Orchids

I will always be a fan of orchids but I love them most when presented in a more romantic or glamorous way such as these by FloralArt in L.A. I'm not so crazy about orchids in tropical arrangements anymore, maybe because it's too expected.

More Work Clothes

My favorite wardrobe staple is the pencil skirt. I really like the lines in this one from Victoria's Secret. Great deal on the silk & cashmere cardigans, too!
I love the yellow one featured with the skirt, but am not sure yellow would be a good color on me since I have such fair skin.

Any suggestions for a different colored cardigan with the light gray skirt?

West Elm Patio Tiles

I would love these wood patio tiles from West Elm on my patio!

Patio Plant

June2007 021
Originally uploaded by sfraz71.

I ran over to the nursery today with my mom and found this plant (half off!!!)and dark brown planter that matches the browns in my patio chairs perfectly! I'm thinking I need some sort of outdoor rug now.

Target Tote

I'm going to Target today to hunt for this Prada knock-off, the Xhilaration® Ruched Tote Bag in black. It would be great for all of my work/gym needs and much more stylish than my blue SpaExec canvas tote that I'm currently using!

Chicken Piccata

I made this last weekend and it was such a hit, it is being requested again this weekend. I'm making it this evening with sauteed spinach & garlic with my new way of making garlic bread (below)!

'Canyon Ranch' Chicken Piccata

Ingredients
4 skinned chicken breast halves, boned and defatted
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Chicken Stock

Instructions
1. With a meat mallet, pound chicken breasts to 1/2-inch thick.
2. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, capers and chicken stock. Set aside.
3. Place flour in a large bowl. Dredge chicken breasts with flour.
4. Heat a large sauté pan with olive oil. Sauté chicken over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
5. Add lemon juice mixture to pan and cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 2 minutes.
6. Serve immediately

White Work Pants

Loving these white chino pants for summer by JCrew. I like the shoes with them too!

((via EmilyStyle))

It's A Beautiful Woman . . . . .

The following was written by Audrey Hepburn, when she was asked to share her "beauty tips" and was read at her funeral years later:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, see the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw anyone out.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others"

Career Conundrums

Anyone ever deal with any of this in the office?

Office Politics
Power Plays
Micro-Managing
The Halo Effect
Brownnosers, Backstabbers & Bullies
Office Spirit Killers

I have a friend dealing with a sudden barrage of things like this and I don't know how to advise on it since I have never had to deal with anything like this in my lifetime before. I feel so bad for her because she has never had a problem with anyone in her entire professional life, has always been well liked and is at a place she wanted to spend her whole career at, while there are others tinkering with her that are most likely only there temporarily.

Any advice for my friend?

Here are some interesting articles on the subjects...
http://www.officepolitics.com/advice/?p=178

Update:
Ok,ok. It's not a friend. It is me going through all of this!

Simple Soup

Over the weekend I decided to make a soup recipe I saw on tv, and boy, was it easy and oh, so yummy!

Tomato Soup
Heat 2 cans tomato soup (add water). Add a spoonful or so of diced green chiles from a can. Squeeze half a limes worth of juice. Add a dash of black pepper and a pinch of salt to taste. Garnish the bowl of soup with a lime wedge.

The green chiles added just the right amount of spice, while the lime added a peppy tang! So good!

Garlic Bread
I served the soup with fresh garlic bread that I made by slicing a baguette of french bread and brushing olive oil on each side of the pieces of bread. Sprinkle a bit of salt. Bake for 10 minutes. I turned each piece over after five minutes. Next, rub a garlic clove over the bread, which is rough enough to scratch the garlic, causing it to spread subtly but nicely over the bread. I much prefer this to garlic bread spreads!

Designer Friends

I am so grateful to have such a great group of fellow designer friends! It's so nice to be able to bounce ideas off one another!

A special thank you goes out to my extremely talented, good friend Jason for reminding me this morning that design is supposed to be FUN! He's an art director at a kick-ass firm in LA. He does such amazing work!

