I’d love to dance around with you and share a cocktail (or ten) so come hang!

♥ Sarah Mincher

Ah my loves, spring is most definitely in the air! Gone are those horrid winter doldrums, it’s that glorious time of year where you can’t help but feel happier, prettier, and more adventurous. ‘Tis the season to embrace new beginnings, new beaus, and new beauty routines! I decided that the past week would be the perfect time to (lovingly) cast aside my signature scent and experiment with perfumes that remind me of the magical freshness that is spring.

Before I delve into my favorite spring fragrance picks it’s important to note that the same perfume often smells differently on each individual due to one’s unique body chemistry. What might smell achingly lovely on your girlfriend can produce a vastly less appealing scent when you spritz it on yourself. That’s why I’ve enlisted some helpful volunteers (i.e. family members with no choice in the matter) to help me test out the scents featured below in order to get the most comprehensive verdict. But enough jibber jabber, let’s get to the goodies!

DOLCE & GABBANA LIGHT BLUE

Sephora: 0.8 oz bottle for $48.00

I can sum up what the aroma of Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue fragrance reminds me of in the illustrious words of Outkast: “so fresh and so clean clean”. It gives off a sweet, citrusy scent that I find to be both refreshing and relaxing. While I enjoyed how it smelled on me, I did prefer the effect it had on my sister. I pity the boy who walks by her if she’s wearing this, he doesn’t stand a chance. I must also add that my boyfriend wears Light Blue for men and I want to bury my nose into his skin every time he applies it. Très sexy. The only negative that my sister and I found with this fragrance is that it doesn’t seem to last terribly long, but two words can remedy that issue: travel size!

BVLGARI ROSE ESSENTIELLE

Sephora: 1 oz bottle for $65.00

During one of my characteristic wanderings through the Wonderland that is Sephora I discovered this gem of a perfume. I LOVE IT. Bvlgari Rose Essentielle is the ultimate expression of femininity captured into a scent. Is there any flower that smells more luxuriously ladylike than that of the rose? This perfume is subtle, fresh, and classic. Prepare yourself to be complimented. While wearing this I find it easy to imagine that I’m an Old Hollywood starlet making my debut at the Oscars with Cary Grant as my escort. Le sigh.

My idol Ava Gardner would be totally into this perfume, I’m convinced.

MARC JACOBS DAISY

Sephora: 1.7 oz bottle for $62.00

Marc Jacobs Daisy is a fragrance that was made to embody spring. Its light and sweet scent is fruity and floral, but I found that it develops into a sultry Gardenia and Jasmine infused concoction as time wears on. Both my mother and I received numerous compliments while wearing this, mostly from men might I add. A word of caution: a little goes a long way with this product, so don’t go spray-crazy when applying it or it will smell way too overpowering and you’ll be the bane of every packed elevator.

ESCADA ESPECIALLY ESCADA

Sephora: 1 oz bottle for $46.00

I received a sample of Especially Escada from Sephora, and the moment I applied it I immediately closed my eyes and just swooned over how incredible it smelled. Needless to say, I bought a bottle the next day. This irresistible floral scent is fresh, glamorous, and playful. Whenever I have it on at work I constantly get asked by the guys what I’m wearing if they catch a whiff of it. One of my bosses even demanded that I write down the name of it so he could buy it that day for his wife, I kid you not. This is also a new favorite of my boyfriend’s, who when pressed for a review described it as “sexy and feminine”. Touché, Escada!

Lastly, a quick note regarding the application of these aforementioned spring scents. I would get into detail regarding the importance of pulse points, et cetera, but I think Coco Chanel summed it up best when she advised to “wear it wherever you want to be kissed”. And with that in mind, spritz up and enjoy the season, ladies! 

xoxo

Have you seen my Donut? (by DAX!)

SO alright. Its pretty much obvious that all of us here at SorryDarlin are really into Unicorns. I mean…just look at any part of the site, and I’m sure you’ll see a unicorn somewhere. Sarah has even adopted (and by that I mean created) her own unicorn inspired dialect of the English language. Featuring such gems as “Dudeicorn” and “Everypony” and lets not forget the word “Prance” which can be substituted for any phrase meaning “to move forward or back in any kind of 3-dimensional space”. So, yeah, we like unicorns here.

