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57 Comments

  1. kateS
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:42 am

    Nothing quite like torturing a little brother…..

    Reply

  2. tammigirl
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:45 am

    You are a FANTASTIC sister! If I had a sister I would want her to be just like you! I notice your dad has no iPhone. Did he lose it a.g.a.i.n.??

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      March 5, 2014 @ 10:12 am

      Are you familiar with the lyrics to The Jungle Book song- “Bare Necessities?” There is a line that says–”Forget about your worries and your strife.” Matthew used to sing it–”forget about your worries and your wife.”

      I couldn’t quite work that into the story, but needed to tell someone, apparently.

      Reply

      • tammigirl
        March 5, 2014 @ 10:56 am

        I think it only fitting for me to be the one you tell.

        Auto-fill just put my phone number in the ‘Your Website’ box. How did that happen? I dunno!

        Reply

  3. AmyEbbertHill
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:50 am

    The only thing missing is the Disco Ball!

    Reply

  4. Laurie
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:50 am

    Clearly, this is all about love. You’ve simply included all the things he loves most in life.

    Matthew, loving Barney is OK. Don’t let anyone take him from you. I’m assuming you just had an early love for paleontology though, right?

    Reply

  5. Alex
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:54 am

    Oh man, I love this. It reminds me of my sibs. Just this week, my sister and I dressed up like Soviet-Era chanteuses and sang Disney’s the Circle of Life, recorded it and sent it to our (not-nearly-amused-enough) brothers.

    Family…

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      March 5, 2014 @ 9:57 am

      If required, my brothers and I could go on tour tomorrow–performing The Jungle Book from beginning to end, we would not even need to practice.

      (Not that they would. Which is why I always wanted sisters.)

      Reply

      • Alex
        March 5, 2014 @ 10:42 am

        I will be your honorary internet little sister. For one thing, I have an excellent King Louie voice (no one agrees with me, but they are probably just jealous). And for another, I feel like we could engage in shenanigans that *my* little sister isn’t ready to commit to.

        And you could teach me how to tie a bow properly. *hangs head in shame*

        Reply

  6. JamieAbe
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:54 am

    I seriously think that this is perfect!! I hope he appreciates this as much as he should. And, I was loving the description of the hotel water. Its never bothered me before, but somehow I know exactly what you’re talking about.

    Reply

  7. Jann from Newton Custom Interiors
    March 5, 2014 @ 9:59 am

    Can I just tell you that I so look forward to your posts. They always make me laugh out loud! I think it’s great that you spent the time making this for your brother. Fabulous!

    Reply

  8. My Crappy House
    March 5, 2014 @ 10:22 am

    Lisa Frank would be proud. Well done!

    P.S. Bring your own water glass to the hotel. I saw an exposé on how staff usually cleans those glasses and it involves Windex and a paper towel…

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      March 5, 2014 @ 10:24 am

      Please. I bring my ENTIRE house to hotel. I should just buy a Winnebago and be done with it.

      Reply

      • Alex
        March 5, 2014 @ 10:44 am

        Horrifyingly, a friend pointed out that certain cultures spit frequently, and probably the carpet is full of old saliva. I abominate hotels and have OFTEN wondered how they get hotel water to be a different consistency and smell than ALL other waters.

        Horrifying thought: taking a bath in a hotel. Gag.

        Reply

    • tammigirl
      March 5, 2014 @ 10:58 am

      This is why I always travel to a hotel with my own dish washing supplies. No lie!

      Reply

    • Lori
      March 5, 2014 @ 11:53 am

      OhMyLord! Ya’ll just ruined me for staying anywhere but the Ritz-Carlton!! My travel budget (which is zero right now) thanks you. You could take a bath in a pond and get better results!

      Reply

  9. Mary Engelbreit
    March 5, 2014 @ 10:23 am

    I love your blog—it always makes me laugh out loud. And I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who dislikes traveling and leaving all the familiar comforts of home, even though I have to do it way more than I would like to. Why do people think it’s glamorous or fun?? It’s a mystery.
    I hope your brother loves his Screensaver-Of-Love. It’s fabulous!

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      March 5, 2014 @ 10:48 am

      I will now get 57,000 emails saying – DO YOU KNOW THAT MARY ENGELBREIT COMMENTED????????????????
      xoxo

      Reply

      • tammigirl
        March 5, 2014 @ 11:00 am

        OH. MY. GANACHE!!!!!

        SHE DID!! SHE DID!!

        I just died a little. I also palpitated more than a little.

