Woot! I’ve officially booked my tickets to Miami and I’m so excited to have a girls weekend with all my friends!! I’ve already talked about detoxing and dieting, now I’m going to talk about self-tanner! Tanning outside can not only be harmful for your skin, but it can give you skin cancer as everyone knows. But I’m so pale that if I don’t have any base tan and I go to a place like Miami for the weekend, I always come back burnt to crisp. That’s why I like to use self-tanner to create a base tan so I don’t burn in the sun.

I’m using a mixture of St. Tropez gradual tan in Light/Medium and a Tarte Brazilliance sample I got from Sephora. I am also using a James Read Tanning Mitt to smooth out the tan once I have applied it with kitchen gloves (Don’t laugh).

• First, shower and exfoliate your skin. Exfoliating helps remove dead skin so you’re not wasting any tanner.
• Then apply the self-tanner you are using with gloves. You want to use gloves because it helps keep you hands from turning yellow. I like to use kitchen gloves because they have a little bit of texture to them and I feel like it evens out the tanner a little bit.
• Then dry the tanner either by sitting in front of a heater or air-drying the tanner before putting your clothes on. Do not wash the tanner off!! You must leave the tanner on for 8-10 hours for it to set completely. Don’t workout, and try not to sweat too much.

Now I just have to keep myself from packing too early because I’m so excited! Miami, here I come!

So its after new years and I’ve planned my trip to Miami with all my girlfriends, and now its DETOX!! But what does the word “detox” really mean? Nothing. Scientists have debunked the word detox and most of the products out there that are marketed to “detox” your body can’t even point out what toxins they are removing from your body.

What I mean by detox is a healthy diet basically. Many people use the word “diet” to mean “starve,” but I like the word detox because its sounds better to most people because it’s a semi permanent state of living that ends at a certain point. But the ultimate detox is just to live a healthy lifestyle all the time, to eat lean, exercise and not drinking or smoking. But nobody’s perfect.

Making a plan to “detox” and loose some holiday weight can be difficult, but as long as you are realistic then you can accomplish your goal. I’m going to Miami in only 3 weeks, so a 5-7 lb goal is perfectly achievable goal. I always try to underestimate my goal because then you feel better when you achieve it and then you tend to push yourself further if you accomplish that goal. At least that’s how I like to think about it.

My “Detox” Diet:

• Drink lots of water every day. Doctor’s recommend eight 8-oz glasses a day, which is half a gallon of water every day.
• Drink tea or low calorie flavored water instead of soda or juice.
• Eat less sugar. When you eat less sugar, you want less sugar.
• Eat more complex carbs. This means wheat bread over white bread.
• Eat more lean meat. Meats have vitamin B6, iron (especially in red meet), magnesium and zinc.
• Eat more nuts. Nuts have a mix of omega-3 fatty acids, protein and fiber.
• Eat good fat, not bad fat. Polyunsaturated fats, like Omega-3s, and monounsaturated fats are good fats. Vegetable oil, fatty fish, olives, avocados, hazelnuts, and almonds are all just some examples of good fats.
• At least 30 minuets of exercise a day. You must exercise until you start sweating, if it takes more than 30 mins to get you to sweat, keep going. Lookup “burpees,” they will really get your heart pumping fast!
• Workout for 1-2 hours once or twice a week. Strength training is important, so don’t forget about those weights!

Today I went to the 59th street Bloomingdales to pick out my luggage for a possible snowboarding trip or a trip to Miami with my girlfriends, or possibly both!! They didn’t have the luggage that I wanted so I ended up not buying anything. To feed my buying urges, I went to the H&M across the street. They had really nice stuff, so I picked out some stuff to buy. I never try things on at a lot of stores if I know my size, so I went straight to check out. There were like 50 people on line, and only 3 registers in working order. I waited around 15 minutes before only getting half way down the line and leaving. I hate it when stores don’t have enough people at checkout. Take my money goddam it!! But no, it seems as though H&M does NOT in fact want my money, or really anyone’s money at that matter because my complaining about the line didn’t faze the employees. No, they did not call another person to the registers. Yes, they were rude. They just sort of rolled their eyes and acted like “Oh, this is H&M, what do you expect?”

I walked out of the store without the $100 worth of clothes that I was going to buy.

