just say "NO" to toxic relationships in 2008

today is a very important day as it is the last day of the year and in my mind has limitless potential for change and growth in everyone's life. this year i have given great thought to my new year's resolution and have decided it will not be of the traditional "losing weight" or "no more over-spending" variety, but a resolution of a more important nature with more life altering results. i have decided to purge myself of the "toxic relationships" in my life that have done nothing for me this year but cause me great heart ache and thus in turn have inhibited my growth as a person. i think that many people only associate the toxic relationship as a romantic one, but the truth is they come in all forms, including family. in fact, i believe that such a toxic relationship with a family member is by far the hardest to sever or even try to mend.

however, it has been my experience in this life, that your success (not just financial) is directly influenced by your mindset which in turn in directly influenced by those both negative and positive around you.

oprah did a show on this very topic, specifically on how to confront those with which you have toxic relationships, and how to mend or sever them. it's worth a look at the article if you find yourself in this type of relationship with someone.

http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_2000/tows_past_20001009.jhtml

as for me, i am banishing the toxic relationship that has been draining the positivity from my life and working towards positivity and love in 2008.

i wish everyone a happy and safe new years eve!

love,

fash

i saw this on another blog and it was so awesome for NYE!!!!

I found this info on one of my favorite blogs "coterie", it is a link to a site that allows you to create your own NYE wish that will be made into confetti and dropped in times square this NYE. so much fun!!!!

http://www.zoomerang.com/recipient/survey.zgi?p=WEB227AC5GHEXV

grrrrrr......

i am in dire need of a new pair o pumas.....i was thinking about these. p.s. if you're a size 6-7 in women's you can fit into puma kids, i.e. i m a 7 in women's and wear a 5 in kids....way more economical.

pillars part deux

so i'm almost finished with "pillars" and i learned today that there's a sequel called "world without end." i am now sickly excited to read yet another 1,000 page book.

J's Crew

jcrew holiday sale, below are some of my favorites and all under $40

what are you reading world?

as per oprah's reccomendation, i (like a good little O fan) am reading the pillars of the earth by ken follett. what is everyone else reading? any reccomendations? i like historical/ intrigue type books....

woman without a plate...

ok so i'm not saying the bahamas isnt amazing beautiful but what i am saying is that the wait and service staff at atlantis so far stinks. the story i will share with you involves a plate. this afternoon, post dolphin-petting, and white water rivers, my family and i headed to the local pool side eatery for some lunch. i preface this story with the detail that i am not typically a picky person but this plate thing infuriated me.

so the story goes as such...we all ordered lunch (5 of us) and my mother and i decided to split a sandwich and informed the waiter to that effect. after 20 long minutes we recieved our drinks, then after a while longer our app arrived with our lunch (something i hate) and i of course had no plate. i immediately and politely asked (again) for one. long story short i ate my lunch off my mother's plate and my father wound up getting up 1/2 way through the meal to ask again for one. the waiter showed up somewhere in the middle and was firmly told i was basically eating off the placement and shrugged and walked off.

however, when check time came he was more then personable to me as on this particular day i happened to be the person carrying the credit cards. i found this to be dispicable and reminded him that he deprived me of a plate throughout my entire lunch and to this he laughed. i was totally incensed by this.

i don't know how everyone else feels but i believe it is essential for resort staff to be hospitable for a vacation to be enjoyable and believe me this plate incident is not the only problem i have encountered with atlantis.

in the 2 days i have been here i would not reccomend this resort to anyone else except for the view and water attractions. the staff is less than nice and it ruins any sort of interaction experience one might desire.

lets hope the next 4 days improve and i have a plate tomorrow at lunch..,,,

opps, she did it again!

while @target last night i noted the cover of INTOUCH magazine and the corresponding article, which told me brit brit is now pregnant, again. seriously, i need to know the truth here. what do you guys think, is she, or isn't she??? i bet she is.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16441587/

dino done wrong

daily candy sent me this, the article is below.....what is this supposed to mean, you want a child but instead purchased a robotic, ugly dinosaur? weird. if i wanted to quell that urge i'd buy a puppy not a robot.


