Spring Fashion

The Early Spring 2012 looks are starting to hit stores and for the most part, I like what I see. Nautical, black and white, pops of color - these are totally me. I also read the article "Tights and other legwear are more fashion forward than ever" by Laura DeMarco and am pleased to see that someone else thinks opaque tights and fun patterns will be sticking around for a while. Here are some of the pieces or full outfits for the upcoming season:

Patterned Skirts:

Banana Republic

Banana Repbulic

New York & Company

JC Penney

Yellows:

The Limited

The Loft - I bought these already!

The Limited

H & M

 

The Loft

Polka Dots and Stripes:

H & M

New York & Company

JC Penney

H & M

Shoes / Accessories

Gap

Old Navy

 

Old Navy

Banyan Tree - Tremont

Banyan Tree - Tremont

JC Penney

Color Blocking:

The Loft

New York & Company

Gap

The Loft

Organization Must-Reads

I can't resist articles on organization. The first one, posted on Apartment Therapy by Julienne Lin, is about desk organization, something many of us need to read-up on. It's short but useful and has some pictures, too!

The second one to check out is also from Apartment Therapy and is written by Alysha Findley. This post focuses on organizing your life and time management. There are 10 really great tips. Number one is definitely true - when I get everything ready to go (clothes, lunch, bag) the night before, my morning is much smoother and happier. I would love to start doing suggestion number six - keeping an box with index cards of household chores or tasks that need to be completed. You pick out a card or two each day to complete and leave the rest for later. This is a short article as well but could make a big difference in your day.

Blogs and Websites to Check Out

Image from Andrew Chen

It is about time I get back to blogging. And what better way than to list some of the blogs and websites I have been enjoying during my blogging absence. Check these out!

Apartment Therapy: I recently stumbled across this name while reading an article. It has quickly become my most visited website. Don't let the name fool you though; it isn't just home ideas for apartment dwellers. This site has a blog appearance and contains a variety of house/studio/apartment tours from people all over the United States, how-to projects, simple living tips, questions posed by readers (with answers too), and much, much more.

Pinterest: This is a virtual bulletin board that is shared with other users. You can create different boards to organize your photos into any categories you desire. You can follow boards. 'Like' pins, and repin from boards of other users. Not only has this aided me in brainstorming some ideas for my upcoming wedding, it has also given me the opportunity to see ideas of others, from workout tips, to recipes, to fashion, to do-it-yourself crafts, to honestly, anything someone thinks is cool.

Cleveland Foodie: Obviously for Clevelanders (or those visiting). I have been following this blog for a while and when I need to find a new place to eat, want to see some thoughts on restaurants I have been to, or want to see what is happening with chefs in the area, I consult the fantastic Cleveland Foodie.

The Happiness Project: I have mentioned this blog by Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, before in my review of the book from the summer.  I am still following the blog and attempting to lead a lifestyle of positivity (although it is difficult at times). When I am feeling pissed off, I visit Gretchen's blog to find some jubilation inspiration and it always, always turns my frown upside-down.

Happy reading!

An Organized Space is a Happy Space

Color coding your closet makes items easier to find.

Most people could use a little help with organization. You may think you have no time to organize but if you set aside time for a major organization and then stick with it by placing items in the correct spots or cleaning up as you should, you actually save time and feel less stressed. If you really need to reorganize your entire house or apartment, one area at a time is the best way to go to avoid that overwhelmed feeling.

I happen to be a huge fan of organizing and planning. If my items are stored or displayed properly and are easy to find, not only does my place look better but I feel I can continue on my way while embracing a calm mindset. With that said, it should be obvious that an article titled "10 Habits of Highly Organized People" would catch my attention. This is from CNN Living via Oprah.com. It's a quick read and could provide a quick fix in your life. The Container Store is a great place but unfortunately is not in the Cleveland area. Online shopping is always an option but if you travel south to Easton Town Center in Columbus, stopping in to check out the store is worth your time. In the meantime, here is a link to their Expert Tips and Ideas section where they cover all areas of the home!

How do you organize? If you have a great tip, feel free to comment below! Here are some of my ideas: 

Recently, I purchased a scarf hanger from The Container Store. I was tired of my scarfs smelling of plastic from the drawer cart they were in and had enough of the wrinkles from folding. If you have a lot of scarves, or even a few, I would highly recommend this product!

