If there’s one thing that I could drool over all day, it’s cars. From the moment I turned 16 (and, let’s be truthful, it goes back further than that) I would obsessively identify cars on the road. I could spot a Ford Mustang from across a parking lot, even if I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face.

Here are a few of my recent faves:

Volvo Xc60 AWD – I <3 AWD cars, and Volvo is cool again thanks to Edward Cullen. The XC60 is my favorite kind of car — a crossover that looks great on-road but can drive off the beaten path too. It’s also sporty, with plenty of room in the trunk for sports equipment or gear for a doggy day out. It has a 3.0L engine, so it’ll give you plenty of punch too.

Honda Accord Ex-L – Honda Accords used to live firmly in the “dependable” category, but these days you get a lot more options. For example, Honda used to make a V6 Hybrid, which appeals to both my sporty side and my green inclinations. They stopped production on these a few years ago, but you can still find them on pre-owned car lots and they’re well worth checking out. The cool version out now is the Crosstour, which has a V6, decent MPG (16/28) and a streamlined, hatchback look. It comes in red too, so I’m sold.

Mazda Mx-5 – Admittedly, the Miata used to be one of my least favorite cars, but a lot has changed in the last decade. The new Miatas are much more modern-looking. The specs are still unspectacular, until you remember that these things are also small and light. Even with a four-cylinder engine and ~170hp, Miatas can still move.

Aston Martin – The model doesn’t matter; it’s an Aston Martin! Nothing says performance like Britain’s finest sports cars. My personal favorite has always been the DB9, not surprisingly because it appears frequently in video games. It may be out of my price range for now, but it can’t hurt to dream for the future!

Now that Christmas is over, there are a lot of great deals to be had on items you didn’t find under the tree. I used to use regular search engines to search for products, but this past year I started using ShopWiki to find the lowest prices on products.

A few things on my 2011 Wish List:

Sunglasses – I hope to have these by the time the crazy-bright UK sun comes out around June. Now that we have a nice big garden to tend and play in, I’ll be spending a lot more time outside and my eyes will need to be protected. For me, the style is more important than the brand, so I use ShopWiki to narrow my search down (to sporty style, in case Santa is reading this).

Woman’s Watch – I’m kind of a sucker for watches anyway, but I’ve been looking for something a little more rugged than the watch I currently have. ShopWiki can narrow down my search right away so I don’t end up looking at products that don’t apply to me.

ShopWiki also has fabulous shopping guides written by real humans (!) on a variety of topics, so if you know your crazy Aunt Mildred loves her fashion accessories but you don’t quite know where to go from there, the guide gives you tons of ideas and links to cool products. And I can’t stress enough that, even though ShopWiki is a shopping search engine, they’ve spent a significant amount of time putting these guides together and making them relevant for consumers. I wish I could write for them (hire me, please!).

I’ve talked a lot about being a new homeowner and the changes we’re planning on making. For those who are new to the blog, let me back up — we bought a house last year that “ticked all the boxes” but needed a little bit of work done to it. It was in an area formerly made up of government housing, so the house is functional but bland. We’ve been looking at ways to spruce it up and make it our own.

My latest brainstorm is adding window boxes to the outside. This was also something I’d considered in our old apartment, but because we were only renting it was never a priority. Now, though, we’re looking into it and I’m so surprised by all the options out there. Window flower boxes come in all shapes, sizes and materials, so we can do up our house however we want and keep it under budget.

Our house is pretty neutral so I think we’ll end up with white garden window boxes, so it goes with the rest of the external decor. We’re saving up now for our big spring spruce up, and I’ll post pictures as soon as we start working on it!

I’ve talked a lot before about sprucing up my home, but I’ve never discussed decorating the place where you spend the most time — work. One of the easiest ways to do this, while also fostering a group environment, is by placing commercial planters.

A commercial planter comes in many forms, from individual office potted plants to outdoor commercial planters. This means that you can find the right solution no matter what sort of office environment you have. And, as I mentioned, taking care of a plant is something everyone in the office can do, or you can bring in a professional company to care for your plants (this is a better solution if you have large commercial planters that require more extensive care). Pick a design and plant style that suits your company style, from vibrant, bright flowers or sturdy trees and bushes. With some well-placed plants, you immediately transform Cubicle City into a unique, lively space.

I’ve always been fascinated by how medical professionals portray themselves. From the stately, professor-types to the smiling nurses in children’s wards, each person can create express their personality through what they wear and how they wear it.

Shops specialize in all kinds of scrubs, from designer, traditional and everything in between (for both genders, natch… and kids wear too). Look at BlueSkyScrubs.com — the selection is incredible. Looking for discount scrubs? They’ve got ‘em. Hats, jackets and accessories? It’s all there. The products are handmade — showing that there’s quite a demand for quality, long-lasting clothing in the medical industry — and come in all shapes and sizes. They even have medical coats and scrub sets.

But my favorite part of the site was the accessories. When it comes to letting your personality shine through your uniform, the lanyards and jewelry can really make it happen.