Today is going to be a STORY TIME POST!

Yay!

I feel like in the last few weeks – more and more people are reading! Which is AMAZING! Thank you to all these new readers, new insta followers, and new friends! I appreciate you making Penny Darling the best that it can be!

But, I wanted to tell a story that wasn’t fashion related, per se.

Well, actually, not at all! But I hope that doesn’t scare you away!

This is one of those ‘way to be weird to be true but is totally true’ stories. I had a similar story earlier this year where I nearly got MURDERED at a job interview. (you can read that post here if you missed it!)

But let’s go back to circa 2013 (or so). I had my first iPhone. There had been a power outage at the SuperBowl. That monkey in a coat got lost at Ikea. Sharknado had just come out. There was a bombing at the Boston Marathon, Sandy Hook, and the controversial George Zimmerman trial would come to a close. Google glasses were in their beta testing phase. Miley was DEFINITELY doing something. Who knows?

But 2013. Recently single from the longest, weirdest, and most complicated relationship of all time. I’m a junior in college.

I decide that I’m going to start dating.

And then I realize that I have NO IDEA HOW TO DATE IN COLLEGE!

How the heck do you meet people?

Clubs? Classes? Work? Parties?

I HAD NO FREAKING CLUE. I was just trying to meet drunk dudes at parties and that ended up making out for a few minutes.

So….get ready for the criiiiiiinge.

I made an OkCupid account.

Yeah, circa 2013 OkCupid account! Back before it was super popular and useful.

Well, I made this account. (where I would eventually meet Preston through A LOT of weird circumstances – check out that story here!)

I would go on and read messages, scroll pictures, and like photos. I poured over my dating profile and pictures. This is even before swiping right!

I got SO many messages those first few weeks.

My heart would skip a beat. I would flip open the app expecting to find true love to find a message from the 45 year old dude that asked if he could sniff my shoes. Or a twenty year old frat bro asking if I was ‘dtf’.

And then I realized out why I didn’t online date.

So of course, I spiral in to this horrible tail spin of thinking that I am a garbage person that deserves garbage love and that’s why garbage humans are the ones messaging me.

So I decide to do something bold.

I removed the location filter.

I figured – that if there was love out there for me…that this could give me an algorithm for some other person in the country or in the world that was meant to be with me.

And then it came up.

A 94% match.

I was smitten.

I looked at his pictures.

He was a theatre guy. He worked for a theatre company. He loved Harry Potter. He loved the same books and movies. He was well read, educated, and handsome as sin.

He lived in Chicago.

I was never going to run in to him.

So….I sent him a message. Now, let’s remember that this is 2013.

I tell him hello. I explain to him that it is nice to meet him and that I live in Pennsylvania. I tell him that he’s nearly a perfect match.

And then…weirdly enough…we hit it off.

He’s clever, charming, and a bit disarming. He’s kind of a dominant/old fashioned kind of guy. We end up talking through the app.

We eventually exchange numbers.

We don’t add each other on Facebook (or any social media). This is an important part of the story!!!!

But we talk. We still talk to this day. I actually sent him a text to ask him if I could write a blog post about him. He agreed!

So we would text about love and life and theatre.

He became this long distance pen pal of a soul mate I may never know.

Now I want to emphasize that we talk on the regular. At least a few times a month. Preston knows about him, so no scandal there. We just get along really well. He has a girlfriend now. I have a boyfriend. But we’ve always shared this connection that has fueled an amazing long distance friendship.

But I realized a few months ago. SO MORE THAN THREE YEARS AFTER OUR INITIAL MEETING…I had not seen pictures of him since his dating profile pictures.

I hadn’t seen a picture of this guy in more than three years.

And pretty much, I only saw them once.

And this is going to sound so crazy…but I didn’t know his last name either. It had never come up. I had never asked.

So I asked him what his last name was.

(For his sake, I’ll keep that part private!)

And then I do what any millenial would do. I immediately googled him and Facebook stalked him.

Now, I want to remind everyone here of a few facts.

He and I had met online in 2013. I had only seen his pictures a few times. This was in 2017 that I asked for his last name to find pictures. So I hadn’t seen his face in YEARS. I started dating Preston in the tail end of 2014. So I had all but forgotten this other guy’s face when I met Preston.

 

So…everyone. For the record:

This is Patrick.

So, he’s a handsome guy, right?

Clean cut, well dressed, nice pair of shoes, sharp facial features.

HE ALSO LOOKS A LOT LIKE PRESTON!

Like, I feel that he kind of looks an uncanny amount like Preston.

They’re even dressed the same! Like I have a picture of Preston LOOKING ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME AS PATRICK.

 

And their names…I mean…Patrick. Preston. Patrick. Preston.

Both P. names.

Both into theatre.

Both nerds.

Both love to read.

Both are attracted to me.

Both have ALMOST THE SAME SHOES AND CLOTHES.

They both went to ComiCon COSPLAYING AS THE DOCTOR. because…bow ties are cool.

Both into weird hats that I will never understand but will come to find endearing.

Both into dressing like they don’t live in 2017.

Like, c’mon. Am I the only one who thinks this is absolute bonkers?!

And after I discovered how much Preston and Patrick looked alike…I was so jazzed.

I was showing people Patrick’s picture and being like “THAT’S NOT PRESTON!” and watching people have to squint again and actually process that it’s not.

But Patrick is a good guy. He’s a been a good friend over these years. He’s a completely impartial third party because he never knows who I’m talking about.

 

Now, if we remember from my ‘when your best friend moves away‘ blog – my best friend of 15 years moved to Chicago.

So who knows?

Maybe one day I will finally meet Patrick in person. But for right now…it’s just another crazy story to tell!

 

That’s the end of this week’s storytime! Please let me know: ya’ll think this guy looks just like Preston right? I’m not the only one that sees it, right?

So here’s the “end of blog” spiel!

The next few weeks have some awesome stuff planned! Another collab, some travel stuff, a guest post from Preston, possibly some swimwear, etc. Tons more to come!

I definitely want to do more His & Her fashion. Do you guys like seeing Preston more?

Follow me on Instagram: @Abby_Hoy

If you want to follow my darling, Preston – you can click here!

Like my Facebook page here 

Follow me on Snapchat for a more ‘day to day’ look at mine & Preston’s life!: @abby_cadabra

I’d really love to do that Barbie post. If anyone can seriously sponsor it – let me know. I think that would just be the coolest and most fun to do.

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Comment for topics you would like to see me cover! Like to help my self esteem! What do you think so far? More fashion? More lifestyle? Do you like the mix?

My next few blog ideas: Do you want to see my new house stock pile? Seasonal transition? Another haul? Maybe one about those ten pieces that make up a wardrobe. But I’m not sure. I want to know what you are interested in hearing about? My Top 10 Embarrassing Stories? 20 Facts from Your Blogger? A team up with another blogger? Haul? A show off of my Barbie lot? Want me to style you? Let me know!

Love all you wonderful ladies (and gents!) out there!

How Very,

Abby