Proper home for all your treasures

Not sure about you all, but my jewelry is a mess...tangles of beads, hoops, and bangles! Even though my bling is a disaster I am not the biggest fan of jewelry boxes. My stuff tends to be a bit over-sized, and while I do have a few special pieces most of it is costume jewelry, so it just doesn't fit in a standard jewel box. Well low-and-behold...I found the perfect solution while blog browsing yesterday!

I present to you: Custom Jewelry Display

{how amazing...all those big earrings organized and ready to wear!}

{i'm in love with these knobs!}

See these displays & more @ the Jewelry Art Store

Here are a few suggestions for your special pieces of jewelry

{ perfect for your pearls from Pottery Barn}

{too cute from Etsy}

{safe & sound for your travels, you can even get the silver tab monogrammed}

Arrr you having a good day?

Hello blog world! Just wanted to check in and say hi! S2H sent me this funny pic of his niece and I just couldn't help but smile. How fierce is she?! Hope you get a little smile out of this :)

Sister weekend

Happy Friday! I am off to see Giselle for a quick weekend :). I'm looking forward to 36 hours of mani/pedis, movies, sweet potato fries, shopping and gossiping! Sometimes the only cure is a bit of sister time! Hope you all get to spend time with your loved ones this weekend! xo

speaking of loved ones...here are some loving ideas from the web! muah!

sweet nothings treat

the cutest personalized cards

sweet dreams

lucky lucky!

be mine

nothing says love like chocolate

*photo via here

Loving Frank...Not so much

Book club is back in action! I apologize for my lack of book club reporting; we took a break for the holidays and I have just been slacking. Our book for January was Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. To sum it up the book is a fictional rendering of the real-life affair between architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Mamah Borthwick Cheney.

This was a great group discussion book because it touches on issues such as morality, family values, feminism, art and love. I personally despised FLW and Mamah and had a difficult time connecting with their actions and motives to leave their children and families. I was so distracted by my disgust for the couple that I couldn't even get through the book! I did an awful thing and skipped to the end to prep for our book club meeting (first time I have ever skipped to the end!). The ending was so unexpected that it convinced me to go back and finish the book. If you have read the book I would love to hear what you thought! Did Mamah's name drive you as crazy as it drove me!?

Up for February: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson. I never gave my review of The Help but it was AMAZING! A must read!

{book club group! we decided to bake for December instead of reading ;)}

*Need help setting your 2010 Reading List? See Hilary's blog! She has great advice and book reviews!

book cover via here

A case of the Mondays...

Afternoon loves. I have some not so fun things going on this week and it is starting to wear on my nerves a bit. So I am perusing the internet for some cheer and smiles. I came across this picture and quote and had to share! Hope your week is off to a sparkly start ;).

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,

or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

~ Abraham Lincoln

photo via here.

I woke up to a nice blanket of snow this morning. Unfortunately, not enough for an official snow day, but it did look pretty. Hope everyone has a weekend full of cozy blankets, hot chocolate, and dvr! Cheers!

photo via Steve Miller. Steve is a local DC photographer. I just love his work!

Not so cheerful...

A friend of mine recently posted this article about how the Manhattan H&M Store is THROWING AWAY new clothing that I am assuming is taking up the space for newer inventory. There have been multiple accounts of bags and bags found near the store trash full of new, still tagged clothing. Now here is the worst part, the clothing has purposefully been destroyed. One witness explains:

“Gloves with the fingers cut off,” Ms. Magnus said, reciting the inventory of ruined items. “Warm socks. Cute patent leather Mary Jane school shoes, maybe for fourth graders, with the instep cut up with a scissor. Men’s jackets, slashed across the body and the arms. The puffy fiber fill was coming out in big white cotton balls.” The jackets were tagged $59, $79 and $129.

How sick is that? With so many people in need and the weather so frigid how can a company justify destroying and trashing winter coats? People have reported similar actions from the Walmart store nearby. To read the full New York Times article click here.

**On a sunnier note see According To Nina's post on how Sear's supports our military and shows what it really means to be a Corporate Citizen.

A Clean Slate!

I'm not much for New Year's Resolutions but after reading the posted resolutions of so many bloggers I feel compelled to make a public list of my own and have you all make sure I stick to them!

I have many parts of my life that constantly seem to be "under construction" but here are my top goals for 2010!

(1) After many stress induced pains and headaches my main goal for 2010 is to take better care of mind, body, and soul. I will continue to learn how to manage my stress and anxiety, and get all those dreaded doctors' appointments taken care of. Not too mention more regular hair cuts, my split ends are out of control!

(2) Be more grateful. I have a tendency to always be looking ahead or looking back. I would like to train myself to enjoy the present and all the wonderful little moments in life (also the purpose of this blog).

(3) Start going to church more regularly and join a parish. S2H has the same resolution so hopefully we will support each other and grow together in faith!

(4) I loved the movie Julie & Julia! It has inspired me to try at least two new recipes a month! You might not think this is a lot but work travel starts soon and I want to be realistic! I think this will also make me a better girlfriend to S2H. ;)

(5) Be a better godmother and reconnect with friends.

(6) Grow my blog and invest in my creativity

(7) Live and embrace my reality.

Well, here is to 2010! Hope your year is fabulous!


photo via here

Christmas Recap

I know we are in 2010 but it is never too late for a Christmas Recap! S2H and I celebrated Christmas at home by getting our 1st real Christmas tree, seeing the DC Christmas Decorations, eating lots of homemade cookies, exchanging gifts a bit early, and watching Elf, Home Alone 2 and other classics.

For the big day we went to New Hampshire (aka the North Pole) for a mini family reunion of my dad's side of the family. It was the first time S2H meet most of my uncles and cousins, and he passed with flying colors. I on the other hand stressed way too much and ended up giving myself an awful headache/toothache from grinding my teeth in anxiety ( I know I know...relaxing is apart of my New Year's Resolution)! All in all it was a successful Christmas and I am looking forwarding to keeping up with the new traditions S2H and I shared this year!

{gifts with S2H, we even did stockings!}
{he always makes everything more fun}
{right before Christmas Eve Mass}
{little bro & giselle}