This is a great organizer for tights, knee highs, and nylons!

I have yet to find a great way to organize belts. But right now, rolling or folding them in this drawer is working out well.

As the article stated, have a place to drop off items when you come in the door. This is our spot.

My mom always had a basket under her sink of bath soaps. Since I have little storage space in the apartment, I put extras in the basket too. They are out of the way and out of sight (if the cabinet is closed) but still easily accessible.

Make-up drawers are easiest to use when separated into different sections.

For the Yogi

For the past few years I have taken yoga and have realized the benefits go far beyond the exercise. After class, I feel better, sleep better, am more relaxed, want to drink more water, and usually want to eat healthier, too. Yoga physically helps with flexibility, strength, and balance. Mentally, it helps to cultivate a balanced lifestyle while emphasizing patience and acceptance for yourself and others.

Yoga Journal is a great place to start learning more about yoga.

For specific poses with pictures and step-by-step instructions:
Yoga Journal's Pose Section - benefits, tips, modifications, follow-up poses, and more!
Santosha.com - includes pose difficulty levels

Here are two blogs from Yoga Journal's Blog Section:
For the advanced - Challenge Pose. Good luck with these crazy poses!
For everyone - Top Five Tuesdays. The July 12th post, "5 Surprising Benefits of Yoga" would be good to inspire those who don't take yoga and the rest is good for any yogi.

I don't know Sanskrit! Yoga Magazine has a useful glossary.

Om Shanti 

Grammar Check

Grammar doesn't end when formal education ends. I would in no way consider myself to be a "Grammar Nazi" outside of the classroom, but I do get a little irritated when I see careless mistakes. With all the writing we do be it Facebook, text messaging, emails, or blogging, it is important to sound semi-intelligent. It is especially important when writing something for work or college. We are what we post / present to the world just as we are what we eat! I stumbled across this webpage on the College Board website and thought it was simple enough yet informative enough to share with adults.

Five Glaring Grammatical Errors - and How to Fix Them

I ♥ Shoes!

It's no secret to people who know me that I have a fond admiration and moderate (hehe) obsession with shoes. So here's a look at some Fall 2011 shoes I would buy if I had a lot of money.

Oscar de la Renta

Fendi

Camilla Skovgaard

Burak Uyan

Giambattista Valli

Alejandro Ingelmo

Nicholas Kirkwood

Diego Dolcini

Aperlaï

Jill Stuart

Book Review: The Westing Game

After playing the video game, Heavy Rain, I wanted to continue in the mystery genre. So, going off of my anticipated summer reading list, I picked up The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. This is a short book (about 180 pages) and is full of puns and other types of word play. I would have loved it for this reason only but the story was great too! After wealthy yet mysterious Sam Westing is murdered, his inheritance of 200 million dollars is offered to the winner of his final game. His Will is actually clues for different residents of Sunset Towers, his residential building of which he hand-picked the occupants. Who will successfully put together their clues and win the game? Who is the murderer? It's a quick read and a good murder mystery connecting people together who seem so different yet all have something in common.

This is a cute site in case any teachers want to use this book with students. It would probably be better for late elementary or middle school but I will recommend it for my high schoolers as an easy, quick read.

Recipe to Try!

Looking for an easy dinner? I have one! This Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes and Poppy Seed Dressing is delicious, hot or cold. I used the Caesar Suddenly Salad Mix instead of the Classic and it was scrumptious! It would probably taste just as good without the chicken or with tofu for vegetarians.

Book Review: Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a great, fast read with a satisfying ending. We have two settings in the novel. The first takes place in the present from the perspective of a nursing home occupant named Jacob. His repetitious routine is startled by an attention-seeking new resident who upon seeing the circus in town claims he used to bring water to the circus elephants. Jacob knows for a fact this is untrue but none of the workers nor fascinated women residents care to listen to his ranting protests. This leads into our other setting, the 1930's, where Jacob recalls the death of his parents and the end of his upper-middle class life as he knew it. He unknowingly boards a train of The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth and his life is turned upside-down.

