pictures for polyvore

Metallic french market tee. Post to come!

Grace in Small Things: Part 15

1. In flight entertainment system.

2. European chocolates.

3. Learning the words for arrival, departure, altitude, life vest and no smoking in different languages.

4. Frequent flyer miles.

5. Being glad that my job does not require me to wear a uniform with a hat.

Hey, Guess What?

Oh gosh, I can't believe I forgot to tell you! I'm leaving for India tomorrow--for two weeks! Yay, for vacation! And exclamation points!

I booked my flight a few weeks ago and then promptly forgot about all the work that goes into going to India--I need clothes to wear during the day, comfy shoes with a heel so as to not get dirt on my feet all day, presents, underwear (I'm listing this as I forgot to pack this on my way to Dallas, sigh), snacks for the plane, books for the plane, books for reading there, 4 different lipglosses/lipstick, and well, you get the picture.

Now, in case you ever go to India (or anywhere east of Europe, really), the following are the most requested gifts:

1) Bath & Body Works lotion; key to your sanity: do not ask them what scents they like. They will say flowers and that is not helpful at all. Take whatever you want and prepare to be annoyed for the next 10 years when you get requests for the purple one you brought the first time but can no longer remember what that is and you're pretty sure it's discontinued anyway because you got it during the 75% sale/from the outlet.

2) Clothes from the GAP: The Gap is to India what The House of Dior is to the US. They go crazy for it. Crazy. Seriously, take it and prepare to be hugged. (If you can find clothing from the Gap that does not say Made in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Sri Lanka, you get bonus points.)

3) Candy: Nothing special, but these brands are more popular than other brands. Starbursts, Hershey's Kisses, Peanut M&M's, Gummi bears.

4) Bengay: This is like crack in India. Be prepared to bring 5 tubes and still not have enough. Also see: Advil.

5) Advil: If Bengay is the crack of India, this is the unadultered good-stuff cocaine. Free consulting to Wyeth: start selling this in India. Apparently Indian pain medication does not work nearly as well, despite having (I kid you not) the exact same active ingredients.

6) Corelle: Man, will your family/friends love you. (Also, did you know how to spell corelle--I did not and found folding tables instead when I googled correll.) Anyway, this chip and break resistant dishware is super popular. And no joke--my mom has had this Corelle set for the past 20 years.

A collection of thoughts

My blog post title makes me laugh since this entire blog is basically a collection of my thoughts, but anyway--here goes:

• I need to start taking and posting in real life pictures of something--my daily wardrobe, my co-workers, my messy closet--dear god, something, that adds some personality to the blog. Any suggestions?
• Most good bloggers are willing to overshare so that their readers feel like they are their confidants--whereas I'm too worried about who may eventually stumble upon this.
• For the fact that I am very gregarious, I am surprisingly reserved in certain ways.
• It's interesting when your brother goes from being annoying to being a good friend. When did I stop hating him and start thinking he was cool?
• I may need to buy different shampoos for different parts of my hair. Head and shoulders (or some other drying shampoo) for my roots and moisturizing shampoo for my ends, because this oily/dry mess I'm currently sporting is not cool.
• Most adults don't eat candy on a daily basis. It is not normal that I crave candy this much and I may just give myself diabetes.
• I have a hard time letting go of things I know (sigh--I hate change); like, if I don't think The Office is that great anymore, why do I still watch it? I was good with Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives--kicked DH after Season 1 and Grey's after Season 3. Still watch Scrubs though.
• NCAA Men's Basketball is ridiculously fun.
• I'm very tempted to write reviews for other bloggers' blogs, but man, is that mean.
• I created a new label just for this post, potpourri, which makes me feel like Jeopardy.
  

TV shows: recommendations and requests

I apologize for those of you that hate lists. Clearly, I love them so very much. (I did not realize this until I began to blog, and now it's like I don't know any other writing style.) Anyway, I was always a TV snob (thought people that watched tv were lazy and unintelligent) and then sadly, I began working, and now all of a sudden if my DVR stops working I become homicidal. (I'm convinced Ted Bundy just couldn't get his damn show to record.) My only problem is this--I'm OCD about tv. I must watch it in order from the 1st show, otherwise I am convinced, convinced, that I will be lost. Tv shows on DVDs were made for me. Here's a list of shows that I have been recommended and will document here so that I will watch them soon. Like over the summer in particular when House and 30 Rock are on re-runs.

1) Mad Men
2) The Wire
3) Wonderfalls
4) Heroes: Season 1
5) Weeds
6) Battlestar Gallactica
7) Pushing Daisies

Anyone have recommendations? I WANT SOME. Umm, please?! Oh, I don't do reality shows. Now, it's more of a matter of wanting to be the only person on earth not having seen a single episode of American idol.

If I were a size 2...

My dream size is between a 4-6 which is great because it's more realistic for me than a size 2. That said, I always imagine dieting/exercising down to a 2 and then allowing myself gallons of ice cream not worrying if my behind expanded to size 4 proportions. Oh dreams.


