Shoppa-Shoppa

Getting a lot of Christmas shopping done.  I hate actually going to the mall so I'm a big on-line shopper.  I'll only go to the mall if I know exactly what I'm looking for and exactly where it is.  I'm not one of those ladies that shops to shop and I don't just wander around the mall.  I have a pretty good idea of what I need before I head out, I go in, get what I need and get back out.

Usually T is very easy to buy for and KJ is more difficult.  This year it seems to be reverse.  KJ has given me some very good ideas and T is proving to be difficult this year.  She's getting picky in her old age.  She has everything she needs for her dorm, she doesn't need any Ole Miss stuff and she doesn't want any AOPi items because when she gets back from Thanksgiving break she has "Big/Little Week and Reveal" and they get presents from their big all week (I already know who her big is; she reached out to me via FB).  Plus, she got a bunch of stuff on bid day.  I sent her a bid day basket and she also received a tote bag full of AOPi items from the sorority.  The day after Bid Day I also sent her the Lilly Pulitzer AOPI tote and wristlet.  Which she promptly returned.  She liked them but didn't think she'd ever use them.  She's such a minimalist and is not a fan of a big bag.  And, her phone didn't fit in the wristlet very well.  Sigh. 

What's in Your Handbag ???

Linking up w/ Lindsey over at http://momandwife.com for a fun look at What's in Your Handbag???

I change my bag regularly depending on my OOTD but this is a pretty good idea of what I carry around on a daily basis. 

My girls are older and capable of carrying their own stuff around but will occasionally ask me to hold their phones if we are at the mall or something like that. KJ uses a purse every once in while, T uses the tinest bag she can get away with.  Cosmo is the absolute worst.  I have threatened to buy him a "man bag" or a "murse."  He HATES carrying a wallet (makes his butt look big) and I usually end up carrying his sunglasses, his car keys, his wallet, his cell phone and whatever else he's got in his pockets. 

So even though I haven't needed a diaper bag in 10+ years, I still like to carry a travel package of baby wipes with me.  I like to wipe my hands before/after I pump gas, use a shopping cart, etc.  I also carry a travel package of Clorox wipes for these same purposes.  And of course, I carry the obligatory bottle of hand sanitizer.  Yes, I know.  I'm a germaphobe.

And of course, after I have completely disinfected my hand, I use my trusty L'Occitane! 

I don't carry a make-up bag within my handbag but I do love these little Stila kits for quick touch-ups.  I also can't live without my Clinique "Almost Powder" make-up to get rid of the shiny's. 

My wallet is a Coach wallet that Cosmo bought me for Mother's Day a couple of years ago.   I've got the matching bag but haven't worn it in a while.  

Even though it doesn't match my wallet or my bag, I love to put my Blackberry in one of the two Lilly Pulitzer phone cases I have.  They are so much fun and just make me happy!  They protect my phone and also make it easier to find at the bottom of my handbag. 

Depending on the size of the bag, I usually throw in my Agenda.  I never leave home without it so if it doesn't fit in my bag, it's in the front seat of my car if I'm running errands or I just carry it into work with me. 

I carry a small package of tissues, some Advil and one of those cloths to clean a screen (phone, Nook, laptop).  A flash stick, a couple of pens and a Sharpie in case I need to sign autographs (hahaha!).  I also have a nail file and some bandaids.  I had a cute little pink swiss army knife that my dad gave me but airport security confiscated it the last time I travelled.  I also had a nifty travel corkscrew that was confiscated that same trip (because nothing says Terrorist like a pink swiss army knife and a corkscrew).  I bought another corkscrew but keep it in the car.  Seriously.  You never know when you're going to need a corkscrew! 

And, hidden in one of the pockets of my current handbag but always dear to my heart, I keep the little card from some flowers Cosmo recently sent to me at work. 



