my favorite things

If Oprah can have a list, why can't I? My birthday is coming up and since my husband took his birthday gift buying in his own hands this year I think I'll do the same for myself. Hello Nordstrom.com (they ship to FPO/APO now). I love online browsing. Most of the time I put things in my shopping cart and never check-out. Here are some of my favorites right now (both the attainable and the not-so-attainable).

This jacket at Anthropologie. For the price, I will be copying this with my dressmaker for less than a third of the price. Can't decide if it will be khaki or navy cotton twill. Love the hardware on this piece.

My favorite belt is this little piece of perfection. Also at Anthropologie. Love this one in lime too but it's less practical than my first choice.

I'm a big fan of Etsy and I love the Australian designer, Divine Rose. Her pieces are just enough vintage and just enough modern to make this the coolest funky-chic jewelry. I would like to own every single piece.

For a simple classic beauty in jewelry I adore my friend Ruby Knight's line of jewelry Ruby&Robin also on Etsy. Not only does she have a trained eye for matching simple designs with gorgeous stones, she also is standing up for a great cause. In memory of her mother, a portion of the proceeds from her jewelry sales go to the Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland Medical System for melanoma research. I have lots of eye popping necklaces and never the right earrings to wear with them. Ruby's earrings are the ones you can wear with any outfit and coordinate well with other pieces. I love the understated beauty of her styles. I'm also not sure if I could find anyone who meets Ruby and didn't love her!

Orange is my favorite color this spring. I am still searching for the perfect orange that is neither sparkly or see through. Hot and Spicy by OPI has to be my favorite right now.

I need a pair of leg warmers! You can tell I have had two full years of summer weather to be wishing for a a cute pair of slouchy soft leg warmers. Now the question is how to make them work in the Philippines! This could be my biggest fashion challenge yet. These American Apparel rust colored warmers are pretty darn perfect.

I'm hovering on this pair of black caged heels for myself. I like Nine West for mid-priced shoes. I can't bring myself to spend more than a hundred dollars on shoes. I'm always looking for a deal. I need a good black pump but want something a bit edgier. The caged T strap on these patent leather pretties are my favorite. I've got my mind set on getting long sleeved sequin mini-sheath dress made for next year's party season. These shoes would be perfect.

I'm loving Kork-Ease shoes. They are perfectly retro platform cork wedges. I'm not sure how I've gone this long not knowing this brand.

My favorite designer who created a line for Target is Jean Paul Gaultier. I love that Target is bringing in designers to create affordable lines for the average woman. Only most items sell out the moment the line hits stores. Too bad for us average women.

In the completely unattainable category; my favorite big design house has to be Burberry. I will probably covet a Burberry trench until the day I die seeing as how unaffordable they are. The closest I will get to real Burberry is the Tender Touch I spritz on my wrists. Sometimes I imagine convincing my friends and family that they need to select me for the show What Not to Wear. I can run around in awful clothes for a few weeks while they tape me. Then when I get on the show take the $5,000 they give me to buy a new wardrobe and run to Burberry at Tyson's Galleria (in my head the show is in DC) and buy the perfect trench and maybe a handbag too. Then I kiss Emma Watson as I skip out the door swinging my shopping bag. I live happily ever after. The end. Check out the Art of the Trench. You'll want one too.

My favorite drug of choice right now is the Tom Ka Gai at Azu Thai restaurant in Makati. I'm not kidding. I take a sip and I'm already looking forward to our next week's date at this eatery. This soup has made me rethink street drugs. Maybe crack cocaine is really just galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and coconut milk.

My favorite food item that Americans should use more often is oyster sauce. Asians have mastered the art of cooking vegetables so they are tasty and not boring. No wonder they eat more veggies than Americans. Stir fry your veggies in a tablespoon of this stuff and you won't need meat.

My favorite beauty item is under eye concealer. I'm using basic cheap one from Sonia Kashuk at Target. It has to be the single most underrated beauty item on earth. I wish my take home bag from the maternity ward included a sampling of under eye concealer to go along with my breast milk freezer bags and storage info magnets. Knowing that having two kids in two years and sleeping as much every night as a 17 year old at a high school lock-in would result in sunken dark eyes; would have been nice to know. Concealer makes me look like I've had a good night sleep. I make sure to apply this after my husband leaves for the day. I wouldn't want him to get the wrong impression about what goes on after he nods off to dreamland every night.

So there Oprah!