I’ve probably contributed to a good percentage of the 2,191,904 YouTube views over these past few years when the Morning Benders “Excuses ‘Yours Truly’ Studio Session” video was first uploaded.

A book on my wish list or a great housewarming present: Where Chef’s Eat: A Guide From the Real Experts. 700 pages of over 400 chefs giving 2,000 international recommendations. I wonder if Houston is in there.

I’ve even already decided on the milestone birthday gift to myself from myself - Satomi Kawakita’s Hexagon Champagne Diamond Ring. And lucky me, we have the ring at Myth & Symbol… just not the 1-carat version. Sometimes in life, you just gotta settle. In my case (and my bank account), I’ll have to settle for 7th best with the 0.1-carat version.

First world problems.

ive been eyeing these bags by amerpersand & apostrophe. they’re handmade & constructed from 100-year old leather english mailbags & function as a shoulder bag, envelope clutch & fold-over clutch. only 100 were created, which probably explains its hefty retail price tag of $935. expensive taste? nah, more like i know when to appreciate great art when i see it.

not to mention a new blog design

its official. this week, i say goodbye to my old company to start up my own company. im not gonna lie & say that im not scared or sad. for the past 4 years, ive devoted myself to a job that i thought i would never leave. my coworkers (willingly or not) have become my dysfunctional family… a family that ive clocked in more hours with than my own blood family. come friday, ill probably be bawling my eyes out or still be in denial.

ironically, my colleagues have taught me that theres more to life than work. my career is no longer my #1 priority. theyve taught me how to enjoy the little things (like taking lunch breaks away from the computer) & the big things (like taking vacations away from the computer). ive picked up the strangest (& probably most obnoxious) vocabulary from these people– words like totes for totally, errmerrgerr for oh my god, sharsies & halfsies– words that would make any english professor cringe.

when it comes to breakups, many prefer the clean break… the break where you never speak to your ex again because trying to just be friends is just too awkward. not me, these exes will be invited to my wedding.

p.s. lc, can i get one last grammar & spellcheck please? (shes my ex…copy editor & pretzel supplier.)

“feel for lumps, save your bumps.”

thats the clever breast cancer awareness slogan that the gilbert high school cheerleading squad whipped up for their t-shirts. these shirts would be worn during their october football games to raise funds for the susan g. komen for the cure.

but *gasp* their principal deemed it too inappropriate for the arizona school setting… mind you, students would be wearing nothing but sports bras & “i heart boobies” bracelets.

i gotta applaud the high schoolers for getting involved for a cause. i never really went to “second base” with myself for a checkup. it wasnt until i switched doctors that i learned that i should be giving myself a monthly bse (aka a breast self-exam).  its a routine girls should start in their teens (a week after their period when their boobs arent acting up.)

its still not a safe-proof for early detection. i had my annual well-women exam this week & what i thought was my chest bone was actually a lump in my left breast.

an ultrasound & mammogram are scheduled for next week & im not gonna lie… i had a minor freak out all day thursday & friday. after some research though, i learned that only 20% of lumps biopsied actually turn out to be breast cancer.

so ladies, go get your women’s exam every year. get poked for blood work. get probed for your pap smear & get felt up by your doc.

ive decided to start blogging again. i know. technically, ive never stop blogging since i get paid to do it for a living everyday. the thing is…i get paid to babble on about fashion & talking about clothes all the time can be quite trivial.

lets see how long i fare. before i venture into this journey, im gonna lay down some ground rules for myself since ive made a few mistakes in my past blogging life.

1. refrain from gushing about my dog all the time

pretty simple rules, no? here it goes….