Dusty Gear/This Year: Stella's New Year's Makeover

There are a few items making their way into my life which I am regarding as New year/New Gear and some other items which have been hanging around for a bit which fit into my Dusty Gear/This year category.

Two areas of focus for both Y and myself in 2011: Health and Organization.

We are out of shape.
Need to trim down.
Decided to live in reality.
Have given up on the fantasy shortcut.

Due to so many moves over the past few years, unpacking and setting up fully was never realized.
Our offices and studios need major help.
We are determined to organize and beautify.

I plan on sharing both the gear and effect it has on these two current areas of focus. Hopefully you can add to the ideas here by sharing your gear and effect as well.

This first one is a Dusty Gear/This Year health item. I originally bought this so I could ride my bike in the winter back in 2009. A great idea never realized, until today.

Stella finally got her winter/indoor makeover. We used to live near a lake with a riding path. I'm way too much of a scaredy cat to ride on the streets with cars so... hellooooooo, indoor trainer! Makes me sound all pro, LOL. I purchased a CycleOps Mag trainer at REI with the yearly member discount coupon of 20% off and used my accumulated dividends for a super sweet deal.

I've got her setup downstairs across from my office so I can see her while I'm on my computer. Calling to me.

Hey Z!
A quick ride, yes?
C'mon!
5 minutes.
YES!

Only two things:
1. Wow, she's a tall mount and worse dismount. Need to figure that out. Do I need a step to get on and off?  hahahahah

2. In front of the stove when it's been heating the downstairs, not so good. In front of the sliding door for fresh air and a backyard view brilliant.

Stella's going to be real good to me this year. I can feel it.

What's your new or dusty workout gear helping you out this year?
Better yet, do you have a tried and true secret weapon?

Cheers,

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Momchil Hristov's Alice

Photographer: Momchil Hristov


Love the mod look and colors of this take on Alice.

Smooches,

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Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday filled with love, happiness and some wishes come true. We celebrated our first holidays in our new home and as husband and wife. We managed to find the perfect tree for ourselves, out of the blue, the week before Christmas:

Our tannenboing

It's number 34. This not only solved the need for a modern look for us but it flat packs away, is made from recycled & recyclable aluminum, made in Seattle (lucky us!) and we will own it for all the years ahead making it very Eco friendly. I already owned those green strung lights but eventually I want to switch them out to white strings and add some "fancy" type lights akin to those that look like stars or snowballs. We saw some great ones in Paris which we would have scooped up were it not for the voltage and plug differences. I found the icicle ornaments at Micheal's. I need to get better hooks as these were tiny and were too easy to pop off. Luckily the icicles themselves are very sturdy having survived a few death leaps to the hardwood floor.

Y+Z Reindeer: Pottery Barn reindeer decked out with mini ornaments found at Micheal's.

This year I used a large round vase to hold the Christmas cards. I really like how it worked. It was like a giant colorful ornament and I could add/pull out cards to show people very easily without the usual cluttered display. I thought of adding "snowflakes" to the bottom of the bowl but resisted knowing they would probably end up everywhere and guess who would have to clean them up.

  We picked up these Eiffel Tower cards in Paris during our honeymoon.

Skully Santa made his usual appearance. This year he actually has a hat that fits. I think it's a baby hat, also found at Micheal's.

 We bought this in Paris on our honeymoon as our first ornament.
The heart says Noël.

Our friend Ivett surprised us with this awesome gift. She hand painted this ornament for us! Y is a Siamese cat (like Zira) and I am the black kitty (I've always thought of myself as a former black cat). Notice the Seattle Needle skyline and Y's tail making the L in Mr. Lucky.

This is the back. Notice my tail making the M in Mrs. Lucky and the heart on our new home. When I opened the package and beheld this I started weeping because it's so wonderful and so much thought was put into it. Even the color choices; blue for Y and Pink for me, our favorite colors. I've known Ivett since college. I have the best friends! She is a very talented artist specializing in avian and wilderness art. Check out her site: AvianAndWildernessart.com 

 Z Stocking

 Y Stocking

Zira Stocking.

Notice the attached felt fish. The stocking says, "Treats For A Nice Kitty" and has two pockets in the front as well as the main sock pocket. Found this at the Macy's Holiday Lane store. Could not resist.

 Our Christmas Eve Dinner:
Grass fed New York steaks, grilled asparagus and my famous creamy garlic mashed potatoes.

Holy Smokes this was a wonderful surprise!! We had been to dinner at Bellevue Square (local mall) with my mom and my niece. We walked out of the restaurant and with no clue of what was happening, toy soldiers and majorettes were handing us blow horns. It was a big party that happens every night at 7pm during the holidays. After Christmas they do a New Year's every night (Celebration Lane) through the 31st. Tons of kids (big and small), music, Snow queens, Mouse Kings, Drummers, Sugar Plum Fairies, AMAZING! They even make it snow. I only had my iPhone so my photos & video aren't so good as it was night but here is a promo video:



Can't wait to take advantage of the Snowflake Lane next year for Santa's arrival and nightly party with my niece, of course. I'm sure we will also hit the Celebration Lane as well.

It finally snowed while we were around to enjoy it! We missed the previous snow this year. We were in Paris. We left Paris and it then snowed there. Totally thought we missed out on snow this year. My niece and I created Snowball the snowcat in our front yard. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr or actually Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

We finally had our first fire in our fireplace. I have now mastered creating a roaring fire. Wow, it's hard work. That's what I get for wanting to learn how to do it.

2010 was an amazing year for us. Filled with surprises (our new home being the best surprise), love (our marriage especially), adventures (from Lake Geneva to Paris) and visits from family and friends. We really feel blessed.

In 2011 we hope to continue on this path and build on this wonderful foundation. New things are afoot business-wise (check out Calific.com for something Y & I are working on together). We are trying to really focus on our health this year. Paris let us know how far we are from our 20s, it wasn't just celebrating my birthday either lol, and how sedentary we have become since leaving San Francisco.

I wish us all a happy, prosperous and healthy 2011!

xoxoxox,

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