Saturday, December 25, 2010

Day 25 of My Favorite Things

Merry Christmas everyone! 


My Favorite thing EVER?  My husband and my kids.....I LOVE YOU GUYS!! 


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Friday, December 24, 2010

Day 24 of My Favorite Things

Day 24 is all of my family and friends!!  I love you all!  I love, love, love getting Christmas cards and adding them to my crazy manzanita branches--I love to see all the happy smiling faces of our friends and family.  Last year I kept this tree up for about 7 months!  Hated to take it down.  Thank you everyone who has touched our lives. 


Xmas cards

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Day 21, 22, 23 of My Favorite Things

This daily posting thing is hard!  OK, I've slacked but I've got 3 good ones to share. 


Day 21...Glitter!  Specifically Martha Stewart's Glitter--all the pretty colors, oh my..... Screen shot 2010-12-23 at 3.57.05 PM


I have glittered everything around me these last couple holiday months...it was skulls, then pumpkins, now Christmas trees.  Tomorrow I plan to glitter some bangle bracelets-just for fun.  I love this set from Michaels with 24 pretty colors--grab a 40% off coupon, get it and glitter the world!


  Screen shot 2010-12-23 at 4.07.33 PM Day 22....Fuji Instax Camera!  Aaron bought this for me for my birthday last year and it is such a fun treat!  Like the Polaroid's of old but with business card sized prints.  I even purchased some photo albums specifically made for this camera and have scrapbooked at an event!  The only scrapbooking I've done in YEARS! 


Day 23 is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook!  I am not a good cook but with this book I feel like I can make excellent meals.  And healthy meals.  And learn something in the process.  We just made a Screen shot 2010-12-23 at 4.09.02 PM chicken Thai recipe from it that I've had 3 meals straight....good stuff!  He teaches a way to make rice that I've never tried before and will never go back to my old way.  In the new year I plan to try most every recipe in there (do I hear New Year's Resolution?)


 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Hair OBSESSED!

Remember from only a few days ago (Day 16 Favorite Things) and I talked about my fairly drastic hair cut?  Well already I've changed it!  Amy P. is still my favorite thing but she got upped a notch even higher in my book for putting up with my neurosis and giving me an even better cut!  I went the weekend just not vibing on the first cut...I just didn't feel like me.  Why wait 6 weeks or so until the next cut?  I called her up and she totally understood me and we went for the full she-bang! 


Shorthair


I love it!!!  And you know what's even funnier?  I went in to see her with a new inspiration photo.  A picture of a cartoon character!  Ha!  Screen shot 2010-12-21 at 4.16.12 PM

Day 20 of My Favorite Things

Just back from a trip so I think I'll make the destination my Day 20 Favorite Thing!  San Francisco!  Screen shot 2010-12-21 at 9.26.45 AM


San Francisco didn't used to rank up there in favorites for me but over the years we have gone down quite a few times, all for different purposes and I have loved each and every trip.  The city offers so much and is so close to us (about 3.5 hours) that I am embracing it as a favorite.  This last visit my Mom, Ella and I went to the Holiday edition of Renegade and as always had a great time.  We stayed in a really eclectic and modern hotel in the SOMA district that was within walking distance of of Union Square.  So of course we had to walk to my faves Sephora and Anthropologie!  We also visited Japantown for the first time.  Loved it--much more laid back then Chinatown and a fun experience.  And there's always the food experience...something I love to research and enjoy on trips.  We had great burgers, boba tea, baked goods to die for.... 


So much to see and so much to do in SF....but Shh....don't tell my real favorite city Chicago


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Saturday, December 18, 2010

Day 17 and 18 and a bonus 19 of My Favorite Things

Playing catch up here!  It's been crazy these last days leading up to Christmas.  Kids are now out of school, finishing up on my last minute orders and getting ready to go to Renegade in San Francisco for a couple of days. 


My Day 17 Favorite Thing is Divine Twine!  Screen shot 2010-12-18 at 6.59.19 PM


I use this stuff for everything--gift wrap, tags, mini banners, crafting, jewelry packaging.  All the colors just make me happy!


 


My Day 18 Favorite Thing is Washi Tape!


Screen shot 2010-12-18 at 7.04.34 PM You might be asking, what the heck is washi tape?  Well I'll tell ya!  It's Japanese masking tape and comes in yummy colors and patterns.  I love, love, love it!  I've got quite the collection going.  Like the Divine Twine, I use this stuff for everything.  It's perfect for various jewelry packaging needs becasuse it peels off easily and doesn't leave sticky residue. 


My Day 19 Favorite Things is all the kawaii Japanese imports! 


In Japan, kawaii basically means "cute" or "adorable".  Hello Kitty would fall into this category.  I do like Screen shot 2010-12-18 at 7.25.03 PM Hello Kitty but I LOVE all the other Japanese cuteness stuff out there!  I have a mini collection of notepads, pencils, stickers, mini bags, etc of Japanese imported items that I just love to look at.  It's a bit of a reversion to my 8 year old self, but so what!?  I've bought some things online but I recently found out a friend locally has begun selling all things Japanese and it makes me so happy!  Screen shot 2010-12-18 at 7.25.20 PM


My daughter started a little business over the summer called Kawaii Belle and many of the cute stuff she created definitely fits this bill...so cute!


