Jessica writes: I was the next "lucky lady" in line to receive the coveted fanny pack and it just so happened to be over the time of our family's first stay-cation! What a better place to wear this little darlin' other than the "Family Farm Days" at Jacob Zook's farm! This being our first time at the event little did we realize that we would be one of the few " English" or non-Amish folks there. I fit right in! Other then my sleeveless blouse, jean shorts and flip-flops!

I like to blend into the crowd. Not make a lot of waves. So donning a fanny pack with an American flag motif on it sounded equivalent to doing cartwheels naked at my high school reunion. I thought, I'll go to Walmart - I'll blend in! But no, that would be my usual wimpy self. So off to a local orchard I went to pick up some produce. I sat in the car for 2 minutes with my palms sweating and my heart beating fast. I'm being ridiculous I thought! I raced in, making no eye contact with anyone, grabbed a basket and covered my fanny pack with it for most of the time. What have I discovered about my self? I have some major image/rejection/confidence issues. Geesh! Thanks a lot fanny pack! Thought I was a fairly well adjusted person. Apparently not. Onto the next Neighborlie gal! Enjoy.

I had no idea that signing on as a Neighborlie would involve willingly participating in public humiliation. But it does. And so, when Fanny magically appeared on my front door (ON MY FRONT DOOR...hanging like a wreath) I had no choice but to suck up my pride and just do it. So I did....and so did my whole family, because what good is a good laugh if you can't share it with the ones you love?

Here it is...out there for all to see on the 4th of July. (I KNOW! So appropriate, right?) We had a surprise visit from my Marine son and he willingly played along too. No one dared wear it for very long, but we played by the rules and wore it in public WHERE OTHER PEOPLE COULD SEE US and it really wasn't so bad. 

We're bringing Fanny's back...I can just see it.
-Terri

SISTERHOOD of the TRAVELING FANNY PACK:  I donned this timeless piece yesterday for a little shopping trip to the Gap.  My husband and children stood around me in the kitchen while I fit it just so around my waist.  "What do you think?"  "America flag" says my 4 year old daughter!  "Maybe put it down a little and to the side" said my 6 year old style-master son, "it's really cool Mom and just in time for July 4th" says my 8 year old, "it's actually kinda sexy" admits my husband with raised brows!! (I got out of there as fast as my fanny pack could take me)!  As I drove to the outlets I may or may not have been humming the song, "I'm bringin' sexy back". 

I walked in with all the confidence my neon skinny jeans and fanny pack could muster thinking to myself,
"don't hate, yo!".  I asked a kind older gentlemen to take a picture of me and told him that there's a group of ladies passing this around.  He laughed a good, long hardy laugh, (which was worth it all).  I walked around and shopped for about an hour and had many second glances.  I was surprised at the attention it
garnered.  They must surely wish they had one just like this.  Look at them wishing.  It was only after my time gallivanting around that I realized I had left a good 14 inches of black rope hanging out from my butt, apparently this fanny pack is made for large and small alike.  I'm bringin' sexy back!! **if you look closely you can see the reflection of my tail.

Be inspired!
Janelle

MICHELLE WRITES...

My sweet 13-year-old niece lives in MN.  Since we don't see each other very often, we make it a point to have a Girly Date when we're together.  A few weeks ago we made a plan to go to King of Prussia mall and spend the day going into fancy stores and trying on hundred dollar sunglasses, thousand dollar shoes, and diamonds that are bigger than our fingers.  Sounds like a pretty fun day, right?!

It was soon after we had this plan in place I found out that our Neighborlie Sisterhood was going to be based on an oh-so-lovely Fanny Pack.  The thought passed through my mind that it would be fun to wear it to the Mall! And since I voiced that thought to other Neighborlies ... I had the Fanny Pack {aka, The Loveliness} in time for our little trip.

We walked out of the private-ish hallway where I had put on The Loveliness, and entered into the public.  I swear, every single person was staring at me.  And I mean, why wouldn't they be?  Obviously, they were all jealous because they didn't have The Loveliness around their waist!  Honestly, it was SO awkward.  I normally hold my purse on my shoulder, but now that I didn't have a purse, I didn't know what to do with my hands!  Should I rest them ON The Loveliness, drawing even more attention to myself,  or let them hang by my side, swinging awkwardly?  One thing was for sure, I was not going to walk arm-in-arm with Maddie, as she was walking a few feet to my right!