The Last Dinosaur
Pleo the Dinosaur


You don’t have a profile on Facebook. Ditto for MySpace. People talking about WAPs and widgets may as well be speaking Chinese.
You’re a dinosaur.
So get yourself a comrade of sorts with Pleo, a robotic, prehistoric pet.
The three-and-a-half-pound Camarasaurus has a sensory system made up of 40 devices, allowing it to interact with you through movement, sight, and touch. Based on its interactions and environment, it expresses emotions, so you’ll know when it’s happy, sad, scared, or hyper. As it grows, its developmental progress will reflect how you treat it. And just like a child, its personality will evolve, so be prepared for adolescent angst.
On the upside, there’s no chance of sneaking out, underage drinking, or teen pregnancy.
And nary a profile pic to prove it.

things i heart @banana republic

i really love these items from banana right now, what i love even more is the combo coupon codes which allow you 35% off anything! first code "brholiday" second code "mybrgift"----together you get 35% off!!!!

second thoughts about the suit

i recently bought this suit from banana and now i'm just not sure about it. does anyone like/dislike????

philadelphia your about 2 years behind....

amongst my travels throughout center city philadelphia i have noticed a MASSIVE amount of women wearing uggs. i own uggs, and i like uggs, however they just aren't cool anymore and haven't been since the winter of 2005. uggs are only appropriate when running errands in ur pjs or trekking somewhere in the snow, otherwise they are completely not ok. i recently read an article that philadelphia is vastly behind on the ways of fashion, in my opinion the evidence is in the uggs....

fash goes gold

ok i admit it, i am a destructor of cell phones, i break mine at least 2x a year, and of course, the week before my vaca, this has happened again. and this time it happened in such a way, that i cannot see my outside screen, so i have no idea who is calling, etc. so yesterday i purchased a gold cell phone from ebay. i couldnt help myself. it was so yellow and shiney. i fear i made now be living in the land of tackiness.....

bang(s) are dead!

ok so i understand that a lot of old 80's trends have now become uber-chic, however, there is a fine line between stylish and awful these day and unfortunately for those pictured above, i am of the opinion that thick bangs fall on the awful side of the 80's trend spectrum. some trends died for a good reason, like "stone-washed" jeans, because they were awful. please ladies, don't let bangs make a comeback on you. it's a bad plan that can only lead to one long remorseful year of growing them out. do not fall victim.

LC

Now I am not a big Liz Claiborne fan, however yesterday while meandering around the Macy's with my mother, I discovered a lovely LC croco clutch, and it was on sale. An immediate purchase was made. This am, I tried to find a photo of my fabulous little croco and couldn't, but i did find these fun LC earrings instead. I think they would look amazing with an LBD. Avaliable at lizclaiborne.com

sale-time @ j's crew

i posted my love for these earrings awhile ago, however now they are on sale for $19.99, as are a lot of fab other items today at jcrew.com. check it out!

fancy up your ponytail

coach came out with this ponytail scarf and i thinks it's just adorable. it adds a bit of flare to an otherwise "bad" hair day. it's only $38 @ coach.com, so why not?

who needs a white christmas? not fash.

after much debate i have decided to take a little christmas vacation in the bahamas! I am very excited about this and believe that a pre-christmas vaca might be the ultimate way to beat holiday stressers. think about it, you miss all the stressful parties, malls, etc, and you have a valid excuse, "sorry i was away." ha! I have ordered all my presents online and am bidding adieu to the holiday season in 10 short days and saying hello sunshine and pina coladas. yeee-haaaa

Holiday Facts about Fash

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
i like egg nog A LOT and would definitely drink it until ill, but my mother knows this and only buys the small container as to prevent my inevitable over indulgence in the substance each year

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
santa wraps!!!!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
white on the house, we have 2 trees inside, one with colored lights and one with white lights

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
i have never been able to find anywhere to buy it

5. When do you put your decorations up?
after thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
baked brie with preserves and puff pastry

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
dancing in my grandfather's living room with my cousins to frank sinatra after a huge holiday dinner

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
my cousin figured it out first and told me, santa came to our house every year and she figured out he had the same shoes as a family friend

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Always!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
this is something i do not like to do, so i delegate it to someone else

11. Snow: love it or hate it?
it's only good on a sunday when you have someone to cuddle with

12. Can you ice skate?
No

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
video painter

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
thats hard to say, i guess being with those you love

15.What is your favorite holiday dessert?
cookies

16. What tops your tree?
angel

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
i like both but i really like finding something someone really wants/ loves

18. What is your favorite Christmas song?
winter wonderland by bing crosby

19. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
i have lots but it's a wonderful life and the orginal how the grinch stole christmas top my list

