by kathilipp | Jul 20, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Clothes – again.
Time to go through your closets, drawers, scary laundry area and get rid of 21 of those thing that you just don’t wear anymore.
Oh, and here is a great tip from my friend (and the kind fashion consultant if you have heard my Macy’s story at a speaking engagement) Jill Swanson. She says that the best way to tell how long it has been since you have worn a piece of clothing is to turn all of your hangers backwards, but when you wear something, was it, and hang it up again, put the hanger in the regular way. That way, after a year (or however long you have decided) if the hanger is still hanging backwards, you haven’t worn that piece of clothing, (and it no longer deserves room in your closet.)
Jill is a fashion savant.
If you are fashion challenged like me, be sure to check out Jill’s book Simply Beautiful. I love her advice and simple way to manage your wardrobe.
Brag here if you got rid of 21 pieces today (or hung your hangers backwards!)
by kathilipp | Jul 19, 2009 | Uncategorized |
I don’t know about your silverware drawer, but that is the place in my house where take out soy sauce packets go to die.
On Monday, I will be spending just five minutes cleaning out the stupid stuff in this drawer (and wiping down the silverware tray.)
Quick project, quick post.
When you clean out the drawer give yourself a webby checkmark by posting it in the comments!
by kathilipp | Jul 18, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Puppies on Parade –
This is Luna. George and Kristine’s top pooch. LOVE THAT FACE. I am sure Luna deserves a treat. Just for having THAT FACE.
Get Rid of it Project #14 – Your Not to Do List
Would you consider a step toward Sabbath this Sunday and take something off your To Do List today and spend that time relaxing?
If you mop your floor everyday, first you are a psycho. (Just FYI) But it will be just as easy to clean on Monday.
All I am saying is the best thing you can do on a Sunday, is to not do on a Sunday.
Instead of wiping down the fridge (which, BTW desperately needs it,) I will be taking the puppy to the dog park.
Leave a comment below about what you blew off today.
by kathilipp | Jul 15, 2009 | Uncategorized |
We have a winner.
OK the sad news is I don’t know his/her name, but I do know that this beauty belongs to Kathy Cully.
Kathy, I will let Erin over at Puppy Love By Erin know that you are the big winner.
For all of the rest of you, keep checking in because I will be featuring your pooches in an upcoming post, and we will have another give away sponsored by Erin and my cat Zorro in the next month.
And some other Winners:
The winner of Generation Next Marriage is Jessica!
And the winner of Julie and Julia is Stephanie
Send me an e-mail at blog@kathilipp.com with your address and we will get these in the mail!
by kathilipp | Jul 13, 2009 | Uncategorized |
One of the not-so-secret stashes I have my not-intended collection of mugs.
As a speaker, I often get questionnaires before I come to speak that ask all sorts of personal questions such as:
- What is your favorite candy (sugar free chocolate covered coconut)
- What is your favorite magazine that you don’t subscribe to (InStyle)
- What are your favorite colors (brown, teal, coral and green.)
- What is your favorite drink(tie: Diet Coke, Coffee or Passion Tea – hot or cold)
It’s not that these women are going into stalker mode. When I get such a detailed questionnaire, it usually means that there is a beautiful and thoughtful gift basket waiting for me when I arrive at the hotel/retreat center.
(Here is an example of some sweet swag that the cool chicks from Hillside Church of San Jose gave me when I got to Mt Hermon’s Retreat Center to do their Annual Women’s Retreat.)
The thing is, almost every time I get one of those way cool baskets, I also get a way cool mug. And it usually is in my colors, and I usually love it.
So going through my mug collection is hard. I don’t have cute matching mugs to serve guests – I have onsies of everything.
So it is time to make some cuts in my drinking collection.
I am going to get rid of any promo mugs, any sort of freebie water bottle, and cup that advertises an eating establishment. If it doesn’t bring a smile to my face – out it goes!
I am trying to cut down on the number of bottles of water I go through and remember that the water they put in those bottles is EXACTLY THE SAME and the stuff that goes through my Britta Filter – only about 800x the cost.
Let me know what you chuck so I can cheer you on!
by kathilipp | Jul 12, 2009 | Uncategorized |
I stand here, cyber-naked, baring it all. I share here my most recent obsessions, hoping, nay praying, that you share some of them as well and I won’t feel quite so alone (and crazy) in these things that have overtaken my life. (But I can stop anytime I want to. Really.)
