IT'S 40 DEGREES OUTSIDE

Can you believe all of the crazy weather we have been having? It seems like just a few weeks ago I was walking around in flip flops and a tank top while running errands. Tonight B and I were driving home from an adventure at Costco - which is an understatement considering it was the night before new years eve and EVERYONE in Southern California is at Costco buying champagne in bulk - and saw the outside temp register at 40 degrees {F}.

I logged on to facebook not a mere 20 minutes later to see my cousin Autumn post that it was snowing in Scottsdale, AZ. It got me thinking, all bundled up here in the kitchen about how wonderful the cold weather is. It's a perfect reason for me to bust out my knee high leather boots, brass button down pea-coats and beautiful pashminas wound around my neck when I brave the outdoors. Not only do I look impeccably chic - its just as effortless as my tank and flops.

But fashion aside, the cold weather brings something much more magical that most don't realize. Its a time to stay INSIDE your home and enjoy the company of those who dwell indoors with you. Its a time to play board games with your brothers, a time to watch movies with your parents, a time to sit around the table and eat warm soup with your loved ones, a time to share a blanket and a fire with the person who keeps you warm at night.

Its the little things in life that are free - such as friends and family - that we all seem to take for granted. Just last week I was near complaining myself to death about driving all over the place on Christmas day and, "why can't I just have my own Christmas that everyone ELSE can come to?" but then it dawns on me that these moments are all I have on a lot of occasions to look forward to. I had the BEST time seeing everyone I love within a 30 mile radius no matter how much time I spent alone in the car. The gifts we all give one another are 'nice' and 'fun to use or look at' but the real gift is the one we get everyday; the gift of love.

The cold weather is very easy to complain about, but complaining about too much love is ridiculous. How lucky we are.

DAY DREAMING...

Do you ever find yourself day dreaming about nothing in particular and revel at where your mind can take you? Do tap into those hidden moments alone with just yourself and actually pay attention to how crazy your train of thoughts can be? If you are anything like me, it starts with a picture just like this one: I lay in my bed in the morning devouring wedding and design blogs on my iPhone. {I'm not engaged nor married but who the heck cares, a girl can dream}. I click on each image to open it bigger so I can study the intricate details and 'find' the beauty in things others don't see. I hover my finger over the image and wait for the "SAVE IMAGE" icon to pop up and then greedily stash it away for more private enjoying later on.

A few days go by, and then I open my image library and swoon all over again. Now I'm dreaming up where to put these beautiful flowers in my "DREAM HOME" and where on earth will it be. I now head over to www.craigslist.com and start looking at Spanish Bungalows in Pasadena and Highland Park. I find one or two that tickle my fancy and then EMAIL myself the link. This little beauty is for sale... dream again.

Somehow my mind goes into furniture mode, and now I'm online looking at Elle Decor and Architectural Digest, and Ebanista and finding pieces to fit in this gorgeous imaginary 1940s Spanish Bungalow that I don't actually have.

About thirty minutes goes by and I don't quite understand how I've gotten myself from a beautiful bouquet of flowers on Green Wedding Shoes to a large carved ebony wood credenza at Hudson but it just happens! This is creativity at work. This is EXACTLY the type of thing I have TRAINED my brain to do. To get inspired is an understatement... instead I actually create a different LIFE for myself all from an image I see. What a wonderful gift I have.

Flea Markets

There are few things in life better than buying someone's trash and taking it home as your treasure. I often wonder where these beautiful pieces I find come from... and why on earth anyone would 'throw them out'.

TENNESSEE

Hey y'all! I'm just getting all packed up for a trip back to Nashville to visit my dearest friends, Lee & Page Morris, along with some other wonderful friends of mine back in TN. I am most looking forward to that quality time with my besties, but I am also ECSTATIC about the Lynchburg 'Jack Daniel's BBQ Fest' as its my first time attending such a fete.

I can't decide if I should pack my plaid and flannels or something with an elastic waistband for how much FOOD and BBQ I am going to be eating! This is sure to be a trip chalk full of fun memories and laughter.

Found out we are ALSO going to a TN Titans game while we are there at LP Field. O-M-G I am stoked!

Hope you are all doing well out there in bloggyland and I will share with you my adventure when I return. Until then, YEEEEHAWWW!!!

NEW YORK CITY

Leaving on a jet plane - a Virgin America jet plane that is - for a week long trip to New York. Visiting family and museums and restaurants and clothing stores AND everything else the big apple has to offer. CAN'T wait!!!!

Just thinking about walking around the streets of Manhattan has got me singing Alicia Keys' New York as I pack my bags.

First thing I have GOT to do is grab a hot dog from the sweatiest vendor I find, and score a sweet knock off gold Rolex. It's the little things that make me the most happy really... ahhh, a girl can dream.

But seriously, I am thrilled to be going back to the city; its been over ten years since I was there and I just get so giddy about the smells and the people! Can't wait to tell you all about my trip and show you the treasures I find when I return.

THE CIRCUS CATCH

I wanted to give a short and sweet shout out to one very amazing Author, Andrew Baslow, of The Circus Catch. He has just recently joined the wonderful world of blogging, and is an aspiring broadcast journalist. His (first ever) blog is already gaining lots of interest in the blogsphere which centers around the wonderful world of baseball.

A recent college graduate who had hoped to be picked up professionally, has in a sheer chance of luck - whether he wants to believe it or not - is currently on the path to finding his true passion... and I happen to believe it to be a sports writer. His writing is blunt and to the point which could potentially offend some people, but his genuine love for the game is glaringly obvious that you can't help but smile.

Please pop on over there and take a looksie around and enjoy!