Word Association...

{via google image search}

"2010"

...the first word(s) that comes to your mind, that you associate with 2010 is
____________________.

Friends, I wish you an amazing New Years Eve. Thank you so very much for coming into, and being such a huge part of my life, since I began blogging in April! You added so much to 2009 and I really appreciate you all so very much. I am extremely excited about what 2010 will bring for us, and I look forward to journeying with you together on our path in life. Here's to you in 2010. I wish you an exceptionally fantastic and safe ringing in of the New Year ;)

The Gift Of Giving: Etsy For Animals

Etsy For Animals {EFA} Artists Helping Animals, is a group of more than 500 independent artists {crafters, suppliers} who sell their homemade, vintage, and very original products on Etsy while coming together to raise money for animal charities. All members of EFA are also Etsy members, and a simple search of Team EFA will take you to all their lovely goods, where you can shop for vintage jewelry, handbags, doggie clothes and more!

{Grumpy Owl Ring}

Each month an animal charity is chosen by EFA members to be the EFA Charity of the Month. Many EFA members donate 100 percent of their sales or profits to either the Charity of the Month or other animal charities. The December 2009 Charity of the Month is PAWS Animal Sacantuary which has been rescuing animals for 30 years, and last year gave over 650 animals wonderful, dedicated, loving homes.

If you would like to find EFA sellers, please click here, if you are interested in joining EFA, you can contact Michele, EFA Team Leader, here.

Fill In The Blank...

{image}

"When I look in the mirror, I see ____________________________"

Merry Christmas Eve!...Tips To Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

{via}

The holiday season is filled with love, laughter, happiness, the spirit of giving, traditions, at times some chaos, as well as food, drinks, food, and more food. While taking time to appreciate the important things in life, reconnecting with loved ones, giving back and spreading joy, it is also a very important time to keep your own health and fitness, part of your schedule.

To help keep you health conscious during this delicious season, lets touch on a few practical and easy ways to curb the calorie count.

1) Do not "save" your calories for the dinner party by skipping meals before it, if you feel that you must, at the very least have a small protein rich snack 30 minutes before the party.
2) While the elastic pants might be comfy, a more snug fitting ensemble, will not only make you look and feel holiday radiant, but will also keep you more in tune with your food intake.
3) When standing and socializing, holding your drink in your dominant hand could prevent reaching for the hor'dourves more times than you had originally intended to.
4) Chewing sugarless gum, especially if you are doing most of the cooking, can help save a lot of calories by preventing repeated "taste tests".
5) Alternate each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water.
6) Try and remain 'satisfied' not 'stuffed'.
7) Have fun and enjoy yourself. If you splurged a bit extra, don't be to hard on yourself!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, I would like to thank Christina, again for her beautiful holiday giveaway. The lucky winner of the lovely hairpins and ring is drollgirl! Congratulations!

Merry Christmas Eve Friends! Here's to a beautiful holiday season of love, peace, joy, hope, comfort, happiness, and new beginnings. No matter the holiday {or maybe even holidays} that are celebrated in your home, I wish you nothing but the best for you and your loved ones!

Word Association...

"choices"

...the first word(s) that comes to your mind, that you associate with choices is
____________________.

Artecnica Fall '09 Collection

{Charming $22-40}

{Cork Cases $18-36}

"Sustainable cork cases lined with recycled billboard comes in 3 sizes: a wallet, a clutch and a handbag. Crafted from 100% recycled billboards & sustainable cork, this die cut case collection is inspired by the simplicity of traditional envelopes. The small and medium case sizes can fit easily into a small clutch or bag as the largest case size suggests you leave your handbag at home."

{Stretch Bag $16}

"Made from 100% colorful advertising campaign billboards, a clever die cut, no glue, no stitch shoulder bag is Inspired by the strength and symmetry found in nature. The minimal 2-D design stretches into 3-D to form the biggest bag with the smallest amount of waste. Stretch Bag can support up to 33lbs. It's available in different colors of recycled billboard or in natural brown leather."

Artecnica is an awesome company, based in LA, that is committed to considering issues of environmental sustainability and responsible manufacturing. Many of Artecnica's products are made with recycled materials and shipped in flat packages to help reduce our carbon footprint. Their Design with Conscience program, was founded in 2002, to "manufacture and produce products in accordance with humanitarian and environmentally friendly principles", by working with "artisan communities in developing countries to produce unique handcrafted objects that reflect indigenous skills. This humanitarian approach supports shared work and profit across borders, cultures, races, and religions."

I hope you are having a great week, Friends, enjoying the holidays with your loved ones and taking some time for yourselves!

