Christmas Wishlist 2011

Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is...

1. Fuzzy bootie slippers

2. "Normal gets you Nowhere" by Kelly Cutrone

3. MacBook Pro
4. Tiffany & Co.'s Golden Bow necklace

5. Any big cuddly dog
6. Diptyque's Pomander candle

7. MAC 8 piece brush set
8. The Sims 3 for Mac

9. Beats by Dr Dre
10. UGG boots

Love,

Liesl

20 Things I'm thankful for

 Even though I'm South African and don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I like the idea of sharing what I'm grateful for this time of the year. I have too many blessings to count, but here are the top 20 things I'm thankful for.

Top 20 Things I'm thankful for: 
(in no particular order)

1. The Boyfriend - How lucky am I to have met the love of my life. He is kind, generous, loving, my best friend, and the person I want to grow old with. I'm very thankful that he loves me just as much as I love him.
2. My family - I'm truly thankful for my amazing, supportive family. There is so much love and laughter, and if I had to choose a family myself, I would definitely not have it any other way.
3. My friends - Having friends from all over the world is a huge blessing. Even though I can't see all of them often, I carry them around in my thoughts and prayers every day.
4. Excellent health - I can use all my senses, my legs, my arms and my brain. I'm very thankful for physical and mental health. And not just for myself, also for my friends and family.
5. Traveling - I'm fortunate to be able to travel regularly and I couldn't imagine a life without being able to see the world.
6. My job - I can honestly say that I love my job, and I'm so thankful to be able to walk into work everyday, getting to be creative and happy, and to feel proud of my work.
7. Internet - I need to thank the World Wide Web for giving me so much. Not only can I stay in touch with friends and family around the world at the click of a button, I can also get any information I need in less than 10 seconds.
8. Food - I'm thankful that I get to go to bed every night with a full belly, and that I never have to worry where my next meal will come from.
9. Water - This is often taken for granted, and I'm thankful that I always have access to fresh water, and that I can swim in the ocean.
10. Digital cameras - Thanks to digital cameras, I will be able to share so much of my life with my children and grandchildren one day. 
11. The future - I appreciate the fact that I can dream about the future and that almost anything is possible. I'm thankful that I will be able to get married one day and be able to have my own children.
12. Humor - In a world filled with hate, violence, war and crime, I'm thankful that humor still exists.
13. Technology - It makes my life so easy and convenient. We have smart phones, that can basically do anything now except our laundry, internet, airplanes, iPods, TiVo and the list goes on.
14. Taiwan - Taiwan has been very good to me. I'm thankful for always feeling safe and free and that I'm able to work here and have a good life. 
15. My childhood - Whenever I see an elementary school student here in Taiwan, walking home after public school, additional English classes, violin class and science class at 8pm, I'm so thankful that I got to finish school at 2pm and got to play sports and with my friends for the rest of the afternoon, and then spend some quality time with my family in the evenings.
16. Books - Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and I'm very grateful that I can visit the bookstore often and buy amazing books.
17. My dogs - I'm very thankful that I grew up always having dogs in the house. Currently, my dogs are very old and living with my parents in South Africa. They still bring me lots of happiness though.
18. My apartment - With all the crappy apartments in Taipei, I'm very grateful that The Boyfriend and I found an apartment that is perfect for us and that is our little sanctuary here in the city.
19. Seasons - I love the fact that the seasons change every three months. I can't imagine living somewhere where the weather is always the same. 
20. Music - Music is always there for me, no matter what mood I'm in.

I would love to hear what you are most thankful for.

Hong Kong Weekend

Who doesn't like a weekend away in another country? So when my brother told me that his cruise ship will be docked in Hong Kong (only an hour and a half's flight from Taiwan) this past Saturday, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands to see him. The Boyfriend and I decided to make a long weekend out of it, so we went shopping and met up with some friends, too.

I got to spend the whole day Saturday with my brother on the Diamond Princess, getting to see what his everyday life is like, and all the amazing things the ship has to offer. It was truly breathtaking, and hard to imagine that this "city" of a ship can actually sail around the world.

The Boyfriend and I met up with one of his friends in Lan Kwai Fong, the famous restaurant and bar area in Hong Kong. It was really crazy and actually felt like a wild New Years Eve party.

The rest of our weekend was spent doing some damage at Diesel, H&M, Michael Kors, Marks & Spencer and Tory Burch. Hong Kong truly is a shopper's paradise and I just had to keep reminding myself that my suitcase really wasn't that big to take everything back to Taiwan.

I'll post a more detailed description of all the great stuff I got over the weekend in my "November Favorites" post that will be out early in December; so keep an eye out for that.

I hope everyone else had an amazing weekend? I surely did!

Guest blog!

Fellow blogger, Vulnavia, from "Nobody said anything about clever" asked me to guest blog on her site today. I created my Top 10 List of things I just "don't get".

Check out my post "I just don't get it" here:

http://vulnaviag.blogspot.com/

What's in my bag?

