Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Golden Guide

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Take vacation. Relax. Breathe. Put life on hold and make 'finding a restaurant' your biggest problem.

Make time for coffee dates. Learn about someone you just met. Catch up with friends and people you want to get to know. People bring sanity to life.


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Make time for yoga. You'll be more fit, energetic, happier and peaceful.

Be adventurous with your wardrobe. It's fun.


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Fall in love. Nothing is more beautiful.

Learn to let go of love. In the end, you will learn more about yourself than you think.


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Always make time for friends. You can talk to another woman in a way that you could never talk to your husband or your boyfriend. They get you - sometimes more than you get yourself.

Make your family a priority. Call more. Visit more. Share more. They need you just as much you need them.

Read more. Expand your imagination (& vocabulary). The beauty and rhythm of language has the ability to calm and relax us. It's free knowledge.


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Cry if you need to. You don't always have to pretend to be strong. There's no need to prove all the time that everything is going well.

Don't forget to stop and smell the roses. Take time and appreciate everything around you.


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Enjoy good food and great conversation. And stop counting calories at every meal.

Taking time for yourself. Indeed, we are social beings but it's important to find happiness outside of society too.


[Photos: We Heart It, Poor Girl Eats Well, City Sports Blog, Trust Your Style, Fashion Born Daily, Creative Photography Magazine, Andrew Woffinden, Face Logic Spa, Goldfishsoldi, Liebemarlene Vintage]

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Style Crush: Alexa Chung

STYLE CRUSH on Alexa Chung. Her style mix is feminine + edgy, which she balances perfectly. Not only does this chick have great taste, she's got a great budget too.

I re-created the 'look' for a total of $179.84! Check out the sites below...

Hollister Co. Cut-off Jeans from Polyvore, $13
Basic Gray Sweatshirt from Stel's, $45
Forever21 Cropped Faux Leather Jacket from Polyvore, $9.99
SR Squared by Sondra Roberts Passion Leopard Mini Messenger from Endless, $41.90
Black Patent Leather Trouser Oxfords from Steve Madden, $69.95

If you want to splurge on the Mulberry Alexa Bag, then absolutely SPLURGE. The purse values at $1,150.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

What? A Girl Can Dream!

Paris Hilton's Closet via Polyvore

Mariah Carey's closet via MariahCarey.com

Anna Sui's closet via Elle Decor

Christina Aguilera's closet via InStyle.com

Nanette Lepor's closet via Elle Decor

Unknown via We Heart It

Unknown via We Heart It

Unknown via We Heart It

Unknown via We Heart It

Which closet is YOUR style? My personal favorite is Paris Hilton's closet. It's organized simply and I really love anything shiny, blingy, or mirrored. However, Annie Sui's closet is more of my style. I need more black in my wardrobe. Too much pink makes my stomach queezy.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Simplify Your Life




Holy fanny pack! Guys throw a wallet in their back pocket. Girls, just throw a fanny pack on and call it a day. I'll call it a "stylish belt purse" if it makes you feel better:) NEED.TO.GET.THIS.

[Photos: Hanneli, DVF SS11 via Style.com, Jaeger Londson SS11]

Monday, May 16, 2011

Tiny Reminders


Photos are tiny reminders of happiness.
Focus on the "tiny reminders".

Saturday, May 14, 2011

New York, I Still Love You

Apartment hunting in New York is one of the most stressful, frightening and unpredictable processes. Apartments go fast. Any decent apartment will hit the market and be gone within days, if not the same day. So do you commit or do you hope for better apartments to come? There's never time to sleep on it because when you wake up the next morning, it's gone. So next time around when you're in the same situation, there is even more stress and pressure. Eventually, you either settle or find your perfect apartment. By the end, you don't even care because you're just so happy it's all over. I know people who actually have signed a lease knowing their bedroom doesn't even have a window. Jail cells have windows. After you have lived in New York for some time, you accept that there is no getting around finding a cheap apartment. What New Yorkers call a 'deal' is disgusting. But you either accept it or get the hell out. I chose to accept, even though my parents, still to this day, tell me to get the hell out. And LUCKY me, it's that time again to find an apartment aka time to knock five years off my life. It's time to say goodbye to friends and doing anything remotely fun. Looking at apartments is your new life for the next month. If it's not, you're for sure going to live in a shoe box. And if you're loaded, simply press the X in the upper right hand corner of your screen.

Somehow I've managed to move 6 times and I've only lived in New York for 5. That is just wrong. But now I've realized your living situation has a huge impact on your happiness. Do you know if you keep pressing the refresh button on Craigslist, new apartments constantly hit the market? It's a sick addiction and every time I catch myself in these ridiculous moments, I promise myself it's the last year I'm doing this. 6th time around and what am I doing? I'm looking for another apartment. They say New York will chew you up and spit you out. Well, I think I've finally accepted our love/hate relationship. New York, I love you right now but I'll probably hate you tomorrow when some bum coughs on me in the subway. If that's not true love, I don't know what is.

Here are the apartment-hunting sites I'm loving right now...




