Jan 17, 2012

Latest Favorites….

 

I seem to post in little bursts here and there.  I guess when I have the time and the whim, I take advantage!  Here are my latest favorites, from pillows to apps.

pillow

Home Classics® Memory Foam Cluster Gusseted Standard Pillow.  Can I just say that I am in love with this pillow?  After I slept a night on it, I was dancing around the house singing “I’m in love with a pillow” to that “I’m in love with a stripper” song.  (Yes I know I’m a total dork.)  Seriously though, I sleep like the dead with this pillow.  We already have a memory foam mattress and friends of our recommended memory foam pillows, saying how much they loved them.  I was out with Salsa Judy last weekend and we stopped at Kohls.  She said she needed a new pillow and I told her what I had heard about memory foam.  The cost seems a little high, but they were 50% off and we had our 30% off Kohls coupons.  So that pillow was basically a steal.  I get home later that night and immediately want to try it out.  At first it felt really really weird.  Like hard as a rock.  But once I laid my head down in it and got comfortable, I slept like the dead. It really gives good support to my neck and I’m one of those people who sleeps in all sorts of ways during the night so I need that.  I have slept wonderfully every night since.  Highly recommend!!!

Pandora app for Android.  I know I am way late to the party on this but I haven’t had a smart phone forever and honestly don’t utilized the way I should be.  However, I do have Pandora on my computer and realized that I don’t always want to take my MP3 player with me to the gym and my phone (I use my phone for a stopwatch between sets.).  So I downloaded the app and use it while I’m doing cardio.  My fave channel as of ate has been the Disco Cardio channel.  I am so Salsa Judy’s daughter! She was a disco queen and I still love all the songs.  The best part is the songs are pretty long so you forget how long you are on the treadmill or elliptical.

It’s a Brad, Brad World on Bravo.   I will admit I wasn’t quite sure if I would like this show or not.  I adore Brad—I think his style and POC’s (pops of color) are amazing.   But Bravo already has the Rachel Zoe show so would this be the same?  Oh yeah, I forgot—there are a bazillion Real Housewives show, so totally Bravo would make a similar stylist show.  Anyway, I love Brad and love his InStyle page each month so I was willing to give it a shot.   Love it!  We get to see Brad as he is starting his career on his own (after departing from RZ) and he really is starting from scratch.  He has clothes in his garage!  The thing I love about Brad is his infectious enthusiasm for fashion—he still loves clothes.  I also love his honesty—he isn’t afraid to show his vulnerability and struggles.  We can all relate to that.  I also love his partner Gary (who is the Abbott to Brad’s Costello) and his cute pups.   The other part they illustrate in this show is how hard it actually is to be a stylist.  It’s work, not just all fun all day. You have to pull the clothes, put the looks together, style them etc.  I hope everyone realizes (I know I do when I try to figure out what to wear every day) that Brad’s job isn’t easy!  I will definitely keep watching to see where Brad goes next!

This coat from Target.  I wish I had a link for you but it’s sold out online and I just happened to get it in the store.  For $17.95. Yes!  That’s it !  You know you can’t go to Target and not check out the clearance racks.  I just look to see if there is anything good there.  That’s how I found my great Missoni blouse for $11.  I was still shopping with Salsa Judy (actually needed lightbulbs and kitteh treats amongst other boring things) but we stopped to look at clearance.  Saw this coat above and tried it on. It felt great and SJ gave her approval saying how ‘flattering’ it was. That means she likes it.  I had a giftcard, so basically the coat was free for me!  SJ also got a really cute dark green pea coat for $15.  Woot for deals!!!

rooney

Rooney Mara.  Check out her dress at the Golden Globes.  Doesn’t look like much from the front but the back was so beautiful.  She seems to have a great individual style.

If you haven’t seen her in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—go and see it!  I loved her performance in it and hope she is nominated for an Oscar.  Her performance is haunting and empowering.  And it doesn’t hurt that hottie Daniel Craig is in it too!  Looking forward to seeing what she wears to the Oscars if/when she is nominated!

Okay---lunch time is over—back to the grind and please share with me your latest faves! 

Jan 16, 2012

Updates N News N Stuff…

How is everyone doing now that we’re 2 weeks into 2012? Are you still writing 2011 on everything?  It only took me a few days and I thought I was doing really well until I almost wrote 2011 on a work document.  Guess I’m not quite there yet!

They say it takes about 21 days for a habit to form.  I truly believe that. I finished Phase 1 of my Jamie Eason Live Fit Trainer and am on Phase 2. I honestly never thought I’d look forward to doing cardio but I really was craving it!  4 weeks with no cardio made me feel huge and bloated.  (I’m sure all of the goodies I had over the holidays had ZERO to do with it LOL).   I know most of it was gaining muscle, but I was thrilled to start Phase 2 and get a bit of cardio in.  The cardio isn’t even hardcore, just walking on the treadmill or elliptical or bike at a moderate pace.  So last week I trooped over to LA Fitness (they finally opened the new one near my house) and got my weight workout in.  Then I happily jumped on the treadmill for 30 minutes.   It felt so good to get my legs going again!  I could feel a difference in my body by the next day.   Phase 2 has you doing cardio 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes.  Also—the workouts are upped to 5-6 days a week. 

