Kate and First Lady Michelle have made a point of wearing some of their favorite pieces of clothing several times.  Most of us do this for more practical reasons. I have always enjoyed styling an outfit in unique ways to make it feel like a fresh new look each time.

I bought this simple flowy floral dress early last spring.

I wore it to my friend Jennifers wedding like this.  I needed a big pop of red because she referred to us bridesmaids as "Ladies in Red," and simply requested that incorporate some red in to our dresses. I wore some red floral sandles to complete the look.

I wore it to an outdoor garden party with this lovely hat, purchased at Grace Black Vintage. I carried the little satin flower pot bag that I purchased several years ago when I was the maid of honor for another friends wedding. I threw this white lacy cardigan over my shoulders.

I wore this outfit for an outdoor summer concert.  These boots are incredibly comfy and perfect for an edgier look. The handbag is something my husband picked up for me on one of his powerlifting trips a number of years back.  The sheer hooded cardigan completed the look and made me feel a bit more covered but did not add unnecessary heat.

Feminine and unique shoes from Poetic License, vintage bracelet I picked up in Chicago several years ago, and vintage clip earrings given to my by one of our clients who just thought I would like them.  I do. Snuggly warm sweater tops the look with a flower I picked up at one of my favorite shops, Cats Like Us.

Too much pink is never enough.  My favorite pink sweatercoat, a bag I picked up at Lilith Fair, earrings from an estate sale, and a necklace I picked up at the vintage store next door to Cats Like Us.  I am guessing that the necklace is from the fifties but I dont really care all that much.  I just bought it because I loved it.

My favorite coat with vintage pin which was a birthday gift from my brother Jim and his family.  Purchased at Miss Josies Antiques.

I wore this snuggly ensemble for my wonderful dinner at the new Niagara Falls Culinary Center with my friend Paula.  She is the director there and we had a wonderful meal and a delightful evening. 

Add a simple black jacket and you have a canvas for several other looks!  These boots were purchased on a trip to Toronto a number of years ago with my mother.  They are as comfortable as bare feet and have many, many, miles on them.  They were very expensive at the time, but a worthy splurge since Ive worn them lots of times.  The necklace was something I picked up in the adorable town Hammondsport NY at an art fair.

This handbag was purchased for me at Cats Like Us by my husbands brother AD and sister in law Jennifer.  If you have known me for five minutes, you know this is exactly my cup of tea. I paired it with this snake wrap bracelet that I picked up at Tony Walker when I purchased the exact same bracelet for my sister in law Heidi last Christmas. 

With a wonderful vintage handbag I picked up on Allen Street while shopping with my friend Rebecca. Cheap pink plaid sunglasses I picked up on a trip to Vegas at the Stratosphere Hotel.

And finally, dressed up for the Holidays with boots, earrings and bracelet all given to me by my husbands wonderful dad and stepmom.  The bracelet means an awful lot because it is a family bracelet. 

So there you have it.  One dress, 10 unique looks.  I felt like I could have done at least ten more.  Why should Kate and the First Lady have all the fun?

Black Friday has gotten a little out of control.  I don’t think I have to
expand on that.  Just turn on a television, flip on your computer or your phone. You can’t avoid the hype unless you are living at Walden Pond with no electricity or internet access.  Black Friday is more extreme than ever.  It looks like a window in to hell to me, but I don’t mind if others love to jump in to the fray of this more recent American tradition.  It is
just not my particular cup of tea.

For those of us who prefer our Holiday shopping  a little more on the
civilized side, I offer you the following pleasant, easy and lovely Black
Friday.  First, wait until Saturday when all of the maniacs are home exhausted or at the ER from fighting over flat screens and Tickle Me Elmos.

Sleep in. Snuggle in with your spouse.  Take a moment to enjoy just being the two of you for a bit.  If its just
you, smile about the fact that your day is going to be just exactly what you want it to be.  Put on a little
Holiday music. If you have relatives in from out of town, throw together a nice omelet and craft some bloody marys. 
Play some board games.  Read the newspaper.

Nose around in the lovely shops on Elmwood.  Start at Thin Ice, where you can buy some wonderful local handcrafted gifts for everyone on your list.  Say hello to the lovely proprietor, Therese Deutschlander. Her smile
alone is worth the trip.  She will also wrap your gifts beautifully for you. Swing over to Miss Josie’s Antiques in Kenmore to find a nice unique gift for the vintage lover in your life.  You can find jewelry, housewares,
handbags, and even some wonderful vintage Christmas decorations.  Speaking of jewelry, stop by Lisa Hunter Jewelry on Main St in Williamsville.  The owner, Barbara Maira, will show you some of the most original jewelry around. 
She can also make a custom design with your input, including reworking some family jewelry, or something that you have that needs freshened up or updated.  

Stop for lunch at Brodo on Main and order the Domenic’s Brodo.  This slightly spicy homemade soup will warm you up and make you feel cozy. Its quite lovely there too.

