RIP 2009!

Happy Thanksgiving!, Merry Christmas!!, Happy Hanukkah!!!...

Happy, Happy New Year's Eve!!

{2-0-0-9 - ain't we clever?}

So the final Holiday partay season of 2009 culminates tonight. Fun things to think about ahead... What to wear? Where to go? What to bring? Who will I kiss??

Sadly, I won't be kissing anyone as The Boy decided to spend NYE in San Fran with his best friend.... womp womp womp...

Fear not. I have my beautiful friends to hang out with and though The Boy will be sorely missed, I'm confident he'll be having a great time (xoxo my handsome!)

Now onto not bigger or better things but certainly different things: the NYE outfit. I am not sure what I want my look to completely be nor what accessories I'll add for the ensemble (spoiler: I'm going to try those pink clip-in hair pieces... we shall see) But I DO have a great little black dress with a big, black bow sewn in at the top. It's cute. Very cute!

{ABOVE: Shanin, Jordan, Yuki and Me last New Year's Eve, FAR ABOVE: Me and Shanin being goofy on NYE}

Last year at this time, I wore a Guess? dress with Red BCBG pumps topped off with my peroxide hair and dark skin. As I have sadly quit tanning (RIP my favorite habit ever-how I miss the smell of burnt skin and the tautness of dry skin post-tan) and now have brown hair, I feel like I will look like a different gal altogether!

HOWEVER, the best part of what I wore was definitely this bag. That gold clutch above was my late Nana's from the 1960s. How fabulous is that? I love imagining her sporting it to some downtown soiree on the East Coast. Using it for the night meant having her with me a little bit and I hoped to not only bring her bag to my celebration but also her huge Italian laugh, her big smile and her love for all things "fun".

{My maternal Nana and Papa on their wedding day. I think I have her mouth, makes me happy!}

And just because I love that wedding picture so much, I just had to include a wedding shot of my other set of Grandparents. My Grandma below is my last surviving Grandparent and she's still as elegant and as lovely as the picture below suggests. How I miss my Papa too :(

{My paternal Grandma and Papa on their wedding day}

Their celebrations above seemed simple and beautiful. Perhaps, it's just my need to fantasize that other times were much more glamorous than the complicated, fast-paced, technology-filled world of today but it seems that celebrations such as Weddings, New Year's Eves etc. should be fabulously simple. I always hope they are about the being with the people you love, looking marvelous and put-together, sipping spirits, taking pictures and enjoying food - all the while making sure you're taking in how blessed you are to have this night.

I don't think I'll have my Grandmother's clutch with me tonight (I think my Sister called it), but I would like to think that I'll be carrying with me the electricity I believed she had with her on her nights out with the gold clutch: making memories, being happy and looking stylish.

What are you doing to ring in 2010?

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. Don't drink and drive!

Images not CANDYFLOSS&PERSIE branded/Copywritten found: Here

Don't be caught dead in fur.

It's a sad/good day for me.

{Image above found here}

PETA issued its 2009- Worst Dressed Celebrity List.

I am not a blind follower of PETA. Some things that they do i.e. asking The "Pet Shop Boys" to change their name to the "Rescue Shelter Boys" and issuing a statement after the good ol' Prez Obama swatted a fly....are kind of ridiculous (though, they do always bring attention to the causes!)

But their work they do in true issues with animals is something I greatly appreciate. If you have read anything about me, you know that I love, love, love animals. Though I'm not a Vegetarian, I firmly believe there's a level of humanity that animals should be afforded in every way we utilize them. I also firmly believe there's a difference between having a meal containing meat and sporting some decadent coat that an animal was tortured in order for it to be made... which leads me to one of the most publicized PETA battles.

Every year they release a list of the "Worst Dressed Celebrities" which puts a spotlight on those who wear animal skin/fur on a regular basis.

And the Winners are...

{Images from PETA website}

I think wearing Fur is flamboyant, disgusting and harsh. And if you don't agree with me or argue it, please watch this video first (graphic). They skin the animals alive for their fur. SKIN THEM ALIVE. I don't understand how anyone could be so cruel. Not to mention, faux-fur is adorable and readily available everywhere- so what is the excuse??

Juicy Couture Faux-Fur jacket

Stella McCartney Faux Fur Jacket

Forever 21 Faux Fur jacket

In fact, you will surely see pictures of me from this New Year's in my White, Faux-Fur jacket. It's not only cute but no one died to make it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, cruelty free day!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

My eyes hurt.

They literally hurt. I have gotten next to no sleep these last few days.

Christmas weekend was wonderful. Perfect. Fantastic. Whimsical. BUSY.

Twas a wonderful time with my family doing all the Christmasy things: board games, Xmas movies, Holiday food, Spiked Egg Nog, Music, Company, Parties

*cough* photo shoots w/ the Dog on Xmas Eve & Day... *cough*

And a great time at a local pub with my friends, listening to music fireside with a few brewskis. Only downside was the missing Boy as he was in his hometown this week. Boohoo!

We capped off the weekend with a trip to Mt. Hood on Sunday for a day (and night) of Skiing with my Dad, Bro and Sis.

(ABOVE: In all my skiing gear!)

