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.