New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again: the making of resolutions.

Last year I set a goal of becoming more fearless. I don't know if I achieved that; it's difficult to measure fearlessness. But I have been trying to take more chances, step out of my comfort zone and try new things. My role in the community, while still quite small, has grown in the past year. And I've noticed a new self-confidence, something I'd lacked for some time.

But this year I'm going for a straight-up, achievable resolution: to buy less cheap crap. For me, that particularly means clothing, but it also pertains to things for the home.

I have a longstanding aversion to buying things made in China. One day I intend to blog about that (when and if I can ever set my thoughts out properly), but it started as my own personal protest against the country's human and animal rights abuses. Stories of contaminated pet products, children's toys and baby formula over the past few years vindicated my choice, and I've continued to try to avoid products that come from there.

It's not easy, and sometimes I give in. It's nearly impossible to find sweaters or boots or purses (and not just cheap ones but designer labels) that aren't made in China, and when buying online it's usually impossible to know where a product comes from. But there's been one good side effect: I've saved lots of money by not buying cheap, Chinese-made crap.

But it's not enough. I love stuff and I love shopping, but I really believe it's better for me and better for the world to make more-conscious, thoughtful decisions about where to spend my money. So no more "just looking" at the clothing racks at Target. No more $20 dresses at H&M.

I'd also like to teach myself to draw. Nothing too intricate, just some simple fashion- or architecture-related sketches that I can use on the blog.

Oh, yes, and I'm back to blogging. For now, anyway. I'm not going to post as regularly as I did before. It began to feel like a chore. No, now I'll post when the mood strikes and I have the time and energy to devote. (Check back next week for pictures from my trip to Paris and Brussels!)

Do you have any new year's resolutions you'd like to share? I'd love to hear about them!

I'm Mad About...

NextMovie

• Betcha haven't seen these movies.
• I must get one (or two!) of these T-shirts.
• Didn't get your Jason Wu for Target bag? Me either.
• Cute (and free) Valentine's Day e-cards for your Fido-loving friend.

Have a great weekend!

LA (Shopping) Story

Even though we're less than two hours from Los Angeles, we don't get down there very often, mainly because of the dogs. I hate leaving them alone all day, and it's a lot of trouble to board them. But we happened to have a dog-sitter Saturday, so we took advantage of it and went for a drive.

The destination: the Westfield Century City. I had never been there, but it has some stores I've been wanting to check out in person and some I hadn't been to in a long time. Plus I love that part of town.

First stop: H&M. The only H&M store I'd been to was in London, and I was dying to visit one closer to home. And I wasn't disappointed—it was full of affordable goodies.

Erik said no to this dress (that's kind of a big deal, 'cause he almost never says no):

But these pretty frocks went home with me:

On the way to Madewell, we took a detour into Teavana, and I fell in love with two very different tea sets. This one in classic white with a bit of simple flourish:

And this, in all its gilded glory:

I love the idea of afternoon tea (must be the Anglophile in me), and I'm sure I'd make use of either of those sets. If only...

After a brief (and underwhelming) stop at Zara, I made it to Madewell:

I'm Mad About...

I'll be indulging in some delicious treats at the annual Greek food festival this weekend. I look forward to this all year long, although I hear there will be no feta fries this year—tragedy!

Lands' End Canvas draped shawl-collar cardigan

• I got the Lands' End Canvas catalog the other day, and I want everything in it! Seriously. Beautiful and timeless. I'm so ready for fall to arrive now. (And if that didn't do it for me, this certainly did.)
• Zara launched online shopping in the U.S. this week! Yes!
• Another reason to love Anthropologie (as if I needed one): It's holding Sit Stay Love pet adoption and supply drives at stores around the country this month. Check it out!
• In other animal news, Sept. 17-25 is Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week. I'm full up, but if you have room in your home and your heart, consider bringing home a critter with special needs.

Design Between Friends

I've enjoyed doing this blog so much in the last couple months. It's great to have a place where I can share all the big and little things that make me smile (even if no one is reading it!).

It's been so much fun, in fact, that I've teamed up with my friend Jana to start a new blog, Design Between Friends. This blog will be more design-focused (but expect some pet posts and maybe a few bits on travel, food and fashion). Jana lives in the Bay Area, so we'll touch on regional topics in Northern and Southern California, too.

Jana loves purses. Here she checks out the selection at Anthropologie.

We start off with a shopping trip. I went up to Oakland recently to check out Jana's new place, and we hit Ikea and Anthropologie. We had so much fun (we always do) that we wanted to share our adventures.

Jana's a terrific, engaging writer who never fails to make me laugh, and I'm sure you'll enjoy reading her take on design and decor. Our styles are very different, but we often find ourselves swooning over the same things.

I plan to keep posting here, but I hope you'll stop by DBF and tell us what you think. And come back often!