3.22.2011

splurge or steal

Gilt is selling this great pair of Missoni flats today for a *mere* $249. Can't breathe.


While nothing could ever compare to the original, Aldo has come close with a very comfortable-looking alternative which you can get online right now for a mere $34.95!!! (or for $29.98 in the purple color). 


I saw these in person a week ago but had to run out of the store to take a phone call. Good thing, because I probably would have bought them at full price.

And while you're on the Aldo site, take a look at some of the other great styles they have for summer. Maybe it's just me? but I think these are some cute, affordable flats! 
 
The only other thing needed to pull off this look is a nice, deep tan.

.. and a hot Latin boyfriend. Oh, Summer, please, please come 'round. 


my new favorite website

Recently, my favorite bartender at my favorite pub wore a t-shirt that read I HEART HEART (the heart was, obviously, an image of a red heart, ie: I LOVE LOVE) Who doesn't? I've been trying fruitlessly to find one for myself, and in one of my recent searches, I found a site that lets you customize your own I HEART paraphernalia. I could spend hours on this site creating hilarious swag for my friends and family.

Like this hat for when my mom and I go to Brimfield:


Hello, instant haggling karma!


 Or this tote bag for my best friend:



Or how about this great bumper sticker for the back of your Subaru:



Or this hoodie for your (smelly) neighbor:



Or these skivvies for the bride-to-be:


For the following few, I'm pretty sure they just downloaded the Department of Labor's website... some of these are funny for no apparent reason. I might just order one for the heck of it. Talk about a great conversation starter.



What or whom do you love, and would you announce it to the world on a shirt/hat/thong/hoodie/bumper sticker if you could?

3.15.2011

brilliant ad campaign about soda

These anti-soda commercials are running in the New York City market and I think they're fantastic. I wonder if any other cities have taken a similar approach to educating their citizens about how much sugar is hidden in the things we eat and drink. To the best of my knowledge, Boston has not. Sugar in soda seems pretty obvious to most people, but what about other products we consume every day, such as "lite" salad dressings, canned tomatoes, even one of the world's most naturally healthy foods: oatmeal?!


NYC was the first city to ban the use of trans fats in its restaurants, but as far as I know, few other cities have followed suit. Note: California gets a thumbs up for totally banning it in the state's restaurants and bakeries. Legislation like this puts a spotlight on these damaging ingredients, which means a hit in sales for their suppliers as well as CPGs who use them in their products. It's a bit scary to think about the government and these large food and agriculture companies being in cahoots, but the sad truth is that they are.

Speaking of unhealthy ingredients, don't even get me started on the High Fructose Corn Syrup ad campaign that we've all seen! I won't even give them the respect of posting a link to one of their ads. Talk about taking steps (more like marathons) in the wrong direction. Convincing kids that it's okay to drink fluorescent-colored bug juice "in moderation" is deceptive and unethical.

And now I shall step down from my soap box....

.... and confess that I've had three cups of coffee and only about two cups of water today. So much for my clean eating commitment.

and speaking of my iPod

I'm using this neat widget by Grooveshark to share with you some of the music I've been enjoying lately.

music, then and now

I guess it was about seven years ago that Apple changed my life. Specifically, iTunes. Up until that point, mostly as a middle-schooler attempting to do whatever my older sister did, I collected every CD and bootleg tape I could get my hands on, shamelessly buying "merch" from the few concerts I went to, and spending hours at Tower Records and Newbury Comics. Off to college and beyond, as I started to develop my own taste in music, I continued to fill my Caselogic folios, hoping, praying, that soon I'd have enough to fill yet another massive black one, a strange badge of honor. Check it out.. hey, look at my music collection. Look at how much money I've spent on my music collection. Look at how damn cool I am! Years and multiple Caselogics later, I had to select which discs would make the cross country journey with me to California, and what would stay in a cabinet in my childhood bedroom. It was the first time I really had to edit my music collection because I simply could not take it all with me. Before I made my trip out west, I went to visit my friend Dina at her parents' house in Cambridge. I'll never forget standing in her sister's old bedroom, and Dina handing me a little white gadget that she called an iPod. She scrolled through the strange device (which was the shape and size of a deck of cards, I should note), showing me all the great music she had "downloaded" to it. Dina has always been pretty tech savvy, but this iPod thing, I really didn't see it having a future.

I'm currently on my fourth iPod. Like yours, the battery keeps playing tricks on me, and yet I continue to buy them again and again. And I probably always will. I can't believe how much music I have at my fingertips at a given moment, or can have thanks to the iTunes store. I recently looked at my Bank of America account, and so far this year I've spent $142.39 at the iTunes store. Oops. But I refuse to steal music like many people. It's my opinion that if you don't support bands, it can be hard for them to really measure their fan base (yes, I have heard of Facebook but you know what I mean)... How will your favorite, new band know to come put on a show in your city? Think about it and do the right thing! This doesn't mean that I won't download free stuff when it's available. My best pick in that category would have to be Girl Talk's album Feed the Animals. That link will take you to his most recent album, All Day, which is also great, but below is one of my favorite tracks from Feed the Animals.

WARNING: If you are offended by curse words, enjoy dance beats or any top 40 song from any category from the past 30 years DO NOT download these two albums! You'll be moved to dance around your cubicle uncontrollably and I can't be held responsible for anyone that loses his or her job.
  

Which bands have you tapping your feet these days?