Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! I thought I'd start off my first blog entry of 2011 with the letter "A". So apropos, no? I spent my holidays back West as I usually do, this time flying only to Vancouver, driving through Seattle and then ringing in the new year in LA with the grandparents. Lots of family, tons of love, and many many reminders of just how blessed the Boyfriend and I are. Thank you family!

Speaking of the new year, I'm determined to keep my resolutions and not let them get away from me again. So far, I've been eating healthier, exercising more, and the Boyfriend and I have decided on a church to attend. We have been slacking in all those areas throughout last year and have finally committed to change. But...it's only been a week so we'll see.

Anyhoo, I have some crafts and cooking projects in mind for the year and am excited to get started! I really didn't do much of that last year due to my new job, but now that I've hit a groove, I'm hoping to fit more in. Oh and my sister got me a cast iron skillet for christmas....super excited to use it! Any suggestions?

Introducing...the Jam & Tea Cheese of the Month Club!

I have had this idea floating around my head for a bit and wanted to get it to paper and announce the Jam & Tea Cheese of the Month Club! I am a cheese fanatic...I have had a love affair with cheese for quite some time now, thanks to my father who exposed me very early on to Brie and Muenster. I know, Muenster is not really gourmet, but when you're about 7 and your cheese knowledge is as wide as the "yellow stuff", Muenster is pretty earth shattering. That and I thought it was called Monster -- you can see why my interest kicked in.

So I thought I'd try this little cheese club in the hopes of expanding my knowledge about cheeses --how they are made, the regions they come from, the history, the pairings, etc. It's all just for fun but now I can actually put my cheese books to use!

The plan is to pick 2 cheeses every month and to spend that month posting about my discoveries. You can join by taking a trip to your local store and picking out the same cheese as I do, or you can just read along. I want to start with 3 months, 6 cheeses. Should be interesting. For the next club, I'm thinking butters...I have heard amazing things about French butter!

Here are two of my favorite cheeses to start:

1) Monte Veronese, Italian

2) Epoisses de Bourgogne, French

I have some cheese in mind that I am eager to try and will let you know as soon as I do!

Trousers

ately, the Boyfriend and I have been on a shopping bonanza. We haven't actually bought much, but we have definitely been looking. He's much more trendier than I am, and with his body type, most styles look good on him. But I am dying to get my hands on a pair of these:

Pleated Trousers from Zara

Oh and my boots from Cole Haan came in a few weeks back...after going back and forth about buying new boots this season, I decided to take the leap once I found this great deal. They're hot.

Cole Haan Georgina

Ugh I can't stop the madness!

Best Concealer...EVER

ark circles are the bain of my existence. Dark circles and outrageously thick, coarse, and frizzy hair. The kind of hair that makes one spend the ages of 10-25 trying to tame it. Unruly. Wild. Inexplicable. These are the words that come to mind when I think of my hair. However, with the invention of the ceramic straightener and some acceptance on my part, I've come to terms with it. However, getting rid of dark circles and puffy under eyes are not nearly as "easy" as taming frizzy hair. I'm sure I've painted a hideous picture of what I look like, but as is often the case, you are your own worse critic. And I am mine.

In any case, I have found an excellent concealer that really hides my dark circles and doesn't fade or require reapplication throughout the day! It's great, and it's better than the popular Laura Mercier Secret Weapon concealer.

The Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit is a double decker pot, with the concealer and a mirror on top, and face powder on the bottom to set it all in. $32 at Sephora.

Black Swan

lack Swan. I cannot wait to see it. Love Natalie. Love Mila. Love Darren Aronofsky (recently directed The Wrestler -- most depressing and moving movie ever).



I can't make the trailer fit my screen. You get the point.



Read review here. They pretty much starved themselves for a year. Makes law school seem like a cake walk.

Ebates Anyone?

oes anyone else out there use Ebates? The only people I know who use it are the people I've sent invites to. Well if you don't, this will be your online purchases lifesaver! I was introduced to it about...8 years ago (ish) and have been using it for online purchases ever since! Just log on, search for the site you want to go to, and purchase away! For every purchase you make through ebates, you receive 3% (or more) of your purchase back! It's not much, but it makes me feel less guilty about paying for shipping. Ebates will send you a check for your accrued amount every 3 months, as long as it's over $5. If it's under, they roll it over to the next check until you reach $5+. It's. Amazing. But don't forget, you MUST go to your website through ebates to get the credit!

Trust me, you'll love it. It's especially handy for the holiday sales as they usually increase the percentage back. And! You get $10 for your first purchase!

Let me know if you're interested and I can refer you! (and I get $5 for it). Happy shopping!

Shopping (and NY) frustrations

am so annoyed with Kate Spade. SO annoyed. I ordered a wallet from them a couple of weeks ago and everything went smoothly. Transaction completed, order shipped, tracking number sent. Then! Then I get an email from them saying that my order has been returned and processed! How? It already shipped! Turns out that it somehow got sent back and returned, despite the fact that 1) they did not inform me in advance 2) they neglected to tell me WHY, despite their "order cancellation" policy, and 3) when I called customer service, all the lady would say is "I do apologize" over and over again. I wanted to scream. And now they are out of stock and of course, I saw it in person and it's gorgeous.

Obviously, I am searching high and low to have one of my own. If I knew how to do a smiley face icon here, I would. But sadly, I will most likely not get it at the price I originally purchased it for.

On another note. I have a constant love-hate relationship with New York. There are so many things to love about this city, yet so many things to absolutely abhor. Like rush hour, subways during rush hour, subways during the summer and rush hour, subways when they stall under the tunnel during summer days and rush hour....you get my point.

But if I hear another parent hiss into their kid's ear, "I will slap you across the face if you don't shut up" one more time, I am going to just slap THEM across THEIR face and see if THEY shut up.