Guest Post: Kerrie Lovely

This next guest post comes from none other than my partner-in-crime, Kerrie. If you don't know who she is, you are new to my blog and welcome. :) Many of you may not know this, but Kerrie has her own blog, Excessive Idiosyncrasy. It's more of a reflective journal. She's an incredibly talented writer and one of the most amazing people in the entire universe. I feel so lucky she's such an important part of my life. I hope you enjoy her guest post.

Farewell Fairytale
(Young love dies hard)

Clouds are swirling around in my head, I can't focus with them in my way. I'm gazing out the window. My forehead leans against the cool, hard glass, I breathe a little deeper and fog up the window. There's a dove gray spot and I write his name on it. My finger traces the letters, flowing in cursive. More deep breaths are taken. I was told when I was just a little girl that extra breathing would help me to calm down. "Will I ever see him there again, at the place towards the end of the road?" Similar depressing thoughts stomp around in my head, maybe it's not the thoughts that are causing the ache. No, it must be the tears flowing, forming canyons down my cheeks. Crying always gives me horrible headaches. If I just keep dreaming, longing, he'll come back to me.



Whenever I grow up too much, too quickly we part away. Whenever I lose myself in dreaming we come back together. Because love like ours exists only in a dream world. It never lasts in the day to day. The song I was listening to is over, another one comes on and the shift brings me back. I’m back sitting on my bed, staring out the window, I promise to not think about how much I miss the springtime anymore, and all the days we spent together.



every day's the same, I feel like I'm losing my mind
all I do is think about you all of the time
I don't even know why i care as much as i do
I just wish that you would tell me, "is this real or are we through?"

everything I said to you last night might have been crazy
but I want you to know that I meant it, I meant it, I meant it, oh, baby!
I wish we could go back to when i was seventeen
and I wouldn't, wouldn't, wouldn't, wouldn't, wouldn't have been so mean

every day I wake up and I thank the stars above
for sending me a man who I could really love
if only I could convince you to feel the same way
we could be so very happy each and every day...
--"Each and Everyday" by Best Coast

How apt. I lay down on our bed. I cover my face with a pillow, but it isn't very comforting, a feather protrudes through the case and scratches my face. There is no rest for the weary. I know how he feels, it's why I don't call. Why would I want to make it any harder for him? No, I'll bear the pain alone. "Come back to me, love." I’m still fond of you.

Here kitty, kitty. dearest. spiral. juxtapose. rapid. brat. carnival. edge. lift.


About the Author



Kerrie Lovely is currently a fashion design student and full-time health care provider for children with special needs. Her interests include playing tennis, reading classical literature, shoe shopping, breaking hearts, and fending off stalkers. She also enjoys being fabulous. You may recognize Kerrie Lovely from her appearances in blog posts such as A Wild Weekend, Champagne, Alligators, and Babies, Almost Groupies, and Another Crazy Night...And Then Some, among countless others.

Camping Trip!

Kerrie and I went camping over the weekend.

We had been planning the trip since June. Kerrie reserved a two-story luxury cabin nestled in a lakeside resort two hours away. We were looking forward to frolicking at the lake shore, roasting marshmallows by the fire, while also enjoying private restrooms, indoor plumbing & electricity, and snuggling at night in a toasty cabin that had a bear skin rug.

We were so excited, we weren't even upset that Rian insisted on tagging along to baby-sit us, because he didn't think it was safe for two 20-something-year-old girls to be out in the woods alone all weekend.

We were so excited, we danced all the way to the cabin.



Unfortunately not everything in life turns out as planned.

When we got to the resort, fifteen minutes before the main office was going to close, we discovered that the bastards decided to close EARLY. Everyone was gone. There was nobody there to give us the key to our cabin. We called every number for the resort we could, but everyone had gone home early for the weekend.

We were so fucked.

We could not believe that not only had they closed early, but they did so knowing we were supposed to arrive that afternoon for our key. It was disgraceful.

Determined not to let the lazy assholes at the resort ruin our camping trip, we decided to do the one thing we swore we would NEVER do: primitive camping. It was tragic. After all, we were supposed to be fucking GLAMPING it all weekend, not actually doing any real camping that involved sleeping bags or building a fire with sticks. But we didn't have a choice.

So we began to drink and make a plan of action.

Fortunately, Kerrie had an admirer who was willing to drive out and lend us sleeping bags and a tent. We were thrilled by his kindness and our good mood returned.

So we chilled by the lake and threw rocks and took photos of our awesomeness.
















When it was past evening, Kerrie and I started to get worried because her friend hadn't arrived yet. We then learned the poor guy's car had broken down and he was stranded in the middle of nowhere! Horrified, we hopped in our car and drove 20 minutes away to help him out. After getting lost in the pitch black countryside, we eventually caught up with him at midnight.

When we returned to the lake, Kerrie and I went off in search of a restroom where we could wash up. To our dismay, the only restroom was almost a mile away from our camping area and it looked like something straight out of a horror film.