Anyway, I got out of the subway with an awful feeling of emptiness, so I decided to spend that $100 at Mandee that’s near my apartment at 96th Street (*sigh*). Here’s what I got at Mandee’s for $116.46!

Athletic Leggings – $18
Athletic Knit Bottom – $10
Solid Fashion Knit Top – $15.99
Knit Dress – $19.99
Printed Fashion Knit Top – $17.50
Solid Fasion Tank – $14.99
Woven Skirt – $19.99

My holiday party was an awesome success! All my old high school friends showed up, and some of my friend’s friends from college showed up. My friend Ariel, who loves to cook and make awesome drinks, came prepared. She bought two bottles of red wine and all the ingredients to make this hot drink called Gluehwein, and brought spiked hot apple cider. Gluehwein is a German/Austrian holiday drink that is served warm as an after ski drink. She got the recipe from allrecipes.com here. Earlier, I also purchased a bottle of Atmosphere extra brut sparkling rose and two bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne. Ariel also brought tons of dumplings and even a pie!

Because it’s so close to Christmas, some people gave out and got presents. I got Ariel a Sephora lip set, Amanda a Louboutin nail polish, Grace a Kate Spade bangle, Catherine Kate Spade earrings, Remy a good bottle of bourbon, and I got Sonya two gift cards and chocolate because I didn’t realize she was coming until last minute. It was great to give out gifts and see everyone loving what I got them, but it was even better to get some gifts too! Remy got me a great bottle of French rose, and Ariel brought back some souvenirs from her trip around the world she took recently. She went to Japan and got me this really cool eyeliner that has three mini tips that act like a calligraphy pen to create a wonderful bold cat eye! She also got me some green Kit Kats that look really awesome, and a collapsible light reflector that I will now use every time I take blog pictures. I’m so thankful to have such great friends who know me so well.

Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy Holidays!!! Even though I am Jewish and celebrated Hanukkah with my family already, my boyfriend celebrates Christmas so we went to his house yesterday to be with his family. I tried doing my best in gift giving, but they all went overboard and gave me such great gifts this year! My boyfriend got me an Adia Kibur choker, Mark by Mark Jacobs earrings, and a Shashi cuff bracelet. He knows me so well!! I was so excited to get a box from Shopbop, I almost didn’t care what was inside, but I’m crazy happy with the presents he picked out. His Mom is like the nicest woman in the entire world. He says that she always over does it, but I’m still upset I didn’t match what she spent on me. I got her a Body Shop gift tin that was only $25 (Now on sale for $10, FML). She got me a Swarovski bracelet with crystals, a Swarovski crystal kitty figurine that came with a really cute metal yarn ball, L’Occitane gift box with a $25 gift card, and a cute cosmetic pouch that says “You Rock!” on it. My boyfriend’s sister got me this beautiful bracelet that is just the right amount of edgy, just like her. I love all of my presents that I got, and now I now I definitely need to step it up for next year!

So I got my first Fabletics outfit today in the mail. I’m very pleasantly surprised. I buy a lot of Lululemon and Nike fitness wear, and I didn’t know if I should go with a brand I don’t know. But I am impressed with Fabletics so far. The fit of their clothing is great, and it feels like its quality material. I got Salar Leggings, Joni Jacket, and a Eureka Top all for around $100. The Salar Leggings are great thick leggings that are wonderful for a cold run or just a cold gym. The Joni Jacket is a lightweight puffy down jacket that I will use under my ski jacket when I go skiing in Colorado later this year. I also got a Eureka basic longs sleeve black top. Before I have washed it, it’s a little scratch and itchy, but I bet as soon as I wash it that will change. It has a nice tight fit, but is long enough to cover my butt. It’s a great long sleeve undershirt for skiing or outdoor running.

This is an eye shadow palette that I got with a Birchbox Get Going Bonus Kit when I spent $125. Birchbox has tons of bonuses with purchase, just make sure use you put in the code before checking out! This palette has a great mix of colors for brown-eyed girls. The pink undertones really bring out the brown in my eyes. I don’t like to go too bold with my eye colors and I think this palette has just the right amount of color for me. It does have a bright yellow color, but don’t be scared to use it! It blends great over the other darker colors.