straight no chaser

looking for some new xmas music this year? look no further than the group straight no chaser

"Straight No Chaser are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. As original member Randy Stine comments, “We take the music very seriously; we just don’t take ourselves too seriously.” In the process, they are reinventing the idea of a cappella on the modern pop landscape. Originally formed a dozen years ago while students together at Indiana University, the group has reassembled and reemerged as a phenomenon – with a huge fanbase, millions of viewers on YouTube… and a contract with Atlantic Records. In an era when so much pop music is the product of digital processing and vocal pro-tooling, Straight No Chaser is the real deal – the captivating sound of ten unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense… and with a sense of humor."

Let's make a deal

If you have $300 extra in your bank account, this Marc Jacobs bag on sale at Barneys is just about as good as it gets. Original price? $1,175. Sale price? $289. That is just INSANE!
Sadly, I think the fiance is finished with his Christmas and birthday shopping for me. Boo.

let it snow!

I love New York City when it snows. If only I wasn't watching it snow from my office window...

Forever Frugal (TGI) Friday!

Considering we got our building employee list for holiday tips this week and it was two pages (and 29 names!) long, I'm happy F21 is around right about now. This little black dress (with pockets, no less!) would be perfect for holiday parties. Love it! But you couldn't pay me to brave SoHo this weekend to go find it in the store...

Today is my last work day of the year, so I'm heading home to Indiana to celebrate the holidays with the fam. I'll be taking a break from blogging until I get back to NYC to spend time with family and friends, do some wedding planning, and try to make sure the fiance doesn't run for the door when he finally meets my entire extended family. So happy holidays and I'll see you in the new year!

forever frugal fridays

it's a blizzard out there!! my forever frugal friday pick is simple and cozy...

rosebud

how fun and quirky are these postcards from rosebud design studio?

i wish these were under the tree...

barclay said she wanted coasters for xmas...they needed to "not be girly" and i had a strange problem finding man friendly coasters (although i did find some super pretty ones @ anthro...le sigh). i really like these unique bamboo coasters from supermarket...had i found them earlier, they might have found their way under our xmas tree!

Shiny shiny!

Work is busy this week - lots to do before the holidays. Good news is, after Friday I don't work until January 5! Woo hoo!

On a random note, I just have to say how much I love the Clairol Nice 'n Easy ColorSeal Clear Gloss. I got it in a gift bag from an event last year and was addicted the first time I tried it. It's basically like the gloss that you get at a salon after having your hair colored -- it locks in your color and makes your hair super shiny and silky.
I used it in the shower this morning and actually caught myself admiring my shiny hair in the bathroom at work. Oops. But long story short, it's good stuff and helps make your color last, so you can stretch the time between coloring appointments -- which I always seem to do.

taking on the moma

jason polan's book the every piece of art in the museum of modern art book contains every piece of art that was visible to the public at the museum from january 19 to january 31, 2005...


how fun is that?

Ho ho ho!

The fiance's dad came over last night for an early Christmas dinner and gift exchange before he heads out of town for the holidays. He came through our door looking like Santa Claus, with huge bags full of beautifully wrapped gifts. We were pleasantly surprised when he said that one bag full of gifts was especially for Lucy, our dog -- he has never been a big dog person, but we think Lucy has converted him! Our favorite gift he gave Lucy is a red bandana that says "ho ho ho" all over it -- she looks so festive in it! Growing up, our dogs always have bandanas they get from their groomer, but since Lucy doesn't get groomed she has always been left out of the fun. Now she will fit right in! I don't have a picture of her wearing it yet, but it looks sort of like this (but with "ho ho ho" on it):
Lucy has gotten lots of compliments on it already! Thanks Gramps!

Gotta love holiday-related stress.

Somehow the combination of the stress from holiday shopping for not only my own family but also the fiance's family, cramming a multipage to-do list into the five workdays left this year, and planning a wedding (in addition to a dinner party tonight I totally forgot about), my face is breaking out. My skin is always dry, but especially so during the winter, so a normal zit cream is out of the question for me. I have discovered -- and love -- the DDF 5% Benzoyl Peroxide Gel with Tea Tree Oil.
It gets the job done without making my skin crack and fall off, which means I can still put makeup on and look normal for work. Yay! You can get it at Sephora.

forever frugal...

the theme of my forver frugal friday picks this week is "ruffles and knock-offs"

this ruffle number looks a lot like a milly

and this little diddy looks a lot like the jcrew ones out now

and last but not least, this number is almost identical to a club monaco blouse...

winter skin

baby its cold outside...and my my does the winter weather do a number on your skin. scrub off those dry cells and give your face a breather with these fun scrubs from sephora...

benefit's honey snap out of it scrub

fresh sugar face polish

philosophy exfoliating wash

speaking of hair...

since we are on the topic on "gimme" hairstyles i would like to state for the record that i'm seriously considering getting a "loose" perm so my hair looks like this...

how pretty is that? i have stick straight hair...the kind that you can wash, let air dry and it turns out straight as a board. i have tried curlers and curling irons and my hair just wont cooperate...i think it needs some chemical discipline. i tried to think of women with curly hair and these came to mind...


i realize i have hair jealousy for teen-pop tv show starlets but i don't want to be like brooke shields or miley cyrus...

barclay= polished bob
shift = curly messy bed head...

