Bargain Chic: Happy New Year

As the cycle of the year nears its end and the prospect of new life, new opportunities, and new adventures lay ahead, I find myself – like so many others – reminiscing and reflecting on the past year. The triumphs, the failures, the happy milestones and the sad ones, and all the in-between moments that somehow resurface when we realize how quickly time has escaped us.

This year has been one for the record books – well, at least my proverbial record book. Much has transpired in my life, my family’s life, and my friends’ lives. And if I zoom out of my own little world, there is an even larger net of people and communities, countries and cultures that have been affected in various ways this year. From political upheavals to global mass tragedies to war and death and tyranny, much of the year (and all too often every year) we have experienced a lot of dark turmoil. However, without darkness, there cannot be an appreciation for light. And amidst the tragedies and the uncertainty of a changing and adapting world, there came forth a brilliant light in the form of people and communities banding together, helping one another, and encouraging the light to shine through all those dark moments. Ultimately, it is through the reflection of the good and the bad, the happy and sad that we decide how we'll value these last 365 days and how we will cherish them as we embark on a new cycle of life.

For me personally, I choose to value this year as an amazing journey of achievements, renewal, and love. And my cherished memories for 2013 are solidified in those three elements.

Achievements

My journey of education -- of knowledge and enlightenment of passion and dedication -- was realized this year as I completed my Master's degree in English. After many, many years of struggling to figure out my educational path, I finally managed to get on the right one and made my way through the thicket and bracken that had suffocated my passions. It was a scary endeavor and one that was filled with moments of trepidation and weariness, but in the end, all of that darkness made way for the light of achievement and the beautiful feeling of success. Of all that I've accomplished in previous years, this is the one honor that will be a beacon for all others -- a reminder that all is not lost as long as you have a small glimmer of hope still glowing inside.

Renewal

And with achievement also came renewal. In the form of renewed creativity, inspiration, and dedication. I found my voice again and my desire to share it with others. A much anticipated vacation to the land of art and beauty and awakening stimulated my senses and ushered into my life a baptism of thoughts and ideas. Paris and London were my antidote to my mundane existence. The milieu of these decadent places enriched my soul with an artistic ambition, allowing me to return to my desert home with buoyancy in my imagination and eagerness to express it. And that is exactly what I did. I began writing poetry again, discovering music again, examining and thinking about art again -- all essential activities of renewal. And in those exploratory acts, I not only found myself again, but a slightly better version of myself that would lead me to discovering the most vital of all.

Love

This ubiquitous feeling all humans possess isn't one that comes entirely natural to me. Love is an intangible, and it comes in many forms. I love my family. I love my friends. I love dogs. I love mustard with my French fries. I love rainy days. I love the novel Catcher in the Rye. The amount and scope of my love seems limitless, but when confronted by this emotion's complexities and its simplicities, I often find myself bewildered and dumbfounded. This bewilderment and dumbfoundedness came to me twice this year. First, when my grandma passed away after a month struggle following a fall and many years of progressive Alzheimer's. Her death was unexpected, although it wasn't entirely a surprise. Nevertheless, the loss of someone who had been in my life for its entirety was a shock to my system -- a realization that love isn't just verbal or symbolic, but that it is a force -- an energy -- deep inside that must be nurtured and allowed to grow. Sadly, it took the death of a loved one to be reminded that although I often see love as an ethereal emotion for me, it is always there, right under the surface, right there in the midst of my life just waiting to be discovered and recovered.

And that is what led me to my second moment of astonishment and bafflement by love. It came in the form of a kind, generous, and handsome man who magically one day appeared like the Ghost of Christmas past -- except it wasn't quite Christmas yet. His reappearance into my life was the 21st century equivalent to the Victorian epistolary novels -- emails back and forth, long and delightful, filled with stories and ideas, thoughts and philosophies, discussions and analyses: something that most men (or women for that matter) have no time or desire to compose. But he did. He made time (and continues to make time) to talk to me about art, poetry, life, and, well, everything. He came to me like a long awaited rain shower -- a memory that was comforting and nurturing -- and that returned to me the exact moment I was about to give up on the hope of it ever reaching me. And it is that nourishment -- that love from this man from my past, whose essence never really left my mind or heart -- that has made everything this year and for years to come that much more beautiful and brilliant.

And with achievements, renewal, and love fresh in the air, may the end of 2013 bring everyone a sense of tranquility and contentment, and the desire for a new year filled with unlimited possibilities and new found hope.

Here's wishing everyone peace, happiness & love for 2014!

It is a new year. And if you can believe it, a new decade! It seems like this past decade was filled with so much.... stuff! From 9-11 to the war in Iraq to the boom of social media to the election of the first black American president. It is hard to believe those things and so much more happened in just ten years!

And then you have the fashions of the 00's -- every decade has their claim to fame, and all I can think of for this past decade is leggings. They seem to have taken root mid-decade and never left. But, oh, how I hope their ridiculousness ends soon. Yes, they're comfortable, but only about 1% of the population can really pull them off. Otherwise, they just look silly -- kind of like stirrup pants.

The other trend of the '00s has to be the HUGE bags. You know what I'm talking about ladies -- the kind that could quite possibly hold a toddler in it. I never quite understood why a leggy, pin-thin lady needed a purse she could literally folder herself into. Status symbol? Or, a quick escape? Whatever the reason, unless you need to carry your entire life's necessities around with you all day long, let go of the over-sized handbags... PLEASE!

And, finally, the two trends that will probably be staying around a bit longer -- the skinny jeans and the ankle boots. Okay, I'll admit, I own a pair of both. Not a true pair of skinny jeans, but as close as I will get. Yeah, they can be sexy and cute on some women, but for most, they just don't work. Same with those silly ankle boots. Unless you have legs up to your nose and they're shaped like twigs, ankle boots do absolutely nothing for most women's legs.

We've all be victims to at least one of these trends this decade, and that's fine -- it's fun to experiment with fashion and doing so is really the only way one can find their true style. I think I've finally found my fashion style -- classic pieces with a twist of whimsy and funk. And I hope to play on more of that whimsy and funk this year; to take some risks and think outside the box. And that may mean I'll try some of those trends that won't work, and some that I can add to my collection. But either way, it will be exciting to see what's in store for this new decade.

And to neatly wrap-up this past year's fashions, I've put together a collage of some of the great deals I found in 2009. Enjoy and Happy New Year to all!

Happy Valentine's Day
(posted February 13)