Your next stop should be Cats Like Us in Tonawanda.  Andrew and Julie Ann Davis have assembled a collection of modern and retro clothing, jewelry, handbags, and even Tiki gifts.  This place is both fun and fashionable.  Treat yourself to a nice Holiday dress or fun hair flower while you are there.  About five minutes away, on Niagara Falls Boulevard, you will find Martinsville. Martinsville is a beautiful mansion filled with handmade soaps, candles, and amazing jewelry, hair accessories, hand painted glass ware, and many other unique gift ideas.  

I couldn’t neglect to mention my favorite family gift.  A very simple and beautiful gift for the whole family is a piano. 
Stop by and see us at Denton Cottier & Daniels.  We have pianos to fit every budget, skill, and décor. 
We even have some that play for you!  We have a fun one displayed at Premier Liquor on Maple and Niagara Falls Blvd. We have nothing against a bigger and better tv, but this is something that your family will have for the rest or
their lives. We also have gift certificates for pianos, lessons, or piano tuning available.  We also have some new
mini-pianos suitable for a dorm room, childs room, or any small space.  They also convert in to desks for
maximum space saving. 

They come in pink, blue, black or white.  They have been selling like hotcakes!

I don’t know about you, but all of this shopping has made me hungry.  I think
its time to take my treasures home, light a fire, pour a glass of wine, and dig
in to some leftovers.  I am thankful for a lovely day. This Friday wasn’t so
black.

Forbes Magazine posted this article today: The Most Outrageous and Most Common Job Interview Mistakes.

This got me thinking about some of the more amusing job interviews that we have conducted here at Denton Cottier & Daniels. My father, brother, and I are in business together.  My father and I usually conduct the job interviews together. This is great for the person being interviewed because we like to make it a fun and positive experience whether the person ends up working here or not.  The down side is that if something is ridiculous, its a lot harder to hold in your laughter when there is another person in the room LOLing on the inside with you. Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

1) The woman who randomly blurted out, "I got this suit at KMart!" in the middle of the interview.  I could not hold back, and did burst out laughing.  I had to leave the room and get myself together.  My poor dad had to sit there alone with her awkwardly for a few minutes. 

2) The guy who told us that their former employer "had to be the BOSS all the time!"

3) The guy who asked me for a date as I walked him to the door after the interview.

4) The woman who reeked of booze. (Trust me, we have nothing against booze.  Just not in the morning, at a job interview.)

5) The woman who told us she that hated piano music.   Its like interviewing at Hershey and saying that you hate chocolate.

6) The person who answered their cell phone. "Sorry, I gotta take this."

7) The man who brought his wife to the interview.  Whats next, his mom?

8) The man who kept loudly talking over my dad and interrupting him. I have to admit, this was so awkward that I just loved it.  Im sitting there knowing that my dad is mentally backhanding the guy, and the guy thinks he is "killing it," in a good way. 

9) The woman who told us that she could not work Saturdays because she had a standing hair appointment on Saturday afternoons.
 
10) The guy who kept calling my dad, "Dude."

Three artist friends recently conducted a small vision board workshop and tutorial.  They brought stacks of magazines, the blank boards, scissors glue sticks, and fun elements that you could add to your board to make it visually appealling. I completely gave myself up to the experience, following their instructions very carefully.  Here is the basic process that we followed:

1) Spend about an hour going through the magazines and simply cutting out images or words that speak to you.  Don't question their meaning. The fact that they speak to  you means you need to cut them out.  You can always discard them later.

2) When time is up, start to lay the words and images out on your board.  Take about 45 minutes for this process. Discard any words that you have cut out in which you are not treating yourself kindly.  For example: instead of "lose weight," post "be healthy."

3) Settle on final design and start glueing. Dont worry about perfection, just give yourself up to the process and make a completed board.

4) Share your board and explain your thought process to the other participants.  This part is optional. I found this to be one of the best parts of the experience, sharing our vision and being inspired by others vision.

5) Our presenters suggest that you post your board in a place where you can see it every day.  More meaning will reveal itself you over time.  

The Vision Board workshop took place on the day before my birthday.  This was a perfect time for introspection and self-examination.  This was a very powerful experience for me.  

The center of my board is dominated by the phrase, "I realized, today is the day that I write my own story."     I do lots of business writing, but have recently begun exploring more creative writing pursuits.  I found that I really enjoy writing about musicians and music, artists and art, fashion and style,and all kinds of fun and adventure.   I will now write about a very eclectic group of interests and pursuits.  I am not going to limit myself in any way. 

One of the most powerful parts of putting this vision board together was in the  disgarding of the words that I had cut out that made me feel less than strong and confident.  Some of the phrases that I disgarded were: " Me, only better," "Do everything better," and some others similar in tone.  Those had kind of a scolding tone. Our presenters taught us to embrace only positive phrases.  I loved ripping the offending disgarded words in a thousand pieces, leaving them and negative their thought processes behind. 

And so it begins.

After countless years of internal debate, research, and mostly a lot of serious over-thinking, my website and blog is launched exactly one week after the vision board workshop.  I am going to let it develop organically and let it be exactly what it becomes.  "The rest is still unwritten." Natasha Bedingfield