I want Heidi's hair.

There are times when I think I'll never cut my hair. When I do, I only wish that I hadn't. And it's only really been short once, when I was in middle school, and it was hideous (but also involved braces and glasses, so the hair might actually have not been the worst part). But then I see Heidi Klum's new "lob" (long bob) and my mind is almost changed:If only there was a way to guarantee my haircut would look half as good as hers, I'd do it in a minute. Maybe after the wedding...

putting the months in perspective

lordy knows i love the "keep calm and carry on" posters (hint hint hint) and these calendars are a hilarious take on the trend...





via cup of jo

If I had a million dollars, part two.

I'd get the fiance portraits of our dog for by the super-talented Erin Vey for Christmas. What better way to document man's best friend, when man loves his dog almost as much as he loves his fiancee? This (taking dog portraits) just might also be my dream job, other than owning a store with Shift...

influence

love 'em or hate 'em, ashley and mary-kate olsen's new book "influence" is pretty fabulous...


interviews with artists, stylists, designers and fashionistas...the olsen interviews aren't only entertaining, they are well conducted, deep and at times revealing.

think of people like galliano, louboutin, lagerfeld, richardson...the list goes on and on (i personally think the louboutin interview is reason enough to buy but that's me and my shoes...)

even nymag agrees with me...check out their review of the book with some hilarious olsen/lagerfeld excerpts

Aaaaaaand I'm done.

I love puppies. I love Martha Stewart. Martha's adorable Chow Chow dog, Paw Paw, passed away earlier this year. She wrote the most heartfelt post on her blog about how much she loved him - I was literally crying at my desk at work.

So today I discovered that Martha is adopting one of Paw Paw's "grandsons," named Ghengis Khan. Take a gander at how flat-out adorable he is:

Look at those little tree-trunk legs! And his teeny little eyes! Love love love. More photos at Martha's blog. I am officially getting no more work done for the rest of the day.

forever frugal

a girl on a budget needs fashion on a budget...here are my forever frugal picks for the week

stay warm and have a great weekend!

Forever frugal Fridays.

This week has been three weeks long, I swear. I'm just glad it's Friday. Let's get to it.

I love the show Gossip Girl, its cheesy drama, and its crazy fashion. I also love how the character Blair Waldorf has single-handedly brought back the headband. But that doesn't mean I'm going to spend $100+ on the fancy kinds she wears on the show. Enter Forever 21.

I love this feathered version, which looks way more expensive than the $4.80 it costs.
The silk flower on this one is great for dressing up more casual outfits.
This one, with the rhinestone-studded bow, might be my favorite. And at $3.80, it's a bargain. Now if I could only find it in the store...

chains and chains

take a look @ these pretty ladies from dannijo...part edgy and part lovely...

at work

last night i went to hear annie leibovitz talk about her new book at work.

i had flipped through her previous book life work so i was pleasantly surprised to find that her newest book was less a story through pictures and more about her life as a photographer, her creative process and the technique around some of her most famous pieces.

whether or not you like leibovitz's work, it's impossible to deny her impeccable style or the way she captures people. hearing her speak about being a professional and yet being personal enough to gain people's trust was really inspiring. although the book isn't stocked with eye candy, it's an interesting read for anyone looking for photographic inspiration (or inspiration at all) should definitely pick up a copy.

a matter of the heart

i just love this...


via le love

If I had a million dollars...

Shift normally doesn't like me to post about weddings...but hear me out.

If I had a million dollars, I'd get married in New York City, fly my family in from Indiana and pay for their hotel rooms. I've lived in NYC for four years now, and I love the idea of a New York wedding in a gorgeous loft space, with incredible food and entertainment. And you can't ask for a better backdrop for wedding photos than New York! Taxis, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, the skyline... Since nobody lives in NYC forever (well, nobody I know, anyway), it would be such a great way to document your time here and to show your kids that once upon a time, mommy and daddy lived in the greatest city in the world.

A friend of mine just got married in "the city," as we call it, and her wedding was nothing short of fabulous. She has fantastic taste and it looked like everyone just had so much fun. Here are a few photos from her wedding, courtesy of her awesome photographer Robert Sukrachand.

pretty rocks

these briolette necklaces from neiman are simple, delicate and just right...

What a weekend.

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend with the fiance's family. There was lots of food, lots of good wine, football, napping, and laughs. But then Lucy, our 9-month-old French Bulldog puppy, woke us up at 3am on Saturday morning, shaking and coughing so hard she threw up. The fiance thought maybe she had eaten something bad and wasn't concerned. I was afraid she had eaten something really bad and was bleeding internally or something (I'm a worrier, what can I say). She wasn't any better later that morning, so we left early and took her to an animal hospital by where the fiance's dad lives. Long story short, Lucy has pneumonia - since when do dogs get pneumonia? The good news is that we brought her in before it got really bad, so they were able to treat her. The bad news is that she was in the hospital all weekend (that's her above, in her little isolation unit with an IV of drugs in her little paw) and it cost about a bajillion dollars. But at least she's on the mend, sleeping it off at home. Needless to say, after my slightly stressful weekend, I was almost happy to head back to work this morning! Almost.