I’m giving myself a challenge. An experiment. An assignment to help me harken back to my school days when a task was set and there was a definitive start and end point. Today is Tuesday. I am going to blog every day on DAILY MOXIE for seven straight days. Tuesday to Tuesday, one solid blog post about whatever topic I see fit. There is no set length but hitting at least 500 words would be nice. This has nothing to do with gaining readers and everything to do with testing the waters, seeing how I feel about posting here regularly. Exercising my creative writing skills on a daily basis and seeing how it feels. I’m looking forward to this little challenge, this course in daily exposition and internal interrogation. The topics may be trivial, they may be heavy, but I can promise you this, they will always be heartfelt. I pour my heart into everything I do and in a way, this gives things more impact and emotional weight than they often deserve, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. So this challenge matters to me and I’m looking forward to embarking on this journey.

Links to my favorites: Ann Marie Loves Paper, Fresh, Rifle Paper, Jet Pens, Parcel Post, Tiffany, David Yurman, Anthropologie.

We are officially in the holiday swing and this means one thing…Holiday Shopping and Gift Guides! I am putting together my list of people who I will be buying presents for this year. I have already done some early shopping and have at least one present already for everyone on my list. Yes, congratulations are in order…there is nothing better than the peace of mind of getting a jump start on your holiday shopping. This first holiday gift guide post is geared towards the women in your life.

Because I am the queen of To-Do Lists and love filling up my calendar with events, I am a huge fan of agendas. I still love the feeling of writing things down and crossing them off so I will never become completely computer-based with my scheduling. I bought this particular agenda from Lilly Pulitzer for myself last month and may have to pick one up for one of the girls on my list this year.

This Louis Vuitton wallet is an essential item in my purse. I love its compact size and the ample space for credit cards and cash. It makes a great gift but won’t blow your holiday budget.

Candles are a wonderful gift and make great stocking stuffers. Most people don’t enjoy the soothing effect of candles because they are too often caught up in the hectic nature of life. The holidays are a great time to give your loved ones a little bit of luxury and the permission to slow down and enjoy the moment. I love these Diptyque candles for their simple and pure scents and attractive packaging.

If you are really looking to splurge on the special woman in your life (and yes, this can apply to mothers, sisters, aunts and grandmothers), this Cartier love bracelet is classic, elegant and beautiful.

I absolutely adore this Tiffany & Co. Fifth Avenue Porcelain jar. I think it would make a darling bedside table accessory and the perfect place to store your rings while sleeping.

Stay tuned for more holiday gift ideas!!

Lately I have been craving fruits! Just in the past month I have eaten about a million kiwi’s, pears and apples. I’m really craving citrus fruits, probably because we are heading into the winter and fruits are harder to come by. I read all of these great tips for adding more fruit into your diet over at Elle & Blair’s website. I am including the information below. (PS- I really want to make the rainbow fruit platter as pictured above…isn’t it adorable!)

1. Eating raw fruit for breakfast is a great way to ensure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you need to kick start your day, which will give you way more energy too!
2. Raw fruits are super easy for your body to digest, so eating them in the morning when you’re just waking up (and your metabolism is too) makes it the best time to feast on a plate of fruit.
3. Many fruits are packed with lots of fiber, which will help you feel full and satisfied until lunchtime.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a healthy and balanced breakfast should include raw fruits (or vegetables), a low fat protein, some dairy and a serving of whole grains. I think a lot of us forget about the raw fruit part even though it’s clearly super important to starting your day off on the right foot.

Here’s a few ways you can work more raw fruits into your breakfasts:

• Make a protein smoothie and throw in your favorite fruits to make it sweet!
• Add berries and bananas to your oatmeal along with some milk for an added kick of calcium.
• Have a fruity parfait! I love to make these as they’re kinda sweet and really filling too. Add your favorite fruits along with a little granola (or your favorite cereal works too) to a cup of low fat yogurt. I sometimes drizzle honey over the top if I want something a little sweeter too.
• Cook up a breakfast burrito by scrambling some eggs with cheese and wrapping it up in a whole wheat tortilla and have a side of freshly cut up fruit or an apple! Click here to check out my blog about why “an apple a day” really does help keep the doctor away!
• Slice up some banana and throw a few berries over your favorite whole grain cereal.
• One of my favorite options is to slice up an apple and a banana and have it with a side of Peanut Butter. You can even drizzle some honey over the banana for a super delicious breakfast.