And when I'm not getting scammed, I love Craigslist

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Woman Who Wears Many Hats

Gwyneth Paltrow. She's not really your average Joe Schmo. The Academy Award-winning actress just came out with a new cookbook, "My Father's Daughter;" she recently transformed her career from 'actor' to 'actor and SINGER' (she sang at the Oscars, at the Grammy's, on TV's Glee and in the movie Country Strong); she was just announced as the new face of Coach and will appear in advertisements in September; she maintains her personal site, GOOP.com, a site about living a better life; she has traveled the world; and she is a devoted mother and loving wife.

Gwyneth was born to Hollywood royalty. Just like many people, I tend to subconsciously stereotype those who are born "with it all." I thought their lives were consumed with getting everything they wanted, they lacked ambition, they abused their power and all of their "highs" in life all at once. I know this is a bold statement but I'm talking Hiltons - people who were born with the inability to understand what "not having it all" means. Of course there always exceptions - Jane Fonda, Ben Stiller, Demi Moore and Goldie Hawn. Luckily, Gwyneth's family is one of the most respected families in Hollywood - a rarity. I believe her family is the reason she has an incredible work ethic and a big heart. Her family is also the reason that when she wanted to start her acting career, it wasn't really considered a battle for her. She got in, no big deal. The real test was actually maintaining her career. And the ultimate test that everyone struggles with is being happy while maintaining your career. And for us non-celebs, maybe it's being happy while waiting for your career to even begin. Maybe it's finding peace and contentment during the unavoidable struggles of life. Just because someone may appear to "have it all," doesn't mean their lives are struggle-free. It's quite possible they may experience struggles more frequently having the world at their fingertips. But some people are able to stop seeing struggles, they start seeing results.

So admit it, I know I'm not the only one who is feeling just a little bit envious right now. Gwyneth seems to always look comfortable in her own skin. She doesn't focus her time on trying to re-invent herself. She knows who she is. People like her because she is real - I think she likes herself because she is real. "Home is where the heart is," is the motto Gwyneth abides by. She understands meaningful relationships are; she's had the same friends since she was 4. It is absolutely difficult to understand the meaning of keeping a balance in your life. It's apparent that Gwyneth gets it. People tend to figure this out the hard way, but a career alone doesn't make you successful. What does success mean to you? To me, success is being satisfied in every aspect of your life, being surrounded by people who love you and who you love back, knowing you made a contribution to the world and living with absolutely no regrets. But it's important to realize success in itself is subjective - it has no real meaning to anyone else but you.

"Everything in my life that's good is because I worked my ass off to get it and to maintain it."
-Gwyneth Paltrow

Always an inspiration to embrace a style of simplicity.
Gwyneth has always been partial to uncomplicated silhouettes, tailored pieces and any solid pattern.
Her style choice coincides with her choice of life.



[Photos: Vogue August 2010, InStyle January 2011, Elle, Sociallitelife, Glamorati]

Monday, May 9, 2011

Beautiful Moments

A glance into a beautiful wedding...





...an elegant, lace bridal gown
...old photos of the bride & groom's parents on their wedding day
...gorgeous satin Badgley Mischka heels
...antique wedding bands
...insanely delicious cupcakes topped with a mini wedding cake
...gray chucks for the bridal party
...simple, neutral table settings
...an array of vases filled with white & poppy pink flowers
...and a brilliant photographer

But what truly made this wedding beautiful was how the bride & groom could not stop smiling - you felt how sincerely happy they were. It's weddings like these that shows true love really does exist.

"We do not remember days. We remember moments." And these moments will never be forgotten.

[Photos: Nathan Peel]

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day




Mom ("Linny"),

Thank you for telling me you love me every day.
Thank you for the morning news forecast in a text message every day.
Thank you for answering the phone at 3am when I need to talk.
Thank you for being supportive of me in folllowing my dreams.
Thank you for being my Valentine when I don't have one.
Thank you for helping me look at situations in a different light.
Thank you for being spontaneous.
Thank you for telling me, "Jen, it's okay to take a night off."
Thank you for dealing with me...I am different.
Thank you for our yearly fam vaca's!
Thank you for telling me when I am being ridiculous.
Thank you for sending me recipes in the mail.
Thank you for reminding me of all the good things in my life.
Thank you for telling me I am successful.
Thank you for raising me in the midwest!
Thank you for keeping our family so happy.
Thank you for making me non-meat dishes when I come home.
Thank you for laughing at my jokes even when they aren't funny.
Thank you for making me a better person every day.

Don't forget to thank your mother today!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Sangria!


It's Cinco de Mayo! Time for sangria...

Use this receipe and go enjoy with friends!

INGREDIENTS

4 cups diced assorted fresh fruit (such as strawberries, peaches and grapes)
2 small oranges, thinly sliced, seeded
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup peach liqueur
1/2 cup white grape juice
4 small fresh mint sprigs
2 750-ml bottles chilled cava or other sparkling white wine

Combine diced fruit, sliced oranges, brandy liqueur, grape juice and mint in large pitcher. Chill at least 1 hour. Cover, keep chilled.

Pour wine over fruit mixture. Stir to blend. WAHLA!

8 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes