Don't you love when people become overly obsessed with their own birthday? I don't but that doesn't mean I don't become obsessed with my own special day, December 9th. That's right, I am within a week of waking up and having the Sixteen Candles moment, except I will NOT let anyone forget:

Everyone keeps asking me what I want for my birthday, so I compiled what I think is a short list of my most sought-after items. Top 2: Burgundy knee high Frye boots and a hot pink Juicy hoodie:

Holiday Dress Shopping

Holiday dress shopping with my grandma has been a tradition since my oldest cousin, Alex, was potty-trained....about 1992. Each year we scour another one of Colorado's nicest malls, Park Meadows, to find enough sequined dresses, argyle sweaters and faux-fur lined coats to satisfy the party demands of the Christmas season. Of course, there has to be an age-limit for this excursion, as with all great (IDEAS) (kids' menu with crayons, carts at Costco...), which in this case is college graduation.

With 6 years ahead of me, I celebrated the first day of Thanksgiving Break by participating in this annual outing, this time with my aunt, also, who was visiting from San Diego. We were looking for Arielle (14), Thayer (8), Dylan (5), Sydney (3), and myself. And I know that what I found far exceeded my expectations; some years I've had to resort to wearing matching navy velvet floor length funeral gowns with faux white fur embellishments, with my sister 8 years my junior.

I bought my dress at Urban Outfitters, just like last year, coincidentally. It is one of the most beautiful dresses I own; the picture from the online store doesn't do it too much justice. It reminds me a bit of Blair Waldorf, a star of one of my latest teen-drama driven addictions, Gossip Girl. The books are fantastic, by the way. I also adore the old Hollywood vintage feel to this dress; its so simple, yet has strong undertones of elegance, sophistication and class without being too "uptight debutante."

Pins and Needles Lurex and Lace dress- Urban Outfitters $79

I'm not sure how to accessorize just yet but hope to get some killer silver shoes like these to play up the silver in the middle:

Silver Glittered Slingback Heels- Forever 21 $26

Oyzter Heels in Silver Glitter- Steve Madden $49.95

Enzo Angiolini Tolten Slingback Pump in silver-Nordstrom $99.95

How do you think I should glam it up? Let me know with a comment!

Cherry Creek

I just got back from a highly successful shopping excursion at Denver's Cherry Creek Mall. Known for its high-end retailers such as Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton, Cherry Creek also has a fantastic Nordstroms, where I scored some brown leather boots. 

Report "Waldron" boot-  Originally $150 to $79 Nordstrom

I have been lusting over the idea of dark brown, leather, knee high boots for months. I wanted the height to say "sassy" not "stripper", and the color to be versatile enough to be paired with anything from jeans to a sweater dress. These are perfect; they're even durable enough to make the block-length walk from my house to the bus stop in the snow. And kudos to the Customer Service (always highly praised by fashionistas and magazines alike) for holding the abnormally wide box at the counter while I shopped the rest of the mall. I mean the phrase "Shop til you drop" should not be taken that literally, especially with a sprained wrist.

Subsequent to the review of H&M I wrote previously, I wore a navy and taupe striped H&M dress, Coconuts by Matisse suede taupe boots and a black Nordsrom BP leather jacket, bag by Michael Kors:

Dress- H&M $14.95, Boots- Amazon $100,  Jacket- Nordstrom $50,  Necklace- Aldo $15

Michael Kors Uptown Astor Large Shoulder Tote in brown (mine's black) $448

H&M

For those of you that live in or around the Denver-metro area, you must be aware that the announcement of an H&M store opening is a really huge deal. The announcement was first made in the spring of this year and the store opened its doors along Denver's 16th Street Mall yesterday at noon. Occupying the former Nike Town building, H&M Denver is the first store for Colorado; before, avid shoppers' closest location was in Arizona and going online to shop has never been an option.

It comes as no surprise to my friends and family that I would spend my Veteran's Day (no school) scouring the racks of the newest flagship store for the Swedish company.

H&M Flagship store Denver Pavilions 

My friend Emily picked me up at 9:15 this morning so we could arrive shortly after the store's 10 am opening. Built among two levels, H&M boasts a men's, junior's and kid's section, among piles and piles of women's lingerie, activewear, maternity, business and casual attire. After 2 hours of anxiously waiting in line and trying things on, I walked out with a few new goodies.

Navy/white striped l/s- $12.95 H&M

Beige sweater tights- $14.95 H&M

(Similar) beige and navy striped jersey l/s dress  $14.95 H&M

Cream ribbed legwarmers- $5.95 H&M

Emily left with an assortment of cable sweaters, solid basics and fun accessories such as:

Basic jersey tank dress- $12.95 H&M

Sequined jersey mini skirt- $19.95 H&M

For future reference, get there earlier rather than later to avoid 45 minute dressing room lines and crowds, especially if you're impatient. By getting there shortly after 10 and leaving there at 12:30, we avoided the mile long line guarded by 6 police officers that made its war around the building from the entrance. Though the store occupies the late Nike outlet store, the women's section is significantly smaller than I had anticipated, but does include sportswear, maternity clothes and juniors'. The salespeople are friendly and helpful and the atmosphere and layout are very welcoming. I would give it an 8 out of 10.

I work out; I'm sexy and I know it

I don't know about you but I like to look cute when I work out. That's why this blog entry is dedicated to all things sporty and stylish to take you from yoga to Zumba to cross country to aerobics. My exercise of choice is 3 hours of Zumba per week. For those who are unaware of this trend, Zumba is a high-impact, aerobic latin fusion dance class offered at my local Rec Center (as well as other health clubs nationwide) 3 times a week:

Today I went and danced to artists like Enrique Iglesias with two of my best friends. I wore new, hot pink Nike tennis shoes, maroon Harvard Nike running shorts, a pink H&M active tank and a pink/orange leopard push-up sports bra from Victoria's Secret.

Pink and black Nike running shoes- $30 Nike outlet Colorado Mills

Harvard running shorts by Nike- $30 Harvard Coop

Pink running tank (similar)- $19.95 H&M

Pink/black leopard Yoga Push-up- $29.50 Victoria's Secret

I also love yoga pants from Lululemon, crops from Lucy , or shorts from Victoria's Secret as an alternative to running shorts: (Keep in mind there are a variety of athletic clothes available from each of the three stores I mentioned).

Groove Yoga Pant- $98 Lululemon

Novelty Propel Knee Pant-$69 Lucy

Bling Yoga Shortie in Pink Leopard- $29.50 Victoria's Secret