~Aulde WANG Syne!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

is right around the corner and I can't think of a designer who better gets my urban casual side than

T BY ALEXANDER WANG! 

Alexander is only 28 years old, and I've been in love with his design aesthetic since he launched his women's collection in 2007, followed by his CFDA win in 2008. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single item he's designed, that I didn't care for. This dress can be styled ANY way... from booties (as shown) to gladiator sandals to sexy strappies and beyond... Let it stand on its own... Glam it up with BLING BLING BLING... Keep it edgy elegant with a few bangles or a simple cuff or two... 

This is the perfect LBD for me and my lifestyle; it's drapey fit hiding those extra dozens of Christmas cookies that tricked me into eating them over the holidays. The front hints at enough cleavage to grab attention, coming, while the back is dazzlingly draped for extra sexy wattage, going. If I really need to dress it down, I'll throw on a loose cardi, soft jean jacket, or rock it up with a kickass blazer.  Ohhh the places we could go!

Right now, my new fave dress is available at www.revolveclothing.com, for $128, with free shipping and free returns. Hurry though, sizes are selling out fast! Thank you, Alexander Wang, for creating a line I can comfortably live my life in, without emptying my bank account. With T BY ALEXANDER WANG, I don't have to sacrifice comfort for fabulous style. It's the best of both worlds. *SIGH*

 

~Do You Hear What I Hear!

Resolutions are soooo 20th Century! Lifestyle changes are where it's AT! December's final week finds everyone scrambling to discover everything they wish to change about their lives and themselves. WE often choose impossible goals, believing we'll feel like 'better people' if we achieve those goals. When the entire year passes and Mt. Kilamanjaro is still unclimbed, we feel they've let ourselves down because we're not 'enough'. When the 40 extra pounds doesn't fall off in a week, we feel guilty about that one piece of chocolate. Which sends us straight to the entire box. And a bag of chips. And eating every little thing we know we shouldn't, cos we already have, so why not... I'm all for dreaming, and dreaming HOOJUNS, as my then 2-year old nephew used to say. I've also learned that I don't care for self-flagellation. Resolutions are made to be broken, goes one of my hated cliches, so I resolve to not make any resolutions.  Can't break what ya don't make! 

Instead, I choose to pay attention to my instinct. If you really listen, your body and your soul will help you decide what, and who, works for you, and what doesn't. Like garlic. I love garlic. Garlic hates me. It's hell going to an Italian restaurant and telling the server I can't eat garlic! Correction. I CAN eat garlic. But if I do so, garlic will hand me one mother of a payback! I find garlic issues throughout my daily life. Only now, I have garlic's number. My Self-Sabotaging Self is screaming at my Better Self to just LISTEN. Learning to actually HEAR has been one of the hardest lessons of my life, and was going totally against my lifetime nature. This internal civil war raged on inside of me for this entire past year. But what a weight was lifted from everything about me when victory was achieved! People, places, things... all in their proper perspectives in my mind's eye, and in my heart. Even through sadness, I feel such boundless freedom, to be me. To wade through life leaving behind as much stress, negativity, and insanity ('Doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting different results'~Albert Einstein) as possible. And to face the winds of change headfirst, relishing the chance to JUST BREATHE, and see what amazing life the future holds!

Pick and choose your battles wisely. Forgive and forget. Or simply forgive; you bear the brunt of that stress, and move on. Stop right now, or at some point today, and really think about what you can and cannot tolerate. Who makes you feel supported and loved, no matter what, and who makes you anxious just thinking their name to yourself. Refuse negative repetition; no more brick walls to bang your head against! Remove any and all toxicity from your life, as best as you can. Then sit down with that hot chocolate with extra creamy whipped, cos all things in moderation are healthy! Walk, run, skip or play a bit extra the next day: you'll feel happier and cancel those extra cals, by having FUN. Do YOUR life, YOUR way! NOW, can you hear it????

Let the bells of freedom chime in your mind, and feel free to be yourself!

Find your brass rings! Search for every silver lining! Reach for the stars!

Make that lemonade! Hang your own moon! Smile in your mirror at your sassy self! 

So much is possible, if you only believe in yourself!

HAPPIEST NEW YEAR!

May 2012 be filled with enlightenment, joy, laughter, and the strength and courage to get through everything else! 

~PEACE~

~Through The Eyes of a Child...

As Christmas becomes a surreal 'Christmas is here and gone already?' memory, I find myself thinking about 2012 and the future in general... Having gone from believing what I thought were answers, to looking for answers in all the wrong places, to giving up on finding any real answers, I find myself in an emotional state of limbo-flux. Which then of course keeps my earthbound-bipedalers from touching the ground. I am neither 'here' nor 'there' though I feel I'm all over the place 'everywhere'. We lament the lack of hours in a day. Wasted time. Doing 'nothing'. Since most people love roses, why isn't it ok to make the time to smell them?

Peace of mind and lack of time... Apples and Clementines... can one beget the other? Can lack of time illuminate our way during the maze of our days? Can never-ending to-do lists be the answer to serenity? Ask a child! Eat, drink, sleep, play, and a child's day is well-lived. We share the same emotions, anger-sadness-joy-fear, but kids release the thoughts, emotions, and grudges that don't benefit their time or self. Somewhere between being thrust into this foreign territory at birth, and adulthood, WE decide we must do this, we must do that, and we MUST do so PERFECTLY. Why? Is time our worst enemy? Or are we TIME'S worst enemy? My 20-month old grandson is thrilled with his life and everyone and everything in it. Watching him thoroughly immerse himself throughout his days, I learn the BIG life lessons. He doesn't let past events cloud his present zest for enjoying today. He avoids negative people and places.  He smiles even after doctor visits, because once they're over, it's time to move on to his next thrilling discovery!

'So oftentimes it happens... that we live our life in chains... and we never even know we have the key....' The Eagles figured it out... Toddlers figure it out, from the moment they scream themselves into their new world. Kitties have finessed the art of fine living. All year long, I've never had less than 4 to-do lists on deck, with a couple dozen items each, needing accomplished. Everything holiday-related ended up being begun so late, that I finally tossed every list except the ones for gifts and Christmas cards. Then I sat down to watch 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' with a Kahlua and milk. Exhausted and anxious, I realized, nothing happened. No one noticed my untidy house... No one began avoiding me... The sky didn't fall...
The ceilings didn't cave... The world didn't end... no Armageddon, no Apocalypse...




We remember being kids. Isn't the fact that we cherish happy childhood memories enough for us to learn that retaining that child-like curiosity, excitement for doing new things, and letting go of those things in life that take us places we'd rather not go, enough to toss unreasonable expectations and demands of ourselves? Too much of our lives is lived for what others might think if we don't. I'm fast-learning that not one single person has ever climbed a ladder to white-glove the tops of my kitchen cabinets! At the end of our lives, our best moments will be those spent with loved ones and/or doing things we enjoy. I'm the CEO of putting myself last on those to-do lists. 'Lack of time'... Every day has 24 hours. If they're lacking, whose fault is that, really?! Life, not time, is short. I no longer wish my epitaph to read that I 'did everything I was supposed to do, perfectly.' Laughter, love, and living my happiest life, WILL be my peace of mind. I can live with that!