The Trickiest Holiday Party of the Season... the office party

The holidays are undoubtedly in full swing which means so are some of the seasons most awaited festive parties; the holiday office party (no matter how obligatory it may be) being among the many. This particular holiday celebration is somewhat of a time for employers to reward their team/staff members successes, and for collaboration between fellow colleagues while looking forward to the year to come... yet its somehow easily forgotten that this event is absolutely NOT the setting to be the life of the party! Over indulgence and undesirable behavior wont be forgotten once the party commences… The cardinal rule is to remember that no matter how festive the occasion, it's still about business.

So before you head out to mix and mingle  throwing caution to wind or ladies letting your hair down here a few words of wisdom to help you navigate the the potentially dangerous festive waters:

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RSVP

Aways rsvp within in 3 days and if you suddenly find out you are unable to attend be sure to give ample notice.

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Dress Code

Dress appropriately for the occasion- find out the dress code for the party and follow it and don’t forget… its business. My suggestion is keep your guard up when deciding on what to wear and stay away from anything that is too short, too tight, too revealing, too casual or that simply looks untidy.

Be on Tme

Never show up early and don’t waltz in 30 mins late. Andn’t be the last employee to leave.

Make Proper Intros

If you are bringing a date or spouse to the holiday party, be sure you are properly introducing him or her to your bosses and colleagues

Limit Your Liquor

Open bar should never be interpreted as an open invitation get to totally smashed… limit your liquor, especially if you’re known to not be the best at handling it… behavior included!

More so, don’t over consume…anything. Whether its food, alcohol or people, its important to enjoy all aspects of the party in moderation.

Dancing

Just because you can get-low does NOT mean you should… especially considering you’re on the office party dance floor, wouldn’t want that picture to fail the two fridge test now would you leading to potentially damaging cyber remorse…

Put Your Phone Away

In our always-on society being mindful of your smartphone use is crucial (practice smartphone etiquette) A holiday event filled with partygoers instagramming, tweeting and just plain virtually sharing just about everything, its plain rude! Memorialize it later or when you’re not in the company of those who deserve your attention far more than your followers and potential likers!

Don’t Talk Shop

Or gossip or talk politics- No matter who you’re talking to keep the conversation light, you and the people around you are there to enjoy themselves.

Know Who to Thank

The planner often times gets overlooked and a simple thank you showing your appreciation can go a long way.   

Moral of the story is, share the spirit sensibly. Follow the above suggestions to avoid falling off the fast track to success or risk damaging your professional reputation in this one night

of potential inadvertent blunders. And once again, remember the cardinal rule that no matter how festive the occasion, it's still about business.

Christmas Movie Classics: Updated

Only 12 days until Christmas which means you're cutting it close if you haven't finished your shopping, but plenty of time to still cozy up to some classic Christmas flicks!  ABC's 25 Days of Christmas is offering us its holiday best on the daily from now until Santa comes to town, so grab your cozy Christmas socks, champagne & candy canes and check  the usual Christmas movie classics (yes, Bad Santa and  Elf included) off your list! Some of my fondest holiday childhood memories were spent curled up watching Christmas tv programming; there is just something about these seasonal treasures that just warms my heart! Since there are too many to make a top 5 or even a top 10 list - I will just share a general list of my classic faves (recently updated). A fair forewarning though... my movie list includes films for the revelers and humbugs... Something for everyone this year! 

 Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer (1964)

Most Christmas specials are about caring and giving and reflecting on uplifting spirit... Bumbles the Abominable Snow Man and Rudolph's unsightly red nose in this 1964 classic do everything but... only somehow I just love it and am delighted to see it rerun year after year.  

 The Sound of Music

Admittedly, I'm not sure how this makes my xmas roundup, but I somehow never pass up the chance to indulge in 3 hours of Julie Andrew and dreamy Christopher Plummer.

 The Apartment

Not a classic Christmas movie you may say... think again! The rendezvous in Jack Lemmons apartment primarily take place between Christmas Eve to New Years Eve... don't believe me check it out for yourself... And almost an all time fave movie (period!)

 Gremlins

Is it weird that I always wanted my very own Mogwai? I mean as a kid of course... what better to teach a child responsibility than a pet right?! and to think I would have only need to follow 3 simple rules... wait what were they again... 

 Home Alone

Everything I need to know I learned from Home Alone, ha! An instant classic!

It's A Wonderful Life 

This is a new movie to my holiday watch list. A movie brought into my life by my husbands family. George Bailey and the town of Bedford Falls bring all the feels! 

Every time a bell rings an angels get its wings... 

 A Christmas Story

You'll shoot your eye out kid! Need I say more...

 Scrooged

While there are a ton of spin offs of from Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" none as brilliant and funny as Scrooged... I feel like this one is often forgotten, but I have to say its a holiday must!

 Elf

 The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear

 Christmas Vacation

Always guaranteed to make me almost spit out my eggnog

 Bad Santa

Guess what Kid, Santa doesn't care what you want for Christmas.

 How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Such a great spin on the Dr S timeless classic!

