Featured Blogger Friday: "The Shabby Princess"

(Pretty Note: That hair! That necklace! Trying to stay focused and type here . . .)

You know how each group of close friends has the nice one? Of course, all of my besties share fabulous qualities, but generally speaking, there's the sweet one who glues us together, the mensch, the International Woman of Mystery, and the one who brings the champagne (ahem).

Today's featured blogger, the Shabby Princess, is the sweet one of my Invisible Internet Friends, and in fact is one of the first blogs I ever read. In fact, so kind and self-effacing is she that I hit her up to do this profile, because I think all of you need to be start reading her daily goodness right this very minute.

SP, a fellow California girl gone Texan, chronicles her life in Dallas with a keen eye for personal detail. Oh, and she's funny - very funny, so much so that I forgive her that strange running habit she & a number of you seem to have. The Fates have eluded our meeting for a Sprinkles cupcake to this point, but I'm hoping I'll meet SP on my next Dallas adventure.

Without further ado, the Shabby Princess . . .

Why she started blogging & her dream of being an author: Yes, my foray into blogging is directly related to my dreams of being an author. I started blogging because I was back at work after a several month hiatus while dealing with some family drama, and during my time away I wrote every day and would e-mail my friends little updates on my book, or little other things going on in my life. Things may not be as comical as they were then (which you can read about once I finish the dang book!), but, I still wanted to find a way to write often and share my silly life stories with friends (and had no idea how many Invisible Friends I would make along the way!).

About that novel she's working on: Yes, I am still working on it—which admittedly, is taking forever. I really need to refocus on get moving on it. It’s crazy how working a full time job, training for a marathon, being a wife and friend just kind of sucks the energy to work on my book right out of me. And I realize that everyone on this planet is crazed and overworked, which is why I’m utterly amazed by actual authors.

Honestly though, I am a bit scared to complete it—I have these schoolgirl fantasies about it being successful and it’s also very personal. But! But! I will finish. And it will be fabulous (naturally), and, of course it will be made into a movie. Obviously. And yes, these are my schoolgirl fantasies.

(Pretty Note: The excerpt she posted on her site a few months back was fantastic; I'm looking forward to saying I knew SP back when, right before she became a famous author . . . )

Her blogging inspirations: I find Jennslyvania to be absolutely hilarious—I want to be her when I grow up (not kidding). I strive to have just a fraction of her wit, alas, I fall short.

[Pretty Note: SP wrote something nice about me here, but in a rare show of pseudo-modesty, I'm editing it out - thank you, SP!]

I love A Duck in Her Pond—she is fabulous writing inspiration (and a dang whirlwind, I might add!). (Pretty Note: another one of my favorites & a former FFB'er!)

I love the colors and joy that is found in Nie Nie Dialogues and love her ability to add charm and love to daily events and that even through such adversity (she and her husband were in a terrible plane crash a year ago) she maintains her love and joy—which to me, is inspiring! Plus, she always dresses so gosh darn cute.

What she misses most & least about our glorious home state: Oh, California, I miss it so much. Alright, cheap answer? In-N-Out. There is just nothing like a good In-N-Out burger and these hot, fresh fries… I’m drooling. Real honest deep and mushy answer? My family, my friends, the beach (!), and the fabulous boutiques and small restaurants that dot the state. And goodness me, lately I have really been missing seafood! My dad lived two miles from the beach (yes, I brag) and there is honestly nothing like fresh seafood. And bread bowls of chowder on a foggy beach day. Ohh, I’m getting misty eyed.

What don’t I miss? I don’t miss the weekends—we lived in a very touristy area, so the weekends were always a beating because our quaint little beach village got turned into a huge city overnight. And I don’t miss the cost. I hear sales tax has gone up to pass what it is here—9…%?! Or something like that. Yikes.

What she likes most & least about Texas: I love the people. I love the sense of community. Everyone seems to know everyone and everyone looks out for one another. I love the hot summers and the very cold winters—we got snow last year! And the shopping. Gotta love the shopping. And fireflies in the summer—honestly, that might be my greatest joy once the hot weather rolls around.