        Reply

  10. Connie in Hartwood
    March 5, 2014 @ 10:30 am

    Have you been to Haven before? I haven’t but I am considering it this year … if only to use it as a long weekend away from home during the summer doldrums. I’m not into blogging for profit or into the inevitable hot-new-thing in trendy home decorating, but it could be fun try something out of my comfort zone to meet some new people.

    I find that it is really fun to ‘meet’ some other attendees before the actual event, to shorten the acclimatizing curve that inevitably leads to awkwardness at a conference where I don’t know anyone … works well for high school reunions, too. Provides a safe place to dock in a sea of unfamiliarness.

    Reply

    • Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
      March 5, 2014 @ 10:40 am

      I haven’t been before… I almost went last year, but reverted to my comfort zone. (And afterwards was irritated with myself for being so committed to never trying new things.)

      Plus, shamefully, I have never been to Atlanta, despite being Scarlett O’Hara for Halloween MANY years in a row.

      Reply

      • Jan Hebert
        March 5, 2014 @ 10:38 pm

        Tell me, please, that you used yards and yards of velvet drapery and a curtain rod across your shoulders…

        Love your blog!

        Reply

  11. Lisa @ Practically Perfect Home
    March 5, 2014 @ 10:35 am

    My sister and I made curls out of yellow construction paper and bobby pinned them to my brothers head when he was ~5…he’d kill me if he knew I shared this with everyone and their mother! Haha! The entire purpose of family is to embarrass each other, right?!

    Reply

  12. Rose
    March 5, 2014 @ 10:39 am

    Oh man. I’m sure Lisa Franks’ heart is swelling with pride right now. LOVE this.

    Reply

  13. Vanessa
    March 5, 2014 @ 10:46 am

    Ahhhhhh…siblings! So when I was little we lived in Escondido, CA (outside of San Diego) and every time we drove anywhere even remotely near the border of Mexico (as in even a half an hour away) my blonde haired blue eyed sister would tell me, her brown haired brown eyed little sister, that the police were going to think that my parents were trying to smuggle me in illegally and so I needed to lie on the floorboards of the car and be very quiet so they wouldn’t take me. I think you and she would get along very well! 😉

    P.S. You just CANNOT go wrong with unicorns, barney and cats!

    Reply

  14. Joy
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:11 am

    As a diabolical older sister, I realized that you may have forgotten something really important.

    You must IMMEDIATELY either delete all the other photos and blank backgrounds or password lock the background so he can’t change it!

    xoxo

    Reply

  15. Maggie
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:19 am

    I was so super excited to see a new post in my Inbox this morning as MY Pinterest account was also hacked and apparently I also reside in Paris! And this was, of course, a bummer to me and my Pinterest love. However, it’s good to know we can both bounce back from this. You, in the form of an amazing background and I, in the form of conning my high school Spanish students into learning all morning. It’s a win-win for us both.

    Reply

  16. Jenny
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:46 am

    I obviously missed something here. My older siblings weren’t nearly as fun and funny with their torture forms as you are. Most of them weren’t funny at all. But I do recall that on my 16th birthday, my best friend and I went with my parents to the local 5-star hibachi restaurant for dinner (HUGE deal in 1979), and while we were out, my oldest sister (who was 14 years older) stopped by the house to leave my present. She had forgotten a card. But she saw my friend’s carefully-chosen sentimental-drivel card on the table. So she found a pencil, crossed out Amy’s name, and signed her own. I thought it was the funniest thing anyone had ever done. My friend was not impressed at all. But none of my siblings have ever created anything REMOTELY as fabulous as that wallpaper, so I bow to your sibling greatness.

    Now I am off to check my Pinterest account and make sure I have not moved to Paris, too.

    Reply

  17. Garden, Home and Party
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:55 am

    We still tease both of our son’s (ages 35/31) about a whole host of embarrassing childhood passions…a He-Man bicycle and /Star Wars characters for the oldest and enough sports cards collected we could cover the earth them for the youngest!

    Can I come visit you in Paris?

    Karen

    Reply

  18. Lorrie
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:57 am

    What you have done for your brother is far better than any family therapy group could have done! And, of course, for a lot less $$$. As for the hotel, have you considered staying at a B&B instead?

    Reply

  19. heather
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:57 am

    your posts make my day. i love the screensaver and the breakdown of what it means. i do hope you take the advice listed above and password lock that shiz. lol. when are you giving it to him? i would love to know his reaction. lisa frank sparkle rainbow unicorns 4 EVA.

    i also got hacked from pintrest. also from paris. i found out a lot of people did too. so weird.

    Reply

  20. Janice
    March 5, 2014 @ 11:58 am

    Don’t like hotels..consider VRBO. Vacation rental by owner. People have places they rent out. I’ve stayed in a few very nice places. People also give very honest reviews which I found very helpful.

    Reply

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