Featured Blogger Friday: "Inner Workings of a Real-Life Barbie Doll"

I admit it. The first time I visited New York City, as a law student high on "Sex & the City" fantasies, I was overwhelmed. The second time, I developed a serious crush on the city, and it's one that has only grown when I've been fortunate enough to visit since.

Enter Shari, aka "Dollface" and her Carrie Bradshaw-esque take on the city, "Inner Workings of a Real Life Barbie Doll". A corporate event planner by day, Shari gives us a fun-filled insider's take on the glam Manhattan life, from her shopping finds to moving into a (too small) apartment with her boyfriend, Jared, and their handsome Pug, Thunder.

Cue the "New York, New York" to play in the background, and let's go . . .

Why she started blogging: Just one day last winter I was riding the subway with a bunch of typical NY fashionistas. I had the urge to write. I started up my own blog and wrote about winter fashion trends.

I wasn't too aware of the whole blogger scene so for about a month I just wrote with no followers except my best friend, Marisa, and Jared. NYC HIT (Pretty Note: another fab Feature Friday Blogger) was one of the first people to follow my blog and "spread the word". I was very grateful. I cannot begin to express how happy it is that I started with zero followers and are now reaching 200 of them.

The story behind her blog title: My whole life I have been treated as a Barbie doll. My mother used to enroll me in beauty pageants, theater productions and I became a debutante in the year 2000. Past boyfriends even would call me "dollface" or "babydoll" and one even referred to me as his "porcelain doll". I think it is an alias that has sort of stuck with me over the years. The inner workings are more as an insider view to me, knowing that there is much more than my exterior.

Her blog inspiration: Jared & Thunder would be too obvious. Just about anything. I usually start pondering blog topics on my way to work riding the subway. There is such an eclectic group of people in Manhattan that it gives me oodles of topics to discuss when I sit down to type. My everyday life comes into play a lot. I talk about TV shows, songs, movies, art work, work situations, friends and family sometimes. Anything that is in my head is on the screen. I am very honest.

Does the darling boyfriend read her blog? Of course! He has commented a few times on certain posts. He is the first one to call me after I hit submit and let me know there wasn’t enough mention of how much I love him. Haha. He is a bit "blog-narcissistic" if you ask me :) I plan on having him do a guest post at some point. He is more than thrilled to support me and follow along. "Whatever makes you happy" is something he strongly believes in.

(Pretty Note: Raise your hand if you now want to ask her, "How the heck do you get your man that interested in your blog?" Just me?)

Tell us non-natives something we don't know about New York: Sex and the City and other NY shows have always made me want to live in Manhattan. It's this feeling you get when you walk out of your over-priced apartment that everything is amazing. The people are strange yet familiar, the food is delicious yet always changing, and the experiences you have are priceless. I can sit for hours on my couch starting out of my window at night at the Manhattan skyline and just breathe. NYC is big to others but home to me.

The last 3 albums she downloaded: I just downloaded from I-tunes the whole album of Colbie Caillat, The Fray and Britney Spears. I like anything from hip-hop to country, from emo to punk, and from classic rock to top 40's. Lately I have had on repeat "Lucky in Love" by Jason Mraz featuring Colbie. It reminds me of Jared and me.

What she wants a new reader to know before clicking over to her blog: Be prepared to be engaging in superficial chatter one day and deep, introspective talk another. This is not a hate blog, it is purely fun-loving and hopefully inspirational. Besides all of that, I am your friend, your fellow bloggie, I am an ear to listen. What you "see" is what you get.

Why life as a Smug Pug Owner is the best: (Pretty Note: no self-interest in how I phrased that question at all . . .) I never met another Pug before I met Thunder. In fact, I didn’t love him on sight. I didn’t want to be "that" girl that loved the dog because the man loved him. Thunder grew on me and now I can't picture my life without him. That smushy face and curly tail make me smile on a daily basis. Even when he gets into trouble, constantly, I still love him. When I am upset he licks the back of my heels. When I walk in the door he jumps up and kisses me. He is always photogenic and always making our lives complete.

We would get a second one if our building allowed it. But in the future we hope to have a baby girl Pug and name her Olivia. (Pretty Note: I actually want one named Olive - great minds!)

Thank you, Dollface! Darlings, please hustle your cute little tushies over to "Inner Workings of a Real Life Barbie Doll" here.

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My flock, if you would like nothing better than to be a Feature Friday blogger - it's kind of like the Oscars, minus the swag bags, couture, and prestige - please review my guidelines here and leave me a comment including your email address. Please bear with me if it takes me a while to get back to you. Thanks for reading & your interest!