I’ve always loved unicorns, from the time when my fat little effeminate self first laid eyes on “My Little Pony” or She-ra’s Horse: Swift-wind. Every time I went to a school book fair, I would demand five cash dollars from my mother so that I may purchase a new Unicorn Poster. That was a must. Other boys would always get that generic looking baseball dude or the stock photo red Ferrari. Not me! I was immediately drawn towards the unicorn section—preferably something with lightning and a laser grid background in space… and lots of wind in the hair, the kind of wind you can really only get while wielding lightning bolts in space. Yeah…. well…okay I’d either get the unicorn, or something involving a pile of kittens—but that’s beside the point.

Do Unicorns howl at the moon?

The point is that unicorns are fucking awesome. Even as a pudgy 3^rd grader, it was completely obvious. I mean, come on, can your stupid Ferrari run on lasers in space? I so don’t think so. However, the question I pose to you now: were unicorns always so awesome?

I call him sir Prance Alot

Talk of unicorns go as far back as the 4^th century BC. Sightings and capture of the majestic creature spanned the breadth of the ancient world. They’ve been held in high regard in china, India, and all of Europe. They even have cameos in the Christian bible, the Hebrew Tanakh, and Chinese folklore. They show up in tapestries and sculpture. Descriptions among the ancient world, however, seem to vary…yet one thing is constant: Horse-like (kindof), fast, hard to catch, they really like virgins, they’re strong, sometimes pretty, and could easily be confused for a rhinoceros or perhaps a narwhal. They’ve shown up in bestiaries since bestiaries were a thing. They’ve always been prized for the magic in their horn, which has been said to cure all disease and detect poison, as well as being able to purify water. For such reasons, they have always been desired by kings, anyone who wants power, or anyone just trying not to catch the black death.

Unicorns are said to be mortal enemies with Lions and Elephants and will only appear to those female virgins who are pure of heart. Apparently, the only way to catch a unicorn is as follows….

A place perhaps to rest.

Okay…so, ya take a girl. Who is also a virgin and not a complete bitch… you go into the woods and you have her sit down. Any old place is fine, right? THEN you wait…. EVETUALLY a unicorn will just randomly stroll by and be all “Golly I’m a tired unicorn! OH LOOK! She has a lap! Perhaps I will lay my head down as to rest my eyes for just a moment. Though while I do! I sure hope no one stabs me in the ribs with a spear!”

NEVER trust a naked Virgin.

And boom! You got your unicorn!

So then…is that how the world re-discovered unicorns? I don’t know if you recall, but there was a bleak time in the 1990s where unicorns essentially disappeared. There was no more “my little pony” there was no She-Ra, there was no “Last Unicorn”. The sightings of unicorns became limited to the dealer’s alley at dragon*con. Some 4’9” amputee in a peasant top and jingly chainmail belt would stand proudly beside her 4×5 foot painting she worked so hard on in AP art class last year and announce “Yes, I still believe”.

Unicorns were forced back into the forest of imagination; only to occasionally peek out into obscure pop culture. It wasn’t safe for them, being a nerd wasn’t cool yet and the unicorn knew it. Gone were the times when kings would employ a shady epothecurian to grind their alicorn into a fine powder or have it fashioned into the one safe drinking goblet. (btw “alicorn” is the chemical element that unicorn horns are comprised of , this was usually just a goat’s horn or that of a narwhale *the more you know). The only people who loved unicorns were fat nerds at book fares, hoping that no one noticed that you DIDN’T buy the Ferrari. So, what happened? Oh wait..i think I remember…

Die hipster scum.

 HIPSTERS. I can safely assume that the only positive impact that hipsters had on our modern society is the reintroduction of the unicorn into every day life. They may be snobbish and elitist and using the word “ironic” wrong, but they did save the unicorn from extinction. Now you can’t go into a store without finding at least five unicorns…and if you can, I suggest you shop elsewhere. Granted, the unicorns you find most places are meant to be hilarious and “ironic” but they’re still unicorns. They still possess the magic and mystery that attracted early cryptozoologists to them in the first place. They still make kings sleep safely at night and they still stupidly trust virgins sitting in a clearing at night alone in the woods. They’re still unicorns and therefore they’re still AWESOME.

-DAX!

for more information: find me at the bar, get me a drink and i’ll gladly talk your ear off about unicorns!

I’m so excited to start blogging for Sorry, Darlin and join this wonderful group of ladies!  It’s always tough being the new girl in town (I just moved here in September), but everyone has made me feel so welcome and I’m proud to call Atlanta home.

But first! Intros!

I’m Susannah and I help run a record label based out of Montreal, Machette Records. I’ve worked in the music bizz since I was 18 – touring, putting out records, press, the works! Since music is/has always been the foundation of my life, why not write about it here? I’ll be covering local shows and happenings, fun interviews, album reviews, monthly mixtapes – all things glitter and grime! Don’t worry, I’ll most likely include pictures of shoes and candy in all my posts too.

