Tuesday, The Eve of NYE...

Here is Tuesday's daily outfit...

Merona argyle cardi - Target
Sleeveless Tuxedo shirt - NY & Co (after Christmas sale)
Black skirt - target
Black patterned hosiery
Issac Mizrahi heels - Target
Pearl necklace - gifted

So by the time most of you read this it will be NYE. What are you plans and what are you wearing? Dressing up or down? Will and I will be with V and the crew (about 19 in all) for a sushi dinner and drinks. I've decided to not buy a new dress and will shop in my own closet. One of my new headbands might be making it's debut tonight.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

The 6th Day of Fitness

On the 6th Day of Fitness, my trainer gave to me, 6 small meals a day, 5 cardio days, 4 vitamins, 3 strength days, 2 mini workouts, and a Bodybugg to track those calories.

So this is probably my weak spot right now. I was doing so well with my planned meals and then BAM! Holidays... The food sure was great. Problem is that it's still with me. So here's the plan. I will keep a food journal and my target calorie count for the day is 1550 calories. My target calories to burn are 2300. This should help me lose aprox 1.5lbs a week. Like I said, slow and steady! As I get more accustom to planning my meals and eating better, I'll fine tune my calories and meal plans. As of right now here is the breakdown for my 6 small meals a day...

The meals are: breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, late snack

Within these meals, I'd like to have:
78g protein
213g carbs
42g total fat
300 mg cholesterol
2400mg sodium
18g fiber
20g sat fat
1000mg calcium

Like I said, this will be very challenging for me, but every time, I happen to fall off the wagon, I just get right back on. I highly encourage you to keep a food journal. You really learn a lot about your food habits. Remeber to stay honest with yourself. If you cheat the journal, you only hurt yourself. No one sees the journal, but you. There are a few good sites online that can help guide you and offer free food journals.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/
http://www.shape.com/
http://www.biggestloserclub.com/
Discovery health

Oh and http://www.hungrygirl.com/ has fab recipes. Check them out.

Here was today's workout:
20 minute walk (to and from work) - 329 calories burned
10 minute walk around the office building - 119 calories burned
30 minute resistance training - 208 calories burned
7 minutes of jump rope - 83 calories burned

Here's to happy workouts and healthy eating in the new year!

Hill & The City

Sorry, no daily outfit post today. Trust me, you weren't missing much. Instead of the daily outfit pic, I had a craft night in honor of Whitney Port's new show The City. I've been a fan of The Hills since day 1 and I love Whitney's cute headbands. A couple of episodes back (Mr & Mrs. Pratt episode), Whitney had a going away party and was wearing this amazing headband. Of course I had to look it up, but my mouth fell open when I saw the $420.00 sale price (original price $662.00)! Uh it's cute, but not that cute. So my crafty self made my own. Here are my low budget versions...

Strand of small silver pendants - Michaels's ($3.99)

Strand of gold spacer pendants - Michael's ($3.99)

Pkg of grey crystals - Michael's ($4.99)

3 pk Goody Headbands - Walgreens ($2.50)

Glue gun and glue sticks

The 5th Day of Fitness

On the 5th Day if Fitness my trainer gave to me... 5 cardio days, 4 vitamins, 3 strength days, 2 mini workouts, and a Bodybugg to track those calories.


So today is the day where I commit myself to 5 cardio days. There will be days where I have a strength/cardio day. Those are days when cardio get cuts to 30 minutes, but I make sure to incorporate my 2 mini workouts in my workday. So here is my basic schedule starting this week...


Monday - 30 minutes strength, 30 minutes cardio
Tuesday - 50-60 minutes cardio
Wednesday - 30 minutes strength, 30 minutes cardio
Thursday - 50-60 minutes cardio
Friday - rest day
Saturday - 30 minutes strength, 30 minutes cardio
Sunday - rest day


I have mentioned interval running before. I'm not exactly an outdoorsy kind of girl so I prefer to workout inside a controlled environment with a/c. So that leave me to machines and classes for the most part. If I'm on the machine, whether it's the treadmill, elliptical, or the stationary bikes, I always do my cardio in intervals. It breaks up the the 30 minutes or hour and time flies by much faster when you are getting through a bunch of mini goals. Here is an example of how I do interval running on the treadmill. This example also works on the elliptical or stationary bikes. Play with the settings and challenge yourself. Surge on the bike for 30 seconds, then back down the speed for 30 seconds. I love the hill or alpine settings. When I get to the top of the hill, I push myself, but stay at a good pace that I can retain throughout my hill climb. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.