Ugh! I hate that I haven’t posted here in so long. Life sometimes gets in the way, but believe me, I am BACK! Here’s what I’m obsessed with right now.

-Demi & Ashton DIVORCING! I’m proud of Demi for setting a good example. I think we are all tired of Hollywood couples (or couples, in general) sweeping things under the carpet. If someone isn’t treating you how you deserved to be treated, stand up for yourself!

-Jason Segal writing and starring in the *new* Muppet Movie! I literally can not wait to see this one. As a child, the Muppets were my favorite movies (and tv shows). I even loved the Muppet Babies cartoon on Saturday mornings.

-Breaking Dawn comes out today! I wish I were going to see it but alas, I don’t want to battle the long lines and the risk of not getting tickets. I will see it soon, hopefully!

-Holiday shopping! Yes, Thanksgiving is next week which means we are well on our way to Christmas! I have already picked out some cute holiday decorations and I’m already making lists and shopping for my family.

So what are your thoughts on the Kardashian family? On one hand I think it’s great to see “reality stars” who don’t look like Heidi Montag. (Who, by the way, recently revealed the startling news that she spends 14 hours a DAY at the gym!)

But then again, the Kardashian’s aren’t exactly “girl next door” types. And really, what are they famous for exactly? Kim got paid $300,000 for her engagement photos in PEOPLE Magazine?! And now Kourtney is on the cover of SHAPE Magazine. In the cover story, Kourtney talks about her running workout. As someone who has only just discovered running over the past year, I am always interested in reading about other runners. (I already have my favorite online runners). I like to read about the routines of runners…especially if it can help me look like THIS!

Today was a tough day. I was very emotional and overwhelmed. I was having one of those break down days when everything – everything – just seems to be going WRONG. I did my usual 3 mile walk with my mom in the morning (we walk every day). Along our walk we met the most interesting man, a landscape architect from Australia. He was fascinating. He’s doing work right around the corner from my parents house and it has been really fun to watch his progress.

Work was work and it didn’t help alleviate the stress I was under. But the sun was shining and that did help lighten my mood. What worked to really kick my bad mood was the 3 mile run I did after work. It turned my bad mood into a distant memory.

So my advice to anyone suffering from a less than stellar mood…GET MOVING! (I think I made this exact statement in yesterday’s post but it certainly bears repeating).

Just a little note to say “Hi!” by one of my favorite scrapbookers, Ann-Marie! Things like this make me wish I was a little more “crafty.” I would make cards ALL THE TIME!

I love this idea for a simple, classic summertime napkin! I found it on Martha Stewart, of course!

This week was Book Expo America in New York City. The drive down was dark, grey and rainy. I feared that our week in the city was going to be ruined. I mean seriously, does this look promising? However, I was interviewed by the lovely Tricia Romano for this Daily Beast piece during the beautiful ride.

But luckily we arrived in the city to beautifully clear skies and warm weather. We immediately gravitated towards Times Square which has really become my go-to first stop whenever I arrive in the city. We always eat at Tony’s DiNapoli because the food is delicious…although this time we were a little disappointed to find that they didn’t have Chicken Saltimbocca on the menu…but the fettucini alfredo was stellar!

One of the first celebrity sightings I had at the show was Kathie Lee Gifford…and she happened to be hugging Dr. Ruth! It was like a two-for-one! Dr. Ruth is tiny and Kathie Lee is gorgeous. Kathie Lee was there promoting her new children’s book The Legend of Messy M’Cheany.

