I am not sure if you know this about me but I LOVE FALL just as much as I love Summer.  Summer is great because its easy and laid back.  Pretty much everyone is happy in NY in the summer, but everyone is STYLISH in the fall!  So really, we get 6 months amazing weather and 6 months terrible weather.
Cup half full right?  Thats how I chose to look at it.

Styling clothes in the fall is so much fun!  One of the ways I love to style my clothes, is to lay them out like an inspiration board.  As seen below.

Honestly layering is so much fun but can be overwhelming if youre trying on as your going in my opinion.  One of the staples of summer would be the MAXI or just dresses in general right?  Super easy to throw on and go with some earring and wedges.  Well they too can be fun in the fall!  Layer them with a great sweater and boots or a blazer and tights.  However you prefer, but dont give up on them just yet!  The more you utilize your wardrobe cross seasons, the more money you save (for beauty items, up next on the blog!).

What do you think about the way I have styled some of my favorite dresses for fall?  Have any tips to share, feel free.  Sound off.  One of the things I miss most about working in Manhattan everyday is styling pieces and getting creative.  Lets inspire each other and also follow my style board on pinterest.  (@sweetdee83 Instagram & twitter! Deanna Gazzilli on FB & Pinterest)

 Its always appropriate to get dressed up.  

Dress the part!

Namaste.  & Happy Halloween. 

-Jack & Jill (Muraszewski Newleyweds 2013!)

Our Time In Paradise

After THE single most exciting days of our lives, we jet setted off to Maui and Kuau'i!  From NY, the time difference kicked our butts for the first few days, but we didnt mind sitting around getting massages on the beach and swimming in the ocean just steps from our suite.  Life is good.

A couple days in we began to explore and see what Maui had to offer.  Finding little old western hippie towns like Pai'a and Makawao in upcountry were truly a highlight of Maui for us.  We stayed in a very resort like town of Wail-lea.  I mean they have Louis Vitton and Gucci stores in the closest shopping center.  We traveled very far and wanted to see something more than just commercial resorts and perfectly manicured lawns.  We wanted EARTH, simple, WILD, EARTH!  Dont get me wrong, Fairmont Kea Lani does a great job of being there to assist without being overbearing.  The suite had the luxury yet the ease of everything we needed to kick off our honeymoon right.  We will sure go back there, especially now since we know where to go to find REAL MAUI!

We found Big Beach down the road with the crystal clear and blue waters and amazing sand and swim.  We found REAL Hawaiin style pizza at Flatbread in Pa'ia.  Guys on the side shucking coconuts by hand for drinking, and country sides where wild flowers and local veggies grow.  All with amazing hillside views.  We found local beaches where families of all ages gather around the grill and amazing surf, what looks like daily at Ho'okipa.  And this was just Maui!  We simply couldnt get enough of drinking fresh coconut water, and Craig attempting to climb coconut trees to grab his own (unsuccessful of course).  We met some sweet and amazing people while in Maui and cannot wait to get back.

Kauai WAS EVEN BETTER, if you can believe it!  We split our time between the south shore and then the north shore.  Hanalei (north shore) is by far the winner of the trip, saved the best for last.  The south shore has a lot to offer but is built up around the resorts.  The old town of Koloa, all strung with white cafe lights as you pull down the tunnel of trees into this small town.  Just delightful, with a new restaurant called La Spezia for amazing wine and italian food.  Yes, even in Hawaii, I will find the pasta and wine!   Koloa has farmers markets where people line up hours before it opens to get their hands on fresh produce and flowers.  Craig and I pulled up exactly at 12n when it opened, and people were leaving with boxes of stuff and we couldnt believe how packed the lot already was.  HA - NOTED!  We still managed to get our fresh flowers and avocados and tomatoes for our lunch spread!  One thing I could never find again was the guava as we had at Twin Falls (private tour) in Maui.  You could bite right through the skin and eat the entire juicy amazing fruit!  Ahhh, I melt thinking about it.  Worth the trip alone.