A girl is nothing without her records and shoes!

With a new year comes new changes, and I’ve been thinking about challenging myself in SO many different areas (the gym is never going to happen though), but especially ENGAGEMENT. I used to listen to each album I bought obsessively. When I listened, that’s all I would do. There was no texting, no Facebooking or Tweeting. Nothing else! Going to the local record store or rummaging through my own collection used to be a treat, not a chore. It’s easy to think “so what” and go back to running a thousand errands, Starbucks soy latte in hand, idly listening to my iPod on shuffle. I think we’re all like this in some ways (let’s face it, it’s hard work being young entrepreneurs!), but I think we’re losing something. I’m no longer engaging with and having a relationship with music the way I used to. So, that’s one of my (many) challenges to myself this year, and to you! Give yourself time and make the effort to truly connect deeply and completely with the things (and people, duh!) you love.

All that being said, I hope to meet EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU soon! If I’m not at a show, you can find me at:

• Elmyr
• Criminal Records and Wax N Facts
• Murder Kroger
• Punk Rock Karaoke
• MJQ Saturday nights!

What better way to consummate our new friendship then by dropping my first monthly mixtape on all y’all! It features some bands/artists I work with and a couple local favorites.  It’s a dreamy, shoegaze-y, haze-y little number. Enjoy <3

Your Newest Darlin,
-s

(Facebook x Twitter)

Then I stole a page from the “Sarah-Minch Handbook” and realized…I’ll just write about stuff that I like! Or stuff that I’m randomly interested in at the moment. Of course, whatever I write has to have some purpose to it—or better yet some PORPOSE (hah..dolphins)—so I figured I could throw in a little bit of history—or HER-Story (HAH…I’m done now). Which I will do until the time as such when I have come to be bored about doing as thus.

All over the interwebs as of late, pictures of the absurdly awesome “Hello Kitty House” have been reappearing over and over. Loungefly has a whole line of adorably chic Hello Kitty embossed purses and luggage. There was that amazing M.A.C line (which sadly was produced during the height of a recession so the color deposit value of the collection was slightly less than sub-par) that had really adorable packaging and an “Alice in Wonderland” themed commercial. Theeen there was that kind of tragic Forever 21 collection that made everyone feel a bit too much like a pre-teen (not in the good way).

Hello Kitty M.A.C Line (And yes, i bought all of it)

I often wonder if people really know that much about our apple-headed feline friend? Or if they just recognize it as “ADORABLE” and buy it accordingly? Either way, I know for me, I always prefer Kitty when she’s on a black background or making that ambiguous angry face (which can’t be easy for someone with no legitimate facial features).

The Best of Both Worlds: the aptly named "Punk" Hello Kitty

Though, I guess everyone has their own version that they love the most…and that’s what makes good branding.

Hello Kitty was originally designed in 1974 for a company called “Sanrio” by an artist named Yuko Shimizu. Hello Kitty was intended to be a featured illustration on a vinyl coin purse to be marketed to young girls. Depicted wearing what one can only assume are blue overalls, a striped shirt, and a pink bow; she followed the typical design guidelines set fourth by all anime characters before her (and there after) of having a relatively blank, expressionless, face that the viewer can interpret as they see fit. Therefore, making the character instantly relatable to anyone who views her. Since then, not much about the character has changed…except maybe her color scheme on occasion. She really has never DONE anything. Hello Kitty has always been a relatively stationary figure more than a beloved children’s cartoon character. I mean yeah there have been animated versions of her, but those didn’t even start until the first “Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater” in 1987—more than an entire decade after her initial conception.

The Original Hello Kitty

Really, Hello Kitty is a logo. She is a stamp with a bow on it that girls (and gay men) tend to be drawn toward. I’m totally no different! Hell, you give me anything pink with a cat on it and I’m pretty much sold—Though, in the grand scheme of more respectable cartoon cats like…. Oh I dunno… Garfield, Felix, Heathcliff, Sylvester, Furball, Fritz, Tom; the entire cast of “the Aristocats”, “Gay Purree”, and “Cats Don’t Dance”—Hello kitty kind of falls flat in comparison. But I guess she’s supposed to right?

Even still she’s got stores, a plane, a house, high end fine jewelry, video games, a toaster, a waffle iron, a vibrator, a shot gun, and probably a tattoo on your slutty cousin’s tramp stamp region with her face on it. All achieved primarily by remaining motionless throughout time. So then…What makes her so special? What makes her so timeless?

