The BEST Accessory for $30

I have received many compliments, some from absolute strangers on my smile. It always catches me by surprise. I suppose it shouldn't, I mean, my parents did pay a lot of money so I'd have absolutely perfect teeth.

What I hear a lot of is how impressively white my teeth are. I wish I could say they are natural, but they aren't! Teeth whiteners!!!!

Having pearly white teeth is your best accessory. And not only will strangers comment, but your dentist will too. Receiving a compliment from the dentist is the best. It is so much better than being scolded for not flossing.

So for the low, low price of $30 you can get teeth amazingly white too. I really like Crest Whitestrips and Listerine Whitening. You can get both in a generic form at CVS and Target. The generic types work well too. Although, I've had some problems removing the dissolving strip from the generic. You can always check the manufacturer's website for coupons too! We love coupons in our house!

So go forth and whiten! Cause you're never fully dressed without a (white) smile! ;)

Get those legs ready for fall!

Nope, no typo. Thick tights, long cardigans, and short skirts are "in" for fall.

Check out the gray skirt from Tahari. I love the gray and bronze together. The bronze color gives the outfit some warmth. Dare I say, this is even Thanksgiving dinner appropriate? The boots are super duper cool. And channeling Rachel Zoe, this jacket is to die for. I have a few (too many) jackets right now, but this one is something special.

DVF added a few short numbers to her fall collection. This metallic skirt paired with a very lady like blouse and black tailored jacket is super smart looking. The look is sweet and sassy, very DVF. And what I love about this outfit is how easy it would be to take each piece and make a half dozen super cute outfits for work and play.

This outfit by Cynthia Steffe is too cute. The thick high stockings are perfect with this super short dress. And again, lots of gray and mushroom. Too bad it's not more socially acceptable to wear stockings in this manner. (Damn you Britney Spears and your music videos.)

Just this fall though I saw JCrew come out with little ankle stockings to be worn with skirts and dresses. Perhaps we are going to see a resurgence of stockings. It sure would be nice. Tights are great and all, but let's face it, who puts on a pair of tights and feels cool? They go up past your belly button, eww... Even the low rise tights are frumpy.

I'm ready to bring sexy back this fall. Who's with me?

Tis the Season

The weather is blah. I am bored. St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner! I am giddy thinking about the rounds of Guinness I will be ordering.

St. Patrick's Day--beer, potatoes, fun. "And it's no, nay, never. No, nay, never, no more..." You've got the urge to clap, right?!

In honor of the cold, my heritage, and my love for anything with an alcohol content, I give you this delicious recipe to bide the time:

Take a bottle of Baileys and pour it into a glass with ice.

I like to call this Baileys over ice. Ha.

House hunting, snow, etc.

We arrived back in Snowington, DC on Tuesday. Surprise, surprise, the place looks the same. Snow where snow should not be. Bathroom ceiling STILL leaking. Ugh...

And unfortunately, no one wants to sell us their house and our landlord has not fixed the bathroom. I have no idea how many weeks it has been since we've been to an open house or toured a home. It has been many, many weeks. And we have been telling the landlord about the bathroom that is literally falling apart for at least six months now. I have about had it.

A friend in DC recently got a gig working for a PAC. Now I'm thinking maybe that's what we should do. Say screw you Washington, your overpriced everything, and your crappy service and food. We aren't staying here! Good riddance! We're moving out, and working for a PAC, and we're never, ever, coming back!!!

This may or may not happen though. Probably won't. I don't want to get my hopes up anyway.

So until the snow melts and we are moved out of apartment hell, I am keeping a tally of good things to come: a short trip to New Hampshire to visit my sisters, a visit from my sister in early March, St. Patrick's Day, and the Red Sox playing the Nationals on April 3rd.

Folds, Pleats, Ruffles, and More

Looking through the Fall 2010 collections I am noticing some big trends--interesting collars, folds in shirts, asymmetrical tops, mini skirts, and menswear inspired pants.

When the temperature drops and the wool comes out, it becomes a bit difficult to accessorize. You've got on a turtle neck and cardigan, or a button-up with a cable knit sweater. What space do you have left for necklaces and bracelets? And who has time with back-to-school, Halloween, Thanksgiving? The lazy summer days are long gone as is the time to layer on your favorite accessories.

