"I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing; kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles."- Audrey Hepburn

Dec 24, 2010

Things I love Thursday



Inspired by Gala Darling, my favorite blogger and fashionista.

It's winter. The temperature hits single digits. For us college students, it means the sufferings of painful and sleepless final weeks (and the tragedy of checking your GPA afterward). It's the time when everyone need the extra carbohydrate in those colorful sugar cookies and caramel fudge, and the extra warmth of a knitted scarf or the fire place as mood elevators.

There are plenty of positive things out there. The holiday is around the corner, I mean, literally, since it's 11:14pm of Dec 23rd when I'm writing this. The weather is fur-reezing. But it's gorgeous outside, I'm telling you. My favorite thing to do (or favorite idea in my mind) is to strut (yes, I said "strut") down the street in my fur boots and my best outfit, to enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations, the shop windows, smell the warmth of hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls, and watch the looks on people faces. Random fact: did you know that in France, window-shopping is called “léche-vitrines”, literally, “window-licking”?

Winter is the best time to eat Phở, or Korean food (though I agree I'm would be up for it anytime of the year). It makes it seem somewhat acceptable to wear pj shorts with leg warmers all the time (it's just me, I know). It means that if you just want to stay in bed and read a novel, you’re not an antisocial freak out of a sudden, not at al.

The cold presents us all with the perfect opportunity to get a little closer than usual to whoever we’ve had a flirtatious eye on, too, and a little snuggling time doesn't hurt anyone ;)

So, little things that made me smile:

♥ Fresh baked cookies and cupcakes, coming straight up from the oven ♥ The yellow shade of twinkling Christmas light every time I come back to my room ♥ Moonlight shadow room refreshener and the bed that is right next to the heater ♥ Old pictures on the wall ♥ My sister and my mom, who tell me random things the moment she picks up the phone ♥ Friends, who texted me and asked if I was ok cuz of the cold weather ♥ A selection of lovely shower product and the smell of your body when you just came out of the shower ;) ♥ Buying gifts for people and find out that they absolutely adore them ♥ Smell of new shoes, and take the tag of a new scarf ♥ Damien Rice ♥ Cold Guinness beer + a PSP with FF Crisis Core ♥ Amazing soup for dinner ♥ Waking up at noon ♥ Food Network magazine with the special Christmas baking section ♥ VOGUE ♥ Open the door to a surprise visit ♥ Brunch in bed, delivered (or just the idea of them) - pretty decadent and fabulous ♥ Feeling like my face & fingers had been BURNED by the cold this morning & just deciding not to leave the room again today! ♥ Turn in your last final ♥ Stockings & heels & toast & coffee, no? ♥ Newly done nails ♥ Kate Spade's Things We Love book ♥ Flurries and snow that glitters ♥ Wearing your favorite scarf ♥ Wearing someone's else giant sweatshirt ;) ♥ Sniff at the perfume smell on yourself (or somebody else does) ♥ Clothes from the dryer ♥ Cuddling and snuggling ♥ Adorable messages on Facebook from your best friends ♥ Cute and flirty text messages ♥ Watch Elf ♥ See presents under a Christmas tree ♥ Drive through dark, snowy road to reach amazing houses with crazy decoration that lit up the entire area ♥ Sex and The City re-watch (for the 10 millionth time) ♥ Drawing, painting, making Christmas cards ♥ Random chat convos ♥ Random creative blogs ♥ Amazing artwork ♥ Chanel Wish facebook application ♥ Christian Louboutin's signature red sole ♥ An amazing long hot bath ♥

Hmmmm, seems like I can keep that smile up on my face all winter huh? Other than that, just relaxing my mind, keep it positive and keep it real.

Stay warm and stay cozy. Make the most out of sunshine for those who get it.

Love,

Az

Dec 7, 2010

To all the Sex and The City fans - Men and socks


First reason, this one is solely for you, Bambie, as you requested. Second reason, the weather is definitely getting cold and it's high time to pull out the secret stack of socks that has been packed away all summer.

Then it just reminded me of that episode of "Sex and the City" where Carrie runs low on ideas for new articles. She ends up writing an article about french fries and contemplates comparing men to socks in her next piece. In the voice of Carrie, "I couldn't help but wonder, are men like socks?" Its a question that Carrie never answered for us. Lame idea for an article? Maybe so. But truth is, every woman has her own variety of socks in her love-life drawer. 

Socks certainly do come in a variety of styles and these styles could be compared to the different men out in the dating pool.There are the classic socks. The white, athletic socks of the world. The ones you have a ton of in your drawer and you always take advantage of the fact there are so many of them. They're disposable. They're the ones you don't really care if you lose ("I can get another pair, or three, or a dozen, at Target for real cheap!"). However, you rue the day when you want to go out for a run and you can't find a matching pair. 

There are the playful socks. The ones with monkeys on them or the pompoms on the back. The ones that say "hottie" or have kittens looking oh-so-cute. They are the fun socks. The ones that make you laugh even if they are entirely impractical. You're probably a bit ashamed to show your friends that you're wearing these socks. 

Lastly, you have those socks that are just right for you. And I think this is different for every woman out there. Maybe its a nice pair of dress socks that really pull your outfit together. Maybe its those warm, footie socks that make you feel safe or maybe its a pair of the toe-socks that remind you of your childhood. Hell, maybe its those darn monkey socks. For me, its all about the leg warmers. They are not socks, yet they are kind of. They belong to their own category, like one of a kind. They definitely stand out more, make more of a fashion statement, and definitely are warmer.   

Of course, we all know the real reason men are like socks. You go to clean them up a bit and when you're done, they disappear!

[az]