This Is How We Do It

Wanted to share some fun photos from a shopping excursion my friends and I recently took (ok ok...it was a few weekends ago at this point. I'm neglecting the blog. I'm sawwy.) to a magical discount clothing outlet in an even more dazzling place - the Alexandria Mall.

My friends and I, we've often done this thing when shopping where we pick out the ugliest crap we can find and try it on. It was especially fun when shopping for formal wear when we were looking for prom attire in high school. (Boy do I wish I had some of THOSE pictures of my friend Lauren. Horrible old lady formal dress. Horrible hooker formal dress. Gooood stuff!) But it's still fun today with "casual" or "dressy casual" clothing.

So where do we begin...

While perusing the jackets, I came across a color that is usually reserved for old Mawmaws. What a delightful shade of corpse this was!

But, much to our dismay, it didn't look as horrendous on me as it did on the rack. (Probably because I'm so pale, that the corpse-like color actually made me look a little alive?) It actually looked sorta good....so good, in fact, that I ended up buying the same jacket in a slightly bigger size (obviously...fatty alert!) and a different color (brown). (Leave me alone, it may be slightly Michael Jackson-y sans zippers, but it was only $13).

This brings me to the next beautiful item on the agenda....The Pink Pleather Shirt.

I don't know what kind of 80s stylish secretary hell this thing came from, but I've never tried anything on that breathed LESS than this thing did. As soon as I put it on, my body temp increased to about 195 degrees. Not cool indeed! But it's SO FLATTERING! Especially with my hawt double chins! You pay a price for being this sexy....

Actually, you pay the price not only in sweat, but also in cash. I am most certainly a bargain shopper and have a hard time spending more than $30 on any single piece of clothing because I'm poor and would rather spend money on important things like food (fatty!) and booze. This pink horror was actually the most expensive thing I tried on all day, believe it or not. It was right at $30. NO THANK YOU.

Finally, what Pink Pleather Shirt could possibly be properly accentuated without fancy, designer juhree from the famous Charles Klein. Calvin wishes he were as stylish and fabulous as his fancy brother Charles. Calvin ain't got shit on Charles.

And pink plastic "pearls" are so hot right now. Lauren knows.

Finally, to complete the entire ensemble....we need shoes. And not just any shoes would do. We needed Shoe Sextacy. We needed ....THESE!!

Hope you guys got a little joy out of this. Sorry the photos are so small (well...some of them at least...like the shoes). Computer is being wonky and not uploading properly, so could only do small ones.

Oldies but Goodies

I've recently had the good fortune to be able to see and hang out with many, many old friends that I hadn't seen in a while.

One of my besties from our pubescent phase came into town for a visit, and because of this, we've had many get-togethers and hang out sessions.

It's always interesting to see people you haven't seen in a long while. There's that initial apprehension - how have they changed? Are they still the same person I knew years ago?

When I was younger, my goal in life was to get the hell out of my small hometown and completely change myself. Meet new, interesting and fabulous people. Go to fancy parties. Become this new person who knew a lot of things and had lots of connections and was artsy and cool. Someone who needed a day planner to keep up with all of my grand social functions. Someone who never had to search for people to do things with.

Well, after being away for a little while, I realized there was nothing wrong with me to begin with. I realized most people kinda suck, and that I already had the best and most wonderful friends in my life that anyone could ever wish for. I realized I always avoided fancy shit because I can't stand it. And I realized that I like days that are completely empty so that I can do absolutely nothing but sit on my ass and watch TV. My life was already as fabulous as I needed it to be...and I may have learned a lot of stuff, but I had absolutely no reason to change...and I didn't really want to.

I don't know...does everyone go through that?

Anyway, like I said...it's interesting to see people you were close to long ago. Fortunately, in my experience, it's usually really pleasant and uplifting. I'm lucky enough that most of my old friends have adapted to life in much the same way as I have. We've gained knowledge. We've grown (both metaphorically and literally, as my ass is probably twice the size it was in high school). But, deep down, most of us are still the same people. We've grown separately of each other, but we can still relate. Still laugh at each other's jokes. Still pick up where our conversation left off so many years ago...and that conversation has just as much meaning and understanding as it did then. It seriously gets me sorta misty to think about it (shut up). Of all the things that happen to us in our lives - our real friends can last forever.

This isn't the case with everyone, obviously. Some people I see again, I have a very hard time reconnecting with. I suppose it's either because they've grown too much, or, perhaps more likely, they've stayed the same while everyone else has grown around them.

It's also always hard to say goodbye to old friends. Especially when you're terrible with goodbyes like I am. I used to cry when my sisters would leave after their weekend visits because I just wanted them to stay. I still cry a little inside every time someone has to leave. I'm that sort of person. I don't ever want those good moments to end, but, of course they inevitably have to. We've all got our separate living to do.

And hopefully, when we meet again, we'll have as much fun as we did this time.

Thank you to all of my awesome friends - old ones, new ones, and ones that are always there. I love you guys.


Ok, I know that's sorta sappy, but it's depressing Sunday and I just watched My Sister's Keeper (I know, I know), so give me a break!

And, in honor of my friends...watch my new favorite Youtube video. Joe Cocker says it all.