Fantasy BFFs

Two pictures emerged this week that made me say, in the words of Liz Lemon,

" I want to go to there."

Meryl and Hilary taking a selfie?

Reese and Mindy as ladies who lunch?

What's next Jennifer Aniston and Kelly Ripa on a run/yoga/spin/triathalon date?

Yes, please!

3 Thoughts About Turning 28

1.  Last night I went out for my FIVE year college reunion and I wore leather leggings.  And they ripped.  I tried to wear something trendy from Forever 21 and I split my pants.  If that's not the universe telling me I'm old, I don't know what is.

2.  Best friends send the best birthday texts.

3.  At age 28 . . .

Pippa Middleton became an overnight sensation

Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar

Sally met Harry for the second time

And Oprah moved to Chicago to host a little talk show

I think 28 is going to be a good year. 

Bridesmaid Revisited

"What do you like better- Christmas or wedding season?" - Wedding Crashers

No matter where your loyalties lie, I have good news.  I saw Brach's candy corn in Walgreens yesterday which means Christmas season is just around the corner.  And as summer fades to fall, chances are you're coming down from wedding guest high.

It seems like everyone I knew had at least one wedding to attend this summer.  And so as we reflect back on all the good times, I thought it would be fun to countdown some of my favorite wedding movies.

Everyone says its the day you dream of your entire life.  Your best friend asks you the question you've been waiting to hear.  You put on a dress that, despite numerous alterations, you'll probably wear just this once.  You walk down the isle with flowers in your hand and a smile on your face.  You smile through your tears during the champagne toast of love and laughter and you party the night away with some of your favorite people. And if you're like me, you'll get to do it a second, third, or fourth time.

Obviously I'm talking about being a bridesmaid.  My marital experience is focused solely on these duties as I've had the opportunity to be a bridesmaid five (going on six!) times.  I mean it when I say being in a wedding party is one of the greatest joys of my life. And that's why in the next few weeks we'll be counting down my favorite wedding movies, as well as a few (censored!) tales of my own times in taffeta, through a series called Bridesmaid Revisited.  This is supposed to be a clever take on Brideshead Revisted.  Just go with it.

So pop a bottle of champagne and call dibs on the cute groomsmen.  Because "I'm ready to partyyyy!"

Last Friday Night

Last Friday night I went out for dinner and drinks in Tampa with two of my favorite ladies in the world.    I wore lace shorts from Forever 21- I've wanted lace shorts since Emma Watson wore these over a year ago.

And these black heels because I felt like it was something Carrie Underwood would wear.

 Shoes like Carrie- check.  Legs like Carrie- eh, still working on it.


On our way to dinner, we had a total Carrie Bradshaw moment.  We huddled under one umbrella, carefully treading along the sidewalk and trying to keep our shoes and purses and Carly's waterfall braid, created by yours truly, out of the rain.

Suddenly a  car sped by and swerved into the gutter.  "Nooooo!" we cried in slow motion as a tidal wave of dirty street water splashed up over us.

These girls have been my friends for over 10 years and in some ways, everything is different.  Years ago we never would have ordered giant margaritas . . . and then immediately pulled out our phones to take a picture . . .  while discussing who was going to facebook, tweet, instagram, and blog about our beverages.

We wouldn't have talked about our bridesmaids dresses for Carly's wedding and Krysta wouldn't have passed on a sleepover to be home with her hubby and two boys.


But in some ways, everything is the same.  I think we will always enjoy gossiping over delicious food, attempting to avoid someone we went to high school with because we don't feel like dealing with the awkwardness, and taking photo booth pictures when the opportunity presents itself.

Which brings me to another SATC moment.  

"It would be childish of us to deny that our lives weren't changing. But for this night, none of us were going anywhere. That's the thing about really good friends and a really great Manhattan margarita."

Ask CFC- Flared Jeans

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE reading advice columns.  I read Dear Prudence twice a week, Carolyn Hax daily, and the occasional Dear Abby and Dan Savage.  If I didn't already love my job, I'd say I might be looking to become an advice columnist myself.  I don't think you need to particularly wise- just possessing strong opinions and the conviction that you are always right.  Got it!


Anyways, my friend Krysta gchatted me told me she recently purchased some dark wash, flared jeans and she wanted to know
1) does she hem them to an appropriate length with heels?
2) what to wear with them?


Often a giver of unsolicited advice, I jumped on the chance.  "Always wear heels with flared jeans!!" I demanded.  Especially if you are 5'3 or under like Kry and myself. . . you want that flare to stretch out as looong as possible.  


And I think she should be looking for some blouses and blazers that go with the tailored looks of these jeans.  I told her to search for some pics of Jessica Alba and Kristen Cavallari- who always look great in denim.  Also Lauren Conrad and as always, the Kardashians.

Do you have a question for CFC?  Planning a vacation and want to know what celebs are wearing on the beach this summer?  Looking for a good cry and wondering when the next Nicholas Sparks movie will be in theaters?  Having boy troubles and you couldn't help but think WWCBD?  (What Would Carrie Bradshaw Do, obvi)  Feel free to ask away!

The Avengers, Part II

Guess what?! My very cute, clever, and creative (and bride to be!) friend Carly has written a FANTASTIC review of The Avengers upon my request!

You can check it out on her blog, All My Reasons.

Thanks Carpool!

P.S. I agree . . . the movie was missing some romantical moments. What the chances that Thor 2 will be a romantic comedy?

