rachel zoe

i just finished this book, and i couldn't put it down!

rachel zoe is just awesome, i love her.

as a once-travel blogger (which is what i will go back to once chemo is over!) i had to share this excerpt from her book:

Holiday Pack List for Hot Weather:

"bikinis, cute bras, and boy shorts to wear under sheer dresses (and that can double as swimwear when the moment arises); tunics, caftans, and sundresses that can serve as dresses or tops. A fabulous belt can turn a sarong into a dress, so pack one that sits on the waist, in leather or raffia, or a color woven or gold chain.
Anything in lighter, brighter colors, and definitely white, is appropriate, and leave most of the black and any items that require dry cleaning at home. leave the pumps behind, too. this is one of the few times I'll pack flip flops, and a sandal of any kind is requisite. Also, great are espadrilles and open toe wedges. Clothes might be minimal, but not accessories. Stockpile hoops, anything ethnic, and bangles (island cheapies are such a great addition). And layer yellow gold on top of a St. Tropez tan for a look that is always uberfabulous."

more to come!

drool worthy

elie saab.

holy crap.

enough said.

(ps- i'm not a big shopper

or fashionista...

but...

yes. drool)

my january list- part one

if you go back to this post, you will read my list of goals for the month of january.
here's what i've done so far in respects to:

• clean out the house of negative stuff
• clean it out of un-necessary clutter 
•  add all articles to blog i thought were interesting (and hopefully you will, too)
• add to blog list of items i wanted to blog about

i think i accomplished SO MUCH so far this week. here's what happened monday and tuesday, aside from writing and research...

i took down the christmas tree, and put all ornaments in the ornament organizer.

i cleaned out and purged things from this spot in my kitchen

(sorry, i don't have photos of the before )

i cleaned out my closet and drawers...i didn't organize it yet

the picture above my closet shot are the items going to donations at the church.

cleaned and cleaned out

the freezer and refrigerator

do you see my tofu, cider, greens in a bag and beer?

i cleaned out this cabinet that's in the corner of my kitchen.

i didn't shoot the before picture on purpose.

you did not want to see the before.

i cleaned out LML's closet, and will

bring stuff shown to my office.

i HAD to clean out this part of my pantry. it was making me crazy.

whew- it looks a little better now.

my family likes to fatten me up by giving me chips and cookies.

thanks, family. it's my just in case stash :)

i also cleaned the ceiling fan, and cleaned out a box from the boiler room.

and cooked.

and as for those last 2 items...

my blog is going to explode with information from now until february.

do you have a january to do list?

Travel Style: Indiana Jones

Hi Bloggie Friends:

How are you? I hope you don't mind my thousand posts today- truth be told, I have been backed up! I am looking forward to reading what has been going on in your worlds...and speaking of worlds: it got me thinking.

If I wasn't home, I'd be travelling- and if I could have any job, it would have to involve travel.

The Indiana Jones movies are a DVD set that I've yet to require. LML and I own an interesting collection of movies, yet that set has never battled its way in.

Why I want the DVD set? To re-familiarize myself with the movie, dream bigger...and oh YEAH!

The clothes:

one of the most interesting characters...

but not the most interesting man in the world...

to me, that's this guy:

(LML and I- Montreal, 2009)

love me,

the globetrotting gamine

i love wednesdays...erm, fridays!!

today, i had a beautiful day...
interrupted for a minute,
but otherwise beautiful!

my pup slept all day,
was uber-productive!

i didn't take many pictures,
not very many at all.

i organized our wardrobes,
the drawers and the closets.

i ran outside for a bit...


and then realized i didn't post this!!

happy friday to all!!

how did you spend your week??

love me,
the globetrotting gamine

travel style: the [newer] mummy movie

i love it.

i love the movie.

i love the actors.

i love the setting.

i love love love the costumes.

sigh.

love me,

the globetrotting gamine

inspiration: Stella McCartney

good morning, bloggers :)

this is one of my rare posts which features photographs that are not my own...

Stella is a true inspiration. Check out her info on wikipedia...

