Lingerie, Oh la la!

So, if you haven't read on my blog yet, I had the honor of being in the audience at the second episode of Oprah's Favorite Things. It was amazing and I got a lot of incredible things. I got an awesome Coach purse, a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings and several other things.

My absolute favorite gift were two VERY LARGE gift cards to Nordstrom's Lingerie department! So guess what I had fun doing this afternoon?! I was free this afternoon and thought it would be better to venture to the mall on a weekday anyway. Yep, I was in the lingerie department at Nordstrom for about 3 hours buying bras or undies for some of my favorite ladies! Fun, huh? Don't worry, I did buy myself something fancy as well. : )

The best part was emailing all these woman asking them for their sizes! I can say that not one girl was hesitant to tell me her size! I love that I'm able to share this once in a lifetime experience with some of the wonderful ladies in my life. I hope that they like everything I picked out for them. I guess if they don't, then they can go exchange if for something else on their own.

I definitely couldn't help but feel like Santa Clause today and this is by far my favorite part about this time of year. Happy Holidays ladies! Now I have to figure out how I'm going to mail all these bras and undies to these girls... Hmmm.. Any ideas?

Am I a Grinch? Never!

For the most part, people generally love the month of December. There is always a lot going on and with the new year fast approaching, resolutions can be made and big and small changes can be implemented. There are lots of fun holiday parties, fun family get-togethers, glorious time off work, pretty decorations everywhere, delicious desserts being baked and so much more. In spite of all that, there are also things associated with this time of year that aren't so wonderful, things that are frustrating, stressful and downright annoying.

My #1 December pet peeve is the cold friggin' weather! Yes, I really shouldn't be complaining as I live in Southern California but I'm still cold! It's all relative, right? Another thing that I'm not a fan of about this month is that every store, every mall, every shopping area seems to be jam packed. Parking spaces are harder to come by, there are long lines to buy everything and I honestly don't think that people are in better moods this time of year either. What do you think? I think that people out and about seem even more impatient, bitter and occasionally even rude. : ( I'm also stressing a little this year about what gift to get my Secret Santa. My family and I draw each others names so we are just responsible for that one person instead of everyone. We've done this the past two Christmas's and it works out really well. I just have absolutely no idea what to get my person this year and time is ticking away. . . Oh well, I'll figure it out eventually.

With all the chaos of this time of year, I truly think the key is finding balance. I've had this list forever and thought that this would be the perfect time to share it with you on my blog.

Here are 20 Ways to Achieve a Balanced Life:

1. Make Yourself a Priority- Make time for what you enjoy the most, like spending time with family or working out. It's been proven that you'll be more efficient at work doing this.
2. Live by a List- To maintain sanity, write to-do lists. It also helps to include things on these lists that are fun and you look forward to doing.
   
3. Focus on One Thing at a Time- Sticking to one task and continuing to work on it until you finish it will give you peace of mind when it's all done. It also simplifies things too.
4. Be Realistic With your Time- It's important to know just how much time an activity is going to take you.
   
5. Think "Activity" Rather Than "Workouts"- Even short 10 minute increments tone our hearts, minds and emotions.
6. Limit your TV Time- Studies have shown that people that spend more time watching television tend to be more depressed than those who watch in moderation. Make sure to indulge in all your other hobbies as well.
7. Make Time for Meals- Our bodies and brains need regular infusions of nutritious food and water to work at full potential all day long.
8. But Keep it Simple- Eating nutritious doesn't have to mean complicated menus. Find healthy meals that require little preparation so you'll have time for everything else in your life.
   
9. Don't Go it Alone- There is no reason for anyone to go through something difficult alone. Ask for help when you need it. Your family and friends want to be there for you.
   
10. Ask for What You Need- "You can be putting good out into the world because you're trying to be strong, but be unwilling to receive the goodness that the world has for you. You can't be too strong to receive. That's not healthy." -Toby Thompkins; renown personal growth writer.
11. Don't Play Superwoman or Superman!
12. Transform Your Barriers into Boundaries- Don't say that you'll never do something or that you always do something. Instead replace them with "I'll only do this to this point" or "I'll do this part and the rest is yours."
    
13. Train Others to be Less Needy- Telling someone that you need their support is a great way of doing this.
    
14. Don't Drive Yourself Nuts- Be aware that the commute can change your whole mood, so make a conscious choice to stay positive.
15. Take Time to Unwind- After getting home from your work day, change clothes before starting a new activity or conversation. Reflect on your day and make a deliberate choice not to dwell on the things that you can't do anything about until tomorrow.
    
