Worn Out

Been feeling under the weather as of late. I think my body is telling me to slow down. I am working quite a bit and it is causing a great deal of stress on my immune system. I know this is not a permanent thing and eventually over the course of the next year I will be able to afford to work much less, leaving me plenty of time to devote to the projects that I am so incredibly passionate about (*cough* baby #2 *cough*). For now this is my life....ciao. xoxo

It's only a handbag...isn't it?

Some of my fall/winter handbag lust items....all from my oh so loved Forever 21. The first two arouse my inner bombshell....purring like a silky, furry little kitten. I am obsessed with anything camel and its a bonus that they both are in a soft, buttery material that will just drape over the crook of my arm silently begging for your attention...yummy. The teal is such an amazingly rich color and would make the perfect companion on the weekend when you want to be more dressed down and relaxed. The last one, the black patent leather, now that is the New Yorker in me that will always be present no matter how deep in the forest I live. I will save that baby for when my big black sunglasses are my shields from the world, my skinny black jeans are pressed to perfection and my triple platform Louboutin wannabes are helping me conquer the world one teetering step at a time. That bag is for the day when no one will want to F@#* with me. Ooooo la la. What does your bag say about you today? Ciao...xoxoxo.

An Everything Blog?!?!

I am so in love with blogs and the idea of blogging. I know I may not have been the most consistent blogger, but I fear that I was experiencing a bit of sensory overload, really. I read such a vast variety of blog types that it was hard to try to figure out where my blog fit into all of this. Fashion blog, Food blog, Design blog, Makeup blog, Budgeting blog, Law of Attraction blog, Mommy blog...are you overwhelmed yet? The problem with me is that I love life so much and I love living, that I don't want to compartmentalize myself in with just one basis of subject matter. But then it dawned on me...isn't the title of my blog..."La Dolce Vita?" Hello?! "The Sweet Life" can pretty much be translated into anything and everything that makes you smile when you wake up and feel immensely satisfied when your head hits the pillow. So there you have it! My blog is an everything blog! Ha! So whatever makes my heart beat a little faster will be typed out onto the electronic pages of the computer screen with a cute little photo to match and new blog posts will be born. Finally some clarity....and so I will carry on.Ciao! xoxo

Simple Pleasures.

Some simple pleasures that I have been indulging in as of late:

1. Pasta Aglio E Oglio- coat a pan with good quality extra virgin olive oil, add desired amount of garlic and saute, slowly add in pasta of choice (in this case I used leftover penne but I usually like it with a long, thin pasta) and heat...once pasta, oil, and garlic are heated through I like to stir in some crushed red pepper and sliced pepperoncini pepper for heat & flavor. Finish with a dash of salt & pepper and Bon Appetito! So simple yet so delicious and easy!!! I am always in the mood for this!

2. Fashion Blogs- Fashion Toast, 5inch&up, DulceCandy, Fashion Be Late...pick your poison. These blogs are so visually entertaining and I like vicariously living my inner slave to fashion out thru them. I love fashion as much as the next person but it can be kind of exhausting...therefore I keep my shopping within the 4 walls of a TJ Maxx or Forever 21 and allow the part of me that is still sane to appreciate what these ladies are wearing and obsessing over.

3. Tea- I was overdoing it with the coffee and it was doing nothing other than give me constant panic attacks and heartburn. I still drink coffee my friend (ahem, pumpkin latte) but at home I have become rather fond of the antioxidant rich, caffeine free version, relaxing, hot cup of tea.

4. Deep Breathing- I read somewhere that human beings (specifically Americans) do not breathe correctly...meaning long & deep enough. I also have a friend who was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and now has to wear oxygen at night. What is the relevance you may ask? He lost a butt-load of weight...simply by just breathing and getting more oxygen in his blood. Well, that's reason enough for me so I make sure to take a few moments during each day where I do nothing but breathe...slowly and deeply. It really works. Try it out.

