Unique Baby Gift

How fun is this airplane spoon? I'm sure our little babe will be eating her rice cereal with this. Thanks Kris!

Live Strong

We are smack dab in the middle of the Tour de France and I am in love with this new Nike commercial. It gave me the chills:



It reminds me of those genius early Michael Jordan Nike ads and makes me want to buy some Nike gear and get all sporty and stuff. In case you're wondering, yes, I do stop the TiVo to rewind commercials that look intriguing and yes, this was one of them.

Hot Endorsement for a Hot New Hair Product from a Hot Curly Haired Girl

Hello Lovelies! The Girl with the Perfectly Curly Hair has written a fabulous post for us on a new hair product that she discovered. My humongous B&B shampoo and conditioner are almost out and I am definitely going to give this a try!! --- xoxo, Natalie

Greetings fellow lovers of all things cheaping!

I recently came across some fabulous products that I knew my good friend Natalie would enjoy and so I thought I would share. I have discovered a new line of hair care that is for lack of a better adjective, amazing. It's called Oribe. Basically, the guy/person who helped create the Bumble and Bumble line decided to create a new and better line with all natural/paraban-free/good for your hair stuff. It hit the market within the last year and has already had several products featured in Vogue, InStyle, Star, Fitness, Lucky, etc.

So here's my real life testimonial aka why-you-should-check-this-stuff-out:

I get my hair cut in a salon in downtown SF and my hairstylist mentioned this new product line a few months ago. Being a creature of habit, and also being the then owner of a litre bottle of B&B , I didn't think much of her recommendation. But the last time I went in, I was in the market for a new conditioner and decided to be adventurous so I started to pursue the Oribe products.

Being a marketing geek, the sleek simple but luxurious packaging totally caught my eye and made me grab the bottle for a better look and feel. Popping the cap and breathing in the unique and yet oh-so rich and yummy scent took me from "maybe" to "oh yeah". The cute little junior stylist guy (who wears skinny jeans way better than me, darn him) recommended that I try the conditioner from the volume family and swore up and down that it would provide enough moisture for my curls and that I would only need 3 peas sized drops each use. I smiled and nodded thinking "yeah right" but decided to give it a whirl because hey that's the beauty of buying a salon product - if it doesn't work, you get to exchange.

Several days later when I tried it out, I had to eat my words because 3 peas-sized drops totally did the trick. I have bought all kinds of high-end salon hair products before, but the recommended undersized portion has never been enough -until now. I was amazed. (Sidenote- I have shoulder length hair so I'm sure someone with longer hair would need more.) My hair styled great and I could totally notice a difference, especially when it came to the quality of my 2nd day hair (come on, you don't really wash your hair every day now, do you?)


The Oribe line has several "families" of hair care products- Signature, Shine, Color, Volume. Each has a shampoo and conditioner and then they have additional styling products. Apparently, all the stylists at my salon are addicted to and loving the Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray. If this helps girls stay sleek and straight in foggy San Francisco, you know that's a quality product!

So that's my plug- you must try Oribe. Technically or dollars-wise speaking it's not cheap (my 6.8fl bottle of conditioner was $39). But it is SO quality, that if you were to amortize the cost over how long the bottle would last and then if you were able to quantify the amount of increased happiness it brings you over other products, well it definitely is worth it. All I know is every time I pop the bottle in the shower, or catch a sniff of my hair, the scent and feeling reminds me of being back at the salon- a wonderful place of luxury, pampering and no crying child....And a quick mental transport like that is priceless :)

Happy Hair!
the curlyhaired girl

When strawberries are a good deal...

...you make delicious cakes. This one is light and yummy. Just be sure to double the strawberries.

Strawberry Country Cake by Ina Garten

Oops I'm late on this trend: Round Sunglasses

Last week, whilst perusing my Lucky magazine, I saw these retro round sunglasses and decided I must have them. I have been in love with the pair Glenn Close (as Patty Hewes) wears in Damages, which are a one-of-a-kind pair made especially for the actress.

I started looking around for them on the internet and found that I'm a little late on this trend. The ones featured in the magazine were Liz Claiborne and only $30.

"We're pretty sure round shades will go down as the single most eponymous accessory from the Spring 09 season and who better to provide a recession-minded gal with her pair? Well, it really doesn't get more "2009" than Isaac Mizrahi for Liz Claiborne."

Too bad they are all sold out now. This past week, I have been hunting to find these little gems. It's been very frustrating because they are almost always on back order or sold out. I have a few options I'm looking into, but I better hurry.