20. What would be the best gift you could receive this year?
A puppy

I am not tagging anyone but feel free to post on your own blogs...i found this on le coterie

tis the season of the engagement ring

with cartiers' new launch of the teardrop engagement ring and the tolling of another year gone by, i have found myself involved in the same conversations with a great number of my friends, "when will he propose?" seriously ladies, this is a big debacle for a lot of us.

i found an article on this topic:
http://www.supanet.com/ladies_room/news/77705/Will_he_propose.html

it highlighed 5 signs he will never propose (it frightened me)

5 signs he will never ask

1. He still calls his best friend and his mum before he calls you with good news.

2. He plans holidays based entirely on when he and his five friends can get the time off work.

3. He regularly comments disparagingly on married friends who are "under the thumb," "no fun any more," and "obsessed with nappies".

4. He deliberately switches his phone off so you can't contact him, and refuses to say where he's been.

5. His favourite phrase is: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," or, "Why rock the boat?"


so marrieds....how did it happen? are there "warning signs"....seriously what gives?

chocolate

i admit it, i am a food network junkie and this am the barefoot contessa made what she calls "outrageous brownies," and oooo do they ever look amazing. i really excited to try this one out.

Outrageous Brownies

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

personal space

just a bit of a rant about the concept of personal space. i frequently encounter violators of the concept of personal space and am quite sick of it. i most typically encounter such offenders at the gym. for example, i purposely go to the gym at odd hours as to beat the crowds and enjoy my workout, i then deliberately isolate myself on the treadmill/ etc which is the greatest distance away from anyone else, and always someone stations themself right next to me. i am sure some of you are thinking i am way too upset by this or maybe should take it as some sort of compliment, but seriously things like that happen to me all the time. ugh. another peeve of mine is people who stand way too close to you in check-out lines so that you can basically feel them breathing on your back-ewwwww. and the result of all this frustration is thus, i try to purchase everything i humanly can from the internet as to avoid these people. (btw these are the same people who always have their cart in the way at the grocery store, you all know who i mean). ugh.

maybe i should curse more....DAMN!

Chicago Dating

I'm boring

Yippeee!

Banana Republic is running an online promotion of 20% your entire order, just enter "brholiday" in the promos box during checkout. offer runs until 12/24.

ho ho ho

last night to my absolute amazement i discovered that they had built a williams-sonoma in my "mall"....i was very excited about this discovery because it has been no less than 9 months since i've been to one. amongst all my "ooo'ing" and "ahh'ing" over fondue sets and copper cookware i located this baby, a 12 bottle wine cellar. ooooo now this is the gift for me. with the way things have been going lately i might just keep it next to my bed. you could have one too! $199 @williams- sonoma. santa if you're listening, i'll need something to fill it with, and i'm partial to pinot noir.

LBD

Ok so this is my absolute favorite holiday dress yet. simple, classic, and satin from White House/ Black market. I feel that I may be strutting about in this plus some gold shoes (hahaha) come NYE!!!!!

p.s. in re holiday plans, i have one fabulous party to attend december 15th hosted by one fabulous lady!!!!

Inspiration

due to an inspiring comment on my last post, i have decided to devote this post to the concept of "holiday-time." I, admittedly, am quite bad at this concept. However, I plan on improving this year. Starting with advance preparation for the holiday outfit. I did some internet hunting and found the folllowing below, but nothing really "wows" me. any thoughts???? in re dresses, i am a blondie. so red can look a bit hookerish......hahahaahaha

p.s. thanks kricket

i have nothing to blog about...

dear internet friends,

sorry, lately i have nothing too much interesting to say. no new buys, finds, etc. lately i've been hunting apartments, so if you live in philly and know of one, please help.


love,

fash

car debacle

ok so i removed the dealer plate from the front of my car today and now it is bare and weird looking. what to put there now????? i was thinking a silver monogrammed license plate? any thoughts on this? is it tacky? btw i drive a white volvo S60....so it must coordinate.

sticky fun

animate your life with inanimate stickers from fred flare. who says your office supplies can't have eyes, noses, or even feet. what a creative waste of time.

instead of "drunk-dialing" i "drunk-shop"

i think this is a sign of being "old"....last night i had far too many white wines and returning home, did i drunk-dial? no! i "drunk-shopped".....meaning i now own A LOT of argyle knee socks from Jcrew....hahahahahaah. p.s. all sockies on sale at jcrew.com, 3 for $20.

