Girls Night In

Happy Friday!

via Pinterest

I've had a lot on my mind lately like what my next step in life will be, the fact that my boxes are still sitting in my parents living room, and I had to shovel 3 inches of snow off my car before work in early October, I don't think I can deal with that all winter. I knew announcing the fact that I am dating and proceeding with my life would hurt some people, but I have to be true to myself and realize this is MY blog, and I can't write and not share about the positive things in my life for the protection of others. Life goes on. But one of the main reasons my healing process has been so much smoother, is the blessing of a new bestie at work. Which is why I'm excited for a Girl's Night In  tonight consisting of comfy pj's, deli, wine, and chick flicks!

via pinterest

So to celebrate empowerment, I wanted to share a poem/ forward all us women have read before,

but gets me everytime and is always a good reminder in life.

MAYA ANGELOU

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

enough money within her control to move out

and rent a place of her own,

even if she never wants to or needs to....

something perfect to wear if the employer,

or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

a youth she's content to leave behind....

a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to

retelling it in her old age....

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ........

a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,

and a recipe for a meal,

that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

a feeling of control over her destiny.....

how to fall in love without losing herself.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,

and confront a friend without

ruining the friendship....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....

when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that she can't change the length of her calves,

the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

what she would and wouldn't do for love or more......

how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .

whom she can trust,

whom she can't,

and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

where to go...

be it to her best friend's kitchen table..

or a charming Inn in the woods...

when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she can and can't accomplish in a day...

a month...and a year...

Have a great weekend!

Weekend

Make New Friends, But Keep & Remember the Old


I was pretty pleased with the weekend. Little things like the onset of fall in the misty mountains on a thunderstormy day reminded me of my days in the Northwest. A lazy Saturday flipping back and forth between Lifetime movies and the Oregon vs. UNR game. Go ducks!

Splurging on new trends for autumn: mustard, burnt orange, laces, mod & 80's - oh my! Loving the new fall trends. A new closet organization system and a couple of good workouts... finally.

A mani-pedi night with a friend.

Also, here's a little something else special about last weekend...

Peppermill Casino

Guess who had their first girl's night out in yearrrrrrs!

Nothing beats PF Chang's & an evening at the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino in downtown Reno,

except if it's with a sweet new friend!

Girlfriend Gatherings

Good Eats Wednesday


It doesn't matter what you eat, the same is true no matter in the U.S., France, or anywhere else in the world... getting together with your girlfriends for a drink and your favorite food beats anything!

My sweet American girlfriends I met in France.

Foie Gras Burger in Bourgueil, France.

What's your favorite place to meet up with girlfriends?

Birmingham, UK

 A Quick Update

Leaving my flat in London.

Had a quick scare yesterday... thought my blogging was over for the rest of the trip, and my lifeline as well. I did the dumbest American tourist thing EVER yesterday. But at least I'm admitting it to you. You would think after being a savvy traveler for years that I would be a little smarter. But I guess mistakes happen. I hadn't eaten all day and therefore had low blood sugar. I took the bus with all my belongings from London to Birmingham and left my laptop case overhead with my passport!!!!!!!!! I had a feeling against leaving it overhead too, but didn't want it sliding on the floor and damaging my leather case. Didn't realize until 20 minutes after the bus was well on it's way, that I was missing my sweater and (gasp) my laptop/ passport. No matter how cautious I try to be by keeping the passport separate from my purse in case anything happened to that. Ugh- you can't win sometimes.

We had arrived at a field of bluebells which I tried hard to appreciate, but was desperate to get my passport (and laptop). So we called the mainline, got ahold of the station, who tracked the driver and I was able to await his return route an hour later. I was sooo lucky! What an amateur move.

 
If anything a memory with a good ending. It's been so surreal to see my friend Sheila. We went to celebrate at a French cafe -- was lovely and fortunately we could relax and enjoy.

Poor thing, the two of us with her cane waiting at the bus stop.. oh my!

I do love this town though. I took a canal tour yesterday. 

 

Today we are taking a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birth place!

 Cheers!

Coco Chanel

Less Than Six Degrees of Seperation

Last week I mentioned that I watched Coco & Igor.

Afterwards I was excited to interview my dear friend Sheila from Birmingham, England about Coco. I did a post on Sheila last year and mentioned she was once technically employed by Coco Chanel!

Sheila resided in the home of Coco's niece, Gabrielle, to look after Coco's great-nephew. She was paid a good salary, far better than many of her other friend's in Paris at the time (though the movie portrayed Coco being tight with employee's salaries). Even though Sheila had a once-in-a-lifetime opportuntity, she claimed it was very difficult working for the family, mainly because she slept in the nursery room on the third floor with the little boy, had no time to herself, and was only allowed off 24 hours per week. She was advised by another caregiver to find a friend to stay with in Paris for that night, because if Gabrielle saw that she were still there she may expect her to work that day anyway. So Sheila would leave the residence from 8:00pm until 8:00pm the next night. Sheila also recalled tension in the marriage, which made things a little uncomfortable.

It was Coco's & Gabrielle's wish that the children learn to speak English, which is how Sheila got the position. She answered an advertisement in Lady Magazine requesting an English speaking nanny. She was chosen out of 60 applicants and thus moved to Paris. She recalls, "big bottles of silver-topped perfumes of Chanel No. 5 in the bathroom", and said that "Coco smoked like a chimney". Both Gabrielle and Coco's favorite flowers were white gardenias.

