Early Christmas

Yup, it isn't even December yet and I got my Christmas present from hubs. We normally don't do super big gifts for Christmas or any occasion really, but he knew I've had my eye on a pretty lens for my camera for a long time. And because I am a person that takes a long time to make big purchases, he surprised me by being sneaky and asking my friends which one I wanted and made the purchase. He had to give it to me over the weekend because I was expecting to borrow my friend's lens for our trip but she really needed it for work but only told me I could borrow hers to buy time for my lens from hubs to come in. :) I have great friends and a great hubs. :) I will get to play with my new toy in Hawaii on Wednesday, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L.

Image from bhphotovideo.com

I have a really big family and sometimes its really hard to keep up with who likes what. So every year at Thanksgiving my sister and I make it a point to find out what all the kiddos like this year so we can make Christmas shopping a little easier. You know the kiddos are getting older when they no longer are asking for toys but rather clothes and shoes. And I have no problem with shopping for clothes, even if they are for kids.

One of my nieces is just learning to read so she asked for books. I had a coupon for Barnes and Nobles so I decided to do some early shopping. I bought her these beginner reader Fancy Nancy books that I think she will like.

Image from BarnesandNoble.com

And as I browsed some more I came across one of my favorite books from when I was younger and couldn't help but pick it up for her. I know she can't read this yet, but I am sure her mom will read it to her and with in due time she will be able to read it on her own.

Image from BarnesandNoble.com

I loved all of Shel Silverstein's poems, especially "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not take the garbage out".

Did you do any early Christmas shopping with all the sales that went on over the weekend? What are some of your childhood favorite books?

P.S. I am leaving on vacation on Wednesday and I don't think I will have time for another post before I leave. Have a great week everyone!

Ladies, if its ugly...its ugly!

I have to say that I love Tim Gunn and when I found out he was getting his own fashion help show a few seasons ago I was thrilled. I just about died laughing when I heard that he said "Ladies, if its ugly....its ugly!". Tim's honesty is sometimes crazy funny. If any of you haven't seen his show, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, he helps teach women how to shop and gives them a list of the 10 essential items they need in their closet.

Basic Black Dress
Trench Coat
Dress Pants
Classic Shirt
Jeans
Any Occasion Top
Skirt
Day Dress
Jacket
Sweatsuit Alternative

I think this is a great starting point for anyone trying to revamp their wardrobe. Stick to classic pieces that you can wear any time, even in 5 years. One other thing that is mentioned on the list that he heavily emphasises is the right undergarments. Wearing the right size bra can really make a difference with your appearance and confidence.

Here are 4 of my classic pieces. My shoes are not on Tim's list, but a pair of classic black pumps should be.

Trench: NY&CO, Shirt: Banana Republic, Belt & Necklace: Forever 21, Jeans: Citizens of Humanity, Shoes: BCBG

Oh and the necklace isn't on that list, but its one of my favorite necklaces. Sorry for the bad photos again, but I think its time to retire my old point and shoot camera. I sold my old beginner dslr (which was small) and I am way too lazy to pull out my new dslr camera to shoot outfit photos. I wonder if hubs will mind me taking outfit pictures with his point and shoot. hahaha wishful thinking.

Since I am on the subject of classics, this is one of my favorite red nail polishes that can be worn at anytime. Its OPI's "Bastille My Heart", which I think was part of the "Collection de France". After I took this picture I realized I forgot to clean up the mistakes. There goes my laziness again, oh well.

Do you think Tim Gunn's list is a good list to go by? What are your favorite "go-to" pieces that will never go out of style? Any pieces you have that should be on Tim's list?

Currently Listening to La Roux - In for the Kill

Aloha!

In 12 days I will be saying Aloha, drinking mai tais, and getting lei-ed. Yes ladies I am going vacationing in Hawaii! I am extremely excited because I have never been and I desperately need this vacation. Our last vacation was in June and that was before everything got crazy at work.

We will be spending a few days on the Big Island and a few days on Oahu. I wish we had more time to explore the other islands, but its OK, I'll take what I can get. We have alot of stuff we plan to do there like going to the Volcano National Park, Mauna Kea, black sand beach, North Shore on Oahu, Dole Plantation, Diamond Head, and Pearl Harbor.

Image from hawaiipictures.com

I am a little sad that we will be there before the whale watching season though. Hubs said not to worry, if I wanted to see a whale he would take me to San Antonio. Hahaha to see Shamu.

Any must see place or must eat at place you know of?

I just do.

We had our departmental Thanksgiving lunch yesterday at work. The AVP came by and asked our newest employee if she was liking working at the company. I quietly said to my other coworker "No", jokingly of course. We both started laughing hysterically, we even let my boss in on what was said and she couldn't stop laughing either.

This got me thinking about the common questions we always ask and we always expect to hear "yes, great" or "I'm just fine thank you" out of habit. So what happens when someone throws you the answer you are not expecting to hear? Do we actually even really want to know? Do they even want us to know?

I was chatting with my friend who told me she had no idea a friend of hers was going through a life changing ordeal. I told my friend that her friend probably didn't want anyone to know. People sometimes hide their feelings or what they are going through because they don't want to be judged or have their actions questioned. Sometimes people pretend to be happy when they are not because they don't want to be alone.

Image from Deviantart

All we can do is be there for each other, without judgement, because sometimes you can not help how you feel, you just do.