high style, low price

once more i have been amazed by a store i have never visited.....designer lela rose has created a line of shoes and handbags for payless which are quite fashion savvy. i particularly enjoy the coordinating pieces featured below. both items are under $40. btw...i doubt these items will be featured in stores (i.e. the roberto H & M incident) thus i reccomend checking out payless.com for the best selection.

prep out your pooch

i really love this argyle dog sweater for two reasons: (1) it's argyle (2) it comes in a range of sizes including large so that my "large" dog can look festive too. $16.50 @oldnavy.com

ISO

ISO- one black slip, full coverage (aka non-see thru), the wear-to-work and not wear-to-bed kind. any ideas world????? i cannot find this item.

fancy for your feet

i am a big BIG fan of gold shoes and really holiday time is the only time you can truly get away with wearing them. these so far are my favorite. "taylor" pump from kate spade.

yet another excuse to say y'all....

christmas cocktail napkins from swoozies.com. available in sets of 50 for $19.95...along with a whole bunch of other "conversation-starting" holiday items.

monogram on a whole new level

tis the season for gift-giving, thus i reccomend checking out thepinkmonogram.com. this site takes the art of monogramming to a whole new level. they seriously have products that i have NEVER seen personalized before. (i.e. toothbrush holder for total monogram overkill)

penguin pants!

today i found these at american eagle (a store i had not visited since high school) and i feel they are amazing. i am now penguin obsessed right down to my underpants! imagine how funny it would be wear these under a business suit? does anyone else see the humor in this? or is it just me????? hahaahahahahaha. can't wait to try it out.

more about the cat....

Ok so the cat has caused further wreckage within my home. i have a loveseat from ikea in storage (aka the basement) which apparently the cat has made his new reclining space-ick. so i need to know, has anyone ever drycleaned an ikea slipcover and if so how did it come out? maybe i should just toss the thing and buy a new one???? trouble is they don't make the color i have anymore....damn cat.

50-10=40

Old Navy is offering $10 off when you spend $50 or more, just use code "TAKE10"...this promo might make it a good time to try out their new lux cashmere line.

monogram madness!

as i have said before, i like to monogram anything possible, as the concept of personalization in all forms is crucial to me. so why not monogram one's cell phone? Electrasmonograms.com has come up with this ingenious idea available for only $8. plus you can pick the color of the monogram AND if you don't like it, it's a sticker, thus no permanent committment. simply amazing.

25% off holiday at U.O.

all holiday items at U.O. are currently 25% off! so now's the time to stock up on some pretty unique items from linus' blanket to some trashy tinsel. all their holiday cards are also on sale, including my personal favorite, Hello Kitty.

so i've been kinda annoyed with my cat

in spite of everyone's best efforts my cat has developed a "peeing" problem and has since been living in exile in the basement. i have great amounts of anger towards him for the seemingly irreversible damage he has inflicted on our carpet. ugh. perhaps this "catapult" from fredflare.com will help ease all my pent-up cat aggression.

scottie part deux

le sport sac's take on scottie dogs, i just love it. the shades of taupe almost create a look of sophistication and not a look like "i have dogs all over my bag." plus who doesn't love le sport sac? where else can you get such insane patterns, ummm nowhere.

Into Burberry

this is just too cute...burberry haymarket satchel, love it.

Not Into Goth....

i seriously dislike all the dark nail polish that has become "fashionable" these days. it really complicates ones' choices for a manicure, i mean, black, navy, and dark purple are not really color choices for me. i happen to favor pinks, reds, and neutrals on my nails, with the occasional bronze color. what happened to tradition people? when did nails go goth? ewwwww

scottie!

aside from penguins, i truly love scottish terriers and generally like to purchase pieces depicting their swooshy little image. this scottie sweater from jcrew.com is fabulous for $78.

Holiday Flair

Nadri Bow Earrings $45 @nordstrom.com make the perfect preppy addition to any holiday attire, because anything is better with a bow on it.

To Bee Named....

upon my internet musings today i discovered another wonderful new website toobeenamed.com, the pics below represent a sampling of its' products. i really love the unique styles and preppy color schemes. also the majority of items are priced between $10-$30. a great site for unique holiday gifts. definitely check it out!