On the bus home from work today, I frantically rummaged through my bag searching for my lip balm. I realized that, damn, there are a lot of stuff in my bag. I made a mental note to try and organize my bag when I got home.

Well, it turns out that I really do need everything that is in there. I decided to take a photo of the contents of my bag today and share it. This will probably answer the question that has haunted most guys for centuries; "what do girls carry around in their bags?"

Here are the items that I had in my bag today:

1. Wallet - Absolutely essential! If I could have only one item in my bag, this would be it.
2. Lip balm - Hi, my name is Liesl and I'm a lip balm addict.
3. Pain killers - You never know when you'll need it.
4. Hair pins - I found, like, 10 hair pins in my bag. (That solves the case of the disappearing hair pins, girls!)
5. Metro Card - Here in Taipei I can use this card for the subway, bus, some taxis and to buy things at 7/Eleven.
6. Sunglasses - I always have my Ray Bans with me.
7. iPod - For tunes.
8. Toothbrush case - Absolutely crucial for a brace face like myself.
9. iPhone - Another indispensable item.
10. Mints - These Eclipse mints have replaced my gum obsession since I've gotten braces.
11. Dental floss - Ugh! I hate flossing, but no getting around that.
12. Perfume - I always carry this travel size DKNY Be Delicious bottle with me.
13. Book - I'm reading "A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard. (The girl that was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years)

Actually, I think it's pretty interesting what people carry around in their bags, although I think that most ladies basically have the same items. Do you carry around something everyday that's not on my list? Let me know. 

Now, there is only one thing that I still need to figure out. The biggest mystery of all; "what would a man carry around in his murse?" (man + purse = murse) On second thought, maybe I don't want to know...

End Scene

I’m not an overly dramatic person, and that’s why I have to ask myself one question when looking back over the weekend; "was that all really necessary?" I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to The Boyfriend for, unfortunately, being the unwitting victim of my extreme emotional breakdown.

I woke up Saturday feeling amazing. The sun was shining and I was so excited to finally get my upper braces on. As I was happily skipping to the orthodontist's office, I was thinking about the rest of the weekend and how great it was going to be to spend some much needed quality time with The Boyfriend.

An hour later, I walked out of the orthodontist’s office with a fat, blistered lip (she accidentally burned my lip with something) and a dark cloud over my head. The braces were tight and extremely uncomfortable, and the wires were poking and cutting the inside of my mouth. I felt very sorry for myself, especially because I knew that my parents were still fast asleep back in South Africa and I couldn’t call them for the much needed pity party. The Boyfriend was at work.

When he got home, tired and ready to start a relaxing weekend, I was agitated, weepy and ready to be babied. Of course he was sweet and caring, but I wasn’t satisfied and proceeded to cry and wallow in self pity for the rest of the day. I even made him stay home with me on a Saturday night, because you know, misery loves company.

My upper braces have been extremely painful. Even after taking four painkillers, I was still in pain and woke up in the middle of the night with tears rolling down my face.

I realize now though, that maybe the whole scene I made was probably not totally necessary. Yes, it’s painful, but millions of people have had braces, and I’m pretty sure that they didn’t yell at the person they love the most in the world, or curl up in the fetal position on the couch in an effort to get attention?

All relationship experts would tell you that acting like a big baby is a big no-no. Not my proudest moment. I must say, I judge The Boyfriend a little bit for still loving me as much as he does after this unnecessary emotional extravaganza. 

October Favorites 2011

It's favorites time again! Okay, don't judge me, but I gave in and bought a pair of Crocs. (Oh the shame!) In my defense, I was ruining all my shoes walking in the rain, so it was a necessity. Luckily I found a pair that's actually kind of cute. Now, I don't in any way encourage the wearing of Crocs; ONLY if it's a matter of life and death of other shoes.

Gossip Girl has been my absolute favorite TV show this past month. The storyline is interesting and fresh, and the fashion has been to die for. Other shows that I've been enjoying are How I met your Mother (no surprise there) and a new favorite, New Girl, starring the awesome Zooey Deschanel.

I'm always on the hunt for the perfect nail polish, and I think I might have found it; Missha's Lucid Nail Polish. I'm hooked! It only started chipping after two weeks, which is unheard of for any elementary school teacher. Also, the brush is bigger than normal, which makes application really easy. I can't wait to buy more colors!

For the past few months, I've been using Kerastase's Masquintense. My hair has been dying a slow death, and this conditioning treatment has miraculously brought it back to life. It's quite expensive, but definitely worth every cent. 

Favorite book in October was If you have to cry go outside, by Kelly Cutrone. I've been a fan of this PR superstar for quite some time, and was addicted to her TV show Kell on Earth. I'm extremely excited to get my hands on her latest book, Normal Gets you Nowhere.

Last, but definitely not least, are these jeans from Hollister that I got back in August in the States. They are super comfy, super skinny and super destroyed, which makes them super appropriate for weekends.

What's been your absolute favorites for October?