MOVED

Please update your links.

http://fab.typepad.com

 

Thank you!

Moved…

I am moving towards a typepad blog which can be found here: http://fab.typepad.com
It’s in the process of becoming fabulous but let me know which you prefer!

I was almost French…

Yesterday I practiced patience. I assumed the French way of eating three meals a day and cut out my snacking.

Breakfast was coffee and a yogurt. Lunch was 2 pieces of whole-grain baguette topped with brie and cucumber slices. Dinner was chicken and sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers.

I wish I could say that was that. But before I ate my dinner, I was cooking my daughter’s spaghetti and had a few bites of it. And after she went to bed I took a couple bites of her leftover Nutella sandwich.

If I can learn to control my relationship with food (my over-obsessive, over-eating relationship!) then perhaps I can get back into losing weight. I especially want to keep my food intake to a minimum healthy amount because my birthday dinner is coming up this weekend and I know I’m going to have a cupcake or two…

Refresh: Style Statement

I know I’ve talked about the Style Statement book before, but my life took over and I was unfortunate to not really be able to spent time with this book. More than a book, it’s a journal on self-reflection, trying to find yourself, define yourself and live by your definition, or rather, your style statement.

One of my new years resolutions was to actually work through this book, which I am starting to now. Also, check out the reviews on Amazon if you don’t believe me – all 5 star reviews – this book is more than just a book, it’s a guide on how to live your life.

Check out Carrie & Danielle’s personal website for more inspiration.

A Fabulous New Year to All!

Wishing everyone a fabulous new year!

Champagne for everybody!

The Great “Brondish” Experiment

I have envied Bronde’s for a long time now, for many years, especially since Carrie Bradshaw & Rachel Green have broke on the scene. They each had hair that was so different in style and colour, but it was the same – the brownish blonde – sometimes with more highlights, sometimes with more lowlights, but always interesting, always enviable.

Being a dark brunette for many, many, many years, I finally felt that it was time for a change. Why couldn’t I go brondish? Spice up my hair, lighten it, look different? I have always played between a chocolatey brown to a midnight blackish brown, so obviously when it came time to go lighter, I seeked my hairdresser.

Sarah Jessica Parker, also known as Carrie Bradshaw, had the perfectly undone version of Bronde.

It took a couple of hours to lighten my hair to a lighter shade, a bright orange shade, which my stylist swore would not remain. I wasn’t too worried though, and I discovered that I could also go copper-orange and look pretty good. Next were highlights and base.

Jennifer, also known for the "Rachel" do, always had the perfectly posh colour of bronde.

After I was rinsed off, my hair still wet, I could already notice a difference. It was the lightest I had been in 5 years, if not longer. A medium brown with blondish highlights scattered very finely throughout. I didn’t look like myself, I looked different. I looked good. It brought me out of my ho-hum brown, the darkness of which seemed to be making my winter pale look even paler, my skin sallow, and making me feel like caca. Now, I felt like a golden goddess.

Jessica Alba has a gorgeous bronde look here, more brunette than blonde, but still a sexy look.

When I came home I joked with my boyfriend about how he could feel like he was having sex with a different woman now, but I noted he hadn’t fallen in love with my golden bronde locks. He said I looked more… plain, more normal. He finished saying I look good and beautiful and all that, but the normal part bothered me.

At work everyone seemed to love it, except for the random person who yelled at me for denying my dark brown hair and said that I should go back. Was going a few shades lighter that controversial? Really? I mean, for people to have a whole debate over it in the lunch room was a little much. The haters continued to say the same thing though, that I looked good, but more normal.

My makeup changed with the hair, more bronzer, more golden, less smoky eyes, less moody looks, less sensual. And I was beginning to get a drift of it while looking over old Facebook pictures, comparing them with the new ones. I still looked good, I looked cute and more American, but before I looked sexy, more like an Angelina Jolie than a Jennifer Anniston, if you get my drift.

It's difficult to find a picture of Angelina not looking sexy, and she is brunette after all.

My sex life has actually dwindled (and I thought blondes have more fun!), and I wasn’t feeling my bronde look anymore. It was okay, but that was it, it was just okay. And I am way more fabulous than just okay, so on impulse tonight, at the drug store I grabbed a box of Feria and went to town with it.

My hairstylist is going to kill me. But looking in the mirrow, I noticed just how good I looked. How sultry my eyes were, how it made my skin look, my features stood out more. So I blowdried it big and I’m sitting here, waiting for my man to come home and fall in love with me all over again – just kidding, he loves me no matter what, but he had no clue I was dying my hair cus I love surprises!

All in all, it was fun to have a change after being dark for so long, but I realised that even though some girls stand out with a bronde look, there’s a reason I’ve been a dark brunette. Cus I look sexy and fabulous as one.

Year in Review … & A Little Guilt

So I’m a little guilt-ridden by the fact that I’ve completely neglected this blog for as long as I can remember. I was actually surprised about the last date I posted… I apologize and I resolve to continue my blog and recreate and mold it into something greater.

People change , people grow, and blogs inevitably change.

