Tis the Season

Christmas music is one of the best parts of the holiday season! It is so cheerful and can put anyone in a fabulous mood. Now I am one of the believers who waits until the day after Thanksgiving to begin playing it but from that day until Christmas, nothing else will be heard! Now that is a lot of Christmas music when you really think about it but in order to keep it different and mix it up my station of choice is Pandora. When you go to Pandora.com you are able to select a certain Christmas song or artist and then it will create a station for you with not only that song or artist but others in the same category. Currently I have “All I want for Christmas” as my station and it is a great pick, keeps my entertained with many different Christmas tunes from a variety of different artists. I will say that is one benefit to choosing a song as opposed to a an artist because then you will get artists of all genres!

Pandora.com

Thinking Outside the Box

With Thanksgiving officially over it is now time to start hitting that Christmas list and buying gifts for family and loved ones. Gift giving is one of my favorite things, there is nothing better than watching someone’s face light up when they open your present and it is exactly what they want! The one thing that has always made my gift giving experiences exceptionally great is that I really try not to go off of lists, although sometimes you really have no choice but if you take the time to really note throughout the year items that one brings up over casual conversation or passing by a shop you will find that your gifts will be better than anything on a list. There are some many times someone notes something they would love in conversations, such as “wouldn’t it be so great if we had a video camera for moments like this” but when it comes time to think of what they want that is not something they think about. That is why when I sit down to think of what I want to give people I really rack my brain of past conversations and think of items that had been mentioned, if I am really good I will have them written down in my notes but that is not always the case. You truly will find that when they open a present you remembered and thought about the expression on their face will say so much more than thank you I love it, it will also say wow I cannot believe you remembered this and thought about it!

Happy Turkey Day!

I want to give thanks for all the amazing friends and family that are in my life, I am so blessed to have such loving, supportive and fun people surrounding me! I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving filled with lots of love, laughter, and food! I will be thinking of each and every one of you tomorrow, all the times we have shared and many to come! Love you all!

Lady in Red

Dressing like a celebrity is something many people wish they could do the problem is that most of us lack the cash flow, or gifting of items that the celebrities are so lucky to have so when I come across a celebrity wearing an item that is not over the top expensive I get very excited! While searching the internet or flipping through magazine’s I generally find a top or pant that I absolutely love but it generally is followed with the words Gucci or Roberto Cavalli which then causes me to continue on but the other day while dying over this gorgeous red coat I was waiting to see one of these designers when the words OLD NAVY showed up! I was over the moon, not only can I  generally afford Old Navy but the prices are actually really good! I ran right over there after work and there is was the beautiful red coat for $89.99. I have now seen two celebrities wearing it and could not be more happy with my lovely and festive winter coat!

Finishing Touches

Everyone knows that jewelry can truly complete any outfit whether you are looking for a pop of color or just something to add some extra sparkle. The problem is you can spends hundreds of thousands of dollars buying jewelry to go with every piece of clothing you own and that is just not realistic.  The problem is generally when you try and buy jewelry on the cheap it looks just that and falls apart immediately but that is not the case at Forever 21. Now I am not saying this is a top of the line jewelry but it is really well made for the most part and every time I wear pieces from there people compliment on how expensive it looks. Not all forever 21 stores have the separate accessories store but most of them are currently building them and last I heard there is a forever 21 and accessories store coming to Downtown Seattle, about time!!! If you do not have one close to you then I would recommend purchasing from the store online and I promise for costume jewelry you will not be disappointed!

This is one of my favorite pieces!

Forever21.com

Scrub a Dub Dub

I recently began using a Clarisonic Skin Cleanser and I must say I could not be happier with it! With the lovely winters we have here in Seattle my skin really takes a hit especially when we transition from fall to winter. All I kept hearing from people was that I really needed a good cleanser so I would buy different products to try and they would work for awhile but then the dry skin would come back. I decided it was time to give the Clarisonic a try and see if it is worth the money it costs to purchase it. I can happily confirm it is, I tried the cheap route awhile back and purchased the Neutrogena one from Target for $19.99 and it was ok at the beginning but the more I used it the more I realized it was just too rough on my face because the pad it had was really rough. The Clarisonic is not like that at all, it is really soft on your face, has a timer on it so you get the exact amount of cleansing time and you instantly have a refreshed feeling face! As cheesy as the marketing is you really do walk away feeling like you just got a spa facial. With Christmas coming up I could not recommend putting this on your list more, you will not be disappointed!

