One of those days.

I'm stealing words of wisdom I found along the web from Kelly Cutrone. They spoke straight to my heart.

- Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
- Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
- Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
- When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it.
- When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
- Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
- Believe in love at first sight.
- Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
- Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
- In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
- Don't judge people by their relatives.
- Talk slowly but think quickly.
- When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
- Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
- Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
- When you lose, don't lose the lesson !
- Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
- Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship..
- When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
- Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice..
- Spend some time alone.

super sunday

Well Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday and we just did our own thing and cooked our own dishes at home. It would have been exciting for the Jets to get into the big game but I didn't mind the Colts (I have fam/friends in Indy) and Saints(I love NOLA/USC alum Reggie Bush). We watched on our new set up and cozied up at home.

Just thought I would share a bit of what I made! I was very excited that everything came out delish.

Cheesy cornbread


Turkey Chili

Kell On Earth

Those of us who (embarrassingly enough!) watched The Hills are fairly familiar with one of the gals' bosses who appeared on the series several times.


Kelly Cutrone!

Well now the scary mean lady has her own TV show for our personal enjoyment. She is pretty scary but you can't blame her, she is also very successful. I watched the premiere ep on Monday and it was like watching my own work life unfold in front of my eyes! (I can't even tell you how many times I've had very...similar...battles....with........PRINTERS!) My own boss is a little... overwhelming. But, such as life, this is the fashion business. I want to stay in New York (I love it) and fuck it, I can handle it!

Watch this show Monday nights on Bravo and let me know what you think ;)

yum.

On Saturday night, I got a little bold and decided to throw some things in a big pot and wish for the best. I do admit, I was inspired by my good friend Holly at Zucchero Zucchero. Ever since her soup post I had been craving chicken tortilla soup. I read a few recipes and took a bit from each one but mostly added for taste as I went. Main ingredients were chicken, corn, cherry tomatoes, garlic, green onions and a variety of spices. I added the avocado, tortilla chips and cheese after it was done. I was extremely pleased with my results, as was my man! He ate a huge, hearty helping. Let's hope I can recreate it again soon.







p.s. I have to admit that the avocado left a little something to be desired :( I guess you can't compare to California produce!

From the page to the screen.

I love reading books. I have a sister who is three years younger than me, and we always shared books growing up. Authors like Alice Seabold, Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult and Emily Giffin. Books like Go Ask Alice, Smack and The Tribes of Palos Verdes that were passed between my schoolgirl friends that warned of drug use and disfunction and made me feel normal. This was years before the Twilight series when I used to stay up late and read under my covers and read my books.

These books were part of my adolescence and every time they announce that the script has been developed and they're putting faces to names and characters I've loved for so long, it's a sacred thing.

The Notebook. ahh... The Notebook was amazing and beautiful and powerful. I. Still. Cry. every, time, I, see, it. It's so cheesy but I do think Nicholas Sparks captured the spirit of love in his novel and Rachel McAdams and Ryan Goseling did it complete justice. And that's only of of Nicholas Sparks's masterpieces. I don't know how he does it, but he writes so well I think it's just easy to transfer it over.

Then there were the failures. Memoirs of a Geisha was pretty bad. The book is amazing but the film failed me. When I read My Sister's Keeper it tore me apart. When I read it, I could not put it down. I read it in a day or two straight. The book is heartwrenching and beautiful. I could not wait to see it in film, but when I did, I was completely and utterly disappointed. It is not okay to come in and completely change my book! It was even more of an insult because I really do think Cameron Diaz and Abigail Bresnan are amazing. There was just nothing that could be done to salvage the butcher job.

I've also caught a few books-to-Lifetime-TV-movie that have also left me sorely disappointed. Oh well.


The Lovely Bones.

When I heard this book was being made into a movie, I freaked out. When I SAW the preview, I was stunned. I cried. I was soooo excited!! I think Peter Jackson did a brilliant job with the cinematography. The music is haunting, the imagery is stunning. I mean, whether or not you believe in the afterlife and heaven and hell, the idea of the Inbetween is captured perfectly.

I also luckily live in the tri-state area and got to catch an advanced screening. Usually the placement of a familiar face is distracting, but Mark Wahlberg played the part of a grieving, lost father perfectly. And my boyfriend didn't even recognize Susan Sarandon. But I loved how she swept in and took over.

Susie, she was so sweet and beautiful. I felt so connected to her. The sense of longing between her and Ray, even after her death was so innocent and tragic. Every actor was well cast. Every role was well played. I was sooo relieved at the completed piece. Right on the heels of the My Sister's Keeper disaster, I couldn't take another disappointment.



This is a film I highly recommend. It's a beautiful piece of art. It's a really sad story but it's inspiring at the same time.

feliz navidad

From our house, to yours :)


Yesterday we got up and ran errands, picked up a few last minute sale items and then settled in and started watching old Christmas classics... Home Alone and Home Alone 2. In the middle of watching movies, we had a delivery.



My family (aka my sister) sent some beautiful flowers with real Christmas tree in the arrangement! It's just about the best smelling bouquet I've ever gotten. Def made my night :) We enjoyed a delicious candlelit meal and went to bed early. I heard Eric wake up around midnight and knew something was up but stayed put when he said he had to "go to the bathroom." The longer he took the more suspicious I got. WELL! What a devilish boyfriend I have. I got up and went to the bathroom and noticed all these weird colors bouncing off of the deck. I thought the NY city lights were Christmas colors and then I realized the colors were coming from INSIDE the living room!



Santa Claus was pretty good this year.



MERRY CHRISTMAS!