Please let me know what your current obsession is in the comment section below. I may need a new one by next week.
Twitter
Let’s just be clear – I am not as obsessed as many of you are and I don’t care to know what Ashton Kutcher is having with Demi for breakfast. However, it has been FACINATING to see what some of my favorite authors are up to and a great way to stay in touch with people I care about. If you are on Twitter, I would love to follow you and have you follow me (as this is often great material for my books when I hear what you all are up to.) My twitter name is @kathilipp If you are not on twitter – just try it! It is not scary and is pretty fun.
If you are just getting started (or are not yet convinced) here are two great articles for you new twitterbugs.
12 Reasons to Start Twittering | Michael Hyatt
The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter | Michael Hyatt
Jag Jeans ‘Gabrielle’ Crop Cargo Pants
I had a birthday shopping trip and money to burn so I went to my local Nordstrom, (Nordy’s to those of us who like to pretend to have the money to shop there,) and spent a bit too much on these Gabrielle Crop Pants. Totally worth it. As soon as I take them off at night, I put them into the laundry so they are in my closet rotation ASAP.
But, (I tell myself, and Roger) it is OK to spend that much on a pair of pants if you wear them PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY.
I am totally convinced. Roger, maybe not so much.
Available at www.nordstrom.com
Cesar Milan the Dog Whisperer
Ever since Jake our puggle (pug beagle mix) came into our lives a few weeks ago, I started to casually watch Cesar and his way of the puppy.
After a week, I was totally hooked. There is just something about Cesar that makes me want to curl up on the couch and devote an hour to doing nothing but petting my own bad dog and watch him master everyone else’s hazardous hounds.
Watching Cesar is so de-stressing for me (read: calm assertive for those of you who also watch,) that if I am having a rough day, Roger will just fire up the Tivo and put on an episode to calm me.
Blueberries
Um, what is so extraordinary about blueberries? Absolutely nothing. That is until I was over at my friend Nancy’s house for a meeting where she had laid out a lovely nibble-fest with cheese and crackers, sliced apples and bowls of blueberries.
I didn’t realize that I was taking a few more blueberries than was socially acceptable until they were all gone.
Whoops.
I am now putting these on everything (taste great in a chicken salad) – they make me so happy.
Obsessed about something? Please share. You will feel better. Promise.
by kathilipp | Jul 9, 2009 | Uncategorized |
I want to welcome all the readers who are coming from:
BellaMella – a very cool blog by a very cool blogger/speaker Melanie. She is into family and food. I am hooked, of course.
Everything According To Erin – many of you already know my devotion to Erin as she is a very funny blogger and the designer behind my puppy’s very preppy collar.
Today’s Get Rid of It Project #11:
I want you to go through your recipes/cookbooks. Are there 21 cookbooks/pieces of paper with recipes, etc. you could get rid of?
It is so frustrating to try to find a recipe and have to go through hundreds of pieces paper, dozens of books, and bunches of computer files to get to the two dozen recipes that I actually use.
I still have a bunch of cookbooks (I enjoy looking through them to get ideas), but I have donated several to the local Goodwill. One thing that was very helpful was that I copied the recipes I actually use that were given to me by other people and put them all into one binder divided into different categories (chicken marinades, ground beef casseroles, etc.) I tell you, if the house was on fire, I would clear out the people and the pets, grab my hard drive, and then the Kathi Cookbook.
I am going to make a special offer for the next three days. If you are one of the first five people to get rid of 21 items from your recipe collection, I will send you my cookbook, The Frozen Gourmet. Let me know by this Sunday if you did it, and Kimber will put the books in the mail on Monday!
by kathilipp | Jul 8, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Well I did it.
I have had my wedding rings from my first marriage sitting in my underwear drawer for six years. I called these my “guilt gems” because every time I tried to figure out what to do with them, I felt guilty.
I didn’t want to “get rid of them”. They represented a relations that gave me two beautiful kids. So I needed a way to be respectful, but also not pass them on. There was no reason to.
