Have you ever seen a piece of furniture and immediately imagined exactly how it would change your life?  That’s how I feel about this gorgeous white italian leather sofa from Chiasso.

When I see this sofa, I think of a gorgeously-appointed living space where my nights are spent entertaining fascinating guests and handsome men.  I think of designer shoes and expensive olives and stiff drinks.  I think of being the kind of person who jets off to Rio at a moment’s notice.  And I am in love.

The Soho Contemporary White Leather Sofa can be purchased at Chiasso by clicking the image above.

A while back, I took a hula hoop class.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it sounded like fun and I needed to get more exercise anyway.  I was right.  It was definitely an awesome time - much more fun than a grueling cardio session and I got to learn a cool skill while I was at it.

If you had trouble with hula hooping as a kid, you’ll be glad to know that adult hooping is a little different.  The Hoopnotica hoops are bigger and substantially heavier.  Not unpleasantly heavy, but heavy enough to make them go around you much more easily.  They don’t fly super fast and then fall to the ground.

I loved taking the class, but if I were going to do it all over, I would probably just buy a Hoopnotica hoop and look up instructional videos on YouTube.  You can learn all kinds of cool tricks very easily (and without killing your classmates with flying hoops).  I can throw it down around my body, walk with the hoop, and dance with the hoop so far.

If you want to try it yourself (and I highly recommend it, becase it’s good old fashioned silly fun), you can pick up a Hoopnotica weighted hula hoop by clicking here.

I absolutely love these Super Mario Wall Decals.  When I was younger, my parents used to paint murals on my walls and I thought those were cool - but these Mario Brothers stickers are much more realistic than anything they would have painted.  What I wouldn’t have given to have these as a kid, back around 1987 when there was nothing cooler than Super Mario Brothers and knowing where all the secret mushrooms and warp zones were located.

What do you think?  Would you put the Super Mario Wall Stickers up in your house?  Not necessarily the master bedroom, of course, but they’d be awfully cute in a den/video game room or maybe even an office or garage.

I have wanted a really nice watch for some time now - not just a $300 department store watch, but something truly nice that I can wear out and be proud of.  It’s not that I’m superficial or anything, but I’ve never personally owned anything extremely nice and I’ve always said I would reward myself when I finally got to a certain point in my career.  So, I figured that since I have a shopping blog, I might as well subject my good readers to the search.  Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments.

One of the watches I really like is the Rado Diaqueen watch - both the Ceramic & Gold version and the Ceramic Diamond version.  I really like the sleek look because they remind me of big cities and fancy stores that sell the lifestyle that most of us will only dream of.   Design-wise, I think I like the Ceramic and Gold Diaqueen, but in terms of versatility, the Ceramic Diamond Diaqueen wins hands-down.  Both are available at a deep discount through the links below if you’re interested.  I’m not quite ready to bite :)

Rado Diaqueen 18K Ceramic Diamond Watch
Price: $3299.99
This “Diaqueen” women’s dress watch from Rado blends grey ceramic with gorgeous 18K yellow gold.

Rado Diaqueen Ceramic & Gold Watch
Price: $1999.99
Black ceramic and gorgeous 18K yellow gold combine to give the “Diaqueen” women’s dress watch from Rado a look you’ll love.

I’m kind of on a t-shirt kick today, so I figured I’d post this one while I was at it.  I love the sentiment behind this Suits Suck tshirt.  In college I totally assumed I’d end up in a suits-only career, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by where life has taken me.

The Suits Suck shirt is a great way to say “Up Yours” to the traditional 9-to-5.

I think my favorite thing about Busted Tees is that they don’t automatically assume that some shirts shouldn’t be made for women, too.  You can get any design for men or women.  That means that if you’re a female Battlestar Galactica fan, you can get your hands one one of these cool What the Frak T-Shirts.

As to whether you’ll be able to get away with wearing it to school or work…who knows.  But a What the Frak shirt seems infinitely less offensive (to me,  anyway) than seeing Carol in accounting’s ample bosom overflowing from those awful shirts she’s been wearing ever since her divorce…

I first saw shag carpeting when I was about 14.  I was visiting a friend’s house and they had the thickest, most exotic carpeting I’ve ever seen.  We laid down on the floor to watch television and I was in love.

Although I’m not going to cover my entire house in shag carpeting, I WOULD like to have a nice, fluffy shag rug to enjoy when I step out of bed onto the otherwise cold wooden floor.  Or maybe to keep under my reading chair to make things especially homey.

This gray shug rug is totally gorgeous - a little pricey, perhaps, but very nice.   What do you think?  I like that it’s more of a charcoal color than plain old gray, too.

I had a pretty significant acne problem throughout most of my teens and almost all of my 20s.  It’s only now that I’m 27 that I’ve managed to stop *most* of the acne…but the scars are still there.

So, I made it my New Year’s resoluton to figure out what I can do about the scars/residual pock marks (barring  major surgery and the chance for MORE scars).  After much reading and a bit of experimentation, I’ve arrived at a routine that is definitely helping to clear up my face.

• Drink more water.  This is SOOO crucial and often overlooked, but hydration from the inside is just as important as hydration from the outside.
• Get more sleep.  Your body needs it to repair. 8+ hours whenever possible.
• HD Scar Cream.  I initially tried Mederma and I couldn’t see any results, then I moved to a pure vitamin E oil and it made me feel kind of greasy and gross.  Cocoa butter was also on my list, but it made me break out like crazy.  HD Scar Cream is not the only good scar cream on the market, but it has worked pretty well for me and I’m definitely starting to see some fading.  You can get a free (pay S&H) trial to see if it works okay on your skin.  We’re all different so it’s lucky that you can experiment without spending too much.

My results so far have been a lot better than I expected.  I may still want laser resurfacing or maybe just a peel at some point, but by using gentler methods first, I’m hoping I’ll ultimately get better results with other methods, too (and they definitely won’t have to be so severe).

Has anyone else had any issues with acne scars in the past?  I know they can be super tough since they’re often older scars, but I’d love to hear about any successful methods you guys have used! :)

My little sister has always had issues with her eyelashes being a lot less substantial than she would like, but I never really knew what advice to give her to get longer (or thicker) eyelashes until I came across Lilash.  I don’t know why, but I just assumed that mascara was the only line of defense for making eyelashes longer.

If you think about it, though, it’s kind of silly to think there’s no way to get longer eyelashes.  Diet and overall health definitely factor into hair growth, and men who are bald can often restore their hair through treatment or dietary changes, so why wouldn’t there be something to help you grow longer eyelashes?

Anyway, I happened upon Lilash entirely by accident this week and I thought I’d just do a quick writeup because it looks like a really great product.  I know what I’ll be getting my sister when her birthday comes around in a couple months.  The before/after photo looked great:

So - my question to you, readers, is this: Have you tried Lilash?  What were the results?  Let me know in the comments!  Or, if you want to be our human guinea pig, click here and get your own!

I like Design Public, but sometimes I just want to break away and see something new - but in the same style.  I feel like everyone I know has a loft or condo outfitted with Design Public furniture and accessories, so it’s good to get away from that once in a while.

My latest obsession is Chiasso.  I like the sleek look of their pieces and the fact that their sales are pretty awesome.  Don’t get me wrong - I won’t be stopping my Design Public catalogs anytime soon - but Chiasso has definitely found a way into my heart.  Some of my favorite pieces are below, and you can click the picture to check out more.