(ABOVE: View from the Chair Lift)

(ABOVE LEFT: My Sis & Me on Chair Lift, ABOVE RIGHT: My Dad & Me pre-Skiing, BELOW: Outside the Lodge Mid-Mountain called "The Warming Hut")

(ABOVE: On the Chair Lift with my Little Brother. BELOW: My Sis & Me at top of Mtn. I'm in the Pink!)

My Bro is the only Boarder of the group but our skills and speed level remain very close. Also because I like to do jumps (& as a Skier, that's a bit trickier), I use shorter skis which allow me to move faster and better in terrain. I can't tell you how much I love Skiing in Oregon in the Winter.

As far as Xmas presents go, I got a great amount of items. However, with me moving out into a new apartment in the coming months- I was bombarded with gifts for my new home because most of the stuff I have here, is my Roomy's. Thus my Christmas stash of expensive pots, pans, kettles and cocktail&wine glasses looked a bit like the aftermath of a Bridal shower (minus the Groom and the Toilet-Paper-Bride remnants of course).

Though what I really wanted for Christmas was to find a way to look like this on New Year's Eve:

(Image found here.)

So... I have 3 days to figure that one out!

Looking forward to catching up on all your Blogs tomorrow morning!

Also, logging in tonight meant Christmas had come AGAIN as I was the lucky winner of Leah's giveaway! I am so stoked!! The Prize was a chic reusable bag! You don't even know how happy that makes me. As seen below of an Xmas day picture, I LOVE, LOVE LOVE reusable bags and just discovered them this year. Faboosh! Thank you Leah!

Sweet Dreams!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Whenever I get gloomy

with the state of the world,
I think of the arrivals gate

at Heathrow Airport.
General opinion's starting
to make out that we live
in a world of hatred and greed,
but I don't see that.
It seems to me that love is everywhere.

Often it's not particularly
dignified or newsworthy,
but it's always there
- fathers and sons,
mothers and daughters,
husbands and wives,
boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends-.
When the planes hit the twin towers,
as far as I know none of the phone calls
from the people on board
were messages of hate or revenge
- they were all messages of love.
And if you look for it,
I've got a sneaking suspicion
that LOVE ACTUALLY is all around.

~ Love Actually

Merry Christmas Blog friends as I know most of us are too busy to blog properly right now I just want to say... I wish I could show you all this sign:

Have a wonderful Christmas and thanks for being a part of my happiness this year.

Goodbye Scrooge, Hello Christmas Spirit & House Quiz

I'm ashamed in myself.

My post from yesterday ended with something along the lines of "yada yada yada... call me Scrooge".

WELL NOW IT'S &$*&##% DECEMBER 23RD!

NOW IS THE TIME TO BE "TOTES" (sorry, can't resist my love for that awful word) EXCITED FOR XMAS.

So... because I don't have a Ghost of Christmas Past to help me find my Xmas joy, I decided to exhibit my ability to be a big girl and tap into it myself. Thus, I spent a good chunk of time tonight putting together a cute Quiz (if I do say so myself).

Christmas Movies are so beloved because (usually) the houses utilized create a level of coziness rarely seen in real life I thought it would be fun to find a handful of homes from some of MY favorite Christmas movies and see if you can guess which house goes with which movie.

Lame-Pun hints can be found below each picture and when you click the "ANSWER" link, you'll be directed to the IMDB movie website-revealing the movie title.

Have fun!

#1

All dressed in red and so no good, horrible and naughty that he could be considered the Devil. ANSWER

#2

This Brood is as strong as a Boulder. ANSWER.

#3

He may not hear wonderfully but he learns how to see how important he is. ANSWER.

#4

I posted on this a bit ago... the protagonist changed her scenery but her amazing fashion sense (& preference for winter-white!) remained the same. ANSWER.

#5

This house not only starred in a movie about small girls but is a historical landmark in real life. ANSWER.

#6

This movie is more tantalizing than electric sex gleaming in the window. ANSWER.

#7

I have been here (hence the picture and the blog post I posted awhile back) and like the main character, I was solo as I spent time there. ANSWER.

#8

What if Santa was one of us? Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the Bus...tryin' to make his way home? ANSWER.

#9

Even Santa should have a Lawyer- some legal jargon goes unnoticed by the untrained eye. ANSWER.

#10

The anti-Bachelor. ANSWER.

#11

The man of the House definitely didn't get a vacation from family drama or mishap. ANSWER.

#12

I happily stayed awake for this entire movie, had I not- I think I would have missed how great it was! ANSWER.

~~THE END~~

As I said, it's now December 23rd and it's CHRISTMAS-EVE-EVE and I plan on spending the evening tonight with my friends downtown enjoying festive spirits, holiday snacks and Christmasy ambiance in Seasonal, fashionable clothes: essentially, what I'm saying is that I'll be diving headfirst into that Christmas Glow.

PS- I'm interested to hear Quiz feedback! Easy? Hard? Lame? How many did you get right?

By the way...

... because I was so inspired by Rachel McAdams in my Blog post from yesterday, I decided to resurface some old pink highlight clip-ins I had from some college themed party back in the day. I had them in for 5 minutes just to see and shamefully loved them. I have a good feeling I will have to whip them out next time the dress code for the night suggests a hint of gaudy pink hair (So either I'll be lucky and someone will throw a "Rock of Love" party or my friends will be mighty displeased as I decide to make a random happy hour into a pink hair extravaganza!!!)

Merry, Merry Christmas-Eve-Eve!