J Crew steals...if only they made my sicky go away...

I missed yesterday, and am home sick again today (super "sicky" as I often say) but J. Crew's update made me feel a little better:

J CREW IS HAVING A 20% OFF SALE~

What did I buy? I stink at saving...

J Crew Sale Steals by uclabelle featuring J Crew

Props to the mom....

"God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers."
-- Jewish proverb

My mom deserves extra props. In preparation to move to Cambridge, I moved in with her, and ever since she has be even more helpful...including packing lunches, bringing up snacks for Gossip Girl, and helping me eat more healthy and give up my other vices...my lunches include adorable notes as well.

She even irons ;) which helps me perk up my outfits some days!

Pics of my heart-shaped crackers from my mom:


A random note from my lunch last week:


An outfit from last week:


Snack time during Gossip Girls:

A perfect day for a shower...

“A baby is God's opinion that life should go on.”-Carl Sandburg

Today I celebrated one of my best friend's baby shower. It was a smaller group of us (more pic to come later) at The Raymond for a tea party. It was fantastic. Great tea, wonderful food, and the most precious thing to celebrate...the upcoming arrival of my "niece"...

Below are a few pics from my Sunday. I drove the guest of honor two hours (to and from) and was so stressful after being responsible for their well-being, I am now enjoying and de-stressing at home!







p.s. I am proud I kept it together considering I was getting a cold...

Following my friend's blogs....

1. Three names I go by...
*Danielle
*Dani
*D and Scout (so four)

2. Three places I have lived...
* SF Bay Area, CA
* Los Angeles, CA
* New York, NY

3.Three of my idols...
* My parents
* My grandparents
* Jackie Kennedy

4. Three things I Like to Look at...
* Disneyland
* Jewelry
* Christmas Trees

5. Three (of the most favorite) places I've been...
* Hawaii (Fairmont, Big Island; Westin, Maui; Four Seasons; Maui)
* Disneyland (all times)
* 15 Harrison Way

6.Three of my proudest accomplishments...
* Listening only to myself and enrolling at Foothill College at 16
*Graduating UCLA and going on to great masters programs at Columbia and Penn
*Getting into Cambridge for a PhD

7. Three things I love to eat...
* Mac and Cheese by Kraft
*Egg on Toast
*Peroshkis

8. Three things I want to do someday...
* Go to Rome (finally)
* Get my PhD
* Buy my parents a huge house on the ocean (or for my mom, in the trees, with nothing around!)

9. Three things I am looking forward to this year
* UCLA Commencement (for my brother)
* Moving to England
* Finishing a semester ;) with good marks!

Preparing for change...

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future- JFK

Perhaps this belongs in my From California to Cambridge forum...but I feel like leaving it here. As my brother and friends prepare to graduate, others move, and are having kids, as cousins prepare to move, and as I plan on living in England, each day brings me closer, and closer to change. Is JFK right? If I look to the past, and enjoy the present, shall I really miss the future? As a historian by training, I disagree with him. It is the looking to the past, and enjoying the present, that give us glimpses and desires for the future. They are lenses to look to the future.

My past? Filled with ups and downs, magical moments and triumphs to tears and defeats. None, not a single one, would I change. My present? still filled with magic, in the form of stars, sand, sounds of waves crashing, warmth, and of course, some shopping ;) but it is also filled with stress, arguments, and fears (which ALWAYS bring out of the worst in people). Future? Unknown.

For now, there are bonfires in Newport Beach, working on Saturdays which turned out to end with a stroll in the park and a car show, snuggle time, outdoor shopping malls in the sun, and of course, time with friends in the evening (like I did last night when playing Creationary).

To prepare for the change I know a few things remain certain: I am loved. I have pictures to bring on my journey, and for the time being, I am learning to de-clutter :)

Additional pics from the weekend:

A Good Week...

This has been, in summary, a good week, despite the rough start on Monday. I am becoming more thankful for my job, friends, family, and fortunes...I am also starting to get excited about my coming move to England (although the missing of my friends and family will be hard)...

This week was filled with flowers (both at home, and work)...and nothing is better than being surrounded by beautiful, FRESH FLOWERS :) I am lucky.






Friday culminated with a work bonfire with staff and PAAs (student-workers). Here is a pic...(the ones with all of us is on another's camera!)




