I can’t believe I have been married for a whole year. I feel like such a grown up! We had a lovely date at a restaurant downtown called Blue Hill. They use all fresh, local ingredients, which I love! I’m not a huge soup person but we had a cold asparagus soup that tasted freakin’ fabulous. Yum.

The week earlier CountryGirl & I went to see The Raconteurs.

I was blown away! Honeslty, I don’t really listen to them and I was sort of predisposed to think they were too “alt country” for me, but they’re much more versatile. They have some really beautiful ballads, and some Led Zeppelin-ish sounds—and they’re hot. Very hot.

My birthday is on Tuesday (happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Alex, happy birthday to me!) and we’re going to go to Vong, one of those fancy Jean Georges restaurants. It’s supposed to be delish. I don’t really want anything for my birthday, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that one of my nearest-and-dearest buys me an ice cream cake. I live for ice cream cake. It’s true.

And, spotted on the lower east side:

Jenny Humphrey! She was looking coy and sending text messages. I can’t wait for season 2 of Gossip Girl. CountryGirlCityLife: I expect weekly synopses to help keep me clued in while I’m living in my little South African village!

Last on my agenda: pop music. I think it’s the hot summer nights that’s bringing the cheesy pop diva out of me. All I wanna do is Make Love In This Club, In This Club, In This Club, In This Club. Thank you Usher for making me totally obsessed with your ridiculous, annoying song. I’m also digging on both Ashanti & Mariah Carey’s new singles. They make me happy, and that’s all a girl can ask for, right?