As far as classes go, my personal favs are:
Spinning/ cycle class - I imagine that the sweat that pours out of me is fat melting off me. If you have never done this before, please commit to at least 4 classes before giving up. Sometimes it take our rears a while to get used to the bike seat. I promise though, you will feel tired, good and accomplished by the end of class.

Kickboxing - Had a tough day? Kick some butt in the class. It's a little fast paced, but just do your best and you'll get the hang of it. Remember that everyone was a beginner at one point.

Water aerobics - This is not an old lady class. It really is challenging, but easier on the joints. It;s great if you get in a rut and what do do something different.


So here's my calorie breakdown today. Now I know I said that I would be doing strength and cardio, but I had to reschedule my strength session to tomorrow so it was a full out cardio day for me. Melissa and I hit the treadmills and did interval running.


So here is my real honesty in my day. This is what my Bodybugg shows me. You can see when I put my Bodybugg on and rushed out the door to work. You can see when I went to and from lunch. You can see my 10 minute walk around my office building (100 calories burned), and you can see when I hit the treadmill for 50 minutes (560 calories burned). My highest burn was 12 calories a minute. It was when I was running for 30 seconds on and off.



So how would your day look on a graph??? Doesn't it look like I slept though work? Again, I need to remind myself to move around more. Every movement is a calorie burned and I need all the movement I can get :-)



Stay tuned for Day 6.

Happy workouts everyone!

Lazy Sunday After The Christmas Craziness

Today I am recovering from all the holiday festivities. It's been fun, but today is a sit in my pajamas till I have to go to church tonight kind of day. I only took one outfit pic in the last couple of days and that was on Christmas Day. Here is my Christmas outfit...

Everything is Target except for my feather headband (made), my Dollhouse lacey shoes (Ross), and my beautiful wedding ring (Tacori). A friend of mine just told me that my ring in one of her magazines. It's featured on Tacori's latest ad. It's the one on top. Also on my fingers is a stocking stuffer... OPI's Baby It's Coal Outside. I love the color...so LC from The Hills.

So I must talk about the Christmas tree behind me. My uncle is incredibly creative and his latest creation was the upside down Asian Christmas tree. He got my dad to help him rig the tree to stand upside down. Here's a pic of it without me. It doesn't translate as well in the photo, but it is so beautiful in person.

I had a wonderful Christmas with Will, his family, and mine. The only thing missing were some of my cousins. I had a few cousins move away this past year and it made my family Christmas seen a little smaller this year. They were truly missed, but I know I will see them soon enough. As far as gifts go, Will surprised me with a Le Creuset Dutch Oven in red. I have been eyeing these for a while, but the price has kept me from purchasing them. I have to admit, I was really surprised. Will usually can't keep a secret when it comes to my gifts and he usually spills the beans. The past couple of weeks he's been hinting about some boots that he got me, so I really thought I was getting boots until I saw the boxes under the tree. I knew they weren't boot boxes. He did a good job of surprising me this year. He also got me a pair of skinny jeans (which I actually like), and a couple of vases.

Yesterday, Melissa, V, and I hit the mall (something I rarely do) and checked out the sales. I hit 4 stores and spent $135.61. Here what I got for my money:

4 tops

1 vest

2 skirts

1 bracelet

1 necklace

1 pair of shoes

1 hat

Tomorrow I will continue with my 12 Days of Fitness. Even though I have been enjoying the holidays, I have been trying to keep up with my mini-workouts, vitamins, and such. I'll be back to full swing on Monday with my calories burned...