My year in review starts here…

This year I’ve discovered my love for everything Balmain, the drop dead sexy Rodarte Shoes by Christian Louboutin for S/S 09, and photography. I’ve discovered more of myself this year, really concentrating on the things that make me happy – art, writing, my child, my lover, travel – all these things are part of who I am and it was integral for me to realise everything I have in order to see that.

This year I’ve learned to appreciate my lover for all that he is, all that he does for me, all his sacrifices and all his strengths. I have become a stronger person, somebody a lot more like I used to be. No more guilt and frustration, no more anger, jealousy, enough with the materialism and really discovered what makes me happy.

Some up points in the year was meeting Brandon Flowers, getting an amazing (what I thought at least) job and then quitting it when I realised that I was losing myself in it, that it was something that really wasn’t me, as much as I thought it was.

This was the first real year in the road to discovery of me. Figuring out who I am as a person isn’t easy. It begins with what’s on the inside and transcends into your look on the outside, and it has to mesh, if not then you will never feel resolved with yourself.

This year I also loved the Sex & The City movie, found a love for old romance movies, and really found that I love not only electronic music but also indie rock.

This year I will attempt to be positive, to learn photography, to practice yoga, to discover my style statement, and really become truly happy.

And how was your year?

Txt Me

Want to spice up your next text message? Want to confuse your friend and look ultimately fabulous?

AML  – All My Love

BBFN  – Bye Bye For Now!

Dur?  – Do You Remember?

F2T  – Free To Talk

H2CUS – Hope To See You Soon

KHUF  – Know How You Feel

PCM  – Please Call Me

T+  – Think Positive!

Time to Pretend

MGMT – “Time to Pretend”

I’m feeling rough, I’m feeling raw, I’m in the prime of my life.
Let’s make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.
I’ll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and fuck with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We’ve got the vision, now let’s have some fun.
Yeah, it’s overwhelming, but what else can we do.
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We’re fated to pretend
To pretend
We’re fated to pretend
To pretend

I’ll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I’ll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I’ll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I’ll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There’s really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
The models will have children, we’ll get a divorce
We’ll find some more models, everything must run it’s course.

We’ll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend
To pretend
We’re fated to pretend
To pretend

A Fabulous Life…

While I have been neglecting this fabulous blog, I’ve been out living my fabulous life. We spent the weekend at the Hotel Le Germain, relaxing and playing on the putting green on the rooftop. We dined out, walked at night in the rain under an umbrella, and were in love – with each other and our city. When I come back to reality I’ll let you know…

The Secret…

The secret to becoming thin and fabulous is not really a secret at all, but a way of life. There are a few things you have to figure out about yourself to become thin and fabulous.

First off – why are you overweight?

I had a baby, I’m an overeater, and an emotional eater.

Secondly – conquer these problems.

Eat only until I’m full, get over my emotional problems by putting my energy into something rather than sitting on a couch and feeling sorry for myself – which is so not fabulous anyway.

Thirdly – stop being lazy and become a food snob.

Make your own lunches, eat only fresh foods (fruits, veggies, home-made sandwiches). Eat organic, eat home-made, don’t eat things that have preservatives. Think logically. Eat more fiber.

And enjoy life.

You will see with these easy changes that you will become thin and more fabulous. Stop eating junk food. Stop eating fast food. Only eat the most delectable deserts you can find – Grand Marnier Chocolate Cheesecake. It’s so rich you can only have a few bites anyway, pair it with an espresso for a European style dessert and everyone will think you’re ultra chic.

It’s as easy as that. So stop making excuses.

Don’t eat the pop tart or Cheerio’s for breakfast – stop eating bagels and full-fat milk, think about what you’re putting in your body.

That’s the secret.

Can you keep it?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

David Bowie is stuck at my head before seven in the morning – this is not a good sign. But it goes with the overall theme of my life and this post.

This blog used to be more centred around losing weight and being fabulous. The losing weight bit has stopped since I stopped going to the gym. I also gained a new job and have luckily NOT regained back any pounds – although I have lost a lot of muscle and my skin has gotten softer instead of nice and toned.

I am realising now that I want to lose some more weight. So I’m revamping my goals, changing my eating habits again to regain the healthy ones I made a few months back, and hopefully try to fit in some excercise – even if it is at home to a video (because I literally have like 10 or 15 fitness dvds sitting at home – plus a huge ball, weights, yoga mat, etc).

Another reason I don’t especially have time for the gym is the commute to work, it takes about an hour or an hour and a half to get there by public transit, about 35 minutes by car. I also have to pick up/drop off my daughter at daycare and don’t get to see her as much as I’d like to anyway.

We are hopefully moving into our new loft by the end of August, beginning of September, which would put me 15 minutes away from my work, and would also allow me to have way more time to myself, my family, and my excercise.

So for now I am bringing my lunch to work everyday instead of eating out, NOT eating biscotti with my espresso everyday, and really trying to make my boyfriend eat healthy at dinner instead of eating pizza every other night.

And so we begin again!