She is entirely awesome...my favorite outfit so far? (even though, to tell the whole truth:: all her designs are beautiful...)

she's just awesome.

and i use that word for few people :)

love,

gg

a room of my own!

before the marriage, the travelling, the drama...

reeeeewwwiiiiiiinddd...

picture it...

new york, 2004.

• engaged.
• graduated with masters.
• homeowner.
• homerenovator.
• helping family move.
• organizing and moving my own stuff.
• returning 15 toasters and blenders.
• planning the kitchen...
• planning a wedding
• lists, lists, lists
• paperwork!
• appointments!

who said i ever did anything the right way?
the write way maybe...



love,
me

the great legging escapade

since my weight-loss...

i have come to wearing a uniform of leggings and flowy shirts

or jackets.

one saturday, while it was still snowy...

LML and I found an opportunity to find one

such pair of nice black leggings.

on sunday morning?

i realize that he purchased an extra small?!

extra small??? do i look like an extra small to you?, i ask...

yep, LML says.

right. my ass is NOT getting in these.

yes it is.

oh god.

so we pull on the pair of leggings...

as a team effort.

and the effort doesn't go unrewarded,

because once past my hips

they feel great.

whew.

whew?

continuing our sunday morning, we made our way

to a little cafe called avenue, in astoria, new york...

to have a frappe, which is as close to a "GREEK" frappe as

you're going to get

without you going to greece :)

while sitting down, i pull my coat up around my legs

because the cafe was busy and people kept

coming in and out of the door next to us.

finishing our frappe, we had to continue on

to our food shopping adventure at

the local fresh-food market.

i figured, now is a good time to go to the bathroom

because the sugar in the frappe

(in greek, pronounced  FRA- peh)

is enough to make anyone loopy if they

don't get it out of their system fast enough.

so...

and sorry if i get icky for you here...

as i go to pull down my leggings, what do i see?

my thigh.

a ball of my thigh sticking out

the gaping hole

right near my crotch.

egads!

uh-oh.

good thing i bought the coat with me to the bathroom!

good thing the coat covers my bottom!

omg

imagine if i wore that vest this morning

that didn't cover anything??!

so i hurry out of the bathroom

and whisper into LML's ear...

houston, we have a problem.

what?

there is a hole in my leggings. near my crotch. we have to go.

block my ass just in case.

let me see.

uh NO. there are PEOPLE here EATING FOOD.

hell to the no.

this does not stop him from going to the fruit market.

this does not stop us from walking...

carefully...

to the shops up the block (thank GOD)

and finally...

FINALLY

finding another pair of leggings

that literally...

saved my ass.

or rather, my thigh.

the moral of the story here is: always check on your leggings :)

love,

mg

enhance your life

about a week and a half ago..

i cleaned out the house of unnecessary objects.

i do this every so often, and find

that the experience is quite rewarding :)

i feel as if the whole atmosphere of our home

changes, becomes lighter,

as i purge.

there could be another reason for this purging.

hoarders, anyone?

the television show freaks me out...

and that fear makes me clean.

i know a hoarder...but so-called hoarder

will never admit

that she has a problem.

i posted about this way back in the fall, i think.

but i digress...this is what i cleaned out...

i moved all my cd's...since my car radio doesn't work...(great, i know) to...well, away...

that's them in that huge curves bag.

that was everything i got rid of!! unbelievable...and my house is *really* organized, so it shocked me.

see how beautiful the organization looks? awwww...

that huge empty space there is where that purple box used to be...don't mind my shoe-mess.

i mean to get a shoe stand for that area :) so exciting...

ok, do you see that? this closet is hugeeee- lengthwise. i need a shelf where

that red travel bag and box is sitting so i can store things more efficiently. any ideas as to how?

point of the story is...

cleaning is good!

:)

it makes you feel good...

:)

and then you know where everything is!

