Short?  Or long?  I get pressure from my mother to cut it all off again.  My best friend says she'll kill me if I cut my beautiful hair.  What's a girl to do?

Here's the thing - it's gotta be easy.  I'm busy busy busy, and I won't generally do more that throw product in it and blow dry.  Both of these styles were pretty much wash and go.  Any suggestions?  I'm open to short, long, or in between.

If you'd like a soundtrack for reading this blog, this is what I was listening to while I wrote it, and it seems to fit:  http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Sing+A+Long+Favorites/23585366

If I were a month, I would be: September- sunny, colorful, quieter than I was in July, but not as quiet as I will be come November

If I were a time of the day, I’d be: Dusk - right when colors start to look a little more intense

If I were a planet, I would be: Venus- she's got it

If I were a sea animal, I would be:  Unhappy - I like being able to dry off

If I were a direction, I would be: North- True direction

If I were a piece of furniture, I would be:  A tailored sofa that's softer than you'd think

If I were a liquid, I would be: lol...probably rum  

If I were a gemstone, I would be: Amber - how could I be anything else?

If I were a tree, I would be:  A weeping willow - but not because of the weeping....they always look happy when it's breezy

If I were a tool, I would be:  A pencil 

If I were a flower, I would be a:  A daisy- simple

If I were a kind of weather, I would be:  Like the weather....sometimes sunny, sometimes the calm before the storm, sometimes cold....

If I were a musical instrument, I would be: An acoustic guitar

If I were a color, I would be: Orange - I like that orange falls somewhere between "happy" and "passionate"

If I were an emotion, I would be: Anticipation

If I were a fruit, I would be: An apple - knowledge, sin, good health, and lots of bobbing

If I were a sound, I would be:  Waves

If I were an element, I would be:  Sulfur

If I were a car, I would be: A jetta - zippy but unpretentious

If I were a food, I would be:  A kebab

If I were a place, I would be: The beach

If I were a material, I would be: Raw

If I were a taste, I would be: Savory

If I were a scent, I would be: Lilac

If I were an animal, I would be: A Monkey  

If I were an object, I would be: A refrigerator - Six feet tall, 300 pounds…it makes ice (sorry, little shout out to Homer for the big anniversary)

If I were a body part, I would be: Hands

If I were a facial expression, I would be: See that middle picture of me?  Yeah, prolly that.

If I were a pair of shoes, I would be:  Flip Flops


Picture 1 - My sister and I at an Election Night party
Picture 2 - My friend Shanna and I at a 4th of July party
Picture 3 - Tom and I at our favorite restaurant after the WMU game

So, I've been meaning to do this post since Christmas, and today the universe clearly told me I couldn't put it off anymore. 

Before Christmas, @ksmithmh and @jolieznor sent a message out to their Kaboodle buddies suggesting that we do a holiday gift exchange between us.  I thought it was such a fabulous idea, as I'd probably know what to get some of my friends here on Kaboodle better than their real life friends because I see everything they love, everyday.  So, @anna_panda and I decided to exchange Christmas gifts.

Anna sent me the beautiful molten amber earrings you see in the first picture!  I was soooo excited - I don't know if you guys remember, but I've featured these earrings on more than one styleboard and list that I've sent out....I've lusted after them for quite awhile now, and I looooove them!  Thanks again Anna!

Anyway, today I got another pressie from the postman - the pretty little blue t-shirt on the right (that you can't see very well despite my great new camera and all the lights I turned on....just trust me, it's pretty).  This one's from Kaboodle, along with a sweet note from @kristi7 because I filled out a survey about the launch of the new Kaboodle goodies.

When Kristi suggested that I do a "Thank you mister postman" blog post, I thought, "Yeah, ya big jerk....and do the other one while you're at it..." :-)  It just so happened that I was wearing my amber earrings anyway.

Whew.  So, thank you Anna, thank you Kristi, thank you Kaboodle, and thank you mister postman!  The whole Kaboodle experience has been so rewarding, and these little bits of icing on the Kaboodle Cake are tops!

First off, I've been gone for a week, so thanks so much to everyone who commented on my lists and blogs while I was gone, and I swear I'll get caught up on all the requests waiting for me - can't wait to see them!

Where was I?  I was in Atlanta on a buying trip for spring, and it was so exciting to see all the new trends for the home, I thought I'd share! 

Grey is the hot color - especially with lavender or burnt orange.  It gives incredible depth and richness to the purples, and makes you think maybe it's time to start taking orange seriously.  Really great combinations!

Burlap pillows.....everywhere!!!  This is part of the trend toward the earthy and unpretentious turned gorgeous (along with beautiful natural wood finishes, muslin, moss, etc...)

French industrial (again) - For the last couple of years we've seen more and more of this popping up - rough woods and tarnished metals.  It's a great look, in small doses, but I was a little disappointed at how much of it I saw at market.  There were few showrooms that didn't feature quite a bit of it, and it was tiring after awhile.  We'll carry one or two pieces, because it definitely adds interest, but I think it was way overdone this year.

I'm exhausted from 5 days of running from showroom to showroom to find the perfect furnishings and accessories, but it was a fun and successful buying trip and I can't wait for spring!

How about you guys....any thoughts on these trends?

Ok, so I really wanted to do a WIW blogozine for New Year's Eve, but we went out and played all night, and I forgot to get pictures - gah.  Tom's brother got one picture with me in it, so I used that and then found the other items I wore online (kind of).

Mudd Sweater Dress
Chap's Drop Earrings (the one's in the picture are a different color - mine matched the tights)
Vera Wang Tights
Croft and Barrow Boots
Preston of York Coat (looks like the picture I found, but it's not the same coat)
Mudd Scarf (you can't really see it in the picture, but it's got some orange in the fringe that picks up the color of the tights) 

We went to Tom's Dad's house for cheese and wine first and spent a little time gabbing with his family.  Then Tom and I headed out to a party where I didn't really know anyone (all old friends of his).  They were great people and we had such a nice time - Nancy (the hostess) served coconut rum shots in dark chocolate shot glasses....yummiest things ever!  At about 10:30 we headed over to another party to bring in the new year.  There, we had a big bonfire and we all wrote what we're leaving behind with 2009 on pieces of wood, and threw them into the fire at midnight.  It was a fantastic night with lots of good food, drink, and friends.  I hope you all had as much fun as I did!

Ladies, I'm about at the end of my rope and I need some suggestions!  I'm a little cheap when it comes to jeans (I try not to spend more than $50 or so) and all of the jeans I've found in that price range now have stretch - I HATE THEM!  Saggy butt 2 hours after I pull them out of the dryer.  Does anyone have a suggestion for an inexpensive pair of jeans without stretch?