Ah June! The summer months are upon us. But before we move forward, I must reflect on the month that has passed. For on a certain day in May, I always turn a year older. To celebrate my 44 years on Planet Earth, I created a list of 44 Things I Love.
Now I will forego mentioning my family, especially my nieces and nephews who I absolutely adore. That would be too easy. In the spirit of disclosure, I don’t receive any money from the products listed here with the exception of Party Lite as I am a PL consultant. Here’s the list in no particular order.
Dark chocolate. Okay, maybe that was a given for those who know me.
A nice cup of tea, preferably English Breakfast Tea or Afternoon Tea. Yes, I’m a bit boring.
Decorating magazines. This is the one thing I could hoard if I hoarded. The British ones are even more fun since the Brits don’t seem to be afraid of color.
Journals. I love the possibility and beauty of the blank lines waiting for my humble words. I have to stop myself from buying too many.
Mary Kay Microdermabrasion. I’ve used this for several years after a friend began selling it, and I love it. I use it once or twice a week.
Gay Boyfriend Posse. Every single woman over the age of 30 should have at least one gay boyfriend. Growing up, I was scolded many times for being sassy. A college friend told me he liked how sassy I was. Suddenly, the word took on new meaning, a good meaning, and I discovered that being sassy was a great thing to be. I don’t know how I would live without my posse, and they have always seen things in me that I never knew existed. We have what communication types call “authentic conversations” since we tell each other the truth.
Crave Cupcakes. Such a delightfully evil place! For my actual birthday, my brother picked me up a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. I also like their Red Velvet, Dark Chocolate, Coconut, Key Lime … well, you get the idea.
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. It’s my comfort food. Throw in my mom’s roast, and we have a triple crown winner.
The Container Store. No surprise here, but I do love prowling the aisles to stir up my creative juices.
In Place Desktop File Sorter. This is one of my favorite organizing tools, and I have one at work and home.
Entertainment Weekly. I’ve been subscribing to EW since it practically began, and it’s my source for the latest on pop culture. It makes me look brilliant.
iPad and iPhone. Bloody brilliant devices.
Dropbox. My favorite cloud technology is Dropbox, where I can store my files and photos and access them wherever I am.
Evernote. The Evernote CEO describes Evernote as a digital brain, and I agree and love it.
Lola by Marc Jacobs. I discovered this perfume at Ulta, and I like it.
Ice cream on a hot day. Always chocolate for me!
Edna Buchanan’s books. When I was a police reporter in Galveston, Texas, I discovered Edna’s “The Corpse Had a Familiar Face”. She has turned to writing to fiction as well, and I was thrilled when I got to meet her twice.
History. I’m a sucker for history – books, movies and TV shows. We can learn a great deal from our own history – no matter how ugly it is – so we can change our future.
Brother P-Touch Labelmaker. Love it! And I use it.
Paint. Since buying my house, I’ve refreshed several things with a little spray paint. It’s amazing how painting a room can transform it. It’s the single best way to change your space.
Party Lite. I liked their candles so much that I became a consultant. For someone with allergies, I like how their candles don’t make me sneeze, and my favorite scents are Bamboo Mist, Black Orchid and Ginger Pumpkin. Their candleholders are multi-functional – an important element for me. It’s a quality-over-quantity thing.
Aussie Three Minute Miracle. An oldie but a goodie, and it makes my hair so soft.
Kelly Rae Roberts artwork. Very inspiring.
Etsy. You have a bevy of small business owners at your fingertips, and I always find unique gifts for the holidays or lovely items for myself. Thanks to Etsy, I’ve discovered artists Corid and The Dreamy Giraffe. For pretty jewelry pieces for gifts, I also love Karmelidesigns and Tzaddishop.
Kathy Womack’s Wine and Women Series. I just love her use of color, and you can never go wrong with a group of friends in ball gowns. I discovered her several years ago at the Bayou Arts Festival.
Thirty-One Bags. I received one bag for a Christmas gift, and I bought one at a friend’s party. They’re great bags, very sturdy and very colorful. I use one for all my tools.
Revenge. This new TV show has been a great deal of cheesy fun.
Office Space. Classic movie about office life. Watch it, and you will suddenly want to wear some flair and own a red Swingline stapler.
Casablanca. One of my favorite old movies.
Philadelphia Story. My other favorite old movie.
Goodwill. As I’ve lost weight, I’ve found a few transition pieces there to supplement my wardrobe. When they became too big, I donated them back. I’ve also found a couple of pieces for my house that I revived with spray paint.
The City of Houston’s large green recycling cans. When I bought my house, my neighborhood was piloting the recycling cans. I can toss in any paper, boxes, glass and plastics without sorting. I wish everyone in Houston had them.
Savvy Auntie. I met Melanie Notkin, the founder of Savvy Auntie, on Twitter, and as an Auntie myself, I love her desire to help women who are Aunties, Godmothers or just love the kids in their lives. I write for her site as The Organized Auntie. For the Auntie in your life, pick up her book. By the way, Auntie Day is July 22nd.
Thin Mints. I have loved these ever since I was a Girl Scout myself. Yummy!
Bobble. My Bobble water bottle draws quite a few questions. I like how I can filter plain tap water since I’m not into buying expensive bottled water. I noticed the website and Target both have the Bobble pitcher too, but I use a Pur water pitcher at home.
The First 48. I’m a bit addicted to watching this show on A&E devoted to following police detectives while investigating homicides. The saddest part of the show is seeing the waste of human potential. You have victims who have lost their lives for essentially stupid reasons by perpetrators who have irrevocably messed up their lives.
The Ballerina Project. Check out these beautiful photos of lithe ballerinas posing among nature and urban environments. So clever!
Noteshelf app. I love this note-taking app since you can write on your iPad with the rubber-tipped stylus. When I attended a conference at the beginning of May, I had so many people ask me what app I was using, and I wound up doing mini-tutorials between breakout sessions. I also came back with 32 pages of notes. Now that we upgraded to iPad 2’s at work, I’ve discovered you can take a photo with your iPad and insert it into your notes.
Scooby Doo and The Penguins of Madagascar. Yes, I know I’m a grown woman, but I still love watching the old and new versions of Scooby-Doo. Those wily penguins from the Madagascar movies are hilarious too.
Time Management Ninja. I love Craig Jarrow’s site filled with great productivity tips.
My therapist. The world would be a far different place if we all had therapy. You can tell watching the news that many world leaders really need it.
Pinterest. I love this virtual pinboard site as well as many of my friends. So many shiny objects there.
A great massage, facial or pedicure. Sometimes you just need to indulge and pamper yourself. If you can’t take care of anyone else unless you take care of yourself.
Positive people. Life is too short to surround yourself with toxic and negative people, and I make sure I spend quality time with those who are positive, supportive and inspiring.