Baby it’s Cold Outside

The weather has changed and it is now time to cover up your stems, this means it is time for tights. Tights are very tricky because in the work place they are very necessary when wearing skirts or dresses, especially living in Seattle, however they are not very durable. You know how frustrating it is to get to work and snag your tight on something first thing in the morning, really starts your day off on the wrong foot. Until a couple of years ago I was purchasing my tights at Nordstrom or any place that was a little pricier because I thought that meant the quality would be better, wrong! Every time I would put a new pair on from Nordstrom they would have a snag in them within an hour! One day while shopping at Betsey Johnson I was talking to my favorite sales gal about the tight issue and she said you have to buy your tights from target they are amazing and will not tear. I was rather skeptical about this because I really did not think Target was going to be the answer to my problems but I thought I would give it a try and to my disbelief she was right! The tights are amazing and cheap coming in packs of 2 or 3 with a  variety of colors. I pulled mine out from last season a couple of weeks ago and they are still in great shape, which means it looks like I will be getting another season out of them!

Things that make you go HMMM!

Ok I have to talk about this because it is on my mind and people who know my will not be surprised at all, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. It is so interesting to me that they got engaged within a week of one another! Now Nick and Vanessa have been together over 4 years this we all saw coming and to be honest I am very excited for him because I think he is a good guy but Jessica on the other hand has been with this guys since May. Now I am nothing saying there is a time period for love and I really do hope she is happy and they make it but is it really necessary for her to announce an engagement one week after Nick?? The entire thing is just strange to me and from an outsiders stand point kind of tacky but we will never know the entire story so it is hard to really judge! Also what are your thoughts on Jessica’s ring, a ruby with surrounding diamonds??

usmagazine.com

Pump it up

I bought some dry shampoo awhile back from my hairdresser and used it a couple of times on days I woke up a little later then I should have. I thought it worked pretty well, definitely helped out what I would have been working with had I not had it. Then my aunt mentioned to me that she uses it all the time to get volume, even if she had just washed her hair. So I gave it a try and she was right, it gives your hair instant volume without even having to tease it or anything. I really like to use it on the crown portion of my to give it that semi-Dallas large hair effect! Also for Halloween I wanted to have really large hair, so while my friend Lindsay was styling it she sprayed a bunch of it in the crown area and it helped get that bump even higher!

Me Love You Long Time

A couple of months ago my mom got a great deal on some bottles of Latisse and she so graciously gave me one. I started using it and within a week I could see a difference, my lashes were really growing. I have now come to the end of the bottle and cannot believe how much my lashes have grown, I love them! Unfortunately I am in the process of trying to get another two bottles but I am still enjoying the length I have gotten so far. I did learn however that the reason they usually sell the bottles in sets of three is because that time period is when you will get all the growth out of your lashes and then after about three months (which is three bottles) your lashes will have grown as long as they can. They did say it will affect my growth a little bit since I ran out a couple of weeks but should not be a huge deal. While I know this stuff is a bit pricey I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to get longer lashes that will last!

Sample the Goods Before You Purchase!

Listening to music at work is very important to me, it makes my day fly by and that much more enjoyable. I have listened to different radio stations and other websites that will play songs off of the genre you choose but then my friend Nicole introduced me to Grooveshark and it is now my official go to!! Grooveshark has everything and more, all you have to do is go to the website and search for whatever you are in the mood for. If I am not sure then I will go to the popular section and choose my playlist for the day from there by browsing through a list of popular songs. While all of this is great you can still do this on other sites but the one thing that has made me truly fall in love with Grooveshark is the fact that the day a new album comes out I can listen to it in its entirety and then decide if I really want to purchase it or not. Now if you do not want to even purchase it that is fine you have no limit to how many times you can listen to it but for me I choose to purchase it on iTunes so that I can play it in my car and have it on my ipod. This has really saved me from purchasing some albums I thought I would love but not so much  for example Katy Perry’s new album not really doing it for me, however Taylor Swift’s new album amazing!!

