Awards

The past week has been a whirlwind. I have been so busy and will continue to be extremely busy until next weekend. Not only have I been crazy busy at work, but during my free time I am also giving driving lessons to an Indonesian woman (one of my mom's coworkers). It has been paying a little extra cash (20 bucks an hour) and it will finally (hopefully) end Thursday morning when I take this woman to get her driver's license. I have also been freelancing for a "hip" yuppie local magazine to earn a few extra bucks (doing food reviews, fashion features, etc.) and I just started freelancing for an online fashion mag (for fun). Phew.

And today was my three year anniversary at the newspaper. It's strange to think I have been a working woman for three years. Ever since I was little, I dreamed of being a newspaper reporter, and now here I am at 25 years old, writing for one of the most-read newspapers in the nation. Kind of cool.

Anyway, I received a couple of awards recently.

This gorgeous award was given to me by Couture Carrie who has one of the coolest (and most inspirational) fashion blogs out there. Thanks CC!


I am going to pass this award on to:

La Femme Chic

Euphoria Swarms In

The Realm of Aesthetics

Planet Plum

Tia Cherie

Too Haute to Handle

And now...

This fab award was given to me by Imogen at Tia Cherie. She has a lovely blog I highly recommend. (Thanks for the award, Imogen! So sweet.).

I am going to pass this award along to the following fashionistas:

Savvy Mode

We Were Damsels

Little Violet Dress

Zarnas Runway

Qin at the Disco

Fashion CHALET

Fashion Pulse

Four for Four

Here's a fun little survey.

Kirsty B. from Fashion Champagne tagged me with 4 questions to answer and 4 people to pass this along to:

4 things I look forward to:

a. shopping for vintage clothes


b. holidays


c. champagne cocktails


d. spending time with my best friend



4 things I did yesterday:

a. Listened to my boyfriend, Rian, play guitar


b. Grabbed coffee with my mom


c. Watched the Bachelorette


d. Kissed Rian (hehe)



4 things I wish I could do:

a. Win the lottery


b. Sleep in every morning


c. Go to the beach whenever I want


d. Buy tons and tons of jewelry!



I am tagging...
1. Jane St. Clair of Little Violet Dress
2. Cesc from Planet Plum
3. Lizabeth from Euphoria Swarms In
4. Zarna from Zarna's Runway

Jenny Fest Part 2

The past few days have been blissful.

Jenn came and stayed with me for a few days, interrupting my state of unhappiness and turning it into something more cheerful.

She arrived on Monday evening and we went out to an old-fashioned diner for burgers and milkshakes. We also saw a really heart-warming film, “My Sister’s Keeper.”

On Tuesday we grabbed Kerrie for the day. We went vintage clothes shopping before heading to a local Spanish restaurant for tapas and a pitcher of Sangria.



We then did more shopping at local boutiques. (I was really good and only purchased a sparkling martini pin and a vintage beaded purse). It felt good to be surrounded by my two closest friends and to see them getting along so wonderfully.



After Kerrie went to work, Jenn and I did more shopping at some designer stores downtown, where Jenn bought a really cute dress for herself and a flannel shirt for her boyfriend.

We then had dinner with my boyfriend Rian at a popular pizzeria in midtown.

It was a lovely weekend.

This morning it was devastating to see her leave. As her car drove away, my heart felt heavy. She’s only been gone for less than a day and I miss her terribly. It’s hard not having your sister live in the same town, or even the same state.

But that’s life and we just have to deal with it.

Jenny Fest Part 1

I just got back from Omaha. I was there visiting my "sister" Jenn. (For more on that, see this blog post).

She is the female lead in a hilarious and sexy musical, "Reefer Madness." She plays a sweet little teenage girl who eventually becomes a dominating sex kitten after being introduced to marijuana. Jenn was gorgeous and brilliant in the production and I couldn't have been prouder. She has the most amazing voice I have ever heard in my life and I have no doubt she will be a big Broadway star after she graduates with her Masters next spring.



After the musical, we hung out and I got to meet some of her old college buddies and her new boyfriend (who is awesome). We had a few drinks and talked the night away. It was lovely.

The next day, after I had a goodbye breakfast with Jenn and her boyfriend, I met back up with my parents at their hotel. We spent the rest of the day downtown, browsing through fabulous boutiques, eating lunch at a quaint little cafe, and walking around an art fair, before heading home.



It was a perfect weekend.

What's even better is that Jenn is coming to visit me tomorrow in my town and will stay for a couple days. I'm so excited! So now this time she will get to meet my friends and see my boyfriend again and see all my hangouts! So exciting!

I'm hoping this week is just as wonderful...

The day legends died...

This was initially supposed to be a Farrah Fawcett tribute only. But when Michael Jackson passed away this afternoon, I realized I couldn't omit him.

Let's start with the blonde bombshell...



Having a 65-year-old father, I grew up watching reruns and tapes of a lot of classic television shows most kids my age didn't watch on a regular basis. One of those shows was Charlie's Angels. Three beautiful Barbie Doll type women who solved crime? Sign me on! I wanted to be just like them. I want to have the full-bodied, flowing hair of Farrah. I wanted to wear the hip hugging bell bottoms. I wanted to kick ass without breaking a nail.





