Our friends over at The Gloss recently did a post on all the things they don’t miss about being in their twenties.  But as a twenty-something myself, I’ve gotta say – I’m pretty content.  Sure, there are moments I wish I had a little more cash or that my job was a bit cushier.  But some of their points were reminiscent of things I realized in my teens.

Granted, I’ve always been way ahead of the social learning curve but I think most of us would agree.  Forget leaving your twenties behind, I think those awkward early teen years are the ones I’d sooner like to leave in the dust.  Seriously.  Do you remember…

Having not-so-great fashion sense.
I remember being a freshman in high school and wearing an Abercrombie tee for gym class that said “Nighttime Full-Contact Football” across my boobs in sparkly letters.  And I believe I paired that stellar top with some white running shorts and those Adidas sneakers everyone had.  Except mine were gold.  Now tell me, who let me walk out of the locker room looking like such a horrendous mess?

Bad hair.
Maybe you were the brunette who tried Sun-In and ended up looking like Carrot Top.  Maybe you thought pink highlights were a good statement to make. Maybe you didn’t know what a flat iron was. Or were you like me and experimented briefly (but on multiple occasions) with bangs?  And I’m not talking about the cool side-sweepy ones. Read More »

Breathtaking.

Like most people, the years I spent with little metal boxes cemented to my teeth weren’t exactly my best. Not only did those years coincide with my awkward phase (no coincidence there), but my braces also hurt like crazy. And I’m pretty sure I spent 50% of my time in the bathroom picking food shrapnel out of my teeth.

The other 50% of my time was spent smiling for pictures with my lips closed and being thrown into the back of my mom’s minivan for those monthly adjustment appointments (ouch).

And I wasn’t allowed to chew gum or eat popcorn.
Yeah, it’s really not a time I want to relive.

Unless it has to do with other people.

Behold, one of my greatest Internet finds since TFLN:

When I had braces…

This website won’t help you become a better cook or organize your fashion wish lists, but it will make you laugh and that’s all you really need on a Wednesday morning, right? The premise is simple: readers submit their favorite (OK, most awkward) picture of themselves in braces along with a small anecdote about their experience with the little devils. For example, the photo above, which is pretty awesome in its own right but truly magnificent with this little ditty:  “When I had braces straightening irons weren’t yet perfected.” Read More »

[Welcome to my Weekly Love List, a list on all things I love. Because if I love them, well, obviously you may (and should) love them too. As the Backstreet Boys song says (and yes I am actually quoting them) "My Love is All I Have To Give." So with that throwback, here are this week's list-worthy things…]

If there is one thing I love, it’s nostalgia. There is nothing better than sitting around with your friends looking at photos of those awful bangs, horrible stirrup leggings and puff painted sweatshirts and reminiching about the days of yore.  So for this week’s LOVE List I thought I would delve back into those scrapbooks and bring you my top 5 childhood LOVES. It’s hard to narrow down to five so let us know what you loved back then too!

1. Platform Jump Shoes. This must-have trend (from Vagabonds to Rebels to Sketchers) were the  gym shoe in my middle school. Obviously worn with your Paris Blues or your ribbed light purple Hard Tails. I thought I was too cool for school in my black and white “gym shoes” (which is ironic since they  were unacceptable for gym class).

2. Beanie Babies. I have a TRUNK of these bad boys sitting in basement because TY had me convinced that my discontinued Garcia Bear would be worth thousands by now. Too bad they are selling on ebay for $5.00. Not only does my lunch costs more than that, it’s less than their original $6.00 price tag. But at the time, Beanie babies were like a hot pair of Manolos on major sale: sold out in stores everywhere,  causing fights by pushy mothers nationwide. For a good two years, there was not a holiday or birthday that went by that someone did not give me a Beanie Baby. Read More »