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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Day 16 of My Favorite Things

I told myself that I was going to keep my "25 Days of Favorite Things" list to material items only...reason being I could fill the 25 days easily by listing my family members, friends and other important people in my life.  As shallow as it may be I wanted to only talk about "things."  Well I broke that rule for Rob Thomas (Favorite thing number 12-though a friend reminded me that I've spent enough on him that he's basically a material possession!)  and I'm going to break the rule again...my favorite thing today is my hair stylist-- Goddess Amy P! 


Diptic-1 Each time I (and definitely my daughter) have gone to her, it's been magic.  Today I had her lop off a good 12 inches of my hair today and while it could have been 'traumatic', I couldn't be more thrilled!  In fact...I actually want to go shorter!  She is AWESOME with hair cuts but downright genius with color.  Check out that color--the red pops are incredible! Not to mention she is such a fun person--her laugh is infectious! 


Please go check out her page on Facebook....Goddess Amy P.'s Page of Beauty and Inspiration


Let her know I sent ya! 


Here's a couple of peeks at my hair this morning....


Photo on 2010-12-16 at 10.01 Photo on 2010-12-16 at 10.02 #2



 

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Day 15 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-15 at 5.17.17 PM 10 days to go, woo hoo!  My day 15 favorite thing is my Ariat Fatbaby boots!  I am not a cowgirl kinda girl but these boots are seriously my most comfortable pair of shoes/boots/slippers.  I can go all day without taking them off or even thinking about taking them.  Rare for me! 

Day 14 of My Favorite Things

  Photo I didn't know this was my favorite until last night but OH MY GOSH it's a major new favorite!  A pure extravagant indulgence but OMG.... Vintner's Cellar of Redding's Cocoa De Dolce.  Last night I attended a wine tasting event which is funny because I'm not a wine drinker-at all.  It was a wonderful evening and while I didn't care for pretty much all the wine we tasted, learning about the different wines and tasting them with various food pairings was actually quite fascinating.  And then we hit our final wine--a chocolate port.  All I can say is "WOW" and "mmmmmmmm....."  Given that I have never bought a bottle of wine before and the first bottle I buy is $40, I think it's best I don't become a wine drinker.  But our Christmas dinner will have an excellent finish.  :-)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Day 13 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-13 at 8.38.45 PM Screen shot 2010-12-13 at 8.38.28 PM

I LOVE SEPHORA!  I love the freebies, the samples, getting makeovers in the stores, perusing the website for new items, reading reviews of items.  Love it all! I have found many a favorite product at Sephora and could fill a list just with items I found at Sephora. 


 

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Day 12 of My Favorite Things

IMG_0191_2 Many know about this obsession but many do not.  Time to fill them in...Day 12 of My Favorite Things is Rob Thomas.  See that photo at left?  I took that.  With my camera.  See how he is singing directly to me?  Yep, it's true.  He loves me. 


And in the spirit of Christmas I leave you with this....








Day 11 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-12 at 9.36.17 AM My absolute favorite movie is Almost Famous! 


I think I may have unfulfilled dreams of being a band groupie in the 1970's....sigh....

Friday, December 10, 2010

Day 10 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-10 at 9.25.03 PM My Day 10 'Favorite Thing" is the color Turquoise!  What's funny is turquoise also happens to be the "official" color of the year as determined by Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color.  Did you know there was such a thing?  :-)


Turquoise only has about 20 more days to be the reigning color before it hands it's title over to Honeysuckle.  But it will always be tops in my heart. 


For a little eye-candy of this beautiful color, check out this awesome blog.... House of Turquoise.  I visit often for bursts of inspiration. 

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Day 9 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-09 at 6.45.48 PM  IMG_2152


Give me a Grande Chevy's Strawberry Margarita blended and I am in heaven....

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Day 8 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-08 at 1.48.07 PM Rhonda Allison Pumpkin Cleanser!  My esthetician, Stephanie Stika of Faccia Bella recently turned me on to this cleanser and I simply love it.  A tiny bit goes a long way and I feel like it cleanses my face way better than anything else I've tried.  Plus it smells heavenly!

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Day 7 of My Favorite Things

  Photo-25_2 My Kitchenaid mixer!  I am not a good cook and lately do it very rarely but I do like to bake and this baby is the best.  My Mom bought it for me for Christmas about 3 years ago and I love it! 


Tonight I had a little Christmas dinner with my girlfriends and I whipped up this coconut-chocolate cake with my handy dandy mixer!  I found the recipe for the cake here....Family Circle.Com  It was yummy if I do say so myself!


Photo-23


 

Monday, December 06, 2010

Day 6 of My Favorite Things

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The TV show Dexter on Showtime!  We don't get Showtime but as soon as the season is available on DVD we sit and watch them all. 