I got my DHC catalogue and samples in the mail yesterday. Katie and Ally raved about their products and sign up on their mailing list. I'm going to check out the samples they sent and see how I like it. I love how they have a lot of neck products. I am obsessed with trying to save my neck from those dreaded lines. Does anyone else use their products? What are your favorites?

One last thing before signing off... I got a lovely award from The Fashion Therapist (she's got such great style, love her boldness and mad craft skillz).

Blogs who receive this award are "exceedingly charming," says it's authors. This award is a fine one because it focuses not on the glory and fanfare of blogging, but in the PROXIMITY to one another through this online-world. "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into into the body of their award.

Now normally, I am so bad about passing on awards, but I decided to use this award and take the time to thank the wonderful bloggers I have gotten to know and all of the wonderful advice and ideas they have passed to me...

Ally at Cute And The Cheap - You crack me up. Thanks for your shopping advice and tv gossip!

Kimberly at Fab Finds Under $50 - Your how-to's, great layering looks, and for getting me to cinch that belt.

KT's Sassy Blog - Your sassiness, funny stories, and reviews on everything

OTG at What That Girl Wears - your daily songs, love your casual looks, and funny stories of OTD and OTB

Trace at Style Klutz - Awesome reviews! You always make me wanna buy whatever you are reviewing

V at Everyday Wear - My good friend who always tells me the truth.

Kayleigh at Fabulously Later - taking risk, transforming herself, and inspiring us all

Katie at A Diva's Daily Fashion - your awesome accessory finds and cute stories of daily life.

Jessica at What I Wore - Beautiful photos, fabulous style, great tips

Shoegal - Fab boot collection and your "this week I will be..." postings.

The blogs I miss, but look forward to seeing more of:

E at The Life of a Cat Nanny

April at The Penny Pinching Princess

What Can I Say, This Is Me...

The blogs I'm getting to know:

Always Dreaming

The sisters at Domestic Sophisticate

Fat Mum Slim

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!

The 4th Day Of Fitness and The Christmas Rush

First things first...the daily outfit pic. Sorry the lighting isn't too good. I was running late this Tuesday morning so here I am after a long day at work. Details...

Navy blue cardi - Old Navy

Grey top with halter straps - Express

Jeans - Target

Isaac Mizrahi grey shoes - Target

Like I said I was running late so my outfit is a little lacking. It's been a crazy couple of days. Between getting ready for Christmas, working out, and working.. I am beat! I think I have all gifts wrapped and under the tree though. I am looking forward to a short Wednesday workday. The market closes at noon, so hopefully we'll be out of the office by 1:00. So are you ready for Christmas or are you still running around hunting for that last minute gift?

Okay let's move on to my 12 Days of Fitness:

On the 4th day of fitness my trainer gave to me... 4 vitamins, 3 strength days, 2 mini workouts, and a Bodybugg to track those calories.

I have always tried to take a basic multi-vitamin. Whether I start restricting my calories or if I'm eating badly, I doubt I am getting enough of the right nutrients my body needs. Right now here are the 4 vitamins I take... A multi-vitamin, vitamin D, calcium, and omega 3. I just started talking the omega 3 because of Will. He wanted to try it because it was recommended for heart and brain health. So hopefully after a while, my brain may work a little better and I won't be so scatterbrained :-) Are you taking vitamins and which ones do you like?

Here 's today's workout...

10 minute walk at lunch - 144 calories burned

50 minute spin class - 336 calories burned

2- 5 minute jump rope - 100 calories burned

Oh and for those who might be curious about how many calories you burn while sitting at a desk all day. According to my Bodybugg, I burn 1.2 calories a minute just sitting there. The bad news is that I burn about the same about just sleeping. Yep, working is equivalent to sleeping. I need to remember to get up more often.

Stay tuned for the 5th day of fitness....

Happy workouts and Happy Christmas Eve!

Back to Black on Monday

After all of my festive green outfits the past week or so, it's back to black this Monday. Here is my look for casual Monday...

