New Years is my least favorite holiday of all time. I would rather celebrate anything other than New Year's Eve. I chalk it up to never having plans and feeling too pressured to have fun -- it just isn't my ideal night. However, last year I had a great New Years in with some friends and it changed my perspecti…

Wow, we are on the final week of 2018 and I can't believe how fast the year flew. A lot of things changed this year, I grew a lot and changed a lot; my life changed a lot and I just feel like a totally different person. 2018 was a good year; I really advanced my writing career and the blog grew a ton and I scored …

I'm so happy that in 2018, the love of books is still on the uptick. I feel like everyone is obsessed with reading the next great book and the media eats it all up. They say print is dead but that does not apply to books! I've loved reading since I was a youngster and I'm happy that I've kept up with i…

I took two days off from the blog to focus on Christmas with my family and it was so nice. I hope you all had a beautiful few days with your families and loved ones. Now, I'm on vacation and taking these days before 2019 to relax and I'm so excited. It's time I start wrapping up the year on the blog and I&…

This is it! I'm officially on Christmas break and we're three days away from Christmas (two if you count Christmas Eve as the real celebration, which we Italians definitely do!) I'm so excited to relax for the next few days, get some stuff done and just enjoy this time at home, with my family and friends. …

I am the resident baker in my family and am in charge of desserts for pretty much every holiday. I love baking so much and I definitely get that from my aunt. When I was little and would have sleepovers at her house, we would always bake something. From brownies to cookies and cakes, to her special nut tarts, I always…

When I think of Christmas, I think of glitz, glamour, glitter and red lipstick. Even though I don't get too dressed up for the holidays , mostly because I'm at home, I still want my makeup to look appropriate and beautiful. There is something so beautiful about Christmas makeup... it just makes me feel so good…

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know how much I love to stay indoors and how much I love the hygge lifestyle. Hygge is the Danish word to acknowledge the feeling or moment of cozy, charming and special. It could be alone or with friends, at home or out but either way, it is meant to be described …

I can't believe Christmas is in 12 days! I'm starting to get really excited but also very sad because my favorite time of year is almost over. All my gifts are bought (just have one more person to buy for) and I need to start wrapping them. I took off starting on December 20th so I'm looking forward to an …

Navigating the happiest time of year at work can be difficult; there are tons of different people (whether you work in a small or large office) and everyone celebrates different things. You're close with certain people and not with others... there is a lot of ups and downs when the holidays come around. Do you get…

Karin Slaughter has been one of my favorite authors for a few years now, ever since I read "Pretty Girls". That book really messed with my head and remains one of the most twisted books I ever read. Last year I read 'The Good Daughter" and it further proved that Karin Slaughter's mind is a scary…

There is rarely a time when I get super dressed up for a holiday party. If I'm going to a holiday event, it's most likely a casual one, like a small girls night or an ugly sweater party. I love the more casual parties because I love to be comfortable, and it just means the entire party is more lowkey and enjoy…

When I saw that Essie was releasing a new line of glitter polishes, I was enthralled. The photos Essie posted on their Instagram were gorgeous and the polish looked like it really popped. I would be lying if I said it wasn't some of the most gorgeous polishes I've ever seen. I had a few colors I wanted to try,…

This post is coming at you very late... Friday night at 11:41 to be exact. I totally spaced out last night after work and forgot to write a post, mostly because I was hanging Christmas lights and watching 'Christmas in Evergreen' on the Hallmark Channel. It was a very good Hallmark Christmas movie. I always pr…

I've been reading Create & Cultivate for some time now and I've listened to the founder, Jaclyn Johnson, on a bunch of podcasts. I love what Create & Cultivate is and I love the story of how Jaclyn founded it. If you don't know what Create & Cultivate is, it's a website and conference seri…

Aside from my dad I've never bought a guy a Christmas gift. As much as I hate being single, it was always glorious this time of year when I didn't have that extra stubborn gift to buy. I think buying men gifts is one of life's least pleasurable things. As easy as it might be because there are only so many …

I loved writing this post for the Fall so I wanted to recreate it for Christmas and winter. I love Fall and all the Fall holidays but nothing beats Christmas in my mind. The entire season is filled with magic and pure joy -- I am at my happiest during the Christmas season and I make sure that joy is spread throughout…