Dearest JCrew,

Please don't stalk my inbox every day with tempting sales.

That's all.

Are we there yet? And things I'm loving this week.

I'm sure Chris and I will be saying this for hourrrrrrrrs before we actually GET to South Africa. I can't believe it!!! I will be leaving in 5 days!!! I am working on posting about packing for Africa...hopefully it turns out well! You can count how many days on ONE HAND until I leave! MADNESS!

Also, is it just me or do you get 9,287 emails a day from stores BEGGING for your business? The economy sure is hurting, but I am TRYING my best not to be tempted! I've been seeing CUTE things for Christmas presents...

Audra would LOVE this but it's a little out of my price range..lol.

Love these rattles for all the babies being born in my life!

Love this for...me?? :)

Ok enough for now...back to work. I'll post later about making your own Christmas cards. I have made mine the last two years, wish I had a sample to show you! I have some ideas, starting with...

Everyone have a happy Friday!!!

*Oh, in my Italian class last night, I learned that they do NOT capitalize their days of the week! How strange!

Denim After Dark!

Women of denim!!!! Madewell 1937 (the sister store to JCrew) is having a Daily Candy sponsored event this evening. My roommate works at the Dallas store and has been very excited about it---20% off all jeans, free hemming, free treats and drinks, and free entertainment this evening at Northpark from 7-9! Northpark has the original Madewell, but there are several other locations to try as well---check out their store listings here!

Happy shopping :)

Made for jade...

Why does this always happen!? Remember when Black Satin came out...everyone went on a mad rush to get it, and the price went up to hundreds of dollars a bottle on ebay! Let me remind you people...the bottle contains only 0.4 fluid ounces!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is STILL hard to find years later.

**Mac made a great version of Black Satin and still makes great polish.

***I am also a fan of Sally Hansen nail polish.. it is long lasting!

When I was in NY this weekend, I walked by the Chanel on 57th. I noticed on the mannequins nails there was green polish. Oh, this was not a coincidence. They showed Jade down the runway and now it is being equally hunted and....sold out.

(Jade on left, Jade Rose on right)

Why!? Why does this happen!? I think I'll settle for a similar OPI shade :) Either that or I'll follow this gal's advice and mix my own!

How to Improve Your Mood

So, we've all had our days, right? I know I have. Sometimes you feel "blue" or "cranky". There are some things you can try to fix that on your own. I know they've helped me!

The Steps:

1. Take deep, calming breaths. It's amazing what breathing will do...besides letting you live, taking deep breaths is proven to improve your health and mood.

2. Take St. John's Wort. This can be in pill form or tea form. I go with the Yogi tea form. While waiting for it to cool down a little, you can take your deep breaths :)

3. Take a walk. Get outside! Get fresh air! Blow off some steam!

4. Have a square of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has the least impact on your blood sugar level and it is more likely to satisfy your craving for chocolate in small doses. The contents in chocolate also contain antioxidants and flavanoids, which relax blood pressure. Dark chocolate is good for your heart! Sounds good, right?

5. Listen to some tunes. Even if you just put one ear bud in, it should help increase your productivity and lift your spirits. Try Miike Snow "Animal", Ingrid Michaelson "Be OK", A Fine Frenzy "Bomb in a Birdcage", Beyonce "Single Ladies", Estelle "American Boy", MGMT "Kids", Phoenix "Lasso"...........to name a few.

6. Take a stretch break. Even if you don't stand on your head (which also increases blood flowing to the brain), do some form of stretching.

7. If none of that works...take a nap :) I usually find that upon waking up, I feel much more refreshed and ready to face life's challenges. I know some people who nap in their cars during lunch!!

Any of that help?? What do you do??

The Anthropologist.

It was bound to happen. Anthropologie is launching a shared inspiration site of some fantastic visionaries. The site is taking a while to load....probably the result of heavy traffic.

Fabrics and buttons and patterns, oh my!

The Sartorialist is a headliner on here most weeks. I love that Mr. Schuman posted about fabrics and patterns and vintage yesterday and just last week I got a Daily Candy about City Craft, a new fabric and sewing store (lessons too!) in Dallas! I can't wait to visit.

Here is Mr. Schuman's inspiration:

And here is Dallas' latest inspiration:

I'd love to stop and grab a coffee before perusing the offerings of this shop. From the threads to the patterns, this store has been stocked to a T.

Ahhhh, I'll post about it as soon as I go. I've been toying with starting my own crafts and offering them through here...some day soon?