I carry a comb, a hair band, and that is a bottle of Essie's "All Tied Up" from my most recent pedi.  And here's the really embarrassing part. I carry a lot of lip products.   A lot.  Two tubes of MAC Lipglass (Viva Glam Vi and Cultured), Sugar Honey Tinted Lip Treatment, a tube of Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Scoop, the silver tube is Clinique Repairware Intense Lip Treatment.  And rounding out the lip products are Blistex Deep Renewal, Chapstick Moisturizer in Vanilla Mint, Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm in Mango Butter and Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Cocoa (my family absolutely HATES when I wear the Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer; I don't know if it's the shade, the texture or what but they always say I look like Death when I wear it.  I should probably just remove it, shouldn't I?). 

I also usually have mints or gum in my bag but shared the last of my gum with a co-worker yesterday while we were in meetings.  Sometimes I have a sunglass case in my bag for when I wear my contacts or sometimes the sunglass clip that goes onto my prescription glasses.  Just depends. 

If I'm waiting for KJ to finish up volleyball practice or I have time in between games at a lax or vball tournament, I'll throw my Nook in my bag but definitely don't carry it around with me on a general basis. 

Oh!  And my keys of course! 

That's pretty much it.  Pretty boring, nothing exciting.  So, what's in YOUR handbag???

What Pinterest has Taught Me

You can learn alot about a person from their Pinterest boards. Last night I took a look at some of my boards, re-arranged them alphabetically, added a new board or two and reorganized. When I "pin" from my Nook, it sometimes doesn't add the pin to the correct board so I have to go in later and move things around. My boards were amuck and I had cute outfits on my "foodie" board, things that should have been in my inspirational quotes were in my "dream home" board and I had pins of cute little puppies on the "my style" board. It was absolute chaos and bedlam!

So, I started really taking a hard look at what I actually pin. I've always kept a binder full of inspirational items printed off the internet or ripped from the pages of magazines or catalogs . . . cute shoes, book titles for future reading, decorating ideas, recipes, etc. and I've always kept a file on my hard drive of interesting photos for my blog. So Pinterest is totally up my alley.

Last night I realized a few things about myself:
-I love a good quote and also have a warped sense of humor (I already knew this about myself; my Pinterest boards just confirmed everything).
-I am a closet "preppy." I love all things pink & green and I love all things Lilly. Who knew??
-I love to party. OK. This isn't exactly a revelation. We all know I love to entertain and throw a good party. My "Party Idea" board is beautiful and I have a lot of great ideas I can incorporate at T's grad party, KJ's b-day, etc.
-I love to travel. Again, this isn't anything new but I have been very blessed to have travelled to some wonderful countries and islands yet there are still so many places I'd like to go!
-I love to read. Duh. Let's just say my family knows me well and bought me some Barnes & Noble gift cards for Christmas.
-I am obsessed with doors. I mean, beautiful, hand-carved, unusual ornate doors.
-I love shopping. And there is a difference between shopping and buying (although I like to do that, too!). I love a beautiful shop. I love a beautiful boutique, gorgeous lighting, unique fixtures and window displays that draw me in.
-I luv, luv, luv the holidays! All of them. I love to decorate the house and am always on the look out for intesting tablescapes for the dining room.
-I luv mason jars and use them for EVERYTHING.
-I find those Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" pins hysterical.
-The list of people I most admire is a little wonky and ranges from Mr. Rogers* to Bon Jovi**. I like people who keep it real. People who've made a difference no matter how great or small, people who aren't flashy and people who age gracefully (i.e., Helen Mirren).


*Fred McFeely Rogers -- an American educator, Presbyterian minister, songwriter, author, and television host. Rogers was most famous for creating and hosting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968–2001), that featured his gentle, soft-spoken personality and directness to his audiences.

Initially educated to be a minister, Rogers was displeased with the way television addressed children and made an effort to change this when he began to write for and perform on local Pittsburgh-area shows dedicated to youth. The Public Broadcasting System developed his own nationally-aired show in 1968 and, over the course of three decades on television, he became an indelible American icon of children's entertainment and education, as well as a symbol of compassion, patience, and morality. He was also known for his advocacy of various public causes. He testified to the U.S. Supreme Court on time shifting; and he gave now-famous testimony to a U.S. Senate committee, advocating government funding for children's television.