16. Climb- Be sure to climb those mountains, but scale them one at a time.
    
17. Begin Each Day with Purpose- Try reflecting on your purpose for 15 minutes in the morning. This can help eliminate an hour of distractions later in the day.
18. Don't Procrastinate- Plan your schedule to get the toughest or most dreaded critical activities done first.
    
19. Cherish- Cherish those unexpected moments of peace and quiet.
    
20. Remember to Breathe!
    

Fill in The Blank Friday- Holiday Edition

So, I'm not in the Holiday mood at all yet so I thought this might help.

1. The Holiday spirit is very slowly creeping up on me. Slow...ly. Today, in fact, I listened to one entire Christmas song in the car on the way to the gym. The month of December really just got here too soon and I'm not ready for it at all. I plan on doing a little Christmas shopping tomorrow. Wish me luck braving the mall! To me the Holiday spirit is really about giving and appreciating those people around you that you care about most.

2. The holidays are incomplete without my family and friends. Of course there's also yummy food, the incredible Christmas music, the colder weather, the bright lights, the fun decorations, tall Christmas trees, and the colors red and green everywhere.

3. My favorite things to do around the holidays is finding the perfect gifts for everyone. There really is nothing like knowing you hit it on the nail. I love knowing that the person is going to be so delighted with whatever you picked out. I also really enjoy baking around this time of year.

4. A holiday tradition my family and I have is going to a movie on Christmas Day or the day after. My parents, my sister and I loved going after the food in our bellies settled on Christmas night. Now, my sister and I continue this tradition on our own. We look forward to picking out "the Christmas movie" every year. It's our time to just be alone and be sisters. Not sure what this years movie will be yet. Got any suggestions?

5. Holiday music is wonderful. I love it all. However, I can't handle it too soon. I'm usually only good for about two weeks of it. So, yep, I still won't succumb to those all day Christmas radio stations quite yet. A couple of my favorites are "Last Christmas" by George Michael, 'Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney, anything off of Natalie Cole's Christmas album, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Vanessa Williams and so much more.

6. This year, I'll be spending the holidays in the bay area with my sister's family and her sweet in-laws. It's always been very nice and drama-free. Since my parents passed away, Christmas will never be the same for me but I am blessed to still have loved ones to spend the holidays with.

7. Holiday wish list: Can I put my dream music job on this list? That, the 10th season of 90210 and another small bottle of Nina Ricci perfume will do just fine. : ) What's on your list this year?

The Purse

"The Sophia Satchel, so chic, so perfect... No wonder it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show."

So, if you don't know already, I was lucky enough to be on the second part of Oprah's Favorite Things Episode last Monday. One of the big ticket items that we were each given was this fabulous Coach purse. I love it! I am giving away a lot of the things I got from the show but I am definitely keeping this purse and have already begun using it.

I used it over the weekend and actually several people stopped me to ask me about it. I felt a little like a celebrity in a Coach store in Carlsbad when the salespeople asked me where I got it. Evidently, this particular purse is out of stock and very hard to find anywhere right now. That's the Oprah Effect for ya! If Oprah says something is awesome, then you can bet that pretty soon, it will become out of stock! When I finally told them that I was in the audience at the Favorite Things episode, they were shocked and couldn't believe it. They started screaming and asking me to give them the whole story! Of course, I happily obliged! : )

Needless to say, I feel very fortunate to own this Coach purse. It kind of puts all my Target and TJ Maxx purses to shame! Now if only I could get the matching wallet to go with the purse! Haha!

Five Question Friday

1. What is your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal?

This a tough one.. I think I would say the stuffing! When else do you eat it?

2. Are you a host or a guest for Thanksgiving this year?

I am the guest but it was at my sisters house here in San Diego so I never really feel like a guest here. I'm always doing what I can to help out in the kitchen.

3. When you think of one Thanksgiving tradition, what comes to mind?

We don’t have any traditions. If anything, there's always way too many pies lying around. Is that a tradition? No two people like the same pie. Which leads into the next question perfectly....

4. You have two pieces of pie in front of you and you HAVE to eat one…do you choose pumpkin or pecan?

I don't like pumpkin pie. I'll ALWAYS choose pecan pie. ALWAYS! I absolutely love pecan pie! I love it so much that for one birthday a few years ago, a friend got me pecan flavored body lotion! Awesome, right?