Cream turtleneck - Banana Republic

Merona short leave sweater - Target

Merona snakeskin belt - Target

Mossimo jeans - Target

3 strand necklace - gift from V

Booties - Payless

I just finished watching The Hills. What were your thoughts on the finale? Looks like there is going to be another season.

The 3rd Day of Fitness

On the 3rd day of fitness my trainer gave to me... 3 days of strength, 2 mini workouts, and a Bodybugg to track those calories.

Each week, I will continue to do 3 days of strength/resistance training for at least 30 minutes. For the most part this will be with my trainer on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Saturday's. Before working out with my trainer, I was incredibly intimidated by the machines and free weights at the gym. I'd go with a friend and we probably talked more than workout. My sessions with my trainer have really get over my fear and has really pushed me way harder than I'd ever push myself. Now I know trainer sessions aren't always in the budget, but there are other ways to get a good resistance workout. Many gyms offer a lifting class. 24 Hour Fitness has the Lift class which is strength training for an hour. They also have a S.E.T class which combines strength training with cardio. If you don't belong to a gym, you can check out these videos from Spark People. Their website is free and has a lot of good information.

Today my workouts were...

2 -10 minute brisk walks (to and from work) - 273 calories burned

30 minute trainer session - 190 calories burned

20 minute cardio - 267 calories burned

5 minutes of jump roping - 63 calories burned

Stay tuned for the 4th Day of Fitness....

Happy workouts everyone!

Sew Crafty

For the past couple of years or so, I have been interested in taking a sewing class. I knew a few of my girlfriends were also interested so back in October, we signed up for classes at this adorable place called Sew Crafty. Because they only take 5 students per class, it was a little difficult finding 3 spots together, but we finally got booked and we had our first class yesterday. Our project was a craft apron. Now mind you, before the class, I have never seen a sewing machine up close and personal and I could barely sew a button. The class was very informative and we all just loved it. We're ready to take on our next project (which will either be a tote bag or a skirt). Here are our lovely creations....

Me, Michelle, and Melissa with our craft aprons

Please excuse the way I look. I had just showered from the gym and didn't have time to fix my hair and makeup before rushing to class. My hair was in a clip so it dried a little crazy.

Here is a close-up of my apron... I think my crooked lines add character :)

A Christmas Without Borders

Friday night was a holiday party with our close friends. Here is my festive and super affordable outfit...

-Green tie neck top - Banana Republic ($13.16)

-Converse One Jeans - Target ($26.24)

-Merona Open Toe Wine Snakeskin pumps - Target ($12.49)

-Feather headband - Made by me (aprox $3 to make)

Everything is a fairly recent purchase. The green top was a super clearance at Banana Republic. So happy I found such a steal!

Oh and fyi...I wore my Bodybugg all day and only took it off for the party.

Last night we went to my friend Jamie's house for our annual holiday party. Every year we have a different theme and this year was A Christmas Without Borders. Houston is a very diverse city and most of my friends and I come from different cultures and backgrounds. We wanted to celebrate with traditional foods we have with our own families, so everyone was required to bring a dish reflecting their culture/background. Since I am half Chinese and half Filipino, but born and raised in the US, I made an Asian fusion dessert... fried wontons filled with chocolate and banana! The night was a blast. We had great food, great friends, a fun white elephant gift exchange, and a few crazy rounds of Catch Phrase. We were out till 1 am and it made hitting the gym at 7 am a killer this morning (but I did make it!)

With my girlfriends (and fellow bloggers) V and Melissa

Chocolate Banana Fried Wontons (Shoot me an e-mail if you want the recipe)

Saturday - 2nd Day of Fitness

For the 2nd Day of Fitness, my trainer gave to me... 2 mini workouts, and a Bodybugg to track those calories...

Today I am incorporating 2 mini workouts to my day. Mini workouts are aprox 7-15 minutes and easy to throw in anytime throughout your day. Here are 2 of my favorites. The first is the jump rope. It's inexpensive (I got this rope for about $3 at Target) and very effective in getting that heart rate up. I will be jumping for about 30-45 seconds, resting, then resuming till my 7-8 minutes are up. My ideal times for doing this are in the morning right after I wake up, right after work, or during commercials while watching TV.

