I love La Dolce Vita's posts called 10 Things I Can't Live Without.
It made me think about the things I can't live without, and here are the ones I can think of right now!
What are the things you can't live without?
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
1. JAMS
I love the jams! The jams are any songs that take hold of your core and make your hips involuntarily swing. This reflexive surrender of the senses is a divine sensation experienced throughout many cultures. The Turkish engage in the whirling dirvish and call it a trance, the Greek smash plates and call it gkefki, and the Bay Area rappers go dumb and call it hyphy. Although all kinds of music seeps into my soul, I unashamedly say here that it is hip hop which holds my favor. As I am rather reserved, extremely feminine, and blonde, this fact has, over the course of my life, shocked many people who probably assumed that I listen to John Mayer. (Wrong). When a former boyfriend was explaining why he loved me, he said it was because I reminded him of "that movie star who married the Prince of Monaco" (if only) and carried on our conversations in the form of Jay-Z lyrics. But I can't help it. Embarrassing as it is that I consider Lil Wayne's "A Millie" a legitimate song and have let my loved ones know it is to be played at my funeral, the jams are one thing I just can't live without.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
2. HIGH HEELS
When I was eight years old, my Aunt Teri gave me my very first pair of heels. They were her hand-me-downs, the ridiculous kind of party heels you die for when you see them, dance in once, and then give away because, well, they're ridiculous. White patent leather sandals, they had an inch platform and five inch stiletto. I criss-crossed the straps and fastened the tiny buckles, my feet slipping down to the toes. I was determined that by the time I was old enough to own my own pair, I would have the stiletto saunter mastered. I practiced in front of my full length mirror until my feet began to slowly fill out the shoes. By the time I was eleven years old, I was twirling confidently around the sixth-grade dance in my own pair of white patent leather (kitten) heels. Since then, there is nothing I can't do in stilettos, and I never take them off. I once read that Michael Kors' accessories director said of his intern: "She looked amazing. I'd say, 'Honey, we're going out to the warehouse to pull vintage. You might want to wear flats.' She said, 'I don't wear flats.' And sure enough, she's in with her pencil dress and six-inch patent heels going up and down the ladder, never missing a rung." I wonder if hers were white...
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
3. FAITH
Faith is, I think, the most important thing in the whole wide world. It's the only thing that lets you do anything else worthwhile. Faith lets you take risks, make human connections, and find your purpose. Without faith, you can't have adventures, fall in love, or follow your dreams. Without faith, you live in a scary world where you, an insignificant human being lacking in the wisdom of the universe, are in full control. I believe that faith in others, faith in myself, and faith in God is what has given me wings and set me free. Faith is the key to holding all the other things I can't live without!
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
4. BLACKBERRY
Do I sound like enough of a cliche PR girl yet with the high heels and the Blackberry? Next thing you know, I will be saying that I can't live without Starbucks. Well, I actually can't, and I don't care that I'm a cliche, because it's true! Anyway, I can't live without the Blackberry, and not because I want to put the thing on speaker and act like I'm popular. It's because it keeps me connected to those I love and because I am amazed by technology. How extraordinary is it that my mother, who lives miles away from me, is still a huge part of my life? Or that a little thing called being at the office can't stop me from bbming my friend through a rough day? I definitely can't live without family and friends (this is so obvious that it doesn't get its own paragraph), and the Blackberry is the thing that allows them to be with me, even if they can't be with me physically. There is virtually nothing that little smart phone can't do, including saving my life if the situation were to arise. Amazing!
