Hello friends! Welcome to my new monthly blog post where I will introduce you to some of my favorite things including beauty products or tools, favorite books, new binge worthy television shows, trends in fashion, favorite wines, or even some of my favorite household items.
This will be a place for you to give me some feedback as well regarding some of your favorite things. I'm always open to try new products, new books that you find interesting, or even a new Bravo series that is a complete train wreck but fun to watch. So, let's swap some fun things and get to know each other better.
Going back to June/July last year, once my husband and I felt good about breaking quarantine to include our bestie couple (Definition: the couple that married couples hang out with the most) we would do a small dinner gathering on Friday nights at our house followed by a game of some sorts. Two games have become favorites and at the risk of sounding like one of those old, boring, married couples, we really have fun hanging out, drinking wine, and playing these two games.
The Smart Ass Game is a test of knowledge about random things, but it is also based on how quickly you can recall the information. To win this game you not only have to be correct with your answer, but the quickest with it as well. Similar to Jeopardy. It's a lot of fun, but also very humbling when you realize just how much you don't know about specific subjects. We all have or strengths right?
The 40th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit is similar to all the other versions with one exception. In this version the questions cover the span of the last 40 years and for specific questions you get questions from a specific year within that time frame. Say you're really good at Pop Culture facts and especially from 1985 (Hello MTV!) well, then you're going to want that subject and year as often as you can. It's apparently a popular version as it was sold out at Christmas time but it has been restocked now at Amazon.
A couple of my new favorite things happening in fashion are borrowed from the men per se. The first trend, hoodies with blazers, is something that I'd probably never put together myself but the first time I saw this combo on a favorite blogger I thought that, although it isn't really my style, I'd give it a whirl because the casual chic look is something that I really fancy and sometimes I struggle with puling off that casual chic look. I tend to look like I'm trying TOO hard to look casual.
What I like about this look is that you can really elevate your pair of workout leggings and make them something more. Starting with a basic black legging I added an old gray hoodie and then topped it with one of my favorite blazers, this Houndstooth version from Express.
Then I pulled on this pair of Combat Style Knee High Boots because I love the mix of the rugged boots with the classically tailored blazer. This look is perfect for running errands or whatever you've got going on. It's casual, but elevated so I like to call it "effortlessly chic."
The combat boot craze is, of course, something I jumped on because truth be told, my broken-in pair of combat boots were the most comfortable shoes I owned for over 20 years.
For this look I started with another pair of workout leggings that are super comfy. This time the Blazer is more of a boyfriend style, meaning that it is more loose fitting and simplistic, and it has a bit of a longer hem than your traditional women's blazer (meaning, more ass coverage!)
The blazer is worn over a simple black turtleneck sweater and then I added this super cool pair of Combat Style Boots (I love the buckles and adornments) and then for a pop of color, I draped my new Michael Kors Soho Red Bag over my shoulder. This is another great casual, but elevated look that is comfortable and stylish, but still feminine enough for this girlie, girl. I mean, the boots have some BLING! It's a combination that you don't get often in an entire ensemble. Brunch, Saturday grocery shopping, or even a gals wine tasting event is a great time to try out this cool trend.
Now, raise your hand if you've been binge watching something on television in 2020?! What's your favorite thus far? Here are a couple of mine:
In the beginning of the lock down we binged Ozark on Netflix. It's a dark drama, full of twists and turns, and the acting is exceptional. Two wonderful lead characters played by Jason Bateman and Laura Linney take you through a range of emotions and leave you wanting more. We are waiting on season 4 to begin sometime in spring of this year.
When my husband who is a big astronomy, sci-fi fan started watching The Expanse on Amazon one evening, and asked me if I'd like to join, initially I was like ...Naaaahh, but very quickly I was taken in by the wonderful character development and then, the storyline. We are now on Season Five, which will be the last.
A couple others that we've enjoyed: Hulu has tons of old shows and we've begun the entire Top Chef series. My husband is a great cook and we enjoy these types of cooking competition shows. We just finished Season 9 where Chef Paul Qui from Austin won the season.
We're also rediscovering The West Wing. It's very well written, has a wonderful cast, and has been a great distraction to the real shenanigans going on in our real life Washington D.C. It was on Netflix but as now moved to HBO Max for 2021.
And that leads me to a couple of books that I want to share. The first one is an autobiography written by Rob Lowe. I know, you're thinking "that brat pack kid?" but, he is a fantastic storyteller, a star of the aforementioned West Wing, and because he is very close in age to myself, and I grew up watching his movies, I can really relate to his story. He is the narrator of his book, and is clever and self deprecating and surprisingly, my husband loved listening to "Stories I Only Tell MY Friends" as we made our way through Colorado during the height of the pandemic.
Another book that I have thoroughly enjoyed is one that my sister gave me back in early January of 2020; Where the Crawdads Sing. It's a great coming of age story that is part crime drama and centers on a young girl abandoned by her parents.
And speaking of reading, I just want to put it out into the universe that I'd like to read more in 2021. I really love books and because of the nature of my work have a tendency to read my phone more than anything else but I want to stop doing that, or at least, not as much. Making the time to unplug and truly sit and enjoy some alone time, just me and a great story, is something that I need more of in my life. Who's with me?? Do you have any books that I simply must read? Please share your favorites.
Finally, one last thing that I'm seriously crushing on right now is the discovery of a new Prosecco. It's called Guisti Asolo Prosecco and probably the biggest reasons why I even tried it is because we've actually been to Asolo, Italy where it is made. We had a wonderful lunch there in 2017 after a day spent exploring and drinking sparkling wine in the prosecco region of Italy.
Have a great January friends an thanks for following me into the new year!
Cheers! XOXO
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Hey Lisa! Love the post! Keep it up!