 The Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack "The Pumpkin King" Skellington creates the ultimate holiday mash-up by kidnapping santi-claaaws, from his coffin sled to terrifying toys the Nightmare Before Christmas has it all!

 Jack Frost

Try not to cry with this one...

Gifts That Give Back

                                                                    (via) 

The holidays are just around the corner as the second week of December comes to a close. The temperatures here in Los Angeles are still abnormally high and we continue to face the devastation of spreading wildfires so in effort to remain positive and do our best to get in the Holiday spirit what better that putting together a gift guide that gives back!  Who doesn’t love to not only give a gift that gives back, but receive one as well! From humanitarian organizations to non-profits giving back to those in need – this season of giving I'm helping you find the perfect gifts that gives beyond the one person its intended for!   

LULAS GARDEN

 Lula’s Garden proudly supports organizations that help improve lives around the world by providing access to safe water.

LUSH CHARITY POT

With every purchase of Charity Pot, LUSH donates 100% of the price (minus the taxes) to small grassroots organizations working in the areas of environmental conservation, animal welfare and human rights.

LOVE YOUR MELON

If you don't already know about the beautiful souls behind Love Your Melon than I am glad to make you aware! Love Your Melon is an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America as well as supporting nonprofit organizations who lead the fight against pediatric cancer. Tis the season stay warm and this organization does it right! 

THE STARLING PROJECT

The Startling Projects fragrant soy candles help provide solar energy to under-resourced countries across the globe, granting needy communities access to electricity, clean water, safety, health, education, and more!

FOUND MY ANIMAL 

And last but not least for that animal love in your life FOUND MY ANIMAL supports animal adoption and donates profits from colorful rope and leather collars, harnesses, and other pet accessories to animal rescue organizations around the country! 

The Heart of the Matter: Valentines Cards

I love holidays! Even if its a holiday that’s said to exist primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a significant religious or secular event! This brings me to Valentine’s Day… It’s no secret that commercial companies have taken the opportunity to capitalize on this holiday in particular, case and point the very lack of hesitation to fill the shelves of our local Rite Aids Walgreen’s etc. with red & pink heart shaped chocolates of all sizes. Historically Valentine’s Day is actually deeply rooted and while doing a little research to inspire my post, I came across a rather intriguing woman whose name dates significantly further back than any Hallmark Brothers name does as far as Valentine’s Day goes. This woman is Esther Howland. It was said that Howland was a lady unusual for her time… I will spare you the history lesson for now, but to sum up Esther’s accolades she was “The Mother of the American Valentine”  At the age of 19 after having received an intricate English Valentine from one of her fathers' business acquaintances (her dad was a local stationer) Esther was inspired and felt confident that she was capable of creating something greater than the one she had received. So after persuading her father to order lace paper and other supplies from England and New York City the samples she produced provoked such a positive response that the advance sales exceeded more than anything she could make by herself! (check out more on Ester here!)

Quite the creative entrepreneur if you ask me, she was ahead of her time indeed! Her simple yet intricate cards started at a mere .05 cents; Esther was a true visionary whose designs made a lasting impact on the history of the Valentine. So while Hallmark may have taken over since the early days of the Valentine there is no need to give into their scheme, I mean I’m sure we all remember our days of simply gluing a doily onto a piece of heart-shaped construction paper and handing it to that special someone (usually my mom & dad) and saying “Happy Valentine’s Day” right!? While I have since graduated from the days of cut-and-paste {ok maybe not entirely} if I’ve learned one thing in grade school it’s that Valentines are for everyone—friends, family, and sweethearts alike.  Hallmark victim or Esther Howland aficionado my favorites are those handmade that come from the heart below are a few of my favorite!   

 Pop-Up Card

 We make a great pair!

Youre the Bomb! Too cute

New use for old things

 

52 Weeks of Saving in 2013

If grade school taught us one thing other than to always share it was that there are 52 weeks in a calendar year. One thing it didn’t teach me was how to effectively save and budget my money, so now that I’m older I love hearing {and sharing} operative and simple ways to budget.  Most recently after my return from our holiday hiatus I spent some much needed time catching up with my office go to gal {yay Verna!} who got me up to speed on a little 52 week savings plan she had put to order for the new year! After some chatting and a little web surfing as on the how to of putting this plan into action, I found it actually quite simple and kind of fun if you ask me. While we are not sure who the original author or creator of this little plan is I have noticed around the web peeps referring to it as the 52 Week Money Challenge. I like to think of it as 52 weeks to my 2014 Oh S#*% Account. The simplicity behind this plan is such; for 52 weeks beginning with week one you put money away each week. The weekly dollar amount directly corresponds to number of the week it is. For example, week one you put away $1, week two you put away $2 and so on with the maximum amount you will be putting away in a single week is $52! Check it out below!