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
5. BOOKS
The Ex Libris post explains why I love books. I am so grateful for the gift of reading, without which my mind would be quite small. Reading allows you to learn about anything in the whole world, and injects compassion into your heart because reading a story about others is literally walking in their shoes.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
6. BOYS
I don't mean this in the sense that I am boy-crazy. This is for all boys: my brother, my friends, my baby cousins and my older cousins, my ex-boyfriends and future boyfriends. This is for the PA who selflessly hauled tons of my garment racks and then asked if I would like a tiramisu. This is for my Ville boys who insist that any guy I meet in LA better treat me right. This is for every one of our boyfriends who has ever taken (vertical) pictures of us, ran out for (more) champagne during our cocktail parties, or hung a heavy mirror for us (three different times when we kept changing our minds). With all the drama of family issues and dating, we are used to focusing on all the stupid crap boys do. While it's true that they act complete fools, what other creature has the humor, charm, and heart of a boy? Yes, they might get into indoor squirt gun fights with their friends, but it really is hilarious. Yes, they might work through your dinner date, but their way of apologizing is worth it. Yes, they might storm off ahead of you to the car, but they'll never leave you. Boys are the only ones who will watch mob movies with you, take out the trash for you, and bristle in your defense if they sense danger. They can fix anything, and just know things that you don't (how to get your car out of the impound, do taxes, navigate, etc). My world is consumed by my fashion career and my girlfriends. I know that the boys who are important to me can feel lost in this ultra-feminine mix, dismissed with a peck and an eye roll. But I appreciate every boy who has ever held a door for me, offered a hand for me, or grilled a burger for me. Boys are funny and boys are sweet. For all the exasperation they can cause, they really are a treasure I can't live without.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
7. L'OREAL SUBLIME GLOW MOISTURIZING MICROFINE MIST
(Image by me at Pinches Tacos on Sunset)
What are the things you can't live without?
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
1. JAMS
(Image via Vogue)
I love the jams! The jams are any songs that take hold of your core and make your hips involuntarily swing. This reflexive surrender of the senses is a divine sensation experienced throughout many cultures. The Turkish engage in the whirling dirvish and call it a trance, the Greek smash plates and call it gkefki, and the Bay Area rappers go dumb and call it hyphy. Although all kinds of music seeps into my soul, I unashamedly say here that it is hip hop which holds my favor. As I am rather reserved, extremely feminine, and blonde, this fact has, over the course of my life, shocked many people who probably assumed that I listen to John Mayer. (Wrong). When a former boyfriend was explaining why he loved me, he said it was because I reminded him of "that movie star who married the Prince of Monaco" (if only) and carried on our conversations in the form of Jay-Z lyrics. But I can't help it. Embarrassing as it is that I consider Lil Wayne's "A Millie" a legitimate song and have let my loved ones know it is to be played at my funeral, the jams are one thing I just can't live without.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
2. HIGH HEELS
When I was eight years old, my Aunt Teri gave me my very first pair of heels. They were her hand-me-downs, the ridiculous kind of party heels you die for when you see them, dance in once, and then give away because, well, they're ridiculous. White patent leather sandals, they had an inch platform and five inch stiletto. I criss-crossed the straps and fastened the tiny buckles, my feet slipping down to the toes. I was determined that by the time I was old enough to own my own pair, I would have the stiletto saunter mastered. I practiced in front of my full length mirror until my feet began to slowly fill out the shoes. By the time I was eleven years old, I was twirling confidently around the sixth-grade dance in my own pair of white patent leather (kitten) heels. Since then, there is nothing I can't do in stilettos, and I never take them off. I once read that Michael Kors' accessories director said of his intern: "She looked amazing. I'd say, 'Honey, we're going out to the warehouse to pull vintage. You might want to wear flats.' She said, 'I don't wear flats.' And sure enough, she's in with her pencil dress and six-inch patent heels going up and down the ladder, never missing a rung." I wonder if hers were white...
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
3. FAITH
(Image via missatlaplaya)
Faith is, I think, the most important thing in the whole wide world. It's the only thing that lets you do anything else worthwhile. Faith lets you take risks, make human connections, and find your purpose. Without faith, you can't have adventures, fall in love, or follow your dreams. Without faith, you live in a scary world where you, an insignificant human being lacking in the wisdom of the universe, are in full control. I believe that faith in others, faith in myself, and faith in God is what has given me wings and set me free. Faith is the key to holding all the other things I can't live without!
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
4. BLACKBERRY
Do I sound like enough of a cliche PR girl yet with the high heels and the Blackberry? Next thing you know, I will be saying that I can't live without Starbucks. Well, I actually can't, and I don't care that I'm a cliche, because it's true! Anyway, I can't live without the Blackberry, and not because I want to put the thing on speaker and act like I'm popular. It's because it keeps me connected to those I love and because I am amazed by technology. How extraordinary is it that my mother, who lives miles away from me, is still a huge part of my life? Or that a little thing called being at the office can't stop me from bbming my friend through a rough day? I definitely can't live without family and friends (this is so obvious that it doesn't get its own paragraph), and the Blackberry is the thing that allows them to be with me, even if they can't be with me physically. There is virtually nothing that little smart phone can't do, including saving my life if the situation were to arise. Amazing!