Rogers was honored extensively for his life work in children's education. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor; a Peabody Award for his career; and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Two resolutions recognizing his work were unanimously passed by U.S. Congress, one of his trademark sweaters was acquired and is on display at the Smithsonian Institution, and several buildings and works of art in Pennsylvania are dedicated to his memory.

In 1996, Mister Fred Rogers was ranked #35 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[

Fred McFeely Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Pittsburgh, to James and Nancy Rogers; he had one sister, Elaine Rogers Crozier. Early in his life, he spent much of his free time with his maternal grandfather, Fred McFeely, who would later move to Florida, and had an interest in music. He would often sing along as his mother would play the piano and, at age five, began to play the piano as well.

Rogers graduated from Latrobe High School (1946). He studied at Dartmouth College (1946–48) in Hanover, New Hampshire, and transferred to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition (1951).

At Rollins, Rogers met and married Sara Joanne Byrd. They had two sons, and three grandsons,. In 1963, Rogers graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church. During the course of his career, he garnered forty honorary degrees. Rogers was red-green color blind, swam every morning, was a vegetarian, and neither smoked nor drank.

**Bon Jovi -- I love the fact that he has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1989, has four kids and leads a very non-Hollywood life. He's worked on behalf of the Special Olympics, the American Red Cross, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Project H.O.M.E., The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation), and other groups.

He has been named the first Founding Ambassador of the Habitat for Humanity Ambassador program as part of the international-nonprofit organization’s new advocacy outreach initiative. Bon Jovi has been raising awareness with Habitat for Humanity since 2005 when he provided the funds to build six homes in Philadelphia and built the homes alongside the homeowner families, as well as with members of his Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team (now non existent). The construction site also served as the video shoot location for his band’s single, "Who Says You Can’t Go Home". In 2006, Bon Jovi made a $1 million donation to build 28 Habitat homes in Louisiana in partnership with low-income families on the hurricane-stricken coast. In July, 2007, Bon Jovi announced a project that will rehabilitate a block of 15 homes in north Philadelphia. During an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005, the band donated $1 million to the Angel Network foundation.

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation) was founded in 2006 and exists to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, they support innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. On October 19th, 2011, they opened the JBJ Soul Kitchen, a community restaurant where patrons pay what they can afford for their meal, either with money or by volunteering work.

He is one of 21 artists singing on "Everybody Hurts", a charity single organized by Simon Cowell in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Although he is generally associated with the Democratic Party, Bon Jovi's voter registration indicates that he is unaffiliated. He toured extensively on behalf of Presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, appearing at and playing acoustic sets (with Richie Sambora) at rallies for the Kerry-Edwards ticket throughout the United States.[10] Bon Jovi also played as a part of the Live Earth concert at the Meadowlands in 2007, and was introduced by former Vice President Al Gore. In 2008, Jon Bon Jovi supported Barack Obama for President, even holding an exclusive fundraiser at his home for him; he also played a 2009 Manhattan fundraiser for now Secretary of State Clinton to lessen some of her $6.3 million dollar campaign debt. On Sunday, January 18, 2009 Bon Jovi performed a duet at the Obama Inauguration Concert of the Sam Cooke classic "A Change is Gonna Come" with Bettye LaVette.[21] On June 4, 2009 Bon Jovi performed an acoustic benefit show for democratic Gov. Jon Corzine at the NJPAC in Newark, New Jersey.

On June 24, 2009, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Andy Madadian recorded a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran. The handwritten Persian sign in the video translates to "we are one".

On 15 December 2010, Bon Jovi was appointed by Barack Obama to the new White House Council for Community Solutions. Bon Jovi's efforts with his own The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation in recent years have resulted in creative public/private partnerships as well as more than 260 units of affordable housing for low income individuals and families. In addition to providing advice to the President on solving specific community needs, the White House Council for Community Solutions has been tasked with three key functions: enlisting leaders in the non-profit, private, and philanthropic sectors to make progress on key policy goals; providing strategic input and recommendations to help the federal government promote greater innovation and cross-sector collaboration; and honoring and highlighting those making a significant impact in their own communities.