09 November 2007

A may-jahly May-jah Friday


In lieu of my usual Friday feature, I decided today - in honor of this, my 1,500th post - to take you on a 12-stop guided tour down memory lane.

In no particular order, below you'll find the 12* posts I consider to be the best ambassadors for spreading the message(s) of what ASJiNE is all about.

My National Honor Society, if you will.

Enjoy.

- I read this post to remind myself of the anticipation, the romance and the glee of Manhattan memories past.

- Ask any of my friends where I meet most of the men I date, and without hesitation they'll tell you, "on the street." Thus far, one has left me permanently heartbroken while the rest have left me confounded as to why I even stop to take off my headphones anymore. I hope the encounter I described in this post led to a more successful relationship.

- Whenever I start to think, "Georgetown isn't that bad," I hearken back to the day I wrote this post and recalibrate accordingly.

- The post to which I will refer my Mother when the inevitable "You spent how much on those boots?" line of questioning comes up over Thanksgiving dinner.

-Though resoundingly endorsed by the subject herself, this post still doesn't adequately capture the white-buffalo rarity of my friend K's perfect breasts.

- I was so proud when I published this post, because the idea behind it had been brewing in abstract form in the back of my mind for years; even more impressive was that I was able to get it all down in a lunch hour with room to run to and from Cosi for my favorite make-your-own salad.

- This was one of the few posts that had no premeditated beginning, middle and end -- I wrote it completely by instinct and ended up learning a lot about from where my sense of style came during its construction.

- I audibly sigh the title of this post every time I see a photograph of her.

- Now that a few months have passed, I feel comfortable in admitting to you all that what went down in this post *totally* turned me on.

- Whenever someone hurls the "style/fashion/clothes/appearance aren't important" barb at me, I think of these posts, smile to myself, and walk away confident I know something they probably never will.

- Out of a personal attack was borne my favorite post of them all.

*I tried to stick to 10 but just couldn't - my apologies if your lunch hour runs an extra few minutes today

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

1,500 posts? Congratulations! That's an INSANELY impressive accomplishment.

Anonymous said...

congrats!

Anonymous said...

I am always trying to comment but blogger foils me every time...just wanted to pipe up and say this is one of my favorite places to visit every single day...you are doing DC a true service.

Anonymous said...

I'm in awe.

Anonymous said...

blah blah blah, I would rather you put up a pic of that dime piece phatty and tell the haters to kiss it...

but that's just my thought

congrats

Anonymous said...

Poise first, Prada second ... It's my favorite, hands down.

Anonymous said...

For someone who is stuck in the office on this grey, very *slow* (read: 4 emails in the past 3 hours...), this post has made my day!

Anonymous said...

Congrats! 1,500?! That's impressive, sweets.

The Loeffler Randall post just gave me chills - it really was beautifully written.

Anonymous said...

This is hard for me to say, because I often want to reach through my computer screen and strangle you, but you have a gift for writing. It's disarmingly fluid and funny and touching and technically perfect. This should be your career.

Anonymous said...

"permanently heartbroken"?

I'll help you with that. My crush just leapt to another level today after reading your top 12.

Anonymous said...

If I didn't know and love you to pieces I'd be writing my own post today, titled "Top 12 (of 1,500) Reasons I Am Pea Green With Envy." Instead I raise my Moët to you and send air smooches.

Anonymous said...

I thought I'd been with you a long time, but I'd only seen about half of these. When are you finally going to be discovered???

Sadly, that would mean your blog would end, but at least you'd have cool book signings and/or fashion magazine bashes to attend!

Johanna said...

Well thanks, y'all. Your kind words have almost melted my icy shell ;-)

looking forward to another 1,500 with you...

best,
J

N said...

Congrats! I am happy to have stumbled across your writing, which is now part of my morning routine. Get green tea, check email, check ASJine, check CNN.

Anonymous said...

I check your site even before I get my morning coffee! so proud of you.

Kiki said...

THANK YOU, Jo! For your fabulous 1500 posts, and for this post today... it has so helped make this dreary Friday a bit more bearable. Perfect.

Anonymous said...