After grabbing a copy of Elin Hilderbrand’s upcoming summer release SILVER GIRL, my sister Megan and I were delighted to find they were handing out free Corona’s for all of the weary show goers. (Side note: Megan was there promoting her upcoming anthology, DEAR BULLY, for HarperTeen.)

And of course, you can’t go to New York without visiting a deli…and the Carnegie Deli is the most famous of them all! The portion sizes were enormous and the food was out of this world. Truly a New York institution and one that lives up to all the hype.

It was a fantastic trip and BEA was as eventful and entertaining as always. There are some great books coming out this fall and I will keep you posted on all of them.

Goodbye New York…and that sweater that I LOVED from Ann Taylor’s LOFT that I got a mustard stain on from dinner on our last night. I will miss you both.

For Mother’s Day, we took my mom to one of her favorite coastal spots. We walked around, shopped, had an amazing dinner and grabbed some ice cream for desert. About halfway through our shopping it started to pour and I suddenly understood the phrase, “It’s raining sideways” because it really did seem like the rain was coming down sideways. We waited it out in a tiny antique store and then, before we knew it the sun was back out and we continued on our way.

It was a perfect day and I’m so glad I got to spend it with my mom!

 

Flowers of Spring!

The Mickey Mouse Phone

Friday consisted of cleaning out my parent’s garage and stumbling upon this little GEM! This Mickey Mouse phone was the first phone I remember. It was the “central family phone” located smack dab in the middle of our family room for my entire childhood. I didn’t think there was anything strange or abnormal about having a Mickey Mouse phone. Looking back, I realize that my friends always seemed excited to get to use my phone when calling their parents for rides home. I never realized it was at all unusual. I think I kind of love my parents for this even more!

Then I had a little adventure on my walk with my mom. (By the way, my mom and I are becoming obsessed with walking and have done it for eight consecutive days!) Today we just happened to be walking by a house that sits just along the waters’ edge. We had heard that there was going to be filming going on this week, but we didn’t really know the extent of it. So I was more than thrilled to stop, steps from my parents house, and find Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane and Joel McHale all arriving “on set” to film the movie TED. Very, very exciting! And certainly kicked our walk up a bit in terms of interesting things found on a walk. It certainly beat out the robin we saw the day before.

And finally, if you were wondering what it’s like to be a princess (er, Duchess?) well, it doesn’t seem that different from you and me. It looks like the Duchess of Cambridge is grocery shopping just days after the wedding of the century. I don’t know about you, but it kind of make me like her even more!

After yesterday’s post about The Book of Awesome and some time spent scrolling through the website that started it all, 1000 Awesome Things, I started doing something really strange. I started actively trying to think of awesome things. It wasn’t only in the period following my discovery of Neil’s book and website. It was all day long. Every where I went, everything I did, I kept trying to find awesome things, things that I would classify as bright spots in a regular, run-of-the-mill day. I found a bunch of things.

-finding good food in your refrigerator that you didn’t know was there, thus leading to an awesome lunch.

-going for a great walk (outside!) and not worrying about how many calories were being burned, the exact elevation of my heart rate and the specific duration of the exercise.

-getting all your work done before 2pm and realizing there actually are benefits to being your own boss. (see above: going for a great walk)

-realizing EXACTLY what you want to have for dinner and having the energy (and enthusiasm) to go to the grocery store and pick it up yourself.

-thinking you missed a great tv show and then realizing it hasn’t aired yet!

-knowing you have a great tv show to look forward to that night.

-getting an invitation in the mail to a place you don’t really feel like going and then realizing it falls on a day you are actually going to be out of town.

-reading the first page of a book and knowing you are going to love the whole thing, beginning to end.

-realizing that the things you stress about aren’t that big a deal and there is no such thing as a right or wrong decision.

-having a sudden sense that things really will be alright.

-figuring out how to do something on  your computer that will actually make your life easier…or at least help you do things faster.

-getting everything on your to-do list DONE.

-resurrecting something from your childhood…and knowing that every time you look at it, it will make you smile.

