How to become a morning person?

Right now I am definitely not a morning person right now.  I have to drag myself out of bed at 8am to make it to work by 8:45am.  This is so horrible, especially because I used to wake up at 6am every morning for work when I lived outside the city!

I know for a fact you can become a morning person by changing some of your habits.  For example, one summer I worked on a small vacation island as a lifeguard.  I had the sunny side of the house in the morning and my room was fully lit (even though my shades) at 5am.  So, I was up at 5am and then I spent the entire day in the sun at the pool and would go home by 7pm and be fast asleep by 8pm.   Now, my work schedule right now is not very friendly to an 8pm bedtime (I was at the office until 10:30pm last night!) but I know that I can be more of a morning person if I really try to become one.  Here is some of the stuff I discovered while researching (aka Google-ing) how to be more alert in the mornings:

1) Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day

2) Don’t drink caffeine after 4pm or exercise right before bed

3) Only go to bed when you are tired

4) Experiment with light technology such as a dawn simulator

The first three I can control as best as I can, but I am really interested in light technology.  We invested in some heavy shades for our bedroom as there are streetlamps outside our window and make the room very bright at night.  However, this also blocks all the natural sunlight in our room in the morning.  I looked up the prices of some dawn simulator alarm clocks, but I don’t want to spend $100+ just yet.  I am hoping to find a cheaper version of one somewhere to test out the theory.  If I find that it really works for me, I would be more than happy to invest in a better model.

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Do any of you out there have some good tips to becoming a morning person?  I mainly need more energy in general, but I would love to be able to wake up at 6am every morning to get some things done before I go to work.  I only live 15 minutes away so I could have so much time to study, eat a good breakfast, read, watch the French news… anything and everything!

Entre Nous Thoughts / A question for working women

So, I finished Entre Nous a few weeks ago.  I LOVED it.  I highly recommend this book to anyone.  As you can see, my book has tons of little blue flags sticking out of it.  I was thinking of all of you while I was reading and I made sure to mark my favorite passages so I could come back and share my opinions.

Here are a selection of my flagged pages:

1)Whats In Her Dream Closet p. 48-49

I really love lists like this, as I really take them as inspiration and find ways that the suggestions could fit my own life.  Some of the things Ollivier notes as important to have are: a classic suit, Italian wool/cashmere pullovers, perfect black dress, raincoat, Longchamps handbag, etc.   After reading this passage I was at Lord & Taylor with my mom.  I spotted a really great boat neck, sleeveless black dress and just had to have it.  Its perfect.  I can wear it alone or over a button down and I can dress it up with pearls  à la Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  I wore it to work last week and got really great compliments on it!

2) What She Shares, What She Keeps to Herself p. 67

This topic is really interesting for me.  I feel like I know all of my friend’s life stories and they all know mine.  What happened to the mystery?!  Ollivier has these things on the list of what French girl’s are willing to share: books she is reading, fav. films, recipes, political opinions, vacation plans, etc.  The things that are kept secret are: family and marriage secrets/issues, money talk, dress size, long-term dreams, etc.  O.K.  with the raising of the hands, how many of us out there have shared anything on the 2nd list???  Probably all of us!  These days I have been trying my best to keeping these topics more personal.  Doesn’t help that all of my friends are undoubtedly American and pry for the answers to these questions.  I have been working hard to think of ways to circumvent their questions.  Any suggestions are very welcome!!

3)  “The French girl will only eat three meals a day” p. 106

This is very unrealistic for me.  Right now I work anywhere from 10-13 hours sitting at a desk in front of the computer.  Sure I eat breakfast which is usually Yogurt and granola or cereal or oatmeal, with coffee and sometimes O.J. and I have been eating Lean Cusines or SmartOnes for lunch with a big glass of water and a small Hershey’s bite size candy.  However, what about at 5pm when I SHOULD be leaving work??  I need a snack to hold me over until dinner at 9PM!  I try to keep this snack in moderation by picking clementines/oranges/pears or a granola bar and I drink water all day long.  I have read from many sources that 6 small meals a day is great for maintaining weight and and your metabolism–which is a MUST for me.  I gained 8lbs during my busy tax season last year and I WILL NOT allow that to happen again.  This is one area I must disagree with Ollivier on–I would starve before dinner on 3 meals a day.

4) The Café p. 119

I love the idea of sitting in a café all day—just reading, writing and sipping a café au lait.  And I personally LOVE drinking with a cup AND a saucer.  It just feels very chic to me.  My boyfriend’s mother is not super proper, yet always serves me tea with a saucer and I love it.  (Thanks K!)  However, there is one big problem I face…. Boston lacks super cute, chic cafés.  Sure there is Starbucks but I think a French woman and Ollivier herself would faint at the thought of Starbucks being considered a substitute for a French café.  I suppose until I find the right one, I can always stay at home and drink my own coffee/espresso made with my handy little Moka Express by Bialetti.

And finally….

4) Exercise p. 32

Ollivier writes, speaking of the time she asked her friend what her personal exercise regime secret was…”I eat, I drink.  I smoke. and I walk very, very fast every day to and from this metro in my heels.”

