After work today I'm headed down to Austin for SXSW. More importantly, I'll be reuniting with all my favorite besties. I love them so much and often wish they still lived in the bedrooms right next door to me. They don't, pout, so weekends like this are mega special in my little world! Not many people laugh at my jokes get me like these preciouses. They're all fabulous in their own ways, here's why:

Lori. Fiercely fashionable and chic to the max. She's a world traveler and former resident of South Africa, so she often has awesome tales of her globe trots to share with the group. She's been known to do some wacky things, like get a pet snake, but never ceases to fascinate me. She has her own brand of doing most things but pulls them off with such grace. I envy her uniqueness and unrelenting desire to be green/philanthropic/selfless. She also will party on you. Her gifts include: impeccable taste, ability to thrive anywhere, a memory like a steel trap, unyielding saaviness/smarts and some swingin' dance grooves.

Sarah. We were freshman year roommates...so there's pretty much all the closeness you need. She is infinitely patient when I get girly, have hangovers and whine. Oh, and she's a marathon runner (WTF?), which is just a whole other awesome thing. She has seen me make all my most judgement-worthy decisions and doesn't judge. Now she's a hip and modern NYC dweller and I'm jealous of her career and life frequently. There's no replacing the friend that was there when you grew up, or tried to grow up. Her best qualities include: she's brave, an incredible listener, good advice giver, has independence galore and she's an extreme fan of Beyonce.

Andrea. I wish i had one 1/1000 of her intelligence and diligence. She's in medical school, so I often call her to discuss aches, pains and ways to combat the visible signs of aging. I'm waiting patiently for the day when she can slip me prescriptions, but she's probably far to ethical. At first we didn't have a lot in common, but she taught me how to work hard and I taught her about lipstick and shiny things. She definitely got the short end of the stick on that trade of expertise. Andrea's special things: BRAINPOWER that blows my mind, confidence, steadfast commitment to her beliefs and a healthy appreciate for trashy television.

Lauren. I prefer to refer to her as "Booger," a nickname that just sort of stuck in our circle. I don't quite get why, but its definitely a term of endearment. She is an amazing friend. She never forgets to call/text and is sure to stay in touch with everyone. She also has really hilarious stories, or a really hilarious way of telling stories. We romped around NYC for a summer together and got into lots of trouble, in a good way. Her best things: funny jokes, commitment to maintaining her friendships, willingness to let certain people call her "Booger", ability to 'bounce' when things get tough and she does amazing impressions.

Anyway, sorry for those of you reading this that aren't concerned with these lovely ladies, but they're some of my most favorite people on earth... not to mention some of the few committed Poodleism readers. My goals for the weekend are to get in plenty of catching up, dance until my torso is sore (it's happened before, hip shakes will do that to you), wreak havoc on SXSW and have something to show for myself Monday. We'll see about that last one.