I cannot remember the last time I cooked a hot dog over a fire, nor made Smores...my friend Jenna and I drove home thankful for the evening. Unfortunately, I was too tired to join her and her girlfriend at Disneyland after...instead, I fell asleep at 9PM!

And the winner is...

True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 8 Result: 3

Since I have your contact...I will e-mail you for your address :)

CONGRATS!

Today I was called "classless"...

It hurt. I try, but I guess I have some shortcomings.

"The greatest victory has been to be able to live with myself, to accept my shortcomings. ...I’m a long way from the human being I’d like to be. But I’ve decided I’m not so bad after all." -Audrey Hepburn

I guess I am searching for the great victory in life...

Weekend Re-Cap

The weekend was long; I am exhausted. It took me a minute to even remember what I did Friday night, but it was in fact spent with my lovely mother on a shopping trip late into the evening. What did I purchase? Nothing. It didn't matter, the time spent was priceless.

Saturday was spent doing all sorts of un-planned activities...first, shopping again, this time with Mike. Then a very good 'ol friend invited me to have two tickets to Hairspray. Of course, it started in less than an hour from the time she called, so we rushed to get the tickets and go to the performing arts center in Orange County. It was fun, but not my cup-of-tea. I then went with my dearest friend to have some drinks and go to a stand-up comedy show. It was love.

Today was my "rest" day...I organized a little, got some errands done (tanning booth, yes--bad for the skin-- and then eyebrow appointment to shape 'em up), and saw a family movie capped off with dinner (steak my mom made---as my dad is out of town in Taipei). Of course, I did spend Sunday for myself, and excluded some fun activities planned and un-planned with my best friend, and then skipped on another important activity with my other friend...and the guilt is starting to settle in.

However, nothing (at this time) beats a clean Dani (after a shower), a candle, a good book, and of course, my blog. At least I know this weekend showed that above else, I have great family and friends. I am loved.

*Remember to enter my giveaway if you haven't yet*

And I did my best...

I know, I know, I vowed not to purchase anything for the month. A goal to save some money. I failed. Thanks to Anthropologie. Do I get any sympathy or receive forgiveness since the clothing was colorful? And the books, informative.

Included is a picture of the J.Crew yellow sweater I bought on sale last month (I would show the copper dust Italian Cashmere I also bought as mentioned in a previous post but was wearing it today!)...and a new green top, and...straight legged denim (haven't had them since the early 90s!).

I also purchased a ton of reading materials. This includes the new InStyle (my subscription ran out), People Sytle Issue, I Love Your Style : How to Define and Refine Your Personal Style and then the four-part series by Winston Churchill (hey, I am moving to England, I should know my new country, right?)...



DO NOT FORGET TO JOIN THE GIVEAWAY MENTIONED BELOW (AND PROPS TO GIGI FOR PROMOTING IT!)***IF YOU ALREADY HAVE READ BOTH BOOKS, YOU GET A $15 GIFT CARD TO BARNES & NOBLE****

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

I have been working a bit harder on updating my blog more often...and I understand the topics range from personal, to shopping, to beauty product reviews, so you never know just what I am going to talk about...and I hope my readers are still with me.

To reward you loyal readers I have decided to do another giveaway!

I have done them before, giving new gifts of Breakfast at Tiffany, J.Crew jewelry and then my favorite Origins products...this time, I am giving away BRAND NEW (unopened) books. There is just one winner, but the winner picks between two of my recent favorites:

1) Chasing Harry Winston

2) Summer at Tiffany

***Yes, you get to pick and I will have Barnes and Noble wrap it and send it to you!

Rules:

1) To play you must be a follower of the blog
2) You must post a comment in this section describing your favorite book!

***If you can, please post about my giveaway on your blog :) I would REALLY appreciate it!

Winner will be decided on Thursday, April 15th at 8PM PST

Class never ages...

According to a letter Audrey Hepburn once wrote to Tiffany & Co on their 150th anniversary, she stated that the store's beauty, kindness, ect remains unchanged...and she closes with "class never ages". I couldn't agree more.

As ALL of you know, Tiffany & Co is my favorite jeweler. I have red boxes (Cartier), dark blue ones (Harry Winston), and then over 30 little Tiffany Blue boxes (which actually are dark blue, but with an outer Tiffany Blue outside box)...and nothing excites me more than a quick trip to Tiffany.

