the one with the girly music

Carol Anne and I got to meet Taylor back in 2008...we asked for a "best friends" photo and she happily obliged. 

Oh, Taylor. Falling in love, heartbreak, heartache, happiness, friendship - that girl just gets girls. She explains our over-analytical, pull-your-hair-out, kinda crazy (okay, definitely crazy) emotions as vividly as we wish we could. She articulates the giddy butterflies, perfectly perfect moments, and the "holy-crap-I'm-in-love" memories with every detail I can never quite remember. In fact, I'm fairly sure that I could catalog the last 5 years exclusively in Taylor's songs. Embarrassing, but true. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one.

Tim McGraw - This was my very first favorite song of Taylor's. Reminded me of high-school love. Sweet and ridiculous all at once. Added bonus? It made me want a really great black dress. 

I'd Lie - This one never made it on an album...I think I found it on LimeWire (I know, it's awful - my illegally downloading days ended soon after). This song has to be one of my all time favorites. It has the added bonus of explaining my sister's love story with her husband perfectly:) Precious. 

Love Story - Who didn't love this song? When it came out, I think my roommates and I nearly imploded from excitement. I seriously don't think there's a song that's elicited quite so many ridiculous dance parties among our demographic as this gem nationwide. 

Breathe - Hello Break-Up Song! I can hardly listen to this one without being transported back to some painful memories from a couple years ago. Taylor explained what I couldn't - with all the drama and exaggeration I demanded at the time.

Enchanted - Falling in love with Jesse. This song came out right after we met and it was wonderful. After our first date, he told someone that it was "magical" which is basically the same as "enchanting," right? I think so too:)

Everything Has Changed - I love so many on the new album but as I listened this week, I couldn't find any that really spoke to this new stage of my life. But then this song came on and it took me right back to our first week of marriage. Just this great feeling of "Wow, this is forever and we're actually married. Everything really has changed!" The best part? J loves it too. 

I could go on, but for the sake of your increasing boredom and my increasing exhaustion - I'll start to bring it to a close. One of my favorite Taylor memories has a lot less to do with Taylor and a lot more to do with 3 of my favorite people.  Speak Now came out during my last semester of college and on the night it came out, Carly and I went to pick up our former roommates for a listening party late that night. For a couple of hours we just drove around back country roads blasting the then-unfamiliar songs, thinking about what was to come and sipping on some Sonic limeades (or maybe that was just me). As we drove, we remembered the last few years - bemoaning the ridiculously awkward times and celebrating the happy outcomes. This go-round we tried to have another listening party (via webcam) to no avail. But even so, I can still feel that oh-so-perfect moment, bottled in my heart forever, waiting to be relived. 

Look who's all Taylor Swift-y and expressive now? Oh wait, that's me:)