Hello readers! Let me begin by telling you that I’m not Jamie. I’m not stylish, nor do I have cute Etsy works adorning my home. I don’t know anything about America’s Next Top Model, or Project Runway. I don’t have a blog so pretty I swoon when I see it, I don’t have a cute new hair do complete with perfect bangs and lastly- I don’t have a boyfriend.

I’m Brandy, I write at “It’s like, I’m…mmmagic“.

I bring up the singleness because it’s one more thing that Jamie and I don’t have in common. Yet, Jamie falls into a group of coupled people that I adore. The kind that manages to have a boyfriend, yet isn’t consumed by them. She mentions him, but never have I once read her blog feeling as though my life is less because I’m single. And that? Is something this single girl can appreciate.

Maybe it’s the season- summer brings out couples in full force- I find myself struggling to navigate sidewalks, determined couples refusing to let go of each others hand being my biggest obstacle. Or maybe it’s my recent movie viewing- watching Sex and the City (however much I disliked the movie), maybe me swooning for a Big of my own. Or maybe it’s my musical taste (”Paperweight” by Schulyer Fisk makes the idea of sleeping alone sound about as fun as chewing on tinfoil). Or maybe it’s all of these things. Or none of them. I just know that lately, I’ve found myself feeling like the world is divided into three camps- singles, couples who I adore (and Jamie falls into this group) and couples I want to bash over the head with my new wedge heels I bought while ignoring all those couples who dress alike on the weekends.

I’m not sure why the dressing identical bothers me (maybe it was the matching visors? Or maybe it was the fact that they wore visors in a clothing store to begin with?), but it does. So, to combat my rage, I thought I would make a list to share…..

5 Things I Want All Girls In a Relationship To Know

1. Jen and Brad would dress to compliment each other. Tony Parker and Eva do the same. Ditto Will and Jada. I’m all about dressing to COMPLIMENT the other person, but when I walk into a store and see you wearing the EXACT same Nike shirt, the EXACT same yoga pants (and sir, those pants were two sizes too small. And not in the good way, for shame!), the EXACT same visor (we already know what I think of wearing a visor inside) and the EXACT same shoes- it’s weird. And not “cool-we-are-so-cutting-edge

I leave Sunday for my super amazing Orlando vacation. Now while I’m hanging out boozing it up with Mickey and partying with Spiderman, I’m leaving the blog keys to Jenn. She promised to take care of the Lovely while I’m gone. Of course, I couldn’t leave this blog all barren and lonely for 7 days, so I’ve lined up some great, no - AMAZING guest bloggers to post while I’m away. Seriously, you will laugh and you might cry and you will curse the day I come back and take over control again because I will not live up to the awesomeness that was here while I was gone.

So you better check in every day and leave my guest bloggers some love!

Secondly, I was checking my little blog stat thingy and came across a delightful surprise. Turns out I’m up for a Blogger’s Choice Award! The always fabulous Lisa of The Lisa Show nominated me for Best Blog About Stuff. Blogging directions are over-rated which is why I’m all about the Stuff. I think that describes this little blog very well. Many thanks to Lisa!

While I’m telling you to go vote me (which you should), I’m also asking you to vote for my friends! Seriously, if everyone voted for our 20SBs who have been nominated, we’d sweep the Blogger’s Choice Awards. Go register and vote for all of them. It doesn’t take too long! If I missed anyone, let me know.

Oh! How Lovely!

Margot to Bed

The Larissa Monologues

Keep Your Receipt (here too)

Surviving Myself

Distracted Spunk

No Ordinary Rollercoaster

Must Love Geek

The Lisa Show

Beyond Megapixels

Vote or Die.

With that, I’m off for some magic in the Land of the Mouse. Catch me on twitter, maybe, if I’m not too busy spewing fairy dust and falling over from one too many times on the teacups.

The winner of the Second Party giveaway is…..

Allie of Allie’s Answers!

Thanks everyone for entering. You should all go show Second Party some support and pick up something that strikes your fancy! Super big thanks to Megan and Katie for doing this giveaway!

Etsy features and giveaways will become a regular thing around here once I get back from vacation. Make sure you check back for more!

Allie, email me with your address and I’ll forward it to the girls!

Tents? Sleeping bags? Icky bugs? Cooking food over the fire? Being handed a roll of toilet paper and pointed to the woods? Jamie doesn’t fuck with that.

Pop up campers. People who come by and light the fire for you. Swimming pools. Actual bathrooms.  Yes yes yes and yes. Jamie likes. Also, know as sissy camping.

Well not so much anymore. I haven’t been “camping” in ages. When I was younger we would pack up our little Voyager mini van and pop up camper and hit the road. We were off! Off to Chesterton, Indiana? I know, I know, camping in Indiana? There was a campground called Sand Creek, that my family would go to all the time when we were younger

We’d drive up, stop in the store/office and get our little plot of camping space and get settled in. Of course, after we got the camper set up, we’d make a run to the nearest grocery store to stock up on food. Food that we would cook on our little stove. Inside our camper. I’d get some marshmallows and some chocolate bars to get the real feeling that I’m camping. I was totally justifying my fake camping, even at age 7 by making s’mores on the fire, even though someone from the campground would come by and light our fire at night.