Next are my cute walking shoes. Since I live fairly close to work we will be walking a few times a week (weather permitting). I bought these stylish walking shoes to get me to work on those days. They are so much cuter with my dresses and skirts. I'll throw my heels in my bag and switch out the shoes when I get to work. If we drive or take the scooter to work, I'll walk the ramps of the parking garage during my "smoke break". Otherwise Will and I will have a little quality time and walk around the block after dinner.

Stay tuned for the 3rd Day of Fitness...

12 Days of Fitness

Today we had our office holiday potluck. So here I am running to Costco to purchase 3 roasted chickens, 2 Caesar salads, and a bag of hot steaming rolls..
Ok not my favorite outfit, but I wanted to wear color and it was also 76 degrees today. Here are the details of my colorful outfit... Merona purple top - Target ~ 2 tone A-line skirt - H&M ~ Purple peep toe - Target ~ 3 strand necklace - gifted by KT

The 12 Days Of Fitness...

So last night I was thinking about the title to my blog, Health, Happiness, and Looking Fab and I realized that I am missing one of those components in my life right now... Being healthy. Over the last 2 months or so, I have really let my fitness and health fall to the wayside. I stopped losing weight and actually gained a few pounds back. So with Christmas just next week and the New Year right around the corner, I decided it was time to get my butt in gear and ease on into my favorite New Year's Resolution...lose weight and live healthy! So with that said, I give you my 12 Days of Fitness. Each day I will incorporate healthy habits back into my everyday lifestyle.

So on the 1st day of fitness, my trainer gave to me... a Bodybugg to track those calories.

Last year I bought Bodybugg and used it faithfully. It calculates how many calories I burn throughout my day while I track the calories I ate during the day. It really helped me stay on track and lose weight at a healthy and steady rate. I wore it faithfully for a good 8 months, but I started slacking when Will and I got married in October. I got so busy with the changes in life, I was still working out 3 times a week, but not really paying attention to my health. Starting tomorrow (my 1st Day of Fitness) this will be back on my upper left arm. It's kind of like a constant reminder to help keep myself in check. I have the old version (like the ones seen on The Biggest Loser). So don't be surprised when you see a grey strap on my daily outfit pics. If you don't see me wearing it, please feel free to send me a little reminder.

Stay tuned for my 2nd Day of Fitness...

Holiday Cheer on Wednesday

I'm baaaack! Today I was finally feeling better and managed to get to work today. We had our office holiday happy hour after work and even though I wasn't 100% of my happy go-lucky self, I decided to dress a little festive. Here is my holiday work outfit...

Merona green sweater - Target

Grey skirt - Old Navy

Textured tights - Target

Issac Mizrahi shoes - Target (clearance $8.24)

Thank you for all the well wishes. I feel much better despite a nagging cough. I went to work with a drug store in my purse...tissue, meds, cough drops, and anti-bacterial gel. With all that in hand, I was good to go and happy to be back at work.

Christmas, Crafts, and Presents

I am still feeling under the weather so I am home today. I have a bad cough and serious congestion. My box of Kleenex is my best friend right now. So instead of a daily outfit post (because I'm not looking cute in my pajamas right now), here are a few pics of the things I did last week...

First up is my "snow" pic. In my last post I mentioned we got a little snow in Houston last week. It started out really light with just a few little flurries falling from the sky, but by nightfall, we had a ton of little flurries. I only caught the beginning of the snow on camera. The little white flakes you see on me isn't dandruff. It's the small bit of snow we got. I know for those in the cold states might be laughing, but here in Houston, it's such a treat to see. I think I sat outside the balcony for 15 minutes just enjoying the view from the sky. This is probably also why I'm sick...

Next up are pics from my headband creations. I took some advice from The Fashion Therapist and Kimberly at Fab Find Under $50 and created these beautiful headbands. The brown one was an easy applique that took all of 1 minute to do. The black and white was one I designed myself. I arranged the feathers onto a piece of felt and then glued the felt to the headband. I love how it turned out and I can't wait to make more.

