Having a tough time?

Figuring out what to do for Valentines day??

I did this last year here

But this year, I found some new ideas... enjoy!

Pucker Up!
Last year at valentine's, I got a big glass pickle jar from a restaurant, scrubbed it clean, and painted the jar with flowers, hearts, sunshine, clouds, etc. (that may be a touch gay... but whatever)

Then I got a bunch of "fancy" doodle pads and began writing reasons & reminders of how & why I love my husband. It didn't stop there-- I began collecting little poems, quotes, and song lyrics to add to the pot.

When my husband is having a rough day he can open the lid and reach in for a "boost". This jar was easy to make and VERY personal, and he enjoys it year 'round. I love to collect stuff for the jar as well!

Tell the world!

One year when we had no money, my husband spelled "I love you Susan Jo" with cutout letters of cardboard and put it on our garage door. When I came home from work, that was there for all the world to see. He was used to coming up with creative idea's on a budget :-)

Well, this year was no different, we live in Ohio, where there is usually snow on the ground in February. So, my hubby got a red can of spray paint (he had already) and out in our pasture, he wrote his Valentine message to me! It was beautiful! Bright red paint on the glistening snow saying "I love you, the love of my life!" The people he worked with thought it was so neat, the newspaper came and took a picture and it was in the evening news! It is one of my most memorable gifts ever.

Dressing up and staying in!

My husband and I had been married for only 5 months on our first Valentine's together. We really didn't have much money to spend on presents, and my husband is not creative at all, so I knew I would have to come up with something if I want a romantic Valentine's.

So the week before the 14th we decided that we were not going to buy presents, instead we would make the day special by doing something together. Because we are both working, and too tired in the evening to cook, we bought our dinners from a lady, so dinner was all ready.

When we got home from work, we dressed... and I mean dressed. I wore my most beautiful black evening dress, and he wore a black suit and white shirt (he looked so sexy)... While I was doing my hair and my make-up (as if we were going to a fancy place), he quickly set the table, lit the candles, and put on some soft music.We ended up dancing and sitting on the couch, telling each other how much we loved the other one, and in the end it was the most romantic evening of my life. *Le Swoon!*

Memories... at the corner of my mind...

The most creative thing I've ever done for Valentine's Day, is decorate a huge piece of white poster board with memories. I took candy wrappers that I saved from the first date, as well as love notes received from my honey, a receipt from a date that I paid for (since he was broke), a stuffed animal from one of those claw machines (which cost my beloved at least $25 to win), movie stubs, and other little reminders of the special times spent together. I safety-pinned the items in the shape of a heart.

Any Brilliant Valentines day ideas??

Style... I heart you!

Oh style, how you make the days go by so much faster. How your awkward colors and textures make my heart start beating fast. Oh... le sigh... I love anything to do with style. Personal style. Out there style. Confident style. I love it! So... I thought I would share with you my most favorite (and not so favorite) styles!

Fav new polish color!

Not so favorite... peep toe boots, here's the thing... it's winter. My toes are gonna freeze!

Love all the color that is going to pop in spring!

LOVING the tights this season - I am too short to wear ones with no feet though.

SO, not loving the fringe bag for spring... Eww. It needs a good brushing!

Love the shirt dress. Love, love, love!

Any fashion LOVES or not so Loves for you this year?

Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life!

So, I was thinking this morning, why do people clean in the spring? Why isn't it Winter cleaning, instead of spring cleaning? I mean, we are stuck in the house, with crappy weather and nothing to do. Why would we want to clean in the spring when the weather has finally become nice and we can go outside and do stuff?

So, as the weather has finally turned cold and rainy in this Southern State, I thought I would share with you my favorite way to start a new year!

I have eluded to the practice (if you want to call it that?) of Feng Shui, but I never felt comfortable enough to share it with you. Some people think it is a religion, which it most certainly is not! Others think it is a science, which again, it is not. It is mearly a way of thinking. A postivie spin on life, if you will?

The book, "Move your stuff, change your life" by Karen Rauch Carter absolutely changed my life. For the better!

I was 20 years old. I had moved in with a roommate who turned out to be a dud, my finances were in shambles, I was working 2 jobs and didn't have a dime. I had to move back in with my parents, and I decided, I had to get away from this State. It had to be the state. I never liked it anyway and the only thing that was here were my parents, and they would love me wherever I was. So... I threw a dart and it landed on Florida. "Aaaahhh, the peaceful, serene beach. Perfect," I thought!

I would stay with my parents until my 21st birthday and gather as much money as I could! I would go down previous to moving and get an apartment, a job, and register for school. It would be awesome! I just knew in my heart, it was the right thing to do.

One day at work, a friend of mine told me about this book. I love books, so as soon as my shift was done, I headed over to the nearest book store.

I read the book in two days. It was funny, informative, and best of all, sounded easy.

That night, I went to the drug store, gathered my supplies and started to work...