We chose Smiths tropical paradise for our Luau of choice while on Kauai, but I would recommend going to the Tiki Nui Luau (Much smaller, entertaining, local and theatrical).  Ours was large, rushed and a little slow for our liking. I will still compare it to the Luau from DisneyWorld, which is cheesy but OH SO FUN!  I much prefer a dinner theatre version.  Smiths has gotten way to big for their own good, almost 900 SEATS!

That is the only thing I would give a negative review about.  So, back onto the greatness.  Lets talk about Waimea Canyon on the West Shore of Kauai!!!  This place is simply magical.  Its a long drive from the South Shore and virtually impossible to do from the North Shore.  As you drive through small towns of Kauai on the West Shore, be sure to stop at the coffee plantations along the way.  Youll get the energy for the sites and the crazy surf at Polihale State Park!  I would recommend SUVs when approaching polihale, but you could do it if you did it slowly.  The road ends and becomes rugged and dirt along the HUGE canyon, and all of a sudden a couple miles in clears to the most pristine and PERFECT strip of beach.  Again, all with the CANYON as the backdrop.  Our jaws dropped, and we stripped down and jumped into that ocean happier than two clams.  This was our heaven.

Just as we thought our day was complete and we would just "pass through" the canyon on the way back.  BOY were we wrong.  We saw the most breathtaking canyon view of our life.  To be such a small particle in such a large natural structure with helicopters passing through that looked like ants, was simply HUMBLING.  Not to mention the huge rainbow that we all stared at for almost a full hour.  This canyon has SO much depth and color and really made me feel so connected to God and this wonderful earth.  I love how something so beautiful can remind you that life is worth living and that we are all meant to be exactly where we are each moment.  I am so grateful and thankful for this life!

North shore in Hanalei, you drive up the east shore stopping at amazing beaches (secret beaches) along the way and pass through Kap'aa (a great old world town similar to Pa'ia in Maui) and from start to finish are stunned by the lush land of Kauai.  What a perfect slice of land they have on this island!  and their locals agree.  Theyre some of the nicest, warmest people on this earth, I am convinced.  They are so in tune with their land and their natural resources and their communities!  I have so much love for them, their music, and their land!  They truly embody the life of "ALOHA" (sharing, loving, welcoming).

We stayed in this little nook of a "resort" at the end of a long winding road with one lane bridges in Hanalei which are "unplugged" condos.  Meaning, no phones, no TVs, just land, food, and luxury.  No one to bother us, tons of space, and our very own private beach.  We basically had to rip ourselves away from this place by the end.  At this point of me going on and on about our time in PARADISE, I cannot believe I havent spoken about the FOOD!  Hawaii isnt known for the food, but there is definitely something to be said about the Tahitian, Polynesian, and Japanese influence within these islands.  All food made from a different perspective.  Some amazing AHI TUNA and sushi.  I definitely got my fill.

If you are thinking about traveling and getting away.  Hawaiian Islands are the way to go.  We feel rejuvenated, my HUSBAND grew his scruffy face (which I love), and we let it allllll go.  I hope I can take just an ounce of Aloha with me every where I go and remember the pace of life which is oh so fresh (as fresh as the guava!)

So, ALOHA to you and yours truly.  I share with you the gift of Aloha, and my stories of Paradise.

Namaste.

Welcome to Dee REDEFINED!  There has been so much going on in this wonderful life of mine, and I feel compelled to share it.  "They" say that your gifts in life are called gifts because they are just that, a gift.  One you must share and GIVE away.  So, I hope to share my gift of happiness, joy, & motivation on this blog.  

Being one month married, a new wife, with a new perspective on life, I feel this is a refreshing and special time to share some gifts.  Hopefully I can make you laugh, maybe cry (I am still Italian after all!) but mainly here to help inspire and motivate the flame inside of you to keep burning with upcoming blog posts.

