real/not real?

real or not real: jessica simpson's belly button on the cover of elle

i think toooootally photoshopped!

thoughts on old friendships

i recently finished reading something borrowed by emily giffin (the original version, not the one they published after the kate hudson movie came out..), and there was a very pertinent quote in the very last chapter:

"I wonder why I miss her and Dex does not. Perhaps it is because I've known her so much longer. Or maybe it's the very nature of a friendship versus an intimate relationship. When you are in a relationship, you are aware that it might end. You might grow apart, find someone else, simply fall out of love. But a friendship isn't a zero-sum game, and as such, you assume that it will last forever, especially an old friendship. You take its permanence for granted, which might be the very thing so dear about it."

because of new-age technology, namely facebook, the news of my engagement got around pretty quickly. about a week afterward, i received a text from a number that was not programmed into my phone, but that could never be erased from my memory nor from my heart.

it was my best friend from high school. i'm talking sleepovers practically every weekend for four years, getting into trouble together, eating lunch together every day, experiencing so many firsts together best friends. the text said, "Congratulations on your engagement!" and suddenly a floodgate opened up and so many memories came rushing back.

i guess it's necessary to explain that this girl and i haven't really been in each other's lives for almost 3 and a half, maybe 4 years now. i'm not going to delve into the gory details, but a lot came to a head and i think after breathing the same air for 4 straight years, we both needed a break. or maybe we just both had to grow up without each other.

i told her i wanted to get together to catch up. not only did i lose her when we had our falling out, but a handful of very good friends from high school also became casualties. in a strange and unfortunate way, the group to this day is still pretty much in-tact, but with an alaina-shaped hole that has faded completely over the years. i wanted to hear how everyone was doing and what everyone was up to.

the dinner went well, as i assumed it would. i know some people don't believe that time heals all wounds, but it sure does help a lot, i think. she filled me in on every one's whereabouts, as did i her, since she also knew a lot of the people that are still in my life.

she told me that one of my dear friends was now in the navy. he's been in san diego for a year and a half or some stretch of time like that, and was going to be coming home for the holidays. i told her i would love to see him, and she said that she would be in touch with me, which she did.

one week before christmas, i met up with them all at a local bar. i can't tell you all how fast my heart was beating. i made randy come with me, even though he had just been at work for 14 hours and had to be up early the next morning to help some friends move. we get there and i wanted to make sure i had a drink in hand before seeing everyone. i drank half of the bud light randy got for me like water. i scan the place and finally see a blurry figure who resembles my old friend. as i approach, i see looks of recognition with maybe a little bit of surprise as three of my closest guy friends from high school realize that i'm there.

things are still so much the same, but because of the passing time, so different - and that's the thing i can't shake. they all look like slightly older versions of themselves, but they still have the same boyish smiles as they did in the 11th grade. and of course my good friend, the one i had the dinner with, is the same as she has always been. but why do i feel so different from them now?

growing up is never without growing pains, and this one is very bittersweet for me. maybe it's because i'm entering another year in my life in a couple of days, or maybe it's because i'm getting married, but i can't help but be a little sentimental. a part of me is so sad that i've missed out on these friendships for years because of crappy circumstances. but i can't deny that the things i've gone through have shaped the person i am today. i tell you one thing, revisiting all these feelings have made me love randy even more, if that was even possible, because he was right there with me when all of my most cherished friendships faded away. if it wasn't for him, i wouldn't have been able to make it through all of that.

i don't know if i'm ever going to be as close with these people as i was back then, but i am so happy that i got to see them all again, even if it was only for that one small moment in time.

pinterest

so after two requests to join and a brief hazing period, i finally have a pinterest account.

for those of you who don't know, pinterest is a website that acts essentially as an online bulletin board. it's very handy for displaying all your inspirations for say, remodeling your house or planning an event.

i found that acquiring a pinterest account is a little difficult. firstly, you have to request an account. you can't sign up. you have to ask if you could pretty please be a part of pinterest. i had to request an account twice before i actually got accepted. i even had to invite someone from facebook to pinterest because she never heard anything back from them. kind of bizarre.

anyway, i haven't quite figured out a way to say this without seeming lame and a little desperate, but i wanted a pinterest account so that i could gather together wedding ideas. no, randy and i are not engaged. but i would like to think we're at a point where it's like hey, it's probably going to be you, so i guess we can start talking about getting married one day.

that and the fact that i am a control freak who needs to have everything exactly the way i want it.

anyway, follow me :)

preposterous packaging

have you noticed that perfume bottles are getting really obnoxious looking??

sure they can be pretty, but my yearly christmas tree has less decoration than a 1.7 oz perfume bottle these days..

*all images from sephora.com
**i have not tried any of the perfumes above, so don't ask me how they smell

why i love awards shows..

fashion fashion fashion!

of course i had to beg randy to flip between the emmy's and some random football game, but i got to catch some pretty good moments from the awards show.

let me just say.. the lonely island and michael bolton? amazing.

kim kardashian's planet of a wedding ring

maybe my bitter & empy left ring finger is doing the typing here, but get a load of kim kardashian's wedding band. as if her engagement ring wasn't heinous enough at 20.5 carats, her wedding band plants another 12 carats onto her finger.

her ring is so big it almost doesn't even look real. it seriously looks like costume jewelry.

what do you think? i want to know your thoughts!

images & info from cocoperez

mtv vma's 2011 thoughts

i hope you all watched the 2011 mtv vma's on sunday! here are some of my thoughts:

fashion

hits

 

victoria justice



beyonce

katy perry

misses

nicki minaj, sorry to say :(

deena from the jersey shore

justin bieber - just terrible. and the snake??

almost

britney - would have been fabulous with different shoes

selena gomez - not a fan of the demi-maxi skirt

lady gaga's opening performance

lovelovelovelovelove
as a former lady gaga fan, i had grown veryvery bored of her lately. it's the same old thing - the wow factor and the shock value. it's like gaga - just be a good performer and stop covering your talent with dresses made of raw meat.
but tonight, i loved her performance! the monologue at the beginning was so original and i love how she stepped outside of herself and into the 'joe' character. i was also relieved that she didn't try and do some crazy wardrobe change before the performance.

beyonce's performance

i have to admit i fast-forwarded my tivo during her performance. i don't mind beyonce, but i wanted to get past her to see more action. luckily, i pressed play right before the end of her singing and just in time to catch the cuteness of her showing off her new baby bump. didn't you die over jay-z's reaction? such a precious moment!

britney tribute
there was a britney tribute? i saw all the little girls dancing to her greatest hits, but i think i missed the star-studded tribute to one of the biggest pop stars of all time..


amy winehouse tribute
i wished russell brand would have been more focused and organized, because he was kind of babble-y; but you could see his sincerity and his honesty. the footage of amy recording with tony bennet was very sweet, and the bruno mars performance was a nice celebration, i thought.

awkward moments
when i realized the dancers in the britney tribute were all little girls
when britney's achievement award acceptance speech turned into beyonce's performance intro
when i realized i have no idea who tyler the creator is
cloris leachman with the jersey shore girls
how i didn't even know the show was over for like 10 minutes