What I liked most about the novel wasn't the love story between Jacob and the star performer, Marlena. I was expecting it to dominate the story but found it to be slightly undeveloped. What caught my attention most were the unusual setting and the reflections of a 90 or 93 year-old. From Gruen's detailed account of the hierarchy of circus workers, it is obvious that to present such an extravagant show took its toll on all types of workers. In reality, circus life of the 1930s was much more grueling and political than glamorous. The realizations of the elderly lifestyle Gruen revealed were honest and saddening but the sarcastic tone in which they were presented helped lessen the truth.
"When you are five, you know your age down to the month. Even in your twenties, you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties, something strange starts to happen. It is a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm--you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you are not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it."

I also have to add in that I was fascinated to read about the animals, especially Bobo the orangutang and Rosie the elephant. They provided some heartbreaking moments but also some necessary happiness to the story. Here's one:
"I open the orangutan's door and set a pan of fruits, vegetables, and nuts on the floor. As I close it, her long arm reaches through the bars. She points at an orange in another pan.
'That? You want that?'
She continues to point, blinking at me with close-set eyes. Her features are concave, her face a wide platter fringed with red hair. She's the most outrageous and beautiful thing I've ever seen.
'Here,' I say, handing her the orange. 'You can have it.'
She takes it and sets it on the floor. Then she reaches out again. After several seconds of serious misgivings, I hold out my hand. She wraps her long fingers around it, then lets go. She sits on her haunches and peels her orange.
I stare in amazement. She was thanking me."

I have yet to the see the movie version. Obviously, the love story will be amplified but I won't complain about that. What I am most interested in seeing are how the train and circus sets will look. Hopefully, it will not disappoint and will do the novel the justice it deserves.

Book Review: The Happiness Project

This book started my summer purely because the title contained 'happiness' and I was not disappointed. Gretchen Rubin decided to experiment with different ways to make her life happier and broke the year-long experiment into monthly focuses such as "February: Remember Love", "April: Lighten Up", and "October: Pay Attention". She ended the year with a December Happiness Boot Camp where she realized that, "I could change my life without changing my life. When I made the effort to reach out for them, I found that the ruby slippers had been on my feet all along; the bluebird was singing outside my kitchen window." We all have the ability to lead lifestyles where we are mindful of others, where we sometimes leave negativity unsaid, where we try new activities, where we bring people together, where we clean out clutter, and actually show up to/in our lives. But many people don't take advantage of the energy it takes or think about their lives enough to accomplish these. I enjoyed reading this book because I, like Rubin, see the benefits of self-reflection/self-awareness, of setting resolutions to constantly work on rather than just setting goals, and of being grateful for what I have (although I don't always show it). She often discussed living in an atmosphere of growth and how that is generally better and "happier" than the final result or achievement. This struck a cord with me. Sometimes the journey to get somewhere or accomplish something is sweeter than the end reward itself. I also found the vast amount of outside readings she discussed from Tolstoy, Samuel Johnson, and Saint Therese to name a few, the incorporation of her personal experiences and experiences of those who commented on her blog, as well as her candid accounts of "failures" to be useful in applying her resolutions to my own life.

While there were times Rubin discussed behaviors which I already try to do, for example - Buy needful things, Stimulate the mind in new ways, Use good manners - it helped to know someone else thinks these are important and necessary to live a balanced lifestyle. So what did I really get out of reading this novel? Mostly it was a question: What is necessary for me to feel like I lead a happy, balanced life while also making those closest to me happy at the same time? We often project emotions or attitudes which we don't mean to and this book helped me think about how others might interpret the way I act or react. It helped me think about what I could do to make my attitude, openness, and overall self a little better. And as a result I hope to find that "One of the best ways to make myself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy myself" just as Rubin did.

If you are interested in learning more about The Happiness Project, you can visit Rubin's blog or pick up the book! Rubin says, "The days are long but the years are short" so what are you waiting for? Join me and try a happiness project of your own!

Take me to the Theater

Shakespeare said "All the world's a stage" and he was right; people are always watching, judging us. But some places make for a better stage than others. The article titled "Play House Move to Rebuilt Allen Theatre will Further Boost PlayhouseSquare" by Lee Chilcote clearly illustrates the renovation of the Allen Theather for the collaboration of PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland Play House, and CSU's theater department. My favorite quote from the article: "Today, PlayhouseSquare comprises the second-largest performing arts complex in the country, behind New York's Lincoln Center". That's pretty remarkable!

