My Chic Life

Free Rice

Want to test your vocabulary? How about your Spanish skills? How about naming that famous painting? While ending world hunger…

I came across this great website that not only improves your knowledge, but also helps feed the hungry all around the world. Choose a subject to test your knowledge and let the addiction begin. BEST of all, for every correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program.

According to the United Nations, 25,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes, most of them children. Over 66 billion grains of rice donated to date thanks to Free Rice and their partnerships.

So check out www.freerice.com now!

underage and overdressed

…but seriously???? Miley Cyrus on the August cover of ELLE is a little preposterous.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m totally Team Miley. Love Hanna Montana. Lover her jams. Yet, to be honest, her serious teeny bopping face on the cover of ELLE kind of weirded me out. I mean, come on, SHE”S SIXTEEN. The fact that she’s on the cover of ELLE at all is a little ridiculous but then they had to make her all high fashion and solemn and shiz. I get that she’s launching a line at Wal-Mart so the whole fashion magazine spread makes sense but the expressions she makes kill me. Come on, let the girl smile a little. 

Am I the only one completely annoyed by this????  Check out the rest of the ELLE spread on and let me know what you think.

Maybe I’m just jealous

Between work & play, family & friends, who has the time to take care of a pet? Dogs drool and cats scratch. Fish die and gerbils smell. Despite all of that, I yearn for a little creature of my own to have and to hold. Something that loves me unconditionally and cheers me up when I’ve had a rough day. Is it possible to reap all of these benefits without the responsibility and commitment of owning a pet??

Sphere Genius!

It sure is. I’ve seen these spherical wonders at a few boutiques around town and then imagine my excitement when they popped up at my local Anthropologie?! The original EcoSphere is the world’s first totally enclosed ecosystem- a complete, self-contained and self sustaining miniature world encased in glass. Or, in layman’s terms…a living thing that takes care of itself!

adopt a pet shrimp!

These EcoSpheres make great office pets, favors, and gifts! Trust me, your sister will totally appreciate it when you give your niece an EcoSphere and not a hamster for her birthday. EcoSpheres require no cleaning and only minimal care and the little shrimp inside can live to be 7 years old! They can keep you company for years to come without robbing you of your freedom to take a spur of the moment weekend getaway.

EcoSphere sitter? EcoSphere kennel? Nope.

EcoSphere love? Absolutely.

Hello wedding enthusiasts! I know all of you are looking for the newest, most fabulous thing for your wedding and you spend hours scouring the internet in search of said item. Lately I’ve been really into signs… directional signs, signs for food, the bride and grooms names, you name it. We made them here in the office and have about 80 techniques to make them look new, or antiqued, or colorful, whatever fits into our theme.

So imagine my surprise when I just found someone on Etsy offering you a custom sign for $85 a pop! What?! This is madness! Even the most un-crafty bride out there could create these things, for a grand total of, say $10. Hit up your local Home Depot, bat your eyes and ask someone to cut your wood for you, then head to a craft store for paint supplies, then, create. Easy peasy, and the imperfection in the piece is usually what makes it look homemade and special so fear not!

Here are a few others we’ve done:

 

Dolce Vita

Thursday, we had the pleasure of joining the Dolce ladies for our weekly Ladies Who Lunch. As for the restaurant choice of the week, Brit’s pick, Café Was, a French bistro on Vine in Hollywood was Délicieux et chic (delicious and chic) as we say in French. It was too much of a gorgeous, sunny day to sit inside but if you do find yourselves sitting inside the atmosphere is old Hollywood themed and lavishly decorated like Jay Gatsby’s mansion. I highly recommend bringing a hot date.

OOH LA LA!

As for the food, the ladies and I all enjoyed our salad entrées. I ordered the ratatouille because it was too cute to pass up! It was a mixture of grilled eggplant, zucchini, pequillo peppers, tomato, garlic confit, and greens on the side to mix it all in yummy salad. Prices were totally on the affordable side and for those of you who still want the fine dining experience in this economy, they offer the stimulus plan fixed lunch! $12 for soup, entrée, and tasty dessert. AND of course I must mention the steal of the century- 2 martinis for $5!!! Come thirsty!

Femme Chic

All in all, Ivan Kane’s Café Was is a must do in the near future! OH, how can I forget the Gateau de pain, a scrumptious bread pudding with a side of vanilla yogurt ice cream. Go submerse yourself in some French flava.

Au revoir!

Shabby Chic

I’m sure ya’ll are all totally aware of the absolute GIFT that is Country Living Magazine, but on the off chance that you (like me) were initially spooked by the title thinking “I’m not a quilter, why would I read something called Country Living”, please let me enlighten you. My Aunt Linda got me a subscription for Christmas a few years back and when I got the card in the mail and saw the name I thought “great, why don’t you also get me a subscription to Auto Repair Monthly or Guns and Ammo” becuase I’d probablly find those just as interesting. 

But then, the first magazine came and I was in love. Imagine country, mixed with shabby chic, mixed with vintage, and antiques, and adorable ideas for food and parties. It is just a sweet, lovely read and I’m giddy when it arrives in the mail. So if you haven’t yet had the pleasure, pick up a copy and give it a whirl!

Hello there chickens! Let me introduce you to your new “roost”!

Feather Your Nest

I happened on this home furnishing company almost by accident and I’m in love with their line. The opening of their website says it best “We are delighted to share with you our passion for creating things that are affordable, beautifully made and entirely special.”

Tree Hugger!

I couldn’t agree more with the description. Please look at their actual website just to get an idea of their cool factor, and then head to Velocity Art Designs to shop until your hearts content.

You may get distracted though, VAD has about 9 million things to buy, all of which you’re going to love as much as these branchy candlesticks!!

Just a Trim

To know that Neuro drinks are ah-maz-ing! 

Erika introduced Jasmine and me to a little piece of sunshine right before the 4th with Neuro. She decided to try them after seeing Lindsay Lohan tote them around (probably spiked…) and man am I glad she did.

First of all, for the ever-so-healthy reader, these babies are great for ya! With only 35 calories, you can afford to drink the entire bottle. Each drink serves a purpose, providing different benefits and an array of ingredients; most are jam-packed with vitamins!

Neurodrinks are not for the faint of heart. They’re fun and have funky – try NeuroTrim that includes green tea extract to help shed the big L-B-S when you need it msot, NeuroBliss to enhance your mood and NeuroSleep to get the best zzzz’s possible! Or for you daring souls, try Neurogasm when you want to increase blood flow to you-know-where!!

stop and smell the roses

One, Miss Alex Lorton! Who wrote the most creative reasons why she deserved the bags from Smudge Ink!! 

Alex, enjoy your fabulous new bags!

Thanks so everyone else who wrote in!