The last couple of pics are of presents. Leslie at Cute & The Cheap did a post of gift wrapping. I am so particular with how I wrap my gifts. I love solids, stripes, and geometric patterns. I love using real ribbon, double stick tape and beautifully written name tags. I know that the gift wrapping get torn and thrown away, but like Will says " That gift has 10% extra love then your average gift"

And speaking of gifts... My sweetie gave me an early Christmas present last night. I got a Pinnacle HD Pro Stick! This nifty little gadget allows me to use my laptop as a TV and DVR device. The best part is that once you buy the gadget, the service is free. My new laptop came with Windows Vista and it works with my Windows Media Program. I should explain that Will and I cut a few luxuries like cable and DVR when we got married. Of course I got lucky when our condo came with free cable, but going cold turkey without my DVR was a little tough. This is a fabulous economical alternative! I can record shows/movies, watch them at my leisure, and take them on the road with me. Thank you baby for such an awesome gift!

Slumdog Millionaire

Last night Will and I went to a screening of Slumdog Millionaire. This is an incredible film and I highly recommend seeing it. It just received 4 Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Love the music too. I'll be downloading the soundtrack from iTunes very soon.

Sorry, I've been slacking on my daily outfit post. I was feeling a little under the weather and even though I went to work everyday, my outfits were lacking, so I thought I'd spare you. This week has also been insane. Since my last post, I...

• did almost all of my Christmas shopping in one night
• wrapped all of the gifts the same night
• went to a free screening of Slumdog Millionaire
• enjoyed the slight snow we had in Houston (last time it snowed here was Dec 24 2004)
• had Michelle and JC over for hot chocolate and fresh whipped cream

As for the weekend, I plan to...

• have dinner with my mother-in-law
• work on some feather headbands (thanks Fashion Therapist and Kimberly for the inspiration)
• finish my Christmas shopping
• hit the farmer's market
• snuggle with Will and watch movies

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Thank you for stopping by. I also enjoy reading your blogs and discovering new ones. Thank you for putting you styles and ideas out into the blogger world!

Home for Lunch on Tuesday

Came home for lunch today. Since I am on my own for lunch, I thought I'd do a little lunchtime post. Here is today's outfit...

Button-up - Ann Taylor Loft

A line skirt - Anthropologie

Raspberry necklace - Pei-San

Maripe peeps - Rack Room

Here is a close up of the necklace since the pic can out a little blurry and you can barely see it...

It's been a long time since I've worn this skirt, but I love it still. I love Anthropologie's unique skirts.

Since you guys are my lunch date today, here's what I had...

Homemade chicken soup and a side of blueberries and pomegranate. I love fresh pomegranate (it's just a pain to pull apart). Anyone who knows me, know that I loooove bluberries. I'm so happy they are back in the stores. I can eat them everyday! Anyways, I've gotta run back to work. Thanks for having lunch with me today...

Not Crazy About Monday

This is one of those outfits that look okay in the mirror, but then you see the pic and go.."wow, that really doesn't work for me". I love everything I'm wearing. It just didn't mesh as well as I wanted it to. I will say that is one good thing about taking pics of your outfit. You really do get to see what works and doesn't work. Here are the details of one that didn't quite work...

Everything except the belt is Target.

So as you can see it was a nice morning in Houston. We took the scooter to work and here I am in the parking garage of my office building. Will and I both work for the same company. It's where we met. We never did work together or in the same department. We were on the same floor, which lead to casual flirting in the kitchen. The rest is Willary history :-)

After a long day of work, working out, and grocery shopping. I came home to a pkg from D'Rae who was my accessory swapper from Oh That Girl's Accessory Swap. I got a beautiful navy blue butterfly scarf, a rockin' pink and gold ribbon belt, and a pretty jeweled heart shaped pin. Thanks D'Rae! I can't wait to work these into my outfits. And thanks to OTG for setting up the swap. It was my 1st time participating. I enjoyed picking things out for Laurie and seeing the goodies D'Rae sent.