5. Netflix- for $9 and change after tax I am entitled unlimited rentals (I receive one movie at a time and they take 2-3 days to send you a new rental once you send it out) and unlimited streaming of the vast library of instant play movies (which you watch online or on a streaming device). We have a PS3 in the living room and a wii in the bedroom, both hooked up to wi-fi, so I can stream movies and shows till my eyeballs fall out. I rarely watch much TV these days. The only reason we keep cable is so Ant can tune in during football season. If you don't have an NFL obsessed hubby or significant other, you could certainly save a lot of money simply by using Netflix. I think they are still doing the first month for free so at least you can try it to see if you like it first...why not give it a go?

That's all for now. I am not the most consistent blog poster but sometimes I just feel in the mood. Hope you enjoyed! Ciao! xoxoxo

Check out my new hobby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gECZtzXJ4qU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkhe0eA_Guk&feature=channel

Current Fav's that I Can't Live Without.

Recently I read that the true purpose of life is to find what brings you joy and happiness each and every day. So simple that it almost boggles your mind...is it really that easy? All of this time I was questioning the meaning of life and why we're all here, blah blah blah. Following The Law of Attraction, if your spirits are kept up and you maintain a generally happy and appreciative disposition, then having all you desire is right around the corner. To read more on happy vibrations and what not, I highly recommend reading "Excuse me, your life is waiting!", by Lynn Grabhorn. I decided to share a few things that make me happy these days...

1. Bethenny Frankel's "Skinny Girl" books(Naturally Thin & The Skinnygirl Dish)- Finally a way to maintain a healthy figure without the torture of dieting! Reading these books actually made me excited and eager to change my lifestyle, you can actually enjoy eating again!

2. Films based on the Middle Ages/Renaissance Era- Maybe it's a past life thing but I am strongly drawn to movies in this genre and watching them fulfills me to no end....my favorites include "Marie Antoinette", "The Duchess", "Ever After", and the very dark drama "The Other Boleyn Girl".

3. Ice Cream Cones- I actually bought them as a special treat for my daughter and have found them to be extremely reminiscent of the excitement that surrounded a trip to the ice cream stand as a child. Me and Sophia have found them to be quite addicting, chocolate ice cream is our fav.

4. YouTube- Yes I am that person that trolls youtube for funny videos, Disney movies that are currently unavailable on DVD, makeup/hair tutorials, etc. It has become a daily routine for me while I have my morning coffee. My hubby thinks I'm weird but its my thing so I don't care. Besides, I don't harass him while he yells at 12 year old British kids during a game of Call of Duty, lol.

5. Snuggling with Sophia- There is not one single time of the day where I can't drop what I am doing b/c my princess demands some affection. Not in the least. Enough said.

6. Sparkling Water by Poland Springs- I have always been bad about drinking enough water during the day. I have also been bad with the amount of soda that I drink, its something about the bubbles. So give me water that has bubbles and my prayers have been answered. The orange flavored one is my fav, I prob drink 2 liters a day of these. So long sugar/caffeine overload...hello hydration!

7. Pampering myself- One of the reasons I fell in love with our house is that the master bathroom came equipped with a jacuzzi tub. So many people told me that I would never use it but that is not the case with me, (I actually got in trouble with the hub b/c our electric bill was quite high due to my frequent use so now I am limited, boo). I love applying a nice mask to my face, settling in with a good book, using a nice sugar or salt scrub, and using a great smelling lotion after.

8. Moroccan Hair Oil- It smells amazing and my hair thanks me, apply a dime size to your palms and rub them together to heat it up a bit before rubbing it into damp hair. Comb through to distribute evenly but remember to only use a small amount or your hair will be really greasy. It is also a natural heat protectant which is good for a flatiron addict like me.

9. NYX cosmetics- Finally professional quality makeup for a fraction of the price, use it once and you will never buy MAC again, I swear.