Theater is a unique art form in which there really is something for everyone. Whether you fancy realism, fantasy, or a mixture of the two; whether you want song and dance or prefer all dialogue; whether you want straight-forward meaning or are intrigued by the abstract, there is a great musical or play to suit your interests. And outside of PlayhouseSquare there are quite a few fantastic theaters in the Cleveland area to catch a show. "Theater-going is a communal act, movie going a solitary one" (Brustein). What better way to spend a night than enhancing your cultural spirit with others at the theater?

Other theaters in the area:
Cleveland Public Theater - Cleveland
Beck Center for the Arts - Lakewood
Convergence Continuum - Tremont
Porthouse Theater - On the Blossom Music Center grounds - summer only

Last Night I was a Mavericks Fan and the Truth about Cleveland

It isn't often I cheer for someone to lose. But last night, I would have cheered for any team in the NBA to beat the Heat. Well, more specifically, LeBron. As I posted on Facebook right after the glorious win, it's not that easy. He doesn't get to leave a place that not only loved him, but fully believed he would win the championship he promised to us, his hometown, and walk right into his first title. And I like it even more because it's a great lesson for people. As precisely stated by The Rolling Stones, "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes well you just might find, You get what you need". What LeBron needed was a reality check. The pre-season smoke and Miami sunshine clouded and blurred his view of real life, or should I say - his real talents.

On Oprah's last show, she spoke of the lessons she has learned over her 25-year run. One part that stuck with me is when she said, "Don't wait for somebody else to fix you, to save you, or to complete you...". This goes for the self-proclaimed King as well. He claimed he needed a team around him as being a reason for leaving. LeBron - why don't you work on your own follow-through in life-changing games before you jump on someone elses' coattails and expect that to win championships for you.

Moving away from LeBron, I read an article by Dan Wetzel on Yahoo Sports titled, "LeBron's failure warms Cleveland's heart". Since I am used to people tearing down Cleveland, this was a pleasant surprise. I am so overjoyed that I am even going to post paragraphs right here as a preview to reading his entire article:
"It’s too trite and small to view Cleveland as some bottomed-out, post-industrial postcard to the past. These aren’t all people trapped in awful times or terrible circumstances or living small lives in jealousy of LeBron’s big one.
There’s money here. There is success in Cleveland. There is contentment. As sure as there are poor in Miami, as sure as the VIP area of the Mansion Nightclub isn’t the full reality of South Florida, neither is some boarded-up East Cleveland warehouse the story here.
There are doctors and lawyers and entrepreneurs and financial planners and artists and teachers and dreamers and, yes, insulation installers. (“In the column can you mention the company, Pure Seal Inc.?”)
There are happy families and neighborhoods and the American Dream in full view. There are plenty of people who don’t have any personal problems who are quite content to keep their talents in Cleveland, a place they love just the way it is.
“We get a bad rep,” said Pawel Wencel, who happily moved back from Washington, D.C., and watched the game at Flannery’s. “It’s not New York. It’s not L.A. And we don’t want it to be.”
Why New York or L.A. can never seem to get that is anyone’s guess."

Thank you Dan for finally representing Cleveland as it is! Enough said.

Viking 4 Life

I am a proud two-time graduate of Cleveland State University and am also proud to hear and speak of the extensive and wonderful improvements happening around campus. The article, "New neighborhood to rise on Cleveland State University campus" by Karen Farkas of The Plain Dealer reveals the plan to create a residential and retail area on campus that is not necessarily meant for undergraduate Vikings, but for faculty, graduate students, and young professionals. It's about time Clevelanders reap the benefits of some more downtown stores (even if it is only a few) as well as more residential space away from East 4th and West 6th. If I didn't work in the suburbs and if I wasn't building a new home, I would LOVE to be one of the young professionals living in the heart of Cleveland.

For years I have said that CSU is one of Cleveland's greatest assets and I know I am not alone in that thought. It is delightful to see the new dorms, fresh parking garages, and state-of-the-art buildings which are only making more people eager to become Vikings! And if they aren't becoming Vikings, they should at least take notice of the possibilities the college provides for economic improvement and sustainability. I tip my hat to Cleveland State!