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
5. BOOKS
The Ex Libris post explains why I love books. I am so grateful for the gift of reading, without which my mind would be quite small. Reading allows you to learn about anything in the whole world, and injects compassion into your heart because reading a story about others is literally walking in their shoes.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
6. BOYS
I don't mean this in the sense that I am boy-crazy. This is for all boys: my brother, my friends, my baby cousins and my older cousins, my ex-boyfriends and future boyfriends. This is for the PA who selflessly hauled tons of my garment racks and then asked if I would like a tiramisu. This is for my Ville boys who insist that any guy I meet in LA better treat me right. This is for every one of our boyfriends who has ever taken (vertical) pictures of us, ran out for (more) champagne during our cocktail parties, or hung a heavy mirror for us (three different times when we kept changing our minds). With all the drama of family issues and dating, we are used to focusing on all the stupid crap boys do. While it's true that they act complete fools, what other creature has the humor, charm, and heart of a boy? Yes, they might get into indoor squirt gun fights with their friends, but it really is hilarious. Yes, they might work through your dinner date, but their way of apologizing is worth it. Yes, they might storm off ahead of you to the car, but they'll never leave you. Boys are the only ones who will watch mob movies with you, take out the trash for you, and bristle in your defense if they sense danger. They can fix anything, and just know things that you don't (how to get your car out of the impound, do taxes, navigate, etc). My world is consumed by my fashion career and my girlfriends. I know that the boys who are important to me can feel lost in this ultra-feminine mix, dismissed with a peck and an eye roll. But I appreciate every boy who has ever held a door for me, offered a hand for me, or grilled a burger for me. Boys are funny and boys are sweet. For all the exasperation they can cause, they really are a treasure I can't live without.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
7. L'OREAL SUBLIME GLOW MOISTURIZING MICROFINE MIST
(Image via L'Oreal)
I know, I live in LA, so you may not trust that I have a healthy perspective on what an acceptable tan level is. But believe me, any shade of orange makes me shudder, which is why I used to have a hard time finding a product that would give my skin a natural-looking glow when the only light it's seen are the florescent rays of my office. But this product, L'Oreal Sublime Glow Microfine Mist, is amazing. It is super easy to use and looks completely natural. You just spray it on as hurried and haphazard as you like, and it will still give you an even, subtle glow. It doesn't have a smell, and won't rub off on your sheets or towels. I swear it helps hide my blemishes and pores, too. What is best about it is that it doesn't make you look necessarily tan, just naturally pretty. You won't even notice an obvious difference until you don't use it one day, when you will look in the mirror and think, "Why do I look so sallow? Oh, I didn't use my Microfine Mist!" L'Oreal makes two kinds, the one pictured above in the gold bottle, and another in an orange bottle. You must get the gold bottle. I don't know what the difference is, but the orange one doesn't work (I mean, it's orange, the exact shade you're trying to avoid, so that's a warning sign right there). Target usually doesn't have it, but CVS almost always does. I have turned so many of my girlfriends on to this, and now it's one thing none of us can live without.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
8. MEXICAN FOOD
(Image by me at Pinches Tacos on Sunset)
Obsessed. I could eat Mexican food everyday. And I pretty much do. From the upscale fusion restaurants in Beverly Hills to the 24-hour taco stands in Hollywood, Mexican food always hits the spot. The best Mexican dish, though, is enchiladas. There is a little hole-in-the-wall place in Ocean Beach which serves a "Trio of Enchiladas": three chicken enchiladas, one in verde sauce, one in ranchero sauce, and one in mole sauce. Hola, Heaven on Earth.
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
9. DANCE
(Image via The Simply Luxurious Life)
On top of your daddy's shoes. In front of a mirror with a hairbrush. In technique class. On stage under the bright lights. In a nightclub with your girlfriends. In the arms of someone you love. Whether it's serious or silly, celebratory or obligatory, skilled or totally awkward, dance releases good energy and frees your soul. As Jacques D'Amboise beautifully stated, "Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythm of your life. It's expression in time and movement, in happiness, joy, and sadness".
CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...
10. CHAMPAGNE
(Image via Everything Fab)
Duh.
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