Kerrie pretended to take a shower, because there was no water.



I put on my flannel.



Once Rian got the tent set up, the night actually turned out to be fun. We cooked hot dogs over the fire and roasted marshmallows. The sky was lit up with a thousand stars and looked incredible...



But as the night progressed, we longed more and more for the cozy cabin that we weren't going to sleep in that night. It was forty degrees and we didn't bring enough blankets or warm pajamas with us. The sharp gusty wind bit into our faces and kept us shivering all night. I seriously thought I was going to freeze to death, I was so cold in the little tent. And there were bugs. Holy hell, were there bugs. I can't even describe about the bug incidents yet, I'm still so freaking traumatized.

Kerrie and I were incredibly upset our fabulous glamping trip had been so viciously thwarted.



The next morning we both woke up completely sick with colds. We both still have them. We surrendered to the weather and our harsh living conditions and started packing at sunrise. We vowed to come back in the spring and we are going to see if the resort will give us a free cabin rental for our trouble.

But you know what, we were together and that's all that mattered. Kerrie and I had fun, despite the weather, and made some memories that will last forever.

And one day we will laugh about this trip...maybe.

I cannot live without...

Hello everyone! This is actually a scheduled post because I'm on a little mini-mini-vacay with a certain bff right now. ;)

In case you miss me, here is a photo of me being awesome:



Oh, and I thought I would catch up with my blogging game I have slowly been playing. Lol. If you want to know more about what I'm talking about, you can catch up here.

I am finally on the third step.

Day Three: Eight things you couldn't live without.

1. My cell phone (which happens to be a fabulous iphone. I could live without the iphone, just cannot live without a cell in general to contact my friends and fam. And yeah...I don't know why that required such a detailed explanation like you all give a damn).

2. Lipstick (I have the palest lips in the world. Not a pretty sight.)

3. Chipotle (Oh. My. Gawd.)

4. Internet access (I am practically living without this right now and it's caused me many a mental breakdown. It's sad technology has that much of an effect on my mental well-being. But I don't care).

5. My car (I live in a sprawling midwestern suburb with a shitty public transportation system).

6. Music (without music, there would be no Morrissey. And without Morrissey, I don't even want to know what kind of monster I would be).

7. Books (my Jane Austen books, my HP collection, and everything and anything in between).

8. Coca-Cola (this is my crack, I'm afraid. The longest I can go is three days without it. I have this feeling if I ever was able to cure my addiction, I would suddenly have the body of a supermodel. It's so sad).

Well, I hope I didn't bore you too much with my list. I like to talk about myself, so this game is fun. Feel free to play it!

Have a great weekend!

Guest Post: Brigitte Bardot

Words cannot describe how much I adore this next guest blogger. Sherin at Hi Fashion is not only one of the most stylish fashion bloggers I know, she's also one of my coolest friends. When I came across her site more than a year ago, she inspired me to be a better blogger. I hope you all visit Hi Fashion and enjoy Sherin's guest post!



Like Jennifer, the sixties is probably my favourite era: fashion and life were so fun and vibrant and there were fashion icons everywhere. One such icon was Brigitte Bardot. She was a gorgeous French dancer, actress and model.

She started ballet by dancing at a young age and was accepted in the National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance, before being invited to model for French magazine ‘Jardin des Modes’ in 1949, and in 1950, at just 15, she appeared on the cover of ELLE.



She was discovered by director Roger Vadim, who she later married and divorced, and he launched her into stardom. Brigitte was in the public eye a lot and she has had numerous marriages and relationships.

It is clear to see that Brigitte Bardot had a huge influence over the fashion world, as well as being one of the few European actresses to have any attention in the US. She has a neckline named after her: a wide open neck that exposes both shoulders’ and is also recognised for popularising bikinis after she wore one in the movie, "Manina." She also brought gingham into fashion after wearing a checked pink dress and was a subject for an Andy Warhol painting. She was one of the first sex symbols as her sexuality hit the world, and the US in particular, by storm. Nothing like her had been seen since the days of flappers, in the 1920s.



Bardot retired from acting at 39, as she said that she wanted to “get out elegantly”. She turned her attention to promoting animal rights and founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals in 1986. She has been involved in a number of high profile cases involving animal rights, most notably having a donkey castrated as it ‘sexually harassed’ her own donkey and she even wrote letters to the Chinese President and Danish Queen on their activities.

Despite all her popularity and activism, Bardot has also been charged many times for inciting racial hatred in her many books and has been fined by the French Government many times because of this.



Brigitte Bardot has been one of those few personalities that has really influenced the world with her acting, fashion sense, and later, her activism.

Fall Baking with Jennifer Fabulous and Kerrie Lovely

When we're not busy stalking rockstars and crashing frat parties, Kerrie and I enjoy spending peaceful evenings at home, baking and chatting quietly over coffee.

