I had a blast on Saturday Dec.6 at the Christmas on the Square event in historic downtown Carrollton! Neighborsgo layout/copy editor Gary Pina and I were at the neighborsgo “Letters to Our Troops” table from 2 – 5 p.m. It was great to see everyone, young and old, write letters of encouragement in their own special way and then slip them in the neighborsgo Christmas stocking for our military.

Gary and I kicked off our afternoon shift on the square with a little live performance from me and Carrollton resident Laura Grant dancin’ to the oldies. After we were done “bringing down the house,” Laura said, “Thanks, I needed that!” Hey, we’re here to serve at neighborsgo!

For those of you who have read my profile, you know that the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” is one of my favs and has topped my list of films for the past couple of years. The movie is centered on the life of Andrea “Andy” Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway) who moves to New York to become a journalist. Her last ditch effort of making this happen lands her at the glamorous offices of Runway magazine where she is to become the second assistant to editor-in-chief, global fashion icon and boss from Hades, Miranda Priestly (played by Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep). It’s a funny yet insightful adventure in the land of “beautiful people” as Andy flubs around in the world of high fashion on a journey to finding herself.

During my first few days as an assistant editor for neighborsgo, I was elated to see some parallels to Andy. First, I walked into the beautiful, spacious lobby of The Dallas Morning News and was completely mesmerized with the fact that I would be working among seasoned journalists and for neighborsgo, a publication that has become a staple in this great city and its surrounding communities. I also realized that I too was in the land of “beautiful people” as I saw so many model-like women walking the hallways. The cool part about it was that they had New York style and Texas smiles.

I’ve only been a staffer for three days, but I feel as though I’ve been here so much longer. I’ve got great bosses in Oscar Martinez and Jenice Johnson, and the editors I work for – Jennifer, Allison, Lloyd, and Lindsay – have all been so wonderful to me. 

To top it all off, I met neighborsgo Publisher Diane Hartley who exuded power, confidence and strength in just a few words and a couple of handshakes. She reminded me of Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines. It was Cathie’s book, Basic Black, which started the initial soul stirring that led me to do a 360 and follow my publishing passions.

I drove home from work that evening wearing one of the hugest smiles I’ve had in a long time and then, I did it – yes, I let out a huge, girly scream. Can it get any better?