One Elephant's Poop...Another Man's Paper Goods

{Elephant Poo Coasters $2.50}

{Elephant Poo Travel Journal $10}

{Elephant Poo Paper Ornaments $3.00}

{Elephant Poo Gift Bag $3.50}

"These items are all created from elephant dung, the ultimate in recycling! The dung is collected from shrines in Rajasthan, India, where the animals are used for transportation. Once retrieved, the plant fibers are removed from the dung and turned into paper. Basically, the elephants are used as the vegetation processors. What is leftover is given to local farmers as natural fertilizer. The graphics are developed by Mahima, a designer and handmade paper expert in Delhi, who came across the idea to develop elephant poo paper after a visit to a shrine in Jaipur. She returns 4% of proceeds to the Elephant Welfare Project in Jaipur, a mobile veterinary service endorsed by the Humane Society."

{images and language all from Koru Street}

Down and Out Chic Giveaway!

Happy Friday Friends! Today's holiday giveaway has been patiently waiting for a few months and I am beyond thrilled and excited about it. When Christina opened her Etsy Shop, I could not have been at all more proud, and completely behind her wholeheartedly. While many of you already know her, from her completely stylish, guaranteed always affordable lifestyle blog, and enjoy her wonderful creations, please take a tour with me of just some of the beautiful pieces she has handmade with great care.

{Try Your Luck...Jade Green Cocktail Ring $13}

{The King's Crown Necklace $22}

{Falling Leaves Earrings $12}
{ps. she also has many non-pierced earrings} ;)

{Take Me Out Tonight Hairpin Set $13}

She has so many sweet, handmade, vintage inspired pieces, and also has a vintage section, that is not handmade, in her shop. Her creativity, style, and passion always shines through in so many ways. The way she describes her pieces, gives them all completely fabulous names, takes unique pictures to showcase her work, and packages them with the utmost of care, makes her shop an entirely sweet experience.

So, without further ado, Christina is offering a very lucky winner the following pieces!

{Retro Leaves Hairpin Trio}

{Little Dainty Cameo Ring}

For A Chance To Win:

{up to three entries}

1. Visit Christina's Etsy Shop and leave a comment here about any piece that makes your heart got pitter patter {1st entry}
2. Be {or become ;) } a friend/reader of my blog {thank you, you rock!} and please leave a second separate comment, saying you "follow" {2nd entry}
3. For a 3rd entry, Blog or Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a 3rd separate comment to say you did.

Winner will be drawn on Wednesday, December 23rd.

Good Luck Friends!
Happy Friday, have a fantastic and safe weekend!

Drum Roll Please!

The winner of the Chet Phillips Illustration giveaway is Alicia from It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy. Congratulations Alicia, I'll email you very soon! Thank you so much to the very talented Chet Phillips and his amazing giveaway from his Etsy Shop.

{Jingle Penguin $18}

Friends, I hope you are all having a great week! ;)

Fill In The Blank...

"loving unconditionally means
_________________"

{image}

Buy A Present....Or Be The Present ;)

This Kate Space necklace is $125, although currently sold out.

Could you, would you {have you, will you} wear it? ;)

Word Association...

"happiness"

...the first word(s) that comes to your mind, that you associate with happiness is
____________________.

{credit}

Eco Plywood Christmas Tree

Buro North Eco Plywood Christmas Tree , made by Buro North.

"The Trees can be flat-packed for ultimate transporting and storage convenience and lower transport emissions. So we’re not asking you 
to give up your Christmas icon, we’re just offering a much more sustainable way to celebrate..."

Available in small $60, medium $200, and large $1,619.
{all language and image from Buro North.}

Chet Phillips Illustration {Giveaway}

I can not even begin to describe how excited I am about this giveaway. Chet Philips is such a talented artist whose work is truly unique, full of animation, creativity and life. His art is simply beautiful. He has received numerous awards and has an exceptionally impressive client list of Warner Brothers and Harry Potter, Pepsico, Honda, American Airlines, The New York Times, ASPCA, BlueCross BlueShield, and Bloomberg just to name a few.

True to visual art, his productions move you through his vivid dream-like world, including a bit of mystery, humor, and always meaning. To create his illustrations, Chet uses the natural media painting software "Painter" and please note, "no electrons are ever harmed" in the process of his work ;)

Needless to say, I absolutely love it, and picking just a handful to spotlight here today has been so hard, choosing a favorite is near impossible. Lucky for me, you get to do the hardest part of naming one your favorite ;) Chet is offering one of you, the lucky winner, any signed 8x10 print of your choice from his Esty shop!

{The Refined Henchman}

{Dandy Lion}

{Pugnacious}

{Sebastian Cluttermuck}

{Ernest Hemingstray from Chet's trading card series "Literary Pets"}

For A Chance To Win :
{up to three entries}

1. Visit Chet's Art, and leave a comment below of which 8x10 print you would pick if you were the lucky winner {1st entry}
2. Be {or become ;) } a friend/reader of my blog {thank you, you rock!} and please leave a second separate comment, saying you "follow" {2nd entry}
3. For a 3rd entry, Blog or Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a 3rd separate comment to say you did.

* Please note this giveaway is only open to residents in the US, Canada and the UK

Winner will be drawn on Thursday, December 17th in the evening.