Ralph Lauren still has some available for $375 - but I'm feeling kinda cheap and hate to spend over $200 on sunglasses. I can't be trusted to not lose them or sit on them.


Modern Vintage Round Sunglasses by Ralph Lauren.

The Annie Glasses in Black (tortoise are sold out).

Available on Nasty Cal for $40.

UO Sunglasses from Urban Outfitters for $24 - now this is price is more my style for a limited trend that I might make me look ridiculous anyway.

UO Skyline Glasses - $24

Fred Flare has the best deal


Round Emma Sunglasses - $11 but back-ordered until August - Blerg!


Charlie Sunglasses - $11 and available now.

Be aware this shape might not work for everyone - "When Proenza Schouler introduced round sunglasses in spring 2008, the designers were actually so far ahead of the trend that they were at a disadvantage. Circular frames are not face-friendly, and usually look best on women with strong jaw lines, so the line’s initial styles were difficult to sell. But newer versions, which are slightly larger and more angular, with the stems positioned higher on the frame, have been a success."

Smoke Pours from SF Manhole and...WHAT?!...Clears Ross Store!!!

I'm not even going to tell you how many times we have shopped at the 4th and Market Ross in San Francisco, despite the fact that it has the most disgusting public restroom I have ever used. I'll spare you the details. Totally worth it for the great deals though.

From SFGate.com

(07-06) 21:10 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Employees and patrons were evacuated Monday from a clothing store on Market Street in downtown San Francisco after smoke poured from a manhole cover.

Joe Molica, a spokesman for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., said smoke was reported at about 10:45 a.m. coming from an underground vault at Fourth and Market streets. About the same time, the power went out at the Ross Dress For Less store at 799 Market.

Firefighters poured a carbon dioxide fire suppressant into the manhole to smother any potential fires, Molica said. It was unclear whether there was a fire.

As many as two dozen employees and customers were briefly evacuated from the Ross store, witnesses said. Nobody was injured, Molica said, and the cause of the problem was under investigation.

4th of July Roundup

Oakley Rodeo, water slides, hike to Lake Blanche, fireworks at The Country Club and neighborhood parades where this lovely little 5 year old tossed out candy. All in all, a very fun weekend.

Bad Girls Book Club Report: The Hunger Games

I don't know if we've mentioned it before, but we belong to the Bad Girls Book Club: where half the people don't show up, and the other half haven't read the book. (For the record, I am actually only TWO books behind for this year and I am still heartbroken that I missed the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies tea party, because I heard it was spectacular.)

THE POINT IS, we all love to read. Whenever we are making idle chit chat with people, whether it be at Bunko or a Botox party (what?!), we like to ask what people have read lately that they just can't put down. You know those books, the ones that you stay up until 3:00 AM to finish. For us, those include The Firm (John Grisham), Lightning (Dean Koontz) and all seven Harry Potter books (JK Rowling).

Well, thanks to the Bad Girl's Book Club, we have found our next can't-put-it-down-stay-up-until-3:00 AM-to-finish-fantasize-about-a-mild-cold-as-an-excuse-to-stay-in-bed-all-day-must-read: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Stephen King, one of my favorite EW critics, summarized it beautifully:

"As negative Utopias go, Suzanne Collins has created a dilly. The United States is gone. North America has become Panem, a TV-dominated dictatorship run from a city called the Capitol. The rest of Panem is divided into 12 Districts (the former 13th had the bad judgment to revolt and no longer exists). The yearly highlight in this nightmare world is the Hunger Games, a bloodthirsty reality TV show in which 24 teenagers chosen by lottery — two from each District — fight each other in a desolate environment called the ''arena.'' The winner gets a life of ease; the losers get death. The only ''unspoken rule'' is that you can't eat the dead contestants. Let's see the makers of the movie version try to get a PG-13 on this baby.

Our heroine is Katniss Everdeen (lame name, cool kid), a resident of District 12, which used to be Appalachia. She lives in a desperately poor mining community called the Seam, and when her little sister's name is chosen as one of the contestants in the upcoming Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. A gutsy decision, given the fact that District 12 hasn't produced a Hunger Games winner in 30 years or so, making them the Chicago Cubs of the postapocalypse world. Complicating her already desperate situation is her growing affection for the other District 12 contestant, a clueless baker's son named Peeta Mellark. Further complicating her situation is her sorta-crush on her 18-year-old hunting partner, Gale. Gale isn't clueless; Gale is smoldering. Says so right on page 14.