"Aunt Michelle... do you have to wear that?  Are we really going to go into a fancy store with it?" 

"Mads, it'll be fun.  I promise!  Trust me!"  

Our first stop was Hermes.  We walked past the large, tall man wearing a fancy suit, and went straight to the counter.  Pointing to The Loveliness around my waist, I inquired if they had any Fanny Packs.

"Um, I'm not sure ... Do we have any Fanny Packs in stock?" she asked her co-worker.  "I don't think we have any in the store currently.  I'm sorry" she replied.   At first I thought she was just being polite, not wanting me to feel silly for asking about Fanny Packs in a super-fancy French shop!  But when she proceeded to tell me that they might have some in next week and to check back then... I started laughing and said, "Are you serious?!"  {FRIENDS, HERMES SELLS FANNY PACKS!!}

I proceeded to explain why I was wearing The Loveliness.

She was not amused.  

Friends, I had just unintentionally insulted the Hermes Lady!  Epic Fail!

We walked around the store, in an futile attempt to save face, and then slipped out quietly.  Sweat was running out of every pore in my body from the uncomfortableness, but I told Maddie that I wanted to try one more store.  THIS time, I would not laugh.

We walked next door into Gucci where I asked the same question.  Within a few minutes, a Kind Young Man came back holding two options!!  GUCCI SELLS FANNY PACKS!!  He told me what colors they came in, and I said I'd like to try on the pink one.

And so I did.  Without laughing. 

{Can I just say that there is nothing flattering about a fanny pack on me?  Even when it's Gucci. And even when it's on sale for $375.}

I looked it over closely, unzipped it and such, and told the Kind Young Man that I wasn't going to purchase it today.  I put The Loveliness back on and walked out of the store, head held high and dripping with sweat.

Maddie informed me that the Kind Young Man was laughing with his co-worker ... I'm glad I could help him have a better day, you know?

We were headed towards Tiffany's when Maddie asked me quietly, "Are you going to wear it in there?"  "No, we're done with it."  "Oh good" she said with a smile, "That was very awkward!"

I still can't believe it... Hermes & Gucci have fanny packs!  I honestly thought these went out with scrunchies and leg warmers.  This experience did not go at all like I had expected!  But at the end of the day Maddie said she really did have a good time, The Loveliness and all!  And that's really all that mattered!

KRISTEN writes: "Sisterhood of the Traveling FANNY PACK!

Even my five-year-old was embarrassed and said, "Mom, don't wear that thing where anyone can see you". Oh, but I did. I sure did. We took a family walk into West Reading on a busy Saturday afternoon and showed off the gloriousness of the fanny pack. I worked it, ya know? Worked it. -Kristen

Stay tuned! MICHELLE received it later this week and wore it right past the security guards of a high-end boutique...

This week on Neighborlies Facebook page, Jeane` posted the following:

Perhaps a few of you have read the New York Times Bestseller "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" by Ann Brashares, or watched the movie. Well, I decided to infuse a little fun among the women of Neighbories, and chose a late eighties/early nineties accessory to pass among us in the spirit of sharing our experience of a common item. Upon receiving this very practical (and "stylish", I might add) piece of awesomeness, they must don it in a very public place and have someone 
take a picture of them in it. The picture along with a description of their experience will be promptly posted here, so we can all bask in their humbled glory. SO...Stay tuned as we embark on the "Sisterhood of the Traveling ___________".  (Any guess as to what this mystery accessory could be?)
 
We received several guesses (such as shoulder pads, scrunchies and acid-washed jeans), but we will wait to reveal what this lovely accessory is that has begun to distribute itself to our contributors when the first of them posts their picture! We will also be posting it to Pandora's Box for those not on Facebook, so stay tuned to this page for a little fun! (Perhaps you could start up your own Traveling (Whatever) thing among your friends...spice up your summer with some silliness.