And now....all of you will receive your own copies of Season 1-4 of Dexter on DVD!  Yeah not really, but I wish  I could do that.  ;-) 

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Day 5 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-05 at 7.51.33 PM OK, I'm cheating here because I'm exhausted from this weekend...but not really because it really is one of my favorite things!  My bed and my new bedding is to die for comfy! 


Last weekend we stayed at our cousin Cindy's house and slept in her guest room.  Her comforter was so comfy cozy that this is how obsessed I am, I convinced Aaron to stop at Walmart (2 of them!) on our way home late at night, to pick one up.  Mainstays Comforter  Add in our new flannel sheets and the softest bed blanket EVAH, both from Costco...and the best part?  All 3 were less than $140 for seriously the coziest bed you could imagine.


And now to give up to the night and jump into it! 


 

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Day 4 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-04 at 7.43.33 AM


Do I really need to say more?

Friday, December 03, 2010

Come See Me! - Boulder Creek School Christmas Fair

I'll be sharing a booth with Kawaii Belle, run by the beautiful Ella Lee and Doodle Buttons, operated by handsome business owner Jacob Lee! 


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Day 3 of My Favorite Things

Chai Tea!  Like lip gloss, I'm picky about my chai.  My goto chai will always be David Rio's Orca Spice Chai Screen shot 2010-12-03 at 8.54.05 PM.  It's sugar free which is a bonus.  This product is a powder form and you just mix with water or milk.  I do mostly water with a touch of non-fat milk.


Screen shot 2010-12-03 at 8.55.33 PM My next favorite...for when I have some time to really enjoy the tea ritual is Masala Chai from Adagio Teas.  Loose leaf teas are an entity all their own.  I've gotten it down and love enjoying a cup.


And my last favorite is Oregon Chai...this one is a liquid concentrate and I enjoy it most iced.  I drink this one mostly in the summer.  Problem is the way I like to make it, it's about 400 calories! 


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If you have a favorite chai, please let me know in the comments! Always into trying a new one. 

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Day 2 of My Favorite Things

Screen shot 2010-12-02 at 8.28.50 AM I have an incurable lip gloss addiction. Have to have lip gloss with me at all times.  I love to buy it but I'm also a picky lip gloss user.  I go through phases on my favorite, but for the past year my very favorite has been Stila Lip Glaze


I love the applicator and they're just pretty.  I don't have a favorite color but I'm onto my second box set and have loved them all!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Day 1 of My Favorite Things

I'm going to start this one with a big one--I kinda have to considering how much it's with me each day (and I'm sorry it is an Oprah pick and it is an expensive one-and I'm really sorry since I complained about how Oprah's picks have gotten out of control in my last post, but I just have to pick it).....My Day 1 favorite is the.....


  Screen shot 2010-12-01 at 7.57.08 PM Apple iPad!!  I have the 32gb Wifi version and love it, love it, LOVE IT!  Screen shot 2010-12-01 at 7.54.03 PM


To share some of the goodies I own for it, I have the following decal on the back that I purchased from Etsy....


  It's kinda silly though because it's covered up by a purple Speck CandyShell 100% of the time. 


I could do a whole separate post about my favorite apps.  Right now the top 3 include Social (a Facebook app), Gift HD (keeps my holiday shopping list and budget in order) and Hotel Dash (my time-waster game of the moment). 


If you have an iPad, let me know in the comments what your favorite app is! 

25 Days of Christmas--Well I'm gonna try!

Let me preface this by saying over the years I have been OBSESSED with Oprah's Favorite Things shows.  I looked forward to it every year and especially loved it in the early years when things were ACTUALLY affordable for me to purchase!  I remember one of the first years she did a wine garlic mustard from a company called Singing Pig and it is still one of my favorites.  The company was based out of the Sacramento area (looks like they've moved) and they would come up to Redding to various craft shows and I would stock up on their products (they are ALL good).   Anyhow, I digress, the last few years I haven't enjoyed it as much--in fact a sort of jealous rage and irritation at the insane women in the audience builds inside me, but yet I still can't turn away! 


Another side track-my obsession with the Favorite Things show even morphed into an incredible event that Diptic one of my close friends, Stephanie and I put together for 5 years straight.  We've been on hiatus for a couple of years, BUT we might have a new event debut in 2011 so stay tuned.  The event that we put together was called the Annual Basket Party and began in 2004.  It took place in a local restaurant with about 18 friends where we exchanged baskets that were filled with our 'favorite things.'  5 years later the party had morphed into a huge event held at a local country club with hundreds of people in attendance over the years and thousands of money raised for the Oprah Angel Network and causes close to our heart!  We are both very proud of what we accomplished. 


So, anyhow, back to my point with this whole post!  I'm going to attempt to post daily an item that is one of MY "Favorite Things".  I was going to just do a top 10 later in the month but I was inspired after reading Heather Armstrong's Blog this morning and she is doing a post for 25 days straight.  Be sure to go and check out her blog and see the beautiful family portraits she has posted in her first entry!  :-) Maybe one day I'll be in the position to give away some of my favorite things just like Oprah does! 


Now that my long winded intro to this endeavor is done....look for my favorite thing #1 to posted later today!  Thank you and feel free to leave me a comment telling me what your favorite things are!