Treat time, dear readers!Today's Girl-Talk is going to be like an afternoon at the - the - circus! Or, the fair! It's full of ribbons and bows and tickley-toes! And all things girlish.
Here's how it came to be... I found the most delicious site one day, in my travels across the net doing the online girl thing. It was full of excitement and energy and really brightened my day. Then, I got to know the blogger...Doryn...and I learned to appreciate her 'dishes'. Read on for today's Girl-Talk, and you'll learn about Doryn's Dish, too.
Yvonne: Before we get into this interview, give my readers the low-down on your unique and so-hip name, including how to pronounce it. (Don't know about anyone else, but I LOVE it! It makes me think of spring and frilly skirts and sandals, walking along the avenue in downtown Boston.)
Doryn: A lot of people ask me this because my name is so unusual. My two grandmothers Dorothy and Rosalyn died before I was born so my mom decided to take “Doran” which was the original spelling and made it “Doryn” because it combined both of their names. 
Yvonne: You have a very creative blog. Some of the things I like, and I like many things about your blog, are the fun colors and happy-go-lucky chick in your header. Did you design the blog?
Doryn: I have had A LOT of websites over the past few years. I think I’ve learned what people do and don’t like. I really feel first impressions are important when viewing a site. If you come to my website, the header makes you smile immediately and you have a sense of being in a “happy place.” I conveyed this to my graphic designer at the time and she created it. The picture above was the original image which looks just like me (the other doesn’t at all) when I showed my readers to see if they liked this one instead, they didn’t like it! Hmmm…what does that mean?)
Yvonne: You're very well-traveled! Tell us true...what city is your favorite zoo located in? What city has the best restaurants? What city would you die to have a million dollars to spend in?
Doryn: I have to be honest, it’s not that I don’t love animals, but Zoos and Circuses always made me sick to my stomach when I was a kid because of the smells. I used to insist on sitting in the car when my mom when to the fish store because I would gag! With that being said, I never really go to Zoos. But when I went to South Africa in February, it made me look at Zoos in a totally different way. Seeing animals in their natural habitat is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever encountered. [I'm so jealous! Perhaps...someday...]
Food may be a tie with Rome and New York City. At both cities you can't go wrong with food. Rome because you can walk in to any restaurant (well in MOST of Italy actually) and always get a great meal, and yum - the tomatoes are amazing! In New York there are so many restaurants to choose from! After I got over the party aspect of New York in my early 20's, I realized that eating out in New York was my true love of the city. I love the "off the beaten path" restaurants that tourists don't know about. Hopefully, in May, when I am in New York, I will try some new ones and you'll hear about it on the site. [give me a shout...we should chat!]
I have always wanted to live in California, too. If I had a million dollars to spend, I would love a little bungalow somewhere with a view of the beach, and a speed boat!
Yvonne: This post on Painting 101 has some good insight. You admit that you once painted your kitchen and it didn't turn out so well. Do tell! I feel so connected -- painting isn't my forte, either. So, what do you do for fun, instead of redecorating your apartment?
Doryn: You know how when men are sick they sit in bed and complain all day to their wives and act like they’re 5 years old all over again? Well, when I am sick I do things around the house. So, I had the flu and decided to paint my kitchen. I had some leftover paint from my bedroom, no primer and just started painting. I never painted a room before in my life and I think I may have painted the back of the refrigerator and possibly the stove. I also left some blank white spots in places I didn’t have the energy to reach. I think next time I’ll leave the job to the painter!
For fun, I love trying new restaurants, walking around cities, going to the movies and doing make-up is really fun for me, it’s really relaxing! I also just had my first golf lesson and think I will work on that a little more, I really liked it and totally surprised myself.
Yvonne: Speaking of redecorating...if you could redecorate the Queen's palace, how would it look? (Granted, we don't know what it looks like now, so you'll have to create an original image to start from, but I have faith you can do it.)
Doryn: Oh boy, this is a tough one. I have never been in Buckingham Palace (they only open it in July and August) but I think since the Queen just turned 80 she is probably happy with the stuffy English style and not making changes any time soon.
Yvonne: So, Doryn's Dish...why 'dish'? Which 'dish' is your favorite part; the Fashion Dish? The Party Dish? If you could start a new blog about just one Dish, which one would you choose, and why?
Doryn: Dish because I “dish” out lots of stuff every day. My favorite is Michelle’s make-up dish. She has been a mentor for me since I’ve started taking on make-up work as a side job. We have also become great friends since she started on the site. She is always there for me and her weekly dishes actually help me out a lot! I think out of all my guest dishers she writes the most similar to my style. If I could just write about one thing? That’s a hard one.
It would have to be Beauty/Make-up – I just love it! I could write about spas and zany treatments and new products and never get sick of it. However, I also really love writing the Travel Dish because I really love to travel and get so excited to share it with people (also helps me relive it). I absolutely adore how each time I travel I gain a new bit of knowledge about a different culture and feel so much more educated when I return. I think about having kids one day and I hope to find ways to take our kids with us and explore the world. I want to get our first baby on a plane as soon as we’re allowed to! [You want to have a baby on a plane? heavens...that might be so messy! Oh, sorry...you want to GET your first baby on a plane...I get it. Oops!]
Yvonne: Let's get funky - think about your favorite male
1)actor
2)singer
3)chef
...which one would you like to be?
Now, think of your favorite
1)grade school teacher
2)high school teacher
3)college professor
...which one would you HATE to be? Why?