I have seen both: Coco Before Chanel and now Coco & Igor. I must say while I admire Coco's independence, her fashion success, and her acheivement on being one of The Top 100 Most Influential People of the Century, the latter movie didn't shed the best light on Coco, as she had an affair with Igor, a married man. Coco invited him, his wife, and children to stay at her home so he could work on his music, where their affair began directly under his wife's nose. When Igor's wife asked Coco if she felt guilty about what she was doing, Coco responded her with a flat, "No".

However, for those of you who have seen both movies, may be able to understand that Coco's life 'literally' before Chanel, was not the easiest, and probably explains why she did the things she did, her lack of interest in marriage, and her determination to end up successfully independent. Still, saying she was a fashion icon is an understatement, she changed history in fashion.

Opinions?

Postcards from Around the World

It's here!

My postcard from Paris...

I was so excited to receive my postcard from Teri @ Girl Meets Paris this weekend. She sent one to me last year too... see here. Which inspired me to send Postcards from Home from Fort Lauderdale to a few readers last year. Since I will be on vacation this week, I would be happy to send out some traditional post cards. If you want to receive one, email me your address here. This goes for International Readers too! It really is neat to get a post card from another country.

Hint: It will probably be from Las Vegas!

♥♥♥

Blog Couture

Hot Fashion for Bloggers

Have you seen Blog Couture yet?!

Gabby from Gypsy*Diaries just opened her new webstore.

I bought this shirt, and can't wait to wear it!

Check out

Blog Couture!

♥♥♥

The Flickrite

Features Simply Colette
& Photography Getaways

I was over the moon excited today when I saw this on The Flickrite...

my question chosen and featured in photography art form

 by the ever so talented, Nelonie, of Lance Lonie Photography.

For those of you new to her work, please check out her blog. I'm such a fan of her work,

not to mention her daughter is one of the most adorable little girls.

Photo by Nelonie A. Crelencia * lancelonie photography.

Photo by Nelonie A. Crelencia * lancelonie photography.

Isn't this the BEST?!

♥♥♥

The Parisian Life

Photo via Art.com

Oh how France has been on my mind this week!

From planning my Photography Getaway in the chateux region of the Loire Valley...

To the launch of Belle Inspiration online magazine... a truly inspirational magazine featuring many of the women in blogging. (A little secret, I will be contributing to the next issue, so subscribe to read! :)

To sweets chats with Mimi @ Bonjour Romance, who tells such a romantic story of how she met her husband on the streets of Paris, you simply must read her story...

Seeing a glimpse of my friend Cathi's recent vacation to Paris.

The amazing new episodes of Gossip Girl which take place in Paris.

My insatiable craving for a macaron, a luxury I haven't even tasted.

And finally purchasing Julia & Julia. Oh, I can't wait to watch it AGAIN. But now, it's finally mine.

Which brings me to the present, roasting herb chicken as we speak. Mmm, I can smell the Herbs de Provence coming to life in the oven!

Yes, I'm craving the French Life, all the way from the streets of Paris to the countryside.
And now it's time to dig in...

Bon appetit!

P.S. Don't know how I forgot, Teri @ Girl Meets Paris is also returning to Paris!

Enter her giveaway today for a chance to receive a postcard from Paris.

Travel Thursday

Workday Travel

Sometimes reality isn't so bad.

This is where I slip away during the work day

to read in the sun

for the Aventura Book Club,

which my friend, Marylin, the founder of ABC

 has just started her very own blog.

Visit her at Aventura Book Worm.

And if you're looking for love in South Florida,

Marylin is also the founder of Elite Mergers.

Where do you go to 'slip away' during the day?

Home Sweet Home

I've been busy Condo hunting this past couple of weeks!

Which is why my blog and book writing have been a little sporadic...

but I may have narrowed it down.

Anyone who has purchased a home or even considered it,

knows how consuming it can be.

Naturally, I couldn't have picked a better time

with the holidays and my NaNoWriMo challenge,

but sometimes opportunity knocks.

I miss reading my daily blogs...

and do visit often,

although sometimes

my internet seems to freeze

when I try to comment,

and no longer have the leisure to check at work (shh!),

so I try when I can from my little iPhone.

Thanks to everyone for your continued friendship

and following!

xoxo

Gigi's Day

I am so pleased to announce the winner for my 100th post!

This lovely winner has been following me since very early on. Gigi's blog, The Magpie's Fancy is one of my personal favorites. I can't even begin to describe with much sincerity how I've enjoyed getting to know her through her blog. I've even said over and over how much I adore her life. I enjoy sharing many of her posts with my boyfriend; he loves her captivating header with one of her own beautiful images of the moon over the ocean.

I've enjoyed traveling with her to London (virtually) and have enjoyed all her baking creations in her beach cottage. Her pictures and writing make me feel as if I'm really there with her about to enjoy breakfast chatting with an old friend. She is a very talented writer. One of my favorite stories she told around Halloween is about how she met her husband. They were outside waiting for one of their classes to start years ago, and he began talking to her, all the while she had been secretly crushing on him. It warms my soul to think of the sweet shy girl with a crush getting the guy she secretly pines after. And I love the nature walks she shares, I feel as if two friends are walking alongside in nature together.  So Gigi, thank YOU, for your loyalty and friendship.

I am very excited to personalize a gift package. No pics yet. It will comprise of a little bit of me, and a little bit of her. I can't wait to get started!

If you don't already follow Gigi, don't let another day go by without doing so... :)

Happy Tuesday!