Loving my new cookbook by none other than Gwyneth Paltrow. I’m sure you know by now that I think she is incredible. Turns out she can cook, too. Her recipes are incredible. Slowly working my way through them…

This is my new summer bag.

This is what I’m filling it with:

Vive Sana sunblock;

Kerstin Florian lip balm with SPF 15;

the most amazing mascara ever, by Covergirl, in their waterproof formula, Very Black;

Nars powder blush in Douceur – the perfect summer shade for your cheeks;

this two-piece swimsuit, because I know I can do it;

this cover-up, in all it’s boho-chic awesomeness (summer is the time for prints and colors!);

the fold-over clutch, in white, from Clare Vivier (her bags are the only bags I will every use again – just sheer elegant simplicity);

and lastly, my new iPod Nano in graphite, loaded up with Kanye West, Blakroc and Pharrell.

Now if only it would stop snowing…

My newest obsessions:

G-Star dresses. I now have three of them. I wear them all year long. They are so flattering and in the incredible neutral colors they come in, they will remain staples in your wardrobe for years to come;

Over-sized men’s watches;

This Gypsy 05 sweatshirt, for this wacky in-between weather. I have one and am in it constantly. And this one from Bluefly is a steal;

These Mizuno running shoes. Heaven. One day and these and you will never look at your Nike tennies the same;

Unless of course, it’s this pair of Nike Tenkays. I bought mine in red. Oh my gosh, these things are amazing and will look so cute with my summer staple of grey shorts and white tanks;

And this sick pair of shoes. I’m not a heels kinda’ gal, but I am trying really hard to figure out where I can wear these babies to so that I can justify buying them. I’m thinking that I will pair them with this little white dress. And pretend that I’m a lady. Because that’s what this outfit screams to me. Oh, how I wish I could put this on and never take it off…

Another day of frustration!

Since this time last year, I’ve put on twenty pounds. I was sick and then had a long run of trying to work out my anxiety meds and it did a number on my metabolism. And then about two months ago, I found out that I had a massive vitamin D deficiency, which can apparently make it very difficult to lose weight. Additionally, all of those people out there who told me the weight would fall off of my if I went vegan? Liars! It’s been ten weeks and I can’t get anything to budge. I’m so over it.

What does a woman have to do to lose some weight around here?

Are you sensing where this is going? It’s headed straight to my other girl crush. Tracy Anderson. She has a new program out called “Metamorphosis,” and I’m hoping that between this program tailored to four specific body types (of which we will all fall into at least one of), my new diet and those insane spin classes, I’m finally going to see this muffin top disappear in time to bust out this get-up when the weather finally warms up and summer is here. Which surely will actually come, right?

It’s officially Day One of spring break week. We are about four hours in. I am already a woman on the verge… of tearing out my hair. Not sure if I am going to make it through a week of this…

Do you like Indian food as much as I do? I could live on it, and only it, for my remaining days on earth and I’d be just fine with that. If you feel the same, or even close to the same passion as I feel for this perfect cuisine, then get this cookbook. All recipes are done in a crock-pot, and they are seriously as good as a trip to my local Indian restaurant.

Oh, to die for. Delicious. Chic. Understated. The most perfect shoe ever…

I took down all the books that have made their way to a final resting place next to my bed so that I could do some deep dusting, and as I was going through them, one by one, I was struck by how different the titles were. And yet how predictable I am by that very same odd collection of bedside reading…

Mao by Jung Chang. This one is my husband’s, and although it’s been on my list forever, I actually haven’t picked it up. I went through my own Chairman Mao phase back in 2001, upon returning from a three-week tour of the country, so this title seems a bit redundant to me;

A Time to Betray.  I think this is a spy novel, and clearly belongs to my husband. But was obviously swept up with my books in a fit of cleaning rage;

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Surely you’ve read something about this book by now, right? A review? An angry letter from a reader? Well, I had to see what all the fuss is about, so this one is next on my list;

Parenting from the Inside Out. The most recent book on parenting that I’ve bought. It seems once your children are out of the toddler years, there’s really not much in the way of actual parenting books until they hit the early pre-teen years (is that was a ‘tween’ is?), but I was eager to get my hands on this one. It’s more about the parent than the child;

Are you There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.  Chelsea Handler. My secret girl crush. Enough said;

Between Parent and Child;

The Sartorialist. If you don’t check out Scott Schuman’s website daily, as I do, just get the book and prepare to drool;

Childwise. Not for me;

Clean by Alejandro Junger. I’m gearing up for a hard-core cleanse. Any day now;

A Complicated Kindness. My mother left this one behind on one of her visits. I’ve yet to get to it, but she insists it’s worthy, so… it’s on the list;

The Dukan Diet. I bought this about two years ago from Amazon UK. I hear it’s about to make it’s official state-side debut. Skip it. Seriously, it’s nothing but the Atkins Diet, with a little French snootiness thrown in to make it seem more elite than it really is: protein, protein and more protein;

Under the Dome;

This is Why You’re Fat;

Trinny & Susannah the Survival Guide.  Also a purchase from Amazon UK. Even if you’re a fan of Trinny and Susannah, as I am, you can skip this one…

That’s it for Part One of my list. Can you believe there are four more parts coming? I really need some bookshelves!

