welcome to elaney!

A lot of points to make here.  We’re giving you a Walter Henegar style all-over-the-place warning:

One thing we notice a lot is how friend groups can have moods.  We have a great friend group here in ATL, and we are all pretty similar.  Smart, Christian girls that have a slight cynical edge.  We more or less at the same point in life, and we are experiencing a lot of things at the same time.   [about to have a large jump, stay with us]. 

Whenever the leaves start to change, we find ourselves evaluating past falls and how things have changed from year to year.  “Where were we at this point, remember the first time you return to college in the fall, bonfires how we love thee, we have a strange craving for tailgating food…”  Fall makes us feel like a new start.  Like a new beginning.

And for one reason or another, maybe it’s the season change, maybe it’s the friend group mood, but it seems that all of us have been experiencing a restoration of faith.  A renewed sense of hope.  An excitement about the future.  An appreciation of the present. 

One of our friends has made a resolution for fall ’09 (keeping streamline in ’09 alive!).  She has let cynicism go.  And this is her picture of who she sees:

“Today was a big day. Or maybe it was the weekend. I don’t know what it was, but I’m eerily hopeful and trusting. I’ve taken cynicism, folded it neatly, and put it on the shelf….

The Non-Cynical Person:  When someone tells her she is praying for her, the Non-Cynical Person believes her, and she might do the same…She thinks people are telling the truth when they call in sick…She stops at stop signs, and she writes her grandmother a letter…She believes in a cause…She can let go of the pain from a friend who has disappointed her, and not be bitter when that friend asks, “How ARE you?” She can understand that it’s not about her…She welcomes people any time, even if they are inconsistent, inconsiderate, or boring…She isn’t resentful with someone asks her for time or money, but she prayerfully considers the request…She folds the laundry instead of leaving it in the dryer overnight…She cries in church when she hears the gospel; she doesn’t fight the tears…She is hopeful, and even when she isn’t, she is hopeful for hope…She unclenches the fists of her spirit and learns that she can trust God…”

So here’s to fall.  And here is to restoration.

“I was like, why are you so obsessed with me?” – Mariah Carey
“Are you obsessed with me?” - Reader Frances to Reader Kenny, circa 2000, showing early signs of cleverness

In what’s becoming a paradigm shift in which “reality” stars make more than actresses, the Hills is back and the stars are bank.  How much do they make?  Lauren Conrad was making $125,000 an episode before she left, and she had a stipulation in her contract that no other star’s salary could match hers.  Audrina, Lo, and Heidi make $100,000.  Spencer makes $65K and Brody Jenner makes $45k.  (In comparison, the stars of The Real Housewives series receive a reported $30,000 a show.)  You have to read the whole article that describes how much they make for appearances, etc.  It’s crazier than Speidi.

Oh no you de’ent.  As everyone knows, we L-O-L-O-L-O-L-O-V-E Lady Gaga and despite Kanye’s recent indiscretions, we love Kanye (eLanye is our hip hip alter ego).  And they are coming to ATL on December 11th!!!  Dear Santa, we have been good.  Please give us tickets to Lady Gaga and Kanye’s “Fame Kills” tour!!!

The interns are always getting emails with readers asking, “where is the best place to get a reasonably priced business suit for the ladies?”  The answer is easy – Banana Republic.  They have all the basics and really good sales.  However, we would like to encourage you ladies to not limit yourself to the business suit, even if you work in a more formal environment.  It is totally okay to mix it up a little.  If you can’t show skin, might as well show a little personality.

In fact, we believe that a good fashion sense makes you look more like you have it together.  So go ahead ladies, and burn your panty hose!    Don’t get crazy – still look professional, but pair classic plants with a trendy shoe (see below).  You’ll look good and feel confident.  A recipe for success.

We’re obsessed with the Bert Show.  The longer we live in Atlanta, the more we love all things ATL (yeah Braves!, love you Southern gourmet, love you Inman Park boutiques, love you Decatur, ect.), but the Bert Show could go to the top of the list.  This week they are cataloguing the soundtrack of their lives…we thought it might be fun to do the same on elaney.  What songs do you associate with the past events in your life?

First Single Purchased:  Travis Tritt, T-r-o-u-b-l-e
First Album Purchased:  New Kids on the Block, Hanging Tough
First Kiss:  George Strait, Carrying Your Love With Me
First Heartbreak:  Give Me My Money Back, Ben Folds Five
8th Grade Unrequited Love:  We Danced Anyway, Deanna Carter
First Dance:  Greenday, Basket Case (Head banging in 5th grade)
High School Heartbreak:  David Gray, This Year’s Love   
College Friends:  R. Kelly, Remix to Ignition
College Beach Trip:  Jo-Jo, Get Out
Song It Your Head Today:  Ting Tings, That’s Not My Name

“Well if I can’t look skinny, I might as well look rich.” – Columbus, GA Woman Wisdom