OK… this is my question for working women.  Do any of you walk to work in your heels?  I walk a mile to and from work every day and…. GASP…. I wear my Ugg boots. I know, so un-chic, but its freezing in Boston and I cannot walk super fast on all of my neighborhood’s cobblestone streets with high heels on without breaking my ankle.   And lets not even get started on the unnecessary wear and tear you put your shoes through when wearing them to and from work.  So, what do all of you do on your way to work?  Do you put your favorite heels through torture to be chic or do you go the comfy/warm route and wear Uggs or sneakers?

Penguin suit!

Tomorrow I have to go to my client to do some confidential testing–eek!  Well, not so much eek, we are only testing some documents that cannot leave the client site, so that’s why I have to go over there.  The part that I am most eek about is that my client is “business professional” and that means I have to wear a suit.  Suits are really no big deal, and are actually quite easy to wear since you barely have to do anything with them besides pick out an ironed button down shirt.  I personally don’t think wearing a suit is that fashionable and I will stick out like a sore thumb later in the day at my own office since we are business casual.

Image courtesy of Jcrew.com

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For all of you “working women” out there,  what is your opinion on wearing a suit?  Do you all like to wear them?  Do you think they are easier?  Do you find them fashionable?

BUSY SEASON!

Today was Day 3 of busy season and I was at work from 8:30am until 9:00pm.  AHHHH.  I am tired and my back hurts already. Busy season is in full swing and will be crazy until April 15 when we are scheduled to be finished.  I just hope I can make it without cracking.  I know my blog will suffer a bit as I come home every night exhausted and frustrated.  A few things I hope to get done in the next couple of days (ie. weekend!):

1) Write about my thoughts of Entre Nous–I finally finished, and I LOVED it!

2) Introduce a new book I am reading, Urban Skinny, which is the un-diet for those who live in the city and work long hours.

3) A few more things my tired brain cant think of right now…

Small obsession

I have a slight obsession with the style of Ashley Olsen.  I grew up watching her and her sister in Full House and I was full steam into my “tween” years when they were making their direct to video movies that featured places like Paris, Australia, the Bahamas, California and Rome.  I don’t know what exactly it is that I love about her–I think its that she doesn’t follow trends and wears what she likes and what makes her comfortable.

Someone to watch!

Somehow I stumbled upon this blog last night, The Stylish Wanderer, and I think its worth a look!  The author is a 14 year old girl from the west coast who has a very eccentric style.   Her style is too eccentric/bohemian for me, mainly because I wouldn’t be able to wear about 90% of her clothes to work.  However, shes got a great eye for style and I can take bits and pieces of her wardrobe as inspiration without my co-workers thinking I’m not taking my job seriously.  I really hate the whole idea that women who work in the corporate world should only be wearing button down shirts and pencil skirts with 2.5″ heels.  Besides doing my (paid) job,  I’m really looking to change that stereotype.

An old picture from my trip to Barcelona. I think it has a vintage-y feel. I wish I had one of those "star" lenses so that the candle flames looked cooler.

I am planning a vacation!

BF and I are planning a European vacation for Summer 2010– either late July or early August.   We went to Italy for 2 weeks in August 2008, but didn’t take a trip this year due to the fact that we moved and it was a pretty big expense.  This year we are going with another couple who are very good friends of ours.  The problem is–we don’t know where to go!!  I know the 4 of us will have fun wherever we go, which makes it even harder to pick a destination.  I have created a poll for anyone who wants to give their opinion—please vote for your favorite destination or recommend a new one!

Audrey Hepburn

I LOVE Audrey!  I think she is such a classic beauty, don’t you think?  She isn’t my style inspiration for everyday, but definitely for those occasions where I want to be a little more glamorous than usual!

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”

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Audrey Hepburn

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year!  I have never really made New Years resolutions before, but I thought this year I would give it a shot. Here is what I would like to accomplish in 2010….

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1. Pass my professional exam

2. Practice my French and learn basic Spanish… and start taking classes as soon as the exam is over!

3. Actually use my gym membership and get in shape!

4. Create my perfect wardrobe by selling/donating all the things in my closet that I don’t wear and investing only in classic items that I truly need and will use for years to come.

5. Save money!  Perhaps for a future house?

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I know that I will accomplish many, many things during 2010, but those are my top 5!  What are your New Years resolutions?

Merry Christmas to all!

After a long train ride home yesterday, I am now back in CT for the week with my family.  I made friends with a very nice boy on the train.  He noticed my dinner (pasta with bolognese sauce and a glass of wine from the cafe cart) and he commented on how I had the best train dinner he had ever seen!  The train ride was so long, but now it is very nice to be home!  Tonight I will just be at home with my family and my grandparents, and then tomorrow we will venture to NY to see my Mom’s family for dinner and lots of wine!

I wont be doing anything too exciting while I am home, but on Monday night I am venturing to the city (aka NYC) to visit some friends so I will be sure to post all about that when I get back!

Joyeux Noël à tous!