A Grown-Up Closet

When I was younger, I used to get a thrill out of clothes shopping, especially for the hangers. Yes, you heard right, the cheap plastic hangers that came with my cheap clothes from Zellers, Old Navy and KMart? Remember those? Because it would mean that I could hang up my clothes and have a more grown up closet (my mother would only buy me so many of the plastic hangers from the dollar store – meaning many of my clothes were in the dresser drawers). And of course a grown up closet has the majority of their clothes hanging off of hangers.

As I grew up and started shopping for my own clothes at nicer stores, I noticed that not only were the hangers twice as nice (wooden, black strong plastic, or sometimes satin at lingerie stores), but I also noticed they no longer came with the clothes. That’s right, I was buying nicer clothes but they would have to go on my used K-Mart plastic clothes hangers. I eventually bumped up to buying all white plastic clothes hangers in multipacks from Walmart.

But now I decided I am a grown up. Well, in most ways anyway. And I heard about Joy Mangano’s Huggable Hangers. I first read about it in a book (Gigi Anders, thank god for you), then I was flipping channels and lo and behold they were on The Shopping Channel. So I watched. And I watched. And I went online.

I ended up ordering 72 regular hangers, 20 finger clips, and 3 pants hangers. All in black. Surprisingly, they are all arriving seperately – WHY shopping channel, WHY? I received my first shipment on Friday, and I received the pants hangers. I really wasn’t impressed – with the channel.

I wanted to redo my closet all at once in these posh little hangers that were so expensive.

I opened up the packaging and noticed that these hangers were different. They had a texture to them that was between ultra-suede and velvet, which means your clothes will never fall off of them. I am eternally grateful to them. Now if only the rest of my hangers would come in!! UPS says Monday.

I will be waiting by the door, thank you very much.

Check them out here.

Dress Like Sex

Want to know how to pull of the Sex & The City: The Movie look for less? Everyone knows about the classic asos.com, but did you know about seenon.com? They give you cheaper alternatives, and sometimes the actual items, that are worn in many different tv shows and now the SATC movie! They even have the faux “Love” keychain that’s originally in 24k gold from H.Stern. You can even shop by character!

Check it out here!

But what if you’re not?

I’ve been reading the book Why Men Marry Bitches, and I’ve been reading it sporadically, because I refuse to be seen reading it by my boyfriend. One chapter really resounds with me, and that is Chapter 4: Female Button Pushing, because that is my boyfriend’s modus operandus – bother me until I snap and then say he finds it sexy. Meanwhile I’m pissed off beyond my means and want to slap him.

Another Chapter, the fifth one to be exact, also helps me out, Joe Paycheck, all about financial independence, which really pushed me to get a job recently. Although I’m a “stay at home mom”, I don’t have to be, and I’m not the mom type which doesn’t help my case either. Another point is that my boyfriend claims to not mind to be the financial supporter of our family, but he does snap the odd time, whether it be about bills or groceries. But the real issue is, I want to buy my own shoes and say that I bought them. Not him.

The rest of the book I’m not so sure about. I started reading it from the beginning today since my boyfriend is gone for the next five days on a business trip, and a lot of it really I don’t see in my self. I lot of the “relationship principles” conclude to keep an aura of mystery, don’t ever really let him “figure you out”, and always seem like you don’t need him.

I’m a girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, is overly emotional, and my man has been with me for five years and pretty much has an idea of who I am. How can I figure out his pattern but not let him figure out mine? Stuff I don’t get, and probably stuff that would have been WAY more valuable to me at the beginning of our relationship. 5 years later stuff like this doesn’t really help – waiting a month before having sex to look “classy”, and not busting out too erotic sex moves in order not to scare the guy. Some of this book reads like a bad article in the latest issue of Cosmopolitan.

Relationship Principle 71:  The bitch does not hint about marriage or ask, “Where is this going?” Instead, she hints about the removal of herself from the relationship. The word marriage never even comes up.

Um. Too late. But what self-loving woman can withhold herself from asking where a relationship is going? When you’ve been together for a while, sometimes you need to know what’s the point of being in this relationship if it’s at a standstill. And really, isn’t asking the first possible way to change and help your relationship?

Some of the more exciting tidbits in this book include the “She asks, He Hears” portion.

She asks: “What are we doing for the holidays?”      He hears: “I can’t wait to meet my new in-laws!”

She asks: “What are your intentions?”      He hears:  “Where’s my ring?”

A little severe but effective nonetheless. This book is still confusing for me, on one hand, I totally support the idea of putting yourself first, having full self-respect and tons of confidence, because that really does attract a man. Being a whole person, loving yourself, that makes a person attractive. But some of the other parts, the slightly bitchy parts, I don’t see myself ever doing that.

Slightly because I’ve been in this relationship for a while now, and he knows how I am to a point. I’m sure I can change (and I’ve got to change a bit), but you can’t make a full 180 anyway because that’s not who I am. As much as I can act like I don’t need him, I really do want him.

Hopefully this book helps me put myself number one, but it’s not going to happen over night. What if I’m just not a bitch? Can I somehow turn into one? I also have Why Men Love Bitches, by the same author, so after I’m done this one we’re on to the next. Maybe by book number two I’ll have what it takes to actually be a bitch.