Clueless on Saturday

Tonight Will and I went to my brother's 30th birthday party and it was a 90's party. I have been so busy this week that I never got around to putting a 90's outfit together. Will had saved a couple of items of clothing from his 90's hey day and was happy to wear his authentic 90's outfit. Since I got rid of a ton of old clothes in the last garage sales, I didn't have much to work with and I was clueless. Which led me to my inspiration to my 90's outfit.. I went to the closet and pieced it together with what I already owned and viola! Cher and the gang from Clueless (1995) would be so proud.

Here are my details..
Button up collared shirt w. ruffle sleeve - Gap / Mossimo sweater vest - Target / Pink and black skirt - Anthropologie /Merona patterned knee highs - Target /Issac Mizrahi heels - Target / Long beaded necklace - gifted

Will's look...

Crazy Button-up shirt - Guess

Tapered jeans - bought at JCP back in the day

Black Boots - Doc Martin's

He tried to get his hair to do the Vanilla Ice thing, but he didn't have enough spray or enough hair to get real height.

Today was also the day my girlfriends and I made holiday cards for the troops. Here is a pic of some of the cards we did and the care package we're sending out...

Turtleneck Thursday

It was so cold this morning! Here's how I bundled up for work...

Turtleneck - Gap

Merona skirt - Target

Tights - Target

Booties - Payless

Ribbon/pearl necklace - Francesca's

wedding ring

I love this turtleneck, but I have to admit that it makes me feel like I have a neck brace on. Nevertheless, it kept me warm enough and I still didn't need a coat.

Tonight I have a few craft projects I plan to work on....my stocking, more coupon organizers, and some holiday cards for the troops. I'm also in the mood to do some holiday baking. Well, it's a lot for tonight so I better get moving.

A Tour on Wednesday

I took a picture in my usual outside spot this morning, but then I realized that my memory card was still in the condo. Since I couldn't find the cord to transfer the picture from my internal memory on my camera to my computer, you get a new shot of me in my living room. Here are my details...
H&M bow-tie sweater ~ Anthropologie skirt ~ Dollhouse peep-toes ~ wedding ring

Now I usually crop myself so you don't get a whole lot of background, but today I thought I'd give you a little tour of this particular corner of my living room. So if you just follow me, we'll start our tour on the left side of the picture.

On the left is an old theater chair I found at an antique store. Sorry it got kingd of cut off in the pic. It's made of wood and you'd be surprised how comfortable it is. The seat also flips up and has a nifty rack wear men could slide their hats on and store them.

Of course you already know about me lovely free tree. Notice how there are no gifts under there yet? Kimberly at Fab Finds Under $50 puts me to shame with all her gifts overflowing her Christmas tree skirt ;-)

The clock on top is one I've had for years. Found at Ikea and bought because it reminded me of classic school clocks. Now I will say that it wasn't really my choice to put the clock there, but Will really wanted it there and sometimes, you just have to let him contribute to the decoration.

Behind me is the fireplace. In case you are wondering why I would put the tree right in front of the fireplace... well there aren't many choices and we will never use the fireplace anyways. It's never cold enough here to use it. Now I do plan to hang the Xmas stockings up on the mantle, but I haven't bought stocking holders yet. Will wanted his by the tree so he just laid under the tree for now. I made Will's stocking for him last year. I'm now working on mine so it'll match his.

On the mantle are numerous pics of family and friends. The one right behind me is an engagement photo of Will and me. My dear friend, Karen took our engagement pics.

Below the mantle are 1950's drive-in movie speakers. I cut a good deal on them at an antique store. They still work too. Of course you won't be getting any kind of surround sound, but it's fun to have.

Basically, my style is is contemporary meets retro. I love the 1950's nostalgia, but mixed with sleek and cool contemporary furnishings.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tour. Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world!

Patterns, Parts, and a Textured Tuesday

In a way this outfit is kind of school uniformish, but I love the textures and the patterns mixed up. Here are the details...