Doryn: This is going to be really cheesy and mushy, but I would actually love to be my husband. [awww!!] Not anyone famous. I truly admire him in so many ways. He is a really calm person that allows most things to roll of his back. He literally has never had an enemy. He is extremely smart and has an extensive knowledge of everything. Yes, he is good at his job in finance, but he also knows a lot about a lot of other things. His knowledge of pop culture (past and present) would blow celebrity bloggers away. He is also very funny but his humor is very witty.
High school is a TOUGH time. My high school English teacher Mr. Beavers was my all time favorite teacher growing up. Most students respected him immensely so I don’t think they gave him as hard of a time in the classroom as others. However, I would hate to be a high school teacher. All I can remember about high school is insecurity, guys making fun of girls in class, everyone trying to “out cool” the next student and the teachers trying to teach us information and get our attention while hormonal teenagers were trying to be the biggest clowns in the room and not listening. I can remember times when Mr. Beavers would go out of his way to help me and other students when we would go through personal issues and I imagine this must have been tough since you have to draw a line somewhere between teacher and friend.
Yvonne: Describe your perfect family: complete with 1.7 children, a dog, a cat, and whatever. What would the Dad do for a living? What would the Mom (you)do for a living? Would your kids play sports, or be chess players? Would you live in the country or the city? Would all of you blog???
Doryn: Hmmm…I would love to have one boy and one girl, but then sometimes I think I would like 4 kids (I better get started soon)! Not to be cliché, but obviously health is the number one priority. We’d really like to build a home in the suburbs of New York one day, but we don't know which one. [which New York, or which suburb?]
When we move back to the U.S., we may rent in a couple of different towns before deciding to settle. I am so torn between the city and the suburbs. I love the energy and excitement of the city and the accessibility of everything, but at the same time, it really gets to me. It can be very stressful and sometimes a little TOO high energy for me. In an ideal world, my husband would be a teacher so he was home by 4 and home all summer with me and the kids. Our kids would definitely play sports, NOT CHESS! Ty is very athletic and I am somewhat athletic, so I think they could be little athletes.
My first priority of what I would do for a living with a family would to be a Mom. Second, I would actually love to have a show like Oprah or be on a show like The View (one can dream can’t she?). I adore talking to people! Also, I am really enjoying my new career change in make-up. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, I am trying all different areas of the field. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and never did it until I moved to London. I actually don't look at it as a career, more like a hobby. When I was a kid (about 7 years old), I would make my friends over all the time (hair and make-up) and I would also insist on putting my mom's lip liner on after she was done with dinner! How could I go through 29 years and a lot of jobs and not see the signs?
Would we all blog? Hmmmm…I’ll have to see about that. Blogging may be pase by then! [say it isn't so! bloggers live forever!]
Yvonne: The dreaded shopping question! Okay, I'm being dramatic. It's not dreaded. Folks actually have no problem answering it. Do you shop online? Are you loyal to one or two sites, or do you shop around? Do you click on advertising links in email newsletters or do you just delete email newsletters?
Doryn: You’re never going to believe this, I actually HATE shopping. I am the queen of internet shopping because I have no patience for crowds and stores. I am not loyal to any sites, I usually search online and shop from wherever has what I want at that time. I actually do click on advertisements in newsletters if it’s nicely done and not cheesy. [well, well...and I just told a famous email marketer that no one ever clicks on those links; guess I have to eat crow.]
Yvonne: What can we expect from Doryn's Dish in the future? Like, when is Doryn's Dish The book coming out? Wouldn't that be great? 25 of your best posts, all in one place, with photos and...captions?
Doryn: I would love to have a little book, but who knows. It would definitely just be excerpts, you won’t see a novel coming out of me! I have no patience for that. I think a goal of mine with Doryn’s Dish is to get a column in a magazine or newspaper and I would love to make appearances on television shows. I have so many readers that tell me that they feel so close to me because my personality comes out in my writing and I really do write like I speak. I would hope they’d like me even more in person :)
Yvonne: Meanwhile, back to the blog...what inspired you to start it?
Doryn: It started because I wanted to teach myself web design because I had spent so much money in the past having one site after the other redesigned every time I came up with a new business idea. When I decided to come up with a concept, I thought it would only be appropriate to put up my favorite things online because everyone is always asking me for recommendations. Then, I could just direct friends and family to the website. I also always wanted to find a way to combine all my interests and experiences and do reviews and this was a good way of doing it. After I designed the website, I realized it wasn’t realistic for updating every day so I switched over to TypePad Blog software and off it went!
Yvonne: Tell us, as we take leave of you, what you dreamt about last night...don't leave any details out!
Doryn: Okay, I always have weird dreams but last night I was sleeping in my childhood house. I woke up and went downstairs and opened the front door and all my closest friends were standing there with tables and tables of breakfast food, especially lots of b
agels. I starting crying because I was so happy. I don’t know why they threw me a party but I can certainly analyze the dream and tell you that I really miss my friends and bagels since moving to London!
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I feel as if I should have asked more questions about London. But, you can find out all about Doryn's life in London, and so much more, at her blog. Visit it now...visit it often...tell her to put that book together. Make sure she calls ME first! Enjoy the weekend!
Doryn's Dish is one of my favorite blogs! And the best part? Doryn really is so down to earth!
Posted by: LotionBarBunny | May 04, 2006 at 10:33 AM