www.grooveshark.com

These Heels Were Made for Walking

If you are height deprived like I am you know that heels are your best friend, that extra height can do wonders for your figure. The problem is wearing heels every day, especially really high heels, can be very tiring for your poor feet and make your work day even longer. I decided that I needed to find the perfect heel one that has some height but was comfortable, as well as cute and did not cost an arm and a leg! After years of trying different brands and styles, I have found the perfect heel, very comfortable, stylish and the price is not bad either. They are the Nuncio by Nine West, they come in a variety of colors and often come out with special colors throughout the year such as a zebra print or snakeskin. I myself am very partial to the black patent because I think it really gives any outfit that little extra punch in a subtle way. I have also found that these heels go on sale all the time whether it is on Ninewest.com or Macys.com, bringing the price down to $39.99! So if you are like me and love a good pair of heels that you can wear time and again I highly recommend the Nuncio, only piece of advice I will give is that I have found you need to get the heel’s replaced after around 3 months, which will then keep them in great shape for a much longer time!

Ninewest.com

Neti Pot = Genius

Awhile back I came down with a terrible cold, runny nose, fever, could not breath all the usual symptoms. It was draining me in every aspect and all I wanted was for it to go away. One day while shopping at one of my favorite stores Betsey Johnson, my favorite sales gal was telling me about this neti pot thing, now I had heard of it before but it sounded miserable, pouring water in to one side of your nose only to come out the other, no thank you. But she insisted it was the best thing ever and she was obsessed, even using it when she does not have a cold (that is a whole other reason to use it as they say it makes your skin look great). So I thought I would give it a try as I was miserable, I headed to the drugstore and bought a neti pot with packets of solution for $24.99 and went straight home to use it. Not only did it clear me up right away but it made me feel amazing, I could breath. Unfortunately I still had the cold as it does not cure everything but that night I was able to sleep and I could breath out my nose. To this day I still use it, even when I am not sick because it keeps your sinuses nice and clean and I think helps to prevent you from getting sick!

www.neilmed.com

Gone Designer and back

Being a girl is so expensive getting your hair colored, nails done, waxing, make-up, but if there is any way to cut those costs I am all for it. When I first started using mascara I used the Maybelline kind from the drug store, you know pink bottle green top! I loved it, always thought it worked great and was just what I needed. Then one day someone told me I was crazy to be using that stuff and I needed to wear Dior, I thought I would give it a try because it sounded so fantastic. I bought it and could not believe the price change but I thought it was ok because it was so fantastic. I used Dior for awhile, and then Mac, and a couple others in between as people would tell me about different ones they were using that were great. I never really noticed anything exceptional about them but since everyone else was raving about them I figured it was the way to go. Recently I ran out of my latest purchase and could not believe it as I know I had just purchased it a couple of weeks ago and for $28 a bottle it should last me much longer than a couple of weeks. That was it I was done paying for this over priced mascara that did nothing different than the others! My aunt told me about the new and improved Maybelline mascara that just came out now in a bright yellow bottle and it was supposed to be fabulous. I ran right down to my local drug store and $6.46 later I had a perfect bottle of mascara, I am now 4 weeks in to using it and going strong! It works great, I am not at the bottom of the bottle, and it cost me a quarter of the price!

 www.maybelline.com

Where's Waldo?

Ok so I need to give a shout-out to my cousin Tyson, who has not only got me watching football but also has me enjoying it. Tyson is a part of the strength and conditioning staff for the Houston Texans, so there for he gets to be on the sidelines for every game. This means I get to spend the entire game trying to spot him on the screen, the best where’s “waldo” I have ever played. The only real problem is the amount of times I scream “there he is” and it is actually the other teams side or someone on his side that is actually six inches shorter and really scrawny but what can I say I am trying! The last game I did see him twice and let me tell you when you do find Waldo it is sheer victory, I am so proud of Tyson he is following his dreams and has become somewhat of a celebrity in my eyes, I mean he is on TV J!

Carton or Jugs?

The other night I decided that I wanted to make a smoothie so I began getting all of my ingredients together, when I went to reach for the milk jug I noticed that it had expired a week or so ago. This was a problem, then I noticed in the back of the refrigerator there was a carton of milk I thought for sure this would be expired as well because I knew I had bought that before I bought the jug but when I pulled it out to throw it away I saw that it was not in fact expired but had another 5 days left. This got me thinking, is there a difference between milk in a carton and milk in the jug? So when I was at the grocery store the other day, I looked at both options and not only is there a time difference in expiration but there is a large time difference, the carton lasts a lot longer and is cheaper. For someone like myself who rarely uses milk this was a great discovery because I like to have it on hand for the occasional time I need it but hate to buy it if I know it is going to go bad so quickly!