Arriving in Italy!!

After a sleepless flight, we arrive in Milan at 8am. The flight in was beautiful with snow-capped mountains. Breathtaking! Now we just have to drive 3 hours to Florence. Yep, we rented a car!!

On our way to Italy...

We left Santa Fe at 5:00am to drive to Dallas..... boring.... boring..... boring drive. Saw some tractors and open fields and roadkill.

Dallas was only for 1 night but we had fun with "A's" parents and we're very thankful that they took Tucker while we travel. Tucker is getting ready to say 'goodbye'

We flew from Dallas to Atlanta and then in Atlanta I filled the seat in front of me with all the things I might need for the 9 hour flight to Milan. Once I realized I had 'movies on demand' at my seat, I didn't use any of these things.

Sitting in style on the plane, though pearls were off before we left the jetway. I needed more mimosas for my fear of flying!!

Italy... Here we come!

"A" and I have had a trip to Italy planned for over a year. It's a long story, but we had the trip scheduled for last year but had to cancel it so we're finally off for about 3 weeks! Because Tucker is still very young and we don't want to board him for so long, we decided to make the drive down to Dallas to leave Tucker with "A's" parents - they have 2 beagles who can put up with Tucker's puppy energy. On our way to Dallas we stopped in Santa Fe to visit my family for a couple of days. The above photo is Tucker on the outdoor bed at my step-mom's house, looking inside. I think he could sense that we were leaving him soon and he didn't want to be away from us at all!!

The first thing Tucker did in Santa Fe was to jump on my step-mom, Cristina's bed at 7am. We don't let him on our bed so he made a run for it onto hers. She loved it until she realized, like I told her, Tucker sheds more hair in 5 minutes than I will in my entire life.

Fall Snow Storm

Between yesterday and last night it snowed 16 inches at our house in Denver! The freak fall storm cancelled many schools, appointments for me and made it very hard to go anywhere, BUT I'm loving it! Being cozy at home, cooking, packing (we're off to Italy on Saturday for 3 weeks!)

Tucker loves the snow and wants to stay in it all day!

Andrew and Tucker looking preppy running in a snow packed field
This was at 2 in the morning (Tucker had to go outside) - our courtyard completely covered in snow. I didn't the the best preparation for winter with our patio furniture. oops.

Bling Bling

One of my new favorite jewelry pieces is from Stella & Dot. They're 3 stackable Deco style rings that look fabulous on everyone. I even wore them the other day with my engagement ring - amazing!! Many of my friends have already ordered these. Perfect for the holiday season or any time of year, these are the go-to pieces for everyday chic. Get them here!!

Cutest dog ever..

I know that everyone thinks their dog is the cutest, but everyday when Tucker (now 7 months old!) run to the door when I wake up, I just look at him and think, "you are just the best looking puppy ever!" Poor guy has to endure me taking gazillions of photos of him.

This is his 'sad' face because he's almost got kicked out of day care the other day because he was trying to hump everything, including the water bowl. We're still discussing when we're taking him in for his little 'surgery'.

This is his "Zoolander" model face. Beat that Ben Stiller!!
So cute! If he was better behaved I would put him on TV!

The Downside of Blogging.... I knew this would happen

I read a few other blogs. Some from dear friends, others by people whose style I love, and others that are just pure entertainment.

This morning I read a post by a blog called "Habitually Chic" - a blog that I read for style inspiration by a woman who I think is, well...'chic' and honest. She's a much better and more consistent blogger than I am.

Anyway, her post this morning was about a new law where bloggers must disclose if companies they are reviewing are sending them any freebies or payment for reviews.

To read "Habitually Chic's" interesting blog post and the NY Times article about the law click here

In a world where traditional advertising is not working anymore, I can see how companies are trying to capitalize on the growing number of bloggers and blog followers. Like "Habitually Chic" I just want to let all of you know that I have never approached or been approached by a company to review their products - nor do I receive any freebies from anyone. I only write about products I use and love because people are always asking me for recommendations (and because I decided to take a year off of working and needed to connect with the world somehow!).