Good Luck Friends!
Happy Friday, have a fantastic and safe weekend!

Fill In The Blank...

"At first glance, people mistakenly assume I am
_______________"

The Love & Joy In Holiday Gift Giving...But Also The Pressures

I love giving presents. I'd much rather give then receive. I never do well on the receiving side, I can get awkward and uncomfortable with compliments and presents and just don't know how to accept with ease {but,I'm working on it!} . The planning process of creatively trying to nail those unique, personalized, one of a kind gifts for the special people in my life makes me all giddy. These are the presents I wrap and give with love, gratitude and appreciation.

On the flip side, there are those obligatory presents that I just dread. They aren't for family members, nor for friends, nor the bottle of wine we give to the Post Master . It's for those people you see out of circumstance, the friend of a friend, or maybe the colleagues, the boss, the people down the street, so on an so forth, and each year the list gets longer. The ones you know will judge you for not giving them anything, the ones you also know will most likely judge the price tag of the 'gift' you give them.

Do you feel the pressures of gift giving, or have you been able to set some unwritten rules for your gift giving, without feeling like the Grinch? ;)

That Perfect Shade of Red Lipstick

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Every now and then I get this sudden urge to to wear red lipstick. I'm not sure what triggers the inspiration, but I can pretty much count on it becoming a driving force, and I embark on a red lipstick hunt mission. I cringe at the idea of testing the lipsticks at the counter, so I'll stain my hands all over, pick out a few I think are 'just right' , race home, fully excited that this time, I found the perfect shade of red. Then the same cycle begins, I feel its too orange, or too bright, or simply just not the one.

My most recent accumulations are NARS Jungle Red{"bright red"} and NARS Dragon Girl {"siren red"}, as well as NARS Lipliner Pencil in Jungle Red{"class red"} which happens to go quite well with Dragon Girl. So, while I am still not 100% convinced I have nailed my perfect shade of red lipstick, Dragon Girl is very close to what I think I am looking for {Jungle Red is a bit too orange for my complexion, but does looks stunning on so many}.

Do you ever wear red lipstick and have you found your shade?

Word Association...

{image}

"blogging"

...the first word(s) that comes to your mind, that you associate with blogging is
____________________.

Fun, Fearless, Female: Sexy Confidence

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"I'm an open book. I'm not about intimidating women or making them feel like less than what they are."

Jelly Belly and I went to the pediatricians this morning, spending the majority of our time in the waiting room, full of other moms and their completely congested little ones enthusiastically sharing germs with one another. I kept getting 'that feeling' of someone staring at me. Every time I would turn around this woman was burning a hole through me. Measuring me from head to toe, each article and accessory on me.

It is what it is. I know there tends to be some odd competition between women, a 'she has vs. I have' draw and may the best accessorized woman win. While I know this is reality, it still makes me want to ask, "would you like to borrow my {insert eyed piece/accessory here}" with each glare that is not followed by a "OMG! I love your ___________, where did you get it?"

I can not stand a woman making another feel less of herself by intimidation or judgment it's simply ugly and unsexy. Never let another persons 'haves', give you the feeling of 'have not'. You just might be 'comparing' yourself to someone who would never make you feel that way if you were friends with them.

Happy Friday Friends!

Fill In The Blank...

"If I could have given my teenage self a piece of advise, one thing I would have said is
___________________________"

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Mommy's Little Helper: Santa Clause

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My son has learned the magical wonders of Santa, Christmas, and presents. As he not so patiently waits for Christmas morning, he has mastered a perfectly formed plea, that involves clasping his hands together, intertwining his little fingers, a pouty puppy face, and a "mommy, mommy, mommy! oh my mommy! please, please paahhlease ask Santa Clause to bring it!" making it near impossible to say no to him. Some of his requests are reasonable, while others... completely just not going to happen: drums {too loud} , the big blimp that's been flying over Googleplex lately {no explanation needed}, an iPhone {he's 3}, a pony {how about a fish?} .

He is at the three year old stage of learning things such as listening and being a good/big boy. I am also at a learning stage, trying to grasp the art of letting others help when they so graciously offer. Like, the countless times my amazing friends would say "let me come over and let you nap", when my little girl was born, yet I always said, "no! no! really, thank you so much! I'm fine". In reality, I probably could have used a full 10 minute shower to actually shave and wash my hair.

So, I'm taking this opportunity, in the spirit of giving, of thoroughly letting Santa help me. Any and all potential toddler outbursts, that could cause me beet red public embarrassment, are being avoided. A simple whisper of "Little Man, Santa is watching and he only visits good boys and girls who listen to their parents", is all it takes. While I might be a bit disappointed in myself for relying on Santa for child rearing assistance, I don't feel all that guilty. Actually, I'm thinking I could use this to my advantage through the teenage years.

Do you remember how/when you learned "the truth" about Santa Clause?

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