Guilty Pleasure…Anyone?

Like most of you, I have a guilty pleasure. But unlike most of you I cherish my guilty pleasure. I am always looking for a little free time to indulge myself. My guilty pleasure is magazines…yes magazines. I love them! And I don’t discriminate; I love all kinds of them – design, style, gossip, and music…really any magazine will do. But my favorites are Elle Décor and In Style. I love getting new ideas from other creative people. I fold corners down and tear out pages for my design file. It is such a creative time for me that I can’t help but love every minute. My advice to everyone is to find a guilty pleasure and indulge! Don’t apologize for it, just feed the hunger!

The Romper

I love how fashion basically goes in cycles. Styles that were popular back in the 70s are modified a little bit, given a new name and called “innovative.” I remember when I was in middle school I bought a pair of flare jeans and my mom said she had bellbottoms just like them in high school. I would always say “mom, they’re not bellbottoms they are flares.” Well the new jumpsuit is now called a romper and I love them! I think they are so much fun! I love when you can throw something on, run out the door and look fabulous. Check out all these fun rompers at shopbop.com and try something “new” with your style this summer.

Racquet Armor

Attention tennis players!!! I have found a great new product for your racquets. Recently I attended the BNP Parabis Open in Indian Wells, California and while I was there I was told about a new product to replace head tape, it is called Racquet Armor. It is an adhesive made out of silicone that adheres to the top of your racquet for protection. I have always been really hard on the frame, so as you can imagine I was excited about a new product that extends the life of my racquet. Not only does it protect, but it also looks cool – cause my motto is to look good doing whatever it is your doing! Check out their website to learn more www.racquetarmor.com.

Rag & Bone

I have wanted to add a more modern or urban album to my designs that is less like a scrapbook and more like a photo album. Unfortunately, I have been unable to pinpoint the style I have in my head - I guess I have been waiting for some major inspiration. I have come to the conclusion that it’s hard to get inspired when you are looking for inspiration. Rather, for some reason or another it always seems to come when you’re not looking. Then out of nowhere (figures!) I found the most beautiful albums. Rag & Bone Bindery creates stunning handmade albums. They have inspired me so much that I am going to offer a more modern album to clients using these fabulous conversation pieces.

Brain Teaser!

This is harder than it seems...try it out!

http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf

“Let them buy shoes!”

Someone once told me the reason they loved shoes so much was because they always fit. Isn’t that true, clothes never fit the way you want them to but you can always count on shoes fitting and looking great. I am on the hunt for the perfect shoe, the black boot. I found zappos.com a couple years ago and absolutely love it. They have a huge shoe selection, lots of great brands and best of all – they have free overnight shipping! Yep, if you order your shoes by 2 p.m. today they are on your doorstep tomorrow. And if your shoes don’t fit then you print off one of their labels and send it right back free of charge! This is seriously the greatest thing to me! These Calvin Klein boots are so fabulous and classic. Click on the link to check out zappos.com!

***Since writing this post Zappos has done away with free overnight shipping - dang economy! However, they do still provide free standard shipping.

2009!!!

I had an epiphany the other day, I decided that I was sick of being afraid and sick of thinking about all that I could do and never doing anything about it. It's a new year and I have discovered that I am afraid to fail. Yes, I am one of those people, the ones that let fear hold them back from accomplishing great things. But its a new year and time for change! I am going to set goals and accomplish them. I will not be afraid because I won't allow time for fear. I am going to try everything I have always wanted to, I might fail at some things but I will learn from my failure and hopefully grow in the process. It is time for me to move onward and upward.

"Winners make things happen, losers let things happen."