Computer Woes

Haven't been able to blog nearly as much as I'd like to lately due to serious internet connection problems at home. Looks like lunch breaks might be the only time I can do it, if I don't choose to workout instead. :)

Hopefully I'll get it figured out soon!

Bare Escentuals

I've been using Bare Escentuals for a few years now but only recently discovered what a difference using the Kabuki brush makes! I had always just used the Flawless Application Face Brush but believe me, the Kabuki gives a more flawless application!

Another great Bare Escentuals find is the bareVitamins - Skin Rev-er Upper. It really seems to help my skin hold moisture better and makes it seem a bit smoother.

Has anyone tried their new Prime Time product? It looks like it might be even better than the Skin Revver Upper, if that's even possible!

Sugar Dispenser

This sugar dispenser is almost too perfect! No spoons necessary!

Insolated Lunch Totes

These are the cutest lunch totes I have ever seen!

Fingerprint charm

This is such a great gift idea! The Fingerprint Charm (or keychain) at Intuition.

Sprayology

Love this line of homeopathic and vitamin oral sprays by Sprayology! I have the Body Balance one for adrenal exhaustion and would like to get so many of the other kinds like Stress Less.

Dryer Sheets

Lately, I've started putting dryer sheets in my gym bag. Everything smells so fresh when I open the bag and I even get a whiff of the clean scent on my clothes while working out! It's the little things in life that make me happy!

The Anniversary Party

Loved this movie by and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cummings with a great ensemble cast. Craig brought it home for us to watch a few days ago and, fittingly enough, we watched it last night on our first year anniversary! This movie reminded me of many moments I had in Hollywood, from the house, the hills and the creative people. Loved it!

Mazzy

Mazzy & berries
Originally uploaded by sfraz71.

My favorite girl, Mazzy, hasn't quite been herself lately. Her spunk is more subdued, she isn't as excited about eating and is pretty much only wanting people food! She is also not attempting to go up the stairs as often. I am horrified that something might be seriously wrong with her! Such a dilemma though because I have been made to feel like I absolutely can't take off work to go to the Dr. (for me or anyone in my family) and yet I don't have the money to take her to an after-hours emergency vet! I really don't have the money for a regular vet visit either, but I have to do something!

I pretty much cried myself to sleep last night at the thought of anything being wrong with my little Mazzy. She is the sweetest, most joyful thing ever! She's just full of love!

On a related note, what are all of you feeding your beloved pets? This has me wondering if maybe I fed her tainted pet food, even though I made every attempt to make sure I was giving her safe sustenance by only feeding her organic foods not listed on the recall list!

Anyway, we'll see whats going on with Mazzy! I'm hoping she's just exhausted from this heat wave (even though she stays indoors in the air-conditioned house all day)!

I am sooo worried!

Gorgeous scoop neck dress by Roberto Cavalli.

New York City Ballet Workout

On my recent trip I took a ballet class in which the guest instructor recommended this workout DVD...
New York City Ballet: Complete Workout 1 & 2
I really must get it and try it out! I loved the ballet class so much and am sure the DVD's are just as good!

Lens Lust II

Another lens I am wanting, no let's go with NEEDING, is the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Medium Telephoto Lens.
Santa? Can you hear me?

Tovolo Popsicle Molds

I remember using Tupperware popsicle molds as a child with just orange juice...so good! I may get these!
http://www.wrapables.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=C55031&prodlist=cj#top

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday today. I would have loved to have been at a bar-b-q or picnic somewhere with family and friends but elected to work instead. I may go to a fireworks event this evening, if I can last that long (I'm pretty tired!). I get Friday off so it will be a glorious 3 day weekend! What did you all do to celebrate Independence Day?

PocketTop by Belkin

For only $49.99 this is a cool little find by Belkin! It only fits up to a 15.4" laptop though. Mine is 17"...uggh!


{{via AT:NY}}

Tom Ford Whitney Sunglasses

My favorite sunglasses this year have been Tom Ford's Whitney sunglasses. I haven't actually tried them on but have seen them often in the media and admired them every time! I'm thinking the champagne color would be a fun shade and not as played out as the black ones. Wish they weren't so expensive. Available at Intuition.