Blake Mycoskie: Annoying or Adorable?

I’ve always been a Toms-shoe wearin’, Blake Mycoskie-lovin’, hippie-at-heart prepster. {Well, as long as Toms have been around. The hippie/prepster thing was before that though, I promise.}

My 6th Pair of Toms...the new flats!
A gift from my sister for my bday.

So last year, when Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie wrote a book called Start Something That Matters, I was equally thrilled and annoyed. Does everything this guy touch turn to gold?? I mean he’s adorable and so are his shoes, but really? I think I was not-so-secretly jealous because I want to publish a book and he does everything with such ease. Or so I thought...

I learned about the program called Books for Bloggers that he was doing--they send me his book for FREE, I read it, review it on my blog, and then give another one away for FREE. Goes right in line with Toms’ one-for-one concept, doesn’t it? Clever boy, that Blake (you like how I think we are on a first name basis now?)

I was excited because I really wanted to read it, as I had some ideas that had been stirring about a non-profit and giving back, etc. As soon as I signed up for it and was selected, doubt set in. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t read it because of this jealousy...would I give it a fair shake?’ But they assured the bloggers that a bad review of the book was just fine. Well then, sign me up.

So here we are. One year later. I suck at the Books for Bloggers program. I NEVER follow the timeline that others have for my life--in fact, I downright resist it at every turn. But hang with me...at least I’m honest.

The two FREE books sat by my bed for months (yes, months) as I struggled with my desire, curiosity, and apathy to read what he had to say. I honestly wasn’t ever in the mood to read about the golden boy and his life-altering story, especially when my own life was in the doldrums. Even if I HAD a million-dollar idea, I am living with my mom to pay off tons of debt. There would be no way to pursue it...so I’d probably get frustrated...so I just won’t read it. Mature line of thought, isn’t it?

Then one day, the guilt of getting 2 FREE books set in. I overcame my frustration with myself (which was ultimately the problem, not sweet little Blake) and started in on the book. I read pretty fast, so I was halfway through in no time. His style of writing and anecdotal emphasis made it read that much faster. What I thought was going to be a detailed recounting of his glorious story turned out to be nothing like it. Yes, he shares bits of how Toms gets started...but it is nothing like I expected. It was very inspiring, moving and informational at the same time. What I didn’t realize was that the book is less about him starting Toms Shoes & more about YOU starting something that matters. {Which it says on the back of the darn book, duh.}

Halfway through the book, he asks you to stop and put the book down so that you can let it resonate in your own life. ‘What matters to you?’ he prods as he walks you through the process of figuring that out. I genuinely took his advice, put the book down, and let it simmer. And simmer. It took a month or two for my personal inspiration to arrive. Once I wrote it all down and prayed through it, I picked the book back up and finished it in a day. He takes you from inkling to inspiration, all the way to implementation of your idea.

I have to say, you don’t need to wear Toms shoes, or give back to orphans or desire to solve world hunger to enjoy this book. But if you are entrepreneurial by nature {which I am!} or you long to work in line with your passion, then this book is a must-read. Take that advice from someone who let it collect dust out of ridiculousness and fear. I sincerely wish I had read this last year when I received it, but I honor the process that my mind took to be ready to receive the information. I am not re-counting all that the book entails because I think it is about taking a personal journey. Each person gets out of it what they put in, and I hope his book continues to inspire people to live out their passions. I know it has for me. I will let you in on my specific inspiration at a later date but know that it is in the works...

So, on that note, I am giving away the FREE book! (Finally, right? Sorry Blakie.) I would give away my copy as well, but he lists lots of resources that are helpful. Therefore, it is a book that you might want to reference from time to time in the future.

Who wants a FREE copy of Start Something That Matters? If you feel like it, you can also post a review on Amazon when you are finished with it (though that is not required in order to win the giveaway.)

Leave a comment by finishing this statement about your passions/life:

                     If money were no object, I would ______.

I will randomly pick someone at the end of September {yay for Fall!} and send you the FREE book. Feel free to share this post on your blog or Facebook page...or just send the link to a friend who might like this book for FREE. Did I tell you it was FREE?! Ok, thought so.

Princess and the Partay: A '33-Mendous' Birthday!

First things first...thanks for all the birthday wishes and for participating in my 'You scratch my back and I'll send you a free Seryn CD' giveaway (and for the record, the word "Prezzie" is short for "Present", not to be confused with "Pretzel" or "Puzzle." Just teasing you, Princissy!)

And the Seryn CD winner is....

Chrissy is one of my longest, 'we still talk & visit' friendships that I have and I love that she supports my dreams, hopes, and life. The beautifully recorded CD is already on it's way to you in a pink package (what else?!)

For everyone who participated, thanks a million! Even if you didn't, I still love you. Kind of. :) But you can still pick up the Seryn CD and check it out, or order them up at iTunes. 

On to the birthday festivities:

I have rarely, if ever, had a friend throw me a party on my actual July 2nd bday. As you can tell from my last post about this, summer birthdays can sometimes be lacking in the friend department (though family is always sweet and accommodating). This means that all the fun school birthdays, surprise parties, birthday lunches, announcements, etc. as a kid were not able to be done. And even as an adult, my workplace forgot to give me my "Birthday Jeans Pass" one year. (Jean passes at my school were like water to a thirsty man. But it's all good, because my lovely office staff accidentally gave me 2 this year...another perk of summer birthdays: they couldn't remember. I wore both and told myself it was for missing it the year before. Ha!)

