Violins, Spanish Lessons, and an Abundance of Delicious Indian Food

The first few days of 2014 have been rather successful. I have made some serious headway on my 2014 goal list. I might actually complete this beast of list this year! 

2. Lean to play the violin: I rented one from a local music store and have started looking into lessons. I did learn the first few bars of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star via Youtube… Not nice sounding yet but I'm trying! 

3. Buy only one handbag this year (and make it count) – I have not found the perfect bag but I did stop myself from purchasing a bag during the Kate Space Saturday sale. Seriously difficult! The bag was only $67! 

5. Learn Spanish – I just downloaded the Duolingo app and am already hooked. It is a free app with many language options. 

8. Learn more about wines – I had such a great chat with the sommelier at Rasika DC who helped me choose a region and grape to research first.

17. Read more non-fiction and try a new fiction author every month – My nonfiction reading this month will be Tina Fey’s Bossypants. I have no doubt I will love it as Tina Fey is my idol! 

18. Establish a date night with my husband – My husband and I celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary this past week. We treated ourselves to a fabulous dinner out at Rasika.

21. Maintain a budget – I bought a budget book to help me track daily purchases from May Designs. I love that not only will it keep me on track, it will be pretty little addition to my purse!

24. Take a tap dance class – I found a great Living Social deal for Adult Dance classes here in DC. Now…to order tap shoes!

26. Be thankful always - I'm working hard to look on the bright side. I've also set the 4agreements as the lock screen on my phone. That might seem silly but it reaffirms my goal every time I look at my phone. 

I hope you all have had a stellar start to the new year!

September Reading List

Today is the introduction of another brand new feature on the blog. As this is a lifestyle blog, I really think I should include something important in my life … books. I am an avid reader! I can’t get enough. I have even been known to read a book in a day (multiple books if I am completely honest.) There is nothing better than lounging around your house, drinking tea, and falling in love with a brand new world. I am such an obsessed reader; I even finish books I hate because I have to know what happens.

For this new blog feature, I will introduce 4 to 5 new books the first week of each month. As I make my way through the list, I will update you on how they are going; if they are amazing or absolute trash (which can sometimes be amazing!).  I hope you all enjoy this new feature.

This month’s list:

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

I am a big fan of The Mindy Project on Fox and when I discovered this book while browsing Amazon, I knew I had to give it a try. Follow link for more details on the book.

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton

I bought this book for two seriously silly reasons. One, the name alone made me giggle and two; I found a used copy for $2.99. Sold! Also, let’s all be honest, who doesn’t love a story involving  a Vegas wedding. Follow link for more details on the book.

Bicoastal Babe by Cynthia Langston

Yet another book with an outlandish tale, a woman is selected as professional “Trend-Spotter” and divides her time evenly between New York and LA. Of course, she meets two gorgeous men in each. Yeah … okay… sure. Follow link for more details on the book.

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline

This book explores how low-price mass retailers have affected how we shop and how, as a culture, views clothing. Follow link for more details on the book.

After reviewing that list, I see a trend of “light-reads.” October might just need to be the month of Dostoyevsky and Proust. But, for now, I am in the mood for beach-reads! The book I selected to start the month is Bicoastal Babe. I am only about five or six chapters in so I cannot give a full review. So far, though the plotline is out-there, I have enjoyed the story. The lead character is sarcastic and self-deprecating while somehow being annoyingly charming. I’ll keep you posted!