Just make sure to wear a jacket with tails so I can ride 'em down Madison Avenue with you. I'm really so proud of you, hon. This IS a may-jah-ly may-jah accomplishment.

Have a piece of non sugar-free gum to celebrate ;-)

Anonymous said...

Didn't your parents teach you that quality is more important than quantity? Why not write less and write better?

Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and thank you so much for providing me with answers to so many burning fashion questions and new ideas every day. I may be southbound, but I will still continue to follow ASJINE every day! It's my crack.

Anonymous said...

professional writer, you have *got* to be joking. this is irony or sarcasm or something along those lines, yes?

if not, yick -- get away from my precious J and her beautiful prose.

Anonymous said...

I come here daily and you've yet to let me down.

And I *think* I am dressing better, largely in part to what I've read here. So, thank you for that.

I'm keeping my hair long-ish, though, regardless of how many saucy hair pics you post!

Anonymous said...

"white buffalo rarity"

loves it.

loves you.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, inammorato! Quite an accomplishment, even for a marathon runner.

You are a delight onscreen and off, and one of my favorite people I've met in a very long time.

Wearing 4"+ heels in your honor!

Anonymous said...

I agree with freckledK completely. Not once have I thought "eh, she's having an off day." If I'm not laughing, I'm learning, and if I'm not learning, I'm mesmerized by your perfect grammar.

That you're such a pretty girl on top of your intelligence should make me fired up with jealousy but like so many of your commenters, I think we'd prefer to befriend you than hate you.

And *that* is a rare accomplishment.

Anonymous said...

The post about the Sidwell girls shopping in Georgetown is frighteningly accurate. I avoid that place like the plague because of them. It's more fun to have a box meet you at your front door anyway, don't you think?

congratulations on 1,500. I can't even imagine...

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure which of these is my favorite. At first I thought the "Poise first, Prada second..." post, but then I reread the one about the man approaching the woman on the street, and I think I like that one even more. It's just soooo sweet. And sooo well written.

You meet men on the street? They just walk up to you and introduce themselves? What in the world am I doing wrong??

Anonymous said...

I think that that Johanna has either had an impact on the women of DC, or has at least made me more observant. I saw a young woman today wearing a fabulous gray wool belted coat, tights, black skirt (knee length, couldn't tell if it was pencil), with darling round-toe heels. I thought, "She totally reads Johanna."

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and THANK YOU, Johanna. You are a wonderful writer, have a great eye for fashion, and project beauty inside and out. Plus, you are deliciously bitchy.

I know I, for one, am more conscious of my appearance because of this blog. And that "boost" in my outward appearance has made me more confident. Confident enough to realize that the "Justin/Bobby" types out there are not worth my time, and I should have fun and keep an open mind while looking for a decidedly more sophisticated (read: older/) (read: silver fox!) type.

Cheers! I look forward to meeting you at the DC Style champagne/shopping event.

Gervy said...

Joanna, this was a great introduction to your back catalogue. You really do write well and engagingly, and most of what you write I like a lot.

BUT, why oh why are you so vitriolic about people - specifically the beautiful Liv Tyler - who sometimes aren't the perfect dress size? You are genetically lucky (and/or you work hard) to have a gorgeous figure. As you note, Liv has big bones. So do I.

I'm 5 ft 11" and I do have really wide hips. I could starve myself and go to the gym every day but I would still have to wear a dress size bigger than you would think acceptable, UNLESS I had a few inches surgically shaved off my hips. Should I?

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked the bathroom squat post didn't make it into your top 12!

It's been said numerous times today but I'd like to reiterate just how enjoyable it is to read your posts. They're gems, all of them.

Anonymous said...

A stunning collection.

Anonymous said...

Both, your writing and your fashion advice are impressive. Keep the great posts coming, they are my "morning coffee", smile inducing readings.

Anonymous said...

wait, i thought those were NCS and Visitation girls, not Sidwell girls. please tell me those girls weren't from my beloved Sidwell!

Anonymous said...

i'm so proud of my little hannie!

Anonymous said...

I just printed these all out for my plane trip to London. You really should listen to your readers and think about becoming a professional writer.