Get a free pastry on the morning of March 23 with the purchase of a handcrafted beverage.

Come to participating Starbucks on Free Pastry Day, March 23. Choose a delicious pastry to pair with your beverage and that tasty item is free.

Better yet, it’s free in another sense – free of all this stuff we removed from our recipes:

• No artificial flavors
• No artificial dyes
• No artificial trans fats
• No high-fructose corn syrup

To get your free pastry, print out the coupon below and present it to your barista. Or simply show them the coupon on any mobile device. But Free Pastry Day ends at 10:30 a.m. – so don’t miss out!

Image via Luxor LLC

I can’t be the only one out there that’s a little confused about the home buyer tax credit so I decided to do a little research. The tax credit signed by Obama applies to home purchases made on January 1, 2009 through April 30, 2010. As long as a binding sales contract is signed by April, 30, 2010, the buyer(s) have until June 30, 2010 to qualify for the tax credit.

Important Home Buyer Tax Credit Facts:

• Qualified first time home buyer(s) can receive a tax credit of up to 10% of their home value or $8,000, whichever is less.
• The tax credit is refundable. Not only can it be used to offset taxes you owe, it can also be refunded. That means, if you and your spouse filing joint owe $1,000 on your taxes this year, you will receive a check for the difference, $7,000 in this case.
• For homes purchased on January 1, 2009 through November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
• For homes purchased on November 7, 2009 through April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit. Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
• Homes priced above $800,000 are not eligible for the tax credit.
• A repeat buyer is defined as a person who has owned and resided in the same home for at least five consecutive years of the eights years prior to purchase.

This website helps answer many important questions referring to the Home Buyer Tax Credit:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

Image via www.alexandermcqueen.com

I went through a phase not too long again where I was obsessed with Pinkberry. I would eat it almost every day. Meet my friends at one of the modernist shops. Have dessert there after dinner. Sometimes I would even order a second round after I devoured my first. And I even attempted to make my own Pinkberry Froyo at home with my icecream maker. I’m glad to say I have that all under control now.

No! NO! NOO! The fashion industry is in complete shock now. Earliest this morning, Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London home. While too early to confirm cause of dead, some publications are already reporting that it was a suicide. This is truly devastating. His McQ line is scheduled to be shown later this afternoon Fashion Week in Bryant Park.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20343468,00.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250249/Alexander-McQueen-commits-suicide.html

Alexander McQueen with Sarah Jessica Parker

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Sandra Bulluck in Alexander McQueen at SAQ Awards

via www.justjared.com

From left to right – YSL, Chanel, Louis Vuitton

When three fashion titans - Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel), Phoebe Philo (Céline) and Marc Jacobs (Louis Vuitton) – all jump on the clog bandwagon, you can be sure its going to be huge trend that’s sure to trickle down to the mere mortals. Prada, Miu Miu, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé and Max Mara have also includes clogs in their Spring/Summer 2010 collections. Top Shop currently has two styles on sale – Lottie and Lola. I bought a pair of Sergio Rossi suede clogs two years ago and have not found the opportunity to wear them. Tonight, I will be digging them out from way back in the closet.

What are your fashion trend predictions for 2010? I think tie dye will be hot. Red lipstick will be seen everywhere and purple will be the new black (again).

1. Travel – That’s all I hear from my married with children friends. Travel! You must travel more. It’s difficult to bring kids on long vacations and its too hard to leave them behind.

2. Update the Resume – It’s always good to have a polished resume handy. Mine is about three years old. The last interview I went on was with Lehman Brothers.

3. Get a New SLR Camera – I’m looking at the Canon 7D and EOS 5D Mark II.

4. Read More – I thought about getting an e Reader but it didn’t make much sense when I only read 7 books last year.

5. Keep This Blog Going – Statistics say something like 99% of blogs fail. Hmmm, sounds kind of depressing. I never thought I would find myself blogging but I’ve really come to enjoy it.

6. Hit the Gym – I am embarrassed to say that in 2009, I went to the gym less than 20 times. Membership fees are about $120 a month. If you do the match, each gym session costed me $72. I can’t even say I was sweating through a class. I was probably on the treadmill or elliptical machine.

7. Clean My Closet – It’s become this monster of a mess where it’s impossible to locate anything. It’s time to clean out my closet, donate what I don’t need and let my husband reclaim some real-estate.

8. Cook More – In early 2009, I was almost cooking every night. I love feeding people and making them full. We have access to so much produce and varieties of foods that it’s a real shame I can’t find more time to cook. I want to make it a priority to cook at least three meals per week from scratch in 2010.

9.  Create a Framed Photo Montage – We received so many beautiful frames for our wedding but most of them are in the box. I’ve been talking about creating a collage of photos for one of the living room walls for a while now. Talk is getting cheap.

Images via www.potterybarn.com and www.apartmenttherapy.com

10. Keep in Touch With Friends – In 2010 I want to plan more dinners, invite friends over more, send out hand written birthday cards…