Tree Street Tuesdays: Meet Courtney Kendrick

Courtney Kendrick with her son, "The Chief" looking out the kitchen window of Retro House.

There's this girl in my neighborhood. I don't think she has any friends and not a whole lot going for her. Poor, poor girl. So I did what any good Mormon girl would do and I reached out. I thought it might make her feel special to be a featured guest on "Tree Street Tuesdays."

If you have any idea who "this girl" is then you would know just how facetious I am being. In fact, if you are reading this blog, I don't doubt it was because my guest, Courtney Kendrick, directed you here through hers a number of times. (Thank you Ceej).

You know her.

You love her.

You can't go on breathing if you don't check her blog every morning.

So I will spare you the introduction, and let you in on a few candid moments we shared over guacamole several weeks back.

Note the trail of chips and guacamole leading straight to The Chief. Apparently he loves avocado.

Let's just be upfront and honest about the fact that I am in love with Courtney Kendrick, as is the rest of the world (who else has 3,599 friends on facebook?). Courtney says and does what we're all thinking, but without fear and with all the colors of the rainbow. From her witty prose to her multi-colored pastel kitchen floor, her style is both dynamic and magnetic.

I asked Courtney if it was ever bothersome that so many people want a piece of her. It's true. There's no beating around the bush regarding this topic. She laughed at my suggestion and expressed her gratitude for her supportive readership. If I might paraphrase her response, she explained, "I think that because I'm so open on my blog, people expect that I am very open and social in person, when, what I love the most is to be alone with my thoughts. I'm afraid that I disappoint people sometimes when they meet me in real life."

Meeting Courtney Kendrick is no disappointment, I assure you. She is just as witty, and just as genuine in real life as she is as CJane on your computer screen. But there is a part of one's artistic and personal self that one must protect. I think it's only fair to honor that part of an artist when so much of their heart is already on public display. One of my very favorite aspects of her writing is just how personal she gets. Some people aren't comfortable with "personal," and she has had her critics. Let me confess that if Courtney stopped sharing her heart so openly, I would lose interest in her writing very quickly.

Aside from her writing, the girl can SING, ladies and gentlemen! I've never loved doing a duet with anyone as much as I have with Courtney. And that is no lie. See for yourself here. If you came to either of the Nie Nie benefit concerts, then you know what I mean. Such a joy. And that is exactly what Courtney's persona emits. One hundred percent natural, pure, organic JOY. So glad to call her my friend and neighbor.

Courtney gives her all to an encore of "Smile" at the Love for Nie benefit at the Covey Center. Feb. 2009.
Photo, courtesy of Haley Warner.