Whatever, I’m camping, give me my s’mores!

Also, in the wilderness that was our campground, there was a game room with vending machines and PACMAN, a store full stocked with anything you might need while “camping”. There was a swimming pool, naturally. Attached to the pool were showers and bathrooms. Don’t forget about mini golf, duh. What would camping be without mini golf? NOTHING. Then of course, if we were feeling extra rugged that night, a hayride. A tractor with a trailer filled with bales of hay for you to sit on and drive through the campground, taking in all the sights.

I mean, I guess there were people that went into the woods to do “real” camping but how real is it if you have all the aforementioned things at your disposal? So I guess that means there are three kinds of camping - real camping, sissy camping and then “real” sissy camping. In “real” sissy camping, all you get is a tent and a sleeping bag but it’s still in the camp ground with the rest of us sissys.

Fake vacations and sissy camping.

That’s just how we rolled here at the House of Lovely.

July 16th

Personally, I cannot wait to see Tim Gunn draped in pink fabric telling people “this worries me”. No but seriously, this is like the most ridiculous picture I have ever seen, it doesn’t even look real.

Anyway, get ready, bitches!

ETA:

This season will be on Bravo. Next season it will move to Lifetime!

Some of you know of my new found obsession with all things Etsy. I’m kind of obsessed and spend my free internet time finding new things to spend money I don’t really have. Also, I have been featuring some of my favorite Etsy shops here and there on this adorable little blog. Some of the packages I have sent out to bloggy friends have had stuff from Etsy in them as well. We are all about Etsy here at Oh! How Lovely!

Anyway, I teamed up with a lovely new shop on Etsy. Megan and Katie are from Austin, Texas and have a love of all things design and paper and so Second Party was born! Not only am I featuring them, but they are giving away a gift!

They have some really cute stuff up like these note cards.

If those don’t tickle your fancy, there is much more!

Starting today, you will get a chance to own some of Second Party’s lovely work! All you have to do is leave a comment by Friday of what your favorite item is from their shop. That’s it! Pretty easy, right?

We will randomly choose one winner to receive the item they like best on Friday. I will forward your information to girls of Second Party and they will get your prize right out to you.

Get started. Go check out their shop and pick out your favorite item. Once you do that, come back and comment and you’re in!

I have pretty hair. It’s long, down to the middle of my back and when I blow it out, it’s shiny and super straight. People tell me all the time how pretty it is and they like to touch it, even if they don’t know me. That kind of freaks me out. Anyway, one of my favorite things is to go to the salon because I always get told how gorgeous it is. Confidence booster! I also hate going to the salon because I’m always afraid it will get butchered! I rarely go get haircuts because of that reason, plus as a nanny, my long hair is always up in a bun. Babies and long, styled hair, don’t mix. I was incredibly overdue though, my last cut was in December.

Yesterday I made my trek after work to Urban Lift here in Chicago and $60 later (tip included), Mary hooked me up. She cleaned up my layers, took about two inches off and gave me some bangs. She was lovely and I highly recommend her if you are in need of some hair therapy! She also said if I need anything to call and email her and she would gladly talk me through any hair disasters that might sneak attack me. Plus, PLUS, free bang trims whenever I need them. I think I’ve found my hair guru here, people. She is that good.

I know I just wrote a whole entry about my hair but whatever, I can have one thing I’m vain about! So yes, love my hair.

Since some of you asked via twitter, I’m adding a picture. I should have taken it yesterday when my hair was blown out by Mary because I will never get it to look as good! I’m at work and it’s been up in a bun since I got out the shower so sorry for the messy waves, but you can see my bangs. Also, I don’t have time to pose and take 500 pictures until I get a incredibly flattering one, haha, so take it or leave it!

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Not all of you unfortunately, but 3 of you! Thanks for entering the contest, everyone! You gave me and my judge a good laugh. Should you need a chuckle to help you get through to the end of the day, go take a little looksee at the entries.

The reason I chose jokes for this contest is because last week, Will and I kept telling each other really bad jokes. So who better than boyfriend judge this contest? NO ONE.

Did your joke prevail in the joke contest of all contests? Find out the winners and their jokes after the jump!

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I never really had lots of close friends. I’m a little guarded, I guess you can say. I’m okay with that. Although, sometimes I do wish I had a close knit group of girlfriends ala Sex and the City. Maybe that is probably just because I have been nothing but that for the past two-ish weeks. (yeah, I totally finished the whole thing yesterday!)

Anyway, today one of my best friends leaves for school for 18 months. My sister. She will be attending a school for make up and special effects just outside Pittsburgh. Any blog friends out that way? You should take care of my little sister.

We will be visiting soon.

Obviously there will be spoilers, don’t read if you haven’t see the movie. Duh.

Always eager to protect their fans, the cast of the “Sex and the City” movie and writer/director Michael Patrick King went to extraordinary lengths to keep much of the film’s plot a secret. Now that the movie has hit theaters, here are some interesting tidbits about what didn’t make it into the film, and more.

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