5. Are you a Black Friday Shopper?

Not at all. I think those people that got up at 4AM this morning were nuts! Geez! What could you possibly need that bad that you had to get up before the sun to buy it?! Last year a few of my cousins and I ventured to the stores in the afternoon and did find a couple things but didn't spend too much time. Oh actually, I bought the jeans I am wearing right now last Black Friday! Ah!

Christmas Decorations Already?!

So, about a week BEFORE Halloween, I saw this on a lamp post near my gym - a Christmas tree decoration! WTH! I cannot handle it! This is nothing compared to the grocery stores, Targets, drug stores and every other store out there. It's like they are all in some big hurry to speed up time and get on with the next thing. Why on earth do these places put our their holiday stuff earlier and earlier every year?! I don't get it. It really annoys me. I certainly do not think that far ahead and I simply get ready for things one week ahead of time. I understand that that's just the way it is with retail for the most part, but come on, give us consumers some time to catch up to the next holiday. Seriously?! Honestly, if it was up to me, there wouldn't be decorations for a particular holiday until the week or so before the holiday.

Is anyone else bothered by this? Do you agree with me? Did you feel like the Christmas decorations were out earlier this year?

I ❤ Saturdays!

This Saturday can only be summed up with three simple words: shoes, food and beauty. That's all a girl really needs, right?

Today, my roommate, Gina and I spent the afternoon together. We took a very long scenic drive down Sunset Strip, which I really enjoyed. I love it. There is just so much to see on this mile and a half stretch. There is really something for everyone; bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes, fancy hotels, boutiques, comedy clubs and Hollywood nightspots. All are definitely on the cutting edge of the entertainment business. I will have to let you know what the places are really like inside when I start going to them. Here's something interesting that I just learned, the Las Vegas Strip was named after the Sunset Strip.

Anyway, after this mini tour, we began our shopping extravaganza. Gina introduced me to the wonderful store called DSW, it stands for Designer Shoe Warehouse. It is row after row of amazing shoes at great deals. In other words, my heaven! I purchased three pairs! They are fabulous and I do not regret buying any of them at all! While my partner in crime bought, shall we say, a few more than me. ; ) In the picture above are two pairs that we bought today. Mine are the black ankle boots which I absolutely adore! I've been wanting a pair forever and now thanks to DSW, I finally have a pair. Yay!

After an exhausting (NOT!) hour or so of hunting for shoes, we ventured back out into the daylight for lunch. Gina recommended we eat at Aroma Bakery Cafe. It was in a word, delightful. We ordered a deliciously flavorful Greek plate that had everything from hummus to grape leaves on it which I now know that I really like! We also split the House Sandwich which was equally as tasty with avocado, baked mushrooms and egg in it. My appetite was certainly satisfied! Fortunately, we have lots of leftovers for tomorrow's lunch! Is it wrong that I am already excited about it?!

Later on in the day, I made my way to my first beauty salon experience here in LA and let me tell you, it was phenomenal! All week I've been telling myself that I desperately need to get my hair trimmed, my eyebrows waxed and my nails done so finally on Thursday, I went to one of my new favorite websites www.yelp.com and quickly found a nearby salon. The reviews for Julie's Beauty Secrets were by far the best that I read so I figured that I would give it a shot and I am so happy that I did. Not only is it super close to my house but they also have their very own private parking lot which is a HUGE deal here in LA. The service was amazing and something that I love is that they continued to call me by my name the entire time I was there. I really appreciate that. I was very happy pleased with my manicure and the fairly painless eyebrow wax. I had an amazing neck and head massage while they were washing my hair which then continued before they started trimming it too. Bonus! And I am very happy to announce that I love the final product. My hair feels and looks so much healthier. I think it's so funny that despite getting a little cut off, hair seems to always feel longer after getting a trim. Why is that? Well, whatever the reason is, I like it cause I am trying to grow my hair out. Certainly not as long as the girl in the picture above but you get the idea.

So, yeah, that was my busy Saturday! Tonight I just watched a movie at home with my roommate, Swati, and her friend. Tomorrow, I'll be going on another fun adventure but I don't want to spoil the surprise so I'll keep my FOUR avid followers in suspense..haha! So, stay tuned. Good night!