Our problems are solved with these gorgeous tops! Who needs a necklace when you have a beautifully tailored top. This gem by Badgley Mischka provides the warmth you need for a cool fall day and enough drama that the piece can be worn without the crutch of necklace.

And I love the open toe shoes with gray tights. It is a pretty and practical look. And the bag--covetable!

And check out this layer look from Ralph Lauren. Um, hello, I love you! The lace, ruffles, and floral print, all done in a dark color that turns this girly girl look into BADASS. I'm ready to curl up at the local bar with a piece of apple pie, bourbon, and the World Series right now!

The pants here would look fabulous on a tall girl. For the shorties out there, myself included, I would probably pair this top with a fitted trouser with a wider leg. You'll get the same look without looking "round".

What I am loving most about this fall's fashion is versatility of the colors and styles. These pieces can easily be paired with jeans, leggings, and dress pants. And there are a lot of neutral colors being used too. Mushroom and gray are huge again. So don't beat on those gray boots too much this winter! You're gonna wanna wear them again!

Fashion Week - Yay!

We are in the midst of NY Fashion Week. I have been trying to keep up with all the new fabrics and colors. I want to give you all some information you can put to use. So give me a day or two to scrub off the Southwest grime and review the collections. I see a mini series here!

First off, we aren't ready to buy fall clothes. Heck we aren't ready to buy spring clothes. I should probably look at what the designers did back at the September show while I'm at it. And I have to say I am not really looking for color variations so much. Nope. I want to see if we're going with ruffles or pleats, tailored or boyfriend fit, floral or plaid.

For an immediate fix, you can get all the latest and greatest at www.mbfashionweek.com/newyork/. Have fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sitting in our condo in Florida with my Valentine. She's got blonde hair, likes wine, salsa, and chips. Hehe.

Our husbands are at the race. So we went to the spa! Last night we were told about our scheduled appointments, made by our husbands. And get this, they made the appointments weeks ago! They are thoughtful guys. So at 9:45am we arrived at the spa, put on our floor length robes, and the adventure began!

Before today, I'd never had a massage or a facial. The facial was my favorite. I think I had no less than five different potions wiped, steamed, and sprayed on my face and neck. I was even shocked a few times with this wand thinger (that's what she said). I was later told it helped to diminish sun spots. Cool!

It is now 7pm. We are waiting for the boys to come home so we can go out to our fancy dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. We ate there last night too. The salad bar was that amazing though. Maybe the guys will share the Valentine's special again, like they did last night. Yup, two men, one plate of wings, two racks of ribs, and one chocolate cake.

They better get here soon, or we might just finish that box of wine and start in on the Bud Lite.

Shake and bake.

Rides and Stomach Olympics

I am in sunny, cold Florida! Hey, at least there's no snow on the ground.

Yesterday, Craig and I went with our friends to Islands of Adventure. We had a lot of fun. Got the $20 all you can eat wristband. And we went on a majority of the rides. My favorite was the Spider-Man 3-D ride. Craig really liked The Hulk rollercoaster. And we all liked the food. Well, it was actually just so-so, but we ate all we could and brought back with us a ton of chocolate chip cookies.

So here's the deal, if you going to the Orlando area, and you're not bringing a small child, go to Universal. Yeah, Disney is cool. You've got Mickey and the princesses, but there aren't a whole lot of rides at Disney World or Epcot for us big kids.

So you go to Universal Studios, and you have a few options:

A) Get a day pass at one of the parks and buy the $20 meal wristband (aka Stomach Olympics).

B) Get the 2-park, 1-day pass. No meal pass. You're gonna want to spend your time going from ride to ride. Get a pretzel or hotdog to eat while you're in transit. Also look into the line express upgrade. At 9:30am, we weren't dealing with long lines, but by 3pm it was a 45 minute wait for most rides.

C) Get 2-park, 2-day pass with the meal wristband.

I am sure there are other possibilities. They also have a drink cup you can purchase (drinks must be purchased separately). You've gotta carry that thing all over the park though. And unless you don't mind renting a locker at each ride, I would advise against doing this.

Oh, one more thing, purchase your tickets online! They are cheaper online than at the gate. And print off your ticket at home. This will alleviate waiting in another line.