Over two weeks ago, while getting a haircut, the stylist accidentally cut the chain of my Tiffany locket off. It assumed to have fallen into the drain. The stylist was VERY unhelpful, saying she wasn't responsible...and then sent me on my way. I cried. The locket held pictures of my grandparents...

I did still have the chain, so I went to the store, tears welling in my eyes (yes, a bit over dramatic) and asked to pay to at least repair the chain. However, the head manager (whom I know pretty well) saw me, I told him the situation and when I was about to leave after getting complimentary repair service, he presented me with another blue box...inside? a new locket. He said "you are one of my favorite customers, and no one leaves here sad". I do shop there a lot (and have a Tiffany Blue Card for larger purchases), but never expected this...

Audrey was right...class doesn't age.

Forward ever, backward never...

My Baba (short for Babushka, aka Grandma in Russian) always said "forward ever, backward never"). I often think of this when I am going through a slight "depression" phase. Unfortunately, I have been experiencing these phases often, despite having purchased preppy upbeat colored clothing, and surrounding myself with pretty things and lovely people...

Instead of dwelling on the past mistakes I may or may not have made, and focusing on being sad (for no reason, in particular), I think about her quote and of course, the more infamous one:

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving"-Albert Einstein

Too bad I have yet to learn how to ride a bike (no joke).

Easter Re-Cap

Too much went on to actually blog a large amount on my Easter. Sufficient to say, it went well. We HANDMADE all of the dishes from scratch (including muffins, quiches, ect for breakfast and all the Russian dishes for lunch and dinner). We had my brother and his girlfriend (whom is cool) come, and on Sunday evening, I brought one of my best friends her FIRST Easter basket (her family never celebrated)...pics are below!

Yes, cooking wasn't my favorite thing ;)

New beginnings...

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”-Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)




Easter, and eggs, signify new beginnings...and I suppose I could not imagine a more perfect time to focus on this, than now. After a year (a year on the Liturgical calendar) of heartbreaks, challenges, ups, and downs...I am excited about a new year. After a horrendous day, coloring Easter eggs with the family, and prepping to bake generations old Russian recipes from my great-Babushka, were a great comfort (of course, the recipes are partly in Russian---wish us much luck!)



And what better way to color eggs than with a Lilly-themed design? WHILE WEARING LILLY!

So I go to sleep peacefully, and early, having realized that this Sunday represents a special Sunday for me; beyond being my beloved cousin's birthday, it is probably my last Easter at home for the next four years...so I look forward to cherishing it with my close family and friends (whom are coming over...).

Seneca (my favorite philosopher) could not have been more right...this new beginning signifies the end period of some great accomplishments, beautiful and priceless memories, personal challenges, and internal changes...

On this Good Friday, I would also like to take a moment to delve into my Roman Catholic roots and thank God for his sacrifices...and be thankful for all that I have, or had...and only wish I had spent more time appreciating everything...

HAPPY EASTER PREP FOR NEW BEGINNINGS! AND ENJOY THE COLOR ;)

The beauty of a blog...

There is the innate beauty of blogging. Freedom of speech (so to speak), therapy, joy, intellectual stimulation (to a degree), ect. all enjoyed with the simple act of typing...slowly, alone, from the comfort of my bed (where I am now, although I evidently blog at work, on certain occasions which is bad, I know).

An added benefit is being able to reflect on previous posts or moods. I have gone from happy, to sad, to angry, and back again...over the course of a year (plus). Today is one of the days where I want to post about struggles...however I find it ironic to do so after so many "happy" posts. Afterall, I hate to be a buzz kill. But, it is my blog, right? And, I should be able to share my feelings (even if it makes me look bi-polar)? Well then...

Today at work was AWFUL. Once a week, for half an afternoon we work the reception desk. This has led me to the conclusion that receptionist are the most under-valued, yet most difficult job, out there...anyway, usually we have help (in the form of student-workers). Mine was gone this week...which led me to "brave the storm alone". It was just...horrible..I missed my partner-in-crime more than I could imagine...and was desperate for help (luckily, my BFF also is my co-worker, and she rescued me towards the end).

It made me realize how precious my true job actually is...even after the horror of servicing frustrated students for 4 hours, I can sit back and be thankful that for the rest of the week, I sit in a beautiful office, and have appointments...

So as I de-stress...I guess I am looking at the positive...and not the negative...shows mature growth, no? Perhaps I am not a buzz kill, after all...

;)