ALSO, in the upcoming weeks, we will be introducing THEME WEEKS. We will be asking special guest contributors to weigh in on topics that are close to our heart, such as ADOPTION, INFERTILITY and MARRIAGE. They might not appear in an issue per se, but will be featured through out the week that we promote a particular theme. We will notify our subscribers of when such a "THEME WEEK" will be and how it will work. We have received important and treasured feedback from our readers and look forward to having open and honest conversations about what so many are living with and working through. 

As always, we deeply appreciate the time you share with us at Neighborlies and love hearing that you were here. 

With excitement and nervous anticipation, we decided together to throw a small launch party prior to the release of our first issue. It wasn't necessary, but after working on this project for several months, it felt right to cap it off with a celebration. Besides, since convening for the first time last September, we've come to look for any old excuse to get together. This time, we each invited a few close friends and family to celebrate the completion of this online magazine with us.  In a nearby town we found the sweetest old house that is part of the complex in one of America's oldest communities, The Ephrata Cloister, which dates back to the 1700's. We found it's place and purpose in history fitting for a celebration of a collaboration that focuses on importance of neighborliness.

We christened Janelle (one of our contributors and an event planner extraordinaire) to wave her proverbial party wand and make it magical, as she is naturally inclined to do with even the mere idea of an event. It took her an entire nanosecond to agree (and create a private Pinterest party inspiration board) and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief (Kristen and Heather were able to shelve their Uncrustables-as-hors d'oeuvre idea, while Jeane` quietly stuck her great-grandmother's dusty silk tulips back into storage). Inspired by warm, soothing colors, touches of whimsy and thoughts of Springtime, Janelle weaved her magic on a dime.  We were each commissioned to provide an appetizer, beverages and an enviable gift basket for our giveaway table.  The favors were assembled using small boxes from Michaels that Rachel tirelessly put together, one-at-a-time, as her children sat waiting for their breakfast, then lunch, then dinner (JUST kidding. She's a great mama. She threw cheese sticks at them intermittently and even provided canteens filled with tap water).  She lovingly filled the boxes with chocolates (who can't feel the love when being handed a little dark and milk?), wrapped them with twine and lace and adorned their plain white lids with adorable mini cards from this company.  

On a rainy evening a few nights before the big shin dig, we convened in our yoga pants-and-sweatshirts to make the bunting by cutting triangles from plain old computer paper and stapling them to ribbon. The effect they added to the rugged post-and-beam common area was beautiful and celebratory!  Between a few of us vintage dish hoarders, er, lovers, we had china plates to serve 80! The centerpieces on the tables were arranged using sections of burlap covered in intricate lace, topped with vintage books, a few candles in jelly jars and blue mason jars filled with greens and white tulips. Easy, accessible and best of all, plenty of classy without plenty of expense.  The dessert table overflowed with mini cupcakes, eclairs and a small cake made by House of Clarendon.  The mantle was arranged using strips of lace tied onto a long piece of ribbon, an abundance of candles in unique containers and a lovely original piece by local artist, Aimee Weaver.  

A few of the appetizers and their recipes were ones we were still hankering for the next day. Here they are, in no particular order of next-day craving:

....Gouda in Puffed Pastry, with apples on the side, (creatively served on a large chunk of a tree trunk), 

....Mango salsa mixed with sour cream, served with Pita chips (both from Costco) and 

....The Barefoot Contessa's Herbed Ricotta Bruschetta.  

We ended the evening by each taking a turn to share how each of our backgrounds have shaped what our contributions will focus on with Neighborlies and revealed the website on the overhead screen, giving our guests a tour of the online "neighborhood".  It was a special moment for all of us that had worked so hard to make it happen, even as we are unsure of where this path we are happy to be on is leading us. Here are a few snapshots from our evening....

As you come to know the women of "Neighborlies", you will see they mostly write on subjects that tie to their area of specialty in our neighborhood. There is, however, a time when a subject matter unrelated to anything weighs on the heart and begs to be shared. This is the place for such pieces. It will always be real and it will never be predictable. When you see Pandora's Box featured, we encourage you to stop and look in. It's possible that the surprise inside is just what your heart needs to hear.