You see, the concept of the book is to get rid of the clutter in your life and think about things in a positive way, and things in your life will respond. For example: If you want more money, you focus the ch'i (which is energy in Chinese - pronounced "chee") on your money corner.

Lord knows I needed money, so I amped it up. I did everything it said to do. I put purple in that corner, added a Jade plant, and put Monopoly money so the universe really gets the idea.

Then for the love corner, it said to put pink and red (the colors for love) in that area. And add things that remind you of love.

I put pictures of my family, my parents, my grandparents, and all the red and pink construction paper my drawers would hold!! All the things that reminded me of great love. If I was going to find love, I wanted it to last, not to be some short romance.

I mean, I did everything. My room was my personal Feng Shui, peaceful, serene palace!

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I kid you not, the next thing I knew, I had enough money to travel to FL. I put a deposit on an apt., I registered for school, and I found a job. I was all set!

Then my 21st birthday arrived. I had money to go out, I was happy, and I just felt free. Free of clutter, free of anything. I had a big dinner with all my friends. It was a blast! That night, I also met a guy. Well, I guess he had been there all along, but never in that way. He whispered in my ear he had a gift, so I followed him to his car. He handed me a card (a pink card - my fav!) and inside was a $100 spa gift card. WOW!! I thought! This is too generous!

That night I also noticed there were sparks with that guy. Maybe there was something here? Naaah, I thought! It was just the excitement of the night, just the alcohol. 15 days later, I was about a week away from moving, when that guy called me up. We had been spending a lot of time together since my birthday, but I tried not to get too involved, because I was moving away. I knew I had feelings, but I was scared. Scared because I was moving and scared it wasn't reciprocated. You all know how that goes!

So on the phone, on that very night, he said to me, "You can't leave!"

"Why?" I said

"Because... I love you!"

And that my friends, is how Hubs and I began...

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I believe in my heart it is because I changed my life for the better. Decided to do things for me, for once. Decided I was worth every effort I put into myself! I don't believe that things would have ended up the same way, had I not found this book.

If you're in a rut, or you just want to better your life. I feel, this is an amazing addition to any book collection! Hope you enjoy!

What is your favorite or life changing book?

Fight Against Fakes!

This morning, while drinking coffee, I opened and browsed one of my favorite magazines... Harpers Bazaar. As I marvelled at Victoria Beckam's impeccable figure, incomprehensible outfit and unique tattoo, I took a look at myself.

I had no makeup on, PJ's wrinkled from the previous night's sleep, funky glasses, with my hair a mess on top of my head. Yes... you could say I was slightly jealous.

Normally, with Harpers Bazaar, I get cute outfit ideas and look at the new trends for fashion. But this morning I stumbled across an amazing article, one that touched me to the core.

It was called The Fight Against Fakes. Being from NY, I am no stranger to fake handbags, and on the occasion I have purchased some. But to be honest I had no idea!!

This is an excerpt:

Every time I give a talk on the luxury business today and I get to the subject of counterfeiting, the same thing happens. The room grows absolutely silent as I put forth the facts: It is estimated that up to 7% of our annual world trade - $600 BILLION worth - is counterfeit or pirated; that fakes are believed to be directly responsible for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs; that everything from baby formula to medicine is counterfeited, with tragic results; that counterfeiters and the crime syndicates they work with deal in human trafficking, child labor, and gang warfare; and that counterfeiting is used to launder money, and the money has been linked to truly sinister deeds such as terrorism.

I recall the raid I went on with Chinese police in a tenement in Guangzhou and what we discovered when we walked in: two dozen sad, tired, dirty children, ages 8 - 14, making fake Dunhill, Versace, and Hugo Boss handbags on old, rusty sewing machines.

After reading this, I truly broke down. I, like many others, thought it was a victimless crime. I thought the expensive retailers, like Gucci and Prada, were just mad someone made a copy. I really had NO IDEA. I thought... they make copies of Tylenol and hair products, why not this?

This is from the book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster:

"I remember walking into an assembly plant in Thailand a couple of years ago and seeing six or seven little children, all under 10 years old, sitting on the floor assembling counterfeit leather handbags," an investigator told me... "The owners had broken the children's legs and tied the lower leg to the thigh so the bones wouldn't mend. They did it because the children said they wanted to go outside and play."

I am utterly dumbfounded. I ask you this... is fashion at a cheaper price really worth this? Maybe I am sensitive because I am a parent of a young child and I could not FATHOM my child having to go through this, but this makes my heart truly bleed.

Please re-post this or get the word out so that people know!! I will be the first to say, I am a changed person knowing this, and could not, and WILL NOT be buying any more of these purses. I would ask you to do the same!! For the sake of the children!!

Rocks, Pebbles, Sand

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, Sensibly Sassy, and I just couldn't resist sharing it with all of you.

I think this is just a great message! Thanks SS!!!

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordless, he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about two inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full?

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar gently. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

The students laughed and then agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course , the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things-your family, your partner, your children, your health,-anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.

The pebbles are the other things that matter-your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.

The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are really important to you."

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Take care of the rocks first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand..."