Take Care of You

Once upon a time, my freshmen year of college, I lived across the hall from a girl named Tia. Tia introduced me to tanning beds (my forehead wrinkles thank you) and I used to sit in the chair by her window and eat her Cheeze-its (I gained the freshman 40) while we chatted. Despite this, Tia and I became really good friends. Sophomore year we moved to a new dorm but still lived across the hall from each other.

Junior and Senior year we lived in the same apartment building on campus. The summer after we graduated, I asked Tia if she wanted to interview for a job at my office and move into a room at the house I was renting with some friends. She did! Tia enrolled in a grad program and I followed the next year. Next we moved into an apartment together. Eventually this summer we moved across town into our own places . . . in the same building.

So, Tia has been my roommate, coworker, class-mate, and best friend. For the past 8 years we have gone on vacations

sang along at concerts

celebrated birthdays

partied for holidays

hung out with celebrities

and jumped for joy- together.

Eventually we got to that point in our friendship where saying goodbye on the phone took about 15 minutes. It went something like this “Ok well let me know how the staff meeting goes. . . good luck on your presentation . . .I’ll keep you updated on dinner plans . . . Oh, a package arrived for you today . . . Omg, did you see what she posted on Facebook? Wait, when are you getting home? Ok, I love you. Alright, I’ll talk to you soon. Oh wait a second, did I tell you about that email?” You get the point.

We decided that we needed a standard phone sign-off. And of course we drew inspiration from a movie. You know one of those meaningful friendships from a classic film.

Of course I’m talking about Vivian Ward and Kit De Luca from Pretty Woman. Two girls with similar jobs who share an apartment together- that’s us! A few minor differences. For about six months we would end conversations with “Take care of you”, just like Vivian and Kit. We agreed this summed up everything we wanted to say in a goodbye. Start watching at 2:10 for the last "take care of you" in the movie.

Since freshmen year, Tia has talked about going back to her hometown. Whether it was to see her family and boyfriend for a weekend, start a grad program for a few years, or take a new job, permanently. I have spent 8 years begging Tia to stay in town so I could drag her to a fraternity party (where all of the guys asked me who my hot blond friend was), or go the movies and buy candy at Target, or get takeout in our pajamas, or lay by the pool and share magazines, or work and live next to me every single day. In was a long hard battle but in the end I lost because Tia is moving this week. Of course, I could say that I won because look at all we’ve done!

And we finally got our hair under control- really a win-win overall.

T, I can’t even imagine trying to summarize all of the laughs, tears, late nights (for you) early mornings (for me), fights (just that one on the way to the office retreat!) and pure fun we’ve had. Nothing could sum up all I would want to say this goodbye. So, I’ll just say . . . take care of you.

CFC in 2012

I'm back! I had a great Christmas break (if I'm not too old to call it that) and now am seriously struggling with the post holiday weirds. The weirds are such a curse, but the good thing about them is they mean you had a really good time. If you had a crappy week you would be ready to move on to the next thing, not sad all of your good times were over.

Anyways, this was the first year that I haven't been home for the holidays and I was worried it wouldn't really feel like Christmas. But it was so nice to really enjoy the season over the past couple of weeks with my family instead of stepping off a plane and cramming all of my holiday cheer into a few days. I learned, like the Who's in Whoville, that:

"We hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came!

Somehow or other... it came just the same.

Christmas day is in our grasp

So long as we have hands to clasp

Christmas day will always be

Just so long as we have we. "

Then we all held hands and sang "Fah who foraze Dah who doraze welcome Christmas . . ."

Next I headed to Orlando for a reunion with my best friends from college. We have planned a mini trip almost twice a year since we have graduated and they are basically the highlights of my life. We had a wonderful time, but the best part of the trip was a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Growing up in Florida, I'm a Disney veteran but I haven't been in years. We had an absolute blast and really took a lot of Disney lessons to heart. The theme this year is "Dreams Come True" and we chanted that along with all of the princesses, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and of course, Donald.

If you could have heard us interacting during our reunion, you probably would have thought we sounded a lot like Disney princesses. "You look so beautiful!" " Your hair is so long!" " I love that outfit!" " You look great!" " I am so proud of you!" " You are changing people's lives!!" Just like a princess we have found true love . . . with each other.

Next I headed to my hometown to ring in the new year with my 5 besst friends from high school and our dates. We last spent New Year's as a group in 2001 so this was a reunion AND anniversary celebration.

We've come a long way in 10 years, mainly in our (okay, my) hair styling choices, but I am so proud of all of us, and honestly so happy that we have remained such close friends. Not a lot of people can say they are still best friends with FIVE girls they knew when they were 14, and I think we're pretty special.

I wanted to blog on New Year's Eve, but I was too busy applying my fake eye lashes and hair extensions (more on that later.) I wanted to post my favorite New Year's Eve scene from a movie EVER. And no, its not When Harry Met Sally. It's this lovely part from the first Sex and the City movie where we see how all of the girls are ringing in the new year. Obviously a pregnant Charlotte and Harry are precious and Samantha and Smith in their sparkly robes- absurd but somehow appropriate. Anyway, the part I'm trying to get to is when Carrie runs across town in her pajamas just to let Miranda know that she's "not alone." I LOVE this scene!

I think female friendship is a really complicated thing that not everyone understands. I'm sure being obnoxiously bffs for the past 10 years has been irritating to some people, maybe ourselves included. But if you can say that in the past decade, no matter where you were, you knew having five best friends meant you were never alone- well, that's something worth celebrating.

According to my facebook news feed (people I know in real life) and twitter feed (celebs I wish I knew) everyone is feeling optimistic about 2012. As am I! Here's to a year of family, best friends, and dreams coming true!