So if you take a look at the Account Balance that corresponds to week 52 (bottom right corner above), assuming you stick by the plan come December of this year you will have $1,378.00. I'm not suggesting that this be the only savings you do throughout the year, but this is a fun and simple way to have a little cushion after the holidays going into 2014! Whether you plan on saving each week just for yourself or you decide to put away for you and your children, grandchildren, significant other, brother, sister etc. who wouldn't want $1,378.00 extra?! Get creative with this, save in jar, save in a safe, only make a bank deposit every time your balance hits $100.00 execute this savings plan in a way that works for you. Maybe even use it as a learning tool for your kids and get them started early teaching them saving is not only important, but fun too! Not to worry, its not too late to start, we are only coming up on week 5 so if you put away $15 today you're already caught up! Happy Saving!  

My Spending Hiatus...

The holiday months can often times send you into somewhat of a spending bender if you know what I mean… and what better antidote to your empty feeling pocket books than a No-Spend-Month (In my case I'm working on 3 consecutive months of this, within reason) Its not always easy being mindful and disciplined about the money I spend, so during this No-Spend-Month/s which is basically short for “No Spending Except For Basic Essentials” I will not be spending on anything non-essential. Non-essential meaning things like:

Clothes/accessories
Personal Training
Electronics
Lunches/Dinners out
Online Purchases (Guilt, Amazon)
iPhone apps, iTunes, lottery tickets and any other $1-$2 finds
Manis & Pedis
Starbucks & Pete's

 So for the next month while I’m shopping my very own closet to recreate “new” outfits and giving homemade gifts & cards or offering my services for those of you with upcoming birthdays I am hopeful that I may just find that keeping track of the amount of money I’m saving (toward a specific financial goal) is motivation enough to stick with this spending diet for more than just 30 days.

 I plan to give myself a budget of $100 per week and this money can only go towards essentials! By no means am I trying to deprive myself, but more so help myself reconnect with my $$ so I am able to learn to further value and appreciate every single dollar. I will only allow myself to dip into this $100 on designated spending days (which for now will be Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday) By creating designated spending days I will force myself to plan out my spending meaning I will have to know what I need to purchase and wait until a spending day to buy it. I am confident that this will eliminate cashing out for foolish items and actually having to wait for that chap stick/lip gloss I was trying to convince myself I needed on a Monday night, come Wednesday (a spending day) I most likely will have forgotten all about it. I plan is to allot my $100 budget towards the following: 

Groceries & eating out (occasion based)

Gas
Household items (paper towels, tp, light bulbs, toothpaste etc.)
Entertainment (like I said not trying to deprive myself)

There are a ton of 30 day no spend month challenges all over the blogsphere so looking to google and my fellow bloggers for tips and/or inspiration won’t be a prob and should you also get a wild hair I would like to suggest the following:

half dozen daily

growing slower
bankrate.com

And with food in my fridge, gas in my car and my bills and rent paid for the month thus far let the spending hiatus begin…
 

Intent... Play for Keeps in 2013!

 Just 7 days into the New Year and Im sure a lot of you have your New Years Resolution/s on the mind… And with all of these resolutions and goals flying around me lately, I stand by the idea that we don’t need a special day whether it’s a Monday or a New Year to make changes in our lives… I'm sure change has been on your mind as much as mine over the past week and Im confident that 2013 is promising... bringing a brand new year and a clean slate. Good news is we can use the marker of the New Year to provide us with a measurable time frame for progress which can be very empowering. What we are able to effectively measure we can positively change! I want this New Year to be different from any other year and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that it will be!

How do I want to make this year different you may ask… Well, change is a tough thing, but a good thing nonetheless. In order for this year to be different than any before, SOMETHING(s) have to CHANGE, so without creating some list comprised of two scoops of obsessive and eager enthusiasm sprinkled with a bit of unrealistic expectations all with a cherry on top I will instead create one that is perfectly in line with ideals I feel I already adhere by… and then choose one little word to invite into my life which will remind me to play for keeps in 2013!

My word for 2013: Intent

Intent/ aim, meaning, determined, committed   

I will live with it. I will invite it into my life. I will let it speak to me. And I plan to follow where it leads me. The possibilities are endless.

Resolutions 2013: Intent
Be Strong: work out 3-5 mornings a week without question.
Be Healthy: become a connoisseur of quick and healthy meals. Remember to eat healthy snacks between meals. take a vitamin/s h2O
Be Smart: embrace new opportunities. They help you grow.
Be Happy: remember to be grateful, treasure the small things.

Be Wise: "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do."
Be Motivated: shower and get dressed, i know... sounds simple but stuff actually gets done when you do.
Be Organized: just do it 

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String...

 

This might sound silly, but one of my favorite parts about the holidays is picking out the perfect gift wrap. There is just something about a present when it is wrapped up all pretty like and topped with a bow that makes whats inside seem so much more thoughtful! A gift from the heart is the best gift you can give... Gift tags, bakers twine, washi tape and pretty ribbons are so fun to get creative with this time of year! Here are some of my favorite paper essentials which will help make my holidays a wrap!

{simply luv!}

{i think craft paper is the way to go this year!}

{classic wrapping}

{Whats black and white and read all over? holiday recycling at its finest, love this!}