Just waiting for summer to roll in so the girls can throw on these adorable sunsuits and head out into the wilds of the mountains. At this point, it feels like summer will never be here…

There’s only one reason I’m wishing 2012 would get her a little quicker: this customized day planner. Oh, it’s just the perfect little organizer. Photos of my life, a place to keep track of appointments and it’s all wrapped up in one sleek package. It bums me out to find an organizer this lovely three months into the year, but I will definitely be back for next year’s…

Perhaps it’s just that time of the year, but I’m not feeling much motivation to do anything right now. Which is unfortunate because I have a lot of obligations to attend to. Ugh.

Trying to exercise, but bored with everything. Currently toying around with my husband’s “Insanity” series of DVDs. And let me tell you that I hear myself saying at least three times during these ridiculously intense work-outs that this is indeed insanity. Ugh.

Ordinarily when times get like this, I buy a new lip gloss or a new pair of shoes. But I can’t even muster the energy to do that. So I know I’m in a funk.

Anyone else get like this?

The winters here can be endless, and right about this time of the year is when the snow stops being pretty and starts showing it’s true colors. It’s nasty brownish colors. And it’s made even worse when I hear about other areas of the country who are already seeing those budding, even if only fleeting, signs of spring.

We have snow in our backyard until June.

My husband was at the Academy Awards and the Governor’s Ball afterwards. Sure, it was for work, but I can’t help but be a little jealous. Around all those pretty and polished people in balmy weather. And he was one of those pretty and polished people, all decked out in a very debonair tuxedo. I was at home, stuck with two girls who were on break all week. One of which was sick. By myself. I barely showered, let alone got out of my sweats.

Poor me, right? We’re all entitled to feel this way once in a while…

I love to support small businesses. But I find that I keep having to search out the next one because small businesses sometimes have the opportunity to “go big,” and then you don’t get return emails with product questions answered, and it’s beyond frustrating. Loyal on the way up, forgotten at the top.

Ugh.

That being said, Emersonmade is still my favorite small business and is expanding into apparel and her stuff is phenomenal. And I find the customer service still to be top-notch. That says a lot. Keep at it!

This Moto Jacket in waxed cotton is to-die-for. It’s a modern twist on a classic style that has stood the test of time. I am smitten. Would look so sharp all spring with skinny jeans, Chuck Taylor sneakers and a white tee-shirt.

Sharp!

Now if only Emersonmade would design an awesome tote-sized bag, I could completely get over my love-hate relationship with the designer of my former awesome tote-sized bag. Who doesn’t return emails. And who’s now gently-used awesome tote-sized bag will now be going to my half-sister in St. Louis because every time I pull it out of my closet, I gripe over how annoying it is that “go big or go home” in terms of small business can often lead to all that I despise about big business.

Yuck…

Thanks for letting me vent.

In my ongoing and life-long obsession with clogs, I must tell you about the most darling pair that I purchased for my oldest daughter this summer, on our family adventure to Vail, Colorado (where, on an aside, we took the girls to show them where mommy and Daddy were married)…

Pea has been wearing these non-stop. With tights, with socks and jeans, whatever. Even with all of the snow here. And I can’t bring myself to tell her “no,” because I totally get it.

She calls them her high-heels. I call them a safe bet since the backs of her feet are strapped in…

Love these darling bracelets. A modern spin on the friendship bracelets of my youth…

I’m not that big on St. Valentine’s Day, never have been. So when my husband told me that he’s not going to be here for this year’s, I couldn’t muster up the “boo hoo.” Seriously, in all of our years together, we’ve never gone out for that romantic candlelit dinner that you have to book two months out. Although when we first got together, he’d put together these adorable scavenger hunts for me, where each clue would be a sweet rhyme pertaining to our lives together, and I loved it! We had little money in the beginning, so it wasn’t necessarily about the gifts I’d find on the hunt, it was about the memories that his charming hints evoked. Now that was romantic…

Flash-forward to today, when we have two little girls who are all about princes and princesses and boyfriends and weddings and romance in general, and now it’s become my husband’s tradition with Pea and Coco to send them on scavenger hunts on St. Valentine’s Day. A tradition that I imagine some day they will carry on with their own children. I hope…

But, all that being said, it doesn’t mean I would not love one of these adorable necklaces with my husband’s initial dangling from it. Chic and romantic. And completely affordable. I’m not big on high-priced jewelry, so these are priced perfectly. And when layered with some of the other necklaces on this site, I’m all about it.

Make sure you check out all of the jewelry on the sonyarenee website. Personally, I am digging the Magnolia Hoop earrings and the Good Fortune bracelet and the Bebe necklace.

Just some more not-so-subtle hints there, darling husband…