Last week in Primary I was talking to the kids about gratitude and we talked about different things we were all thankful for. One of the girls (age 5) said, “I maybe don’t have everything that I want but I have a lot.” So do I.

I have so much to be thankful for:

for my family
for good friends who make me laugh, inspire me and challenge me to be better
for a puppy who lets me obsess over her
for blooming flowers and fall leaves
for a million shortcomings that give me a chance to laugh at myself
for my faith
for shooting stars
for the freedom to dream big and pursue happiness
for it never being too late to discover new passions
for a fluffy pillow to rest my head on each night
for good food and a warm home
for cozy sweaters to wear in the winter
for flip flops to wear in the summer
for old friends
for new friends
for music
for my health
for my education
for good books to read
for the opportunity to travel
For the sweet smell of clean laundry
For people to hug
For eye contact with strangers
For random people who smile back
For the ocean to dip my toes in
For cupcakes and goldfish crackers
For a Heavenly Father who loves me even when I’m not so loveable
For Eucalyptus trees
For clean water to drink
For the Primary kids I get to teach every week
For challenges that teach me to grow
For a million different blessing…

I am so thankful!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John F. Kennedy

Happy Thanksgiving! xo

photo credit

My friend brought me back this week’s issue of Grazia from her trip to the UK.
It doesn’t take much to make me homesick for England.

So here are some tunes for your listening pleasure. There’s no real theme to these picks – just some songs that I never get sick of hearing.

Cuddle Fuddle

Just Dance

Red Cape

Sugar Magnolia

In the Ayer

Kung Fu Fighting

Tout Doucement

Crazy Girls

Shine

Drink your fluids, wash your hands and enjoy!

xoxo Vanessa

I’m happy to share these with you but as always if you like them please support the artist by purchasing them.

photo credit

I swear that is the last time I am getting sick. I’m still not 100% over it but I’m getting there. Being sick has made me realize some things that I need in my life.

1. Husband
(for chicken soup making/orange juice providing purposes)
2. Snuggie
(so I can play with my phone and stay warm)
3. Dog walker/entertainer
(because it only takes one look at Harlow to see she’s bored silly)
4. TV in my room
(because I haven’t left it in a week)

Okay, so these are all things I’d probably only want on a temporary basis (well, besides the husband) but I really needed them this last week. I’ve never been very good at being sick. I’m pretty much a baby. I came across this journal entry from when I was living in England and was feeling pretty miserable. It sort of makes me laugh:

I must be really and truly ill because I walked into the chemists to buy medicine today and burst into tears. Who DOES that? I have been sick for the past month – first it was a sinus infection, then inflamed tonsils, then stomach flu, and now whatever I have. My throat is on fire and I can’t swallow but I’m not coughing. And then I was standing in front of a shelf full of medicine for things I’ve never heard of. I mean honestly…what is “catarrh”??? None of this means anything except I’m tired of being sick. I want to feel like a normal person again.

helpful… very helpful…

If you ever want to see my cry just come up to me while I’m sick and say “catarrh”. You’ll get your wish.

I promise to appreciate how good normal feels if I can just get back there. And maybe Harlow will stop looking for a new family to live with.

photo credit

It’s in the air!

I’m not getting a puppy. I’m still completely smitten with the one I have. But it seems like everyone else I know is thinking about getting one and has asked my opinion. My response? DO IT!

Of course it is a responsibility but one with lots and lots of benefits. Take Harlow for example. She keeps me warm when she snuggles on my lap and looks ridiculously sweet when she sleeps. She is always happy to see me and she gets really excited about silly things like twigs and dryer sheets. I am proud when she eats her dinner and drinks lots of water and learns a new trick like “shake” or “roll over”. She is proud of me when I leave a sock on the floor or take her on an extra long walk or give her a tiny bit of cottage cheese with her puppy food.

When it comes to puppies I vote yes.

I decided to sponsor one of my very favorite blogs: The Rockstar Diaries. Yay! I even made my own little ad. That part took way longer than it should have but you can take a look at the finished product if you like.

Why do I love The Rockstar Diaries so much? Okay, I’ll tell you.

They love Polaroids
They love each other
They like to paint things
They go to the temple
They wear silly hats
She wears red lipstick
They love Utah
They love love happy lists

Honestly, Naomi and Josh’s blog makes me very happy. I love reading their little adventures. I dare you not to become addicted.

Photo property of The Rockstar Diaries of course.

I haven’t had much time for blogging this week… I must still be exhausted from my lipstick search. It really is not for the faint of heart.

One of my co-workers is leaving today for 2 weeks in England & Wales and I am doing my best impression of a not-at-all-jealous person and so I am going to have a very, very good weekend. Too bad Chelsea’s not around.

I love this site full of attractive office supplies. (found by Suann)

You Are My Fave is still one of my fave blogs to read.

You have until the 16th to enter Cassie’s first giveaway

Joanna has been roaming the country in search of all things all things Parisienne.

Tina of The English Muse led me to Emilie79’s Flickr site – full beautiful Polaroids of Paris.

Susannah wrote a beautiful piece called Allowing Dreams that everyone should definitely read.

photo from lolita.se

Steven Wiltshire was diagnosed as autistic at age 3 and was 5 years old before he started speaking but today at the age of 35 his art sells for thousands of dollars.

Most recently he has drawn a 20-ft panoramic view of the New York skyline after a ride over the city that lasted only minutes. Drawn completely from memory every building and street is correct and drawn completely to scale. The New York panorama follows those done in Tokyo, Rome, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem and London. Stephen Wiltshire was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006 for services to art. In September 2006 Stephen opened his permanent gallery in the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, London.

You can read more about Stephen and his art here.

Feeling inpired by a few magazines, a few friends and a few blog friends – I set out on a quest to find a red lipstick. I’m pretty sure the girls in the Nordstrom’s cosmetics department are sick of seeing me. To be honest, as nice and helpful as they are, I hope I don’t see them for awhile either.

I started searching for the perfect red about two weeks ago. I just wanted a fun red that could be casual and not look scary or trashy. I’ve seen plenty of examples of great red lipstick. Just look at Naomi’s blog – she is often rocking a red lip. Emily totally found the perfect red. And Joanna keeps blogging about red lipstick.

I’ll spare you the details but the last two weeks have involved several trips to Nordstrom’s, Sephora, and Long’s drugs. Here are some of the ones I tried:

Lady Bug, Ruby Woo and Lady Dager (Mac)
Cruella, Rouge d’Enfer, Fire Down Below and Spanish Red (Nars)
Red, Burnt Red, and Slopes (Bobbi Brown)
British Red and True Red (L’Oreal)
Red-y to Wear (Clinique)

They were all certainly red but either too bright, too orange-y,or too purple-y for my skin tone and my liking.

I’m not the most patient person and I was ready to call it quits last night when the super-patient girl at the Nars counter (I love Nars, p.s.) pulled out a color that wasn’t with the testers: Forbidden Red. The heavens opens, choirs of angels sang, and I finally went home with my perfect red. Whew! I also picked up a Clinique lipliner in Chili that I love.

Mission accomplished.

I love my new lipstick.

1st image and 2nd image