But here’s the habit-forming part.  I actually enjoy going to the gym!  I look forward to it.  Remember I was a bit hesitant about joining the gym?  No longer!  I am amped up and ready to go and get going.  I took Sunday off to rest and to get some things done around the house and I actually felt a bit guilty.  And I missed it.  But I still stayed home to give my body a rest.  I think that’s really important, and I don’t want to get burned out.   I will be honest and tell you that I am not 100% perfect with the eating plan but I am doing SO MUCH better now that the holidays are over with!  I am planning my meals and thinking about what kinds of foods I am eating now more than ever!

That brings me to part 2 of my check-in.  My former hoarder room.  Since I stayed home yesterday and had no plans, I got lots of work done on my room.  The bed was a clothing repository.  Now there is only one small pile of pants that need to be hung.   I went through all of the old mail I had piled up ‘for later’ and either filed it or threw it away.  I have a new bag of clothing for the Veterans to pick up!  I used my time the best way for me: work for about an hour, take a 15 min break to do whatever (make tea, read Facebook, pet kittehs, pet kittehs, pet kittehs).  You get the idea.  I would show you a pic but I’m still too embarrassed.  Especially since I read a lot of home decorating blogs.   Tonite after I get home from the gym and have dinner, I will spend another hour or so working on it.  This time it will be hanging up and putting away the rest of the clothing.   In the meantime, I’m also scouting out some old night stands to redo for that room as well.  All I have in there now is a round table with a table cloth on it.  I’d rather have a cute little nightstand I can refinish like this one (link on pic):

I am scouting Craig’s List and also have a few ideas in the works.   I love the idea of painting it a pretty bright turquoise, but also wanted to paint my large armoire that color.  Maybe the nightstand will just get a coat of Old White.  But first I actually have to find one I like and that isn’t expensive! 

And I am getting better with my night before routine.  Now I get out my gym stuff and get it ready for the next day: my clothes, my drink, my workout binder and shoes.  I also think about what I am going to wear and get it out as well.  I am ready a lot quicker when everything is out for me and ready to go!! 

Still a good way to go but at least I am making some progress.  How are you doing with your resolutions or goals for this year?

Jan 3, 2012

I can haz stuff---no more stuff!

 

Really—I don’t need any MORE stuff. 

First of all—Happy 2012 to anyone reading this.  I hope you enjoyed your holidays and time off.  I know I did!  I had to work a few days but I got to enjoy LONG weekends and got a good bit of things done.  Wasn’t really thrilled to get up at 5am today and fight the snow (it’s still snowing out) into work, but I made it!

As anyone with ADD knows, it is very easy to ignore what I call the ‘chaos’ around you.  You can walk by it day after day and just put it out of your brain.  This drives DH insane about me but it does help me in many situations as well.  I don’t get all freaked out in a tense situation, I am able to put it out of my head and focus on the real situation at hand.  On the other hand, this little trait also allows me to ignore a big pile of stuff for days on end until I get the motivation to organize.  

However, the mess of the spare room/Melissa’s boudoir was even getting ME antsy!  I’ve decided that 2012 will be a year when I get some organization and routine in my room.  I don’t use the term resolution because I know that it will always be a struggle for me to stay organized and not ignore the chaos.  

I have found that for me to be successful with certain things I need to have a routine.  When I have a routine, I do SO MUCH better with what needs to be done every day.   For example, I will get up for work and do the same tasks in the same order as I get ready for work.  Sounds really annoying, but it works for me and it helps me not to forget anything like my lunch for the day, my ID badge, keys etc. 

Another thing that works for me is writing it down.  DH learned this the hard way with me.  I do the majority of the grocery shopping and I write the grocery list down before I leave so I don’t forget anything.  I will ask DH to add to the list and he used to get mad when I asked him to be more specific.  My reply was “If you are not specific, you are at the mercy of what I pick and I may not pick what you want.”   That problem was solved fairly quickly!!!  Winking smile

 

Another place to check out is Flylady.net. I happened upon this site a few years ago after reading about her on a random blog.  Her advice is wonderful and it includes:

  • Declutter for 15 minutes a day.  She’s right—we all have 15 minutes!  I think doing this at night before bed would be best for me.
  • Take regular breaks.  This is especially important for we ADD’ers.  Over the holidays I spent a few hours cleaning up my room.  I would spend about 45 minutes cleaning and pitching before I took a 10 minute break.  I would stretch, walk around or read email.  Then I would get back to it.  This really helps me to not become distracted and wander off to do something else.
  • Establish a routine.  That is one I already know works!  Find a routine that works for you and stick with it!  Have a backup routine too!
  • Write out a list.  Very important again.  I realize that I am all over the place in trying to do a big task.  I can turn into the Tasmanian Devil.  Writing out a list beforehand (even if I end up editing) is a great way to get my thoughts in order and stick to my tasks.

Another motivator for me is browsing Pinterest for ideas on organization.  There are just so many ideas I never even thought of!  Some pics below (credit to source is in the link):

So tonite when I get home, I will write out a list of things that need to be done in my room.  I will also spend at least 15 minutes just cleaning up.   Once I have it cleaned up enough, I will order my Annie Sloan paint and paint the dresser!  

What are your fave organization tips?  I would LOVE to hear them!

Stay warm everyone (as the snow continues to fall here)!