Now don't get me wrong, I've had many friends who've more than made up for this summer bday prob. Bless them for trying to make my day special in May, late July, the fall, you name it. I feel loved. And I've thrown together my own shindigs on my actual day as well. But there is something about having another person gather friends, make dinner, and bring presents to open on my actual day that you fall/winter/spring folks just can't understand (and probably are thinking I'm going on and on about something ridiculous!) But you holiday birthday people are picking up what I'm layin down, right??

So--a big thank you to my sweet friend Ashley and to my friends who came...I enjoyed every minute of it. Right down to the wee hours of 1:00. You can check it out on Ashley's blog post, but here's a few pikkies:

I knew my birthday was going to be awesome when I got this e-mail first thing in the morning...

Sarah & I listened to him sing 'Happy Birthday' and then we sent it as a voicemail to my mom for her belated birthday wishes. We heard her chuckle from the next room--you gotta love a 60 year old Belieber!!

For the party, I wore my Pink birthday Tom's...

Here was the sign Ashley made outside her house...so sweet!

 The centerpiece...she sewed these cuties together with a piece of thread.

Blurry, but you get the idea...I was told they were 'sparkler' candles. If you must know, I'm terrified of fireworks because my delinquent brother shot a bottle rocket up my corduroy skirt as a child. Haunts me to this day. But they weren't so much 'sparklers' (picture Chris Farley air quotes here) as they were 'little sparks every 10 seconds and then re-light when you blow it out' candles. For some reason, I couldn't handle it. I laughed so hard, my sister had to blow it out from the side.

Here is one opening presents. Yay! for more Tom's (can you tell I love them??); yay! for the Vera Bradley bag & keychain; yay! for my Justin Bieber Never Say Never DVD! (though I opened that one earlier this month...) My friends know and love me well.

I wore my new chocolate Tom's the next day in fact. Here they are:

I must say that I had a very laid-back, relaxing birthday with people I loved...that is the best present of all (do I sound like an after school special yet?) And thank you to all my friends who have made me feel special every year, whether celebrating with me on July 2nd or October 2nd. I even have a best friend (that's you, Amanda Hill!) who sends me packages and makes me wait until my actual birthday to open them. She knows I can't stand the suspense, but does it anyway. Man, I love my family & friends!

Princess and the Prezzie: 33-Mendous Music!

You may be confused by what a 'Prezzie' is...don't worry, you can figure out my categories & words {here}. Simply put, I'm about to have a birthday!! When I turned 31, my best friend Amanda Hill (you'll meet her in a later post) said it would be '31-derful' and I loved it. Some friends helped with '32-rific', and the ridiculousness continues with the fact that I am going to be '33-mendous' on July 2nd. Whoop. Not quite sure what next year will hold, but I'm sure you'll be waiting with bated breath.

A funny thing about birthdays with the Brown sisters: whenever Sarah had a birthday, I pitched a fit until my mom let me open a present too. Because my birthday was in summer (a 7 yr old can only have so many swimsuits), and because I was bratty, it became a tradition for us to get presents on each other's birthdays. This year is no exception. I want to give YOU a present!! (and I mean 'you' singular, cuz I only had change for one gift). BUT IT'S A GREAT ONE!

Ok, on to the point of this post...(there's a deadline, so skip to the very end if you are greedy & impatient like me, ha!)

The category should be 'Princess and the Piano' because technically it is about music. But I have found that life doesn't always fit into neat little boxes. In fact, it NEVER seems to. So, I'll just tack on an extra category if you promise not to tell. Most of you know that I heart music with a passion. From Bieber to The Cure, Tom Petty to Usher...I love just about any type of music. I also really like local music because of the intimate settings and the fact that a member of this band below was one of my Starbucks baristas (she's too cool for that job anyway, so let's help her be famous, okay?)

The band is named Seryn and they are from Denton, TX. They are all beautiful with voices that harmonize like Jesus is returning. You can read how the band got together {here}. It's pretty awesome. I remember thinking my Starbucks barista was so cool looking with her blond dreadlocks (little known fact: I've ALWAYS wanted to sport dreads!) Then I went to Kevin Roden's Drink & Think house show and she was playing in a band! I fell in love with their music that night, and since then, I've been going to their local shows Dr. Seuss style--

I've seen them in a house, 
       I've seem them in a pub,
             I've seen them in a church, 
                  I've seen them in a club.

And now I want to share them with you! I bought their CD today at Recycled Books in Denton. See?

BTW Seryn: this was the last one they had. Yay!

And it's YOURS if you want it! Here's the catch: like any brat, I want you to do something for me before I just give it away. They need our help to win a sweet contest, plus I want as many people as possible to know about them anyway. So this is how you can win the free CD (each one is an entry):

~Link this blog post on your Twitter, Facebook, a friend's FB page, or whatever cool way you talk to peeps on the interwebz

~Go to {this page} and rate Seryn with 5 stars/all other bands lower stars (hey, we want them to win, right?)--voting ends Friday,June 24th!! 
  --> The video quality on that page doesn't quite show how great they sound, so you can also take a listen below. 

~Use a different e-mail address and VOTE AGAIN. 

**Then...leave a comment or e-mail me and tell me all that you did..I'll put your name in for each vote, re-post, tweet, etc. We're going honor system style here, so don't let me down. :)

I will announce a birthday buddy winner on my birthday, July 2nd & I'll send it with love in the mail. Though time is of the essence for the contest (voting ends TOMORROW people!), you can still link/send this to people you think might love them like I do and want free stuff from strangers! And...go!

As a side note, I think all music stirs something in your soul and it is different for each person. Listening to Seryn makes me want to walk in fall leaves, or write a book, or dance, or snuggle up & kiss someone (TMI?)

                             What does Seryn stir up in you?