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My birthday is now only a day away and I decided to help out with a short list of less obvious gifts that I would love for the big day!

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1. Holly Golightly sleep mask
In the winter I like to lay in bed with the curtains open so I can watch the snow…But sometimes it gets too cold to get back out and I end up having a restless night’s sleep due to the lack of darkness in my bedroom. This is the perfect solution! A timeless and classic eye mask to shut out the light and lend some style and flair to my REM cycle.

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2. Airline tickets
Right now, on the top of my list of places to go is somewhere warm, I definitely need some sun. Then, Chicago to see the lovely Stacy, DC to the see the soon-to-be lawyer Briana and perhaps a trip over the pond with my partner in crime Liz Baxter to rediscover our roots.

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3. Doc Martens
A perfect way to add an edge to any outfit. I know these don’t fit with my resolution to wear heels, but I have wanted a pair of kick-ass military inspired boots for awhile, and go big or go home — you can’t get more classic than these. Doc Ms inspire me to add a little rough and tumble to my wardrobe.

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4. Red pumps
Back in November I wrote about how much I wanted to rock matching shoes and brightly colored tights. Well, it still hasn’t happened but this might be my chance. I love my red tights (I am also loving my bright purple and mustard tights right now) and think a great pair of red pumps would be a killer look!

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5. Urban Spectacles
I have been in need of new glasses for ages and these seem perfect. They have the right amount of character without being over the top. Not to mention the wooden frames will look great with just about everything!

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6. MJ Lil Riz bag
The perfect all-purpose carry-all. I need a bag big enough to carry everything I could possibly need while traversing this urban jungle (read as a pair of flats, so I never get stranded in heels, a notebook, yoga clothes, lots of snacks and at least one pair of sunnies.)

My birthday is in 2 days and all I want for the big 24 are little tokens that make me smile!

Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung is a healing mantra that means “I am Total”, or literally translates to “I am Thou”.

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Ra is sun
Ma is moon
Da is earth
Sa is self.

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So you are finishing the cycle of the earth, moon and sun — You are whole. You are Total.

Thank Kami it’s Friday

Kami is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith.

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The Kami above is a character on Takalani Sesame (“be happy Sesame” in Venda), which is the South African version of the children’s television program Sesame Street. She is a furry yellow five-year-old HIV-positive girl muppet orphaned by AIDS who always has the sniffles.

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I celebrated the new year with the lovely and talented Ms. Elizabeth Baxter about a week before the actual day, when we had some free time to get together (Liz and I manage to have absolutely opposite schedules). On our hot date, dinner at The Bourgeois Pig and drinks at my local pub (I am sipping on a delicious Magners Cider in the picture above), I decided to wear as many newly purchased, and gifted, items as possible. It’s always so fun to get dressed up and decked out in new gear. With my birthday right around the corner (January 13th is next Wednesday ladies and gentlemen) I look forward to more nights of bejeweled decadence and merriment!

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(Note: Please excuse the insane red eye!)

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As part of my new year’s resolutions I decided to try to find a man who will buy me flowers. (Reminder again my favorites are Hydrangea) While flowers aren’t necessarily a grand gesture, there is something about buying flowers that shows a man’s real character. I thought it might sound a little desperate to add to my resolution list “Find a man who knows how to pull off a grand gesture”!

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In the same vein as grand gestures, the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist has amazed me for years. People who have impromptu run-ins with beautiful women and handsome men share their encounters in hopes of finding their love from the L train, post office, coffee shop or Wollman Rink. And if these passerby stories weren’t cute enough, there is an entire site of illustrations of these tales. Sophie Blackall says, “Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I’m trying to pin a few of them down.”

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Maybe I should start shouting out the cuties I see everyday in this crazy city!

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I think the word grace sums up how I would like to live my life in the year 2010!

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grace |grās|

noun

simple elegance or refinement of movement : she moved through the water with effortless grace.

• courteous goodwill : at least he has the grace to admit his debt to her.

• (graces) an attractively polite manner of behaving : she has all the social graces.

Thank Baby New Year it’s Friday