This past weekend we decided to have a little fall baking party (well, um, party for two, I guess, haha). We made the most delicious, moist pumpkin cookies in the world and steaming pumpkin spice lattes that could give Starbucks a run for its money.

But first, we needed to go grocery shopping! We ended up driving to another town so we could access a 24-hour grocery store, since we began our fall party at midnight.

As you can see, once we got there, I managed to squeeze my 500 pound ass into this kiddie cart.



Fifty pound Kerrie, of course, had no trouble bouncing around in a regular cart. Lol.



After we purchased our baking supplies, I decided to try my hand at The Claw. Unfortunately, I didn't win anything.



So I decided to use the rest of my money to ride the fake horse in the grocery store's entrance.



Kerrie joined in the fun!



Finally around 1:30 a.m., we got busy baking at Kerrie's house.



And then we enjoyed our hard work! It was scrumptious!





Kerrie insisted I give you both our recipes from our fabulous fall party, and I agreed.

Here is the recipe for the pumpkin cookies. As I said earlier, these cookies are super soft and moist. They almost taste like cake, they are so good. (Kerrie and I changed up the recipe a little bit by replacing the icing with cream cheese frosting and added orange frosting designs on top).

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2.In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4.To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.


Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup (your choice)
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots espresso (about 1/4 cup of espresso or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee if you don't have an espresso machine.)

Directions:
In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds until foamy. If you don't have a blender, don't worry about it - just whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.

Pour into a large mug or two mugs. Add the espresso on top.

Optional: Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

I hope everyone had a happy and cozy weekend!

Mr. Belding!!!!!!

Fuck yeaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

Dennis Haskins, who played Mr. Belding on Saved By The Bell, randomly made a special appearance late last night at a Mexican restaurant here in town. Of course, Rian and I raced over there immediately, as we grew up with the show.


I was really excited that we caught up with my friend Monica & her buddies at the event. Children of the 90s unite!! Hehe!



Monica even got Mr. Belding to sign her Bayside High t-shirt, which I thought was the coolest thing ever! He seemed more than happy to oblige. I think the television icon was flattered by all the attention he was receiving from pretty young women!



Oh, and in case you don't recognize Mr. Belding because he has, erm, gotten a little older in the past 20 years, here is a pic of him with the cast of Saved By The Bell.



Overall, it was one of the best nights I've had in a long time. Before we saw Mr. Belding, Rian and I went out to dinner and played a few rounds of bowling. It had been a very long time since we'd had a real date! :)


Anyways, I thought I would resume with my 10 Days of Blogging project, which I kind of pushed aside due to my recent guest posts. For more information, you can read about it here.

Day 2: Nine Things About Yourself That Most People Don't Know

1. In addition to having my photo taken with Mr. Belding, I also have my photo taken with Marion Ross, who played Mrs. Cunningham on Happy Days. I met her at a seafood restaurant in my town four years ago.

2. I have spent most of my life wishing that I had auburn hair. (Which unfortunately would just look ridiculous against my tan skin, otherwise I would have totally dyed it by now).

3. I am not as smart as I think I am.

4. A few years ago, when I was a newspaper reporter, I wrote a story about an unidentified man who was caught robbing houses in a nearby town. I found out two weeks later, the man was my ex-boyfriend. He went to jail for six months for it. Needless to say, I was horrified.

5. The only two guys I dated in high school turned out to be gay.

6. I have never fantasized about my future wedding(s), not even as a little girl. Weddings, in fact, have always bored me.

7. Sometimes my road rage can be a bit frightening.

8. I have a really hard time remembering what life was like before I got facebook six years ago.

9. I am now addicted to frozen yogurt, which is a good thing because it's healthier than my previous addiction, cupcakes.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! xoxo

Guest Post: Audrey Hepburn

****The following guest post comes to us from Mariah Smile. Mariah is absolutely adorable and has one of the cutest blogs ever! Her awesome photos and interesting stories never fail to make ME smile. You should definitely check out her blog and I really hope you all enjoy her lovely guest post!****



When I saw that Jennifer was planning on having some guest bloggers over to play, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it! And my first thought on my blog topic would be none other than Audrey Hepburn! Audrey is my favorite actress and was very fashionable, which reminded me of our very own Jennifer Fabulous! Plus, she wore a number of dresses that inspire me with my own upcoming wedding!



My favorite Audrey movie is "Sabrina" majorly due to this dress:



If only this could be my wedding dress!


Another wedding dress she wore is the one in Funny Face:



I found this story about Audrey Hepburn's own wedding dress she had made for herself. Well, Audrey didn't end up getting married at that time and told the designers "I want my dress to be worn by another girl for her wedding, perhaps someone who couldn’t ever afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful, poor Italian girl you can find." This story just represents what a generous heart this woman really had.

Audrey ended up marrying twice; the first time to actor Mel Ferrer in 1954...






...and the second time to an Italian doctor by the name of Andrea Dotti in 1969.



You can read more about Audrey on this website and about the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.