OH I know. Its cuz she’s ADORABLE.

ADORABLE!

So ladies and lady-boys take note: you can get your own EVERYTHING if you’re cute enough and only speak when spoken to.

…wait…what?

-DAX!

Typical US.

Daxclamation and I met on the Masquerade dance floor years and years ago when DSC was the only party worth going to, I wore white cowboy boots all the time and we were all obsessed with Bloc Party. Ahhh, the good old Atlanta days. Anyways, he marched up to me in a glorious cloud of perfume, hairspray and ciggys and made some snide comment on why all the cute boys were dancing with me when they should be dancing with him. I liked him immediately and totally agreed. We’ve been fighting crime together ever since.

This is how gaybies are made.

THE TOP 6 REASONS I REALLY LIKE DAX (becase 5 was too little and 10 gave me a headache)

1. We text all day long. From the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep some sort of hilarious commentary on our adventures is happening via text message. Plus, we sort of have our own secret language thats composed mainly of the words “jampax, jampons, gayleg and bananaface” that can sum up any life situation. I seriously laugh all day due to this and I blame this sort of constant + considerable attention as the direct reason I havent needed a boyfriend in almost 5 years. Thanks a lot, asshole.

3. Sometimes we do impressions of our other glitter counterpart Michael Payne for hours and hours and it just never ever gets old (OMG sidenote Michael is so the next subject of my sparkle blogs). We are endlessly entertaining to each other. In fact, we do impressions of everyone we know and we’d do them for you but you might not get it or you might hate us. Probably the latter but its funny to us and that’s what REALLY counts.

3. Approximately one hour or two drinks in to a night out together we prance over to the bathrooms for a “Dax over”. A Dax over will leave your hair big, your lips full of glitter and a teeeeeny bit of your soul missing. He always screams “BARDOU HONEY. BARDOU” to me as he teases my hair and I loveeeee being yelled at. Plus I can text and eat snickers while he does my hair, and who doesn’t like that.

Hosting The Miss East Atlanta Pageant together. It takes a Queen to crown a Queen!

4. Somehow our outfit color schemes always match and we never plan it. I think this happens because our menstrual cycles have synced but I cant find any scientific evidence to support this. Oh well.

5. We have fat girl alter egos called “Stacey and Bethanny” who have their own alter ego voices and cry tears of ranch. Stacey and Bethanny love chinese food and bad romantic comedies. Stacey and Bethanny might be lesbians.

6. More than anything I like Dax because I know none of my um…crazy tendencies or late night hijinks will ever scare him off (I mean, what personal boundaries DIDNT we break last summer. TMI is so not a word in a our auto text, thank you very much) and that’s more than I can say for most men. In fact, I think our mutual weirdness is the cheese that holds us together and I want to get old and moldy together, you know? And then get lots of botox, marry rich politicians and have a show together on vh1. THE END.

annnnd this pretty much sums up our friendship.

I LOVE YOU DAX! XO Sarah Mincher

AND don’t forget to follow us on glitter as we continue to fight nightclub crime and bad hair everywhere —> (Click to follow, duh) —-> @Daxclamation + @SarahMincher

XO Sarah Mincher + the lovely ladies of Sorry, Darlin!

This might be one of the toughest and most emotional things I have blogged about, in, well…ever. I am writing this one out for the rebels, for the outcasts, for the ones who never thought they could make it, for the ones that were inspired to do something bigger and never settling. I am writing this one in honor of a man that I looked up to as my own flesh in blood. Steve. This one is for you.

Hello, My name is Zoë Cipolla and I am a Mac.

I have been using Mac computers since I was four years old. That, very first Mac, was with me until the age of twenty-one, until my recent house-fire took it away from me. Although, the memories of my first encounter with a Mac are somewhat blurred, I will never ever forget them. Those moments of playing a built in football game with X’s and O’s and a art/drawing program (forgive me, I do not remember the names). Those moments of frustration throughout school of how my “Mac version of an Microsoft Office document” would not open on the PC’s in school. The moments of victory of how my Mac has never had a problem within the five years of owning it, and I am writing this very blog on it at this moment. How my iPhone has changed my views of technology and mobile devices. How this company has inspired me to become an Engineer and hopefully work and build mobile software.

I am, forever yours.

Steve and his Wife at his last Keynote, ever.

If it wasn’t for this company, I would not be where I am today. I have no idea what type of person I would be. I have no idea where I would be. There are many reasons as to why I am the person I am now and Apple is one of them. To be apart of such a company….has changed me so much. It has helped me with shaping myself to become a better person and has forced me to set out a ten year goal and actually……go do something with my life.