I do have a 'store' where people can buy some of the products I recommend from Amazon, but most of these products can be found locally. If people do purchase from Amazon, I get a small kick-back, but have not received a penny to date. Also, as I am now a Stella & Dot Stylist, I will promote those products, of course, because I love them and do make money from that, but the corporate office does not know about my blog at all - it's just me and my own business (which I wouldn't have started if I didn't LOVE the products).

Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that you can read "The Krafty Life" with confidence. I write this blog for fun and because I sometimes have something worth reading! BUT, also like "Habitually Chic," if any company wants to start sending me free stuff - like Louboutin, Chanel or even Mr. Clean Magic sponge - I already love you and will write anything you want - hehehehehe!!

Sofia Necklace

Not only is 'Sofia' the name of my gorgeous younger sister, but it's one of my favorite statement necklaces from Stella & Dot. As beautiful with a black cocktail dress or a tank top, I wore my Sofia Pearl Bib necklace yesterday with a button up white shirt, black jacket and jeans. I love having the pearls just peak through the shirt - bold yet understated (can I use those two words together?). It even looks good with my nerdy glasses!

I can't wait to try this necklace with my other clothes! I'm not buying a lot of new clothes this year so a new necklace is just the thing I need to make some of my favorite items new again!! I can make the necklace shorter or longer depending on the length I want for a specific look.

The best part is that it's only $118 and stops people on the street! Click here to check out the Sofia Necklace online.

My New Venture!

Now that we're back in Denver, I've been itching to start working again. I need to find something that's flexible, a job where I can live anywhere (because we all know how much I move!) and I would like to 'run my own show.' I've also been thinking about going back to school and studying nutrition or Interior Design. Those are both distinct passions of mine.

So last month when I was back in San Francisco, I visited with my good friend and former roomie, Jamie. She is a stylist for "Stella & Dot" jewelry and I really loved some of the pieces. She started describing the business to me and I loved the idea so much that I decided that instead of just buying the jewelry, I would become a stylist as well! So I'm officially a "Stella & Dot" stylist now and really excited about it.

Who doesn't like gorgeous jewelry at amazing prices? I love fun jewelry, however I don't like to spend a ton of money on it -BUT I also don't like it to look cheap. I am really picky about what I wear so I think that if I love all the pieces from "Stella & Dot" others will to. Plus, I get to call the shots on my own business and I'm really excited about that.

I'll hold trunk shows and I also have an e-commerce website! Check it out and let me know what you think:

www.stelladot.com/krafty

Tomorrow I'm going to have 'A' take a bunch of photos of me with my favorite pieces on so I can share them with you!

I so much look forward to having a new adventure where I'm in charge of my own success.

Most importantly I get to represent a product that I love!! So exciting - more soon!!

Mr. Clean Mr. Clean

I have been obsessed with cleaning ever since Amber and I were 8 years old and invented a cleaning product named "Clean Clang." We mixed together every liquid in my house (including orange juice, hair conditioner and toothpaste) and developed an 'amazing' cleaning product. We were so enthusiastic about the product that we made up a jingle for it and cleaned my entire house with it. You would think that my parents would be grateful for the free house cleaning with an exclusive new product, but apparently the ingredients we used were not the best for cleaning.... whatever!

Fast forward to today and I've found another great product (thanks mom!). It's called "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser." It's a sponge that you dampen and you can clean your walls and much much more. When we moved into our townhouse in Denver, there were scuff marks all over the walls. I was so annoyed that the house wasn't spick and span! My mom recommended the magic eraser because it doesn't take the paint off walls. I used the eraser to take off one spot that was really annoying me and it worked so easily and so well that I went through the entire house cleaning the walls - it made all the difference in the world. You can use this all over the house - it's super fun! Yes, I said fun!