Smiling is my favorite

The closer we get to Christmas, the more excited I get. Some of the little things that make me happy....

Christmas cookies....clay-mation holiday specials....pretty wrapping paper....flavored candy canes....unique Christmas stockings......homemade ornaments.....gingerbread houses......snow covered mailboxes......A Christmas Story marathon......monkey bread......all the great movies that come out.....children waiting to see Santa (as long as they're not crying).......mittens......old fashion Christmas carols....and most importantly be surrounded by my love ones and being thankful for all that I have and to help those less fortunate than myself.

Merry Christmas everyone!

On the catwalk...

I heart clothing and fashion, but I'm no slave to the runway. Most of the time when I see models walking down the runway I think what in the world is she wearing?! And even more to the point who in their right mind would wear that out in public?

I caught some images from Oscar de la Renta's Pre-Fall 2010 collection, which that is something else I don't get about the fashion world...why are they showing Fall 2010 when we're in Winter of 2009? Anyways...I actually found myself loving some of the pieces he showed and could see someone like me, in the city I live in wearing them. Enjoy!

PS the make up is way scary though!

Twinkling Lights

I found these lights featured in the Real Simple issue this month and I am loving the quirkiness of some of their Christmas tree lighting alternatives.

You can find all these lights at bronners.com, except for the very top strand in this first picture, they are from Pottery Barn. Though I have already searched the website for the doves and the Chinese lantern ones and can't find them so they've probably sold out but give them a month or two after the holidays and you'll be ready for Christmas 2010.

I do love the traditional small Christmas lights, multi-colored of course, but I think it would be nice to do some in the old school C-9 bulbs. It would look like something straight out A Christmas Story, which we're only one week until the 24 hour TBS marathon begins!

Lets talk Globes

Yesterday the Golden Globe nominations came out and this girl is pumped! You know how much I love to watch movies so award season makes me super happy.

I love to enter contests, read the internet buzz and take much too long to fill out my ballots.

Let's just hit the highlights from the nomination list, you can see the full list here. The best part of all these awards is to lead up to the grand finale, THE OSCARS! Usually movies or actors picked to win at the Globes or the SAG go on to win the top prize, but believe me I've had many a ballot ruined by an upset!

Best Picture-Drama

Avatar, Hurt Locker, Inglourious Bastards, Precious, and Up in the Air.

I am happy to say that I watched Bastards last weekend and really enjoyed it. Brad Pitt as a Southern always cracks me up. I saw Precious and Hurt Locker, which I was sad to see that Jeremy Renner wasn't nominated for best actor in that movie, he was amazing, I hope to see him up for an Oscar. I plan to see Up in the Air (one to watch for sure!) and unless someone I really trust says Avatar is good, I plan to skip that one.

Best Picture-Musical or Comedy

(500) Days of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, Julie and Julia, and Nine.

I think 500 or Nine will win this one. Whether the critics agree or not I think the movie will be great. I mean how can something with Daniel Day Lewis not be good?? I will definitely go see Nine, not really sure about It's Complicated. Seeing as the Globes is the only place this film will get recognized, I don't think it's necessary to see.

Other Noms to nod at....LOVE to see Carey Mulligan nominated for An Education and Sandra Bullock for the Blind Side. I saw it last week and really loved it.

Other Noms to roll your eyes at....Anything having to do with a Serious Man. You all know how I felt about that movie. And Tobey Maguire for Brothers. I saw this movie last weekend too and wasn't impressed. A better solider to nominate....see my comment from earlier.

So what did everyone else think? My only question is for best animated film...UP or the other 4?

ESPN you surprise me...

When your boyfriend is a sports fanatic it's only natural you end up watching your fair share of ESPN. Usually I try find something else to entertain me while a game or Sports Center is on but 2 commercials caught my eye over the weekend while folks talked about touchdowns and free throws (and yes I do know those terms are from 2 different sports).

The first was for a show on nick jr. called Ni Hao, Kai-lan (I have a soft spot in my heart for Chinese and Japanese animation; ask me about Hello Kitty or my obsession with Sailor Moon sometime).

After a few clicks on nickjr.com I learned a little bit more about the show. It's basically like Dora except it's introducing children to Mandarin-Chinese culture and language while throwing in lessons like patience, sharing and friendship. The characters on the show are what really drew me to the commercial yesterday, they are adorable!

The first one is Kai-lan, then you have her friend Hoho the monkey, Mr.Sun who greets her every morning, and Tolee a koala. You can meet the rest of the cast here.I have been known to watch episodes of Blues Clues and Oswald so maybe I'll catch an episode of this once in awhile to see what it's all about.

The second commercial I loved was this one for Legos. As a kid I always tried to build something as amazing as this father and son, but I usually ended up with a square house with one window and a collapsing roof.

Presents on the tree

Out of random google searching I happened upon a website called an artful home and found the most beautiful glass ornaments on their site.


They are a little pricey but they are meant to be displayed, on your tree of course, as a work of art. Each ornament is named and credit is given to the artist. Some of them would look great all year long if you had a safe place to display or hang them.


Can't you imagine these ornaments hanging on a big Christmas tree at MOMA?











The hot air balloon is my favorite!

A POP of color and style

I have to share this beautiful picture from my favorite photography blog. The girls at Simply Bloom Photography take my breath away with every post. I can't describe how amazing their work is, just go to their blog or website and take in the eye candy.

I love this image from an NYC engagement shoot they just posted. Very Sex and the City.
Vania and Christine, the brilliant mind and eyes behind Simply Bloom, please have my someday wedding date open!

You make me smile.

I love this Kindle commercial out right now. It really takes the idea that you can imagine anything you want when you read a book. It can take you to wonderful, scary, and adventurous places. From her outfits, love the red ribbon, to book genres featured, love Daniel Boone, it just makes me smile when I see it.


And speaking of commercials with cute clothes....I heart this one!




Oh my goodness I still get excited when I see this one. Every time I watch I see a new outfit that I adore!

Just one bite...

How clever is this?

Changed up the LYA banner yesterday so I thought an apple theme post should be in order and I thought this was too cute not to share.

Etsy is where all things cute exist in my opinion and this is no exception. Check out other variations at their lil' decal shoppe here.

Have a good weekend!

Sleeply Little Village

A vocabulary lesson and something adorable; who would think the two could go hand in hand?




The picture is a bit small, but you can see this beautiful clutch (where else but at Anthropologie?) in more detail here.

In my random browsing of their website today I came across this little piece of hand held piece art called Village Chinoiserie Clutch and the details on it are amazing. I also learned that Chinoiserie is the french word for "Chinese-esqe" so throw that into your daily repertoire and you can look fancy.

Little Red Wagon

I have such fond memories of my childhood toys. Wooden blocks, dolls, bikes, and random little toys that you can't remember where they came from you just know you loved them and couldn't imagine life without.

Recently my mother got out some of mine and my bothers old toys and books we had when were babies and I had so much fun looking and touching their worn pages and faded doll faces. Even though they were showing their age there was such a nostalgic charm about them.

Being a collector of eclectic and vintage things seeing my old toys made me want to search out vintage toys to add to my collection of novelties.

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