A recent article in the New York Times asks the question, “What’s my REAL size?” Any woman who shops online or in a mall has faced the perplexing dilemma of no two sizes being the same. I can be a perfect 8 in the Gap, a 10 in Banana Republic, a 6 in an Ann Taylor and so on. How is this possible? How can I fluctuate three sizes in one shopping excursion? Either it’s my biggest nightmare and the hot pretzel in the food court really does add ten pounds, or there is a discrepancy between companies and size charts.

Tanya Shaw is an entrepreneur working on a system to help alleviate these problems. She has created MYBestFit, a free service that “makes it easy to find clothes that fit your body.” Apparently they are popping up in kiosks in malls across the country. I don’t know how well the system works or if it might possibly cause even more anxiety for shoppers, but it does seem to be a step in the right direction of leveling the clothing size playing field. According to MyBestFit, there is no sizing standard for apparel manufacturers, they can, quite literally, play with our minds and our bodies.

Another woman pioneering this change is Cricket Lee. Lee is on a personal mission to regulate the sizing industry with her company FITLOGIC. Her system breaks down women’s bodies into three shapes: thick waist with thin hips, curvy but proportional; and thin waist with round bottom and large thighs (sounds like pear-shape to me).

But isn’t part of the fun in shopping trying on different sizes, different styles, different looks? If everything was mapped out for us perfectly, where’s the excitement? The drama? It’s like arranged marriages, sure it seems like a simple solution but does it just open the door for more problems?

I am 32 years old and running out of time. Over the past year I have been steadily building my business, adding more clients, more responsibility, and more tasks to be completed within the hours of a single day. I have two cell phones, two computers, I read 5 newspapers a day and countless online articles. In one work day I will schedule and complete at least a dozen conference calls. I work in PR so staying on top (or even a few steps ahead) of everything that is going on is imperative to my business. Weekends are spent speaking at writing and publishing events and my nights are spent researching and writing.  I also added a daily 4 mile run with the pace increasing every day.

Every year it seems that my life becomes more filled with responsibility and the time in which these tasks must be completed shrinks. Everything is moving at a faster pace and I can barely keep up, let alone grow and thrive.

And with all of this I am finding that the attention I give to the ones I love is shrinking steadily. I have less time to listen to stories or funny anecdotes. I don’t have long, drawn out conversations with friends, those have been replaced with short, clipped emails tapped out in a sliver of a free moment.  I am short on time, so I am short with people.

The words languish, indulge, relax, restore don’t exist in my life anymore. I have no patience. I am literally running out of time and I am only 32.

We truly need to slow down. But how? How when we have programmed ourselves to fill up every minute of the day with busyness? How when we read story after story about young people working night and day to develop a business model that results in multi-million dollar payouts? We are spurred on and inspired by these stories but we are killing ourselves to emulate this success. Is it time we slow down? Or does it go against everything we have been taught?

Research has found that slow thinking actually promotes and inspires creativity. A recent study found that people fighting a clock were the least creative because they were unable to truly focus and let their minds zero in on the most important and powerful ideas.

Google is one of the first companies to truly implement this slow movement. They advise their employees to devote 20% of their time to personal projects. Gmail and Adsense are two innovations that came from the 20% downtime.

I would love to see if the slow life is the way to a healthy and happy heart and a well-adjusted brain. I want to take the long, windy road instead of the fast lane. The obstacles I face, to do more and do it faster, is a common problem among young women today. Fearing the pressure to fit it all in before settling down with kids, a husband, a mortgage or fitting it all in with those added pressures of family already in place, is something that women are battling more frequently and with more intensity than ever before.

With books like Carl Honore’s IN PRAISE OF SLOWNESS and Dominque Browning’s SLOW LOVE, this is something that people are learning later in life. But what would happen if we could discover the power of slow living NOW, when we are still in the throes of building our lives, when things are just beginning? Is the slow movement more than just a theory to test? Is it the secret to happiness and fulfillment in life?

My niece picked out the above image for me to wish everyone a Happy Easter!