Everything

"And in this crazy life

And through these crazy times

It's you, it's you

You make me sing

You're every line

You're every word

You're everything."

My friend Emily and her husband were nice enough to volunteer and let me take some snapshots of them over the weekend. What was supposed to be a nice sunny day turned out to by cloudy and gloomy. But we managed to sneak out and take some in the 30 minute rain break.

Don't Judge Me..

...because I have been on a spending spree. I haven't gone shopping in forever, and when that happens I feel like I want to buy everything when I get a chance. Last night I went to Sephora to use my 20% off coupon on some products. I've been wanting to try out the Clarisonic for some time now because my skin isn't in the best shape. It promises to make your pores smaller (and what girl wouldn't want that) with a 30 day money back guarantee.

I got the Clarisonic Mia in Pink and was able to use it for the first time last night. Even though the instructions said I should charge it for 24 hours before the first use, I couldn't wait. I used the cleanser that came with the Mia and my skin felt super smooth afterwards and still feels pretty nice today.

I was really skeptical about buying this and thought about just using a manual brush because well, it would be so much cheaper. But after doing a little research and seeing the Clarisonic in person I had to get it. The Mia brushes 300 times per second and I am sure I could not do that manually. The key to getting rid of blackheads is to get deep in the pores and clean out the dirt and there is no way you can do that with traditional cleansing methods (your hands and a cleanser).

It is made by the same people as the famous Sonicare toothbrush (which I got one for hubs and I not too long ago). I bought a cheapo electric toothbrush once thinking that it would do the job, but the first time I used a Sonicare toothbrush my teeth never felt so clean. So, knowing what the Sonicare toothbrush has done for my teeth, I needed to see what the Clarisonic could do for my skin. I hope to give you guys a better review in a week or so rather than just my reasoning to buy it (not like I really needed one anyway :P).

I also purchased this palette from Sephora's Pure line.

The colors came out so rich unlike some other palettes that look great in the packaging but doesn't have much pigmentation. I don't know how many palettes I have I just keep buying more (sad, I know). Sephora's Pure line is made up of 95% natural ingredients and does not contain all those ingredients I can't pronounce.

I swatched the colors in store and I think my favorite is going to be the middle on the bottom, a shimmering mauve color. The blush looks crazy bright in the picture, but when I put it on its just a touch of bright pink. I can't wait to try this palette out.

Anyone else purchased anything at the VIB Sephora Event last night? I was hoping they would give away some freebies, but it wasn't even that kind of "event", all they had were some balloons on the doors.

Green with Envy

I mentioned a few posts ago about the new nail color Twilight that I love. Well, the day I bought Twilight I also bought Green with Envy (part of Ulta's Professional line new fall colors). The color is like an emerald green that I couldn't seem to capture very well with my old (circa 2004) point and shoot, which captured Twilight easily. I took so many pictures and just couldn't get a good one, and I was too lazy to pull out my big Canon. I hope you can see the pretty green in this craptastic photo :P

You like?

Speaking of being envious, I am super jealous of my friend who has lost probably about 10 lbs. in 2.5 weeks. We both have been watching what we eat, counting calories, and some physical activity here and there and well...I only lost about 1/3 of what she lost. I haven't been super strict on what I eat and allow myself a little bit of my cravings (all these left over Halloween candy in the office can't be good).

At this rate I have a long way to go to reach my goal. I don't know how I can reach it when I randomly had a craving for a powdered donut. A POWDERED DONUT....I NEVER eat those and one day driving home from work, I wanted one. I was so tempted to pull over at the gas station and have one, but I came to my senses. The oatmeal I am eating as I type this just doesn't compare to a Panera dutch apple bagel with cream cheese alllll over it!!!

I know losing weight is all about a lifestyle change, I get it, but sometimes its just difficult to get out of the routine you have been used to. As much as I hate to run, I think I need to give it another try, maybe invest in some real running shoes instead of the ones I just buy from the mall. Hubs just bought himself a pair of running shoes that were custom fitted to his feet. Apparently he runs a little weird, so they cushioned his shoes to help him out and not put pressure on his back.

Anyone else hate running? Or am I the only one? I hated running in school too and always dreaded when we had to do those fitness tests in elementary school when the mile run came up.

Lean on my shoulder

We have seen lots of strong shoulder blazers from designers for their fall collections. I don't have any of those, but I desperately want a strong shoulder dress. French Connection has several right now that I am loving. I love how structured these pieces are and how clean the lines are.

Then ASOS has these fun dresses with embellishments on the shoulder to add some drama.

How do you feel about the emphasis on shoulders these days? Do you own any strong shoulder pieces? If so, which ones?

Just a Few More

OK I promise not to overload you guys with my pictures, but I couldn't help but post a few more pictures from the shoot I did over the weekend. I am dying to get out and shoot again this week with the gorgeous weather, but it has been getting dark so early that it is hard for me to make some time. I really want to take a few shots of a couple this Friday around sunset, now my problem is FINDING that couple.

...and because I always save the best for last, my fave.

Black&White

Something about the simplicity of a black and white photo just draws me to it. Here is one I took over the weekend.

I love the nice weather we have been having in Texas because that means I can go outdoors and shoot! Hopefully I can find sometime after work this week to do some more. And find some time to learn how to use Photoshop :)