What I don’t like is how commercial it all is—well, not all, but, hi, I live in Dallas. It’s a very strange little world with the big houses and the fancy cars and the Neimans. I know this may sound weird coming from a California girl, but, honestly, in California, things are just much more relaxed and laid back—even the big houses and fancy cars! It was and still is a bit overwhelming.

More about that darling husband of hers & how they met:

(Pretty Note: Seriously, how cute are they? And can I have some of SP's always fun accessories?)

We met at work, while I was at home working during the summer after my first year of college. I had just gone through a heinous breakup and had basically sworn off all men—unless of course Johnny Depp came calling (he didn’t).

My best friend (who I worked with) knew that my now husband was also newly single and suggested we “hang out” at some point—her exact words were “I’m not saying you need to marry the guy, but, you need to get out of the house”—apparently, watching Chocolat and Under the Tuscan Sun, laying by the pool and sleeping were not exciting things in her mind (she’s wrong). Did I mention that we hated each other? I thought he was an arrogant a$* and he thought I was a sassy little brat. But, being as we were both single and apparently, not happy, we gave each other a second chance.

After a few weeks of him stopping by our office to chat with her (lies!) she got the fabulous idea to leave my phone number on his car. After hours of my screaming at her like a child (and embarrassed child, I might add) I finally let it go, figuring that if he called, great, if not, I still had Captain Jack. He called. That night. We went to dinner. We got home at 2 AM. We were engaged two months later. And had a fabulous summer wedding nine months after that. It has later come out that my best friend and his mother played a role in this whole thing—his mother encouraging him to stop by to visit my BFF, and her dropping hints while I was out of the office. Those sneaky match makers….

Where she wants to be in five years, personally & professionally: Gosh, five years—for a millisecond that seems so far off, but, it’s not really! Yikes! OK: dream scenario: on a book tour with several little ones in tow, splitting my time between a fabulous beach house and a mountain retreat, complete with huskies (oh there’s my love of all things four legged) and a dog sled…. But, um, reality check, please?

In five years I hope to be a good place with “me”—hopefully with several marathons under my belt (at least two since that’s how many I plan on running in the next seven months) and a kiddo or two under my arm. Professionally, I hope to at least have some manuscripts in the works (but honestly, one published book would be amazing). In terms of blogging, I hope I still have wonderful readers and that I will have been able to meet many other bloggers—I’ve been blessed to make so many fabulous online friends and many have become real life friends—it’s so fun! I hope that I can still make people laugh—and that I still have things to laugh at (although I don’t see that changing anytime soon—I managed to walk into the doorframe of my bosses office five minutes ago—seriously, how am I alive?)!

Geographically? Gosh! I looove Texas and I always knew I’d live in the South—my heart has always been set on Georgia, but, the husband wouldn’t go for it. We debate packing up and moving to Colorado (we both adore it), or living by a lake in the Hill Country (doesn’t everyone?). But, time will tell. I’m a pretty big fan of our current home, and have visions of being forcefully dragged out of there if we ever had to move. Man, I’m pretty demanding five years out, aren’t I?

What she wants a new reader to know before clicking over to her blog: Ohmygosh, please know that I don’t take myself too seriously. I spout about royalty (mainly because I was pretty much born in the wrong country at the wrong time—and I will prove that my backwoods Kentucky bootleggin’ ancestors had royal roots, I will!), and being a ‘princess in training’, but really, I’m a simple hippy dippy trippy (as Stacey London would say) beach bum at heart.

I want to make people laugh—even at my expense. I rarely get into overly deep political type topics, not because I don’t care, but, because, I want people to come to my blog and get a giggle—there are plenty of other academic blogs out there—mine just isn’t one of them. And I don’t try to be—that’s not what you’ll find at The Shabby Princess. If you like shoes, chocolate, men with accents, a good shopping trip (at Target or otherwise) and good TV, we’ll get along just fine!

(Pretty Note: It's like I wrote this myself - see why she's one of my favorite Invisible Internet Friends?)

Thank you so much, SP!

Readers, you've heard the Princess' orders - please speed over to her blog immediately here and follow her Twitter feed here.

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Darlings! So you want to be one of my Feature Friday bloggers? Please review my deeply meaningful guidelines here & drop me a comment, including your email address. Please bear with me if it takes me a while to get back to you; my ability to procrastinate should not be underrated. Thank you for your interest!