Change is the only constant in life, and boy have I figured that out to be true.  I love the lesson I have recently learned, that complacency gets you NOWHERE, and fast!  I was working a sales job for a startup social/tech/digital company this past year.  In that year, were some of the happiest moments in my life, but that was the one part of my life that didn't seem to fit at all.  However, it may have not fit, but I was surely good at getting the job done.  So, I worked.  During this time, we got engaged in Napa (a great and beautiful trip), we decided to sell our condo in Westchester and seek out a home in Cold Spring where we knew we felt, well, AT HOME.  In May was when it all came together, we chose a date and picked a house to move into.  Full speed ahead. Very exciting time in our lives.  Our town is a little "sleepy" river town, filled with some of the greatest and most creatively fun people we have ever met. I enjoy it so much, that when the day came where this company and I parted ways, I was so inspired to build my life, our lives, up here in Cold Spring.  I took one day to look back and reflect on some of the lessons and changes that the year had brought to my life, but was so much more excited looking forward to what the year ahead was going to bring... and then the year after that and the year after that....

Flash forward to a few weeks of yoga and boat loads of wedding preparation, and we are at the BEST DAY OF OUR LIVES, our big day!  Our family and friends filtered into this amazing town from all over the states and celebrated with us all over Cold Spring for an entire weekend.  As if this town could get any cooler, or filled with better vibes.  IT DID.  It was so amazing, the energy, the light, and oh the love that filled this community was just BEYOND breath taking.  My little town that I love so dearly, bustling with loved ones in and out of all the cool shops and bistros.  Ah, I love it! 

Leading up to the wedding, I of course, focused on wellness.  I did yoga, I ate well, and scouted out all the local farmers markets, and I treated my skin to facials etc.  I've fallen hard for a balanced life and realized that my life prior was not very balanced.  I chose now, to focus my energy on maintaining balance and wellness.  I have decided to work from home and free lance my marketing and sales business, which my skin care venture is the first order of business.  Rodan + Fields Dermatologists.  I bought some amazing product from a friend of mine leading up to the wedding.  Not only did I need to get my mind, & body right prior but I also needed to be sure the skin was radiant and flawless.  I was overwhelmed and quite frankly, down right sick of walking into Sephora and having them sell me on products that they have never used but have "heard" great things about.  I couldn't come home with any more false promises.  So, I saw my friends before and after pictures, inquired, asked some questions and started to use the UNBLEMISH line from R+F to control my oils and balance out the tone of my pores and skin.  IT WORKED!  I was hooked!  I looked amazing at my wedding, and I decided that I should further my connection with R+F and ALSO sell it.  Rodan & Fields are the two doctors (actively practicing dermatologists in San Fran) who created Proactiv and sold it after making their fortune.  They treated the youth acne problems for years and decided to create the "grown up version" of Proactiv as well as 3 other regimens and tools to treat other common skin care conditions.  R+F, their legacy and claim to fame. 

After my wedding, when I felt that my skin and blemishes were under control, I decided to also work in the REDEFINE regimen for my skin in which will treat my skin in all of its layers to fight against the signs of aging.  I have been using this product for over a month and I am receiving SO many compliments on my skin.  My face no longer needs an ounce of makeup and believe it or not I feel better without anything on it.  That is when everyone can see the different and notice the glow that I now have.  

Needless to say, I am a proud consultant for Rodan + Fields Derms, and have been inspired by the direct marketing industry in which it thrives.  I have also been inspired by wellness and fitness and will be continuing my journey by completing the Barre Certification/teacher training in NYC during November.  I have decided to REDEFINE my life and build upon things that make me feel centered and balanced.  Products and lifestyles that I believe in have now transformed into rewarding and inspiring WORK!  Who would have thought? 

I chose the quote above by Socrates because I feel that it sums up the path in life in which I am CHOOSING to follow and the life in which I am actively building.  This blog is me sharing the gift of balance and inspiration during my journey and new beginnings.  I thank you for reading and appreciate the support of my family and friends during the most invigorating time in my life.  NAMASTE.