10. Vaseline- Forget expensive eye creams and over priced lip products, I like to apply around my eyes and to my lips after cleansing at night and in addition to my facial moisturizer. Don't apply to your eyes during the day if you wear eye makeup or you will find it impossible to apply unless you have given it a good hour or so to sink in.

Hope you enjoyed! Ciao! xoxox

Seeing Dreams Come True

Currently I am reading, "The Vision Board, The Secret to an Extraordinary Life" by Joyce Schwarz and I am loving it. It is filled with beautiful pictures and inspiring examples of others work. Thus far I have loosely understood the purpose of a vision board but this book helps take it a step further for me. It goes into explaining how visioning sessions work and the importance of using power words to find your personal visioning statement. I have deeply meditated on finding my very own power words to help guide me and I have narrowed it down to two: freedom & security. I feel that if I strive to include these in every aspect of my life, I will be well covered. Therefore, my personal vision statement will be, "I am free to be myself and secure with who I am!" How else are these powerful words to be useful to my life? Let me share a few snippets from a recent journal entry on the subject:
Relationships-Secure enough in my relationships with others to feel Free to be myself
Money- Freedom to spend as I wish and Security to know that my needs are always met first
Travel- Freedom to explore with a Secure and comfortable home to return to
Food- Freedom to enjoy food and drink because I am Secure with my body and health
Work/lia sophia dream career- Freedom to work as I wish with the Security that it will stay that way for as long as I desire it so

Now I will open myself up to certain images that will help bring these thoughts to fruition. I will scour magazines, books, Internet, any form of media that inspires me and drives me to stay on track with my personal vision statement. I will attach these images to a poster board and will put it somewhere where I can reflect/focus on what it is that I want in this life for myself and the loved ones I surround myself with.

You can make your own vision board for certain occasions, something desired, or for a generalized plan of your life as I am doing. This method has been used by historic legends of the past, huge businesses and corporations, successful celebrities, and everyday individuals like you and me. It is a very powerful tool that can incorporate great happiness and success in your life. Why not start right now?
Ciao-xoxo

What if....

For the past couple of years, with the raging popularity of "The Secret," I have been an avid studier of the law of attraction. I was deeply intrigued by the fantasy of merely thinking a thought and having that thought manifest into reality. The process, however, is not quite that simple. Always a thinker rather than a do'er, I wildly whipped up countless daydreams that only my wild imagination could conceive. Then the voice of reason would take over, snuffing out my daydreams as if they were but a flame on a candle. So I would wait and un-surprisingly nothing would happen. The same old routine, while not necessarily a bad thing, but certainly not this sublime existence I had cooked up time and time again. "OK, Megan, now its time to take it a step further," said my mind.

In the law of attraction, having a creative imagination is a virtue. Usually this is the hardest part for adults to re-cultivate, being that it was a thing of the childlike past and no longer needed in "grown-up life." We are so droned to think the same thoughts as society anyway, stuck in a cynical mind-set of "oh that is just not possible" and "get your damn head out of the clouds." But what if it were possible? What if all we ever wanted in this lifetime was within a single, believing thought, a mere daydream that could unlock all your fantasies within the switch of your brain? Well, I have been studying for quite some time now and while I am not going to go into full detail on what exactly the law of attraction is, for that would be a whole blog in itself, I would like to chronicle my experience with it. See, I haven't fully applied myself, only slightly, and I have seen the good and bad results based on the way I was feeling that day/month/year. I can certainly see the pattern. While I do give most things great effort I don't feel as if I have fully reached my potential in anything, and I think it would be interesting to see if I really can concoct the life of my dreams based on appreciation, love, good feelings, higher frequencies, silly daydreams....you get the point. Honestly what the hell have I got to lose anyway? I am already living a good life, now I am ready to take it a step further and get a taste of the Great life. La Dolce Vita Everyone! Here we go!
Ciao-xoxox