Farrah was truly an icon for her generation. Millions of women wanted to look just like her (radio programs used to give step-by-step details on how Farrah shampooed her hair). Millions of guys wanted to date her. She was beautiful. She was talented. She was a legend.



I was driving to meet my dad for lunch when I heard the news of her passing on the radio. It broke my heart. She was young (62) and her long battle with cancer must have been absolutely horrific. I can't even imagine what pain and sadness was going through her mind in the past week.



I hope she rests in peace.

And now...



I don't know about you, but the whole Michael Jackson suddenly dying thing was pretty random to me. I didn't even know he had that terrible of health conditions. I have mixed feelings about his passing. It seems that in life, he was so troubled, that perhaps death was a blessing for him. I hope it finally gives him the peace he deserves.

Like most people my age, I don't remember Michael Jackson as a superstar. By the time I was old enough to know what was going on around me (late 80s) he was gaining his creepy status and his skin had changed color. I knew he was a legend and listening to his music, I could tell he was a genius. But I never got to experience the amazing concerts, tacky fashion trends, and overall insanity of his status back then. Which is sad.

And I know he was weird and had a lot of shady things going on in his life, but I felt like the media backlash against him was too harsh. The cruel jokes on television...the cartoons...the clear lack of respect. The man was obviously troubled and disturbed, but nobody cared. That breaks my heart. No one should have to endure ridicule like that, especially if they are messed up.



But I think now that he is gone, his legend will be preserved as it was back when his career took off. We will always remember him for being the King of Pop. The glove. The moonwalk. Thriller.

May both of these Hollywood icons rest in peace.

Depressed ramblings and a blog award

I have been hopelessly depressed lately.

I haven’t been blogging about it too much because I don’t want to scare away my online friends. And I haven’t been talking about it much to my friends at home because I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer.

It just seems like everything in my life right now is falling apart. I spent every penny of my life savings a year ago on a car that wasn’t worth it. I am now spending the money I have saved since then to fix the car’s air conditioner. I don’t have a penny to my name.

But it’s not so much the money troubles that are bothering me. It’s everything else.

I’m clinging to a job that doesn’t excite me anymore and has no possibility of a financial rise.

I’m in love with someone who isn’t sure he ever wants to get married or have children.

Most of my close friends live in other parts of the country and my best friend who does live here has her own troubles.

I can’t even go home to cry.
My father disowned me the minute I moved out because a single girl living on her own is a shame to the family.
He’s disgusted with my job because it makes only a fraction of what he does in a month.
He thinks I’m fat.
He hates my boyfriend and tells me so every day.
And my mom doesn’t defend me. She’s so tired of it by now, she just lets him have at it.

In addition, I feel like I’m going through some kind of syndrome. The twenty-something girl’s syndrome? Nothing in my life is as it should be. When I was in high school, I had big plans and goals and dreams.
I imagined myself a young newlywed at 25. Or perhaps a glamorous fashion magazine writer, traveling the world for stylish feature stories.
But no, I’m stuck in a job I used to love. I’m a news reporter for a dying industry.
I’m nowhere close to getting married. I don’t think I’m ready yet anyway.
I’m just scared that if this road keeps winding in the direction I’m headed, I’m going to end up 40, single, and childless. Oh, and stuck in this same cubicle. And living in the same tiny apartment.

Fuck.

I’m sorry for rambling. If you were sweet enough to read this entire thing, I thank you tremendously. I just needed to get this off my chest.
Hopefully I can make a change in my life for the better, but I’m still looking for that opportunity to knock on my door…

On a happier note, I received this blog award from my dear friend Morena. She has an awesome blog and if you haven't already checked it out, I highly suggest you do.



I pass this award on to all my followers.

Thinking about Gia...

I partied way too much last night and today I paid for it.

I didn't know a hangover could last all freaking day. If this headache and grogginess and nausea continues, it looks like my week is going to get off to a horrible start.

And it kind of makes me wonder about people who feel this way every day. People who are addicted to alcohol or drugs...it just seems so sad that their only source of happiness is artificial. And when the high wears off, all they're left with is a sick hollow feeling.

Every time I think of things like that, my mind always goes to Gia Carangi.



For those who don't know (but I'm sure all of you do), Gia was one of the first supermodels. When the modeling industry was filled with blond-haired, blue-eyed smiling Barbie Dolls, Gia turned everything upside down. She introduced the modeling world to unusual poses, facial expressions, and gestures. I guess you could say she was America's Top Model.



She was only 17 when she started her explosive career. Unfortunately, a horrible heroin addiction developed while fame and fortune flourished. She craved the drug so badly she did sexual favors for it and was even raped by a drug dealer. She was sharing needles with strangers.



She eventually died from AIDS at the ripe old age of 26. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Just thinking about how a girl as beautiful as her could feel so lost and insecure as to get caught up in an addiction like that one. Just thinking about how promising her modeling career had been before she fucked it up. Just thinking about the waste of life.

And thinking about her life makes me appreciate mine. I will never touch drugs. I space my partying and my drinking binges. I notice life around me and appreciate it too much to throw it away.

Sometimes I just wish others felt the same...