If it wasn’t for Steve, who knows where Apple would have gone. If it wasn’t for Steve, I wouldn’t be the person I am now. I wouldn’t have such motivation to learn to become something greater and not to just “settle”. Be crazy. Risk everything. Never settle.

My father and Steve Jobs have so much resemblance- the way they talk, the way they think, the way they look (here is an image of them side by side)….My father has played a huge role in my life and has done so much for me, and once accepted into the Apple community, Steve I….just looked up to him like he was my father. And for him to have passed away, it’s a huge blow. Thousands of people have been affected by such a tragic event.

October 5th, 2011. I was on the way back to Atlanta from Miami, sitting in my seat on the plane, I looked over to see a father and son sitting next to each other as we waited to take off. The stewardess announced for everyone to power off all their electronics, and I watched the father struggle with his iPhone, having no clue how to turn the damn thing off. His six year old son, reaching over, and showing his father how to turn off the device and teaching his father something new about his Apple product. I see this almost everyday. But, I actually….watched. I realized how inspirational and influential Apple has been, how people of all ages are learning our products inside and out. How that, most of the world, found out about Steve’s death from an iPhone or an iPad. How….he changed, everything.

Steve lived with such huge dreams and visions that made the public thing he was, well, insane. But, he left this world a visionary. A legend. A hero. A mentor. A husband. A father. A rebel. He was so many things to so many different people. He has touched, so, so many lives. If I could be a quarter of what that man had grown to be, I would be ecstatic. And, if you hate Apple. Then, so be it. But, you are just lying through your teeth if you are saying “Steve hasn’t changed the way we look at technology”.

“Like Prometheus, Steve stole something from the Gods. And like Prometheus, he was punished for it.” – A text I received from a friend.

So.

Thank you Steve Jobs. Thank you for….everything. You will be missed, dearly. But, never forgotten. I will forever wear my Apple, loud and proud. It’s our time to be Steve. It’s our time, to be, well…Apple.

My name is Zoë Cipolla and I am a Mac.

A memorial left at an Apple Store

DO fly with one airline as much as possible, earn miles and get their app if they have one! Delta has a great app (ATL gals & guys) where you can check in, pull up your QR boarding pass and notifies you if your gate changes.

DON’T use flying as an excuse to wear your pjs/ sweats in public. You never know who you’ll run into and better not to look like you’re attending a tragic pajama party.

DO have cash on you! Always! You’re going to want to tip the curbside check-in dudes, housekeeping, etc.

DON’T ever travel with full-size products. Invest in travel size everything—and if you can, keep your travel toiletries always packed so you can just double check you have everything before you hit the road.

DO chitchat with all the security/airport/rental car people! Ask them how their day is! It takes 2 seconds and it goes a long way. These people have the ability to make your trip easier or harder! *This applies more to women but is recommended for everyone.

DON’T fret about forgetting something. Unless your going to the middle of a desert, you’ll probably still be able to get anything and everything you’ll ever need.

DO take advantage of a delay. If you’re flight is delayed more than 30 mins, march over to your nearest Chilis Too and order yourself a drink.

Bon Voyage!

Elizabeth

Perhaps it’s my unfaltering alum pride (go ‘Noles!) or the comfort that I find when escaping to this town, but Tallahassee is practically a second home. I wasn’t always so Tally-saavy, so here are some DO’s and DON’T’s from me to you:

Tallahassee is known for her beautiful canopy roads

DO: Attend First Friday at Railroad Square and arrive hungry. You can eat some of Tallahassee’s finest: Krishna Lunch, Soul Vegetarian, and more all in one place! Also, there is usually some great art and people-watching.

DON’T: Even bother going on the West side of town. Tumbleweeds.

DO: Get a drink at Waterworks. It’s a welcoming spot with great bartenders. Check out Spaceport around back.

DON’T: Go across the street to Filling Station unless you’re making a quick appearance.

DO: Brunch at Sweet Pea Café (on Saturday AND Sunday) and get some delicious vegan eats. For the more decadent, Kool Beans brunch is another highlight.

One of many delicious dishes found at Sweet Pea Cafe

DON’T: Go looking for great late-night eats in Tallahassee. It’s a business venture waiting to happen.

DO: Go to anything put on by Team Jaguar! They are like the boy-version of Sorry, Darlin!

DON’T: Waste your time with the boys on campus, hang out with their professors instead.

Do you still visit your college-town and kick it like it’s 2004? Tell us your favorite spots that keep you coming back!

Still a Tallahassee-Lassie,

Elizabeth