Guest (Re-) Post at "The Coconut Diaries"

Hilarious blogger & dear Invisible Internet Friend The Coconut Diaries - who I profiled here as a Feature Friday blogger - is off cruising around this week, so I'm recycling one of my favorite old posts on her blog. Why lazily use an old post, you may ask? Because I am totally playing the Pregnancy Card while I can. Nanny nanny boo boo.

I always hesitate to link to Miss Coconut's blog because I happen to know that both in blogging and in real life, she is much nicer, funnier, and better accessorized than me. Nevertheless, because I am just that awesome, Pretty please go check out my guest post here, and then stick around and read her far superior writing too.

Happy weekend / pretending-to-focus-at-work-pre-Christmas, dolls!

New Bloggers, New Feature Idea

Once upon a time, on a blog not so many months ago, the inimitable mommy blogger Sippycups offered to do a post on her wonderful site featuring me as a new blogger.  Having just started up the Pretty, I especially loved getting to work with another blogger whose site I admired.  Also, the exposure on her blog bumped my seeming dozens of readers at the time to dozens and dozens* of readers, many of whom remain favorite Invisible Blog Friends.

*This line reminds me of Jon Hamm's SAG acceptance speech, which . . . Jon Hamm.  Only 3.5 months 'til "Mad Men." I will survive.  Somehow.

In an attempt to - brace yourselves for the cliche - pay it forward (gah!), I'd like to do a regular Friday feature here showcasing one Pretty reader / new blogger.  I've happily noticed that a number of you new commenters & followers appear to be newish to Blog Land itself; welcome!  I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing here, but I would be delighted to get word out about you & other fantastic new sites devoted to all things Pretty.  

Bloggeristas/os, if you are interested, please simply either leave me a comment here including your email address (if it isn't included in your profile) or, for the bashful flowers amongst you, you can simply email me directly (see my profile for address).  For my Invisible Blog Friends of old, if you know of a newbie worthy of consideration, or would just like to promote yourself and me by writing a wildly flattering guest post about the Pretty (or, I suppose, a related topic), let's talk.

What do you think, my darlings?  Depending on your response, I'll either get this started up one week from today or simply return as usual to poking fun at shoes and She Who Shall Not Be Named.**

**Newbies, you might want to click on that original, mission statement-y post to catch up to Pretty speed.

Please Vote - First Date Contest

The Southern Social, the hilarious and wise Twitterista and blogger, is hosting a fun contest here, in which entrants submitted a Polyvore first date outfit appropriate for spring in Atlanta.  Given that I love little more than telling people what to wear as well as the Lilly candle at stake, I just had to send along a Pretty submission:

I am a shameless hussy, therefore I have already voted for myself and  kindly insist that you do the same right here.   Please pay no attention to the fact that everyone else, including some of my most favorite blogettes, submitted equally worthy choices, much of which I dearly want to buy. Particularly that little Marc Jacobs clutch.  Bugger.  Voting ends Friday, so as our Chicago friends might tell you, vote early and vote often!

Giveaway Winner & Thanks

Darlings, I have a winner to announce - via random number generator thingy, reader Elle is the lucky winner of the tremendously titled "It Sucked and Then I Cried"!  Elle, please email me (click on my profile for link) by this Friday, May 1 to claim your booktastic prize.

Thank you all for playing!  There are plenty - or, as the Anonymous Husband might say, too many  - of books where that giveaway came from, so look for some similar goodies over the next few weeks.

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Thanks also to the lovely Marina of Penny Lane Designs, who is responsible for this site's Pretty new look, as well to as my fabulous Invisible Blog Friend, Mojito Maven, for recommending her.  After all, makeovers - even Invisible Blog ones - are good for both the eyes & the soul, no?

It's The Law. You Know The One.

Once upon a time, in a faraway state country mindset land known as Texas, a lawyer-by-day and aspiring monarch-by-imagination moved to a fair town called Austin.  Although I - er, this lawyer-monarch; "Princess LaMo" sounds fitting - was new to this place, I figured by virtue of my spouse, I would swiftly Smug Married my way into a fabulous new life of girlfriends and various social events.* **  

*Foreshadowing alert!

** Not to worry; this isn't just another post of me whining my new town. Pinky swear.

Some fair maiden singleton friends, off in faraway lands themselves, began around this same time to test out internet dating.  From my Hill Country perch, Princess LaMo here wholeheartedly encouraged the online dating.  I am ashamed to admit that an equal part of me covertly, and not a little smugly, thanked God that I had met the Anonymous Husband the old-fashioned way.***  

*** In a bar.  I know, I know.  Karma will have its way with me.  Keep reading.

Enter Stage Left, Murphy & her bemused Law, one year and one blog later: As I hurried along last night in the Prettymobile, trying to catch the book reading of the OG of Personal Bloggers, hoping to meet a should-be-famous blogger there, it dawned on me.  This being just one week after meeting up with this group of hilarious lady bloggers.  And a good eight months or so after starting the Pretty blog here and e-meeting nice people such as yourself, a comfort while I otherwise struggled to find my way around this new city.  Yes, I was speeding to meet someone I'd only "met" online, to hear someone speak who I'd admired from afar online, who I'd learned about from my other invisible friends online.

And so it came upon a frantic drive clear . . .  I have become an online friend-er.  A platonic, accidental left turn from eHarmonyville, but an online one nonetheless.   Thanks, Universe!  I get it!  Irony!   

Murphy = 1, Pretty = 0.  And, with sincere apologies to my tremendous friends, singleton or otherwise, I am OK with that.

The Grace Get-Together, Part 10

My weekly attempt to begin the week on a grateful note, which usually devolves into me just bragging about myself.

Loath as I am to show emotion here - I trust you all can find the Hallmark Channel for your sentimentality needs - I have to confess what a tremendous night I had meeting up with the blog geniuses behind Make Mine a Mojito; Eat, Drink, Marry;  Elefantitas Alegres (best wishes!); Milltini Straight Up; and SLynnRo.  As I suspected, this is one fun, funny, honest, and - it must be said - extremely Pretty group of women.  Shenanigans* ensued. 

*And horrendous pick-up lines;  favorite dog names, anyone?

Honorable Mention goes to the Anonymous Husband, who accompanied me to no less than three of "my" events this Saturday including the "invisible internet friends" meet-up, with nary a complaint and minimal scotch consumption. Of the many things I don't deserve but am happy to have anyways, marrying a man who knows no stranger is up there on the list.  

Back to our regularly scheduled bitchytude tomorrow . . .