the group over new years

I have to tell you, I really couldn’t be more excited!  Aside from the predictable awesomeness that I can expect from hanging out with these folks, the wedding is in the JERZZZ!

oh gosh, i really hope they're invited!

SO unbelievably stoked!  And, I’ve been practicing…

Okay, so, when I asked Slick this morning about the attire for the wedding, he alleges that he talked with the bride and she said “any dress will do…” which means he actually didn’t talk to the bride because no girl in her right mind would ever leave wedding-related attire so vague.  After I gave him a hard time about it, he consulted reinforcements and we now know that the attire is black tie (Bumpit) optional.

My dress is set, but one very important question remains:  To Bumpit or not to Bumpit?  

totally bumped

Although the Texas girl in me always defaults to my vintage cowboy boots as my signature way to jazz up an otherwise blah outfit, I am REALLY considering trading in my country kicks in for my very own Bumpit for the occasion!

bye, bye my beloveds

I’ve just been so inspired by my favorite Jersey Shore party girl, Snooki:

And, my favorite Jerseylicious villianess, Tracey:

Plus, hair height is kinda in my Roberts’ blue jeans…

mother.

I think I’m going to BUMPIT!  Heading to CVS in 10…wish me luck.  Ahhhhh! 

xx, L

After I went on another tour of Oakland Cemetery + had dinner @ Tin Lizzy’s Grant Park last night…

should be on your atlanta bucket list, folks

…I came home and flipped on MTV to watch the premiere of Teen Mom (don’t judge), and ended up crying-like-a-BABY watching MTV’s newest show which also premiered yesterday evening, If You Really Knew Me.  Seriously, tears streaming into my wine glass.  Everyone really, REALLY needs to watch this show.

Here’s the Q+DD on If You Really Knew Me:  MTV’s If You Really New Me is a show centered around Challenge Day, a revealing high school program in which trained Challenge Day staff visits schools and tries to demolish social boundaries, emotional walls, and inevitable cliques so that high school students ultimately feel less alone and more understood.  The show, which has replaced The Hills in the 11:00 p.m. EST time slot, tackles serious issues like race, sex, and identity in front of not only peers, but also a national television audience.  

Challenge Day was founded by high school teacher, wrestling coach, family therapist and drug intervention specialist, Rich Dutra, and his wife, Yvonne, who has special training in working with at-risk youth.  According to their official site, “The Challenge Day mission is to provide youth and their communities with experiential programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression.”

Challenge Day’s MTV website:  http://www.challengeday.org/mtv/

If You Really Knew Me trailer:  http://tiny.cc/sdq02

What’s being said about the show:  http://tiny.cc/8yg8w

To me, it was kind of like a one hour reality version of The Breakfast Club. 

"screws fall out all the time; the world is an imperfect place" - bender

I just read online that MTV has committed to 12 episodes of the show, and I strongly encourage everyone to check it out.  Knowing MTV, it will be looped 45+ times throughout the next week – so it shouldn’t be difficult at all to catch again.  Set your TiVos + grab a box of tissues, b/c I am pretty sure that this show is going to change your life.

xx, L

Big, Huge P.S.:  Happy 500th post to us… 

what, what, what!

…and THANKS SO MUCH to all of our readers! 

I won’t lie – I fall in love with almost every book I read, but I’m really, really in love with Water for Elephants. 

Here’s a brief synopsis:

Set during the Great Depression, Water for Elephants tells the story of a young man who leaves his life as a Cornell University veterinary student after losing both his parents in a car accident, and jumps onto a train that happens to house the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  After a short confrontation with Blackie, a bouncer that stops stowaways, and Camel (a limp old worker) promising him a job and an audience with Uncle Al (The Ringmaster) Jacob decides to stay aboard the train.  Since his parents have died in an automobile accident, and he has not a home to call his own, he decides to remain with the circus.  Jacob is employed as the show’s veterinarian and he faces a number of challenges in dealing with the head trainer, August, while also learning how to function in the hierarchy of the circus and falling in love with August’s wife, Marlena.  The story is told as a series of memories by Jacob Jankowski, either a ninety or ninety-three year-old man who lives in a nursing home.  (www.wikipedia.com)

After spending the past year reading mostly about vampires, Water for Elephants has been refreshing and has me completely hooked.  Check it out.

xx, L

My dad used to tell me that he thought excessive gum chewing was just as nasty as dipping chewing tobacco.  While I’ve always seriously valued his opinion, he didn’t come close to stopping me.  Once I learned how to blow a bubble gum bubble, I was able to entertain myself for hours at a time…  (What can I say – easy to please.)

Growing up, I loved sugar-packed Juicy Fruit and Bubble Yum.  Chewed Cinnaburst (w/ paper, of course) from time to time just to mix things up.  Have even been known to try chocolate-flavored gum.  (Not really a fan, but still had to see what all the fuss was about.)  In recent years, I’ve stuck to Orbitz sweet mint flavored gum as my trusty stand-by.  BUT, I think I may have found the most amazing gum ever at the grocery yesterday!!

I’d like to introduce you to Trident Layers Gum. 

Voila!

It. Is. Amazing.  Trident has commercials all over TV right now for it, and again, I just had to see what all the hype was about.  (I am as much of a sucker for hype as Lauren…)  Um, it’s amazing.  I really don’t have much else to say other than I am pretty sure that it is the best gum I’ve ever tried and I am rationing it – so please don’t ask for a piece.

I bought the Green Apple + Golden Pineapple, but the Wild Strawberry + Tangy Citrus flavor sounds awesome, too.  Run – don’t walk - run to your nearest grocery and pick up a pack STAT!

"Violet, you're turning violet, Violet!"

Happy chewing! (Told you so…)

xx, L