Okay, now before I tell you 10 people I love following on Twitter, you need to keep in mind that I follow over 1,000 people, so this wasn’t an easy task to select just 10.  But here are the 10 that first came to mind, and why.  I will be writing many more posts about the people I follow on Twitter, so hang tight if you didn’t make this list! 

1. @KellyOlexa – She loves Starbucks coffee as much as I do, and she’s into social media and marketing, and fitness (a few of my favorite things)
2. @mmwine – Matt is a wine expert, and an all around good guy – he’ll help you out when you need it and his tweets are entertaining.
3. @LizWebPage – This chick is totally fun, and she motivates me to get to the gym even when I’m half-asleep (she’s a personal trainer).
4. @KatBron - Kat is a full-time ad agency professional and four-time proud mom. I admire her energy and cheerful attitude, and she is almost always first to comment on Shoe Smitten.
5. @RebekahReidy – Rebekah is a college student like me, a marketing specialist, personal trainer, and fashionista.  I follow her because we are kindred “soles”.
6. @BlogWellDone -Food writer, cook, proud dad, productivity pro, the ORIGINAL Food Divo. Chris is the first person to poke fun at me, and the first to make me smile.
7. @beckymochaface – Becky is a marketing coordinator and writer, and she is oh-so-sweet!
8. @PinkOliveFamily – I got to meet Susan in Boston.  She is the person I go to first to bounce ideas off of, and she is involved in some really cool groups with similar interests as me.
9. @Almostalady – A fashionable chica and fellow shoe fiend…must I say more?
   
10. @mhood1776 – My best friend (I’ve known her since high school).
    

So if you like my blog and you follow me on Twitter, you might want to follow these stellar peeps as well. 

I’ve been playing around recently on Wishpot.com, a free social shopping service that makes it easy to save and share interesting things you find in stores and online.  I’ve created a Christmas wish list for this holiday season, in hopes that Santa Claus will see it. 

If you’d like to send someone (ahem, anyone, not just me) a gift from their list:

1. Click on the item of choice.
2. Click on “reserve gift” to the right of the item:

3.   Decide whether you want to keep it a surprise:

4.   Once you reserve the item, you can buy it:

If you’d like to send a Christmas letter/gift to me (heehee) you can send it to my PO box:

3965 W. 83rd St. #306
Prarie Village, KS 66208

Thanks!

So it’s official – I will be going to Boston for the TJ Maxx/Marshalls Overnight Event!  Today I got my agenda and travel plans, and now I just need to make sure I’m prepared.  It’s been more than a year since I’ve traveled anywhere, so I’m well overdue for a trip.

I’m leaving Nov. 17th and returning on the 18th, so I won’t have time to explore Boston, but I know I’ll want to go back for a longer stay.

I’m looking forward to meeting a few of my favorite bloggers:

• Angela, The Budget Fashionista
• Katja, Style Hive
• Ike, My Fashion Life
• Angela and Greg, You Look Fab
• Stephanie, Adventures in the Stiletto Jungle
• Lindsay, Broke & Beautiful
• Diana, The Budget Babe
• Adriana, Fashion Bomb
• Wendy, Nitrolicious
• Lauren, Second City Style

We’ll all get to meet the brand teams at TJ Maxx/Marshalls, and have an interactive session of Meet the Corporate Teams to learn about brands, customers and off-price fashion.  Then we’ll go on to see a Splurge vs. Steal Fashion Show, participate in other fun interactive sessions, and go shopping at the stores.  It’s going to be a wild ride, and I’m so honored to have been invited by Ogilvy PR to participate!  Of course, I will have a detailed report of the trip (and all the fab shoes I see/buy) on Shoe Smitten.  Wish me luck!

I bought a Merona plaid wool jacket that I just love at Target.  It is allover black and white plaid, and it has a belted waist and four buttons down the front.  After spending a reasonable $50 on it, I resolved to wear it as often as possible.

So, I wore it to church the day after buying it.  I couldn’t believe how stylish and comfortable I felt wearing it!  On my way out the door, I heard something hit the ground, and then I saw what I thought was a Quarter spinning.  I kept walking.

It would take me a few hours to realize what had happened – the middle button on my precious BRAND NEW jacket had popped off!  Now this was a dilemma, because I hadn’t grabbed the button off the floor earlier, so I have no matching button for the jacket. 

To make matters worse, the next day at work I was minding my business typing away on the computer, when I hear an all-too familiar sound of something hitting the ground.  Sure enough, another button had decided to break loose.  This time, I recovered the fallen soldier, slipped it in my purse and continued on with my day.

That brings me to today.  I decided to wear my jacket by tying the belt at the waist.  Hey, who needs buttons, anyway?  I was in the restroom tidying up when, lo and behold, the third button fell off!  So now I’m finally down to just one button hanging on for dear life.

This wouldn’t upset me so much if I hadn’t just bought the thing last Saturday, and if I knew how to sew…

…maybe it’s time to invest a little more money in a better-made jacket?

 

What better day to launch my new blog than on Election Day?!  So for my very first post, I would like to discuss this day in history, and what it means for our country’s future.

Today I cast my vote, along with an estimated 130 million Americans exercising their democratic freedom.  It’s humbling to be a part of such a pivotal moment in history.  The polls are still open at this moment, and the election is still in the air, even though many people, including Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief of staff (aka “Bush’s Brain”) predicts a landslide win for Obama.

No matter who wins the election, we will make history.  If Obama wins, he’ll be the first African-American in the White House.  It McCain wins, he’ll be the oldest elected president, and we’ll have our first ever female vice-president, Palin.

With such a polarized nation, civil unrest is a possibility, and according to upi.com, police stations across the United States are beefing up plans to prepare.  I heard on the radio that Kansas City police are preparing for whatever might happen.  Some of the people here in Kansas that oppose Obama strictly because of his color scare me – I know one person in particular that calls him a terrorist and a socialist, and claims that he will be the downfall of our country.  Not for one second can I begin to understand where those accusations come from.  There is no truth to them!  It’s people like this that will tear our nation apart.

I, along with 62% of voters in the exit polls, see the economy as the top issue facing our nation today.  I have personally experienced the raised credit card interest rates, job losses, and higher cost of living.  I feel fortunate to have what I do, but as a college student working only part time, I have felt the strain.  However, I’m more optimistic than most in thinking that our economy will turn around much more quickly (especially if Obama is elected).

So, I’d really like my first post to be interactive and show the perspectives of my readers as well.  Would you please answer the following questions in a comment (you can be anonymous if you choose).

Questions:

1. What do you consider to be the top issue facing out nation today?
2. How do you think we can turn the economy around?
3. Who would you like to see be elected president, and why?
4. Do you believe there will be civil unrest?
5. Other remarks?