Stylish tools to help fulfill your 2008 resolutions
Filed under: Holiday Style
There's a new year around the corner, folks, and that means it's time for new New Year's resolutions! What will you do in 2008? Finally get around to painting that extra room? Finish level three Italian? Find a better plastic surgeon? Well, I can't help you with those, but I certainly can give a few pointers on some of the more common resolutions that people make. If one must create a new and improved self, why not do it in style? So, you want to...Be more organized: Sometimes the best way to organize is with good, old-fashioned pen and paper. Unfortunately, "paper" doesn't always mean "post-its", which tend to become part of the clutter it originally set out to sort out. One very stylish and sophisticated item that has done wonders for people all over the world is the Moleskine notebook. Moleskines come in a variety of sizes and types, from small to big to sketchbooks to address books. They're black and compact and, best of all, always lie completely flat when you open them up. No annoying curve in the middle! Also, there's a little pocket on the inside back cover for any loose notes. Sometimes having a pretty notebook is just enough of a motivation to get organized. Common Moleskine users are generally the artsy hipster types and are easily identifiable by their constant ravings about how much they love their notebooks.
Waste less time on the Internet: Even when you attempt to restrict yourself to just check your e-mail and one quick visit to Styledash for some sexy new updates, I bet you stray almost immediately onto different parts of the Internet. Before you know it, what was meant to be a ten minute activity turns into an epic five hour journey through all of your bookmarks. One wonderful way to cut down on this time and make your online time more efficient is to use something to manage all your blog subscriptions. This way, instead of going to a website every day (or hour?) to see if it has been updated, simply log into your reader and it will tell you which blogs have something new. My favorite blog feed aggregator is Google Reader. It's super easy to use and very clean-looking. If you've never done this before, simply sign up for Google Reader (free) and then go to Styledash.com. See the "Subscribe via RSS" link at the top of our site? Click on that and you'll be able to add it to your feed reader. Now, every time Styledash is updated, Google Reader will let you know! Almost all blogs have a feed (usually indicated by a little orange square with a white dot and two curved lines inside), which means they can be added to your Google Reader for easy reading. Trust me, this is a lifesaver and saves so much time. Wasting time online because of an eBay shopping addiction is very different, though, and requires a different sort of help.
Spend less on clothing: As difficult as it sounds, there's more than one way to go about this. One thing to remember is that it's best to buy items that can function for more than one occasion. Try the Calypso Julia dress, which can be worn in different ways and can be easily dressed up or dressed down with a simple change of shoes. Another way to spend less on clothing is to pay a little more attention to sales. One can cut only so many coupons and collect so many flyers, so let StyleNotes lighten some of the burden. It's a blog that frequently -- and I mean frequently -- updates with sales and special deals that are going both online and offline for stores everywhere. You may stumble across a lot of stores that don't interest you, but it's still a helpful tool to keep on hand. Subscribe to it by adding it to your new Google Reader, yeah? Another way to spend less is to not buy as much. But no one wants to do that.
Exercise more: All right. I have a confession to make... I don't exercise enough. Shocker, right? And don't give me that sneer, because we all know that you haven't been hitting the gym quite as much as you should either. After all, sweating in public is not particularly attractive. That said, neither is a big Bowflex or one of those ridiculous Gazelle things in the middle of your living room. Enter the Nintendo Wii! You know what I'm talking about. The Wii is the super sleek game console that, despite being released a year ago, remains one of the hottest, most sought after items in stores everywhere. I swear, it's extremely elusive, but once you get your hands on it and play the free Wii Sports for five minutes, you'll be hooked. What's wonderful is that, unlike most video games of the past, the Wii Sports games require actual movements that mimic the sports players. For example, if you're playing tennis, you'll have to hold the remote/controller like a racket. As stupid as it sounds, I actually felt the satisfaction of being unable to lift my arm for a day or so because I played so much Wii tennis. An actual work out from playing video games? Good news for geeks everywhere that want to get fit but stay awkwardly pasty.





sarah 1-01-2008 @ 12:34PM
LOVE the google reader tip, and definitely want to get a Wii for that exercise suggestion!
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