:)

so if you're stuck indoors today...

rent some movies, read some magazines..and

find the mojo

to get organized!!

love,

your crazy mg

friday wishes

*items i would enjoy to have in my closet*

*what my assistant wishes for: comfy, cozy sleep:*

hope you get everything you wish for this weekend!

love,

mg

10 things

(shot by me, DR)

10 things I love:
1. sleeping in
2. shoppin'
3. LML
4. my puppy
5. cookin'
6. sushi
7. coffee
8. bookstores
9. cashmere sweaters
10. all things travel

10 things I don't love:
1. bitter cold
2. miserable people
3. copycats!
4. repeats
5. broken dishwasher :(
6. being home with nothing to do, and no good movies on TV
7. bad cooking
8. bad coffee
9. fast food joints
10. people who say they're dieting and then order the world...with a diet coke.

5 random things about me:
1.  i love buying my doggie clothes.
2. i am stationery-obsessed
3. i have known LML for more than half my life
4. my best friend is was (updated December 2010) Ms. New Jersey United States
5. i like to reorganize my wardrobe...and closets...when I am bored.

Love,
MG

Out with the old...

I have never worn this dress ANYWHERE! I am handing it over to my niece for the holidays!

(Merry Christmas if you're reading this <3)

In with the new!!

I ()*(*&&^%^%$ love these shoes!!

My baby loves them, too.

Time for a gold or hot pink manicure as to accent my shoesies!

Love,

MG

Excessive-List Maker

You wouldn't be the first one to tell me that I have issues.

This past summer, when my best friend went on vacation for a month, I offered to clean up her house. *Note: I always knew that she was messy. I always had helped her clean her room when we were little, and it was never anything that I couldn't handle.

This time, I really couldn't handle it. I actually wrote 16 pages of the heart wrenching- ew ew experience that was my summer. There was so much. SO MUCH STUFF. In my journal, I wrote this:

Day 1, 3:30 to 7 pm with $60 cash
Horrible Mess. Used two bottles of windex because there is nothing else to clean with in this house. Stuff everywhere. Everywhere. Needs paint job, as to there are unmentionable species growing on the wall. New oven, since I can't even see what color it USED to be. New couch. Matching chairs that aren't lawn furniture. Bedframes. Need to throw EVERYTHING AWAY.

Note: When she comes back, teach her how to clean. Give her list of phone numbers for cleaning lady services.

Wanted to go home to take a bath immediately. Held my pee pee in until I drove 5 minutes to my parents house to do just that.

Need for tomorrow: clorox, bounty, red bull (or i'll die), air freshner, air deodorizers, dish soap, baking soda (10 of them!) brillo, comet, toilet bowl scrubber, gloves, contractor bags, mop, folders for organizing.

Then need to: paint the house, clean the floors, jewelry boxes to fill, put frames on walls, draw living room layout, coffee table, 4 matching chairs, place rugs, curtains for living room, vases, kitchen list, bed frame, twin sheets, wash clothing, throw garbage out, towels, sheets, to buy and then put in linen closet.

This has to be compulsive hoarding. Interesting that there is a show starting on compulsive hoarding.

The experience is still traumatizing to me. Sometimes I think about how before she left to go on vacation, she told me to let it all rot. So basically...20 garbage trucks later, one visit to IKEA, multiple visits to Target and Dollar stores later, she had this:

Wish: A Steady Schedule

Remember the carefree days of reading, writing and 'rithmetic? When you knew where you had to go and what you were going to be doing? I wish that now , or still, there could be days like that. Sometimes, I like to think that being a grown up is full of the unexpected. Friends that go without reason, unexpected situations, etc.

It could be that being married to LML brings me the unexpected. I don't know what he's planning for my birthday, therefore I have no idea of what to tell my besties who would like to be out with us.

Well, if they had a mouth to the people that they should have a mouth towards...but that's a story for another day...

So I hope one day that LML would also take a break from his CRAZY schedule just so that I may have something solid to look forward to, other than weekends...which coincidentally, are my favorite time of the week...

During the week, I do weird things...like taking apart my wardrobe and putting outfits together. As shown above...
I cook. I read. I write. I watch weird shows.

There's always this nagging feeling that I could be doing more but I don't know what. Is it a luck thing? Do people really make their own luck? Does one go out to change their luck or resort to the spells that you know will work though that may backfire?

;)

(Edited to add a PS- Note that all photos with the exception of the LMAO post are property of...MG <3)
Decisions, decisions...
back to the drawing board...
MG