A Few Of My Favorite Things

Please Note:  I am NOT a graphic designer, and I did the above photos in about 2 seconds.

This week (although it's been a busy week) has had a lot of "favorite things".  One thing I like about the holiday season is relaxing with my glowing Christmas tree, and admiring all the wrapped gifts under the tree.  After a stressful work day I decided to treat myself to some wine, I always enjoy "Relax" Riesling, it's inexpensive and the crisp taste is perfect at the end of a long day (it also tasted great with the lasagna I made for dinner earlier this week).
Today I went to get my nails done (always a favorite thing), and since I have a lot of fun things planned for the weekend (including a friend's bachelorette), I decided to do party nails.  I picked a bright pink polish on the bottom with OPI's black crackle on top for a fun rocker look.  I've been admiring my nails ever since.  According to a few of my co-workers "you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl"!

Music Pick

It is very rare that actually buy music, and it is even rarer when I buy an actual CD.  One of the only artists that I will not only purchase an actual CD of, but purchase a CD without even hearing a single song before hand is Robin Thicke.  I just finished wrapping up my Christmas gifts while listening to his brand new album, "Love After War".  He did not disappoint me, it's a great album! 

I first discovered Robin Thicke several years ago when I heard him perform on Oprah.  I instantly ran out and purchased "The Evolution of Robin Thicke", that was four albums ago and I remain a loyal fan.  A year or so ago I was lucky enough to see him in concert here in Boston, and without question it was one of the best shows I've seen.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Great boots are a must have for everyone.... at least every women in Boston.  After searching for a long time this year for a great pair of booties I finally found these!  They are the perfect day to night booties.  They have a low heel that makes them perfect for the work day, but they are made of cow hair and are covered in buckles and zippers, so they are fun enough for evening ware. 
I found them this week while I was Christmas shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, they were on sale (like all my Saks purchases) so I was even more excited about them!

Holiday Shopping

The only thing I love more then shopping is shopping for all of the people I love in my life.  Although Christmas day tends to be a stressful day, the lead up to it can be lots of fun!  I'm almost done with all my Christmas shopping... and tomorrow is only December first!
I always have a good time putting together fun gifts for my friends and family that I hope they will enjoy as much as I enjoy putting them together.  Of course I don't want to share too many of this year's cute gift finds with you yet (the surprise is half the fun), here is one of my favorite little gifts I'm giving this year:

It is a children's book called "Who Makes The Snow?"
It is a story about a little girl named Holly who is always asking questions, then the day before Christmas, while on a trip to Saks she discovers a mystery door in the Saks store.  The door leads her to a magical world that answers many of her questions, and she makes her way up to the top of 5th Ave and meets the "Yeti's" (the white stuffed animal seen above) and they create the snow for the city.

 It's a really cute story, and the illustrations are fantastic!  And of course I love the idea of introducing Saks Fifth Avenue young kids!

Day Nineteen: Something You Regret

Today's "30 Days of Me" entry couldn't have come at a better time.  Like most people I've purchased some clothes that I regret for size or style reasons, but no worries there is a solution!  It's called buffalo exchange (check it out, there are locations all over the US)!  I went there for the first time this morning and walked out with $25 cash for some of my old clothes that I don't wear anymore. 
Here's how it works...
You bring your unwanted clothing and accessories into the store (no appointment needed) and they will pick the items they want to buy from you.  They are kinda picky about what they take, they only like to take in season items, things that are in style, and they will not take anything that is too warn in.  After they are done you can either have 50% of the amount back in store credit (and since they are selective, they do have some cool stuff) or you can get 30% back in cash (when I say "back" I mean the amount they will be selling the items for). 
I was a little disappointed with some of the items that they didn't take from me, but overall it was a great experience, and I will be visiting again for another future trades.  I have been meaning to go to a consignment store, but it always seemed like a lot of hassle to set up an appointment, get an account at the store, and then WAIT till someone buys your things to get your money.  Another great thing is that the Buffalo Exchange has a donation bin right there at the store so anything they don't take, you can donate right there (my location also happens to be close to a goodwill). 

A Few Days

Day Sixteen:  First Kiss
One of the reasons I decided to make today's entry into several day's worth of "30 Days of Me" was because my first kiss is one of the few things I don't like to share with people.  Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that the few people that read this already know about my first kiss, but still it's a memory I'd rather not blog about.

Day Seventeen:  Favorite Memory
It's hard to pick one memory to call my favorite, but one memory that I hold dear is from several years ago.  I still remember when my friend Dani invited me (along with several other friends) up to her parent's condo in Lake George, NY.  Since then I've made several trips to the condo, but for some reason the first few visits are the most special.  We drank lots of Mike's Hard Lemonade, played beer pong, hung out in the village, and lots of other fun.

Reflecting Pool in Boston

Day Eighteen:  Favorite Birthday
One of my birthday's that comes to mind is my nineteenth birthday, it was also the first birthday that I celebrated in Boston.  A group of my friends from school took me to see a scary movie, then we went to Wendy's for dinner, and then we ended the night with champagne and Will & Grace.  Also for that birthday, Dani and I got together and hung out around Boston, and she treated me to dinner at Wendy's (it's my favorite fast food... can't you tell?!?!), then we ended the night by enjoying some Cheesecake Factory cheesecake at the reflecting pool.  The reflecting pool is one of my favorite places in Boston because it's a great place to people watch and there is always a nice quiet place to sit and catch up with friends.

Day Fifteen: My Dreams

My life dream is to travel to Sydney, Australia.  There are so many things about Sydney that fascinate me.   The people, the architecture, and the beaches are all famously amazing.  When I travel there the number one thing on my "must do" list is to climb the Sydney bridge.  No worries this is totally legal.  You actually pay to do it, they tie you to the bridge so there is no chance to fall, and there are stairs that take you to the top.
Of course like everyone, I have a lot of other dreams, or things I want to accomplish in my life but traveling to Sydney remains a dream of mine that I've had for as long as I can remember.