So following Susy Flory’s lead (you can see that post here) I took my rings into a jeweler in Los Gatos named Glenn Lovelady, of Lovelady Diamond. His website: http://www.gemgate.com/ (he also does things over the web.)
I didn’t get a lot for them (we were young and broke when we got them) but we got what I expected.
Now I am using that money to support something that I am growing more and more passionate about.
Kiva.com is an organization that does micro loans for mostly 3rd world countries. Roger and I have been making some loans and it is so exciting to see how little money can make a huge difference in a family. Here are the loans that we made this week using the money from the rings:
Rodellia Diniay is producing and selling peanut butter (something I am VERY passionate about,) in the Philippines and Laura is selling agrifood products in Lebanon.
I feel the key to letting go of something that holds so much emotional/sentimental/monetary value was to decide in advance what it was going to be going to. My husband Roger put it best (if not a little weirdly…)
“It’s like Tarzan swinging through the jungle. He has to let go of one vine before he go forward and go to the next one.”
I feel great about the decision and feel it honors these pieces. I feel like I was able to give up something of value because I was going to be investing it in something even more valuable.
My question for you: Yesterday I asked what it was that you have of value that you no longer need: everything from wedding rings to scrapbooking supplies. Today, I want to ask, if you had somewhere for that money to go, where would it be? A child’s scholarship fund? A favorite charity? A family trip?
Where would you spend $100 if you had it?
by kathilipp | Jul 7, 2009 | Uncategorized |
OK – I wished I looked this cute as I lounged in bed today, listening to my iPod and letting out a moan every once in a while to let everyone know, “I have a fever, pity me. (Oh and by the way: don’t expect me to figure out what is for dinner.)”
So between moans and petting the dog (this was our first sick day together and he, along with Roger, took very good care of me) I bummed about having no brain to write the VERY COOL blog post about what I did to get rid of my jewelry yesterday. So when I do have two brain cells to rub together, you will get your very cool blog post.
HOWEVER, my friend Cheri wrote a VERY COOL blog post about getting rid of not jewelry, but another womanly secret shame – Scrapbooking Paraphernalia.
(This is not an issue for me. I have told my kids that I don’t scrapbook, but each of them will get a beautifully decorated shoebox on their wedding day filled with all their childhood pics. I strongly suggest that they each marry someone crafty.)
So as you work on today’s project: Deciding what thing from your past you need to let go of (you don’t have to get rid of it today, just tell me what you are getting rid of,) check out Cheri Gregory’s Post and get super inspired.
I am going back to bed.
by kathilipp | Jul 6, 2009 | Uncategorized |
No, the title of this post is not because our new dog, Jake, decided that the $742 dollars that we spent in chew toys just wasn’t enough to keep him entertained and decided to eat Roger’s $65 phone headset instead.
Really, the reason is that a very fun and funny blogger, Erin was caught reading my book (oh my how I love Google Alerts who tell me anytime someone mentions “Kathi Lipp” or “The Husband Project” on the Web. Self-obsessed? Who me?) on her website and we started up a webby friendship.
She is doing something very cool that combines my love of Jake and my weird fascination with Oprah. Recently on the O’s show, she showed a program where dogs were being trained behind bars by prisoners. It was amazing – these prisoners, many who had never known unconditional love in their lives – were training dogs to be companions for people who really, really needed them.
My puppy-loving heart just broke.
Well Erin is raising money to sponsor one of these dogs by designing and creating dog and cat collars and selling them, then using the proceeds to sponsor her very own Puppy Behind Bars.
I am not one of those people who dresses up my dog. I have no need to buy him little outfits (and had a hard time keeping a straight face when my step-daughter asked me if I wanted some hand me downs for Jake from one of her friends – DOGGY HAND-ME-DOWNS!) but we figured he was manly enough to sport a madras collar – especially for the 4th of July. We received Jakes collar on Friday and I have to say he looks quite handsome in it.
If you want to check out more of Erin’s handy work –and support a great cause that benefits dogs and people, check out her blog at Puppy Love By Erin
If you would like to be entered in a drawing to win a designer collar by Erin, send a picture of your favorite pooch or puddy tat to me at blog@kathilipp.com by this Friday. A winner will be randomly drawn for a collar of your choice donated by Erin – and your cat and canine pix will be on display for the world to see.
Can’t wait to see all the cuteness.