IDRA button-up - Anthropologie

Go International crop vest - Target

Black flower brooch - Anthroplogie

Red 2 pleated skirt - H&M (Nice)

Argyle tights - Payless

Black patent heels - Target

Strand of pearls - gifted

On our way to dinner tonight, I was messing with Will's hair by changing the way he parts it. He told me I should be careful because he saw a show on the History Channel that explained how a simple part on your hair may determine how people perceive you... Of course I had to look this up and low and behold, there is a theory about it. According to this site.. The Hair Part Theory states,
"The way a person parts [his or her] hair is related to many subconscious associations when assessed by others. Each hair part type initiates cycles of behavior toward, and response from, the individual. Over time, these cycles affect personality development." Basically, left parters are left brainers...logical, aggressive, and vocal. Right parters are right brainers...artsy, musical, listeners, and more sensitive. Pres. Jimmy Carter was advised to change his part while campaigning for presidency because people thought he was too soft. Hillary Clinton parts on the left. Martha Stewert parts hers on the right. Even in the movies... Clark Kent parts his hair on the right, while Superman parts his on the left...

So I started looking at me and my girlfriends and oddly enough, the theory was pretty accurate. The analyst, lawyer, and engineer are all left parters. The graphic designer, physical therapist, and non-profiter are all right sided hair parters. As for me, mine parts naturally on the left. Even though I love being crafty, I do work in the financial industry and have always loved dealing with numbers. Even in my clothes... I tend to be drawn towards solids, stripes, geometrical patterns, and dark colors, oppose to floral patterns and soft colors. I tried to part my hair on the right a few times, but it never really took. I guess I'm destined to be logical. It's all kind of crazy, but also kind of interesting at the same time. So which way do you part your hair???

Monday, Monday

Kind of a boring outfit for today, but I was running late so I just had time to throw on some clothes. It's a good thing Will jazzed up my photo so it looks interesting :-) Here are the details for Monday, Monday...

Mossimo tank - Target

Splendid long sleeve - Anthropologie

Converse One jeans - Target

Booties - Payless

I love my Splendid long sleeve top. I have a few Splendid items and I must say...they are splendid! They are just so comfy!

So this week I'm gearing up for the holidays. My friends and I try to do something for others throughout the year and the Christmas season. This year we are making cards and a care package to send to the troops overseas. I'm trying to get all my craft and scrapbook stuff together and organize it a little bit. The girls will be over on Saturday and hopefully we can crank out a ton of cards and add some other goodies into the box. I love this time of year!

My Long Holiday Weekend

I didn't really take any outfit pic this long holiday weekend. It was crazy/busy with family and crafts. Here are a few things I did...


We decorated our tree! It's fabulous and economical...

6 ft pre-lit tree- gifted by my uncle and aunt
decorations - on loan from Melissa
tree skirt - on loan from Melissa


We didn't have a tree and the prices of real trees are insane. Will and I decided to go the practical route this year. My uncle and aunt were buying a new tree so they gave us their old one. And since Melissa had a few color schemes of decorations, she was kind enough to let me and Will borrow some. Our free tree is so pretty!



Dinner with the family... Okay I realize I wore this purple top a week before, but it was clean by the time I wore it again :-) We had some of Will's family over for dinner and to my surprise, all of the ladies were wearing purple tops and jeans. Great minds think alike!


A couple of weeks ago Kimberly had a blog about a coupon holder she made. I checked out hers and Nikki's instructions and made one for someone who just started using coupons and was trying to organize them. It turned out so cute that I am making one for myself and for V.

Oh and I did get a new laptop. After a lot of thought, I decided that the prices of the laptops weren't worth camping out for. So in the late afternoon of Black Friday, I went to Office Depot to look for the computer I had been eyeing. The manager told me they were sold out, but that the sale was till Saturday and they were expecting a delivery truck that morning. So after my workout on Saturday, I ran over there and they had just gotten them in. I got the Black Friday price without losing any sleep. Yay! Thanks to those who gave me lots of good advice. I promise to put some of those tips to use in the future.


Now that the Thanksgiving Holiday is over, it's back to work. I'll be posting my daily outfit later tonight. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (or weekend if you're out of the US).