Anyway, I suck at dieting--I really, really love food (as evidenced by my Grace in Small Things posts), and I really will eat almost anything. But, there are some things, definitely fattening (but probably not the most fattening thing I still continue to eat), that I used to eat but now avoid. They are my dream list foods. Sorry in advance because this will make you hungry.


1) Chili's Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers with ranch and honey mustard (and sides of mashed potatoes and corn on the cob)


2) Berryhill Fried Fish Tacos, extra sauce on the side please


3) Beck's Cheeseburger and Fries. It should be noted that I eat cheeseburgers and fries elsewhere, I just read the calories for Beck's once, and now I avoid it. How many calories you ask in an order of cheeseburger with fries? 1,435.


4) Toblerone cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. Thank God they stopped making this.

What foods do you not eat because they just have too many calories?

My current life loves

I love reading random product suggestions from other bloggers, be it food, makeup, clothes, or even cleaning products. It's just nice to hear an unbiased review from actual people. Kind of like when your friend randomly tells you that the latest lipgloss she randomly picked up at Walgreen's is, in fact, the greatest thing ever. Anyway, here are top ten recent discoveries that have made my life just a bit better. Some of them are old, but because it's not fun reading that the best product ever costs $1,000--all of these things are under $100.

1. International Delight English Almond Toffee creamer; it's really, really good and makes instant coffee taste like a latte from Starbucks. No joke, guys. It thickens and sweetens coffee the perfect amount.


2. Lancome Magique Blush: I always preferred powder blush, until I stumbled on this one day. It's super easy to put on, blends really easily, and lasts a long time. Plus, it gives the skin a little bit of a shine. Best part--if you look, you can find this at TJ Maxx for $10. All the colors are really nice, but the one I wear all the time is Raspberry Souffle. It looks bright, but goes on sheer. Way to put this on: take your pointer and middle finger and lightly dab in the blush. Rub it onto the same fingers on your other hand and then rub on your cheeks. Perfect.


3. L'Oreal Infallible Concealer: I used to not wear concealer. Then a good friend of mine nicely told me I needed to wear some. (Apparently all the "you look tired" comments didn't click.) Anyway, I still didn't wear concealer and then one day I found this at Walgreen's marked down to ~$2.50, so I bought one. And, I use it every day. It's in stick form--and while it doesn't work as well as the Laura Mercier one from my friend, I don't have to use a brush, or get my fingers really messy or really anything. Just smear on, blend a little, and I'm set. And, my friend did ask me this weekend if I was looking better because I had on concealer. Score.


4. Arranged: This movie is excellent. Really, really good. It's about two young women, one orthodox jewish and one conservative muslim and how they find love through the arranged marriage process. I identified with this movie more than I care to admit, but even if you have never even heard of such a thing, it's still an entertaining enough movie.


5. The Nine: Such a good book. I love politics with a scary passion, and my two favorite branches of government are the executive and the judicial. This book covers the details of the recent Supreme Court and it's done in a way that I would write a book about my office co-workers, full of details on their lives and only full of office gossip and politics. It's an informative read that's a pleasure to consume.


6. Blue Peep: This is not the actual name. It's actually called the Sonia Kashuk blending sponge, but it was nicknamed blue peep on makeupalley, so that's what I call it. This thing is great--it really does make your makeup look natural. It's not everyday user friendly since it requires a cleaning after every use, but when I use it for special occasions it makes a big difference. It also puts on my lancome blush (#2) really well. Like I know what I'm doing or something.


7. J Crew dream-tie cardigan: This has been one of my most favorite purchases of the winter season. It's not a typical cardigan, but it's a layering piece. It ties together in a bow, but it's not cutesy--it looks structured without being a button up cardigan. I can wear it to work and wear it on the weekend. Easy and versatile. A good find on ebay or JCA weekly exchange.


8. Anthropologie earrings: I know I just wrote three posts on earrings--but these earrings are awesome. They are fun, fancy and reasonably priced. Can't beat them.


9. Curvy fit pants: I have a hard time finding pants that I like that also fit. I have a narrow waist in proportion to my hips (sigh). And then, I finally found them. The Jackson fit at Banana Republic and the curvy fit at the Gap fit perfectly. They aren't loose at the waist and tight through the thigh unlike other pants (Martin fit), nor are they straight from top to bottom (Ryan fit). These pants fit really well and I'm willing to bet that for most girls they fit better than the current pants they are wearing.


10. Walgreen's Alpha Hydroxy Cream: This cream has changed my skin. It's an 8% AHA of 70% solution, and most skin care people recommend between 5-15% of AHA without doctor supervision. I wash my face, put on a light layer and go to sleep. In the morning--my skin is noticeably brighter. Caveat, this does dry out skin, so use a good moisturizer at night and in the morning along with sunblock. But dude, your skin, will look fabulous.

Wow, that's a long list. Any recent products change your life? Please tell me.