The love triangle is fairly standard teen-read stuff; what 16-year-old girl wouldn't like to have two interesting guys to choose from? The rest of The Hunger Games, however, is a violent, jarring speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense and may also generate a fair amount of controversy. I couldn't stop reading, and once I got over the main character's name (Gale calls her Catnip — ugh), I got to like her a lot. And although ''young adult novel'' is a dumbbell term I put right up there with ''jumbo shrimp'' and ''airline food'' in the oxymoron sweepstakes, how many novels so categorized feature one character stung to death by monster wasps and another more or less eaten alive by mutant werewolves? I say more or less because Katniss, a bow-and-arrow Annie Oakley, puts the poor kid out of his misery before the werewolves can get to the prime cuts.

Collins is an efficient no-nonsense prose stylist with a pleasantly dry sense of humor. Reading The Hunger Games is as addictive (and as violently simple) as playing one of those shoot-it-if-it-moves videogames in the lobby of the local eightplex; you know it's not real, but you keep plugging in quarters anyway. Balancing off the efficiency are displays of authorial laziness that kids will accept more readily than adults. When Katniss needs burn cream or medicine for Peeta, whom she more or less babysits during the second half of the book, the stuff floats down from the sky on silver parachutes. And although the bloody action in the arena is televised by multiple cameras, Collins never mentions Katniss seeing one. Also, readers of Battle Royale (by Koushun Takami), The Running Man, or The Long Walk (those latter two by some guy named Bachman) will quickly realize they have visited these TV badlands before.
But since this is the first novel of a projected trilogy, it seems to me that the essential question is whether or not readers will care enough to stick around and find out what comes next for Katniss. I know I will. But then, I also have a habit of playing Time Crisis until all my quarters are gone."

Oh We Love the Jewelry at Forever 21

I popped-in at Forever 21 this week and found so many fabulous jewelry pieces! Accessories add such a boost to plain outfits and Forever 21 makes it affordable to stretch your budget each season with all kinds of glam. You just can't beat their rock bottom prices on trendy necklaces, earrings, bracelets, belts and headbands.

P.S. I never get rid of accessories - it's the one thing I store for the ages. They always come back and provide loads of entertainment as the years go by.

Here is what I picked up:

Opaque Jewel Drop Necklace - $15.80 this one is a conversation piece - people really notice it and ask where I got it.



Laser Cut Medallion Earrings - $4.80. I bought these in two colors - they are amazingly light on your ear.



Bead Flower Necklace - $9.80 - I wear this layered with the dangle necklace below.



Floral Dangle Leaf Necklace - $7.80

Gum and Mints from My Childhood

Nat brought me a little surprise from a local grocery store - old fashioned gum that reminded me of my Grandpa Lee. He always had this on hand to give me and my siblings each time we saw him. It's nice that some things are still around so I can bore my kids and grand kids with anecdotes from the good ole' days......These seem to be available on a regular basis - try them out. They are unusual compared with the gum of today.

He also always had a ready supply of Sen-Sen - I still love it too! My favorite place to pick this up is at The Cinegrill in downtown Salt Lake. It's perfect after one of their delicious Hot Corned Beef Sandwiches with Cinegrill's Tossed Green Salad. Yum!

The Lollieladies

I recently discovered the gorgeous party concepts from Lollipop Events and Designs. Their style and creativity is inspiring. I wish I could throw parties like this.

That's Some SNUGGLY Baby

I am crazy about the smell of new Snuggle Creme fabric softener with jojoba essence.

I have used this on our laundry for several months and more recently on all the baby clothes. Now when I smell it, it conjurs up visions of my sweet little baby.

G's Cowgirl Nursery

Welcome to Baby G's Cowgirl Nursery

The crib bedding and cowhide skin rug came from The Cowboy Christmas Gift Show in Las Vegas. The rug is fantastic because nothing can stain it. Nothing.


Since the nursery is a place where I have to spend a lot of time, I wanted a very comfortable chair. And I love this one. It is the TRYP chair from the Storytime Furniture series.


A TV in the nursery keeps me entertained during feeding times.

The skull might be a little scary, but I love it. It was the first thing purchased for the room.
The walls are venetian plaster done by The Zander Company

Thanks for letting me share G’s nursery with you!

Better Off Ted - New Episodes Start Tomorrow!

Do you like Arrested Development? 30 Rock? The Daily Show? The Office? Little Britain? Flight of the Concords? Basically what I'm asking is, are you awesome? Then you should check out Better Off Ted. New episodes start tomorrow night on ABC. Better yet, go to abc.com and watch free episodes right now.

My Babe

She's done it again. Jodi of A Yummy Life Photography has taken some adorable pictures of my beautiful baby girl.