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gift ideas for acquaintances
Gift ideas for acquaintances can be challenging. Gifting isn’t just for the holidays coming up, it happens year round for occasions like birthdays, promotions, new additions, big news, etc. It’s easy to get gifts for people who I know well- family, close friends, etc., but gift ideas for acquaintances seem to always stump me. These are tough because there are 2 criteria I like follow: 1. It can’t be too expensive 2. It needs to be thoughtful. So here are some ideas that might work for you if you have an acquaintance that you want to give something to. This could be a boss, co-worker, friend-of-a-friend that has done something nice for you, or even a distant family member that…
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Cirque du Soleil: Kooza
Welcome, welcome, welcome! Step right up ladies and gentleman and be prepared to be amazed by the traveling acrobatic production of Cirque du Soleil: Kooza! Ok so you probably figured out that I went to go see Cirque du Soleil. The traveling show set up shop in downtown Dallas near Reunion Blvd in a big tent. I was so excited as I had always thought it was just in Vegas, but since it was in the city and the tickets were discounted via Living Social, it was hard not to pass up. So we arrived, late. After some missed turns, parking issues and finally walking over to the entrance,…
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austin city limits festival 2012
“There’s nothing to compare to live music, there just isn’t anything.”- Gloria Gaynor The Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) was this past weekend. A 3 day outdoor October event in Zilker Park featuring big bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Florence and the Machine and Gotye. It’s packed with music for everyone country, rock ‘n roll, hip hop, electronic, indie and everything in between. People of all ages gather for one thing and one thing only: live music. This is my second year to go and I have to tell you that the coolest part of going to one of these events is hearing a new band solely by chance…
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my first blog conference…
I had been looking forward to Bloggy Boot Camp since I got those tickets inside a beautiful birthday card from 3 of the most lovely people who I know along with a note that said “to the next Carrie Bradshaw”. The time finally arrived on Saturday and I think it might have changed my life. The blog conference was held at the Doubletree Hotel and lasted all day. It was an early 9am until 6pm day filled with incredible presentations, wonderful food, amazing sponsors ready to talk to bloggers and wonderful people from all stages of their blog careers from newbie to established. The night before there was…
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football is back
This weekend marked the first football Sunday of the season. Granted, football has been on since pre-season in our house, but Sunday was the big day (and even bigger because the 49ers played on Sunday which is my husband’s all time favorite team). So we celebrated by cooking up some food and inviting some friends over for some much-needed catching up and good laughs (which mostly came from a little 1-year-old, I mean a 15 month old). We had a good mix over. From our master chef couple who always bring over something delicious (even if it’s store-bought), our newly parents couple who’s little one just gets bigger and bigger every time we see…
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the S family experience
We recently came back from our family vacation in Mexico. As I’m writing this blog post, I want to be there, looking at the ocean, hearing the waves, soaking up the sun, drinking a BBC. Ever since I was little, my family has been going on a family vacation every year. We usually pick a resort, all-inclusive and usually in Mexico (we tried Jamaica once and it just didn’t par with the experience in Mexico). There is an added bonus in Mexico that we speak the language 🙂 No boyfriends or friends are allowed, just the 5 of us so we can hang together, bring us back to the significance…
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the inevitable espn
ESPN is ALWAYS on at our house, and not necessarily by my choice. Now don’t get me wrong, it serves a good purpose sometimes. I do enjoy basketball and get into the games and I have caught myself getting to a football game or two when it involves the 49ers (who are near and dear to my husbands heart). When he’s excited and into it, I can’t help but be into it as well. Other than that, in my book it’s not deemed worthy enough to be on 24/7. Let me break it down… During football season, there is no getting away without having ESPN on. Since my husband is the…
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year one
After getting back to reality (and by reality I mean back on land) after a cruise vacation with my husband in celebration of our first year of marriage, a bit of reflection is in order. A whole year has passed since we said “I Do” and became official husband and wife. I gave up my Italian last name (wait is that Sinatra?) for a much shorter, easier one to remember (and quite famous actually. Semi Homemade with Sandra Lee anyone?). We made it through the first 3 months (and longer than Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphreys), celebrated our 6 month, and ended with a sail away trip for our one…
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what are you grateful for?
“If you are thankful for what you have now, you will always have more.” – Oprah “If you want to change your state of being, start with gratitude.” – Tony Robbins “Wherever there is appreciation, there is duplication.” – Bishop TD Jakes As you can tell from the quotes above, I’ve been watching a lot of Oprah’s Lifeclass lately. It’s had the same effect on me as the show Revenge has on me, I just can’t pull away. Now mind you, I am a serious Oprah fan- her message, what she stands for and what she does on her platform. Not everyone is with me on that one, and that’s…
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attack of the flying insect
I hate bugs. Let me repeat that. I HATE BUGS. It’s the reason why I don’t like camping, fishing or anything outdoors. Creepy crawlers send me into a scream-a-thon that’ll wake the neighbors because they think someone is being killed or tortured. I usually enlist my husband to do the killing, while I sit up on the couch pointing and yelling “kill it!!!!” in a panicked tone. When I lived by myself I used to just leave the house, but soon realized that wasn’t the best idea since at some point I will have to come back and the bug will still be there. So with the weather getting warmer,…